Applications of Geocoding and Mapping.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Costa, Crist H.

The application of computer programing to construction of maps and geographic distributions of data has been called geocoding. This new use of the computer allows much more rapid analysis of various demographic characteristics. In particular, this paper describes the use of computer geocoding in the development of a plot of student density in…

COMPARISON OF GEOCODING METHODS USED IN CASE-CONTROL STUDY OF AIR QUALITY AND BIRTH DEFECTS

EPA Science Inventory

Introduction: Accurate geocoding of maternal residence is critical to the success of an ongoing case-control study of exposure to five criteria air pollutants and the risk of selected birth defects in seven Texas counties between 1997 and 2000. The geocoded maternal residence a...

Geocoded data structures and their applications to Earth science investigations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldberg, M.

1984-01-01

A geocoded data structure is a means for digitally representing a geographically referenced map or image. The characteristics of representative cellular, linked, and hybrid geocoded data structures are reviewed. The data processing requirements of Earth science projects at the Goddard Space Flight Center and the basic tools of geographic data processing are described. Specific ways that new geocoded data structures can be used to adapt these tools to scientists' needs are presented. These include: expanding analysis and modeling capabilities; simplifying the merging of data sets from diverse sources; and saving computer storage space.

RELIANCE ON GEOCODED MATERNAL RESIDENCE: IMPACT ON A POPULATION-BASED CASE-CONTROL STUDY OF AIR QUALITY AND BIRTH DEFECTS

EPA Science Inventory

Introduction: Unbiased geocoding of maternal residence is critical to the success of an ongoing population-based case-control study of exposure to five criteria air pollutants and the risk of selected birth defects in seven Texas counties between 1997 and 2000. The geocoded res...

Spatial autocorrelation among automated geocoding errors and its effects on testing for disease clustering

PubMed Central

Li, Jie; Fang, Xiangming

2010-01-01

Automated geocoding of patient addresses is an important data assimilation component of many spatial epidemiologic studies. Inevitably, the geocoding process results in positional errors. Positional errors incurred by automated geocoding tend to reduce the power of tests for disease clustering and otherwise affect spatial analytic methods. However, there are reasons to believe that the errors may often be positively spatially correlated and that this may mitigate their deleterious effects on spatial analyses. In this article, we demonstrate explicitly that the positional errors associated with automated geocoding of a dataset of more than 6000 addresses in Carroll County, Iowa are spatially autocorrelated. Furthermore, through two simulation studies of disease processes, including one in which the disease process is overlain upon the Carroll County addresses, we show that spatial autocorrelation among geocoding errors maintains the power of two tests for disease clustering at a level higher than that which would occur if the errors were independent. Implications of these results for cluster detection, privacy protection, and measurement-error modeling of geographic health data are discussed. PMID:20087879

Building-level analyses to prospectively detect influenza outbreaks in long-term care facilities: New York City, 2013-2014.

PubMed

Levin-Rector, Alison; Nivin, Beth; Yeung, Alice; Fine, Annie D; Greene, Sharon K

2015-08-01

Timely outbreak detection is necessary to successfully control influenza in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) and other institutions. To supplement nosocomial outbreak reports, calls from infection control staff, and active laboratory surveillance, the New York City (NYC) Department of Health and Mental Hygiene implemented an automated building-level analysis to proactively identify LTCFs with laboratory-confirmed influenza activity. Geocoded addresses of LTCFs in NYC were compared with geocoded residential addresses for all case-patients with laboratory-confirmed influenza reported through passive surveillance. An automated daily analysis used the geocoded building identification number, approximate text matching, and key-word searches to identify influenza in residents of LTCFs for review and follow-up by surveillance coordinators. Our aim was to determine whether the building analysis improved prospective outbreak detection during the 2013-2014 influenza season. Of 119 outbreaks identified in LTCFs, 109 (92%) were ever detected by the building analysis, and 55 (46%) were first detected by the building analysis. Of the 5,953 LTCF staff and residents who received antiviral prophylaxis during the 2013-2014 season, 929 (16%) were at LTCFs where outbreaks were initially detected by the building analysis. A novel building-level analysis improved influenza outbreak identification in LTCFs in NYC, prompting timely infection control measures. Copyright © 2015 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

NASADEM Initial Production Processing Results: Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) Reprocessing with Improvements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buckley, S.; Agram, P. S.; Belz, J. E.; Crippen, R. E.; Gurrola, E. M.; Hensley, S.; Kobrick, M.; Lavalle, M.; Martin, J. M.; Neumann, M.; Nguyen, Q.; Rosen, P. A.; Shimada, J.; Simard, M.; Tung, W.

2016-12-01

NASADEM is a significant modernization of SRTM digital elevation model (DEM) data supported by the NASA MEaSUREs program. We are reprocessing the raw radar signal data using improved algorithms and incorporating ICESat and DEM data unavailable during the original processing. The NASADEM products will be freely-available through the Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LPDAAC) at one-arcsecond spacing and delivered by continent: North America, South America, Australia, Eurasia, Africa, and Island Groups. We are in the production phase of the project. This involves radar interferometry (InSAR) processing on thousands of radar datatakes. New phase unwrapping and height ripple error correction (HREC) procedures are applied to the data. The resulting strip DEMs and ancillary information are passed to a back-end processor to create DEM mosaics and new geocoded single-swath products. Manual data quality assessment (QA) and fixes are performed at several steps in the processing chain. Post-production DEM void-filling is described in a companion AGU Fall Meeting presentation. The team completed the InSAR processing for all continents and the manual QA of the strip DEMs for more than half the world. North America strip DEM void areas are reduced by more than 50%. The ICESat data is used for height ripple error correction and as control for continent-scale adjustment of the strip DEMs. These ripples are due to uncompensated mast motion most pronounced after Shuttle roll angle adjustment maneuvers. After an initial assessment of the NASADEM production processing for the Americas, we further refined the selection of ICESat data for control by excluded data over glaciers, snow cover, forest clear cuts, and sloped areas. The HREC algorithm reduces the North America ICESat-SRTM bias from 80 cm to 3 cm and the RMS from 5m to 4m.

The Effect of Administrative Boundaries and Geocoding Error on Cancer Rates in California

PubMed Central

Goldberg, Daniel W.; Cockburn, Myles G.

2012-01-01

Geocoding is often used to produce maps of disease rates from the diagnosis addresses of incident cases to assist with disease surveillance, prevention, and control. In this process, diagnosis addresses are converted into latitude/longitude pairs which are then aggregated to produce rates at varying geographic scales such as Census tracts, neighborhoods, cities, counties, and states. The specific techniques used within geocoding systems have an impact on where the output geocode is located and can therefore have an effect on the derivation of disease rates at different geographic aggregations. This paper investigates how county-level cancer rates are affected by the choice of interpolation method when case data are geocoded to the ZIP code level. Four commonly used areal unit interpolation techniques are applied and the output of each is used to compute crude county-level five-year incidence rates of all cancers in California. We found that the rates observed for 44 out of the 58 counties in California vary based on which interpolation method is used, with rates in some counties increasing by nearly 400% between interpolation methods. PMID:22469490

Geocoding and social marketing in Alabama's cancer prevention programs.

PubMed

Miner, Julianna W; White, Arica; Lubenow, Anne E; Palmer, Sally

2005-11-01

The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) is collaborating with the National Cancer Institute to develop detailed profiles of underserved Alabama communities most at risk for cancer. These profiles will be combined with geocoded data to create a pilot project, Cancer Prevention for Alabama's Underserved Populations: A Focused Approach. The project's objectives are to provide the ADPH's cancer prevention programs with a more accurate and cost-effective means of planning, implementing, and evaluating its prevention activities in an outcomes-oriented and population-appropriate manner. The project links geocoded data from the Alabama Statewide Cancer Registry with profiles generated by the National Cancer Institute's cancer profiling system, Consumer Health Profiles. These profiles have been successfully applied to market-focused cancer prevention messages across the United States. The ADPH and the National Cancer Institute will evaluate the efficacy of using geocoded data and lifestyle segmentation information in strategy development and program implementation. Alabama is the first state in the nation not only to link geocoded cancer registry data with lifestyle segmentation data but also to use the National Cancer Institute's profiles and methodology in combination with actual state data.

The effect of administrative boundaries and geocoding error on cancer rates in California.

PubMed

Goldberg, Daniel W; Cockburn, Myles G

2012-04-01

Geocoding is often used to produce maps of disease rates from the diagnosis addresses of incident cases to assist with disease surveillance, prevention, and control. In this process, diagnosis addresses are converted into latitude/longitude pairs which are then aggregated to produce rates at varying geographic scales such as Census tracts, neighborhoods, cities, counties, and states. The specific techniques used within geocoding systems have an impact on where the output geocode is located and can therefore have an effect on the derivation of disease rates at different geographic aggregations. This paper investigates how county-level cancer rates are affected by the choice of interpolation method when case data are geocoded to the ZIP code level. Four commonly used areal unit interpolation techniques are applied and the output of each is used to compute crude county-level five-year incidence rates of all cancers in California. We found that the rates observed for 44 out of the 58 counties in California vary based on which interpolation method is used, with rates in some counties increasing by nearly 400% between interpolation methods. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Using Geocoded Databases in Teaching Urban Historical Geography.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Roger P.

1986-01-01

Provides information regarding hardware and software requirements for using geocoded databases in urban historical geography. Reviews 11 IBM and Apple Macintosh database programs and describes the pen plotter and digitizing table interface used with the databases. (JDH)

A study protocol to evaluate the relationship between outdoor air pollution and pregnancy outcomes

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background The present study protocol is designed to assess the relationship between outdoor air pollution and low birth weight and preterm births outcomes performing a semi-ecological analysis. Semi-ecological design studies are widely used to assess effects of air pollution in humans. In this type of analysis, health outcomes and covariates are measured in individuals and exposure assignments are usually based on air quality monitor stations. Therefore, estimating individual exposures are one of the major challenges when investigating these relationships with a semi-ecologic design. Methods/Design Semi-ecologic study consisting of a retrospective cohort study with ecologic assignment of exposure is applied. Health outcomes and covariates are collected at Primary Health Care Center. Data from pregnant registry, clinical record and specific questionnaire administered orally to the mothers of children born in period 2007-2010 in Portuguese Alentejo Litoral region, are collected by the research team. Outdoor air pollution data are collected with a lichen diversity biomonitoring program, and individual pregnancy exposures are assessed with spatial geostatistical simulation, which provides the basis for uncertainty analysis of individual exposures. Awareness of outdoor air pollution uncertainty will improve validity of individual exposures assignments for further statistical analysis with multivariate regression models. Discussion Exposure misclassification is an issue of concern in semi-ecological design. In this study, personal exposures are assigned to each pregnant using geocoded addresses data. A stochastic simulation method is applied to lichen diversity values index measured at biomonitoring survey locations, in order to assess spatial uncertainty of lichen diversity value index at each geocoded address. These methods assume a model for spatial autocorrelation of exposure and provide a distribution of exposures in each study location. We believe that variability of simulated exposure values at geocoded addresses will improve knowledge on variability of exposures, improving therefore validity of individual exposures to input in posterior statistical analysis. PMID:20950449

A study protocol to evaluate the relationship between outdoor air pollution and pregnancy outcomes.

PubMed

Ribeiro, Manuel C; Pereira, Maria J; Soares, Amílcar; Branquinho, Cristina; Augusto, Sofia; Llop, Esteve; Fonseca, Susana; Nave, Joaquim G; Tavares, António B; Dias, Carlos M; Silva, Ana; Selemane, Ismael; de Toro, Joaquin; Santos, Mário J; Santos, Fernanda

2010-10-15

The present study protocol is designed to assess the relationship between outdoor air pollution and low birth weight and preterm births outcomes performing a semi-ecological analysis. Semi-ecological design studies are widely used to assess effects of air pollution in humans. In this type of analysis, health outcomes and covariates are measured in individuals and exposure assignments are usually based on air quality monitor stations. Therefore, estimating individual exposures are one of the major challenges when investigating these relationships with a semi-ecologic design. Semi-ecologic study consisting of a retrospective cohort study with ecologic assignment of exposure is applied. Health outcomes and covariates are collected at Primary Health Care Center. Data from pregnant registry, clinical record and specific questionnaire administered orally to the mothers of children born in period 2007-2010 in Portuguese Alentejo Litoral region, are collected by the research team. Outdoor air pollution data are collected with a lichen diversity biomonitoring program, and individual pregnancy exposures are assessed with spatial geostatistical simulation, which provides the basis for uncertainty analysis of individual exposures. Awareness of outdoor air pollution uncertainty will improve validity of individual exposures assignments for further statistical analysis with multivariate regression models. Exposure misclassification is an issue of concern in semi-ecological design. In this study, personal exposures are assigned to each pregnant using geocoded addresses data. A stochastic simulation method is applied to lichen diversity values index measured at biomonitoring survey locations, in order to assess spatial uncertainty of lichen diversity value index at each geocoded address. These methods assume a model for spatial autocorrelation of exposure and provide a distribution of exposures in each study location. We believe that variability of simulated exposure values at geocoded addresses will improve knowledge on variability of exposures, improving therefore validity of individual exposures to input in posterior statistical analysis.

Impact of geocoding methods on associations between long-term exposure to urban air pollution and lung function.

PubMed

Jacquemin, Bénédicte; Lepeule, Johanna; Boudier, Anne; Arnould, Caroline; Benmerad, Meriem; Chappaz, Claire; Ferran, Joane; Kauffmann, Francine; Morelli, Xavier; Pin, Isabelle; Pison, Christophe; Rios, Isabelle; Temam, Sofia; Künzli, Nino; Slama, Rémy; Siroux, Valérie

2013-09-01

Errors in address geocodes may affect estimates of the effects of air pollution on health. We investigated the impact of four geocoding techniques on the association between urban air pollution estimated with a fine-scale (10 m × 10 m) dispersion model and lung function in adults. We measured forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) in 354 adult residents of Grenoble, France, who were participants in two well-characterized studies, the Epidemiological Study on the Genetics and Environment on Asthma (EGEA) and the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS). Home addresses were geocoded using individual building matching as the reference approach and three spatial interpolation approaches. We used a dispersion model to estimate mean PM10 and nitrogen dioxide concentrations at each participant's address during the 12 months preceding their lung function measurements. Associations between exposures and lung function parameters were adjusted for individual confounders and same-day exposure to air pollutants. The geocoding techniques were compared with regard to geographical distances between coordinates, exposure estimates, and associations between the estimated exposures and health effects. Median distances between coordinates estimated using the building matching and the three interpolation techniques were 26.4, 27.9, and 35.6 m. Compared with exposure estimates based on building matching, PM10 concentrations based on the three interpolation techniques tended to be overestimated. When building matching was used to estimate exposures, a one-interquartile range increase in PM10 (3.0 μg/m3) was associated with a 3.72-point decrease in FVC% predicted (95% CI: -0.56, -6.88) and a 3.86-point decrease in FEV1% predicted (95% CI: -0.14, -3.24). The magnitude of associations decreased when other geocoding approaches were used [e.g., for FVC% predicted -2.81 (95% CI: -0.26, -5.35) using NavTEQ, or 2.08 (95% CI -4.63, 0.47, p = 0.11) using Google Maps]. Our findings suggest that the choice of geocoding technique may influence estimated health effects when air pollution exposures are estimated using a fine-scale exposure model.

Effect of geocoding errors on traffic-related air pollutant exposure and concentration estimates

EPA Science Inventory

Exposure to traffic-related air pollutants is highest very near roads, and thus exposure estimates are sensitive to positional errors. This study evaluates positional and PM2.5 concentration errors that result from the use of automated geocoding methods and from linearized approx...

A geo-coded inventory of anophelines in the Afrotropical Region south of the Sahara: 1898-2016.

PubMed

Kyalo, David; Amratia, Punam; Mundia, Clara W; Mbogo, Charles M; Coetzee, Maureen; Snow, Robert W

2017-01-01

Background : Understanding the distribution of anopheline vectors of malaria is an important prelude to the design of national malaria control and elimination programmes. A single, geo-coded continental inventory of anophelines using all available published and unpublished data has not been undertaken since the 1960s. Methods : We have searched African, European and World Health Organization archives to identify unpublished reports on anopheline surveys in 48 sub-Saharan Africa countries. This search was supplemented by identification of reports that formed part of post-graduate theses, conference abstracts, regional insecticide resistance databases and more traditional bibliographic searches of peer-reviewed literature. Finally, a check was made against two recent repositories of dominant malaria vector species locations ( circa 2,500). Each report was used to extract information on the survey dates, village locations (geo-coded to provide a longitude and latitude), sampling methods, species identification methods and all anopheline species found present during the survey. Survey records were collapsed to a single site over time.    Results : The search strategy took years and resulted in 13,331 unique, geo-coded survey locations of anopheline vector occurrence between 1898 and 2016. A total of 12,204 (92%) sites reported the presence of 10 dominant vector species/sibling species; 4,473 (37%) of these sites were sampled since 2005. 4,442 (33%) sites reported at least one of 13 possible secondary vector species; 1,107 (25%) of these sites were sampled since 2005. Distributions of dominant and secondary vectors conform to previous descriptions of the ecological ranges of these vectors. Conclusion : We have assembled the largest ever geo-coded database of anophelines in Africa, representing a legacy dataset for future updating and identification of knowledge gaps at national levels. The geo-coded database is available on Harvard Dataverse as a reference source for African national malaria control programmes planning their future control and elimination strategies.

A geo-coded inventory of anophelines in the Afrotropical Region south of the Sahara: 1898-2016

PubMed Central

Kyalo, David; Amratia, Punam; Mundia, Clara W.; Mbogo, Charles M.; Coetzee, Maureen; Snow, Robert W.

2017-01-01

Background: Understanding the distribution of anopheline vectors of malaria is an important prelude to the design of national malaria control and elimination programmes. A single, geo-coded continental inventory of anophelines using all available published and unpublished data has not been undertaken since the 1960s. Methods: We have searched African, European and World Health Organization archives to identify unpublished reports on anopheline surveys in 48 sub-Saharan Africa countries. This search was supplemented by identification of reports that formed part of post-graduate theses, conference abstracts, regional insecticide resistance databases and more traditional bibliographic searches of peer-reviewed literature. Finally, a check was made against two recent repositories of dominant malaria vector species locations ( circa 2,500). Each report was used to extract information on the survey dates, village locations (geo-coded to provide a longitude and latitude), sampling methods, species identification methods and all anopheline species found present during the survey. Survey records were collapsed to a single site over time.    Results: The search strategy took years and resulted in 13,331 unique, geo-coded survey locations of anopheline vector occurrence between 1898 and 2016. A total of 12,204 (92%) sites reported the presence of 10 dominant vector species/sibling species; 4,473 (37%) of these sites were sampled since 2005. 4,442 (33%) sites reported at least one of 13 possible secondary vector species; 1,107 (25%) of these sites were sampled since 2005. Distributions of dominant and secondary vectors conform to previous descriptions of the ecological ranges of these vectors. Conclusion: We have assembled the largest ever geo-coded database of anophelines in Africa, representing a legacy dataset for future updating and identification of knowledge gaps at national levels. The geo-coded database is available on Harvard Dataverse as a reference source for African national malaria control programmes planning their future control and elimination strategies. PMID:28884158

Impact of Geocoding Methods on Associations between Long-term Exposure to Urban Air Pollution and Lung Function

PubMed Central

Jacquemin, Bénédicte; Lepeule, Johanna; Boudier, Anne; Arnould, Caroline; Benmerad, Meriem; Chappaz, Claire; Ferran, Joane; Kauffmann, Francine; Morelli, Xavier; Pin, Isabelle; Pison, Christophe; Rios, Isabelle; Temam, Sofia; Künzli, Nino; Slama, Rémy

2013-01-01

Background: Errors in address geocodes may affect estimates of the effects of air pollution on health. Objective: We investigated the impact of four geocoding techniques on the association between urban air pollution estimated with a fine-scale (10 m × 10 m) dispersion model and lung function in adults. Methods: We measured forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) in 354 adult residents of Grenoble, France, who were participants in two well-characterized studies, the Epidemiological Study on the Genetics and Environment on Asthma (EGEA) and the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS). Home addresses were geocoded using individual building matching as the reference approach and three spatial interpolation approaches. We used a dispersion model to estimate mean PM10 and nitrogen dioxide concentrations at each participant’s address during the 12 months preceding their lung function measurements. Associations between exposures and lung function parameters were adjusted for individual confounders and same-day exposure to air pollutants. The geocoding techniques were compared with regard to geographical distances between coordinates, exposure estimates, and associations between the estimated exposures and health effects. Results: Median distances between coordinates estimated using the building matching and the three interpolation techniques were 26.4, 27.9, and 35.6 m. Compared with exposure estimates based on building matching, PM10 concentrations based on the three interpolation techniques tended to be overestimated. When building matching was used to estimate exposures, a one-interquartile range increase in PM10 (3.0 μg/m3) was associated with a 3.72-point decrease in FVC% predicted (95% CI: –0.56, –6.88) and a 3.86-point decrease in FEV1% predicted (95% CI: –0.14, –3.24). The magnitude of associations decreased when other geocoding approaches were used [e.g., for FVC% predicted –2.81 (95% CI: –0.26, –5.35) using NavTEQ, or 2.08 (95% CI –4.63, 0.47, p = 0.11) using Google Maps]. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the choice of geocoding technique may influence estimated health effects when air pollution exposures are estimated using a fine-scale exposure model. Citation: Jacquemin B, Lepeule J, Boudier A, Arnould C, Benmerad M, Chappaz C, Ferran J, Kauffmann F, Morelli X, Pin I, Pison C, Rios I, Temam S, Künzli N, Slama R, Siroux V. 2013. Impact of geocoding methods on associations between long-term exposure to urban air pollution and lung function. Environ Health Perspect 121:1054–1060; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1206016 PMID:23823697

Teaching Ethics When Working with Geocoded Data: A Novel Experiential Learning Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van den Bemt, Vera; Doornbos, Julia; Meijering, Louise; Plegt, Marion; Theunissen, Nicky

2018-01-01

Research ethics are not the favourite subject of most undergraduate geography students. However, in the light of increasing mixed-methods research, as well as research using geocodes, it is necessary to train students in the field of ethics. Experiential learning is an approach to teaching that is potentially suitable for teaching ethics. The aim…

Positional accuracy and geographic bias of four methods of geocoding in epidemiologic research.

PubMed

Schootman, Mario; Sterling, David A; Struthers, James; Yan, Yan; Laboube, Ted; Emo, Brett; Higgs, Gary

2007-06-01

We examined the geographic bias of four methods of geocoding addresses using ArcGIS, commercial firm, SAS/GIS, and aerial photography. We compared "point-in-polygon" (ArcGIS, commercial firm, and aerial photography) and the "look-up table" method (SAS/GIS) to allocate addresses to census geography, particularly as it relates to census-based poverty rates. We randomly selected 299 addresses of children treated for asthma at an urban emergency department (1999-2001). The coordinates of the building address side door were obtained by constant offset based on ArcGIS and a commercial firm and true ground location based on aerial photography. Coordinates were available for 261 addresses across all methods. For 24% to 30% of geocoded road/door coordinates the positional error was 51 meters or greater, which was similar across geocoding methods. The mean bearing was -26.8 degrees for the vector of coordinates based on aerial photography and ArcGIS and 8.5 degrees for the vector based on aerial photography and the commercial firm (p < 0.0001). ArcGIS and the commercial firm performed very well relative to SAS/GIS in terms of allocation to census geography. For 20%, the door location based on aerial photography was assigned to a different block group compared to SAS/GIS. The block group poverty rate varied at least two standard deviations for 6% to 7% of addresses. We found important differences in distance and bearing between geocoding relative to aerial photography. Allocation of locations based on aerial photography to census-based geographic areas could lead to substantial errors.

Ensuring Confidentiality of Geocoded Health Data: Assessing Geographic Masking Strategies for Individual-Level Data.

PubMed

Zandbergen, Paul A

2014-01-01

Public health datasets increasingly use geographic identifiers such as an individual's address. Geocoding these addresses often provides new insights since it becomes possible to examine spatial patterns and associations. Address information is typically considered confidential and is therefore not released or shared with others. Publishing maps with the locations of individuals, however, may also breach confidentiality since addresses and associated identities can be discovered through reverse geocoding. One commonly used technique to protect confidentiality when releasing individual-level geocoded data is geographic masking. This typically consists of applying a certain amount of random perturbation in a systematic manner to reduce the risk of reidentification. A number of geographic masking techniques have been developed as well as methods to quantity the risk of reidentification associated with a particular masking method. This paper presents a review of the current state-of-the-art in geographic masking, summarizing the various methods and their strengths and weaknesses. Despite recent progress, no universally accepted or endorsed geographic masking technique has emerged. Researchers on the other hand are publishing maps using geographic masking of confidential locations. Any researcher publishing such maps is advised to become familiar with the different masking techniques available and their associated reidentification risks.

Integrating Address Geocoding, Land Use Regression, and Spatiotemporal Geostatistical Estimation for Groundwater Tetrachloroethylene

PubMed Central

Messier, Kyle P.; Akita, Yasuyuki; Serre, Marc L.

2012-01-01

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) based techniques are cost-effective and efficient methods used by state agencies and epidemiology researchers for estimating concentration and exposure. However, budget limitations have made statewide assessments of contamination difficult, especially in groundwater media. Many studies have implemented address geocoding, land use regression, and geostatistics independently, but this is the first to examine the benefits of integrating these GIS techniques to address the need of statewide exposure assessments. A novel framework for concentration exposure is introduced that integrates address geocoding, land use regression (LUR), below detect data modeling, and Bayesian Maximum Entropy (BME). A LUR model was developed for Tetrachloroethylene that accounts for point sources and flow direction. We then integrate the LUR model into the BME method as a mean trend while also modeling below detects data as a truncated Gaussian probability distribution function. We increase available PCE data 4.7 times from previously available databases through multistage geocoding. The LUR model shows significant influence of dry cleaners at short ranges. The integration of the LUR model as mean trend in BME results in a 7.5% decrease in cross validation mean square error compared to BME with a constant mean trend. PMID:22264162

Integrating address geocoding, land use regression, and spatiotemporal geostatistical estimation for groundwater tetrachloroethylene.

PubMed

Messier, Kyle P; Akita, Yasuyuki; Serre, Marc L

2012-03-06

Geographic information systems (GIS) based techniques are cost-effective and efficient methods used by state agencies and epidemiology researchers for estimating concentration and exposure. However, budget limitations have made statewide assessments of contamination difficult, especially in groundwater media. Many studies have implemented address geocoding, land use regression, and geostatistics independently, but this is the first to examine the benefits of integrating these GIS techniques to address the need of statewide exposure assessments. A novel framework for concentration exposure is introduced that integrates address geocoding, land use regression (LUR), below detect data modeling, and Bayesian Maximum Entropy (BME). A LUR model was developed for tetrachloroethylene that accounts for point sources and flow direction. We then integrate the LUR model into the BME method as a mean trend while also modeling below detects data as a truncated Gaussian probability distribution function. We increase available PCE data 4.7 times from previously available databases through multistage geocoding. The LUR model shows significant influence of dry cleaners at short ranges. The integration of the LUR model as mean trend in BME results in a 7.5% decrease in cross validation mean square error compared to BME with a constant mean trend.

[Comparison of Google and Yahoo applications for geocoding of postal addresses in epidemiological studies].

PubMed

Quesada, Jose Antonio; Nolasco, Andreu; Moncho, Joaquín

2013-01-01

Geocoding is the assignment of geographic coordinates to spatial points, which often are postal addresses. The error made in applying this process can introduce bias in estimates of spatiotemporal models in epidemiological studies. No studies have been found to measure the error made in applying this process in Spanish cities. The objective is to evaluate the errors in magnitude and direction from two free sources (Google and Yahoo) with regard to a GPS in two Spanish cities. 30 addresses were geocoded with those two sources and the GPS in Santa Pola (Alicante) and Alicante city. The distances were calculated in metres (median, CI95%) between the sources and the GPS, globally and according to the status reported by each source. The directionality of the error was evaluated by calculating the location quadrant and applying a Chi-Square test. The GPS error was evaluated by geocoding 11 addresses twice at 4 days interval. The overall median in Google-GPS was 23,2 metres (16,0-32,1) for Santa Pola, and 21,4 meters (14,9-31,1) for Alicante. The overall median in Yahoo was 136,0 meters (19,2-318,5) for Santa Pola, and 23,8 meters (13,6- 29,2) for Alicante. Between the 73% and 90% were geocoded by status as "exact or interpolated" (minor error), where Goggle and Yahoo had a median error between 19 and 23 metres in the two cities. The GPS had a median error of 13.8 meters (6,7-17,8). No error directionality was detected. Google error is acceptable and stable in the two cities, so that it is a reliable source for Para medir elgeocoding addresses in Spain in epidemiological studies.

Forest pests and home values: The importance of accuracy in damage assessment and geocoding of properties

Treesearch

Klaus Moeltner; Christine E. Blinn; Thomas P. Holmes

2017-01-01

We examine the impact of measurement errors in geocoding of property locations and in the assessment of Mountain Pine Beetle-induced tree damage within the proximity of a given residence on estimated losses in home values. For our sample of homes in the wildland-urban interface of the Colorado front range and using a novel matching estimator with Bayesian regression...

Ensuring Confidentiality of Geocoded Health Data: Assessing Geographic Masking Strategies for Individual-Level Data

PubMed Central

Zandbergen, Paul A.

2014-01-01

Public health datasets increasingly use geographic identifiers such as an individual's address. Geocoding these addresses often provides new insights since it becomes possible to examine spatial patterns and associations. Address information is typically considered confidential and is therefore not released or shared with others. Publishing maps with the locations of individuals, however, may also breach confidentiality since addresses and associated identities can be discovered through reverse geocoding. One commonly used technique to protect confidentiality when releasing individual-level geocoded data is geographic masking. This typically consists of applying a certain amount of random perturbation in a systematic manner to reduce the risk of reidentification. A number of geographic masking techniques have been developed as well as methods to quantity the risk of reidentification associated with a particular masking method. This paper presents a review of the current state-of-the-art in geographic masking, summarizing the various methods and their strengths and weaknesses. Despite recent progress, no universally accepted or endorsed geographic masking technique has emerged. Researchers on the other hand are publishing maps using geographic masking of confidential locations. Any researcher publishing such maps is advised to become familiar with the different masking techniques available and their associated reidentification risks. PMID:26556417

Spatializing 6,000 years of global urbanization from 3700 BC to AD 2000

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reba, Meredith; Reitsma, Femke; Seto, Karen C.

2016-06-01

How were cities distributed globally in the past? How many people lived in these cities? How did cities influence their local and regional environments? In order to understand the current era of urbanization, we must understand long-term historical urbanization trends and patterns. However, to date there is no comprehensive record of spatially explicit, historic, city-level population data at the global scale. Here, we developed the first spatially explicit dataset of urban settlements from 3700 BC to AD 2000, by digitizing, transcribing, and geocoding historical, archaeological, and census-based urban population data previously published in tabular form by Chandler and Modelski. The dataset creation process also required data cleaning and harmonization procedures to make the data internally consistent. Additionally, we created a reliability ranking for each geocoded location to assess the geographic uncertainty of each data point. The dataset provides the first spatially explicit archive of the location and size of urban populations over the last 6,000 years and can contribute to an improved understanding of contemporary and historical urbanization trends.

Spatializing 6,000 years of global urbanization from 3700 BC to AD 2000

PubMed Central

Reba, Meredith; Reitsma, Femke; Seto, Karen C.

2016-01-01

How were cities distributed globally in the past? How many people lived in these cities? How did cities influence their local and regional environments? In order to understand the current era of urbanization, we must understand long-term historical urbanization trends and patterns. However, to date there is no comprehensive record of spatially explicit, historic, city-level population data at the global scale. Here, we developed the first spatially explicit dataset of urban settlements from 3700 BC to AD 2000, by digitizing, transcribing, and geocoding historical, archaeological, and census-based urban population data previously published in tabular form by Chandler and Modelski. The dataset creation process also required data cleaning and harmonization procedures to make the data internally consistent. Additionally, we created a reliability ranking for each geocoded location to assess the geographic uncertainty of each data point. The dataset provides the first spatially explicit archive of the location and size of urban populations over the last 6,000 years and can contribute to an improved understanding of contemporary and historical urbanization trends. PMID:27271481

Use of attribute association error probability estimates to evaluate quality of medical record geocodes.

PubMed

Klaus, Christian A; Carrasco, Luis E; Goldberg, Daniel W; Henry, Kevin A; Sherman, Recinda L

2015-09-15

The utility of patient attributes associated with the spatiotemporal analysis of medical records lies not just in their values but also the strength of association between them. Estimating the extent to which a hierarchy of conditional probability exists between patient attribute associations such as patient identifying fields, patient and date of diagnosis, and patient and address at diagnosis is fundamental to estimating the strength of association between patient and geocode, and patient and enumeration area. We propose a hierarchy for the attribute associations within medical records that enable spatiotemporal relationships. We also present a set of metrics that store attribute association error probability (AAEP), to estimate error probability for all attribute associations upon which certainty in a patient geocode depends. A series of experiments were undertaken to understand how error estimation could be operationalized within health data and what levels of AAEP in real data reveal themselves using these methods. Specifically, the goals of this evaluation were to (1) assess if the concept of our error assessment techniques could be implemented by a population-based cancer registry; (2) apply the techniques to real data from a large health data agency and characterize the observed levels of AAEP; and (3) demonstrate how detected AAEP might impact spatiotemporal health research. We present an evaluation of AAEP metrics generated for cancer cases in a North Carolina county. We show examples of how we estimated AAEP for selected attribute associations and circumstances. We demonstrate the distribution of AAEP in our case sample across attribute associations, and demonstrate ways in which disease registry specific operations influence the prevalence of AAEP estimates for specific attribute associations. The effort to detect and store estimates of AAEP is worthwhile because of the increase in confidence fostered by the attribute association level approach to the assessment of uncertainty in patient geocodes, relative to existing geocoding related uncertainty metrics.

Risk factors for differential outcome following directly observed treatment (DOT) of slum and non-slum tuberculosis patients: a retrospective cohort study.

PubMed

Snyder, Robert E; Marlow, Mariel A; Phuphanich, Melissa E; Riley, Lee W; Maciel, Ethel Leonor Noia

2016-09-20

Brazil's National Tuberculosis Control Program seeks to improve tuberculosis (TB) treatment in vulnerable populations. Slum residents are more vulnerable to TB due to a variety of factors, including their overcrowded living conditions, substandard infrastructure, and limited access to healthcare compared to their non-slum dwelling counterparts. Directly observed treatment (DOT) has been suggested to improve TB treatment outcomes among vulnerable populations, but the program's differential effectiveness among urban slum and non-slum residents is not known. We retrospectively compared the impact of DOT on TB treatment outcome in residents of slum and non-slum census tracts in Rio de Janeiro reported to the Brazilian Notifiable Disease Database in 2010. Patient residential addresses were geocoded to census tracts from the 2010 Brazilian Census, which were identified as slum (aglomerados subnormais -AGSN) and non-slum (non-AGSN) by the Census Bureau. Homeless and incarcerated cases as well as those geocoded outside the city's limits were excluded from analysis. In 2010, 6,601 TB cases were geocoded within Rio de Janeiro; 1,874 (27.4 %) were residents of AGSN, and 4,794 (72.6 %) did not reside in an AGSN area. DOT coverage among AGSN cases was 35.2 % (n = 638), while the coverage in non-AGSN cases was 26.2 % (n = 1,234). Clinical characteristics, treatment, follow-up, cure, death and abandonment were similar in both AGSN and non-AGSN TB patients. After adjusting for covariates, AGSN TB cases on DOT had 1.67 (95 % CI: 1.17, 2.4) times the risk of cure, 0.61 (95 % CI: 0.41, 0.90) times the risk of abandonment, and 0.1 (95 % CI: 0.01, 0.77) times the risk of death from TB compared to non-AGSN TB cases not on DOT. While DOT coverage was low among TB cases in both AGSN and non-AGSN communities, it had a greater impact on TB cure rate in AGSN than in non-AGSN populations in the city of Rio de Janeiro.

A cross-sectional ecological analysis of international and sub-national health inequalities in commercial geospatial resource availability.

PubMed

Dotse-Gborgbortsi, Winfred; Wardrop, Nicola; Adewole, Ademola; Thomas, Mair L H; Wright, Jim

2018-05-23

Commercial geospatial data resources are frequently used to understand healthcare utilisation. Although there is widespread evidence of a digital divide for other digital resources and infra-structure, it is unclear how commercial geospatial data resources are distributed relative to health need. To examine the distribution of commercial geospatial data resources relative to health needs, we assembled coverage and quality metrics for commercial geocoding, neighbourhood characterisation, and travel time calculation resources for 183 countries. We developed a country-level, composite index of commercial geospatial data quality/availability and examined its distribution relative to age-standardised all-cause and cause specific (for three main causes of death) mortality using two inequality metrics, the slope index of inequality and relative concentration index. In two sub-national case studies, we also examined geocoding success rates versus area deprivation by district in Eastern Region, Ghana and Lagos State, Nigeria. Internationally, commercial geospatial data resources were inversely related to all-cause mortality. This relationship was more pronounced when examining mortality due to communicable diseases. Commercial geospatial data resources for calculating patient travel times were more equitably distributed relative to health need than resources for characterising neighbourhoods or geocoding patient addresses. Countries such as South Africa have comparatively high commercial geospatial data availability despite high mortality, whilst countries such as South Korea have comparatively low data availability and low mortality. Sub-nationally, evidence was mixed as to whether geocoding success was lowest in more deprived districts. To our knowledge, this is the first global analysis of commercial geospatial data resources in relation to health outcomes. In countries such as South Africa where there is high mortality but also comparatively rich commercial geospatial data, these data resources are a potential resource for examining healthcare utilisation that requires further evaluation. In countries such as Sierra Leone where there is high mortality but minimal commercial geospatial data, alternative approaches such as open data use are needed in quantifying patient travel times, geocoding patient addresses, and characterising patients' neighbourhoods.

Using the Bayesian Improved Surname Geocoding Method (BISG) to create a working classification of race and ethnicity in a diverse managed care population: a validation study.

PubMed

Adjaye-Gbewonyo, Dzifa; Bednarczyk, Robert A; Davis, Robert L; Omer, Saad B

2014-02-01

To validate classification of race/ethnicity based on the Bayesian Improved Surname Geocoding method (BISG) and assess variations in validity by gender and age. Secondary data on members of Kaiser Permanente Georgia, an integrated managed care organization, through 2010. For 191,494 members with self-reported race/ethnicity, probabilities for belonging to each of six race/ethnicity categories predicted from the BISG algorithm were used to assign individuals to a race/ethnicity category over a range of cutoffs greater than a probability of 0.50. Overall as well as gender- and age-stratified sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated and used to identify optimal cutoffs for race/ethnicity assignment. The overall cutoffs for assignment that optimized sensitivity and specificity ranged from 0.50 to 0.57 for the four main racial/ethnic categories (White, Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic). Corresponding sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV ranged from 64.4 to 81.4 percent, 80.8 to 99.7 percent, 75.0 to 91.6 percent, and 79.4 to 98.0 percent, respectively. Accuracy of assignment was better among males and individuals of 65 years or older. BISG may be useful for classifying race/ethnicity of health plan members when needed for health care studies. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

Geotemporal Analysis of Neisseria meningitidis Clones in the United States: 2000–2005

PubMed Central

Wiringa, Ann E.; Shutt, Kathleen A.; Marsh, Jane W.; Cohn, Amanda C.; Messonnier, Nancy E.; Zansky, Shelley M.; Petit, Susan; Farley, Monica M.; Gershman, Ken; Lynfield, Ruth; Reingold, Arthur; Schaffner, William; Thompson, Jamie; Brown, Shawn T.; Lee, Bruce Y.; Harrison, Lee H.

2013-01-01

Background The detection of meningococcal outbreaks relies on serogrouping and epidemiologic definitions. Advances in molecular epidemiology have improved the ability to distinguish unique Neisseria meningitidis strains, enabling the classification of isolates into clones. Around 98% of meningococcal cases in the United States are believed to be sporadic. Methods Meningococcal isolates from 9 Active Bacterial Core surveillance sites throughout the United States from 2000 through 2005 were classified according to serogroup, multilocus sequence typing, and outer membrane protein (porA, porB, and fetA) genotyping. Clones were defined as isolates that were indistinguishable according to this characterization. Case data were aggregated to the census tract level and all non-singleton clones were assessed for non-random spatial and temporal clustering using retrospective space-time analyses with a discrete Poisson probability model. Results Among 1,062 geocoded cases with available isolates, 438 unique clones were identified, 78 of which had ≥2 isolates. 702 cases were attributable to non-singleton clones, accounting for 66.0% of all geocoded cases. 32 statistically significant clusters comprised of 107 cases (10.1% of all geocoded cases) were identified. Clusters had the following attributes: included 2 to 11 cases; 1 day to 33 months duration; radius of 0 to 61.7 km; and attack rate of 0.7 to 57.8 cases per 100,000 population. Serogroups represented among the clusters were: B (n = 12 clusters, 45 cases), C (n = 11 clusters, 27 cases), and Y (n = 9 clusters, 35 cases); 20 clusters (62.5%) were caused by serogroups represented in meningococcal vaccines that are commercially available in the United States. Conclusions Around 10% of meningococcal disease cases in the U.S. could be assigned to a geotemporal cluster. Molecular characterization of isolates, combined with geotemporal analysis, is a useful tool for understanding the spread of virulent meningococcal clones and patterns of transmission in populations. PMID:24349182

AOIPS water resources data management system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Merritt, E. S.; Shotwell, R. L.; Place, M. C.; Belknap, N. J.

1976-01-01

A geocoded data management system applicable for hydrological applications was designed to demonstrate the utility of the Atmospheric and Oceanographic Information Processing System (AOIPS) for hydrological applications. Within that context, the geocoded hydrology data management system was designed to take advantage of the interactive capability of the AOIPS hardware. Portions of the Water Resource Data Management System which best demonstrate the interactive nature of the hydrology data management system were implemented on the AOIPS. A hydrological case study was prepared using all data supplied for the Bear River watershed located in northwest Utah, southeast Idaho, and western Wyoming.

Preventable injury deaths: identifying opportunities to improve timeliness and reach of emergency healthcare services in New Zealand.

PubMed

Lilley, Rebbecca; Kool, Bridget; Davie, Gabrielle; de Graaf, Brandon; Ameratunga, Shanthi N; Reid, Pararangi; Civil, Ian; Dicker, Bridget; Branas, Charles C

2017-02-09

Traumatic injury is a leading cause of premature death and health loss in New Zealand. Outcomes following injury are very time sensitive, and timely access of critically injured patients to advanced hospital trauma care services can improve injury survival. This cross-sectional study will investigate the epidemiology and geographic location of prehospital fatal injury deaths in relation to access to prehospital emergency services for the first time in New Zealand. Electronic Coronial case files for the period 2008-2012 will be reviewed to identify cases of prehospital fatal injury across New Zealand. The project will combine epidemiological and geospatial methods in three research phases: (1) identification, enumeration, description and geocoding of prehospital injury deaths using existing electronic injury data sets; (2) geocoding of advanced hospital-level care providers and emergency land and air ambulance services to determine the current theoretical service coverage in a specified time period and (3) synthesising of information from phases I and II using geospatial methods to determine the number of prehospital injury deaths located in areas without timely access to advanced-level hospital care. The findings of this research will identify opportunities to optimise access to advanced-level hospital care in New Zealand to increase the chances of survival from serious injury. The resulting epidemiological and geospatial analyses will represent an advancement of knowledge for injury prevention and health service quality improvement towards better patient outcomes following serious injury in New Zealand and similar countries. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

An image based information system - Architecture for correlating satellite and topological data bases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bryant, N. A.; Zobrist, A. L.

1978-01-01

The paper describes the development of an image based information system and its use to process a Landsat thematic map showing land use or land cover in conjunction with a census tract polygon file to produce a tabulation of land use acreages per census tract. The system permits the efficient cross-tabulation of two or more geo-coded data sets, thereby setting the stage for the practical implementation of models of diffusion processes or cellular transformation. Characteristics of geographic information systems are considered, and functional requirements, such as data management, geocoding, image data management, and data analysis are discussed. The system is described, and the potentialities of its use are examined.

Measuring health-relevant businesses over 21 years: refining the National Establishment Time-Series (NETS), a dynamic longitudinal data set.

PubMed

Kaufman, Tanya K; Sheehan, Daniel M; Rundle, Andrew; Neckerman, Kathryn M; Bader, Michael D M; Jack, Darby; Lovasi, Gina S

2015-09-29

The densities of food retailers, alcohol outlets, physical activity facilities, and medical facilities have been associated with diet, physical activity, and management of medical conditions. Most of the research, however, has relied on cross-sectional studies. In this paper, we assess methodological issues raised by a data source that is increasingly used to characterize change in the local business environment: the National Establishment Time Series (NETS) dataset. Longitudinal data, such as NETS, offer opportunities to assess how differential access to resources impacts population health, to consider correlations among multiple environmental influences across the life course, and to gain a better understanding of their interactions and cumulative health effects. Longitudinal data also introduce new data management, geoprocessing, and business categorization challenges. Examining geocoding accuracy and categorization over 21 years of data in 23 counties surrounding New York City (NY, USA), we find that health-related business environments change considerably over time. We note that re-geocoding data may improve spatial precision, particularly in early years. Our intent with this paper is to make future public health applications of NETS data more efficient, since the size and complexity of the data can be difficult to exploit fully within its 2-year data-licensing period. Further, standardized approaches to NETS and other "big data" will facilitate the veracity and comparability of results across studies.

Farmer data sourcing. The case study of the spatial soil information maps in South Tyrol.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Della Chiesa, Stefano; Niedrist, Georg; Thalheimer, Martin; Hafner, Hansjörg; La Cecilia, Daniele

2017-04-01

Nord-Italian region South Tyrol is Europe's largest apple growing area exporting ca. 15% in Europe and 2% worldwide. Vineyards represent ca. 1% of Italian production. In order to deliver high quality food, most of the farmers in South Tyrol follow sustainable farming practices. One of the key practice is the sustainable soil management, where farmers collect regularly (each 5 years) soil samples and send for analyses to improve cultivation management, yield and finally profitability. However, such data generally remain inaccessible. On this regard, in South Tyrol, private interests and the public administration have established a long tradition of collaboration with the local farming industry. This has granted to the collection of large spatial and temporal database of soil analyses along all the cultivated areas. Thanks to this best practice, information on soil properties are centralized and geocoded. The large dataset consist mainly in soil information of texture, humus content, pH and microelements availability such as, K, Mg, Bor, Mn, Cu Zn. This data was finally spatialized by mean of geostatistical methods and several high-resolution digital maps were created. In this contribution, we present the best practice where farmers data source soil information in South Tyrol. Show the capability of a large spatial-temporal geocoded soil dataset to reproduce detailed digital soil property maps and to assess long-term changes in soil properties. Finally, implication and potential application are discussed.

Drought - A Global Assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lackner, S.; Barnwal, P.; von der Goltz, J.

2013-12-01

We investigate the lasting effects of early childhood exposure to drought on economic and health outcomes in a large multi-country dataset. By pooling all Demographic and Health Survey rounds for which household geocodes are available, we obtain an individual-level dataset covering 47 developing countries. Among other impact measures, we collect infant and child mortality data from 3.3m live births and data on stunting and wasting for 1.2m individuals, along with data on education, employment, wealth, marriage and childbearing later in life for similarly large numbers of respondents. Birth years vary from 1893 to 2012. We seek to improve upon existing work on the socio-economic impact of drought in a number of ways. First, we introduce from the hydrological literature a drought measure, the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), that has been shown to closely proxy the Palmer drought index, but has far less demanding data requirements, and can be obtained globally and for long time periods. We estimate the SPI for 110 years on a global 0.5° grid, which allows us to assign drought histories to the geocoded individual data. Additionally, we leverage our large sample size to explicitly investigate both how drought impacts have changed over time as adaptation occurred at a varying pace in different locations, and the role of the regional extent of drought in determining impacts.

Web-based GIS for spatial pattern detection: application to malaria incidence in Vietnam.

PubMed

Bui, Thanh Quang; Pham, Hai Minh

2016-01-01

There is a great concern on how to build up an interoperable health information system of public health and health information technology within the development of public information and health surveillance programme. Technically, some major issues remain regarding to health data visualization, spatial processing of health data, health information dissemination, data sharing and the access of local communities to health information. In combination with GIS, we propose a technical framework for web-based health data visualization and spatial analysis. Data was collected from open map-servers and geocoded by open data kit package and data geocoding tools. The Web-based system is designed based on Open-source frameworks and libraries. The system provides Web-based analyst tool for pattern detection through three spatial tests: Nearest neighbour, K function, and Spatial Autocorrelation. The result is a web-based GIS, through which end users can detect disease patterns via selecting area, spatial test parameters and contribute to managers and decision makers. The end users can be health practitioners, educators, local communities, health sector authorities and decision makers. This web-based system allows for the improvement of health related services to public sector users as well as citizens in a secure manner. The combination of spatial statistics and web-based GIS can be a solution that helps empower health practitioners in direct and specific intersectional actions, thus provide for better analysis, control and decision-making.

The use of missing birth record data as a marker for adverse reproductive outcomes: a geocoded analysis of birth record data.

PubMed Central

Headley, Adrienne J.; Fulcomer, Mark C.; Bastardi, Matthew M.; Im, Wansoo; Sass, Marcia M.; Chung, Katherine

2006-01-01

Adverse reproductive outcomes (AROs) disproportionately affect black American infants and significantly contribute to the U.S. infant mortality rate. Without accurate understanding of AROs, there remains little hope of ameliorating infant mortality rates or eliminating infant health disparities. However, despite the importance of monitoring infant mortality rates and health disparities, birth record data quality is not assured. Racial disparities in the reporting of birth record data have been documented, and missing birth record data for AROs appears to be disproportionate. Due to the extent of missing birth record data, innovative strategies have been developed to evaluate relationships between maternal socioeconomic status (SES) and community-based ARO rates. Because addresses convey aggregate information about income level, education and occupation, ZIP codes, census tracts and census block-groups have been applied to geocoding efforts. The goals of this study are to: 1) analyze the extent of missing birth record data for New Jersey areas with high rates of an ARO (preterm birth), 2) evaluate associations between the extent of missing birth record data and other AROs, and 3) consider how geocoding strategies could be applied to provide a basis for understanding maternal SES risk factors and ARO resource allocation for at-risk communities. PMID:16895276

Arctic coastal polynya observations with ERS-1 SAR and DMSP SSM/I

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cavalieri, D. J.; Onstott, R. G.

1993-01-01

Work to improve the characterization of the distribution of new and young sea ice types and open water amount within Arctic coastal polynyas through the combined use of ERS-1 SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) and DMSP SSM/I (Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Special Sensor Microwave/Imager) data is described. Two St. Lawrence Island polynya events are studied using low resolution, geocoded SAR images and coincident SSM/I data. The SAR images are analyzed in terms of polarization and spectral gradient ratios. Results of the combined analysis show that the SAR ice type classification is consistent with that from SSM/I and that the combined use of SAR and SSM/I can improve the characterization of thin ice better than either data set can do alone.

Development of an electronic emergency department-based geo-information injury surveillance system in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Chow, C B; Leung, M; Lai, Adela; Chow, Y H; Chung, Joanne; Tong, K M; Lit, Albert

2012-06-01

To describe the experience in the development of an electronic emergency department (ED)-based injury surveillance (IS) system in Hong Kong using data-mining and geo-spatial information technology (IT) for a Safe Community setup. This paper described the phased development of an emergency department-based IS system based on World Health Organization (WHO) injury surveillance Guideline to support safety promotion and injury prevention in a Safe Community in Hong Kong starting 2002. The initial ED data-based only collected data on name, sex, age, address, eight general categories of injury types (traffic, domestic, common assault, indecent assault, batter, industrial, self-harm and sports) and disposal from ED. Phase 1--manual data collection on International Classification of External Causes of Injury pre-event data; Phase 2--manual form was converted to electronic format using web-based data mining technology with built in data quality monitoring mechanism; Phase 3--integration of injury surveillance-data with in-patient hospital information; and Phase 4--geo-spatial information and body mapping were introduced to geo-code exact place of injury in an electronic map and site of injury on body map. It was feasible to develop a geo-spatial IS system at busy ED to collect valuable information for safety promotion and injury prevention at Safe Community setting. The keys for successful development and implementation involves engagement of all stakeholders at design and implementation of the system with injury prevention as ultimate goal, detail workflow planning at front end, support from the management, building on exiting system and appropriate utilisation of modern technology. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reference Manual on Making School Climate Improvements. School Climate Improvement Resource Package, 2017

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yoder, N.; Darling-Churchill, K.; Colombi, G. D.; Ruddy, S.; Neiman, S.; Chagnon, E.; Mayo, R.

2017-01-01

This reference manual identifies five overarching sets of activities for improving school climate, with the goal of improving student outcomes (e.g., achievement, attendance, behaviors, and skills). These sets of activities help to initiate, implement, and sustain school climate improvements. For each activity set, the manual presents a clear…

Intelligent geocoding system to locate traffic crashes.

PubMed

Qin, Xiao; Parker, Steven; Liu, Yi; Graettinger, Andrew J; Forde, Susie

2013-01-01

State agencies continue to face many challenges associated with new federal crash safety and highway performance monitoring requirements that use data from multiple and disparate systems across different platforms and locations. On a national level, the federal government has a long-term vision for State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) to report state route and off-state route crash data in a single network. In general, crashes occurring on state-owned or state maintained highways are a priority at the Federal and State level; therefore, state-route crashes are being geocoded by state DOTs. On the other hand, crashes occurring on off-state highway system do not always get geocoded due to limited resources and techniques. Creating and maintaining a statewide crash geographic information systems (GIS) map with state route and non-state route crashes is a complicated and expensive task. This study introduces an automatic crash mapping process, Crash-Mapping Automation Tool (C-MAT), where an algorithm translates location information from a police report crash record to a geospatial map and creates a pinpoint map for all crashes. The algorithm has approximate 83 percent mapping rate. An important application of this work is the ability to associate the mapped crash records to underlying business data, such as roadway inventory and traffic volumes. The integrated crash map is the foundation for effective and efficient crash analyzes to prevent highway crashes. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Geocoding and stereo display of tropical forest multisensor datasets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Welch, R.; Jordan, T. R.; Luvall, J. C.

1990-01-01

Concern about the future of tropical forests has led to a demand for geocoded multisensor databases that can be used to assess forest structure, deforestation, thermal response, evapotranspiration, and other parameters linked to climate change. In response to studies being conducted at the Braulino Carrillo National Park, Costa Rica, digital satellite and aircraft images recorded by Landsat TM, SPOT HRV, Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner, and Calibrated Airborne Multispectral Scanner sensors were placed in register using the Landsat TM image as the reference map. Despite problems caused by relief, multitemporal datasets, and geometric distortions in the aircraft images, registration was accomplished to within + or - 20 m (+ or - 1 data pixel). A digital elevation model constructed from a multisensor Landsat TM/SPOT stereopair proved useful for generating perspective views of the rugged, forested terrain.

Highway proximity associated with cardiovascular disease risk: the influence of individual-level confounders and exposure misclassification

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Elevated cardiovascular disease risk has been reported with proximity to highways or busy roadways, but proximity measures can be challenging to interpret given potential confounders and exposure error. Methods We conducted a cross sectional analysis of plasma levels of C-Reactive Protein (hsCRP), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha receptor II (TNF-RII) and fibrinogen with distance of residence to a highway in and around Boston, Massachusetts. Distance was assigned using ortho-photo corrected parcel matching, as well as less precise approaches such as simple parcel matching and geocoding addresses to street networks. We used a combined random and convenience sample of 260 adults >40 years old. We screened a large number of individual-level variables including some infrequently collected for assessment of highway proximity, and included a subset in our final regression models. We monitored ultrafine particle (UFP) levels in the study areas to help interpret proximity measures. Results Using the orthophoto corrected geocoding, in a fully adjusted model, hsCRP and IL-6 differed by distance category relative to urban background: 43% (-16%,141%) and 49% (6%,110%) increase for 0-50 m; 7% (-39%,45%) and 41% (6%,86%) for 50-150 m; 54% (-2%,142%) and 18% (-11%,57%) for 150-250 m, and 49% (-4%, 131%) and 42% (6%, 89%) for 250-450 m. There was little evidence for association for TNF-RII or fibrinogen. Ortho-photo corrected geocoding resulted in stronger associations than traditional methods which introduced differential misclassification. Restricted analysis found the effect of proximity on biomarkers was mostly downwind from the highway or upwind where there was considerable local street traffic, consistent with patterns of monitored UFP levels. Conclusion We found associations between highway proximity and both hsCRP and IL-6, with non-monotonic patterns explained partly by individual-level factors and differences between proximity and UFP concentrations. Our analyses emphasize the importance of controlling for the risk of differential exposure misclassification from geocoding error. PMID:24090339

Highway proximity associated with cardiovascular disease risk: the influence of individual-level confounders and exposure misclassification.

PubMed

Brugge, Doug; Lane, Kevin; Padró-Martínez, Luz T; Stewart, Andrea; Hoesterey, Kyle; Weiss, David; Wang, Ding Ding; Levy, Jonathan I; Patton, Allison P; Zamore, Wig; Mwamburi, Mkaya

2013-10-03

Elevated cardiovascular disease risk has been reported with proximity to highways or busy roadways, but proximity measures can be challenging to interpret given potential confounders and exposure error. We conducted a cross sectional analysis of plasma levels of C-Reactive Protein (hsCRP), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha receptor II (TNF-RII) and fibrinogen with distance of residence to a highway in and around Boston, Massachusetts. Distance was assigned using ortho-photo corrected parcel matching, as well as less precise approaches such as simple parcel matching and geocoding addresses to street networks. We used a combined random and convenience sample of 260 adults >40 years old. We screened a large number of individual-level variables including some infrequently collected for assessment of highway proximity, and included a subset in our final regression models. We monitored ultrafine particle (UFP) levels in the study areas to help interpret proximity measures. Using the orthophoto corrected geocoding, in a fully adjusted model, hsCRP and IL-6 differed by distance category relative to urban background: 43% (-16%,141%) and 49% (6%,110%) increase for 0-50 m; 7% (-39%,45%) and 41% (6%,86%) for 50-150 m; 54% (-2%,142%) and 18% (-11%,57%) for 150-250 m, and 49% (-4%, 131%) and 42% (6%, 89%) for 250-450 m. There was little evidence for association for TNF-RII or fibrinogen. Ortho-photo corrected geocoding resulted in stronger associations than traditional methods which introduced differential misclassification. Restricted analysis found the effect of proximity on biomarkers was mostly downwind from the highway or upwind where there was considerable local street traffic, consistent with patterns of monitored UFP levels. We found associations between highway proximity and both hsCRP and IL-6, with non-monotonic patterns explained partly by individual-level factors and differences between proximity and UFP concentrations. Our analyses emphasize the importance of controlling for the risk of differential exposure misclassification from geocoding error.

Geocoding of AIRSAR/TOPSAR SAR Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holecz, Francesco; Lou, Yun-Ling; vanZyl, Jakob

1996-01-01

It has been demonstrated and recognized that radar interferometry is a promising method for the determination of digital elevation information and terrain slope from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data. An important application of Interferometric SAR (InSAR) data in areas with topographic variations is that the derived elevation and slope can be directly used for the absolute radiometric calibration of the amplitude SAR data as well as for scattering mechanisms analysis. On the other hand polarimetric SAR data has long been recognized as permitting a more complete inference of natural surfaces than a single channel radar system. In fact, imaging polarimetry provides the measurement of the amplitude and relative phase of all transmit and receive polarizations. On board the NASA DC-8 aircraft, NASA/JPL operates the multifrequency (P, L and C bands) multipolarimetric radar AIRSAR. The TOPSAR, a special mode of the AIRSAR system, is able to collect single-pass interferometric C- and/or L-band VV polarized data. A possible configuration of the AIRSAR/TOPSAR system is to acquire single-pass interferometric data at C-band VV polarization and polarimetric radar data at the two other lower frequencies. The advantage of this system configuration is to get digital topography information at the same time the radar data is collected. The digital elevation information can therefore be used to correctly calibrate the SAR data. This step is directly included in the new AIRSAR Integrated Processor. This processor uses a modification of the full motion compensation algorithm described by Madsen et al. (1993). However, the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) with the additional products such as local incidence angle map, and the SAR data are in a geometry which is not convenient, since especially DEMs must be referred to a specific cartographic reference system. Furthermore, geocoding of SAR data is important for multisensor and/or multitemporal purposes. In this paper, a procedure to geocode the new AIRSAR/TOPSAR data is presented. As an example an AIRSAR/TOPSAR image acquired in 1994 is geocoded and evaluated in terms of geometric accuracy.

Local indicators of geocoding accuracy (LIGA): theory and application

PubMed Central

Jacquez, Geoffrey M; Rommel, Robert

2009-01-01

Background Although sources of positional error in geographic locations (e.g. geocoding error) used for describing and modeling spatial patterns are widely acknowledged, research on how such error impacts the statistical results has been limited. In this paper we explore techniques for quantifying the perturbability of spatial weights to different specifications of positional error. Results We find that a family of curves describes the relationship between perturbability and positional error, and use these curves to evaluate sensitivity of alternative spatial weight specifications to positional error both globally (when all locations are considered simultaneously) and locally (to identify those locations that would benefit most from increased geocoding accuracy). We evaluate the approach in simulation studies, and demonstrate it using a case-control study of bladder cancer in south-eastern Michigan. Conclusion Three results are significant. First, the shape of the probability distributions of positional error (e.g. circular, elliptical, cross) has little impact on the perturbability of spatial weights, which instead depends on the mean positional error. Second, our methodology allows researchers to evaluate the sensitivity of spatial statistics to positional accuracy for specific geographies. This has substantial practical implications since it makes possible routine sensitivity analysis of spatial statistics to positional error arising in geocoded street addresses, global positioning systems, LIDAR and other geographic data. Third, those locations with high perturbability (most sensitive to positional error) and high leverage (that contribute the most to the spatial weight being considered) will benefit the most from increased positional accuracy. These are rapidly identified using a new visualization tool we call the LIGA scatterplot. Herein lies a paradox for spatial analysis: For a given level of positional error increasing sample density to more accurately follow the underlying population distribution increases perturbability and introduces error into the spatial weights matrix. In some studies positional error may not impact the statistical results, and in others it might invalidate the results. We therefore must understand the relationships between positional accuracy and the perturbability of the spatial weights in order to have confidence in a study's results. PMID:19863795

Energy poverty in healthcare facilities: a "silent barrier" to improved healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa.

PubMed

Ouedraogo, Nadia S; Schimanski, Caroline

2018-06-27

This paper addresses an important topic, energy poverty in healthcare facilities. We try to provide an interesting perspective on bringing together two SDGs. The SDG 7, which seeks to ensure access to affordable, sustainable, and modern energy for all, is interlinked with Goal 3 on Health. The literature studies as well as data on the subject are sparse. Nevertheless, a systematic documentation of the levels and variation in access to energy at the health-facility level is important for designing effective policies to improve the quality of healthcare and the ultimate health of the population. Using the 2012-2013 Senegal Service Provision Assessment (SCSPA), we assessed energy access in health facilities and health systems' performance. Data were also geocoded using ArcGIS 10.3 to give a snapshot of the situation.

a Discussion about Effective Ways of Basic Resident Register on GIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oku, Naoya; Nonaka, Yasuaki; Ito, Yutaka

2016-06-01

In Japan, each municipality keeps a database of every resident's name, address, gender and date of birth called the Basic Resident Register. If the address information in the register is converted into coordinates by geocoding, it can be plotted as point data on a map. This would enable prompt evacuation from disaster, analysis of distribution of residents, integrating statistics and so on. Further, it can be used for not only analysis of the current situation but also future planning. However, the geographic information system (GIS) incorporating the Basic Resident Register is not widely used in Japan because of the following problems: - Geocoding In order to plot address point data, it is necessary to match the Basic Resident Register and the address dictionary by using the address as a key. The information in the Basic Resident Register does not always match the actual addresses. As the register is based on applications made by residents, the information is prone to errors, such as incorrect Kanji characters. - Security policy on personal information In the register, the address of a resident is linked with his/her name and date of birth. If the information in the Basic Resident Register were to be leaked, it could be used for malicious purposes. This paper proposes solutions to the above problems. The suitable solutions for the problems depend on the purpose of use, thus it is important that the purpose should be defined and a suitable way of the application for each purpose should be chosen. In this paper, we mainly focus on the specific purpose of use: to analyse the distribution of the residents. We provide two solutions to improve the matching rate in geocoding. First, regarding errors in Kanji characters, a correction list of possible errors should be compiled in advance. Second, some sort of analyses such as distribution of residents may not require exactly correct position for the address point. Therefore we set the matching level in order: prefecture, city, town, city-block, house-code, house, and decided to accept up to city-block level for the matching. Moreover, in terms of security policy on personal information, some part of information may not be needed for the distribution analysis. For example, the personal information like resident's name should be excluded from the attribute of address point in order to secure the safety operation of the system.

Health information system strengthening and malaria elimination in Papua New Guinea.

PubMed

Rosewell, Alexander; Makita, Leo; Muscatello, David; John, Lucy Ninmongo; Bieb, Sibauk; Hutton, Ross; Ramamurthy, Sundar; Shearman, Phil

2017-07-05

The objective of the study was to describe an m-health initiative to strengthen malaria surveillance in a 184-health facility, multi-province, project aimed at strengthening the National Health Information System (NHIS) in a country with fragmented malaria surveillance, striving towards enhanced control, pre-elimination. A remote-loading mobile application and secure online platform for health professionals was created to interface with the new system (eNHIS). A case-based malaria testing register was developed and integrated geo-coded households, villages and health facilities. A malaria programme management dashboard was created, with village-level malaria mapping tools, and statistical algorithms to identify malaria outbreaks. Since its inception in 2015, 160,750 malaria testing records, including village of residence, have been reported to the eNHIS. These case-based, geo-coded malaria data are 100% complete, with a median data entry delay of 9 days from the date of testing. The system maps malaria to the village level in near real-time as well as the availability of treatment and diagnostics to health facility level. Data aggregation, analysis, outbreak detection, and reporting are automated. The study demonstrates that using mobile technologies and GIS in the capture and reporting of NHIS data in Papua New Guinea provides timely, high quality, geo-coded, case-based malaria data required for malaria elimination. The health systems strengthening approach of integrating malaria information management into the eNHIS optimizes sustainability and provides enormous flexibility to cater for future malaria programme needs.

The operations manual: a mechanism for improving the research process.

PubMed

Bowman, Ann; Wyman, Jean F; Peters, Jennifer

2002-01-01

The development and use of an operations manual has the potential to improve the capacity of nurse scientists to address the complex, multifaceted issues associated with conducting research in today's healthcare environment. An operations manual facilitates communication, standardizes training and evaluation, and enhances the development and standard implementation of clear policies, processes, and protocols. A 10-year review of methodology articles in relevant nursing journals revealed no attention to this topic. This article will discuss how an operations manual can improve the conduct of research methods and outcomes for both small-scale and large-scale research studies. It also describes the purpose and components of a prototype operations manual for use in quantitative research. The operations manual increases reliability and reproducibility of the research while improving the management of study processes. It can prevent costly and untimely delays or errors in the conduct of research.

Tobacco retail environment near housing programmes for patients with mental health conditions in New York City.

PubMed

Rogers, Erin S; Vargas, Elizabeth A

2017-08-30

The current study sought to characterise the tobacco retail environment of supportive housing facilities for persons with mental health (MH) conditions in New York City (NYC) and to estimate the potential impact of a tobacco retail ban near public schools on the retail environment of MH housing in NYC. Texas A&M Geocoding Services was used to geocode the addresses of housing programmes for patients with MH conditions, non-MH residences, public schools and tobacco retailers in NYC. ESRI ArcMap was used to calculate the number of tobacco retailers within a 500-foot radius around each housing programme and school address point, and the Euclidean distance to the nearest retailer. Generalised linear models were used to compare retail counts and distance between MH and non-MH residences. The mean number of tobacco retailers within 500 feet of an MH housing programme was 2.9 (SD=2.3) and the mean distance to nearest tobacco retailer was 370.6 feet (SD=350.7). MH residences had more retailers within 500 feet and a shorter distance to the nearest retailer compared with non-MH residences in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island (p<0.001). Banning tobacco licences within 350, 500 or 1000 feet of a school would significantly improve the tobacco retail environment of MH housing programmes and reduce disparities between MH and non-MH residences in some boroughs. People with MH conditions residing in supportive housing in NYC encounter a heavy tobacco retail environment in close proximity to their home, and in some boroughs, one worse than non-MH residences. Implementing a ban on tobacco retail near public schools would improve the tobacco retail environment of MH housing programmes in NYC. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Utilizing GIS Technology to Improve Fire Prevention Activities in an Urban Fire Department.

PubMed

Shields, Wendy C; Shields, Timothy M; McDonald, Eileen M; Perry, Elise C; Hanna, Peter; Gielen, Andrea C

2015-01-01

The Baltimore City Fire Department (BCFD) has been installing smoke alarms city wide for more than three decades. Though data on each visit are entered into a database, no system existed for using these data for planning or evaluation. The objective of this study is to use Geographic Information System (GIS) technology and existing databases to 1) determine the number of residences in need of a home visit; 2) determine total visits, visits per household, and number of homes entered for eligible households; and 3) demonstrate integration of various data via GIS for use in prevention planning. The tax assessment database was queried to determine the number of eligible (as determined by BCFD policy) residences in need of a visit. Each attempted BCFD home visit was coded to identify, if the BCFD personnel interacted with residents ("pass door") and installed alarms. Home visits were geocoded and compared to the tax assessment database to determine city wide pass door rates. Frequency of visits was run by individual residences to measure efficiency. A total of 206,850 residences met BCFD eligibility for a home visit. In 2007, the BCFD attempted 181,757 home visits and 177,213 were successfully geocoded to 122,118 addresses. A total of 122,118 eligible residences (59%) received a home visit. A total of 35,317 residences (29%) received a repeat visit attempt. The pass door rate was 22% (46,429) of all residences. GIS technology offers a promising means for fire departments to plan and evaluate the fire prevention services they provide.

Drug-related deaths and the sales of needles through pharmacies

PubMed Central

Davidson, Peter J.; Martinez, Alexis; Lutnick, Alexandra; Kral, Alex H.; Bluthenthal, Ricky N.

2014-01-01

Background Providing needles to people who inject drugs is a well-proven public health response to the transmission of HIV and other blood borne viruses. Despite over a quarter of a century of research, new concerns about potential unintended negative consequences of needle distribution continue to emerge. Specifically, a claim was recently made that the introduction of pharmacy sales of needles was followed by an increase in overdoses in pharmacy parking lots. If true, this would have serious implications for the design of needle access programs, particularly those involving pharmacy sales of needles. Methods We examine spatial relationships between drug-related deaths and pharmacies in Los Angeles County (population 9·8 million) before and after the 2007 enactment of a California law allowing pharmacy sales of needles without a prescription. 7,049 drug related deaths occurred in Los Angeles county from 2000-2009 inclusive. 4,275 of these deaths could be geocoded, and were found to be clustered at the census tract level. Results We used three methods to examine spatial relationships between overdose death locations and pharmacy locations for two years on either side of the enactment of the pharmacy sales law, and found no statistically significant changes. Among the 711 geocodable deaths occurring in the two years following the change in law, no death was found to occur within 50 meters of a pharmacy which sold needles. Conclusion These results are consistent with prior studies which suggest pharmacy sales of needles improve access to needles without causing increased harms to the surrounding community. PMID:25499730

Drug-related deaths and the sales of needles through pharmacies.

PubMed

Davidson, Peter J; Martinez, Alexis; Lutnick, Alexandra; Kral, Alex H; Bluthenthal, Ricky N

2015-02-01

Providing needles to people who inject drugs is a well-proven public health response to the transmission of HIV and other blood borne viruses. Despite over a quarter of a century of research, new concerns about potential unintended negative consequences of needle distribution continue to emerge. Specifically, a claim was recently made that the introduction of pharmacy sales of needles was followed by an increase in overdoses in pharmacy parking lots. If true, this would have serious implications for the design of needle access programs, particularly those involving pharmacy sales of needles. We examine spatial relationships between drug-related deaths and pharmacies in Los Angeles County (population 9.8 million) before and after the 2007 enactment of a California law allowing pharmacy sales of needles without a prescription. Seven thousand and forty-nine drugs related deaths occurred in Los Angeles county from 2000 to 2009 inclusive. Four thousand two hundred and seventy-five of these deaths could be geocoded, and were found to be clustered at the census tract level. We used three methods to examine spatial relationships between overdose death locations and pharmacy locations for two years on either side of the enactment of the pharmacy sales law, and found no statistically significant changes. Among the 711 geocodable deaths occurring in the two years following the change in law, no death was found to occur within 50m of a pharmacy which sold needles. These results are consistent with prior studies which suggest pharmacy sales of needles improve access to needles without causing increased harms to the surrounding community. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

CCRS proposal for evaluating LANDSAT-4 MSS and TM data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strome, W. M.; Cihlar, J.; Goodenough, D. G.; Guertin, F. E. (Principal Investigator); Guindon, B.; Murphy, J.; Butlin, J. M.; Duff, P.; Fitzgerald, A.; Grieve, G.

1984-01-01

The measurement of registration errors in LANDSAT MSS data is discussed as well as the development of a revised algorithm for the radiometric calibration of TM data and the production of a geocoded TM image.

Visual analysis of geocoded twin data puts nature and nurture on the map.

PubMed

Davis, O S P; Haworth, C M A; Lewis, C M; Plomin, R

2012-09-01

Twin studies allow us to estimate the relative contributions of nature and nurture to human phenotypes by comparing the resemblance of identical and fraternal twins. Variation in complex traits is a balance of genetic and environmental influences; these influences are typically estimated at a population level. However, what if the balance of nature and nurture varies depending on where we grow up? Here we use statistical and visual analysis of geocoded data from over 6700 families to show that genetic and environmental contributions to 45 childhood cognitive and behavioral phenotypes vary geographically in the United Kingdom. This has implications for detecting environmental exposures that may interact with the genetic influences on complex traits, and for the statistical power of samples recruited for genetic association studies. More broadly, our experience demonstrates the potential for collaborative exploratory visualization to act as a lingua franca for large-scale interdisciplinary research.

Arsenic in North Carolina: public health implications.

PubMed

Sanders, Alison P; Messier, Kyle P; Shehee, Mina; Rudo, Kenneth; Serre, Marc L; Fry, Rebecca C

2012-01-01

Arsenic is a known human carcinogen and relevant environmental contaminant in drinking water systems. We set out to comprehensively examine statewide arsenic trends and identify areas of public health concern. Specifically, arsenic trends in North Carolina private wells were evaluated over an eleven-year period using the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services database for private domestic well waters. We geocoded over 63,000 domestic well measurements by applying a novel geocoding algorithm and error validation scheme. Arsenic measurements and geographical coordinates for database entries were mapped using Geographic Information System techniques. Furthermore, we employed a Bayesian Maximum Entropy (BME) geostatistical framework, which accounts for geocoding error to better estimate arsenic values across the state and identify trends for unmonitored locations. Of the approximately 63,000 monitored wells, 7712 showed detectable arsenic concentrations that ranged between 1 and 806μg/L. Additionally, 1436 well samples exceeded the EPA drinking water standard. We reveal counties of concern and demonstrate a historical pattern of elevated arsenic in some counties, particularly those located along the Carolina terrane (Carolina slate belt). We analyzed these data in the context of populations using private well water and identify counties for targeted monitoring, such as Stanly and Union Counties. By spatiotemporally mapping these data, our BME estimate revealed arsenic trends at unmonitored locations within counties and better predicted well concentrations when compared to the classical kriging method. This study reveals relevant information on the location of arsenic-contaminated private domestic wells in North Carolina and indicates potential areas at increased risk for adverse health outcomes. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A spatial analysis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) cases in the United States and their proximity to multidisciplinary ALS clinics, 2013.

PubMed

Horton, D Kevin; Graham, Shannon; Punjani, Reshma; Wilt, Grete; Kaye, Wendy; Maginnis, Kimberly; Webb, Lauren; Richman, Judy; Bedlack, Richard; Tessaro, Edward; Mehta, Paul

2018-02-01

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal motor neuron disease that typically results in death within 2-5 years of initial symptom onset. Multidisciplinary ALS clinics (MDCs) have been established to provide specialty care to people living with the disease. To estimate the proximity of ALS prevalence cases to the nearest MDC in the US to help evaluate one aspect of access to care. Using 2013 prevalence data from the National ALS Registry, cases were geocoded by city using geographic information system (GIS) software, along with the locations of all MDCs in operation during 2013. Case-to-MDC proximity was calculated and analyzed by sex, race, and age group. During 2013, there were 72 MDCs in operation in 30 different states. A total of 15,633 ALS cases were geocoded and were distributed throughout all 50 states. Of these, 62.6% were male, 77.9% were white, and 76.2% were 50-79 years old. For overall case-to-MDC proximity, nearly half (44.9%) of all geocoded cases in the US lived >50 miles from an MDC, including approximately a quarter who lived >100 miles from an MDC. There was a statistically significant difference between distance to MDC by race and age group. The high percentage of those living more than 50 miles from the nearest specialized clinic underscores one of the many challenges of ALS. Having better access to care, whether at MDCs or through other modalities, is likely key to increasing survivability and obtaining appropriate end-of-life treatment and support for people with ALS.

Arsenic in North Carolina: Public Health Implications

PubMed Central

Sanders, Alison P.; Messier, Kyle P.; Shehee, Mina; Rudo, Kenneth; Serre, Marc L.; Fry, Rebecca C.

2012-01-01

Arsenic is a known human carcinogen and relevant environmental contaminant in drinking water systems. We set out to comprehensively examine statewide arsenic trends and identify areas of public health concern. Specifically, arsenic trends in North Carolina private wells were evaluated over an eleven-year period using the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) database for private domestic well waters. We geocoded over 63,000 domestic well measurements by applying a novel geocoding algorithm and error validation scheme. Arsenic measurements and geographical coordinates for database entries were mapped using Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques. Furthermore, we employed a Bayesian Maximum Entropy (BME) geostatistical framework, which accounts for geocoding error to better estimate arsenic values across the state and identify trends for unmonitored locations. Of the approximately 63,000 monitored wells, 7,712 showed detectable arsenic concentrations that ranged between 1 and 806 μg/L. Additionally, 1,436 well samples exceeded the EPA drinking water standard. We reveal counties of concern and demonstrate a historical pattern of elevated arsenic in some counties, particularly those located along the Carolina terrane (Carolina slate belt). We analyzed these data in the context of populations using private well water and identify counties for targeted monitoring, such as Stanly and Union Counties. By spatiotemporally mapping these data, our BME estimate revealed arsenic trends at unmonitored locations within counties and better predicted well concentrations when compared to the classical kriging method. This study reveals relevant information on the location of arsenic-contaminated private domestic wells in North Carolina and indicates potential areas at increased risk for adverse health outcomes. PMID:21982028

Product Manuals: A Consumer Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Showers, Linda S.; And Others

1993-01-01

Qualitative analysis of insights from consumer focus groups on product manual usage reveals consumer perceptions and preferences regarding manual and safety message format. Results can be used to improve manual design and content. (JOW)

Accuracy of commercial geocoding: assessment and implications.

PubMed

Whitsel, Eric A; Quibrera, P Miguel; Smith, Richard L; Catellier, Diane J; Liao, Duanping; Henley, Amanda C; Heiss, Gerardo

2006-07-20

Published studies of geocoding accuracy often focus on a single geographic area, address source or vendor, do not adjust accuracy measures for address characteristics, and do not examine effects of inaccuracy on exposure measures. We addressed these issues in a Women's Health Initiative ancillary study, the Environmental Epidemiology of Arrhythmogenesis in WHI. Addresses in 49 U.S. states (n = 3,615) with established coordinates were geocoded by four vendors (A-D). There were important differences among vendors in address match rate (98%; 82%; 81%; 30%), concordance between established and vendor-assigned census tracts (85%; 88%; 87%; 98%) and distance between established and vendor-assigned coordinates (mean rho [meters]: 1809; 748; 704; 228). Mean rho was lowest among street-matched, complete, zip-coded, unedited and urban addresses, and addresses with North American Datum of 1983 or World Geodetic System of 1984 coordinates. In mixed models restricted to vendors with minimally acceptable match rates (A-C) and adjusted for address characteristics, within-address correlation, and among-vendor heteroscedasticity of rho, differences in mean rho were small for street-type matches (280; 268; 275), i.e. likely to bias results relying on them about equally for most applications. In contrast, differences between centroid-type matches were substantial in some vendor contrasts, but not others (5497; 4303; 4210) p(interaction) < 10(-4), i.e. more likely to bias results differently in many applications. The adjusted odds of an address match was higher for vendor A versus C (odds ratio = 66, 95% confidence interval: 47, 93), but not B versus C (OR = 1.1, 95% CI: 0.9, 1.3). That of census tract concordance was no higher for vendor A versus C (OR = 1.0, 95% CI: 0.9, 1.2) or B versus C (OR = 1.1, 95% CI: 0.9, 1.3). Misclassification of a related exposure measure--distance to the nearest highway--increased with mean rho and in the absence of confounding, non-differential misclassification of this distance biased its hypothetical association with coronary heart disease mortality toward the null. Geocoding error depends on measures used to evaluate it, address characteristics and vendor. Vendor selection presents a trade-off between potential for missing data and error in estimating spatially defined attributes. Informed selection is needed to control the trade-off and adjust analyses for its effects.

Accuracy of commercial geocoding: assessment and implications

PubMed Central

Whitsel, Eric A; Quibrera, P Miguel; Smith, Richard L; Catellier, Diane J; Liao, Duanping; Henley, Amanda C; Heiss, Gerardo

2006-01-01

Background Published studies of geocoding accuracy often focus on a single geographic area, address source or vendor, do not adjust accuracy measures for address characteristics, and do not examine effects of inaccuracy on exposure measures. We addressed these issues in a Women's Health Initiative ancillary study, the Environmental Epidemiology of Arrhythmogenesis in WHI. Results Addresses in 49 U.S. states (n = 3,615) with established coordinates were geocoded by four vendors (A-D). There were important differences among vendors in address match rate (98%; 82%; 81%; 30%), concordance between established and vendor-assigned census tracts (85%; 88%; 87%; 98%) and distance between established and vendor-assigned coordinates (mean ρ [meters]: 1809; 748; 704; 228). Mean ρ was lowest among street-matched, complete, zip-coded, unedited and urban addresses, and addresses with North American Datum of 1983 or World Geodetic System of 1984 coordinates. In mixed models restricted to vendors with minimally acceptable match rates (A-C) and adjusted for address characteristics, within-address correlation, and among-vendor heteroscedasticity of ρ, differences in mean ρ were small for street-type matches (280; 268; 275), i.e. likely to bias results relying on them about equally for most applications. In contrast, differences between centroid-type matches were substantial in some vendor contrasts, but not others (5497; 4303; 4210) pinteraction < 10-4, i.e. more likely to bias results differently in many applications. The adjusted odds of an address match was higher for vendor A versus C (odds ratio = 66, 95% confidence interval: 47, 93), but not B versus C (OR = 1.1, 95% CI: 0.9, 1.3). That of census tract concordance was no higher for vendor A versus C (OR = 1.0, 95% CI: 0.9, 1.2) or B versus C (OR = 1.1, 95% CI: 0.9, 1.3). Misclassification of a related exposure measure – distance to the nearest highway – increased with mean ρ and in the absence of confounding, non-differential misclassification of this distance biased its hypothetical association with coronary heart disease mortality toward the null. Conclusion Geocoding error depends on measures used to evaluate it, address characteristics and vendor. Vendor selection presents a trade-off between potential for missing data and error in estimating spatially defined attributes. Informed selection is needed to control the trade-off and adjust analyses for its effects. PMID:16857050

Improved Cookstove Training Manual. No. T-40.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lillywhite, Malcolm

This document was developed as a training manual for people interested in various types of appropriate technologies related to improved cookstoves. The three types of cookstoves included in the manual are earthen, ceramic, and metal (or a combination of metal and ceramic). The training sessions described deal with: (1) an orientation to the…

Exploring the potential of geocoding the impact of disasters: The experience of global and national databases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guha-Sapir, Debarati; Davis, Rhonda; Gall, Melanie; Wallemacq, Pascaline; Cutter, Susan

2015-04-01

As extreme climate events such as precipitation driven flooding, storms and droughts are increasingly devastating, assessing impacts accurately becomes critically important in guiding decisions and investments on disaster risk reduction. Capturing disaster impacts includes not only quantitative information such as the economic and human effects but also the determination of where and when the impacts occurred. Among the most commonly used impact indicators are the number of deaths and the number of people affected or homeless, and the economic damages. Unfortunately, these figures are typically used in their raw form and conclusions are drawn without due consideration to denominators. For example, key parameters such as the population base or the size of the region affected are often not factored in when judging the severity of the event or calculating increases or decreases in an indicator. To increase the meaningfulness and comparability of disaster impacts across time and space, however, it is important to mathematically standardize indicators and utilize common denominators such as number of population exposed, area affected, GDP, and so forth. Geospatial techniques such as geo-referencing and spatial overlays are coming into greater use to facilitate this process. In 2013, EM-DAT, one of the main providers of global disaster impact data, launched an effort to enhance its contents through spatial analyses. The challenge was to develop a sustainable methodology and protocol for a large dataset and to systematically collect and enter geocoded profiles for each event that is registered in EM-DAT. Along with specialists in geography from different institutions EM-DAT launched an effort to geocode each disaster event working backwards in time starting from the most recent. For geo-referencing purposes, EM-DAT requires a standardized dataset of sub-national administrative boundaries. Though a number of such initiatives exist, the Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) Global Administrative Unit Layers (GAUL) was selected as the most appropriate since the data are updated annually, disputed areas are labelled as such and not assigned to a national entity, and the FAO uses a community-based approach whereby users of the dataset can provide updated administrative boundaries and related shapefiles. Geocoding the impact areas of disaster events not only allows for more accurate spatial analyses and mapping but it also enhances the interoperability of EM-DAT data with other spatially explicit data (such as population or land use data), or with nationally-developed loss datasets such as SHELDUS. Most importantly, geocoding permits the monitoring of key parameters of disaster impacts such as exposure, vulnerable populations, effectiveness of disaster risk reduction measures, as well as the investigation of linkages and ripple effects between a catastrophic event and other external factors. For example, the intersection between extreme malnutrition and the spatial extent of droughts or floods aids in the identification of hot spots and facilitates strategic delivery of nutrition interventions. With the need for tracking and monitoring progress towards sustainable development and disaster risk reduction gaining in importance, the ability to express disaster impacts in standardized terms such as ratios or percentages per some unit area will increase transparency and comparability of disaster management programmes.

ARES - A New Airborne Reflective Emissive Spectrometer

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-10-01

Information and Management System (DIMS), an automated processing environment with robot archive interface as established for the handling of satellite data...consisting of geocoded ground reflectance data. All described processing steps will be integrated in the automated processing environment DIMS to assure a

VIOLENT CRIME EXPOSURE CLASSIFICATION AND ADVERSE BIRTH OUTCOMES: A GEOGRAPHICALLY-DEFINED COHORT STUDY

EPA Science Inventory

Background

Area-level socioeconomic disparities have long been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Crime is an important element of the neighborhood environment inadequately investigated in the public health literature. Using geocoded linked birth, crime and cens...

Innovative strategy for effective critical laboratory result management: end-to-end process using automation and manual call centre.

PubMed

Ti, Lian Kah; Ang, Sophia Bee Leng; Saw, Sharon; Sethi, Sunil Kumar; Yip, James W L

2012-08-01

Timely reporting and acknowledgement are crucial steps in critical laboratory results (CLR) management. The authors previously showed that an automated pathway incorporating short messaging system (SMS) texts, auto-escalation, and manual telephone back-up improved the rate and speed of physician acknowledgement compared with manual telephone calling alone. This study investigated if it also improved the rate and speed of physician intervention to CLR and whether utilising the manual back-up affected intervention rates. Data from seven audits between November 2007 and January 2011 were analysed. These audits were carried out to assess the robustness of CLR reporting process in the authors' institution. Comparisons were made in the rate and speed of acknowledgement and intervention between the audits performed before and after automation. Using the automation audits, the authors compared intervention data between communication with SMS only and when manual intervention was required. 1680 CLR were reported during the audit periods. Automation improved the rate (100% vs 84.2%; p<0.001) and speed (median 12 min vs 23 min; p<0.001) of CLR acknowledgement. It also improved the rate (93.7% vs 84.0%, p<0.001) and speed (median 21 min vs 109 min; p<0.001) of CLR intervention. From the automation audits, the use of SMS only did not improve physician intervention rates. The automated communication pathway improved physician intervention rate and time in tandem with improved acknowledgement rate and time when compared with manual telephone calling. The use of manual intervention to augment automation did not adversely affect physician intervention rate, implying that an end-to-end pathway was more important than automation alone.

Dynamic delivery of the National Transit Database Sampling Manual.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-02-01

This project improves the National Transit Database (NTD) Sampling Manual and develops an Internet-based, WordPress-powered interactive Web tool to deliver the new NTD Sampling Manual dynamically. The new manual adds guidance and a tool for transit a...

Dynamic delivery of the National Transit Database sampling manual.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-02-01

This project improves the National Transit Database (NTD) Sampling Manual and develops an Internet-based, WordPress-powered interactive Web tool to deliver the new NTD Sampling Manual dynamically. The new manual adds guidance and a tool for transit a...

A spatial analysis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) cases in the United States and their proximity to multidisciplinary ALS clinics, 2013

PubMed Central

Horton, D. Kevin; Graham, Shannon; Punjani, Reshma; Wilt, Grete; Kaye, Wendy; Maginnis, Kimberly; Webb, Lauren; Richman, Judy; Bedlack, Richard; Tessaro, Edward; Mehta, Paul

2017-01-01

Background Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal motor neuron disease that typically results in death within 2–5 years of initial symptom onset. Multidisciplinary ALS clinics (MDCs) have been established to provide specialty care to people living with the disease. Objective To estimate the proximity of ALS prevalence cases to the nearest MDC in the US to help evaluate one aspect of access to care. Methods Using 2013 prevalence data from the National ALS Registry, cases were geocoded by city using geographic information system (GIS) software, along with the locations of all MDCs in operation during 2013. Case-to-MDC proximity was calculated and analyzed by sex, race, and age group. Results During 2013, there were 72 MDCs in operation in 30 different states. A total of 15,633 ALS cases were geocoded and were distributed throughout all 50 states. Of these, 62.6% were male, 77.9% were white, and 76.2% were 50–79 years old. For overall case-to-MDC proximity, nearly half (44.9%) of all geocoded cases in the US lived >50 miles from an MDC, including approximately a quarter who lived >100 miles from an MDC. There was a statistically significant difference between distance to MDC by race and age group. Conclusions The high percentage of those living more than 50 miles from the nearest specialized clinic underscores one of the many challenges of ALS. Having better access to care, whether at MDCs or through other modalities, is likely key to increasing survivability and obtaining appropriate end-of-life treatment and support for people with ALS. PMID:29262737

Resistance Training Reduces Force Tremor and Improves Manual Dexterity in Older Individuals With Essential Tremor.

PubMed

Kavanagh, Justin J; Wedderburn-Bisshop, Jacob; Keogh, Justin W L

2016-01-01

Although symptoms of Essential Tremor (ET) are typically controlled with medication, it is of interest to explore additional therapies to assist with functionality. The purpose of this study was to determine if a generalized upper limb resistance training (RT) program improves manual dexterity and reduces force tremor in older individuals with ET. Ten Essential Tremor and 9 controls were recruited into a dual group, pretest-posttest intervention study. Participants performed 6 weeks of upper-limb RT, and battery of manual dexterity and isometric force tremor assessments were performed before and after the RT to determine the benefits of the program. The six-week, high-load, RT program produced strength increases in each limb for the ET and healthy older group. These changes in strength aligned with improvements in manual dexterity and tremor-most notably for the ET group. The least affected limb and the most affected limb exhibited similar improvements in functional assessments of manual dexterity, whereas reductions in force tremor amplitude following the RT program were restricted to the most affected limb of the ET group. These findings suggest that generalized upper limb RT program has the potential to improve aspects of manual dexterity and reduce force tremor in older ET patients.

Ecological analysis examining the association between census tract-level incarceration and reported chlamydia incidence among female adolescents and young adults in San Francisco.

PubMed

Stoltey, Juliet E; Li, Ye; Bernstein, Kyle T; Philip, Susan S

2015-08-01

Incarceration has been linked to increased risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). We conducted a census tract-level ecological analysis to explore the relationship between neighbourhood incarceration rates and chlamydia incidence among adolescent girls and young women under age 25 in San Francisco in 2010 to focus public health efforts in neighbourhoods at risk. Female chlamydial cases under age 25 that were reported to the San Francisco Department of Public Health in 2010 were geocoded to census tract, and chlamydia incidence was calculated. Addresses of incarcerated individuals were geocoded, and census tract-specific incarceration was estimated. American Community Survey data from 2005 to 2009 provided tract-specific survey estimates of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of communities to allow for evaluation of potential census tract-level confounders. A Poisson mixed model was used to assess the relationship of census tract-level incarceration rate with chlamydial case rate. Accounting for spatial dependence in neighbouring regions, there was a positive association between incarceration rates and chlamydia incidence in young women under age 25 in San Francisco, and this association decreased as poverty increased, after controlling for other risk factors in the model. This ecological analysis supports the neighbourhood role of incarceration in the risk of chlamydia among young women. These results have important implications for directing limited public health resources to local areas at risk in order to geographically focus prevention interventions and provide improved access to STI services in specific neighbourhoods with high incarceration rates. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Mapping mental health service access: achieving equity through quality improvement.

PubMed

Green, Stuart A; Poots, Alan J; Marcano-Belisario, Jose; Samarasundera, Edgar; Green, John; Honeybourne, Emmi; Barnes, Ruth

2013-06-01

Improving access to psychological therapies (IAPTs) services deliver evidence-based care to people with depression and anxiety. A quality improvement (QI) initiative was undertaken by an IAPT service to improve referrals providing an opportunity to evaluate equitable access. QI methodologies were used by the clinical team to improve referrals to the service. The collection of geo-coded data allowed referrals to be mapped to small geographical areas according to deprivation. A total of 6078 patients were referred to the IAPT service during the period of analysis and mapped to 120 unique lower super output areas (LSOAs). The average weekly referral rate rose from 17 during the baseline phase to 43 during the QI implementation phase. Spatial analysis demonstrated all 15 of the high deprivation/low referral LSOAs were converted to high deprivation/high or medium referral LSOAs following the QI initiative. This work highlights the importance of QI in developing clinical services aligned to the needs of the population through the analysis of routine data matched to health needs. Mapping can be utilized to communicate complex information to inform the planning and organization of clinical service delivery and evaluate the progress and sustainability of QI initiatives.

Assessing the Agreement Between Eo-Based Semi-Automated Landslide Maps with Fuzzy Manual Landslide Delineation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albrecht, F.; Hölbling, D.; Friedl, B.

2017-09-01

Landslide mapping benefits from the ever increasing availability of Earth Observation (EO) data resulting from programmes like the Copernicus Sentinel missions and improved infrastructure for data access. However, there arises the need for improved automated landslide information extraction processes from EO data while the dominant method is still manual delineation. Object-based image analysis (OBIA) provides the means for the fast and efficient extraction of landslide information. To prove its quality, automated results are often compared to manually delineated landslide maps. Although there is awareness of the uncertainties inherent in manual delineations, there is a lack of understanding how they affect the levels of agreement in a direct comparison of OBIA-derived landslide maps and manually derived landslide maps. In order to provide an improved reference, we present a fuzzy approach for the manual delineation of landslides on optical satellite images, thereby making the inherent uncertainties of the delineation explicit. The fuzzy manual delineation and the OBIA classification are compared by accuracy metrics accepted in the remote sensing community. We have tested this approach for high resolution (HR) satellite images of three large landslides in Austria and Italy. We were able to show that the deviation of the OBIA result from the manual delineation can mainly be attributed to the uncertainty inherent in the manual delineation process, a relevant issue for the design of validation processes for OBIA-derived landslide maps.

National Geocoding Converter File 1 : Volume 3. Montana to Wyoming.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1974-01-01

This file contains a record for each county, county equivalent (as defined by the Census Bureau), SMSA county segment and SPLC county segment in the U.S. A record identifies for an area all major county codes and the associated county aggregate codes

National Geocoding Converter File 1 : Volume 1. Structure & Content.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1974-01-01

This file contains a record for each county, county equivalent (as defined by the Census Bureau), SMSA county segment and SPLC county segment in the U.S. A record identifies for an area all major county codes and the associated county aggregate codes

Safe main street highways part I : Washington state collision data and geocoding.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-09-01

This project contributes to the Washington State Strategic Highway Safety Plan, whose goals are to achieve zero road fatality and serious injury by 2030 and to reduce the number of pedestrians and bicyclists involved in motor-vehicle collisions on st...

Spatiotemporal historical datasets at micro-level for geocoded individuals in five Swedish parishes, 1813–1914

PubMed Central

Hedefalk, Finn; Svensson, Patrick; Harrie, Lars

2017-01-01

This paper presents datasets that enable historical longitudinal studies of micro-level geographic factors in a rural setting. These types of datasets are new, as historical demography studies have generally failed to properly include the micro-level geographic factors. Our datasets describe the geography over five Swedish rural parishes, and by linking them to a longitudinal demographic database, we obtain a geocoded population (at the property unit level) for this area for the period 1813–1914. The population is a subset of the Scanian Economic Demographic Database (SEDD). The geographic information includes the following feature types: property units, wetlands, buildings, roads and railroads. The property units and wetlands are stored in object-lifeline time representations (information about creation, changes and ends of objects are recorded in time), whereas the other feature types are stored as snapshots in time. Thus, the datasets present one of the first opportunities to study historical spatio-temporal patterns at the micro-level. PMID:28398288

Emergency Manuals: How Quality Improvement and Implementation Science Can Enable Better Perioperative Management During Crises.

PubMed

Goldhaber-Fiebert, Sara N; Macrae, Carl

2018-03-01

How can teams manage critical events more effectively? There are commonly gaps in performance during perioperative crises, and emergency manuals are recently available tools that can improve team performance under stress, via multiple mechanisms. This article examines how the principles of implementation science and quality improvement were applied by multiple teams in the development, testing, and systematic implementations of emergency manuals in perioperative care. The core principles of implementation have relevance for future patient safety innovations perioperatively and beyond, and the concepts of emergency manuals and interprofessional teamwork are applicable for diverse fields throughout health care. Copyright © 2017 Sara N. Goldhaber-Fiebert, Carl Macrae. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Using Bayesian Imputation to Assess Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Pediatric Performance Measures.

PubMed

Brown, David P; Knapp, Caprice; Baker, Kimberly; Kaufmann, Meggen

2016-06-01

To analyze health care disparities in pediatric quality of care measures and determine the impact of data imputation. Five HEDIS measures are calculated based on 2012 administrative data for 145,652 children in two public insurance programs in Florida. The Bayesian Improved Surname and Geocoding (BISG) imputation method is used to impute missing race and ethnicity data for 42 percent of the sample (61,954 children). Models are estimated with and without the imputed race and ethnicity data. Dropping individuals with missing race and ethnicity data biases quality of care measures for minorities downward relative to nonminority children for several measures. These results provide further support for the importance of appropriately accounting for missing race and ethnicity data through imputation methods. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

The use of multibeam backscatter intensity data as a tool for mapping glacial deposits in the Central North Sea, UK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stewart, Heather; Bradwell, Tom

2014-05-01

Multibeam backscatter intensity data acquired offshore eastern Scotland and north-eastern England have been used to map drumlin fields, large arcuate moraine ridges, smaller scale moraine ridges, and incised channels on the sea floor. The study area includes the catchments of the previously proposed, but only partly mapped, Strathmore, Forth-Tay, and Tweed palaeo-ice streams. The ice sheet glacial landsystem is extremely well preserved on the sea bed and comprehensive mapping of the seafloor geomorphology has been undertaken. The authors demonstrate the value in utilising not only digital terrain models (both NEXTMap and multibeam bathymetry derived) in undertaking geomorphological mapping, but also examining the backscatter intensity data that is often overlooked. Backscatter intensity maps were generated using FM Geocoder by the British Geological Survey. FM Geocoder corrects the backscatter intensities registered by the multibeam echosounder system, and then geometrically corrects and positions each acoustic sample in a backscatter mosaic. The backscatter intensity data were gridded at the best resolution per dataset (between 2 and 5 m). The strength of the backscattering is dependent upon sediment type, grain size, survey conditions, sea-bed roughness, compaction and slope. A combination of manual interpretation and semi-automated classification of the backscatter intensity data (a predictive method for mapping variations in surficial sea-bed sediments) has been undertaken in the study area. The combination of the two methodologies has produced a robust glacial geomorphological map for the study area. Four separate drumlin fields have been mapped in the study area indicative of fast-flowing and persistent ice-sheet flow configurations. A number of individual drumlins are also identified located outside the fields. The drumlins show as areas of high backscatter intensity compared to the surrounding sea bed, indicating the drumlins comprise mixed sediments of gravelly sands and sandy gravels compared to the surrounding sandy and muddy sediments. Moraines are indicated as areas of high backscatter intensity and comprise coarse grained sediments. A range of moraine sizes have been identified from large scale moraines reflecting both frontal still stands or re-advances of the ice-sheet margin, de geer moraines and smaller moraines that may represent annual variations. Meltwater channels and tunnel valleys are revealed as areas of low backscatter intensity reflecting post-glacial soft sediment infill of the depressions incised into coarser grained and higher strength glacial deposits by these features.

Clinical, functional, and radiographic outcomes following total knee arthroplasty with patient-specific instrumentation, computer-assisted surgery, and manual instrumentation: a short-term follow-up study.

PubMed

Yaffe, Mark; Luo, Michael; Goyal, Nitin; Chan, Philip; Patel, Anay; Cayo, Max; Stulberg, S David

2014-09-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate clinical, functional, and radiographic outcomes following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) performed with patient-specific instrumentation (PSI), computer-assisted surgery (CAS), and manual instruments at short-term follow-up. 122 TKAs were performed by a single surgeon: 42 with PSI, 38 with CAS, and 40 with manual instrumentation. Preoperative, 1-month, and 6-month clinical and functional outcomes were measured using the Knee Society scoring system (knee score, function score, range of motion, and pain score). Improvements in clinical and functional outcomes from the preoperative to postoperative period were analyzed. Preoperative and postoperative radiographs were measured to evaluate limb and component alignment. Preoperative, 1-month postoperative, and 6-month postoperative knee scores, function scores, range of motion, and pain scores were highest in the PSI group compared to CAS and manual instrumentation. At 6-month follow-up, PSI TKA was associated with a statistically significant improvement in functional score when compared to manual TKA. Otherwise, there were no statistically significant differences in improvements among PSI, CAS, and manual TKA groups. The higher preoperative scores in the PSI group limits the ability to draw definitive conclusions from the raw postoperative scores, but analyzing the changes in scores revealed that PSI was associated with a statistically significant improvement in Knee Society Functional score at 6-month post-TKA as compared to CAS or manual TKA. This may be attributable to improvements in component rotation and positioning, improved component size accuracy, or other factors that are not discernible on plain radiograph.

Segregation and preterm birth: The effects of neighborhood racial composition in North Carolina

EPA Science Inventory

Epidemiologic research suggests that racial segregation is associated with poor health among blacks in the United States (US). We used geocoded birth records and US census data to investigate whether neighborhood-level percent black is associated with preterm birth (PTB) for blac...

Developing the Rehabilitation Facility Personnel Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilbertson, Alan D.

This guide is intended to provide rehabilitation facilities with assistance in developing or improving their facility personnel manual, along with examples of what some rehabilitation facilities are including within their personnel manuals. The introduction to the guide discusses how a facility can begin the formulation of its personnel manual.…

Manualization of Occupational Therapy Using Ayres Sensory Integration® for Autism.

PubMed

Hunt, Joanne; van Hooydonk, Elke; Faller, Patricia; Mailloux, Zoe; Schaaf, Roseann

2017-07-01

This article reports on the development of a Stage 3 manual (following pilot effectiveness study) for implementing occupational therapy using Ayres Sensory Integration® (OT/ASI) for children with autism spectrum disorders to enhance participation in daily occupations. Three stakeholder groups were surveyed to aid in translation of manual from research to practice (i.e., Stage 3 manual) and an expert consensus meeting was held to finalize recommendations. Data indicated that the manuals usability could be improved by including a section on frequently encountered problems and solutions, and by including video case examples. Also recommended were greater chapter uniformity, improved clarity of forms and charts, and inclusion of a glossary. Changes were made and subject to expert review and consensus using modified Delphi process. The Stage 3 manual has been rigorously vetted and is ready for practice and research replication.

Improving visual search in instruction manuals using pictograms.

PubMed

Kovačević, Dorotea; Brozović, Maja; Možina, Klementina

2016-11-01

Instruction manuals provide important messages about the proper use of a product. They should communicate in such a way that they facilitate users' searches for specific information. Despite the increasing research interest in visual search, there is a lack of empirical knowledge concerning the role of pictograms in search performance during the browsing of a manual's pages. This study investigates how the inclusion of pictograms improves the search for the target information. Furthermore, it examines whether this search process is influenced by the visual similarity between the pictograms and the searched for information. On the basis of eye-tracking measurements, as objective indicators of the participants' visual attention, it was found that pictograms can be a useful element of search strategy. Another interesting finding was that boldface highlighting is a more effective method for improving user experience in information seeking, rather than the similarity between the pictorial and adjacent textual information. Implications for designing effective user manuals are discussed. Practitioner Summary: Users often view instruction manuals with the aim of finding specific information. We used eye-tracking technology to examine different manual pages in order to improve the user's visual search for target information. The results indicate that the use of pictograms and bold highlighting of relevant information facilitate the search process.

Effectiveness of two modalities of physiotherapy in the treatment of haemophilic arthropathy of the ankle: a randomized pilot study.

PubMed

Cuesta-Barriuso, R; Gómez-Conesa, A; López-Pina, J-A

2014-01-01

Although different techniques of physiotherapy have been described for the treatment of haemophilic arthropathy (HA) of ankle, hardly any studies have been applied manual therapy or educational physiotherapy and home exercises. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of manual therapy and educational physiotherapy in the treatment of HA of the ankle. Thirty-one patients with HA of the ankle with a mean age of 35.29 (SD: 12.877) years randomized to manual therapy group (n = 11), educational group (n = 10) and a control group (n = 10). The two physiotherapy programmes were one with manual therapy articular traction, passive stretching of the gastrocnemius muscles, and exercises for muscle strength and proprioception (MT group) and the other with educational sessions and home exercises (E group). The study lasted for 12 weeks. The treatment with manual therapy improved the gastrocnemius muscle circumference, and the pain of ankle (P < 0.05). Six months later, MT group still enjoyed improvement. In the educational group there were improvements, but not significant, in the measured variables. No patient had ankle haemarthrosis during the study. The treatment with manual therapy improved the circumference of gastrocnemius and lessened pain in the patients with haemophilic arthropathy of the ankle. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Comparison of manual therapy and exercise therapy in osteoarthritis of the hip: a randomized clinical trial.

PubMed

Hoeksma, Hugo L; Dekker, Joost; Ronday, H Karel; Heering, Annet; van der Lubbe, Nico; Vel, Cees; Breedveld, Ferdinand C; van den Ende, Cornelia H M

2004-10-15

To determine the effectiveness of a manual therapy program compared with an exercise therapy program in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip. A single-blind, randomized clinical trial of 109 hip OA patients was carried out in the outpatient clinic for physical therapy of a large hospital. The manual therapy program focused on specific manipulations and mobilization of the hip joint. The exercise therapy program focused on active exercises to improve muscle function and joint motion. The treatment period was 5 weeks (9 sessions). The primary outcome was general perceived improvement after treatment. Secondary outcomes included pain, hip function, walking speed, range of motion, and quality of life. Of 109 patients included in the study, 56 were allocated to manual therapy and 53 to exercise therapy. No major differences were found on baseline characteristics between groups. Success rates (primary outcome) after 5 weeks were 81% in the manual therapy group and 50% in the exercise group (odds ratio 1.92, 95% confidence interval 1.30, 2.60). Furthermore, patients in the manual therapy group had significantly better outcomes on pain, stiffness, hip function, and range of motion. Effects of manual therapy on the improvement of pain, hip function, and range of motion endured after 29 weeks. The effect of the manual therapy program on hip function is superior to the exercise therapy program in patients with OA of the hip.

The Rise of School-Supporting Nonprofits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Ashlyn Aiko; Gazley, Beth

2014-01-01

This paper examines voluntary contributions to public education via charitable school foundations, booster clubs, parent teacher associations, and parent teacher organizations. We use panel data on school-supporting charities with national coverage from 1995 to 2010, which we geocode and match to school districts. We document the meteoric rise of…

75 FR 80677 - The Low-Income Definition

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-23

... original regulatory text so it is consistent with the geo-coding software the agency uses to make the low... Union Act (Act) authorizes the NCUA Board (Board) to define ``low-income members'' so that credit unions... process of implementing geo- coding software to make the calculation automatically for credit unions...

Neighborhood Disadvantage and Variations in Blood Pressure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cathorall, Michelle L.; Xin, Huaibo; Peachey, Andrew; Bibeau, Daniel L.; Schulz, Mark; Aronson, Robert

2015-01-01

Purpose: To examine the extent to which neighborhood disadvantage accounts for variation in blood pressure. Methods: Demographic, biometric, and self-reported data from 19,261 health screenings were used. Addresses of participants were geocoded and located within census block groups (n = 14,510, 75.3%). Three hierarchical linear models were…

An application of the edge effect in measuring accessibility to multiple food retailer types in Southwestern Ontario, Canada

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Trends in food retailing associated with the consolidation of smaller-format retailers into fewer, larger-format supercentres have left some rural areas with fewer sources of nutritious, affordable food. Access to nutritious, affordable food is essential for good dietary habits and combating health issues such as type-2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. Many studies on food environments use inaccurate or incomplete methods for locating food retailers, which may be responsible for mischaracterising food deserts. This study uses databases of every residence in and every food retailer in and around Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada. Residences were geocoded to their precise address, and network analysis techniques were performed in a geographic information system (GIS) to determine distances between every residence and different types of food retailers (grocery stores, fast food, fruit and vegetable sources, grocery stores plus fruit and vegetable sources, variety stores), both when considering and neglecting facilities outside the area of study, to account for a deficiency in analysis termed the 'edge effect'. Results Analysis of household accessibility to food outlets by neighbourhood socioeconomic distress level indicated that residents in the most distressed neighbourhoods tended to have better accessibility to all types of food retailers. In the most distressed neighbourhoods, 79 percent of residences were within walking distance of a grocery store, compared to only 10 percent in the least distressed neighbourhoods. When the edge effect was neglected, 37 percent of distance estimates proved inaccurate. Average accessibility to all food retailer types improved dramatically when food outlets adjacent to the study area were considered, thereby controlling for the edge effect. Conclusion By neglecting to consider food retailers just outside study area boundaries, previous studies may significantly over-report the actual distance necessary to travel for food. Research on food access spanning large rural regions requires methods that accurately geocode residents and their food sources. By implementing methods akin to those in this paper, future research will be better able to identify areas with poor food accessibility. Improving identification of food desert communities is a first step in facilitating more effective deployment of food policies and programs in those communities. PMID:21575162

An application of the edge effect in measuring accessibility to multiple food retailer types in southwestern Ontario, Canada.

PubMed

Sadler, Richard C; Gilliland, Jason A; Arku, Godwin

2011-05-15

Trends in food retailing associated with the consolidation of smaller-format retailers into fewer, larger-format supercentres have left some rural areas with fewer sources of nutritious, affordable food. Access to nutritious, affordable food is essential for good dietary habits and combating health issues such as type-2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. Many studies on food environments use inaccurate or incomplete methods for locating food retailers, which may be responsible for mischaracterising food deserts. This study uses databases of every residence in and every food retailer in and around Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada. Residences were geocoded to their precise address, and network analysis techniques were performed in a geographic information system (GIS) to determine distances between every residence and different types of food retailers (grocery stores, fast food, fruit and vegetable sources, grocery stores plus fruit and vegetable sources, variety stores), both when considering and neglecting facilities outside the area of study, to account for a deficiency in analysis termed the 'edge effect'. Analysis of household accessibility to food outlets by neighbourhood socioeconomic distress level indicated that residents in the most distressed neighbourhoods tended to have better accessibility to all types of food retailers. In the most distressed neighbourhoods, 79 percent of residences were within walking distance of a grocery store, compared to only 10 percent in the least distressed neighbourhoods. When the edge effect was neglected, 37 percent of distance estimates proved inaccurate. Average accessibility to all food retailer types improved dramatically when food outlets adjacent to the study area were considered, thereby controlling for the edge effect. By neglecting to consider food retailers just outside study area boundaries, previous studies may significantly over-report the actual distance necessary to travel for food. Research on food access spanning large rural regions requires methods that accurately geocode residents and their food sources. By implementing methods akin to those in this paper, future research will be better able to identify areas with poor food accessibility. Improving identification of food desert communities is a first step in facilitating more effective deployment of food policies and programs in those communities.

Combined motor point associative stimulation (MPAS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) improves plateaued manual dexterity performance.

PubMed

Hoseini, Najmeh; Munoz-Rubke, Felipe; Wan, Hsuan-Yu; Block, Hannah J

2016-10-28

Motor point associative stimulation (MPAS) in hand muscles is known to modify motor cortex excitability and improve learning rate, but not plateau of performance, in manual dexterity tasks. Central stimulation of motor cortex, such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), can have similar effects if accompanied by motor practice, which can be difficult and tiring for patients. Here we asked whether adding tDCS to MPAS could improve manual dexterity in healthy individuals who are already performing at their plateau, with no motor practice during stimulation. We hypothesized that MPAS could provide enough coordinated muscle activity to make motor practice unnecessary, and that this combination of stimulation techniques could yield improvements even in subjects at or near their peak. If so, this approach could have a substantial effect on patients with impaired dexterity, who are far from their peak. MPAS was applied for 30min to two right hand muscles important for manual dexterity. tDCS was simultaneously applied over left sensorimotor cortex. The motor cortex input/output (I/O) curve was assessed with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and manual dexterity was assessed with the Purdue Pegboard Test. Compared to sham or cathodal tDCS combined with MPAS, anodal tDCS combined with MPAS significantly increased the plateau of manual dexterity. This result suggests that MPAS has the potential to substitute for motor practice in mediating a beneficial effect of tDCS on manual dexterity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Emergency Manuals Improved Novice Physician Performance During Simulated ICU Emergencies

PubMed Central

Wang, Jacob; Stiegler, Marjorie P.; Nguyen, Dung; Rebel, Annette; Isaak, Robert S.

2017-01-01

Background Emergency manuals, which are safety essentials in non-medical high-reliability organizations (e.g., aviation), have recently gained acceptance in critical medical environments. Of the existing emergency manuals in anesthesiology, most are geared towards intraoperative settings. Additionally, most evidence supporting their efficacy focuses on the study of physicians with at least some meaningful experience as a physician. Our aim was to evaluate whether an emergency manual would improve the performance of novice physicians (post-graduate year [PGY] 1 or first year resident) in managing a critical event in the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods PGY1 interns (n=41) were assessed on the management of a simulated critical event (unstable bradycardia) in the ICU. Participants underwent a group allocation process to either a control group (n=18) or an intervention group (emergency manual provided, n=23). The number of successfully executed treatment and diagnostic interventions completed was evaluated over a ten minute (600 seconds) simulation for each participant. Results The participants using the emergency manual averaged 9.9/12 (83%) interventions, compared to an average of 7.1/12 (59%) interventions (p < 0.01) in the control group. Conclusions The use of an emergency manual was associated with a significant improvement in critical event management by individual novice physicians in a simulated ICU patient (23% average increase). PMID:29600255

Emergency Manuals Improved Novice Physician Performance During Simulated ICU Emergencies.

PubMed

Kazior, Michael R; Wang, Jacob; Stiegler, Marjorie P; Nguyen, Dung; Rebel, Annette; Isaak, Robert S

2017-01-01

Emergency manuals, which are safety essentials in non-medical high-reliability organizations (e.g., aviation), have recently gained acceptance in critical medical environments. Of the existing emergency manuals in anesthesiology, most are geared towards intraoperative settings. Additionally, most evidence supporting their efficacy focuses on the study of physicians with at least some meaningful experience as a physician. Our aim was to evaluate whether an emergency manual would improve the performance of novice physicians (post-graduate year [PGY] 1 or first year resident) in managing a critical event in the intensive care unit (ICU). PGY1 interns (n=41) were assessed on the management of a simulated critical event (unstable bradycardia) in the ICU. Participants underwent a group allocation process to either a control group (n=18) or an intervention group (emergency manual provided, n=23). The number of successfully executed treatment and diagnostic interventions completed was evaluated over a ten minute (600 seconds) simulation for each participant. The participants using the emergency manual averaged 9.9/12 (83%) interventions, compared to an average of 7.1/12 (59%) interventions (p < 0.01) in the control group. The use of an emergency manual was associated with a significant improvement in critical event management by individual novice physicians in a simulated ICU patient (23% average increase).

Cost-effectiveness of manual therapy for the management of musculoskeletal conditions: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of evidence from randomized controlled trials.

PubMed

Tsertsvadze, Alexander; Clar, Christine; Court, Rachel; Clarke, Aileen; Mistry, Hema; Sutcliffe, Paul

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to systematically review trial-based economic evaluations of manual therapy relative to other alternative interventions used for the management of musculoskeletal conditions. A comprehensive literature search was undertaken in major medical, health-related, science and health economic electronic databases. Twenty-five publications were included (11 trial-based economic evaluations). The studies compared cost-effectiveness and/or cost-utility of manual therapy interventions to other treatment alternatives in reducing pain (spinal, shoulder, ankle). Manual therapy techniques (e.g., osteopathic spinal manipulation, physiotherapy manipulation and mobilization techniques, and chiropractic manipulation with or without other treatments) were more cost-effective than usual general practitioner (GP) care alone or with exercise, spinal stabilization, GP advice, advice to remain active, or brief pain management for improving low back and shoulder pain/disability. Chiropractic manipulation was found to be less costly and more effective than alternative treatment compared with either physiotherapy or GP care in improving neck pain. Preliminary evidence from this review shows some economic advantage of manual therapy relative to other interventions used for the management of musculoskeletal conditions, indicating that some manual therapy techniques may be more cost-effective than usual GP care, spinal stabilization, GP advice, advice to remain active, or brief pain management for improving low back and shoulder pain/disability. However, at present, there is a paucity of evidence on the cost-effectiveness and/or cost-utility evaluations for manual therapy interventions. Further improvements in the methodological conduct and reporting quality of economic evaluations of manual therapy are warranted in order to facilitate adequate evidence-based decisions among policy makers, health care practitioners, and patients. Copyright © 2014 National University of Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

End-tidal CO2-guided automated robot CPR system in the pig. Preliminary communication.

PubMed

Suh, Gil Joon; Park, Jaeheung; Lee, Jung Chan; Na, Sang Hoon; Kwon, Woon Yong; Kim, Kyung Su; Kim, Taegyun; Jung, Yoon Sun; Ko, Jung-In; Shin, So Mi; You, Kyoung Min

2018-06-01

Our aim was to compare the efficacy of the end-tidal CO 2 -guided automated robot CPR (robot CPR) system with manual CPR and mechanical device CPR. We developed the algorithm of the robot CPR system which automatically finds the optimal compression position under the guidance of end-tidal CO 2 feedback in swine models of cardiac arrest. Then, 18 pigs after 11 min of cardiac arrest were randomly assigned to one of three groups, robot CPR, LUCAS CPR, and manual CPR groups (n = 6 each group). Return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and Neurological Deficit Score 48 h after ROSC were compared. A ROSC was achieved in 5 pigs, 4 pigs, and 3 pigs in the robot CPR, LUCAS CPR, and manual CPR groups, respectively (p = 0.47). Robot CPR showed a significant difference in Neurological Deficit Score 48 h after ROSC compared to manual CPR, whereas LUCAS CPR showed no significant difference over manual CPR. (p = 0.01; Robot versus Manual adjusted p = 0.04, Robot versus LUCAS adjusted p = 0.07, Manual versus LUCAS adjusted p = 1.00). The end-tidal CO 2 -guided automated robot CPR system did not significantly improve ROSC rate in a swine model of cardiac arrest. However, robot CPR showed significant improvement of Neurological Deficit Score 48 h after ROSC compared to Manual CPR while LUCAS CPR showed no significant improvement compared to Manual CPR. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cross-sectional study of area-level disadvantage and glycaemic-related risk in community health service users in the Southern.IML Research (SIMLR) cohort.

PubMed

Cross, Roger; Bonney, Andrew; Mayne, Darren J; Weston, Kathryn M

2017-09-19

Objectives The aim of the present study was to determine the association between area-level socioeconomic disadvantage and glycaemic-related risk in health service users in the Illawarra-Shoalhaven region of New South Wales, Australia. Methods HbA1c values recorded between 2010 and 2012 for non-pregnant individuals aged ≥18 years were extracted from the Southern.IML Research (SIMLR) database. Individuals were assigned quintiles of the Socioeconomic Indices for Australia (SEIFA) Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage (IRSD) according to their Statistical Area 1 of residence. Glycaemic risk categories were defined as HbA1c 5.0-5.99% (lowest risk), 6.0-7.49% (intermediate risk) and ≥7.5% (highest risk). Logistic regression models were fit with glycaemic risk category as the outcome variable and IRSD as the study variable, adjusting for age and sex. Results Data from 29064 individuals were analysed. Higher disadvantage was associated with belonging to a higher glycaemic risk category in the fully adjusted model (most disadvantaged vs least disadvantaged quintile; odds ratio 1.74, 95% confidence interval 1.58, 1.93; P<0.001). Conclusion In this geocoded clinical dataset, area-level socioeconomic disadvantage was a significant correlate of increased glycaemic-related risk. Geocoded clinical data can inform more targeted use of health service resources, with the potential for improved health care equity and cost-effectiveness. What is known about the topic? The rapid increase in the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes (T2D), both globally and nationally within Australia, is a major concern for the community and public health agencies. Individual socioeconomic disadvantage is a known risk factor for abnormal glucose metabolism (AGM), including T2D. Although small-area-level socioeconomic disadvantage is a known correlate of AGM in Australia, less is known of the association of area-level disadvantage and glycaemic-related risk in individuals with AGM. What does this paper add? This study demonstrates a robust association between small-area-level socioeconomic disadvantage and glycaemic-related risk in regional New South Wales. The study demonstrates that it is feasible to use geocoded, routinely collected clinical data to identify communities at increased health risk. What are the implications for practitioners? The identification of at-risk populations is an essential step towards targeted public health policy and programs aimed at reducing the burden of AGM, its complications and the associated economic costs. Collaboration between primary care and public health in the collection and use of data described in the present study has the potential to enhance the effectiveness of both sectors.

Development of manuals for the effective use of variable message signs.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1995-01-01

A comprehensive research effort to develop operator's manuals for variable message signs (VMSs) was undertaken to improve the operations of both portable and permanent (fixed-site) VMSs in Virginia. This report describes the development of two manual...

The Social Meaning of Sharing and Geocoding: Features and Social Processes in Online Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xiong, Li

2012-01-01

This study examines how emergent communities might show different patterns of uses and perceptions for communication and profile features when geolocation features are used. It explores the ways that location awareness moderates the social and cognitive processes that motivate people's participation in the sharing of personal information…

Equity Indicators: Measures of Socio-Economic Status at Victoria University.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sinclair, Genevieve; Doughney, James; Palermo, Josephine

After a review of relevant literature on socioeconomic status (SES) and the ways in which is used for higher education institutional research and policy, a detailed data analysis of Victoria University (VU), Australia student data was undertaken. Between 10,000 and 15,000 domestic student addresses were geocoded to Australian Bureau of Statistics…

78 FR 64212 - Information Collections Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission; Comments Requested

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-28

... Investment Annual Milestone Reports; Changes in Phase I Deployments; and Connect America Phase II State-Level... information to the Commission. However, respondents may request materials or information submitted to the... approval is sought are the Geocoded Information for Phase I Two- and Three-Year Milestone Reports...

Do Head Start Impacts Vary by Neighborhood Context?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morris, Pamela A.; Connors, Maia C.; McCoy, Dana Charles; Gomez, Celia J.; Yoshikawa, Hiro; Aber, J. Lawrence

2014-01-01

This paper capitalizes on the addition of geocodes for Head Start centers in which children were randomly assigned to address questions about the role of neighborhood characteristics in moderating impacts of assignment to the Head Start program. Researchers explore the extent to which impacts of assignment to Head Start on outcomes for children…

76 FR 12694 - The 2010 Census Count Question Resolution Program

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-08

..., based on three types of challenges (1) boundary, (2) geocoding, and (3) coverage. The CQR Program is not... initial notice relating to the 2010 Census Count Question Resolution (CQR) Program (75 FR 29508). This... accept challenges between June 1, 2011, and June 1, 2013, and will review challenges in the order they...

An earth remote sensing satellite- 1 Synthetic Aperture Radar Mosaic of the Tanana River Basin in Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wivell, Charles E.; Olmsted, Coert; Steinwand, Daniel R.; Taylor, Christopher

1993-01-01

Because the pixel location in a line of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image data is directly related to the distance the pixel is from the radar, terrain elevations cause large displacement errors in the geo-referenced location of the pixel. This is especially true for radar systems with small angles between the nadir and look vectors. Thus, to geo-register a SAR image accurately, the terrain of the area must be taken into account. (Curlander et al., 1987; Kwok et al., 1987, Schreier et al., 1990; Wivell et al., 1992). As part of the 1992 National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Earth Observing System Version 0 activities, a prototype SAR geocod-. ing and terrain correction system was developed at the US. Geological Survey's (USGS) E~os Data Center (EDC) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Using this system with 3-arc-second digital elevation models (DEMs) mosaicked at the ED^ Alaska Field Office, 21 ERS-I s.4~ scenes acquired at the Alaska SAR Facility were automatically geocoded, terrain corrected, and mosaicked. The geo-registered scenes were mosaicked using a simple concatenation.

Geocode of River Networks in Global Plateaus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ni, J.; Wang, Y.; Wang, T.

2017-12-01

As typical hierarchical systems, river networks are of great significance to aquatic organisms and its diversity. Different aspects of river networks have been investigated in previous studies such as network structure, formation cause, material transport, nutrient cycle and habitat variation. Nevertheless, river networks function as biological habitat is far from satisfactory in plateau areas. This paper presents a hierarchical method for habitat characterization of plateau river networks with the geocode extracted from abiotic factors including historical geologic period, climate zone, water source and geomorphic process at different spatial scales. As results, characteristics of biological response with vertical differentiation within typical plateau river networks are elucidated. Altitude, climate and landform are of great influence to habitat and thereby structure of aquatic community, while diverse water source and exogenic action would influence biological abundance or spatiotemporal distribution. Case studies are made in the main stream of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, respectively extended to the river source to Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which demonstrate high potentials for decision making support to river protection, ecological rehabilitation and sustainable management of river ecosystems.

Manual physical therapy and perturbation exercises in knee osteoarthritis.

PubMed

Rhon, Daniel; Deyle, Gail; Gill, Norman; Rendeiro, Daniel

2013-11-01

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) causes disability among the elderly and is often associated with impaired balance and proprioception. Perturbation exercises may help improve these impairments. Although manual physical therapy is generally a well-tolerated treatment for knee OA, perturbation exercises have not been evaluated when used with a manual physical therapy approach. The purpose of this study was to observe tolerance to perturbation exercises and the effect of a manual physical therapy approach with perturbation exercises on patients with knee OA. This was a prospective observational cohort study of 15 patients with knee OA. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC), global rating of change (GROC), and 72-hour post-treatment tolerance were primary outcome measures. Patients received perturbation balance exercises along with a manual physical therapy approach, twice weekly for 4 weeks. Follow-up evaluation was done at 1, 3, and 6 months after beginning the program. Mean total WOMAC score significantly improved (P = 0.001) after the 4-week program (total WOMAC: initial, 105; 4 weeks, 56; 3 months, 54; 6 months, 57). Mean improvements were similar to previously published trials of manual physical therapy without perturbation exercises. The GROC score showed a minimal clinically important difference (MCID)≥+3 in 13 patients (87%) at 4 weeks, 12 patients (80%) at 3 months, and 9 patients (60%) at 6 months. No patients reported exacerbation of symptoms within 72 hours following each treatment session. A manual physical therapy approach that also included perturbation exercises was well tolerated and resulted in improved outcome scores in patients with knee OA.

Three combinations of manual therapy techniques within naprapathy in the treatment of neck and/or back pain: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Paanalahti, Kari; Holm, Lena W; Nordin, Margareta; Höijer, Jonas; Lyander, Jessica; Asker, Martin; Skillgate, Eva

2016-04-23

Manual therapy as spinal manipulation, spinal mobilization, stretching and massage are common treatment methods for neck and back pain. The objective was to compare the treatment effect on pain intensity, pain related disability and perceived recovery from a) naprapathic manual therapy (spinal manipulation, spinal mobilization, stretching and massage) to b) naprapathic manual therapy without spinal manipulation and to c) naprapathic manual therapy without stretching for male and female patients seeking care for back and/or neck pain. Participants were recruited among patients, ages 18-65, seeking care at the educational clinic of Naprapathögskolan - the Scandinavian College of Naprapathic Manual Medicine in Stockholm. The patients (n = 1057) were randomized to one of three treatment arms a) manual therapy (i.e. spinal manipulation, spinal mobilization, stretching and massage), b) manual therapy excluding spinal manipulation and c) manual therapy excluding stretching. The primary outcomes were minimal clinically important improvement in pain intensity and pain related disability. Treatments were provided by naprapath students in the seventh semester of eight total semesters. Generalized estimating equations and logistic regression were used to examine the association between the treatments and the outcomes. At 12 weeks follow-up, 64% had a minimal clinically important improvement in pain intensity and 42% in pain related disability. The corresponding chances to be improved at the 52 weeks follow-up were 58% and 40% respectively. No systematic differences in effect when excluding spinal manipulation and stretching respectively from the treatment were found over 1 year follow-up, concerning minimal clinically important improvement in pain intensity (p = 0.41) and pain related disability (p = 0.85) and perceived recovery (p = 0.98). Neither were there disparities in effect when male and female patients were analyzed separately. The effect of manual therapy for male and female patients seeking care for neck and/or back pain at an educational clinic is similar regardless if spinal manipulation or if stretching is excluded from the treatment option. Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN92249294.

Risk assessment of manual material handling activities (case study: PT BRS Standard Industry)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deviani; Triyanti, V.

2017-12-01

The process of moving material manually has the potential for injury to workers. The risk of injury will increase if we do not pay attention to the working conditions. The purpose of this study is to assess and analyze the injury risk level in manual handling material activity, as well as to improve the condition. The observed manual material handling activities is pole lifting and goods loading. These activities were analyzed using Job Strain Index method, Rapid Entire Body Assessment, and Chaffin’s 2D Planar Static Model. The results show that most workers who perform almost all activities have a high level of risk level with the score of JSI and REBA exceeds 9 points. For some activities, the estimated compression forces in the lumbar area also exceed the standard limits of 3400 N. Concerning this condition, several suggestions for improvement were made, improving the composition of packing, improving body posture, and making guideline posters.

Development of spatial density maps based on geoprocessing web services: application to tuberculosis incidence in Barcelona, Spain.

PubMed

Dominkovics, Pau; Granell, Carlos; Pérez-Navarro, Antoni; Casals, Martí; Orcau, Angels; Caylà, Joan A

2011-11-29

Health professionals and authorities strive to cope with heterogeneous data, services, and statistical models to support decision making on public health. Sophisticated analysis and distributed processing capabilities over geocoded epidemiological data are seen as driving factors to speed up control and decision making in these health risk situations. In this context, recent Web technologies and standards-based web services deployed on geospatial information infrastructures have rapidly become an efficient way to access, share, process, and visualize geocoded health-related information. Data used on this study is based on Tuberculosis (TB) cases registered in Barcelona city during 2009. Residential addresses are geocoded and loaded into a spatial database that acts as a backend database. The web-based application architecture and geoprocessing web services are designed according to the Representational State Transfer (REST) principles. These web processing services produce spatial density maps against the backend database. The results are focused on the use of the proposed web-based application to the analysis of TB cases in Barcelona. The application produces spatial density maps to ease the monitoring and decision making process by health professionals. We also include a discussion of how spatial density maps may be useful for health practitioners in such contexts. In this paper, we developed web-based client application and a set of geoprocessing web services to support specific health-spatial requirements. Spatial density maps of TB incidence were generated to help health professionals in analysis and decision-making tasks. The combined use of geographic information tools, map viewers, and geoprocessing services leads to interesting possibilities in handling health data in a spatial manner. In particular, the use of spatial density maps has been effective to identify the most affected areas and its spatial impact. This study is an attempt to demonstrate how web processing services together with web-based mapping capabilities suit the needs of health practitioners in epidemiological analysis scenarios.

Development of spatial density maps based on geoprocessing web services: application to tuberculosis incidence in Barcelona, Spain

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Health professionals and authorities strive to cope with heterogeneous data, services, and statistical models to support decision making on public health. Sophisticated analysis and distributed processing capabilities over geocoded epidemiological data are seen as driving factors to speed up control and decision making in these health risk situations. In this context, recent Web technologies and standards-based web services deployed on geospatial information infrastructures have rapidly become an efficient way to access, share, process, and visualize geocoded health-related information. Methods Data used on this study is based on Tuberculosis (TB) cases registered in Barcelona city during 2009. Residential addresses are geocoded and loaded into a spatial database that acts as a backend database. The web-based application architecture and geoprocessing web services are designed according to the Representational State Transfer (REST) principles. These web processing services produce spatial density maps against the backend database. Results The results are focused on the use of the proposed web-based application to the analysis of TB cases in Barcelona. The application produces spatial density maps to ease the monitoring and decision making process by health professionals. We also include a discussion of how spatial density maps may be useful for health practitioners in such contexts. Conclusions In this paper, we developed web-based client application and a set of geoprocessing web services to support specific health-spatial requirements. Spatial density maps of TB incidence were generated to help health professionals in analysis and decision-making tasks. The combined use of geographic information tools, map viewers, and geoprocessing services leads to interesting possibilities in handling health data in a spatial manner. In particular, the use of spatial density maps has been effective to identify the most affected areas and its spatial impact. This study is an attempt to demonstrate how web processing services together with web-based mapping capabilities suit the needs of health practitioners in epidemiological analysis scenarios. PMID:22126392

Musculoskeletal pain, depression, and stress among Latino manual laborers in North Carolina.

PubMed

Tribble, Anna Grace; Summers, Phillip; Chen, Haiying; Quandt, Sara A; Arcury, Thomas A

2016-11-01

The jobs of Latino manual laborers place their mental and physical health at risk. This study evaluates the associations among musculoskeletal pain, mental health, and work organization in Latino manual laborers. Farmworkers and nonfarmworkers (n = 189) in North Carolina were interviewed for self-reported musculoskeletal pain, depressive symptoms, stress, work safety climate, and precarious job status. More nonfarmworkers than farmworkers had neck and shoulder pain, but they did not differ in other areas of musculoskeletal pain. Depressive symptoms had a significant association with neck and shoulder pain (p < .05). Precariousness had a significant association with back pain (p < .05). Farmworker participants had H-2A visas and were afforded some protection compared to nonfarmworker manual workers. Research is needed to improve policy that relieves pain and improves mental health for all Latino manual workers.

Utilization of manual therapy to the lumbar spine in conjunction with traditional conservative care for individuals with bilateral lower extremity complex regional pain syndrome: A case series.

PubMed

Walston, Zachary; Hernandez, Luis; Yake, Dale

2018-06-06

Conservative therapies for complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) have traditionally focused on exercise and desensitization techniques targeted at the involved extremity. The primary purpose of this case series is to report on the potential benefit of utilizing manual therapy to the lumbar spine in conjunction with traditional conservative care when treating patients with lower extremity CRPS. Two patients with the diagnosis of lower extremity CRPS were treated with manual therapy to the lumbar spine in conjunction with education, exercise, desensitization, and soft tissue techniques for the extremity. Patient 1 received 13 sessions over 6 weeks resulting in a 34-point improvement in oswestry disability index (ODI) and 35-point improvement in lower extremity functional scale (LEFS). Patient 2 received 21 sessions over 12 weeks resulting in a 28-point improvement in ODI and a 41-point improvement in LEFS. Both patients exhibited reductions in pain and clinically meaningful improvements in function. Manual therapies when applied to the lumbar spine in these patients as part of a comprehensive treatment plan resulted in improved spinal mobility, decreased pain, and reduction is distal referred symptoms. Although one cannot infer a cause and effect relationship from a case series, this report identifies meaningful clinical outcomes potentially associated with manual physical therapy to the lumbar spine for two patients with complex regional pain syndrome type 1.

Robotically assisted ablation produces more rapid and greater signal attenuation than manual ablation.

PubMed

Koa-Wing, Michael; Kojodjojo, Pipin; Malcolme-Lawes, Louisa C; Salukhe, Tushar V; Linton, Nick W F; Grogan, Aaron P; Bergman, Dale; Lim, Phang Boon; Whinnett, Zachary I; McCarthy, Karen; Ho, Siew Yen; O'Neill, Mark D; Peters, Nicholas S; Davies, D Wyn; Kanagaratnam, Prapa

2009-12-01

Robotic remote catheter ablation potentially provides improved catheter-tip stability, which should improve the efficiency of radiofrequency energy delivery. Percentage reduction in electrogram peak-to-peak voltage has been used as a measure of effectiveness of ablation. We tested the hypothesis that improved catheter-tip stability of robotic ablation can diminish signals to a greater degree than manual ablation. In vivo NavX maps of 7 pig atria were constructed. Separate lines of ablation were performed robotically and manually, recording pre- and postablation peak-to-peak voltages at 10, 20, 30, and 60 seconds and calculating signal amplitude reduction. Catheter ablation settings were constant (25W, 50 degrees , 17 mL/min, 20-30 g catheter tip pressure). The pigs were sacrificed and ablation lesions correlated with NavX maps. Robotic ablation reduced signal amplitude to a greater degree than manual ablation (49 +/- 2.6% vs 29 +/- 4.5% signal reduction after 1 minute [P = 0.0002]). The mean energy delivered (223 +/- 184 J vs 231 +/- 190 J, P = 0.42), power (19 +/- 3.5 W vs 19 +/- 4 W, P = 0.84), and duration of ablation (15 +/- 9 seconds vs 15 +/- 9 seconds, P = 0.89) was the same for manual and robotic. The mean peak catheter-tip temperature was higher for robotic (45 +/- 5 degrees C vs 42 +/- 3 degrees C [P < 0.0001]). The incidence of >50% signal reduction was greater for robotic (37%) than manual (21%) ablation (P = 0.0001). Robotically assisted ablation appears to be more effective than manual ablation at signal amplitude reduction, therefore may be expected to produce improved clinical outcomes.

Comparing the effects of manual therapy versus electrophysical agents in the management of knee osteoarthritis.

PubMed

Ali, Syed Shahzad; Ahmed, Syed Imran; Khan, Muhammad; Soomro, Rabail Rani

2014-07-01

To evaluate the effectiveness of Manual Therapy in comparison to Electrophysical agents in Knee Osteoarthritis. Total 50 patients with knee osteoarthritis were recruited from OPD of orthopedics civil hospital and Institute Of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Dow University of Health Sciences Karachi. All those patients who fulfilled inclusion criteria were selected on voluntary basis. Selected patients were equally divided and randomly assigned into two groups with age and gender matching. The Manual therapy group received program of Maitland joint mobilization whereas Electrophysical Agent group received a program of TENS and cold pack. Both group received a program of exercise therapy as well. Patients received 3 treatment sessions per week for 4 successive weeks. Clinical assessment was performed using WOMAC index at baseline and on 12th treatment session. Both study groups showed clinically and statistically considerable improvements in WOMAC index. However, Related 2 sample t-test showed better clinical results in Manual Therapy group (p = 0.000) than Electrophysical Agents group (p = 0.008). The mean improvement in total WOMAC index was relatively higher in Manual Therapy group (22.36 ± 13.91) than Electrophysical Agent group (9.72 ± 6.10). This study concluded that manual therapy is clinically more effective in decreasing pain, stiffness and improving physical function in knee osteoarthritis.

Application of the Health Literacy INDEX on the development of a manual for prevention of falls for older adults.

PubMed

Andrade, Isabel; Silva, Catarina; Martins, Anabela Correia

2017-01-01

The Health Literacy INDEX tool has been developed for creating accessible and readable health information materials for people of all literacy levels. To increase knowledge of falls risk factors and actively engage older adults, we developed an improved manual for prevention of falls for low-health literacy older people entitled "Preventing falls-I can do it",with the aid of INDEX. First time application of the INDEX tool for assessing the health literacy demands of available manuals for prevention of falls for older adults and subsequent development of an improved manual using the INDEX tool as a checklist, supported by a pretest phase involving sixteen adults ≥65, living in the community, with literacy ≤4th grade and limited functional health literacy. The engagement of older adults from the target audience and their feedback obtained during the validation process contributed to the development of an improved health literacy- and age-friendly manual for prevention of falls. By offering effective health information materials, older adults can play a more active role in their health care. The manual developed to be health literacy- and age-friendly is available to be included in any multifactorial program for the prevention of falls in older adults. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

IS MANUAL THERAPY A RATIONAL APPROACH TO IMPROVING HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN PEOPLE WITH ARTHRITIS?

PubMed Central

Cameron, Melainie

2002-01-01

Background: People with arthritic disease are advised to participate in gentle exercise on a regular basis, and pursue long-term medication regimes. Alternative therapies are also used by people with arthritis, and may sometimes be recommended by rheumatologists and other medical personnel. Alternative therapies may be divided into two types: active therapies, in which the patient takes a driving role, and passive therapies, in which the therapy cannot proceed unless driven by a therapist. Objective: To review the effectiveness of manual therapy in improving the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of people with two common arthritis conditions: Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Discussion: Massage, and other passive (practitioner-driven) manual therapies, have been anecdotally reported to improve health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in people with arthritis. Many manual therapists consult with patients who have arthritic diseases, receive referrals from rheumatologists, and consider the arthritic diseases to be within their field of practise. Although there is empirical evidence that manual therapy with some types of arthritis is beneficial, the level of effectiveness however is under-researched. Medical authorities are reluctant to endorse manual therapies for arthritis due to a lack of scientific evidence demonstrating efficacy, safety, and cost effectiveness. PMID:17987169

Anesthesia Recordkeeping: Accuracy of Recall with Computerized and Manual Entry Recordkeeping

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Thomas Corey

2011-01-01

Introduction: Anesthesia information management systems are rapidly gaining widespread acceptance. Aggressively promoted as an improvement to manual-entry recordkeeping systems in the areas of accuracy, quality improvement, billing and vigilance, these systems record all patient vital signs and parameters, providing a legible hard copy and…

Parolees' Physical Closeness to Social Services: A Study of California Parolees

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hipp, John R.; Jannetta, Jesse; Shah, Rita; Turner, Susan

2011-01-01

This study examines the proximity of service providers to recently released parolees in California over a 2-year period (2005-2006). The addresses of parolee residences and service providers are geocoded, and the number of various types of service providers within 2 miles (3.2 km) of a parolee are measured. "Potential demand" is measured…

Labor Market Frictions and Production Efficiency in Public Schools. Working Paper 163

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Dongwoo; Koedel, Cory; Ni, Shawn; Podgursky, Michael

2016-01-01

State-specific licensing policies and pension plans create mobility costs for educators who cross state lines. We empirically test whether these costs affect production in schools--a hypothesis that follows directly from economic theory on labor frictions--using geo-coded data from the lower-48 states. We find that achievement is lower in…

Urban trees and the risk of poor birth outcomes

Treesearch

Geoffrey H. Donovan; Yvonne L. Michael; David T. Butry; Amy D. Sullivan; John M. Chase

2011-01-01

This paper investigated whether greater tree-canopy cover is associated with reduced risk of poor birth outcomes in Portland, Oregon. Residential addresses were geocoded and linked to classified-aerial imagery to calculate tree-canopy cover in 50, 100, and 200 m buffers around each home in our sample (n=5696). Detailed data on maternal characteristics and additional...

Rural and Urban High School Dropout Rates: Are They Different?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jordan, Jeffrey L.; Kostandini, Genti; Mykerezi, Elton

2012-01-01

This study estimates the high school dropout rate in rural and urban areas, the determinants of dropping out, and whether the differences in graduation rates have changed over time. We use geocoded data from two nationally representative panel household surveys (NLSY 97 and NLSY 79) and a novel methodology that corrects for biases in graduation…

Indicators of Access to Early Childhood Services in the Mississippi Delta. Rural Early Childhood Report No. 5

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shores, Elizabeth F.; Barbaro, Erin; Barbaro, Michael C.; Flenner, Michelle; Bell, Lynn

2007-01-01

The Early Childhood Atlas facilitates spatial analysis in early childhood services research for the promotion of greater quality and accessibility of early care and education. The Atlas team collects and geocodes federal, state and nongovernmental datasets about early childhood services, integrating selected data elements into its online mapmaking…

77 FR 9956 - Announcement of Funding Awards for the Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-21

... of regional significance, use data to set and monitor progress toward performance goals, and engage... Principles; d. Use geo-coded data sets and other metrics in developing, implementing, monitoring, and... (103 Stat. 1987, 42 U.S.C. 3545), the Department is publishing the names, addresses, and amounts of the...

Robotic assistance and general anaesthesia improve catheter stability and increase signal attenuation during atrial fibrillation ablation.

PubMed

Malcolme-Lawes, Louisa C; Lim, Phang Boon; Koa-Wing, Michael; Whinnett, Zachary I; Jamil-Copley, Shahnaz; Hayat, Sajad; Francis, Darrel P; Kojodjojo, Pipin; Davies, D Wyn; Peters, Nicholas S; Kanagaratnam, Prapa

2013-01-01

Recurrent arrhythmias after ablation procedures are often caused by recovery of ablated tissue. Robotic catheter manipulation systems increase catheter tip stability which improves energy delivery and could produce more transmural lesions. We tested this assertion using bipolar voltage attenuation as a marker of lesion quality comparing robotic and manual circumferential pulmonary vein ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF). Twenty patients were randomly assigned to robotic or manual AF ablation at standard radiofrequency (RF) settings for our institution (30 W 60 s manual, 25 W 30 s robotic, R30). A separate group of 10 consecutive patients underwent robotic ablation at increased RF duration, 25 W for 60 s (R60). Lesions were marked on an electroanatomic map before and after ablation to measure distance moved and change in bipolar electrogram amplitude during RF. A total of 1108 lesions were studied (761 robotic, 347 manual). A correlation was identified between voltage attenuation and catheter movement during RF (Spearman's rho -0.929, P < 0.001). The ablation catheter was more stable during robotic RF; 2.9 ± 2.3 mm (R30) and 2.6 ± 2.2 mm (R60), both significantly less than the manual group (4.3 ± 3.0 mm, P < 0.001). Despite improved stability, there was no difference in signal attenuation between the manual and R30 group. However, there was increased signal attenuation in the R60 group (52.4 ± 19.4%) compared with manual (47.7 ± 25.4%, P = 0.01). When procedures under general anaesthesia (GA) and conscious sedation were analysed separately, the improvement in signal attenuation in the R60 group was only significant in the procedures under GA. Robotically assisted ablation has the capability to deliver greater bipolar voltage attenuation compared with manual ablation with appropriate selection of RF parameters. General anaesthesia confers additional benefits of catheter stability and greater signal attenuation. These findings may have a significant impact on outcomes from AF ablation procedures.

Evaluation in industry of a draft code of practice for manual handling.

PubMed

Ashby, Liz; Tappin, David; Bentley, Tim

2004-05-01

This paper reports findings from a study which evaluated the draft New Zealand Code of Practice for Manual Handling. The evaluation assessed the ease of use, applicability and validity of the Code and in particular the associated manual handling hazard assessment tools, within New Zealand industry. The Code was studied in a sample of eight companies from four sectors of industry. Subjective feedback and objective findings indicated that the Code was useful, applicable and informative. The manual handling hazard assessment tools incorporated in the Code could be adequately applied by most users, with risk assessment outcomes largely consistent with the findings of researchers using more specific ergonomics methodologies. However, some changes were recommended to the risk assessment tools to improve usability and validity. The evaluation concluded that both the Code and the tools within it would benefit from simplification, improved typography and layout, and industry-specific information on manual handling hazards.

Musculoskeletal Pain, Depression and Stress among Latino Manual Laborers in North Carolina

PubMed Central

Tribble, Anna Grace; Summers, Phillip; Chen, Haiying; Quandt, Sara A.; Arcury, Thomas A.

2016-01-01

The jobs of Latino manual laborers place their mental and physical health at risk. This study evaluates the associations among musculoskeletal pain, mental health, and work organization in Latino manual laborers. Farmworkers and non-farmworkers (n=189) in North Carolina were interviewed for self-reported musculoskeletal pain, depressive symptoms, stress, work safety climate, and precarious job status. More non-farmworkers than farmworkers had neck and shoulder pain, but they did not differ in other areas of musculoskeletal pain. Depressive symptoms had a significant association with neck and shoulder pain (p<0.05). Precariousness had a significant association with back pain (p<0.05). Farmworker participants had H-2A visas and were afforded some protection compared to non-farmworker manual workers. Research is needed to improve policy that relieves pain and improves mental health for all Latino manual workers. PMID:26422551

Indoor Air Quality Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baldwin Union Free School District, NY.

This manual identifies ways to improve a school's indoor air quality (IAQ) and discusses practical actions that can be carried out by school staff in managing air quality. The manual includes discussions of the many sources contributing to school indoor air pollution and the preventive planning for each including renovation and repair work,…

Improving Sex Equity in Postsecondary Vocational/Technical Programs: A Resource Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lovelace, Bill E.; And Others

This manual was developed to assist postsecondary administrators, faculty, staff, and students by providing materials specifically designed to eliminate sex bias and stereotyping of students and to recruit students into nontraditional careers and vocational-technical programs. The manual is organized in six sections. The first section introduces…

A Teacher's Spelling Manual for Seventh Grade.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Datres, Kristine, Comp.; Heggenstaller, Barbara, Comp.

The spelling program described in this manual was designed with the idea that spelling study initiated in the elementary grades should continue through the middle school years. The manual first describes the program's objectives: to help students learn basic spelling rules, develop an interest in word lore and vocabulary improvement, and develop…

Improvement in children's fine motor skills following a computerized typing intervention.

PubMed

McGlashan, Hannah L; Blanchard, Caroline C V; Sycamore, Nicole J; Lee, Rachel; French, Blandine; Holmes, Nicholas P

2017-12-01

Children spend a large proportion of their school day engaged in tasks that require manual dexterity. If children experience difficulties with their manual dexterity skills it can have a consequential effect on their academic achievement. The first aim of this paper was to explore whether an online interactive typing intervention could improve children's scores on a standardised measure of manual dexterity. The second aim was to implement a serial reaction time tapping task as an index of children's finger movement learning, and to see whether performance on this task would improve after the intervention. Seventy-eight typically developing children aged between 8 and 10 were tested at their school on the pre-intervention Movement Assessment Battery for Children (2nd edition; MABC-2) and tapping tasks. Twenty-eight of these children volunteered to be randomly allocated to the intervention or control group. Children in the intervention group had a choice of two online games to play at home over a period of four weeks, while the children in the control group were not given these games to play. The intervention and control groups were then re-tested on the MABC-2 manual dexterity and the tapping task. Children in the intervention group significantly improved their manual dexterity scores in the MABC-2 compared to the control group. On average, all children learnt the tapping sequence, however, there were no group differences and no effect of the intervention on the tapping task. These results have important implications for implementing a freely available, easy to administer, fun and interactive intervention to help children improve their manual dexterity skills. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The cost-effectiveness of three methods of disseminating information to improve medical male circumcision in Uganda

PubMed Central

Karamagi, Esther; Kigonya, Angella; Lawino, Anna; Marquez, Lani; Lunsford, Sarah Smith; Twinomugisha, Albert

2018-01-01

Background Uganda is working to increase voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) to prevent HIV infection. To support VMMC quality improvement, this study compared three methods of disseminating information to facilities on how to improve VMMC quality: M—providing a written manual; MH—providing the manual plus a handover meeting in which clinicians shared advice on implementing key changes and participated in group discussion; and MHC—manual, handover meeting, and three site visits to the facility in which a coach provided individualized guidance and mentoring on improvement. We determined the different effects these had on compliance with indicators of quality of care. Methods This controlled pre-post intervention study randomized health facility groups to receive M, MH, or MHC. Observations of VMMCs performance determined compliance with quality indicators. Intervention costs per patient receiving VMMC were used in a decision-tree cost-effectiveness model to calculate the incremental cost per additional patient treated to compliance with indicators of informed consent, history taking, anesthesia administration, and post-operative instructions. Results The most intensive method (MHC) cost $28.83 per patient and produced the biggest gains in history taking (35% improvement), anesthesia administration (20% improvement), and post-operative instructions (37% improvement). The least intensive method (M; $1.13 per patient) was most efficient because it produced small gains for a very low cost. The handover meeting (MH) was the most expensive among the three interventions but did not have a corresponding positive effect on quality. Conclusion Health workers in facilities that received the VMMC improvement manual and participated in the handover meeting and coaching visits showed more improvement in VMMC quality indicators than those in the other two intervention groups. Providing the manual alone cost the least but was also the least effective in achieving improvements. The MHC intervention is recommended for broader implementation to improve VMMC quality in Uganda. PMID:29672578

The Spatial Scale and Spatial Configuration of Residential Settlement: Measuring Segregation in the Postbellum South

PubMed Central

Logan, John R.; Martinez, Matthew

2018-01-01

Studies of residential segregation typically focus on its degree without questioning its scale and configuration. We study Southern cities in 1880 to emphasize the salience of these spatial dimensions. Distance-based and sequence indices can reflect spatial patterns but with some limitations, while geocoded 100% population data make possible more informative measures. One improvement is flexibility in spatial scale, ranging from adjacent buildings to whole districts of the city. Another is the ability to map patterns in fine detail. In Southern cities we find qualitatively distinct configurations that include not only black “neighborhoods” as usually imagined, but also backyard housing, alley housing, and side streets that were predominantly black. These configurations represent the sort of symbolic boundaries recognized by urban ethnographers. By mapping residential configurations and interpreting them in light of historical accounts, our intention is to capture meanings that are too often missed by quantitative studies of segregation. PMID:29479108

Techniques and Tools for Estimating Ionospheric Effects in Interferometric and Polarimetric SAR Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosen, P.; Lavalle, M.; Pi, X.; Buckley, S.; Szeliga, W.; Zebker, H.; Gurrola, E.

2011-01-01

The InSAR Scientific Computing Environment (ISCE) is a flexible, extensible software tool designed for the end-to-end processing and analysis of synthetic aperture radar data. ISCE inherits the core of the ROI_PAC interferometric tool, but contains improvements at all levels of the radar processing chain, including a modular and extensible architecture, new focusing approach, better geocoding of the data, handling of multi-polarization data, radiometric calibration, and estimation and correction of ionospheric effects. In this paper we describe the characteristics of ISCE with emphasis on the ionospheric modules. To detect ionospheric anomalies, ISCE implements the Faraday rotation method using quadpolarimetric images, and the split-spectrum technique using interferometric single-, dual- and quad-polarimetric images. The ability to generate co-registered time series of quad-polarimetric images makes ISCE also an ideal tool to be used for polarimetric-interferometric radar applications.

Obesity and supermarket access: proximity or price?

PubMed

Drewnowski, Adam; Aggarwal, Anju; Hurvitz, Philip M; Monsivais, Pablo; Moudon, Anne V

2012-08-01

We examined whether physical proximity to supermarkets or supermarket price was more strongly associated with obesity risk. The Seattle Obesity Study (SOS) collected and geocoded data on home addresses and food shopping destinations for a representative sample of adult residents of King County, Washington. Supermarkets were stratified into 3 price levels based on average cost of the market basket. Sociodemographic and health data were obtained from a telephone survey. Modified Poisson regression was used to test the associations between obesity and supermarket variables. Only 1 in 7 respondents reported shopping at the nearest supermarket. The risk of obesity was not associated with street network distances between home and the nearest supermarket or the supermarket that SOS participants reported as their primary food source. The type of supermarket, by price, was found to be inversely and significantly associated with obesity rates, even after adjusting for individual-level sociodemographic and lifestyle variables, and proximity measures (adjusted relative risk=0.34; 95% confidence interval=0.19, 0.63) Improving physical access to supermarkets may be one strategy to deal with the obesity epidemic; improving economic access to healthy foods is another.

Geodetic Imaging and Tsunami Modeling of the 2017 Coupled Landslide-Tsunami Event in Karrat Fjord, West Greenland.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barba, M.; Willis, M. J.; Tiampo, K. F.; Lynett, P. J.; Mätzler, E.; Thorsøe, K.; Higman, B. M.; Thompson, J. A.; Morin, P. J.

2017-12-01

We use a combination of geodetic imaging techniques and modelling efforts to examine the June 2017 Karrat Fjord, West Greenland, landslide and tsunami event. Our efforts include analysis of pre-cursor motions extracted from Sentinal SAR interferometry that we improved with high-resolution Digital Surface Models derived from commercial imagery and geo-coded Structure from Motion analyses. We produce well constrained estimates of landslide volume through DSM differencing by improving the ArcticDEM coverage of the region, and provide modeled tsunami run-up estimates at villages around the region, constrained with in-situ observations provided by the Greenlandic authorities. Estimates of run-up at unoccupied coasts are derived using a blend of high resolution imagery and elevation models. We further detail post-failure slope stability for areas of interest around the Karrat Fjord region. Warming trends in the region from model and satellite analysis are combined with optical imagery to ascertain whether the influence of melting permafrost and the formation of small springs on a slight bench on the mountainside that eventually failed can be used as indicators of future events.

Improvement of the Accuracy of InSAR Image Co-Registration Based On Tie Points - A Review.

PubMed

Zou, Weibao; Li, Yan; Li, Zhilin; Ding, Xiaoli

2009-01-01

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is a new measurement technology, making use of the phase information contained in the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images. InSAR has been recognized as a potential tool for the generation of digital elevation models (DEMs) and the measurement of ground surface deformations. However, many critical factors affect the quality of InSAR data and limit its applications. One of the factors is InSAR data processing, which consists of image co-registration, interferogram generation, phase unwrapping and geocoding. The co-registration of InSAR images is the first step and dramatically influences the accuracy of InSAR products. In this paper, the principle and processing procedures of InSAR techniques are reviewed. One of important factors, tie points, to be considered in the improvement of the accuracy of InSAR image co-registration are emphatically reviewed, such as interval of tie points, extraction of feature points, window size for tie point matching and the measurement for the quality of an interferogram.

Improvement of the Accuracy of InSAR Image Co-Registration Based On Tie Points – A Review

PubMed Central

Zou, Weibao; Li, Yan; Li, Zhilin; Ding, Xiaoli

2009-01-01

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is a new measurement technology, making use of the phase information contained in the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images. InSAR has been recognized as a potential tool for the generation of digital elevation models (DEMs) and the measurement of ground surface deformations. However, many critical factors affect the quality of InSAR data and limit its applications. One of the factors is InSAR data processing, which consists of image co-registration, interferogram generation, phase unwrapping and geocoding. The co-registration of InSAR images is the first step and dramatically influences the accuracy of InSAR products. In this paper, the principle and processing procedures of InSAR techniques are reviewed. One of important factors, tie points, to be considered in the improvement of the accuracy of InSAR image co-registration are emphatically reviewed, such as interval of tie points, extraction of feature points, window size for tie point matching and the measurement for the quality of an interferogram. PMID:22399966

A case study of the New York City 2012-2013 influenza season with daily geocoded Twitter data from temporal and spatiotemporal perspectives.

PubMed

Nagar, Ruchit; Yuan, Qingyu; Freifeld, Clark C; Santillana, Mauricio; Nojima, Aaron; Chunara, Rumi; Brownstein, John S

2014-10-20

Twitter has shown some usefulness in predicting influenza cases on a weekly basis in multiple countries and on different geographic scales. Recently, Broniatowski and colleagues suggested Twitter's relevance at the city-level for New York City. Here, we look to dive deeper into the case of New York City by analyzing daily Twitter data from temporal and spatiotemporal perspectives. Also, through manual coding of all tweets, we look to gain qualitative insights that can help direct future automated searches. The intent of the study was first to validate the temporal predictive strength of daily Twitter data for influenza-like illness emergency department (ILI-ED) visits during the New York City 2012-2013 influenza season against other available and established datasets (Google search query, or GSQ), and second, to examine the spatial distribution and the spread of geocoded tweets as proxies for potential cases. From the Twitter Streaming API, 2972 tweets were collected in the New York City region matching the keywords "flu", "influenza", "gripe", and "high fever". The tweets were categorized according to the scheme developed by Lamb et al. A new fourth category was added as an evaluator guess for the probability of the subject(s) being sick to account for strength of confidence in the validity of the statement. Temporal correlations were made for tweets against daily ILI-ED visits and daily GSQ volume. The best models were used for linear regression for forecasting ILI visits. A weighted, retrospective Poisson model with SaTScan software (n=1484), and vector map were used for spatiotemporal analysis. Infection-related tweets (R=.763) correlated better than GSQ time series (R=.683) for the same keywords and had a lower mean average percent error (8.4 vs 11.8) for ILI-ED visit prediction in January, the most volatile month of flu. SaTScan identified primary outbreak cluster of high-probability infection tweets with a 2.74 relative risk ratio compared to medium-probability infection tweets at P=.001 in Northern Brooklyn, in a radius that includes Barclay's Center and the Atlantic Avenue Terminal. While others have looked at weekly regional tweets, this study is the first to stress test Twitter for daily city-level data for New York City. Extraction of personal testimonies of infection-related tweets suggests Twitter's strength both qualitatively and quantitatively for ILI-ED prediction compared to alternative daily datasets mixed with awareness-based data such as GSQ. Additionally, granular Twitter data provide important spatiotemporal insights. A tweet vector-map may be useful for visualization of city-level spread when local gold standard data are otherwise unavailable.

A Case Study of the New York City 2012-2013 Influenza Season With Daily Geocoded Twitter Data From Temporal and Spatiotemporal Perspectives

PubMed Central

Yuan, Qingyu; Freifeld, Clark C; Santillana, Mauricio; Nojima, Aaron; Chunara, Rumi; Brownstein, John S

2014-01-01

Background Twitter has shown some usefulness in predicting influenza cases on a weekly basis in multiple countries and on different geographic scales. Recently, Broniatowski and colleagues suggested Twitter’s relevance at the city-level for New York City. Here, we look to dive deeper into the case of New York City by analyzing daily Twitter data from temporal and spatiotemporal perspectives. Also, through manual coding of all tweets, we look to gain qualitative insights that can help direct future automated searches. Objective The intent of the study was first to validate the temporal predictive strength of daily Twitter data for influenza-like illness emergency department (ILI-ED) visits during the New York City 2012-2013 influenza season against other available and established datasets (Google search query, or GSQ), and second, to examine the spatial distribution and the spread of geocoded tweets as proxies for potential cases. Methods From the Twitter Streaming API, 2972 tweets were collected in the New York City region matching the keywords “flu”, “influenza”, “gripe”, and “high fever”. The tweets were categorized according to the scheme developed by Lamb et al. A new fourth category was added as an evaluator guess for the probability of the subject(s) being sick to account for strength of confidence in the validity of the statement. Temporal correlations were made for tweets against daily ILI-ED visits and daily GSQ volume. The best models were used for linear regression for forecasting ILI visits. A weighted, retrospective Poisson model with SaTScan software (n=1484), and vector map were used for spatiotemporal analysis. Results Infection-related tweets (R=.763) correlated better than GSQ time series (R=.683) for the same keywords and had a lower mean average percent error (8.4 vs 11.8) for ILI-ED visit prediction in January, the most volatile month of flu. SaTScan identified primary outbreak cluster of high-probability infection tweets with a 2.74 relative risk ratio compared to medium-probability infection tweets at P=.001 in Northern Brooklyn, in a radius that includes Barclay’s Center and the Atlantic Avenue Terminal. Conclusions While others have looked at weekly regional tweets, this study is the first to stress test Twitter for daily city-level data for New York City. Extraction of personal testimonies of infection-related tweets suggests Twitter’s strength both qualitatively and quantitatively for ILI-ED prediction compared to alternative daily datasets mixed with awareness-based data such as GSQ. Additionally, granular Twitter data provide important spatiotemporal insights. A tweet vector-map may be useful for visualization of city-level spread when local gold standard data are otherwise unavailable. PMID:25331122

Team Development Manual. Family Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dostal, Lori

A manual is presented to help incorporate team development into training programs for nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and primary care physicians. It is also directed to practitioners who wish to improve teamwork and is designed to improve the utilization of the nurse practitioners and physician assistants. A group of one or more…

An Improved Manual Method for NOx Emission Measurement.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dee, L. A.; And Others

The current manual NO (x) sampling and analysis method was evaluated. Improved time-integrated sampling and rapid analysis methods were developed. In the new method, the sample gas is drawn through a heated bed of uniquely active, crystalline, Pb02 where NO (x) is quantitatively absorbed. Nitrate ion is later extracted with water and the…

A Manual for Understanding and Improving Counselor/Client Interview Behavior.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santoro, David A.

This manual was devised to help supervisors, counselors, trainees, and other educators to better understand and improve counselor/client interview behavior through utilization of the Counselor Client Behavior Analysis System (CCBA). The CCBA is an interaction training and/or research schema designed to provide a formalized feedback system on the…

Users manual for the improved NASA Lewis ice accretion code LEWICE 1.6

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wright, William B.

1995-01-01

This report is intended as an update/replacement to NASA CR 185129 'User's Manual for the NASALewis Ice Accretion Prediction Code (LEWICE)' and as an update to NASA CR 195387 'Update to the NASA Lewis Ice Accretion Code LEWICE'. In addition to describing the changes specifically made for this version, information from previous manuals will be duplicated so that the user will not need three manuals to use this code.

Course Manual for X-Ray Applications.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Food and Drug Administration (DHEW), Rockville, MD. Bureau of Radiological Health.

This publication is the third of three sequential course manuals for instructors in x-ray science and engineering. This course manual has been tested by introducing it into the Oregon State University curriculum. The publication is prepared for the purpose of improving the qualifications of x-ray users and to reduce the ionizing radiation exposure…

Applied Mathematics, Tenth Grade. A Resource Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baltimore County Public Schools, Towson, MD.

This resource manual is designed for use with tenth grade boys whose main interest lies in the shop and industrial arts areas. The course emphasizes mathematical problems inherent in various trades and industries. The primary objective is to motivate the student to apply, improve, and increase his computational skills. The manual is divided into…

Identifying Low Cost Energy Improvements for School Buildings: An Energy Audit Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Minnesota State Dept. of Energy and Economic Development, St. Paul.

This manual is a guide for performing energy audits in school buildings using low- and no-cost measures found effective in Minnesota. The manual helps school maintenance and administrative personnel conduct walk-through inspections of school buildings, focusing on the energy efficiency of their equipment and operations. The measures recommended…

Power: A Repossesion Manual: Organizing Strategies for Citizens.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Speeter, Greg

The purpose of this manual is to encourage the growth of community organization and to make the process of mobilizing a community and the skills involved known to those who participate in the organizing process. It offers practical suggestions on understanding the organizing process, diagnosing, and improving it. The manual is written with the…

Stabilization exercise compared to general exercises or manual therapy for the management of low back pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Gomes-Neto, Mansueto; Lopes, Jordana Moura; Conceição, Cristiano Sena; Araujo, Anderson; Brasileiro, Alécio; Sousa, Camila; Carvalho, Vitor Oliveira; Arcanjo, Fabio Luciano

2017-01-01

We performed a systematic review with a meta-analysis to examine the efficacy of stabilization exercises versus general exercises or manual therapy in patients with low back pain. We searched MEDLINE, Cochrane Controlled Trials, Scielo, and CINAHL (from the earliest date available to November 2014) for randomized controlled trials that examined the efficacy of stabilization exercises compared to general exercises or manual therapy on pain, disability, and function in patients with low back pain. Weighted mean differences (WMD) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria (413 stabilization exercises patients, 297 general exercises patients, and 185 manual therapy patients). Stabilization exercises may provide greater benefit than general exercise for pain reduction and improvement in disability. Stabilization exercise improved pain with a WMD of -1.03 (95% CI: -1.29 to -0.27) and improved disability with a WMD of -5.41 (95% CI: -8.34 to -2.49). There were no significant differences in pain and disability scores among participants in the stabilization exercise group compared to those in the manual therapy group. Stabilization exercises were as efficacious as manual therapy in decreasing pain and disability and should be encouraged as part of musculoskeletal rehabilitation for low back pain. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Manual therapy directed at the knee or lumbopelvic region does not influence quadriceps spinal reflex excitability.

PubMed

Grindstaff, Terry L; Pietrosimone, Brian G; Sauer, Lindsay D; Kerrigan, D Casey; Patrie, James T; Hertel, Jay; Ingersoll, Christopher D

2014-08-01

Manual therapies, directed to the knee and lumbopelvic region, have demonstrated the ability to improve neuromuscular quadriceps function in individuals with knee pathology. It remains unknown if manual therapies may alter impaired spinal reflex excitability, thus identifying a potential mechanism in which manual therapy may improve neuromuscular function following knee injury. To determine the effect of local and distant mobilisation/manipulation interventions on quadriceps spinal reflex excitability. Seventy-five individuals with a history of knee joint injury and current quadriceps inhibition volunteered for this study. Participants were randomised to one of five intervention groups: lumbopelvic manipulation (grade V), lumbopelvic manipulation positioning (no thrust), grade IV patellar mobilisation, grade I patellar mobilisation, and control (no treatment). Changes in spinal reflex excitability were quantified by assessing the Hoffmann reflex (H-reflex), presynaptic, and postsynaptic excitability. A hierarchical linear-mixed model for repeated measures was performed to compare changes in outcome variables between groups over time (pre, post 0, 30, 60, 90 min). There were no significant differences in H-reflex, presynaptic, or postsynaptic excitability between groups across time. Manual therapies directed to the knee or lumbopelvic region did not acutely change quadriceps spinal reflex excitability. Although manual therapies may improve impairments and functional outcomes the underlying mechanism does not appear to be related to changes in spinal reflex excitability. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

African Mining, Gender and Local Employment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tolonen, A.; Kotsadam, A.

2014-12-01

Access to employment improves women's lives and is listed among the top five priorities for promoting gender equality in the 2012 World Development Report. This paper addresses this issue by exploring women's labor market opportunities in Africa within one very important and growing sector: extractive industries. Africa's opportunities are being transformed by new discoveries of natural resources and their rising prices, and the mining sector is the main recipient of foreign direct investment in Sub-Saharan Africa. Whether the discovery of natural resources is a blessing or a curse to a country's citizens is a contentious issue, and natural resource dependence has been linked to negative outcomes at the national level such as environmental degradation, conflict, elite capture of rents and low female labor force participation. Natural resource extraction has been argued to be a hindrance to women's labor market participation by increasing reservation wages and by decreasing market demand for female labor. We perform the first cross-national study testing these hypotheses with micro-data. To do this we combine survey data on 500,000 women in Sub-Saharan Africa with geo-coded data on 900 large-scale mines (see Figure 1). We treat mine openings and mine closings as natural experiments to explore local labor market changes. Industrial mines generate local structural shifts. Subsistence farming becomes less important for both men and women. However, men shift to skilled manual labor, and women shift to service sector jobs. This contradicts the hypothesis that natural resource extraction is detrimental to women, by not providing them with new job opportunities. However, in support of the hypothesis, women decrease their labor market participation more than men do. A back-of-the-envelope calculation estimates that 90,000 women across Africa benefit from service sector jobs as a direct result of industrial mining in their communities, but 280,000 women leave the labor force. Further evidence using exogenous changes in world prices of minerals show that effects are stronger in boom times, but that the labor market effects are temporary and disappear with mine closing. The effects are highly spatially concentrated, and individuals living 50km away from a mine are not affected by it.

A Comparison of Cough Assistance Techniques in Patients with Respiratory Muscle Weakness.

PubMed

Kim, Sun Mi; Choi, Won Ah; Won, Yu Hui; Kang, Seong Woong

2016-11-01

To assess the ability of a mechanical in-exsufflator (MI-E), either alone or in combination with manual thrust, to augment cough in patients with neuromuscular disease (NMD) and respiratory muscle dysfunction. For this randomized crossover single-center controlled trial, patients with noninvasive ventilator-dependent NMD were recruited. The primary outcome was peak cough flow (PCF), which was measured in each patient after a cough that was unassisted, manually assisted following a maximum insufflation capacity (MIC) maneuver, assisted by MI-E, or assisted by manual thrust plus MI-E. The cough augmentation techniques were provided in random order. PCF was measured using a new device, the Cough Aid. All 40 enrolled participants (37 males, three females; average age, 20.9±7.2 years) completed the study. The mean (standard deviation) PCFs in the unassisted, manually assisted following an MIC maneuver, MI-E-assisted, and manual thrust plus MI-E-assisted conditions were 95.7 (40.5), 155.9 (53.1), 177.2 (33.9), and 202.4 (46.6) L/min, respectively. All three interventions significantly improved PCF. However, manual assistance following an MIC maneuver was significantly less effective than MI-E alone. Manual thrust plus MI-E was significantly more effective than both of these interventions. In patients with NMD and respiratory muscle dysfunction, MI-E alone was more effective than manual assistance following an MIC maneuver. However, MI-E used in conjunction with manual thrust improved PCF even further.

Rural and Urban Differences in the Associations between Characteristics of the Community Food Environment and Fruit and Vegetable Intake

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dean, Wesley R.; Sharkey, Joseph R.

2011-01-01

Objective: To examine the relationship between measures of the household and retail food environments and fruit and vegetable (FV) intake in both urban and rural environmental contexts. Design: A cross-sectional design was used. Data for FV intake and other characteristics were collected via survey instrument and geocoded to the objective food…

Review of "The Effect of Milwaukee's Parental Choice Program on Student Achievement in Milwaukee Public Schools"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Camilli, Gregory

2009-01-01

According to a new study of Milwaukee public schools, student achievement has benefited from voucher-based school competition. A novel method, using geocoding, was proposed for measuring the degree of competition within the city of Milwaukee and, in turn, for determining whether such competition has increased or decreased the achievement of public…

76 FR 66950 - Privacy Act; Notice of Revision of System of Records, the Single Family Housing Enterprise Data...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-28

... Management System (SAMS) 6. F17--Computerized Home Underwriting Mortgage System (CHUMS) 7. F42D--Single... Federal Reserve Board (FRB) 14. F71A--Generic Debt Management System (GDEBT) 15. A15--Geocoding Service... Revision of System of Records, the Single Family Housing Enterprise Data Warehouse AGENCY: Office of the...

Promoting the Positive Development of Boys in High-Poverty Neighborhoods: Evidence from Four Anti-Poverty Experiments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snell, Emily K.; Castells, Nina; Duncan, Greg; Gennetian, Lisa; Magnuson, Katherine; Morris, Pamela

2013-01-01

This study uses geocoded address data and information about parents' economic behavior and children's development from four random-assignment welfare and anti-poverty experiments conducted during the 1990s. We find that the impacts of these welfare and anti-poverty programs on boys' and girls' developmental outcomes during the transition to early…

78 FR 48912 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission to OMB for Reinstatement, With, of a...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-12

... for analysis in the NCUA Low-Income Designation (LID) Tool. The LID Tool is a geocoding software... the member address data are obtained through the examination process and the results of the LID Tool... may send an electronic member address data file for analysis in the LID Tool. If a credit union does...

78 FR 59377 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission to OMB for Reinstatement, With Change, of a...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-26

... analysis in the NCUA Low-Income Designation (LID) Tool. The LID Tool is a geocoding software program which... data are obtained through the examination process and the results of the LID Tool indicate the credit... electronic member address data file for analysis in the LID Tool. If a credit union does not qualify for a...

Gis-Based Spatial Statistical Analysis of College Graduates Employment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, R.

2012-07-01

It is urgently necessary to be aware of the distribution and employment status of college graduates for proper allocation of human resources and overall arrangement of strategic industry. This study provides empirical evidence regarding the use of geocoding and spatial analysis in distribution and employment status of college graduates based on the data from 2004-2008 Wuhan Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, China. Spatio-temporal distribution of employment unit were analyzed with geocoding using ArcGIS software, and the stepwise multiple linear regression method via SPSS software was used to predict the employment and to identify spatially associated enterprise and professionals demand in the future. The results show that the enterprises in Wuhan east lake high and new technology development zone increased dramatically from 2004 to 2008, and tended to distributed southeastward. Furthermore, the models built by statistical analysis suggest that the specialty of graduates major in has an important impact on the number of the employment and the number of graduates engaging in pillar industries. In conclusion, the combination of GIS and statistical analysis which helps to simulate the spatial distribution of the employment status is a potential tool for human resource development research.

The AASM scoring manual: a critical appraisal.

PubMed

Grigg-Damberger, Madeleine M

2009-11-01

Summarize recently published studies and critiques evaluating the effects of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) Sleep Scoring Manual. Only a few retrospective studies have been published evaluating the new AASM Scoring Manual. These have shown that when scoring polysomnograms (PSGs) using the AASM rules compared to previous standards and guidelines: increased amount and percentage of sleep time in Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep (NREM) 1 (N1) and N3 sleep, and decreased NREM 2 (N2) sleep; improved interscorer reliability when scoring sleep stages in adults; large differences in apnea-hypopnea indexes (AHIs) using different hypopnea scoring definitions; and PSGs scored using the 'recommended' hypopnea definition in the new manual identified no significant sleep disordered breathing in 40% of lean individuals with symptomatic OSA (AHI ≥5/h by 1999 'Chicago' criteria) and a favorable response to treatment. Two years have passed since the AASM Scoring Manual was published, garnering less criticism than was feared by those who developed it. The improvement in interscorer reliability using the Manual is heartening since this goal shaped many of the choices made. The alternative hypopnea rule should be endorsed as a recommended option. The AASM Scoring Manual provides a foundation upon which we all can build rules and methods that quantify the complexity of sleep and its disorders. Multicenter validation and refinement of the Manual is encouraged.

Guidelines for Keeping the Cornell Farm Account Book. Student Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paterson, Dale J.

This student manual contains guidelines for keeping the Cornell Farm Account Book. The manual is divided into the following fifteen units of instruction: (1) Why Keep Records?, (2) Operating Expenses, (3) Labor Records, (4) Interest and Debt Payments, (5) Capital Purchases and Improvements, (6) Milk Sales, (7) Crop Sales, (8) Livestock Sold, (9)…

Improving Parent-Adolescent Relationships: Learning Activities for Parents and Adolescents. Leader Manual and Participant Workbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burnett, Darrell J.

This leader manual and participant workbook present a 15 session program on parent-adolescent relationships. Three main topic areas are covered: perceiving each other (social perception); communicating effectively; and recognizing behavior as a function of its consequence. The leader manual presents an overview of the program which discusses its…

Improving transcriptome construction in non-model organisms: integrating manual and automated gene definition in Emiliania huxleyi.

PubMed

Feldmesser, Ester; Rosenwasser, Shilo; Vardi, Assaf; Ben-Dor, Shifra

2014-02-22

The advent of Next Generation Sequencing technologies and corresponding bioinformatics tools allows the definition of transcriptomes in non-model organisms. Non-model organisms are of great ecological and biotechnological significance, and consequently the understanding of their unique metabolic pathways is essential. Several methods that integrate de novo assembly with genome-based assembly have been proposed. Yet, there are many open challenges in defining genes, particularly where genomes are not available or incomplete. Despite the large numbers of transcriptome assemblies that have been performed, quality control of the transcript building process, particularly on the protein level, is rarely performed if ever. To test and improve the quality of the automated transcriptome reconstruction, we used manually defined and curated genes, several of them experimentally validated. Several approaches to transcript construction were utilized, based on the available data: a draft genome, high quality RNAseq reads, and ESTs. In order to maximize the contribution of the various data, we integrated methods including de novo and genome based assembly, as well as EST clustering. After each step a set of manually curated genes was used for quality assessment of the transcripts. The interplay between the automated pipeline and the quality control indicated which additional processes were required to improve the transcriptome reconstruction. We discovered that E. huxleyi has a very high percentage of non-canonical splice junctions, and relatively high rates of intron retention, which caused unique issues with the currently available tools. While individual tools missed genes and artificially joined overlapping transcripts, combining the results of several tools improved the completeness and quality considerably. The final collection, created from the integration of several quality control and improvement rounds, was compared to the manually defined set both on the DNA and protein levels, and resulted in an improvement of 20% versus any of the read-based approaches alone. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that an automated transcript definition is subjected to quality control using manually defined and curated genes and thereafter the process is improved. We recommend using a set of manually curated genes to troubleshoot transcriptome reconstruction.

Short- and long-term clinical outcomes following a standardized protocol of orthopedic manual physical therapy and exercise in individuals with osteoarthritis of the hip: a case series

PubMed Central

Hando, Ben R; Gill, Norman W; Walker, Michael J; Garber, Mathew

2012-01-01

Objectives: Describe short- and long-term outcomes observed in individuals with hip osteoarthritis (OA) treated with a pre-selected, standardized set of best-evidence manual therapy and therapeutic exercise interventions. Methods: Fifteen consecutive subjects (9 males, 6 females; mean age: 52±7.5 years) with unilateral hip OA received an identical protocol of manual therapy and therapeutic exercise interventions. Subjects attended 10 treatment sessions over an 8-week period for manual therapy interventions and performed the therapeutic exercise as a home program. Results: Baseline to 8-week follow-up outcomes were as follows: Harris Hip Scale (HHS) scores improved from 60.3(±10.4) to 80.7(±10.5), Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) scores improved from 4.3(±1.9) to 2.0(±1.9), hip flexion range of motion (ROM) improved from 99 degrees (±10.6) to 127 degrees (±6.3) and hip internal rotation ROM improved from 19 degrees (±9.1) to 31 degrees (±11.5). Improvements in HHS, NPRS, and hip ROM measures reached statistical significance (P<0.05) at 8-weeks and remained significant at the 29-week follow-up. Mean changes in NPRS and HHS scores exceeded the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) at 8-weeks and for the HHS scores alone at 29 weeks. The 8 and 29 week mean Global Rating of Change scores were 5.1(±1.4) and 2.1(±4.2), respectively. Improved outcomes observed following a pre-selected, standardized treatment protocol were similar to those observed in previous studies involving impairment-based manual therapy and therapeutic exercise for hip OA. Future studies might directly compare the two approaches. Discussion: PMID:24179327

Short- and long-term clinical outcomes following a standardized protocol of orthopedic manual physical therapy and exercise in individuals with osteoarthritis of the hip: a case series.

PubMed

Hando, Ben R; Gill, Norman W; Walker, Michael J; Garber, Mathew

2012-11-01

Describe short- and long-term outcomes observed in individuals with hip osteoarthritis (OA) treated with a pre-selected, standardized set of best-evidence manual therapy and therapeutic exercise interventions. Fifteen consecutive subjects (9 males, 6 females; mean age: 52±7.5 years) with unilateral hip OA received an identical protocol of manual therapy and therapeutic exercise interventions. Subjects attended 10 treatment sessions over an 8-week period for manual therapy interventions and performed the therapeutic exercise as a home program. Baseline to 8-week follow-up outcomes were as follows: Harris Hip Scale (HHS) scores improved from 60.3(±10.4) to 80.7(±10.5), Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) scores improved from 4.3(±1.9) to 2.0(±1.9), hip flexion range of motion (ROM) improved from 99 degrees (±10.6) to 127 degrees (±6.3) and hip internal rotation ROM improved from 19 degrees (±9.1) to 31 degrees (±11.5). Improvements in HHS, NPRS, and hip ROM measures reached statistical significance (P<0.05) at 8-weeks and remained significant at the 29-week follow-up. Mean changes in NPRS and HHS scores exceeded the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) at 8-weeks and for the HHS scores alone at 29 weeks. The 8 and 29 week mean Global Rating of Change scores were 5.1(±1.4) and 2.1(±4.2), respectively. Improved outcomes observed following a pre-selected, standardized treatment protocol were similar to those observed in previous studies involving impairment-based manual therapy and therapeutic exercise for hip OA. Future studies might directly compare the two approaches.

Effective Instructional Leadership Act--Technical Assistance Manual for Instructional Leaders, and Training Program Providers, July 1, 2004-June 30, 2006.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kentucky Department of Education, 2004

2004-01-01

The Kentucky Department of Education, Office of Leadership and School Improvement developed this revised and updated technical assistance manual for the 2004-2006 Effective Instructional Leadership Act (EILA) cycle to assist local educators as they strive to improve the quality and effectiveness of their leadership skills and to assist districts…

The Private Sector Youth Connection. Volume 1: School to Work. A Planning Manual for Educators and Business People.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schilit, Henrietta; Lacey, Richard

This manual profiles 55 school-business cooperative programs being carried out in the United States for the purpose of improving access to employment for high school students, particularly minorities and the economically disadvantaged, before they graduate. Each of the manual's chapters is devoted to a particular type of cooperative program and…

Tribal Library Procedures Manual. TRAILS (Training and Assistance for Indian Library Services), September 10, 1985-January 10, 1987.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patterson, Lotsee

This manual resulted from a 2-year project to improve, develop, and expand public library and information services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. Designed to serve as a guide for tribal and community librarians who may lack professional training, the manual offers descriptions of library services, procedures, and management issues. An…

A Manual of Instruction for Log Scaling and the Measurement of Timber Products.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Idaho State Board of Vocational Education, Boise. Div. of Trade and Industrial Education.

This manual was developed by a state advisory committee in Idaho to improve and standardize log scaling and provide a reference in training men for the job of log scaling in timber measurement. The content includes: (1) an introduction containing the scope of the manual, a definition and history of scaling, the reasons for scaling, and the…

Development of action checkpoints for comfortable computer work.

PubMed

Iwakiri, Kazuyuki; Mori, Ippei; Sotoyama, Midori; Horiguchi, Kaori; Ochiai, Takanori; Jonai, Hiroshi; Saito, Susumu

2004-04-01

We developed a manual including a checklist format for undertaking measures to prevent fatigue in visual display terminals (VDT) workers. With this manual, problems related to VDT work can be recognized by using checklists which allow for self-evaluation by the workers. The manual helps the workers to consider measures for improvement by themselves and will contribute to better occupational health education.

Identification of potential neuromotor mechanisms of manual therapy in patients with musculoskeletal disablement: rationale and description of a clinical trial.

PubMed

Fisher, Beth E; Davenport, Todd E; Kulig, Kornelia; Wu, Allan D

2009-05-21

Many health care practitioners use a variety of hands-on treatments to improve symptoms and disablement in patients with musculoskeletal pathology.Research to date indirectly suggests a potentially broad effect of manual therapy on the neuromotor processing of functional behavior within the supraspinal central nervous system (CNS) in a manner that may be independent of modification at the level of local spinal circuits. However, the effect of treatment speed, as well as the specific mechanism and locus of CNS changes, remain unclear. We developed a placebo-controlled, randomized study to test the hypothesis that manual therapy procedures directed to the talocrural joint in individuals with post-acute ankle sprain induce a change in corticospinal excitability that is relevant to improve the performance of lower extremity functional behavior. This study is designed to identify potential neuromotor changes associated with manual therapy procedures directed to the appendicular skeleton, compare the relative effect of treatment speed on potential neuromotor effects of manual therapy procedures, and determine the behavioral relevance of potential neuromotor effects of manual therapy procedures. http://www.clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT00847769.

Identification of potential neuromotor mechanisms of manual therapy in patients with musculoskeletal disablement: rationale and description of a clinical trial

PubMed Central

Fisher, Beth E; Davenport, Todd E; Kulig, Kornelia; Wu, Allan D

2009-01-01

Background Many health care practitioners use a variety of hands-on treatments to improve symptoms and disablement in patients with musculoskeletal pathology. Research to date indirectly suggests a potentially broad effect of manual therapy on the neuromotor processing of functional behavior within the supraspinal central nervous system (CNS) in a manner that may be independent of modification at the level of local spinal circuits. However, the effect of treatment speed, as well as the specific mechanism and locus of CNS changes, remain unclear. Methods/Design We developed a placebo-controlled, randomized study to test the hypothesis that manual therapy procedures directed to the talocrural joint in individuals with post-acute ankle sprain induce a change in corticospinal excitability that is relevant to improve the performance of lower extremity functional behavior. Discussion This study is designed to identify potential neuromotor changes associated with manual therapy procedures directed to the appendicular skeleton, compare the relative effect of treatment speed on potential neuromotor effects of manual therapy procedures, and determine the behavioral relevance of potential neuromotor effects of manual therapy procedures. Trial Registration identifier NCT00847769. PMID:19460169

What to Consider When Preparing a Model Core Curriculum for GIS Ethics: Objectives, Methods, and a Sketch of Content

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Michael

2014-01-01

The purpose of this article is to provide a summary of what is known about teaching ethics in engineering, science, and related disciplines. Such a summary should provide a useful starting point for preparation of a detailed curriculum for teaching the ethics of geo-coded information systems broadly understood ("GIS ethics" for short).…

Validation of the geographic position of EPER-Spain industries

PubMed Central

García-Pérez, Javier; Boldo, Elena; Ramis, Rebeca; Vidal, Enrique; Aragonés, Nuria; Pérez-Gómez, Beatriz; Pollán, Marina; López-Abente, Gonzalo

2008-01-01

Background The European Pollutant Emission Register in Spain (EPER-Spain) is a public inventory of pollutant industries created by decision of the European Union. The location of these industries is geocoded and the first published data correspond to 2001. Publication of these data will allow for quantification of the effect of proximity to one or more such plant on cancer and all-cause mortality observed in nearby towns. However, as errors have been detected in the geocoding of many of the pollutant foci shown in the EPER, it was decided that a validation study should be conducted into the accuracy of these co-ordinates. EPER-Spain geographic co-ordinates were drawn from the European Environment Agency (EEA) server and the Spanish Ministry of the Environment (MOE). The Farm Plot Geographic Information System (Sistema de Información Geográfica de Parcelas Agrícolas) (SIGPAC) enables orthophotos (digitalized aerial images) of any territorial point across Spain to be obtained. Through a search of co-ordinates in the SIGPAC, all the industrial foci (except farms) were located. The quality criteria used to ascertain possible errors in industrial location were high, medium and low quality, where industries were situated at a distance of less than 500 metres, more than 500 metres but less than 1 kilometre, and more than 1 kilometre from their real locations, respectively. Results Insofar as initial registry quality was concerned, 84% of industrial complexes were inaccurately positioned (low quality) according to EEA data versus 60% for Spanish MOE data. The distribution of the distances between the original and corrected co-ordinates for each of the industries on the registry revealed that the median error was 2.55 kilometres for Spain overall (according to EEA data). The Autonomous Regions that displayed most errors in industrial geocoding were Murcia, Canary Islands, Andalusia and Madrid. Correct co-ordinates were successfully allocated to 100% of EPER-Spain industries. Conclusion Knowing the exact location of pollutant foci is vital to obtain reliable and valid conclusions in any study where distance to the focus is a decisive factor, as in the case of the consequences of industrial pollution on the health of neighbouring populations. PMID:18190678

The association of drinking water treatment and distribution network disturbances with Health Call Centre contacts for gastrointestinal illness symptoms.

PubMed

Malm, Annika; Axelsson, Gösta; Barregard, Lars; Ljungqvist, Jakob; Forsberg, Bertil; Bergstedt, Olof; Pettersson, Thomas J R

2013-09-01

There are relatively few studies on the association between disturbances in drinking water services and symptoms of gastrointestinal (GI) illness. Health Call Centres data concerning GI illness may be a useful source of information. This study investigates if there is an increased frequency of contacts with the Health Call Centre (HCC) concerning gastrointestinal symptoms at times when there is a risk of impaired water quality due to disturbances at water works or the distribution network. The study was conducted in Gothenburg, a Swedish city with 0.5 million inhabitants with a surface water source of drinking water and two water works. All HCC contacts due to GI symptoms (diarrhoea, vomiting or abdominal pain) were recorded for a three-year period, including also sex, age, and geocoded location of residence. The number of contacts with the HCC in the affected geographical areas were recorded during eight periods of disturbances in the water works (e.g. short stops of chlorine dosing), six periods of large disturbances in the distribution network (e.g. pumping station failure or pipe breaks with major consequences), and 818 pipe break and leak repairs over a three-year period. For each period of disturbance the observed number of calls was compared with the number of calls during a control period without disturbances in the same geographical area. In total about 55, 000 calls to the HCC due to GI symptoms were recorded over the three-year period, 35 per 1000 inhabitants and year, but much higher (>200) for children <3 yrs of age. There was no statistically significant increase in calls due to GI illness during or after disturbances at the water works or in the distribution network. Our results indicate that GI symptoms due to disturbances in water works or the distribution network are rare. The number of serious failures was, however limited, and further studies are needed to be able to assess the risk of GI illness in such cases. The technique of using geocoded HCC data together with geocoded records of disturbances in the drinking water network was feasible. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Do Personality Problems Improve During Psychodynamic Supportive-Expressive Psychotherapy? Secondary Outcome Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial for Psychiatric Outpatients with Personality Disorders

PubMed Central

Vinnars, Bo; Thormählen, Barbro; Gallop, Robert; Norén, Kristina; Barber, Jacques P.

2009-01-01

Studies involving patients with personality disorders (PD) have not focused on improvement of core aspects of the PD. This paper examines changes in quality of object relations, interpersonal problems, psychological mindedness, and personality traits in a sample of 156 patients with DSM-IV PD diagnoses being randomized to either manualized or non manualized dynamic psychotherapy. Effect sizes adjusted for symptomatic change and reliable change indices were calculated. We found that both treatments were equally effective at reducing personality pathology. Only in neuroticism did the non manualized group do better during the follow-up period. The largest improvement was found in quality of object relations. For the remaining variables only small and clinically insignificant magnitudes of change were found. PMID:20161588

A comparison of home-based exercise programs with and without self-manual therapy in individuals with knee osteoarthritis in community.

PubMed

Cheawthamai, Kornkamon; Vongsirinavarat, Mantana; Hiengkaew, Vimonwan; Saengrueangrob, Sasithorn

2014-07-01

The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of the treatment programs of home-based exercise with and without self-manual therapy in individuals with knee osteoarthritis (knee OA) in community. Forty-three participants with knee OA were randomly assigned in groups. All participants received the same home-based exercise program with or without self-manual therapy over 12 weeks. Outcome measures were pain intensity, range of motions, six-minute walk test distance, the knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score (KOOS), short-form 36 (SF-36) and satisfaction. The results showed that the self-manual therapy program significantly decreased pain at 4 weeks, increased flexion and extension at 4 and 12 weeks, and improved the KOOS in pain item and SF-36 in physical function and mental health items. The home-based exercise group showed significant increase of the six-minute walk distance at 4 and 12 weeks, improvements in the KOOS in pain and symptom items and SF-36 in the physical function and role-emotional items. Overall, the results favored a combination of self-manual therapy and home-based exercise for patients with knee OA, which apparently showed superior benefits in decreasing pain and improving active knee range of motions.

The Effectiveness of Manual Therapy for Relieving Pain, Stiffness, and Dysfunction in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Xu, Qinguang; Chen, Bei; Wang, Yueyi; Wang, Xuezong; Han, Dapeng; Ding, Daofang; Zheng, Yuxin; Cao, Yuelong; Zhan, Hongsheng; Zhou, Yao

2017-05-01

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is the most common form of arthritis, leading to pain disability in seniors and increased health care utilization. Manual therapy is one widely used physical treatment for KOA. To evaluate the effectiveness and adverse events (AEs) of manual therapy compared to other treatments for relieving pain, stiffness, and physical dysfunction in patients with KOA. A systematic review and meta-analysis of manual therapy for KOA. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and Chinese databases for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of manual therapy for patients with KOA from the inception to October 2015 without language restrictions. RCTs compared manual therapy to the placebo or other interventional control with an appropriate description of randomization. Two reviewers independently conducted the search results identification, data extraction, and methodological quality assessment. The methodological quality was assessed by PEDro scale. Pooled data was expressed as standard mean difference (SMD), with 95% confident intervals (CIs) in a random effects model. The meta-analysis of manual therapy for KOA on pain, stiffness, and physical function were conducted. Fourteen studies involving 841 KOA participants compared to other treatments were included. The methodological quality of most included RCTs was poor. The mean PEDro scale score was 6.6. The meta-analyses results showed that manual therapy had statistically significant effects on relieving pain (standardized mean difference, SMD = -0.61, 95% CI -0.95 to -0.28, P = 76%), stiffness (SMD = -0.58, 95% CI -0.95 to -0.21, P = 81%), improving physical function (SMD = -0.49, 95% CI -0.76 to -0.22, P = 65%), and total score (SMD = -0.56, 95% CI -0.78 to -0.35, P = 50%). But in the subgroups, manual therapy did not show significant improvements on stiffness and physical function when treatment duration was less than 4 weeks. And the long-term information for manual therapy was insufficient. The limitations of this systematic review include the paucity of literature and inevitable heterogeneity between included studies. The preliminary evidence from our study suggests that manual therapy might be effective and safe for improving pain, stiffness, and physical function in KOA patients and could be treated as complementary and alternative options. However, the evidence may be limited by potential bias and poor methodological quality of included studies. High-quality RCTs with long-term follow-up are warranted to confirm our findings.Key words: Knee osteoarthritis, manual therapy, systematic review.

Outsourcing Library Technical Services. A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians. How-To-Do-It Manuals for Librarians, Number 69.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hirshon, Arnold; Winters, Barbara

In the effort to reduce costs, improve productivity, enhance quality of services, and improve turnaround time for ordering, receiving, and cataloging new materials, libraries are increasingly turning to outsourcing as a strategic management tool to help them maximize use of their fiscal and human resources. This guide covers all aspects of…

Longitudinal Development of Manual Motor Ability in Autism Spectrum Disorder from Childhood to Mid-Adulthood Relates to Adaptive Daily Living Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Travers, Brittany G.; Bigler, Erin D.; Duffield, Tyler C.; Prigge, Molly D. B.; Froehlich, Alyson L.; Lange, Nicholas; Alexander, Andrew L.; Lainhart, Janet E.

2017-01-01

Many individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit motor difficulties, but it is unknown whether manual motor skills improve, plateau, or decline in ASD in the transition from childhood into adulthood. Atypical development of manual motor skills could impact the ability to learn and perform daily activities across the life span. This…

The usefulness of GPS bicycle tracking data for evaluating the impact of infrastructure change on cycling behaviour.

PubMed

Heesch, Kristiann C; Langdon, Michael

2016-02-01

Issue addressed A key strategy to increase active travel is the construction of bicycle infrastructure. Tools to evaluate this strategy are limited. This study assessed the usefulness of a smartphone GPS tracking system for evaluating the impact of this strategy on cycling behaviour. Methods Cycling usage data were collected from Queenslanders who used a GPS tracking app on their smartphone from 2013-2014. 'Heat' and volume maps of the data were reviewed, and GPS bicycle counts were compared with surveillance data and bicycle counts from automatic traffic-monitoring devices. Results Heat maps broadly indicated that changes in cycling occurred near infrastructure improvements. Volume maps provided changes in counts of cyclists due to these improvements although errors were noted in geographic information system (GIS) geo-coding of some GPS data. Large variations were evident in the number of cyclists using the app in different locations. These variations limited the usefulness of GPS data for assessing differences in cycling across locations. Conclusion Smartphone GPS data are useful in evaluating the impact of improved bicycle infrastructure in one location. Using GPS data to evaluate differential changes in cycling across multiple locations is problematic when there is insufficient traffic-monitoring devices available to triangulate GPS data with bicycle traffic count data. So what? The use of smartphone GPS data with other data sources is recommended for assessing how infrastructure improvements influence cycling behaviour.

What Have we Learned about Intelligent Transportation Systems?

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1980-01-01

The Traffic Planning manual is a reference of basic traffic enginnering techniques and their potential for improving traffic flow and traffic safety of urban arterial streets and highways. The manual identifies the traffic engineering measure appropr...

Cooperative Office Education Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clemson Univ., SC. Vocational Education Media Center.

This manual, intended for inexperienced and experienced coordinators, school administrators, and guidance personnel, is designed to provide practical suggestions for initiating, developing, operating, coordinating, improving, and evaluating cooperative office education programs. Major content is presented primarily in outline form under the…

Guidelines for Adapting Manualized Interventions for New Target Populations: A Step-Wise Approach Using Anger Management as a Model

PubMed Central

Goldstein, Naomi E. S.; Kemp, Kathleen A.; Leff, Stephen S.; Lochman, John E.

2014-01-01

The use of manual-based interventions tends to improve client outcomes and promote replicability. With an increasingly strong link between funding and the use of empirically supported prevention and intervention programs, manual development and adaptation have become research priorities. As a result, researchers and scholars have generated guidelines for developing manuals from scratch, but there are no extant guidelines for adapting empirically supported, manualized prevention and intervention programs for use with new populations. Thus, this article proposes step-by-step guidelines for the manual adaptation process. It also describes two adaptations of an extensively researched anger management intervention to exemplify how an empirically supported program was systematically and efficiently adapted to achieve similar outcomes with vastly different populations in unique settings. PMID:25110403

Yield and complications in percutaneous renal biopsy. A comparison between ultrasound-guided gun-biopsy and manual techniques in native and transplant kidneys.

PubMed

Nyman, R S; Cappelen-Smith, J; al Suhaibani, H; Alfurayh, O; Shakweer, W; Akhtar, M

1997-05-01

To compare the yield and complications of ultrasound-guided gun-biopsy and manual Tru-Cut techniques in percutaneous renal biopsy. A total of 448 biopsies were reviewed. They comprised 124 manual and 131 gun-biopsies in native kidneys, and 111 manual and 82 gun-biopsies in transplant kidneys. The gun-biopsies were performed under real-time ultrasound (US) guidance. The manual technique used US mainly for marking the position of the kidney. There was a significantly higher diagnostic yield and fewer complications in the gun-biopsy group. A total of 8 major complications were found, all in the manual group. Provided that the operator is experienced in US scanning, a switch from the manual technique to real-time US-guided gun-biopsy will result in the improvement of diagnostic accuracy together with a reduced risk of complications.

Does the use of automated fetal biometry improve clinical work flow efficiency?

PubMed

Espinoza, Jimmy; Good, Sara; Russell, Evie; Lee, Wesley

2013-05-01

This study was designed to compare the work flow efficiency of manual measurements of 5 fetal parameters with a novel technique that automatically measures these parameters from 2-dimensional sonograms. This prospective study included 200 singleton pregnancies between 15 and 40 weeks' gestation. Patients were randomly allocated to either manual (n = 100) or automatic (n = 100) fetal biometry. The automatic measurement was performed using a commercially available software application. A digital video recorder captured all on-screen activity associated with the sonographic examination. The examination time and number of steps required to obtain fetal measurements were compared between manual and automatic methods. The mean time required to obtain the biometric measurements was significantly shorter using the automated technique than the manual approach (P < .001 for all comparisons). Similarly, the mean number of steps required to perform these measurements was significantly fewer with automatic measurements compared to the manual technique (P < .001). In summary, automated biometry reduced the examination time required for standard fetal measurements. This approach may improve work flow efficiency in busy obstetric sonography practices.

Manual therapy in adults with tension-type headache: A systematic review.

PubMed

Cumplido-Trasmonte, C; Fernández-González, P; Alguacil-Diego, I M; Molina-Rueda, F

2018-03-07

Tension-type headache is the most common primary headache, with a high prevalence and a considerable socioeconomic impact. Manual physical therapy techniques are widely used in the clinical field to treat the symptoms associated with tension-type headache. This systematic review aims to determine the effectiveness of manual and non-invasive therapies in the treatment of patients with tension-type headache. We conducted a systematic review of randomised controlled trials in the following databases: Brain, PubMed, Web of Science, PEDro, Scopus, CINAHL, and Science Direct. Ten randomised controlled trials were included for analysis. According to these studies, manual therapy improves symptoms, increasing patients' well-being and improving the outcome measures analysed. Manual therapy has positive effects on pain intensity, pain frequency, disability, overall impact, quality of life, and craniocervical range of motion in adults with tension-type headache. None of the techniques was found to be superior to the others; combining different techniques seems to be the most effective approach. Copyright © 2018 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Microprocessor-controlled hemodynamics: a step towards improved efficiency and safety.

PubMed

Keogh, B E; Jacobs, J; Royston, D; Taylor, K M

1989-02-01

Manual titration of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) is widely used for treatment of hypertension following cardiac surgery. This study compared conventional manual control with control by a research prototype of an automatic infusion module based on a proportional plus integral plus derivative (PID) negative feedback loop. Two groups of coronary artery bypass patients requiring SNP for postoperative hypertension were studied prospectively. In the first group, hypertension was controlled by manual adjustment of the SNP infusion rate, and in the second, the infusion rate was controlled automatically. The actual and desired mean arterial pressures (MAP) over consecutive ten-second epochs were recorded during the period of infusion. The MAP was maintained within 10% of the desired MAP 45.8% of the time in the manual group, compared with 90.0% in the automatic group, and the mean percent error in the automatic group was significantly less than in the manual group (P less than 0.01). It is concluded that adoption of such systems will result in improved patient safety and may facilitate more effective distribution of nursing staff within intensive care units.

The relationship between tree canopy and crime rates across an urban-rural gradient in the greater Baltimore region

Treesearch

Austin Troy; J. Morgan Grove; Jarlath O' Neill-Dunne

2012-01-01

The extent to which urban tree cover influences crime is in debate in the literature. This research took advantage of geocoded crime point data and high resolution tree canopy data to address this question in Baltimore City and County, MD, an area that includes a significant urban-rural gradient. Using ordinary least squares and spatially adjusted regression and...

Disparities of Shigellosis Rates among California Children by Race/Ethnicity and Census Tract Poverty Level, 2000-2010.

PubMed

Jackson, Rebecca; Smith, Daniel; Tabnak, Farzaneh; Vugia, Duc

2015-08-01

We examined surveillance data for disparities in shigellosis rates among children by census tract (CT) poverty level and race/ethnicity in California. We geocoded addresses of 9740 children younger than 15 years of age from 2000-2010 California shigellosis surveillance data and calculated incidence rate (IR) per 100,000 population by age group and race/ethnicity. We linked geocoded cases to 2006-2010 American Community Survey CT-level poverty data and used IR ratios to compare children in the most impoverished CTs with those in the least impoverished CTs. The contribution of socioeconomic inequalities to age-standardized racial and ethnic disparities was explored using Poisson regression. Per 100,000 population, shigellosis IR was highest among California children less than 5 years old (16.4) and of Hispanic ethnicity (15.2). The age-standardized IR was 22.3 per 100,000 person-years in CTs with more than 40% of the population below the poverty line and 4.1 per 100,000 person-years in CTs with less than 5% of the population below the poverty line, an IR ratio of 5.8 (95% confidence interval: 5.2, 6.5). Shigellosis rates among California children were highest among Hispanics and increased with CT poverty.

Designing a health/legal system : a manual

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1979-08-01

The report presents a manual for use by state, county, and local organizations in improving their case-disposition process for persons arrested for drunk driving. These processes use the agencies of the traffic law system and the public health system...

Computer-based guidelines for concrete pavements : HIPERPAV III : user manual

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-10-01

This user manual provides guidance on how to use the new High PERformance PAVing (HIPERPAV) III software program for the analysis of early-age Portland cement concrete pavement (PCCP) behavior. HIPERPAV III includes several improvements over prev...

Comparison of manual scaled and predicted foE and foF1 critical frequencies. Technical report

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

Gamache, R.R.; Kersey, W.T.

1990-07-01

The CCIR and Titheridge foE critical frequency prediction routines were tested by comparison with 1875 manually scaled values. The foF1 critical frequency prediction routine of Millman et al was tested by comparison with 1005 manually scaled values. Plots and statistics of the comparisons are presented and discussed. From the results recommendations are made to help improve autoscaling.

Obesity and Supermarket Access: Proximity or Price?

PubMed Central

Aggarwal, Anju; Hurvitz, Philip M.; Monsivais, Pablo; Moudon, Anne V

2012-01-01

Objectives. We examined whether physical proximity to supermarkets or supermarket price was more strongly associated with obesity risk. Methods. The Seattle Obesity Study (SOS) collected and geocoded data on home addresses and food shopping destinations for a representative sample of adult residents of King County, Washington. Supermarkets were stratified into 3 price levels based on average cost of the market basket. Sociodemographic and health data were obtained from a telephone survey. Modified Poisson regression was used to test the associations between obesity and supermarket variables. Results. Only 1 in 7 respondents reported shopping at the nearest supermarket. The risk of obesity was not associated with street network distances between home and the nearest supermarket or the supermarket that SOS participants reported as their primary food source. The type of supermarket, by price, was found to be inversely and significantly associated with obesity rates, even after adjusting for individual-level sociodemographic and lifestyle variables, and proximity measures (adjusted relative risk = 0.34; 95% confidence interval = 0.19, 0.63) Conclusions. Improving physical access to supermarkets may be one strategy to deal with the obesity epidemic; improving economic access to healthy foods is another. PMID:22698052

Use of Prolonged Travel to Improve Pediatric Risk-Adjustment Models

PubMed Central

Lorch, Scott A; Silber, Jeffrey H; Even-Shoshan, Orit; Millman, Andrea

2009-01-01

Objective To determine whether travel variables could explain previously reported differences in lengths of stay (LOS), readmission, or death at children's hospitals versus other hospital types. Data Source Hospital discharge data from Pennsylvania between 1996 and 1998. Study Design A population cohort of children aged 1–17 years with one of 19 common pediatric conditions was created (N=51,855). Regression models were constructed to determine difference for LOS, readmission, or death between children's hospitals and other types of hospitals after including five types of additional illness severity variables to a traditional risk-adjustment model. Principal Findings With the traditional risk-adjustment model, children traveling longer to children's or rural hospitals had longer adjusted LOS and higher readmission rates. Inclusion of either a geocoded travel time variable or a nongeocoded travel distance variable provided the largest reduction in adjusted LOS, adjusted readmission rates, and adjusted mortality rates for children's hospitals and rural hospitals compared with other types of hospitals. Conclusions Adding a travel variable to traditional severity adjustment models may improve the assessment of an individual hospital's pediatric care by reducing systematic differences between different types of hospitals. PMID:19207591

Linking pesticides and human health: a geographic information system (GIS) and Landsat remote sensing method to estimate agricultural pesticide exposure.

PubMed

VoPham, Trang; Wilson, John P; Ruddell, Darren; Rashed, Tarek; Brooks, Maria M; Yuan, Jian-Min; Talbott, Evelyn O; Chang, Chung-Chou H; Weissfeld, Joel L

2015-08-01

Accurate pesticide exposure estimation is integral to epidemiologic studies elucidating the role of pesticides in human health. Humans can be exposed to pesticides via residential proximity to agricultural pesticide applications (drift). We present an improved geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing method, the Landsat method, to estimate agricultural pesticide exposure through matching pesticide applications to crops classified from temporally concurrent Landsat satellite remote sensing images in California. The image classification method utilizes Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values in a combined maximum likelihood classification and per-field (using segments) approach. Pesticide exposure is estimated according to pesticide-treated crop fields intersecting 500 m buffers around geocoded locations (e.g., residences) in a GIS. Study results demonstrate that the Landsat method can improve GIS-based pesticide exposure estimation by matching more pesticide applications to crops (especially temporary crops) classified using temporally concurrent Landsat images compared to the standard method that relies on infrequently updated land use survey (LUS) crop data. The Landsat method can be used in epidemiologic studies to reconstruct past individual-level exposure to specific pesticides according to where individuals are located.

Determining Chronic Disease Prevalence in Local Populations Using Emergency Department Surveillance

PubMed Central

Long, Judith A.; Wall, Stephen P.; Carr, Brendan G.; Satchell, Samantha N.; Braithwaite, R. Scott; Elbel, Brian

2015-01-01

Objectives. We sought to improve public health surveillance by using a geographic analysis of emergency department (ED) visits to determine local chronic disease prevalence. Methods. Using an all-payer administrative database, we determined the proportion of unique ED patients with diabetes, hypertension, or asthma. We compared these rates to those determined by the New York City Community Health Survey. For diabetes prevalence, we also analyzed the fidelity of longitudinal estimates using logistic regression and determined disease burden within census tracts using geocoded addresses. Results. We identified 4.4 million unique New York City adults visiting an ED between 2009 and 2012. When we compared our emergency sample to survey data, rates of neighborhood diabetes, hypertension, and asthma prevalence were similar (correlation coefficient = 0.86, 0.88, and 0.77, respectively). In addition, our method demonstrated less year-to-year scatter and identified significant variation of disease burden within neighborhoods among census tracts. Conclusions. Our method for determining chronic disease prevalence correlates with a validated health survey and may have higher reliability over time and greater granularity at a local level. Our findings can improve public health surveillance by identifying local variation of disease prevalence. PMID:26180983

Determining Chronic Disease Prevalence in Local Populations Using Emergency Department Surveillance.

PubMed

Lee, David C; Long, Judith A; Wall, Stephen P; Carr, Brendan G; Satchell, Samantha N; Braithwaite, R Scott; Elbel, Brian

2015-09-01

We sought to improve public health surveillance by using a geographic analysis of emergency department (ED) visits to determine local chronic disease prevalence. Using an all-payer administrative database, we determined the proportion of unique ED patients with diabetes, hypertension, or asthma. We compared these rates to those determined by the New York City Community Health Survey. For diabetes prevalence, we also analyzed the fidelity of longitudinal estimates using logistic regression and determined disease burden within census tracts using geocoded addresses. We identified 4.4 million unique New York City adults visiting an ED between 2009 and 2012. When we compared our emergency sample to survey data, rates of neighborhood diabetes, hypertension, and asthma prevalence were similar (correlation coefficient = 0.86, 0.88, and 0.77, respectively). In addition, our method demonstrated less year-to-year scatter and identified significant variation of disease burden within neighborhoods among census tracts. Our method for determining chronic disease prevalence correlates with a validated health survey and may have higher reliability over time and greater granularity at a local level. Our findings can improve public health surveillance by identifying local variation of disease prevalence.

Addressing the targeting range of the ABILHAND-56 in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: A mixed methods psychometric study.

PubMed

Cleanthous, Sophie; Strzok, Sara; Pompilus, Farrah; Cano, Stefan; Marquis, Patrick; Cohan, Stanley; Goldman, Myla D; Kresa-Reahl, Kiren; Petrillo, Jennifer; Castrillo-Viguera, Carmen; Cadavid, Diego; Chen, Shih-Yin

2018-01-01

ABILHAND, a manual ability patient-reported outcome instrument originally developed for stroke patients, has been used in multiple sclerosis clinical trials; however, psychometric analyses indicated the measure's limited measurement range and precision in higher-functioning multiple sclerosis patients. The purpose of this study was to identify candidate items to expand the measurement range of the ABILHAND-56, thus improving its ability to detect differences in manual ability in higher-functioning multiple sclerosis patients. A step-wise mixed methods design strategy was used, comprising two waves of patient interviews, a combination of qualitative (concept elicitation and cognitive debriefing) and quantitative (Rasch measurement theory) analytic techniques, and consultation interviews with three clinical neurologists specializing in multiple sclerosis. Original ABILHAND was well understood in this context of use. Eighty-two new manual ability concepts were identified. Draft supplementary items were generated and refined with patient and neurologist input. Rasch measurement theory psychometric analysis indicated supplementary items improved targeting to higher-functioning multiple sclerosis patients and measurement precision. The final pool of Early Multiple Sclerosis Manual Ability items comprises 20 items. The synthesis of qualitative and quantitative methods used in this study improves the ABILHAND content validity to more effectively identify manual ability changes in early multiple sclerosis and potentially help determine treatment effect in higher-functioning patients in clinical trials.

Non-invasive stimulation of the vibrissal pad improves recovery of whisking function after simultaneous lesion of the facial and infraorbital nerves in rats.

PubMed

Bendella, H; Pavlov, S P; Grosheva, M; Irintchev, A; Angelova, S K; Merkel, D; Sinis, N; Kaidoglou, K; Skouras, E; Dunlop, S A; Angelov, Doychin N

2011-07-01

We have recently shown that manual stimulation of target muscles promotes functional recovery after transection and surgical repair to pure motor nerves (facial: whisking and blink reflex; hypoglossal: tongue position). However, following facial nerve repair, manual stimulation is detrimental if sensory afferent input is eliminated by, e.g., infraorbital nerve extirpation. To further understand the interplay between sensory input and motor recovery, we performed simultaneous cut-and-suture lesions on both the facial and the infraorbital nerves and examined whether stimulation of the sensory afferents from the vibrissae by a forced use would improve motor recovery. The efficacy of 3 treatment paradigms was assessed: removal of the contralateral vibrissae to ensure a maximal use of the ipsilateral ones (vibrissal stimulation; Group 2), manual stimulation of the ipsilateral vibrissal muscles (Group 3), and vibrissal stimulation followed by manual stimulation (Group 4). Data were compared to controls which underwent surgery but did not receive any treatment (Group 1). Four months after surgery, all three treatments significantly improved the amplitude of vibrissal whisking to 30° versus 11° in the controls of Group 1. The three treatments also reduced the degree of polyneuronal innervation of target muscle fibers to 37% versus 58% in Group 1. These findings indicate that forced vibrissal use and manual stimulation, either alone or sequentially, reduce target muscle polyinnervation and improve recovery of whisking function when both the sensory and the motor components of the trigemino-facial system regenerate.

Efficacy of manual and manipulative therapy in the perception of pain and cervical motion in patients with tension-type headache: a randomized, controlled clinical trial.

PubMed

Espí-López, Gemma V; Gómez-Conesa, Antonia

2014-03-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of manipulative and manual therapy treatments with regard to pain perception and neck mobility in patients with tension-type headache. A randomized clinical trial was conducted on 84 adults diagnosed with tension-type headache. Eighty-four subjects were enrolled in this study: 68 women and 16 men. Mean age was 39.76 years, ranging from 18 to 65 years. A total of 57.1% were diagnosed with chronic tension-type headache and 42.9% with tension-type headache. Participants were divided into 3 treatment groups (manual therapy, manipulative therapy, a combination of manual and manipulative therapy) and a control group. Four treatment sessions were administered during 4 weeks, with posttreatment assessment and follow-up at 1 month. Cervical ranges of motion pain perception, and frequency and intensity of headaches were assessed. All 3 treatment groups showed significant improvements in the different dimensions of pain perception. Manual therapy and manipulative treatment improved some cervical ranges of motion. Headache frequency was reduced with manipulative treatment (P < .008). Combined treatment reported improvement after the treatment (P < .000) and at follow-up (P < .002). Pain intensity improved after the treatment and at follow-up with manipulative therapy (P < .01) and combined treatment (P < .01). Both treatments, administered both separately and combined together, showed efficacy for patients with tension-type headache with regard to pain perception. As for cervical ranges of motion, treatments produced greater effect when separately administered.

Access to emergency hospital care provided by the public sector in sub-Saharan Africa in 2015: a geocoded inventory and spatial analysis.

PubMed

Ouma, Paul O; Maina, Joseph; Thuranira, Pamela N; Macharia, Peter M; Alegana, Victor A; English, Mike; Okiro, Emelda A; Snow, Robert W

2018-03-01

Timely access to emergency care can substantially reduce mortality. International benchmarks for access to emergency hospital care have been established to guide ambitions for universal health care by 2030. However, no Pan-African database of where hospitals are located exists; therefore, we aimed to complete a geocoded inventory of hospital services in Africa in relation to how populations might access these services in 2015, with focus on women of child bearing age. We assembled a geocoded inventory of public hospitals across 48 countries and islands of sub-Saharan Africa, including Zanzibar, using data from various sources. We only included public hospitals with emergency services that were managed by governments at national or local levels and faith-based or non-governmental organisations. For hospital listings without geographical coordinates, we geocoded each facility using Microsoft Encarta (version 2009), Google Earth (version 7.3), Geonames, Fallingrain, OpenStreetMap, and other national digital gazetteers. We obtained estimates for total population and women of child bearing age (15-49 years) at a 1 km 2 spatial resolution from the WorldPop database for 2015. Additionally, we assembled road network data from Google Map Maker Project and OpenStreetMap using ArcMap (version 10.5). We then combined the road network and the population locations to form a travel impedance surface. Subsequently, we formulated a cost distance algorithm based on the location of public hospitals and the travel impedance surface in AccessMod (version 5) to compute the proportion of populations living within a combined walking and motorised travel time of 2 h to emergency hospital services. We consulted 100 databases from 48 sub-Saharan countries and islands, including Zanzibar, and identified 4908 public hospitals. 2701 hospitals had either full or partial information about their geographical coordinates. We estimated that 287 282 013 (29·0%) people and 64 495 526 (28·2%) women of child bearing age are located more than 2-h travel time from the nearest hospital. Marked differences were observed within and between countries, ranging from less than 25% of the population within 2-h travel time of a public hospital in South Sudan to more than 90% in Nigeria, Kenya, Cape Verde, Swaziland, South Africa, Burundi, Comoros, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Zanzibar. Only 16 countries reached the international benchmark of more than 80% of their populations living within a 2-h travel time of the nearest hospital. Physical access to emergency hospital care provided by the public sector in Africa remains poor and varies substantially within and between countries. Innovative targeting of emergency care services is necessary to reduce these inequities. This study provides the first spatial census of public hospital services in Africa. Wellcome Trust and the UK Department for International Development. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

A hydraulic assist for a manual skyline lock

Treesearch

Cleveland J. Biller

1977-01-01

A hydraulic locking mechanism was designed to replace the manual skyline lock on a small standing skyline with gravity carriage. It improved the efficiency of the operation by reducing setup and takedown times and reduced the hazard to the crew.

Manual for guided home exercises for osteoarthritis of the knee.

PubMed

Carvalho, Nilza Aparecida de Almeida; Bittar, Simoni Teixeira; Pinto, Flávia Ribeiro de Souza; Ferreira, Mônica; Sitta, Robson Roberto

2010-06-01

Physiotherapy is one of the most important components of therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee. The objective of this prospective case series was to assess the efficiency of a guidance manual for patients with osteoarthritis of the knee in relation to pain, range of movement , muscle strength and function, active goniometry, manual strength test and function. Thirty-eight adults with osteoarthritis of the knee (>or= 45 years old) who were referred to the physiotherapy service at the university hospital (Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo) were studied. Patients received guidance for the practice of specific physical exercises and a manual with instructions on how to perform the exercises at home. They were evaluated for pain, range of movement, muscle strength and function. These evaluations were performed before they received the manual and three months later. Patients were seen monthly regarding improvements in their exercising abilities. The program was effective for improving muscle strength, controlling pain, maintaining range of movement of the knee joint, and reducing functional incapacity. A review of the literature showed that there are numerous clinical benefits to the regular practice of physical therapy exercises by patients with osteoarthritis of the knee(s) in a program with appropriate guidance. This study shows that this guidance can be attained at home with the use of a proper manual. Even when performed at home without constant supervision, the use of the printed manual for orientation makes the exercises for osteoarthritis of the knee beneficial.

Recent advances and plans in processing and geocoding of SAR data at the DFD

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noack, W.

1993-01-01

Because of the needs of future projects like ENVISAT and the experiences made with the current operational ERS-1 facilities, a radical change in the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) processing scenarios can be predicted for the next years. At the German PAF several new developments were initialized which are driven mainly either by user needs or by system and operational constraints ('lessons learned'). At the end there will be a major simplification and uniformation of all used computer systems. Especially the following changes are likely to be implemented at the German PAF: transcription before archiving, processing of all standard products with high throughput directly at the receiving stations, processing of special 'high-valued' products at the PAF, usage of a single type of processor hardware, implementation of a large and fast on-line data archive, and improved and unified fast data network between the processing and archiving facilities. A short description of the current operational SAR facilities as well as the future implementations are given.

BOREAS Level-3p Landsat TM Imagery: Geocoded and Scaled At-sensor Radiance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nickeson, Jaime; Knapp, David; Newcomer, Jeffrey A.; Hall, Forrest G. (Editor); Cihlar, Josef

2000-01-01

For BOReal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS), the level-3p Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data were used to supplement the level-3s Landsat TM products. Along with the other remotely sensed images, the Landsat TM images were collected in order to provide spatially extensive information over the primary study areas. This information includes radiant energy, detailed land cover, and biophysical parameter maps such as Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR) and Leaf Area Index (LAI). Although very similar to the level-3s Landsat TM products, the level-3p images were processed with ground control information, which improved the accuracy of the geographic coordinates provided. Geographically, the level-3p images cover the BOREAS Northern Study Area (NSA) and Southern Study Area (SSA). Temporally, the four images cover the period of 20-Aug-1988 to 07-Jun-1994. Except for the 07-Jun-1994 image, which contains seven bands, the other three contain only three bands.

Improved Regolith-Landform and Geological Mapping using AIRSAR Data as an Aid to Mineral Exploration in the North-Eastern Goldfields Region, Western Australia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tapley, Ian J.

1996-01-01

The distinctive contribution of AIRSAR data in characterizing the regolith-landforms in a relatively vegetation free environment are discussed. AIRSAR frame processed data were initially MAF-cleaned to enhance the signal content of the data before geocoding to AMG coordinates. Colors in a three frequency single polarization combination image C-, L- P- bands, and in an enhancement of pedestal height, relate directly to the scale of surface roughness of the various regolith units Examination of the AIRSAR enhancements reveals that in mafic terrain, and to a lesser extent, in felsic terrain, AIRSAR data provides discrimination between the principle geomorphic regimes, relict, erosional and depositional. A multivariate statistical technique called an all-possible subsets calculation was used to examine the degree of polarimetric separation between selected regolith-landforms for all combinations of the nine band AIRSAR radar. An unanticipated aspect of the research was the identification on the AIRSAR imagery of previously unmapped structural features.

[Assessment of risk of burden in construction: improvement interventions and contribution of the competent physician].

PubMed

Martinelli, R; Tarquini, M

2012-01-01

Three construction companies in three years have changed the operating modes, making use of innovative carpentry, with little amount of equipment, improved usability of the site, reduced cleaning time, less manual handling and reduced risk of accidents. The Competent Doctor has participated in the review of the risk assessment of manual handling: data has been acquired on musculoskeletal disorders to compare, in terms of this innovation, the average trend and changes, with encouraging results in terms of incidence of musculoskeletal disorders, absenteeism due to illness by these causes, new cases of lumbar diseases. It remains difficult in building to assess manual handling risk, but the collaboration between the Employer, Prevention and Protection Service and Competent Doctor, thanks to the greater attention that the design subject to these issues, suggests improvements and further steps to extend to all phases of operation of building.

Haptic Guidance Improves the Visuo-Manual Tracking of Trajectories

PubMed Central

Bluteau, Jérémy; Coquillart, Sabine; Payan, Yohan; Gentaz, Edouard

2008-01-01

Background Learning to perform new movements is usually achieved by following visual demonstrations. Haptic guidance by a force feedback device is a recent and original technology which provides additional proprioceptive cues during visuo-motor learning tasks. The effects of two types of haptic guidances-control in position (HGP) or in force (HGF)–on visuo-manual tracking (“following”) of trajectories are still under debate. Methodology/Principals Findings Three training techniques of haptic guidance (HGP, HGF or control condition, NHG, without haptic guidance) were evaluated in two experiments. Movements produced by adults were assessed in terms of shapes (dynamic time warping) and kinematics criteria (number of velocity peaks and mean velocity) before and after the training sessions. Trajectories consisted of two Arabic and two Japanese-inspired letters in Experiment 1 and ellipses in Experiment 2. We observed that the use of HGF globally improves the fluency of the visuo-manual tracking of trajectories while no significant improvement was found for HGP or NHG. Conclusion/Significance These results show that the addition of haptic information, probably encoded in force coordinates, play a crucial role on the visuo-manual tracking of new trajectories. PMID:18335049

Improved guidelines for estimating the Highway safety manual calibration factors.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-01-01

Crash prediction models can be used to predict the number of crashes and evaluate roadway safety. Part C of the first edition of the Highway Safety Manual (HSM) provides safety performance functions (SPFs). The HSM addendum that includes freeway and ...

MEASUREMENT OF HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY DISTRIBUTIONS: A MANUAL OF PRACTICE

EPA Science Inventory

The ability of hydrologists to perform field measurements of aquifer hydraulic properties must be enhanced in order to significantly improve the capacity to solve groundwater contamination problems at Superfund and other sites. The primary purpose of this manual is to provide ne...

MEASUREMENT OF HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY DISTRIBUTIONS: A MANUAL OF PRACTICE

EPA Science Inventory

The ability of hydrologists to perform field measurements of aquifer hydraulic properties must be enhanced in order to significantly improve the capacity to solve groundwater contamination problems at Superfund and other sites. he primary purpose of this manual is to provide new ...

California School Accounting Manual. 1984 Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lundin, Janet, Ed.

California's official school accounting procedures, amended in 1984 to clarify definitions and improve program cost accounting, are presented. Following an introduction that discusses general characteristics of school accounting, the manual explains the following areas of accounting practice: (1) financial reporting; (2) income; (3) expenditures;…

Towards Introducing a Geocoding Information System for Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siksnans, J.; Pirupshvarre, Hans R.; Lind, M.; Mioc, D.; Anton, F.

2011-08-01

Currently, addressing practices in Greenland do not support geocoding. Addressing points on a map by geographic coordinates is vital for emergency services such as police and ambulance for avoiding ambiguities in finding incident locations (Government of Greenland, 2010) Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the current addressing practices in Greenland. Asiaq (Asiaq, 2011) is a public enterprise of the Government of Greenland which holds three separate databases regards addressing and place references: - list of locality names (towns, villages, farms), - technical base maps (including road center lines not connected with names, and buildings), - the NIN registry (The Land Use Register of Greenland - holds information on the land allotments and buildings in Greenland). The main problem is that these data sets are not interconnected, thus making it impossible to address a point in a map with geographic coordinates in a standardized way. The possible solutions suffer from the fact that Greenland has a scattered habitation pattern and the generalization of the address assignment schema is a difficult task. A schema would be developed according to the characteristics of the settlement pattern, e.g. cities, remote locations and place names. The aim is to propose an ontology for a common postal address system for Greenland. The main part of the research is dedicated to the current system and user requirement engineering. This allowed us to design a conceptual database model which corresponds to the user requirements, and implement a small scale prototype. Furthermore, our research includes resemblance findings in Danish and Greenland's addressing practices, data dictionary for establishing Greenland addressing system's logical model and enhanced entity relationship diagram. This initial prototype of the Greenland addressing system could be used to evaluate and build the full architecture of the addressing information system for Greenland. Using software engineering methods the implementation can be done according to the developed data model and initial database prototype. Development of the Greenland addressing system using a modern GIS and database technology would ease the work and improve the quality of public services such as: postal delivery, emergency response, customer/business relationship management, administration of land, utility planning and maintenance and public statistical data analysis.

Improvement of the insertion axis for cochlear implantation with a robot-based system.

PubMed

Torres, Renato; Kazmitcheff, Guillaume; De Seta, Daniele; Ferrary, Evelyne; Sterkers, Olivier; Nguyen, Yann

2017-02-01

It has previously reported that alignment of the insertion axis along the basal turn of the cochlea was depending on surgeon' experience. In this experimental study, we assessed technological assistances, such as navigation or a robot-based system, to improve the insertion axis during cochlear implantation. A preoperative cone beam CT and a mastoidectomy with a posterior tympanotomy were performed on four temporal bones. The optimal insertion axis was defined as the closest axis to the scala tympani centerline avoiding the facial nerve. A neuronavigation system, a robot assistance prototype, and software allowing a semi-automated alignment of the robot were used to align an insertion tool with an optimal insertion axis. Four procedures were performed and repeated three times in each temporal bone: manual, manual navigation-assisted, robot-based navigation-assisted, and robot-based semi-automated. The angle between the optimal and the insertion tool axis was measured in the four procedures. The error was 8.3° ± 2.82° for the manual procedure (n = 24), 8.6° ± 2.83° for the manual navigation-assisted procedure (n = 24), 5.4° ± 3.91° for the robot-based navigation-assisted procedure (n = 24), and 3.4° ± 1.56° for the robot-based semi-automated procedure (n = 12). A higher accuracy was observed with the semi-automated robot-based technique than manual and manual navigation-assisted (p < 0.01). Combination of a navigation system and a manual insertion does not improve the alignment accuracy due to the lack of friendly user interface. On the contrary, a semi-automated robot-based system reduces both the error and the variability of the alignment with a defined optimal axis.

Geo-Coding for the Mapping of Documents and Social Media Messages

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-08-22

O.L. (2007). UBC-ALM: Combining KNN with SVD for WSD. Proceedings of the 4th International Workshop on Semantic Evaluations (SemEval-2007), Prague...and Yarowsky, D. (1992). One sense per discourse. In Proceedings of the 4th DARPA Speech and Natural Language Workshop. pp. 233-237, 1992. Retrieved...Part-of- Speech Tagging for Twitter: Annotation, Features, and Experiments. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational

Precision of lumbar intervertebral measurements: does a computer-assisted technique improve reliability?

PubMed

Pearson, Adam M; Spratt, Kevin F; Genuario, James; McGough, William; Kosman, Katherine; Lurie, Jon; Sengupta, Dilip K

2011-04-01

Comparison of intra- and interobserver reliability of digitized manual and computer-assisted intervertebral motion measurements and classification of "instability." To determine if computer-assisted measurement of lumbar intervertebral motion on flexion-extension radiographs improves reliability compared with digitized manual measurements. Many studies have questioned the reliability of manual intervertebral measurements, although few have compared the reliability of computer-assisted and manual measurements on lumbar flexion-extension radiographs. Intervertebral rotation, anterior-posterior (AP) translation, and change in anterior and posterior disc height were measured with a digitized manual technique by three physicians and by three other observers using computer-assisted quantitative motion analysis (QMA) software. Each observer measured 30 sets of digital flexion-extension radiographs (L1-S1) twice. Shrout-Fleiss intraclass correlation coefficients for intra- and interobserver reliabilities were computed. The stability of each level was also classified (instability defined as >4 mm AP translation or 10° rotation), and the intra- and interobserver reliabilities of the two methods were compared using adjusted percent agreement (APA). Intraobserver reliability intraclass correlation coefficients were substantially higher for the QMA technique THAN the digitized manual technique across all measurements: rotation 0.997 versus 0.870, AP translation 0.959 versus 0.557, change in anterior disc height 0.962 versus 0.770, and change in posterior disc height 0.951 versus 0.283. The same pattern was observed for interobserver reliability (rotation 0.962 vs. 0.693, AP translation 0.862 vs. 0.151, change in anterior disc height 0.862 vs. 0.373, and change in posterior disc height 0.730 vs. 0.300). The QMA technique was also more reliable for the classification of "instability." Intraobserver APAs ranged from 87 to 97% for QMA versus 60% to 73% for digitized manual measurements, while interobserver APAs ranged from 91% to 96% for QMA versus 57% to 63% for digitized manual measurements. The use of QMA software substantially improved the reliability of lumbar intervertebral measurements and the classification of instability based on flexion-extension radiographs.

Advantages of combined touch screen technology and text hyperlink for the pathology grossing manual: a simple approach to access instructive information in biohazardous environments.

PubMed

Qu, Zhenhong; Ghorbani, Rhonda P; Li, Hongyan; Hunter, Robert L; Hannah, Christina D

2007-03-01

Gross examination, encompassing description, dissection, and sampling, is a complex task and an essential component of surgical pathology. Because of the complexity of the task, standardized protocols to guide the gross examination often become a bulky manual that is difficult to use. This problem is further compounded by the high specimen volume and biohazardous nature of the task. As a result, such a manual is often underused, leading to errors that are potentially harmful and time consuming to correct-a common chronic problem affecting many pathology laboratories. To combat this problem, we have developed a simple method that incorporates complex text and graphic information of a typical procedure manual and yet allows easy access to any intended instructive information in the manual. The method uses the Object-Linking-and-Embedding function of Microsoft Word (Microsoft, Redmond, WA) to establish hyperlinks among different contents, and then it uses the touch screen technology to facilitate navigation through the manual on a computer screen installed at the cutting bench with no need for a physical keyboard or a mouse. It takes less than 4 seconds to reach any intended information in the manual by 3 to 4 touches on the screen. A 3-year follow-up study shows that this method has increased use of the manual and has improved the quality of gross examination. The method is simple and can be easily tailored to different formats of instructive information, allowing flexible organization, easy access, and quick navigation. Increased compliance to instructive information reduces errors at the grossing bench and improves work efficiency.

Strength training alone, exercise therapy alone, and exercise therapy with passive manual mobilisation each reduce pain and disability in people with knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review.

PubMed

Jansen, Mariette J; Viechtbauer, Wolfgang; Lenssen, Antoine F; Hendriks, Erik J M; de Bie, Rob A

2011-01-01

What are the effects of strength training alone, exercise therapy alone, and exercise with additional passive manual mobilisation on pain and function in people with knee osteoarthritis compared to control? What are the effects of these interventions relative to each other? A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Adults with osteoarthritis of the knee. INTERVENTION TYPES: Strength training alone, exercise therapy alone (combination of strength training with active range of motion exercises and aerobic activity), or exercise with additional passive manual mobilisation, versus any non-exercise control. Comparisons between the three interventions were also sought. The primary outcome measures were pain and physical function. 12 trials compared one of the interventions against control. The effect size on pain was 0.38 (95% CI 0.23 to 0.54) for strength training, 0.34 (95% CI 0.19 to 0.49) for exercise, and 0.69 (95% CI 0.42 to 0.96) for exercise plus manual mobilisation. Each intervention also improved physical function significantly. No randomised comparisons of the three interventions were identified. However, meta-regression indicated that exercise plus manual mobilisations improved pain significantly more than exercise alone (p = 0.03). The remaining comparisons between the three interventions for pain and physical function were not significant. Exercise therapy plus manual mobilisation showed a moderate effect size on pain compared to the small effect sizes for strength training or exercise therapy alone. To achieve better pain relief in patients with knee osteoarthritis physiotherapists or manual therapists might consider adding manual mobilisation to optimise supervised active exercise programs. Copyright © 2011 Australian Physiotherapy Association. Published by .. All rights reserved.

Optimizing process and equipment efficiency using integrated methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Elia, Michael J.; Alfonso, Ted F.

1996-09-01

The semiconductor manufacturing industry is continually riding the edge of technology as it tries to push toward higher design limits. Mature fabs must cut operating costs while increasing productivity to remain profitable and cannot justify large capital expenditures to improve productivity. Thus, they must push current tool production capabilities to cut manufacturing costs and remain viable. Working to continuously improve mature production methods requires innovation. Furthermore, testing and successful implementation of these ideas into modern production environments require both supporting technical data and commitment from those working with the process daily. At AMD, natural work groups (NWGs) composed of operators, technicians, engineers, and supervisors collaborate to foster innovative thinking and secure commitment. Recently, an AMD NWG improved equipment cycle time on the Genus tungsten silicide (WSi) deposition system. The team used total productive manufacturing (TPM) to identify areas for process improvement. Improved in-line equipment monitoring was achieved by constructing a real time overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) calculator which tracked equipment down, idle, qualification, and production times. In-line monitoring results indicated that qualification time associated with slow Inspex turn-around time and machine downtime associated with manual cleans contributed greatly to reduced availability. Qualification time was reduced by 75% by implementing a new Inspex monitor pre-staging technique. Downtime associated with manual cleans was reduced by implementing an in-situ plasma etch back to extend the time between manual cleans. A designed experiment was used to optimize the process. Time between 18 hour manual cleans has been improved from every 250 to every 1500 cycles. Moreover defect density realized a 3X improvement. Overall, the team achieved a 35% increase in tool availability. This paper details the above strategies and accomplishments.

Manual transmission enhances attention and driving performance of ADHD adolescent males: pilot study.

PubMed

Cox, Daniel J; Punja, Mohan; Powers, Katie; Merkel, R Lawrence; Burket, Roger; Moore, Melissa; Thorndike, Frances; Kovatchev, Boris

2006-11-01

Inattention is a major contributor to driving mishaps and is especially problematic among adolescent drivers with ADHD, possibly contributing to their 2 to 4 times higher incidence of collisions. Manual transmission has been demonstrated to be associated with greater arousal. This study tests the hypotheses that manual transmission, compared to automatic transmission, would be associated with better attention and performance on a driving simulator. Ten adolescent drivers with ADHD practice driving on the simulator in the manual and automatic mode. Employing a single-blind, cross-over design, participants drive the simulator at 19:30 and 22:30 hr for 30 min in both transmissions and rate their attention to driving. Subjectively, participants report being more attentive while driving in manual transmission mode. Objectively, participants drive safer in the manual transmission mode. Although in need of replication, this pilot study suggests a behavioral intervention to improve driving performance among ADHD adolescents.

DOD-Wide Civilian Career Program for Procurement Personnel.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs (DOD), Washington, DC.

The manual, which supersedes the August 4, 1966 manual, is designed to aid in program improvement for career development and advancement opportunities of Department of Defense (DOD) civilian procurement personnel. Program elements covered include: career patterns, career counseling and appraisal, training and development, registration, referral…

Structured reporting platform improves CAD-RADS assessment.

PubMed

Szilveszter, Bálint; Kolossváry, Márton; Karády, Júlia; Jermendy, Ádám L; Károlyi, Mihály; Panajotu, Alexisz; Bagyura, Zsolt; Vecsey-Nagy, Milán; Cury, Ricardo C; Leipsic, Jonathon A; Merkely, Béla; Maurovich-Horvat, Pál

2017-11-01

Structured reporting in cardiac imaging is strongly encouraged to improve quality through consistency. The Coronary Artery Disease - Reporting and Data System (CAD-RADS) was recently introduced to facilitate interdisciplinary communication of coronary CT angiography (CTA) results. We aimed to assess the agreement between manual and automated CAD-RADS classification using a structured reporting platform. Five readers prospectively interpreted 500 coronary CT angiographies using a structured reporting platform that automatically calculates the CAD-RADS score based on stenosis and plaque parameters manually entered by the reader. In addition, all readers manually assessed CAD-RADS blinded to the automatically derived results, which was used as the reference standard. We evaluated factors influencing reader performance including CAD-RADS training, clinical load, time of the day and level of expertise. Total agreement between manual and automated classification was 80.2%. Agreement in stenosis categories was 86.7%, whereas the agreement in modifiers was 95.8% for "N", 96.8% for "S", 95.6% for "V" and 99.4% for "G". Agreement for V improved after CAD-RADS training (p = 0.047). Time of the day and clinical load did not influence reader performance (p > 0.05 both). Less experienced readers had a higher total agreement as compared to more experienced readers (87.0% vs 78.0%, respectively; p = 0.011). Even though automated CAD-RADS classification uses data filled in by the readers, it outperforms manual classification by preventing human errors. Structured reporting platforms with automated calculation of the CAD-RADS score might improve data quality and support standardization of clinical decision making. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Botulinum toxin type A injection into the gastrocnemius muscle for spastic equinus in adults with stroke: a randomized controlled trial comparing manual needle placement, electrical stimulation and ultrasonography-guided injection techniques.

PubMed

Picelli, Alessandro; Tamburin, Stefano; Bonetti, Paola; Fontana, Carla; Barausse, Martina; Dambruoso, Francesca; Gajofatto, Francesca; Santilli, Valter; Smania, Nicola

2012-11-01

The aim of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes of manual needle placement, electrical stimulation, and ultrasonography-guided techniques for botulinum toxin injection into the gastrocnemius of adults with spastic equinus after stroke. After randomization into three groups, each patient received the same dose of botulinum toxin type A into the lateral and medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle (OnabotulinumtoxinA, 100U per head) of the affected leg. The manual needle placement group (n = 15) underwent injections using anatomic landmarks and palpation; the electrical stimulation group (n = 15) received injections with electrical stimulation guidance; and the ultrasonography group (n = 17) was injected under sonographic guidance. The modified Ashworth scale, the Tardieu scale, and the ankle passive range of motion were measured at baseline and 1 mo after injection. Nonparametric statistical analysis was used. One month after injection, the modified Ashworth scale improved better in the ultrasonography group than in the manual needle placement group (P = 0.008). The ankle passive range of motion improved better in the ultrasonography group than in the electrical stimulation (P = 0.004) and manual needle placement (P < 0.001) groups. No difference was found between groups for the Tardieu scale. Ultrasonography-guided injection technique could improve the clinical outcome of botulinum toxin injections into the gastrocnemius of adults with spastic equinus.

Computer-assisted adjuncts for aneurysmal morphologic assessment: toward more precise and accurate approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajabzadeh-Oghaz, Hamidreza; Varble, Nicole; Davies, Jason M.; Mowla, Ashkan; Shakir, Hakeem J.; Sonig, Ashish; Shallwani, Hussain; Snyder, Kenneth V.; Levy, Elad I.; Siddiqui, Adnan H.; Meng, Hui

2017-03-01

Neurosurgeons currently base most of their treatment decisions for intracranial aneurysms (IAs) on morphological measurements made manually from 2D angiographic images. These measurements tend to be inaccurate because 2D measurements cannot capture the complex geometry of IAs and because manual measurements are variable depending on the clinician's experience and opinion. Incorrect morphological measurements may lead to inappropriate treatment strategies. In order to improve the accuracy and consistency of morphological analysis of IAs, we have developed an image-based computational tool, AView. In this study, we quantified the accuracy of computer-assisted adjuncts of AView for aneurysmal morphologic assessment by performing measurement on spheres of known size and anatomical IA models. AView has an average morphological error of 0.56% in size and 2.1% in volume measurement. We also investigate the clinical utility of this tool on a retrospective clinical dataset and compare size and neck diameter measurement between 2D manual and 3D computer-assisted measurement. The average error was 22% and 30% in the manual measurement of size and aneurysm neck diameter, respectively. Inaccuracies due to manual measurements could therefore lead to wrong treatment decisions in 44% and inappropriate treatment strategies in 33% of the IAs. Furthermore, computer-assisted analysis of IAs improves the consistency in measurement among clinicians by 62% in size and 82% in neck diameter measurement. We conclude that AView dramatically improves accuracy for morphological analysis. These results illustrate the necessity of a computer-assisted approach for the morphological analysis of IAs.

Dilemma-focused intervention for unipolar depression: a treatment manual.

PubMed

Feixas, Guillem; Compañ, Victoria

2016-07-12

This article introduces a new treatment protocol for depression. Based on previous research which indicated the presence of cognitive conflicts in depression, this study created an intervention manual to address these conflicts. The therapy manual for depressive patients followed the guideline for inclusion in clinical trials (stage II), which has received high recognition. A preliminary version (stage I) of this manual was formulated based on other, more general dilemma-focused therapy publications, inspired by personal construct theory (PCT), and input from clinical experience. The resulting version was then applied during the 8-session format of a pilot study with patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder or dysthymia. Finally, feedback was requested from seasoned and highly respected therapists, some of whom were familiar with PCT. According to the mentioned guideline, the intervention manual selected the theoretical framework, in this case PCT, to include its conceptualization of depression and resolution of dilemmas (to foster clinical improvement) as a main treatment goal. The manual was then contrasted with psychoanalytic psychotherapy, cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing (MI), and other similar approaches such as cognitive-analytic therapy and coherence therapy. Following these conceptual clarifications, the specific interventions included in the manual were defined according to both categories: their unique and essential components and those conceived as common psychotherapeutic factors. Next, the general structure and content for each session were presented. The structure consisted of seven well-defined individual sessions with an additional session, which could complement any of the former sessions to address the patient's issues in greater depth, if needed. This Dilemma-Focused Intervention manual aimed to improve the treatment outcome for depression by offering an intervention that could be combined with other general approaches. At its present level of definition, it allows for inclusion in controlled trials (eg, the current RCT combining group CBT with this intervention). Thus, this manual added to the existing resources in psychotherapeutic research and practice for treatment of depression.

The effect of experience, simulator-training and biometric feedback on manual ventilation technique.

PubMed

Lewis, Rebecca; Sherfield, Cerrie A; Fellows, Christopher R; Burrow, Rachel; Young, Iain; Dugdale, Alex

2017-05-01

To determine the frequency of provision and main providers (veterinary surgeons, nurses or trainees) of manual ventilation in UK veterinary practices. Furthermore, to determine the variation in peak inspiratory (inflation) pressure (PIP), applied to a lung model during manual ventilation, by three different groups of operators (inexperienced, experienced and specialist), before and after training. Questionnaire survey, lung model simulator development and prospective testing. Postal questionnaires were sent to 100 randomly selected veterinary practices. The lung model simulator was manually ventilated in a staged process over 3 weeks, with and without real-time biometric feedback (PIP display), by three groups of volunteer operators: inexperienced, experienced and specialist. The questionnaires determined that veterinary nurses were responsible for providing the majority of manual ventilation in veterinary practices, mainly drawing on theoretical knowledge rather than any specific training. Thoracic surgery and apnoea were the main reasons for provision of manual ventilation. Specialists performed well when manually ventilating the lung model, regardless of feedback training. Both inexperienced and experienced operators showed significant improvement in technique when using the feedback training tool: variation in PIP decreased significantly until operators provided manual ventilation at PIPs within the defined optimum range. Preferences for different forms of feedback (graphical, numerical or scale display), revealed that the operators' choice was not always the method which gave least variation in PIP. This study highlighted a need for training in manual ventilation at an early stage in veterinary and veterinary nursing careers and demonstrated how feedback is important in the process of experiential learning. A manometer device which can provide immediate feedback during training, or indeed in a real clinical setting, should improve patient safety. Copyright © 2017 Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists and American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of the AGREE II, part 2: assessment of validity of items and tools to support application

PubMed Central

Brouwers, Melissa C.; Kho, Michelle E.; Browman, George P.; Burgers, Jako S.; Cluzeau, Françoise; Feder, Gene; Fervers, Béatrice; Graham, Ian D.; Hanna, Steven E.; Makarski, Julie

2010-01-01

Background We established a program of research to improve the development, reporting and evaluation of practice guidelines. We assessed the construct validity of the items and user’s manual in the β version of the AGREE II. Methods We designed guideline excerpts reflecting high-and low-quality guideline content for 21 of the 23 items in the tool. We designed two study packages so that one low-quality and one high-quality version of each item were randomly assigned to each package. We randomly assigned 30 participants to one of the two packages. Participants reviewed and rated the guideline content according to the instructions of the user’s manual and completed a survey assessing the manual. Results In all cases, content designed to be of high quality was rated higher than low-quality content; in 18 of 21 cases, the differences were significant (p < 0.05). The manual was rated by participants as appropriate, easy to use, and helpful in differentiating guidelines of varying quality, with all scores above the mid-point of the seven-point scale. Considerable feedback was offered on how the items and manual of the β-AGREE II could be improved. Interpretation The validity of the items was established and the user’s manual was rated as highly useful by users. We used these results and those of our study presented in part 1 to modify the items and user’s manual. We recommend AGREE II (available at www.agreetrust.org) as the revised standard for guideline development, reporting and evaluation. PMID:20513779

Manual for guided home exercises for osteoarthritis of the knee

PubMed Central

de Almeida Carvalho, Nilza Aparecida; Bittar, Simoni Teixeira; de Souza Pinto, Flávia Ribeiro; Ferreira, Mônica; Sitta, Robson Roberto

2010-01-01

INTRODUCTION: Physiotherapy is one of the most important components of therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee. The objective of this prospective case series was to assess the efficiency of a guidance manual for patients with osteoarthritis of the knee in relation to pain, range of movement , muscle strength and function, active goniometry, manual strength test and function. METHODS: Thirty-eight adults with osteoarthritis of the knee (≥ 45 years old) who were referred to the physiotherapy service at the university hospital (Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo) were studied. Patients received guidance for the practice of specific physical exercises and a manual with instructions on how to perform the exercises at home. They were evaluated for pain, range of movement, muscle strength and function. These evaluations were performed before they received the manual and three months later. Patients were seen monthly regarding improvements in their exercising abilities. RESULTS: The program was effective for improving muscle strength, controlling pain, maintaining range of movement of the knee joint, and reducing functional incapacity. DISCUSSION: A review of the literature showed that there are numerous clinical benefits to the regular practice of physical therapy exercises by patients with osteoarthritis of the knee(s) in a program with appropriate guidance. This study shows that this guidance can be attained at home with the use of a proper manual. CONCLUSIONS: Even when performed at home without constant supervision, the use of the printed manual for orientation makes the exercises for osteoarthritis of the knee beneficial. PMID:20835554

Orofacial manual therapy improves cervical movement impairment associated with headache and features of temporomandibular dysfunction: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

von Piekartz, Harry; Hall, Toby

2013-08-01

There is evidence that temporomandibular disorder (TMD) may be a contributing factor to cervicogenic headache (CGH), in part because of the influence of dysfunction of the temporomandibular joint on the cervical spine. The purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to determine whether orofacial treatment in addition to cervical manual therapy, was more effective than cervical manual therapy alone on measures of cervical movement impairment in patients with features of CGH and signs of TMD. In this study, 43 patients (27 women) with headache for more than 3-months and with some features of CGH and signs of TMD were randomly assigned to receive either cervical manual therapy (usual care) or orofacial manual therapy to address TMD in addition to usual care. Subjects were assessed at baseline, after 6 treatment sessions (3-months), and at 6-months follow-up. 38 subjects (25 female) completed all analysis at 6-months follow-up. The outcome criteria were: cervical range of movement (including the C1-2 flexion-rotation test) and manual examination of the upper 3 cervical vertebra. The group that received orofacial treatment in addition to usual care showed significant reduction in all aspects of cervical impairment after the treatment period. These improvements persisted to the 6-month follow-up, but were not observed in the usual care group at any point. These observations together with previous reports indicate that manual therapists should look for features of TMD when examining patients with headache, particularly if treatment fails when directed to the cervical spine. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Merchandising. Michigan School Food Service Training Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Michigan State Univ., East Lansing. Cooperative Extension Service.

The Merchandising Food Service Training Manual contains 12 lessons and 2 appendixes. Class activities and handouts are interspersed among techniques for selling and merchandising meals, information about life value roles and how food participants may improve public images, material about customers' backgrounds and attitudes, methods of competitors…

Amplification in Technical Manuals: Theory and Practice.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Killingsworth, M. Jimmie; And Others

1989-01-01

Examines how amplification (rhetorical techniques by which discourse is extended to enhance its appeal and information value) tends to increase and improve the coverage, rationale, warnings, behavioral alternatives, examples, previews, and general emphasis of technical manuals. Shows how classical and modern rhetorical theories can be applied to…

A piano training program to improve manual dexterity and upper extremity function in chronic stroke survivors.

PubMed

Villeneuve, Myriam; Penhune, Virginia; Lamontagne, Anouk

2014-01-01

Music-supported therapy was shown to induce improvements in motor skills in stroke survivors. Whether all stroke individuals respond similarly to the intervention and whether gains can be maintained over time remain unknown. We estimated the immediate and retention effects of a piano training program on upper extremity function in persons with chronic stroke. Thirteen stroke participants engaged in a 3-week piano training comprising supervised sessions (9 × 60 min) and home practice. Fine and gross manual dexterity, movement coordination, and functional use of the upper extremity were assessed at baseline, pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at a 3-week follow-up. Significant improvements were observed for all outcomes at post-intervention and follow-up compared to pre-intervention scores. Larger magnitudes of change in manual dexterity and functional use of the upper extremity were associated with higher initial levels of motor recovery. Piano training can result in sustainable improvements in upper extremity function in chronic stroke survivors. Individuals with a higher initial level of motor recovery at baseline appear to benefit the most from this intervention.

Intranets: virtual procedure manuals for the pathology lab.

PubMed

Ruby, S G; Krempel, G

1998-08-01

A novel system exists for replacing standard written operation manuals using a computerized PC-based peer-to-peer network. The system design is based on commonly available hardware and software and utilizes existing equipment to minimize implementation expense. The system is relatively easy to implement and maintain, involves minimal training, and should quickly become a financial asset. In addition, such a system can improve access to laboratory procedure manuals so that resources can be better used on a daily basis.

Making Mosaics Of SAR Imagery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Curlander, John C.; Kwok, Ronald; Pang, Shirley S.; Pang, Amy A.

1990-01-01

Spaceborne synthetic-aperture-radar (SAR) images useful for mapping of planets and investigations in Earth sciences. Produces multiframe mosaic by combining images along ground track, in adjacent cross-track swaths, or in ascending and descending passes. Images registered with geocoded maps such as ones produced by MAPJTC (NPO-17718), required as input. Minimal intervention by operator required. MOSK implemented on DEC VAX 11/785 computer running VMS 4.5. Most subroutines in FORTRAN, but three in MAXL and one in APAL.

Assessment of Geographic Information Systems and Data Confidentiality Guidelines in STD Programs.

PubMed

Bissette, Jennifer M; Stover, Jeffrey A; Newman, Lori M; Delcher, Philip Christopher; Bernstein, Kyle T; Matthews, Lindsey

2009-01-01

Advancements in technology, such as geographic information systems (GIS), expand sexually transmitted disease (STD) program capacity for data analysis and visualization, and introduce additional confidentiality considerations. We developed a survey to examine GIS use among STD programs and to better understand existing data confidentiality practices. A Web-based survey of eight to 22 questions, depending on program-specific GIS capacity, was e-mailed to all STD program directors through the National Coalition of STD Directors in November 2004. Survey responses were accepted until April 15, 2005. Eighty-five percent of the 65 currently funded STD programs responded to the survey. Of those, 58% used GIS and 54% used geocoding. STD programs that did not use GIS (42%) identified lack of training and insufficient staff as primary barriers. Mapping, spatial analyses, and targeting program interventions were the main reasons for geocoding data. Nineteen of the 25 programs that responded to questions related to statistical disclosure rules employed a numerator rule, and 56% of those used a variation of the "Rule of 5." Of the 28 programs that responded to questions pertaining to confidentiality guidelines, 82% addressed confidentiality of GIS data informally. Survey findings showed the increasing use of GIS and highlighted the struggles STD programs face in employing GIS and protecting confidentiality. Guidance related to data confidentiality and additional access to GIS software and training could assist programs in optimizing use of spatial data.

Supporting creativity and appreciation of uncertainty in exploring geo-coded public health data.

PubMed

Thew, S L; Sutcliffe, A; de Bruijn, O; McNaught, J; Procter, R; Jarvis, Paul; Buchan, I

2011-01-01

We present a prototype visualisation tool, ADVISES (Adaptive Visualization for e-Science), designed to support epidemiologists and public health practitioners in exploring geo-coded datasets and generating spatial epidemiological hypotheses. The tool is designed to support creative thinking while providing the means for the user to evaluate the validity of the visualization in terms of statistical uncertainty. We present an overview of the application and the results of an evaluation exploring public health researchers' responses to maps as a new way of viewing familiar data, in particular the use of thematic maps with adjoining descriptive statistics and forest plots to support the generation and evaluation of new hypotheses. A series of qualitative evaluations involved one experienced researcher asking 21 volunteers to interact with the system to perform a series of relatively complex, realistic map-building and exploration tasks, using a 'think aloud' protocol, followed by a semi-structured interview The volunteers were academic epidemiologists and UK National Health Service analysts. All users quickly and confidently created maps, and went on to spend substantial amounts of time exploring and interacting with system, generating hypotheses about their maps. Our findings suggest that the tool is able to support creativity and statistical appreciation among public health professionals and epidemiologists building thematic maps. Software such as this, introduced appropriately, could increase the capability of existing personnel for generating public health intelligence.

Community organization moderates the effect of alcohol outlet density on violence.

PubMed

Pridemore, William Alex; Grubesic, Tony H

2012-12-01

There is growing evidence from multiple disciplines that alcohol outlet density is associated with community levels of assault. Based on the theoretical and empirical literatures on social organization and crime, we tested the hypothesis that the association between alcohol outlet density and neighbourhood violence rates is moderated by social organization. Using geocoded police data on assaults, geocoded data on the location of alcohol outlets, and controlling for several structural factors thought to be associated with violence rates, we tested this hypothesis employing negative binomial regression with our sample of 298 block groups in Cincinnati. Our results revealed direct effects of alcohol outlet density and social organization on assault density, and these effects held for different outlet types (i.e., off-premise, bars, restaurants) and levels of harm (i.e., simple and aggravated assaults). More importantly, we found that the strength of the outlet-assault association was significantly weaker in more socially organized communities. Subsequent analyses by level of organization revealed no effects of alcohol outlet density on aggravated assaults in organized block groups, but significant effects in disorganized block groups. We found no association between social (dis)organization and outlet density. These results clarify the community-level relationship between alcohol outlets and violence and have important implications for municipal-level alcohol policies. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2012.

Does early change predict long-term (6 months) improvements in subjects who receive manual therapy for low back pain?

PubMed

Cook, Chad; Petersen, Shannon; Donaldson, Megan; Wilhelm, Mark; Learman, Ken

2017-09-01

Early change is commonly assessed for manual therapy interventions and has been used to determine treatment appropriateness. However, current studies have only explored the relationship of between or within-session changes and short-/medium-term outcomes. The goal of this study was to determine whether pain changes after two weeks of pragmatic manual therapy could predict those participants with chronic low back pain who demonstrate continued improvements at 6-month follow-up. This study was a retrospective observational design. Univariate logistic regression analyses were performed using a 33% and a 50% pain change to predict improvement. Those who experienced a ≥33% pain reduction by 2 weeks had 6.98 (95% CI = 1.29, 37.53) times higher odds of 50% improvement on the GRoC and 4.74 (95% CI = 1.31, 17.17) times higher odds of 50% improvement on the ODI (at 6 months). Subjects who reported a ≥50% pain reduction at 2 weeks had 5.98 (95% CI = 1.56, 22.88) times higher odds of a 50% improvement in the GRoC and 3.99 (95% CI = 1.23, 12.88) times higher odds of a 50% improvement in the ODI (at 6 months). Future studies may investigate whether a change in plan of care is beneficial for patients who are not showing early improvement predictive of a good long-term outcome.

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY INVESTIGATING THE EFFECTS OF A TREATMENT MANUAL FOR VIDEO GAME ADDICTION.

PubMed

Pallesen, Ståle; Lorvik, Ingjerd Meen; Bu, Eli Hellandsjø; Molde, Helge

2015-10-01

This study investigated the effects of a manualized therapy for video game addiction in 12 males, ages 14-18 yr. The manual was based on cognitive-behavioral therapy, short-term strategic family therapy, solution-focused therapy, and motivational interviewing. Treatment response was reported by the patients, their mothers, and the therapists. The patients reported moderate (but statistically non-significant) improvement from pre- to post-treatment. The mothers, however, reported large effects and statistically significant improvement from pre- to post-treatment. The therapists reported marked or moderate treatment response in six of the 12 patients. The ratings of change by mothers converged well with the views of change of both the patients and therapists, whereas the convergence of views on change between the two latter sources was far lower.

The Bleeder's Digest: A Campus Blood Collection Reference Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bean, Melissa; And Others

This manual was written for students and blood donor recruiters interested in starting a campus blood program or in improving an already existing blood program. Contents include discussions of the reasons for blood programs, goals, elements of successful programs, organization of student committees, and comprehensive planning for annual campus and…

Improved processes for meeting the data requirements for implementing the Highway Safety Manual (HSM) and Safety Analyst in Florida.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-03-01

Recent research in highway safety has focused on the more advanced and statistically proven techniques of highway : safety analysis. This project focuses on the two most recent safety analysis tools, the Highway Safety Manual (HSM) : and SafetyAnalys...

A Manual on Production Improvement in a Rehabilitation Workshop. Reprint No. 17.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caddick, James W.

This manual for supervisors of rehabilitation workshops or plants focuses on knowledge, techniques, and application of work simplification and production standards. Four chapters providing introductory material discuss common goals of rehabilitation and production and human factors. The first of seven chapters (chapter 5) on work simplification…

Practical Poultry Raising. Appropriate Technologies for Development. Manual M-11.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

French, Kenneth M.

This manual is designed to provide development workers with the information and tools needed to begin or to improve poultry production. Covered in the individual chapters are the following topics: the nature and scope of poultry production, assessment of local poultry selections, basic information about chickens, country chickens, poultry…

Personnel Management. Universities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ohio Board of Regents, Columbus. Management Improvement Program.

This manual is one of 10 completed in the Ohio Management Improvement Program (MIP) during the 1971-73 biennium. In this project, Ohio's 34 public universities and colleges, in an effort directed and staffed by the Ohio Board of Regents, have developed manuals of management practices, in this case, concerning personnel management. Emphasis in this…

Improvement of mathematical models for simulation of vehicle handling : volume 7 : technical manual for the general simulation

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1980-03-01

This volume is the technical manual for the general simulation. Mathematical modelling of the vehicle and of the human driver is presented in detail, as are differences between the APL simulation and the current one. Information on model validation a...

Project LEAP: Learning English-for-Academic-Purposes. Training Manual Year Three.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snow, Marguerite Ann, Ed.

Project LEAP (Learning English-for-Academic-Purposes) is a three-year faculty development and supplemental instruction partnership to improve the academic literacy skills of native-born, immigrant, and international language minority students. This manual is the third set of faculty development materials produced by the project, presenting…

Validation of a Cytotechnologist Manual Counting Service for the Ki67 Index in Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Pancreas and Gastrointestinal Tract.

PubMed

Cottenden, Jennielee; Filter, Emily R; Cottreau, Jon; Moore, David; Bullock, Martin; Huang, Weei-Yuarn; Arnason, Thomas

2018-03-01

- Pathologists routinely assess Ki67 immunohistochemistry to grade gastrointestinal and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Unfortunately, manual counts of the Ki67 index are very time consuming and eyeball estimation has been criticized as unreliable. Manual Ki67 counts performed by cytotechnologists could potentially save pathologist time and improve accuracy. - To assess the concordance between manual Ki67 index counts performed by cytotechnologists versus eyeball estimates and manual Ki67 counts by pathologists. - One Ki67 immunohistochemical stain was retrieved from each of 18 archived gastrointestinal or pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor resections. We compared pathologists' Ki67 eyeball estimates on glass slides and printed color images with manual counts performed by 3 cytotechnologists and gold standard manual Ki67 index counts by 3 pathologists. - Tumor grade agreement between pathologist image eyeball estimate and gold standard pathologist manual count was fair (κ = 0.31; 95% CI, 0.030-0.60). In 9 of 20 cases (45%), the mean pathologist eyeball estimate was 1 grade higher than the mean pathologist manual count. There was almost perfect agreement in classifying tumor grade between the mean cytotechnologist manual count and the mean pathologist manual count (κ = 0.910; 95% CI, 0.697-1.00). In 20 cases, there was only 1 grade disagreement between the 2 methods. Eyeball estimation by pathologists required less than 1 minute, whereas manual counts by pathologists required a mean of 17 minutes per case. - Eyeball estimation of the Ki67 index has a high rate of tumor grade misclassification compared with manual counting. Cytotechnologist manual counts are accurate and save pathologist time.

Optimizing the balance between task automation and human manual control in simulated submarine track management.

PubMed

Chen, Stephanie I; Visser, Troy A W; Huf, Samuel; Loft, Shayne

2017-09-01

Automation can improve operator performance and reduce workload, but can also degrade operator situation awareness (SA) and the ability to regain manual control. In 3 experiments, we examined the extent to which automation could be designed to benefit performance while ensuring that individuals maintained SA and could regain manual control. Participants completed a simulated submarine track management task under varying task load. The automation was designed to facilitate information acquisition and analysis, but did not make task decisions. Relative to a condition with no automation, the continuous use of automation improved performance and reduced subjective workload, but degraded SA. Automation that was engaged and disengaged by participants as required (adaptable automation) moderately improved performance and reduced workload relative to no automation, but degraded SA. Automation engaged and disengaged based on task load (adaptive automation) provided no benefit to performance or workload, and degraded SA relative to no automation. Automation never led to significant return-to-manual deficits. However, all types of automation led to degraded performance on a nonautomated task that shared information processing requirements with automated tasks. Given these outcomes, further research is urgently required to establish how to design automation to maximize performance while keeping operators cognitively engaged. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Investigation of the effect of conservative interventions in thumb carpometacarpal osteoarthritis: systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Bertozzi, Lucia; Valdes, Kristin; Vanti, Carla; Negrini, Stefano; Pillastrini, Paolo; Villafañe, Jorge Hugo

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to conduct a current review of randomized controlled trials regarding the effect of conservative interventions on pain and function in people with thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) osteoarthritis (OA), perform a meta-analysis of the findings and summarize current knowledge. Data were obtained from MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, PEDro and CENTRAL databases from their inception to May 2014. Reference lists of relevant literature reviews were also searched. All published randomized trials without restrictions to time of publication or language were considered for inclusion. Study subjects were symptomatic adults with thumb CMC OA. Two reviewers independently selected studies, conducted quality assessment and extracted results. Data were pooled in a meta-analysis, when possible, using a random-effects model. Quality of the body evidence was assessed using GRADE approach. Sixteen RCTs involving 1145 participants met the inclusion criteria. Twelve were of high quality (PEDro score > 6). We found moderate quality evidence that manual therapy and therapeutic exercise combined with manual therapy improve pain in thumb CMC OA at short- and intermediate-term follow-up, and from low to moderate quality evidences that magneto therapy improves pain and function at short-term follow-up. Orthoses (splints) were found to improve function at long-term follow-up and pinch strength at short-term follow-up. Finally, we found from very low to low-quality evidence that other conservative interventions provide no significant improvement in pain and in function at short- and long-term follow-up. Some of the commonly performed conservative interventions performed in therapy have evidence to support their use to improve hand function and decrease hand pain. Additional research is required to determine the efficacy of other therapeutic interventions that are performed with patients with thumb CMC OA. Manual therapy and exercise are an effective means of improving pain and function at short-term follow-up by patients with thumb CMC OA. Magneto therapy, manual therapy, manual therapy and exercise and Orthoses (splints) were found to have clinically significant results. Very few of the included studies showed a clinically significant effect size in favor of treatment.

Experimental analysis of robot-assisted needle insertion into porcine liver.

PubMed

Wang, Wendong; Shi, Yikai; Goldenberg, Andrew A; Yuan, Xiaoqing; Zhang, Peng; He, Lijing; Zou, Yingjie

2015-01-01

How to improve placement accuracy of needle insertion into liver tissue is of paramount interest to physicians. A robot-assisted system was developed to experimentally demonstrate its advantages in needle insertion surgeries. Experiments of needle insertion into porcine liver tissue were performed with conic tip needle (diameter 8 mm) and bevel tip needle (diameter 1.5 mm) in this study. Manual operation was designed to compare the performance of the presented robot-assisted system. The real-time force curves show outstanding advantages of robot-assisted operation in improving the controllability and stability of needle insertion process by comparing manual operation. The statistics of maximum force and average force further demonstrates robot-assisted operation causes less oscillation. The difference of liver deformation created by manual operation and robot-assisted operation is very low, 1 mm for average deformation and 2 mm for maximum deformation. To conclude, the presented robot-assisted system can improve placement accuracy of needle by stably control insertion process.

Root-canal shaping with manual and rotary Ni-Ti files performed by students.

PubMed

Sonntag, D; Delschen, S; Stachniss, V

2003-11-01

To investigate root-canal shaping with manual and rotary Ni-Ti files performed by students. Thirty undergraduate dental students prepared 150 simulated curved root canals in resin blocks with manual Ni-Ti files with a stepback technique and 450 simulated curved canals with rotary Ni-Ti files with a crowndown technique. Incidence of fracture, preparation length, canal shape and preparation time were investigated. Questionnaires were then issued to the students for them to note their experience of the two preparation methods. Zips and elbows occurred significantly (P < 0.001) less frequently with rotary than with manual preparation. The correct preparation length was achieved significantly (P < 0.05) more often with rotary files than with manual files. Instrument fractures were recorded in only 1.3% of cases with both rotary and manual preparation. The mean time required for manual preparation was significantly (P < 0.001) longer than that required for rotary preparation. Prior experience with a hand preparation technique was not reflected in an improved quality of the subsequent rotary preparation. Approximately 83% of the students claimed to have a greater sense of security in rotary than in manual preparation. Overall 50% felt that manual and engine-driven preparation should be given equal status in undergraduate dental education. Inexperienced operators achieved better canal preparations with rotary instruments than with manual files. No difference in fracture rate was recorded between the two systems.

Novel use of a manual therapy technique and management of a patient with peroneal tendinopathy: a case report.

PubMed

Hensley, Craig P; Kavchak, Alicia J Emerson

2012-02-01

Peroneal tendinopathy is an uncommon but underappreciated source of lateral hindfoot pain and dysfunction. There is a paucity of literature describing optimal intervention for those suffering with pain secondary to peroneal tendinopathy. The purpose of this case report is to describe the evaluation and treatment incorporating manual therapy and therapeutic exercise for a patient diagnosed with peroneal tendinopathy. The patient was a 50 year-old female with a history of chronic lateral ankle pain and whose presentation was consistent with peroneal tendinopathy. Despite attempts to improve pain and function with over-the-counter orthotics, manual therapy to a hypomobile talocrural joint, and strengthening of the peroneal tendons, successful response was not reported until a lateral calcaneal glide was added. Improvement in impairments (pain, talocrural dorsiflexion, unilateral heel raises, and Star Excursion Balance Test) and function (Lower Extremity Functional Scale and Global Rating of Change), were observed over a course of eight visits. The patient was able to return to work and her recreational work out routine without limitations. In conclusion a successful physical therapy intervention for a patient with peroneal tendinopathy included a unique manual therapy technique, the lateral calcaneal glide, in conjunction with other manual therapy techniques and a structured home exercise program. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How 3D patient-specific instruments improve accuracy of pelvic bone tumour resection in a cadaveric study.

PubMed

Sallent, A; Vicente, M; Reverté, M M; Lopez, A; Rodríguez-Baeza, A; Pérez-Domínguez, M; Velez, R

2017-10-01

To assess the accuracy of patient-specific instruments (PSIs) versus standard manual technique and the precision of computer-assisted planning and PSI-guided osteotomies in pelvic tumour resection. CT scans were obtained from five female cadaveric pelvises. Five osteotomies were designed using Mimics software: sacroiliac, biplanar supra-acetabular, two parallel iliopubic and ischial. For cases of the left hemipelvis, PSIs were designed to guide standard oscillating saw osteotomies and later manufactured using 3D printing. Osteotomies were performed using the standard manual technique in cases of the right hemipelvis. Post-resection CT scans were quantitatively analysed. Student's t -test and Mann-Whitney U test were used. Compared with the manual technique, PSI-guided osteotomies improved accuracy by a mean 9.6 mm (p < 0.008) in the sacroiliac osteotomies, 6.2 mm (p < 0.008) and 5.8 mm (p < 0.032) in the biplanar supra-acetabular, 3 mm (p < 0.016) in the ischial and 2.2 mm (p < 0.032) and 2.6 mm (p < 0.008) in the parallel iliopubic osteotomies, with a mean linear deviation of 4.9 mm (p < 0.001) for all osteotomies. Of the manual osteotomies, 53% (n = 16) had a linear deviation > 5 mm and 27% (n = 8) were > 10 mm. In the PSI cases, deviations were 10% (n = 3) and 0 % (n = 0), respectively. For angular deviation from pre-operative plans, we observed a mean improvement of 7.06° (p < 0.001) in pitch and 2.94° (p < 0.001) in roll, comparing PSI and the standard manual technique. In an experimental study, computer-assisted planning and PSIs improved accuracy in pelvic tumour resections, bringing osteotomy results closer to the parameters set in pre-operative planning, as compared with standard manual techniques. Cite this article : A. Sallent, M. Vicente, M. M. Reverté, A. Lopez, A. Rodríguez-Baeza, M. Pérez-Domínguez, R. Velez. How 3D patient-specific instruments improve accuracy of pelvic bone tumour resection in a cadaveric study. Bone Joint Res 2017;6:577-583. DOI: 10.1302/2046-3758.610.BJR-2017-0094.R1. © 2017 Sallent et al.

Exercise therapy, manual therapy, or both, for osteoarthritis of the hip or knee: a factorial randomised controlled trial protocol.

PubMed

Abbott, J Haxby; Robertson, M Clare; McKenzie, Joanne E; Baxter, G David; Theis, Jean-Claude; Campbell, A John

2009-02-08

Non-pharmacological, non-surgical interventions are recommended as the first line of treatment for osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip and knee. There is evidence that exercise therapy is effective for reducing pain and improving function in patients with knee OA, some evidence that exercise therapy is effective for hip OA, and early indications that manual therapy may be efficacious for hip and knee OA. There is little evidence as to which approach is more effective, if benefits endure, or if providing these therapies is cost-effective for the management of this disorder. The MOA Trial (Management of OsteoArthritis) aims to test the effectiveness of two physiotherapy interventions for improving disability and pain in adults with hip or knee OA in New Zealand. Specifically, our primary objectives are to investigate whether:1. Exercise therapy versus no exercise therapy improves disability at 12 months;2. Manual physiotherapy versus no manual therapy improves disability at 12 months;3. Providing physiotherapy programmes in addition to usual care is more cost-effective than usual care alone in the management of osteoarthritis at 24 months. This is a 2 x 2 factorial randomised controlled trial. We plan to recruit 224 participants with hip or knee OA. Eligible participants will be randomly allocated to receive either: (a) a supervised multi-modal exercise therapy programme; (b) an individualised manual therapy programme; (c) both exercise therapy and manual therapy; or, (d) no trial physiotherapy. All participants will continue to receive usual medical care. The outcome assessors, orthopaedic surgeons, general medical practitioners, and statistician will be blind to group allocation until the statistical analysis is completed. The trial is funded by Health Research Council of New Zealand Project Grants (Project numbers 07/199, 07/200). The MOA Trial will be the first to investigate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of providing physiotherapy programmes of this kind, for the management of pain and disability in adults with hip or knee OA. Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ref: ACTRN12608000130369.

The addition of cervical unilateral posterior-anterior mobilisation in the treatment of patients with shoulder impingement syndrome: a randomised clinical trial.

PubMed

Cook, Chad; Learman, Ken; Houghton, Steve; Showalter, Christopher; O'Halloran, Bryan

2014-02-01

Shoulder impingement syndrome (SIS) is a complex, multi-factorial problem that is treated with a variety of different conservative options. One conservative option that has shown effectiveness is manual therapy to the thoracic spine. Another option, manual therapy to the cervical spine, has been studied only once with good results, evaluating short-term outcomes, in a small sample size. The purpose of this study was to investigate the benefit of neck manual therapy for patients with SIS. The study was a randomised, single blinded, clinical trial where both groups received pragmatic, evidence-based treatment to the shoulder and one group received neck manual therapy. Subjects with neck pain were excluded from the study. Comparative pain, disability, rate of recovery and patient acceptable symptom state (PASS) measures were analyzed on the 68 subjects seen over an average of 56.1 days (standard deviation (SD)=55.4). Eighty-six percent of the sample reported an acceptable change on the PASS at discharge. There were no between-groups differences in those who did or did not receive neck manual therapy; however, both groups demonstrated significant within-groups improvements. On average both groups improved 59.7% (SD=25.1) for pain and 53.5% (SD=40.2) for the Quick Disabilities of the Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire (QuickDASH) from baseline. This study found no value when neck manual therapy was added to the treatment of SIS. Reasons may include the lack of therapeutic dosage provided for the manual therapy approach or the lack of benefit to treating the neck in subjects with SIS who do not have concomitant neck problems. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated search of control points in surface-based morphometry.

PubMed

Canna, Antonietta; Russo, Andrea G; Ponticorvo, Sara; Manara, Renzo; Pepino, Alessandro; Sansone, Mario; Di Salle, Francesco; Esposito, Fabrizio

2018-04-16

Cortical surface-based morphometry is based on a semi-automated analysis of structural MRI images. In FreeSurfer, a widespread tool for surface-based analyses, a visual check of gray-white matter borders is followed by the manual placement of control points to drive the topological correction (editing) of segmented data. A novel algorithm combining radial sampling and machine learning is presented for the automated control point search (ACPS). Four data sets with 3 T MRI structural images were used for ACPS validation, including raw data acquired twice in 36 healthy subjects and both raw and FreeSurfer preprocessed data of 125 healthy subjects from public databases. The unedited data from a subgroup of subjects were submitted to manual control point search and editing. The ACPS algorithm was trained on manual control points and tested on new (unseen) unedited data. Cortical thickness (CT) and fractal dimensionality (FD) were estimated in three data sets by reconstructing surfaces from both unedited and edited data, and the effects of editing were compared between manual and automated editing and versus no editing. The ACPS-based editing improved the surface reconstructions similarly to manual editing. Compared to no editing, ACPS-based and manual editing significantly reduced CT and FD in consistent regions across different data sets. Despite the extra processing of control point driven reconstructions, CT and FD estimates were highly reproducible in almost all cortical regions, albeit some problematic regions (e.g. entorhinal cortex) may benefit from different editing. The use of control points improves the surface reconstruction and the ACPS algorithm can automate their search reducing the burden of manual editing. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Manual therapy in the treatment of patients with hemophilia B and inhibitor.

PubMed

Cuesta-Barriuso, Rubén; Trelles-Martínez, Roberto O

2018-01-22

The main clinical manifestations of hemophilia are muscle and joint bleeding. Recurrent bleeding leads to a degenerative process known as hemophilic arthropathy. The development of inhibitors (antibodies against FVIII/FIX concentrates) is the main complication in the treatment of hemophilia. The objective was to assess the safety and efficacy of manual therapy treatment in a patient with hemophilia and inhibitor. A 26-year-old patient with hemophilia B and inhibitor received physiotherapy treatment based on manual therapy for 3 months, with a frequency of 2 sessions per week. The joint status was evaluated using the Hemophilia Joint Health Score; pain was assessed with the Visual Analog Scale; and the range of movement was evaluated using a universal goniometer. The patient developed no joint bleeding in the knees or ankles as a result of the physiotherapy treatment. Following treatment, improvements were noted in the range of movement of knees and ankles, the perception of pain in both knees, and ankle functionality. Until now, manual therapy using joint traction was contraindicated in patients with hemophilia and inhibitor, as it was feared to cause possible joint bleeding. This is the first case study to address the safety and efficacy of manual therapy in a patient with hemophilia and an inhibitor. The results of this study may help to establish which manual therapy treatments are indicated in patients with hemophilic arthropathy and inhibitors. Thus, a physiotherapy program based on manual therapy may be safe in patients with hemophilia and inhibitor and such therapy may improve joint condition, pain, and joint range of motion in patients with hemophilia and inhibitor. Randomized clinical trials are needed to confirm the results of this case study.

Investigation of complexity of the instruction manuals for electrical coffeepots.

PubMed

Fernandes, C A; Teixeira, J M; Merino, E A D

2014-01-01

Electrical coffeepots are commonly used in professional and residential environments. Their instruction manuals are related to issues that involve the user's safety and ability to operate the machine correctly. To provide the best product performance to the user, one must indicate or inform the correct usability, to turn the interaction easier. This research proposes to investigate the instruction manuals of the electrical coffeepots. Four coffee pot instruction manuals were analyzed in relation to the complexity through the heuristic evaluation. For that, eight experts of the Graphic Design were chosen to answer twenty four questions with the aim of analyzing: images; texts; layout development; information and warnings. This study shows the results of the 04 (four) items analyzed: a) images; b) texts; c) layout development; d) information and warnings, together with the suggestions of improvements for each manual. It is believed that the methodological procedures for the application of the heuristic evaluation have facilitated the diagnosis of fragilities and barriers that the users find during the interaction with electrical coffeepot manuals.

Speakeasy: Vietnamese Translation Manual. English for Special Purposes: Nursing Aide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phan, Van-Tanh

This Vietnamese translation manual for nursing aides is designed to improve speaking skills of U.S. immigrants. Each section contains previews in Vietnamese as well as exercises and dialog situations that include English translations. Sections on introductions, time, meals, parts of the body, clothing and common articles, telephone situations,…

Manual on Feeding Infants and Young Children. Second Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cameron, Margaret; Hofvander, Yngve

This manual provides information on preventive treatment and improving the health and food of infants, young children, and their mothers in developing nations. The nutrition needs of women during and following pregnancy are outlined, as well as the benefits and problems of breast feeding and weaning techniques. A discussion is presented on the…

Evaluation Manual for CIP Courses: Objectives and Implementation Procedures.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siri, Carmen

This manual has been designed to guide courses on potato production sponsored by the International Potato Center (CIP) in Lima (Peru). It describes the CIP Course Evaluation System that is presently used and provides guidelines on how to use feedback more effectively for improving training. CIP evaluations are largely formative. The CIP focuses on…

Improving the Communication Environment for Children with Severe Handicaps through Manual Sign Inservice Training.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lloyd, Lyle L.; And Others

A "working party" (a decision-making group similar to the quality circles concept) comprised of public elementary school personnel (administrator, regular and special education staff), and parents, university special education faculty and graduate students worked cooperatively to develop and implement a manual sign inservice training package to…

POSITION AND MOTION, A SCIENCE UNIT FOR THE UPPER ELEMENTARY GRADES, STUDENT MANUAL.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

BERGER, CARL; MONTGOMERY, MARSHALL

THIS MANUAL IS DESIGNED FOR STUDENTS IN UPPER ELEMENTARY GRADES STUDYING THE SCIENCE CURRICULUM IMPROVEMENT STUDY (SCIS) UNIT "POSITION AND MOTION". THE OVERALL STRUCTURE OF THE UNIT FOLLOWS A CYCLE OF PRELIMINARY EXPLORATION, INVENTION OF SPECIFIC CONCEPTS RELATED TO REFERENCE FRAMES, AND DISCOVERY OF THE USEFULNESS OF THE CONCEPT.…

Organization for Cooperation in Overseas Development Teacher Education Summer Workshop Programme: Tutor's Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Organization for Cooperation in Overseas Development, (St. Lucia).

This manual for volunteer teachers from Canada traveling to the West Indies to assist host governments with improving their teachers' skills describes the organization sponsoring the teachers, the nature of the volunteers' duties, and practical aspects of the stay abroad. Two opening sections describe the Organization for Cooperation in Overseas…

Team Leader; Refugee Welfare Field Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neal, Thomas

The preparatory manual is one of a series produced by the Refugee Welfare Training Team in Qui Nhon, Binh-Dinh Province, Vietnam, for use in training teams of government personnel to work with refugees. The purpose was to improve living conditions, overcome lethargy and despair, develop a community structure, engage group action, and prepare for…

Financing Options for Home Care for Children with Chronic Illness and Severe Disability. Technical Assistance Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellison, Marsha Langer; And Others

This manual is intended to accompany technical assistance efforts aimed at improving selected states' home health care programs for children with chronic illness and severe disability. Summary descriptions of funding sources are presented, including purpose, eligibility guidelines, and services covered, as well as additional information as…

Defiant Teens: A Clinician's Manual for Assessment and Family Intervention.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barkley, Russell A.; Edwards, Gwenyth H.; Robin, Arthur L.

This manual presents an 18-step program designed both to teach parents the skills they need to manage difficult adolescent behavior and to improve family relationships overall. Steps 1 through 9 modify the approach presented in Russell Barkley's earlier edition, "Defiant Children," to focus on developmental concerns of adolescence. Clear…

The CERCA School Report Card: Communities Creating Education Quality. Implementation Manual

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guio, Ana Florez; Chesterfield, Ray; Siri, Carmen

2006-01-01

This manual provides a step-by-step methodology for promoting community participation in improving learning in local schools. The Civic Engagement for Education Reform in Central America (CERCA) School Report Card (SRC) approach empowers local school communities to gather information on the quality and conditions of teaching and learning in their…

Preschool Racial Attitude Measure II (PRAM II): General Information and Manual of Directions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, John E.

The Preschool Racial Attitude Measure (PRAM) has been developed to provide a method for assessing the attitudes of pre-literature children toward Caucasian and Black persons. This manual provides information concerning the administration and scoring of the revised procedure--PRAM II. The revision entailed doubling the length, improving the…

Eastman Kodak Company: 21st Century Learning Challenge. Volunteer Resource Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strother, Wanda M.; And Others

The Kodak 21st Century Learning Challenge is a companywide, 10-year corporate commitment to improve mathematics, science, and technology achievement for all students in the communities around Kodak's manufacturing plants. The Rochester (New York) initiative for which this training manual is presented is a partnership among Kodak, the Rochester…

Articulatory Changes in Muscle Tension Dysphonia: Evidence of Vowel Space Expansion Following Manual Circumlaryngeal Therapy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roy, Nelson; Nissen, Shawn L.; Dromey, Christopher; Sapir, Shimon

2009-01-01

In a preliminary study, we documented significant changes in formant transitions associated with successful manual circumlaryngeal treatment (MCT) of muscle tension dysphonia (MTD), suggesting improvement in speech articulation. The present study explores further the effects of MTD on vowel articulation by means of additional vowel acoustic…

Testing the Integrity of a Psychotherapy Protocol: Assessment of Adherence and Competence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waltz, Jennifer; And Others

1993-01-01

Treatment manuals and protocols have made delivery of particular therapies purer and more consistent, initiating a demand that researchers not only use treatment manuals to improve purity of their therapy but document that their efforts to achieve purity have been successful. Strategies that have been used to document treatment integrity are…

RUPS: Research Utilizing Problem Solving. Classroom Version. Leader's Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jung, Charles; And Others

This training manual is for teachers participating in the Research Utilizing Problem Solving (RUPS) workshops. The workshops last for four and one-half days and are designed to improve the school setting and to increase teamwork skills. The teachers participate in simulation exercises in which they help a fictitious teacher or principal solve a…

FIRE SERVICE TRAINING, INSTRUCTOR'S MANUAL, BASIC COURSE.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

BERNDT, WILLIAM M.; AND OTHERS

INSTRUCTORS CAN USE THIS MANUAL IN CONDUCTING A 34-HOUR FIRE STATION OR TRAINING CENTER EXTENSION PROGRAM TO IMPROVE THE COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS OF LOCAL FIRE PERSONNEL IN THE SPECIALIZED FIELD OF FIRE SERVICE. IT WAS DEVELOPED BY A STATEWIDE COMMITTEE OF FIRE FIGHTING CONSULTANTS AND ADVISORY GROUPS. THE 26 TEACHING GUIDES PROVIDE INSTRUCTIONAL…

Model Plan for Administration and Supervision Services. (Student Vocational Organization Coordinator.) Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wonser, Renee; Kohns, Donald

Growing out of a project to improve administrative and support services for North Dakota student vocational organizations, this manual outlines possible duties and responsibilities of a state-level student vocational organizational coordinator based on a sequential planning and implementation system. The manual is divided into four areas with…

[Low-energy wideband electromagnetic radiation and manual therapy in the treatment of neurological manifestations of spinal osteochondrosis].

PubMed

Afoshin, S A; Gerasimenko, M Iu

2006-01-01

It is shown that the advanced technique of low-energy wideband electromagnetic radiation improves vascular tonicity and peripheral circulation while a modified technique of manual therapy facilitates movements in the affected part of the spine and reduces tonicity of the muscles involved in the pathological process.

Study on Landslide Disaster Extraction Method Based on Spaceborne SAR Remote Sensing Images - Take Alos Palsar for AN Example

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xue, D.; Yu, X.; Jia, S.; Chen, F.; Li, X.

2018-04-01

In this paper, sequence ALOS PALSAR data and airborne SAR data of L-band from June 5, 2008 to September 8, 2015 are used. Based on the research of SAR data preprocessing and core algorithms, such as geocode, registration, filtering, unwrapping and baseline estimation, the improved Goldstein filtering algorithm and the branch-cut path tracking algorithm are used to unwrap the phase. The DEM and surface deformation information of the experimental area were extracted. Combining SAR-specific geometry and differential interferometry, on the basis of composite analysis of multi-source images, a method of detecting landslide disaster combining coherence of SAR image is developed, which makes up for the deficiency of single SAR and optical remote sensing acquisition ability. Especially in bad weather and abnormal climate areas, the speed of disaster emergency and the accuracy of extraction are improved. It is found that the deformation in this area is greatly affected by faults, and there is a tendency of uplift in the southeast plain and western mountainous area, while in the southwest part of the mountain area there is a tendency to sink. This research result provides a basis for decision-making for local disaster prevention and control.

Neighborhood Effects on Health: Concentrated Advantage and Disadvantage

PubMed Central

Finch, Brian K.; Do, D. Phuong; Heron, Melonie; Bird, Chloe; Seeman, Teresa; Lurie, Nicole

2010-01-01

We investigate an alternative conceptualization of neighborhood context and its association with health. Using an index that measures a continuum of concentrated advantage and disadvantage, we examine whether the relationship between neighborhood conditions and health varies by socio-economic status. Using NHANES III data geo-coded to census tracts, we find that while largely uneducated neighborhoods are universally deleterious, individuals with more education benefit from living in highly educated neighborhoods to a greater degree than individuals with lower levels of education. PMID:20627796

Computer-aided liver volumetry: performance of a fully-automated, prototype post-processing solution for whole-organ and lobar segmentation based on MDCT imaging.

PubMed

Fananapazir, Ghaneh; Bashir, Mustafa R; Marin, Daniele; Boll, Daniel T

2015-06-01

To evaluate the performance of a prototype, fully-automated post-processing solution for whole-liver and lobar segmentation based on MDCT datasets. A polymer liver phantom was used to assess accuracy of post-processing applications comparing phantom volumes determined via Archimedes' principle with MDCT segmented datasets. For the IRB-approved, HIPAA-compliant study, 25 patients were enrolled. Volumetry performance compared the manual approach with the automated prototype, assessing intraobserver variability, and interclass correlation for whole-organ and lobar segmentation using ANOVA comparison. Fidelity of segmentation was evaluated qualitatively. Phantom volume was 1581.0 ± 44.7 mL, manually segmented datasets estimated 1628.0 ± 47.8 mL, representing a mean overestimation of 3.0%, automatically segmented datasets estimated 1601.9 ± 0 mL, representing a mean overestimation of 1.3%. Whole-liver and segmental volumetry demonstrated no significant intraobserver variability for neither manual nor automated measurements. For whole-liver volumetry, automated measurement repetitions resulted in identical values; reproducible whole-organ volumetry was also achieved with manual segmentation, p(ANOVA) 0.98. For lobar volumetry, automated segmentation improved reproducibility over manual approach, without significant measurement differences for either methodology, p(ANOVA) 0.95-0.99. Whole-organ and lobar segmentation results from manual and automated segmentation showed no significant differences, p(ANOVA) 0.96-1.00. Assessment of segmentation fidelity found that segments I-IV/VI showed greater segmentation inaccuracies compared to the remaining right hepatic lobe segments. Automated whole-liver segmentation showed non-inferiority of fully-automated whole-liver segmentation compared to manual approaches with improved reproducibility and post-processing duration; automated dual-seed lobar segmentation showed slight tendencies for underestimating the right hepatic lobe volume and greater variability in edge detection for the left hepatic lobe compared to manual segmentation.

Improved accuracy of alignment with patient-specific positioning guides compared with manual instrumentation in TKA.

PubMed

Ng, Vincent Y; DeClaire, Jeffrey H; Berend, Keith R; Gulick, Bethany C; Lombardi, Adolph V

2012-01-01

Coronal malalignment occurs frequently in TKA and may affect implant durability and knee function. Designed to improve alignment accuracy and precision, the patient-specific positioning guide is predicated on restoration of the overall mechanical axis and is a multifaceted new tool in achieving traditional goals of TKA. We compared the effectiveness of patient-specific positioning guides to manual instrumentation with intramedullary femoral and extramedullary tibial guides in restoring the mechanical axis of the extremity and achieving neutral coronal alignment of the femoral and tibial components. We retrospectively reviewed 569 TKAs performed with patient-specific positioning guides and 155 with manual instrumentation by two surgeons using postoperative long-leg radiographs. For all patients, we assessed the zone in which the overall mechanical axis passed through the knee, and for one surgeon's cases (105 patient-specific positioning guide, 55 manual instrumentation), we also measured the hip-knee-ankle angle and the individual component angles with respect to their mechanical axes. The overall mechanical axis passed through the central third of the knee more often with patient-specific positioning guides (88%) than with manual instrumentation (78%). The overall mean hip-knee-ankle angle for patient-specific positioning guides (180.6°) was similar to manual instrumentation (181.1°), but there were fewer ± 3° hip-knee-ankle angle outliers with patient-specific positioning guides (9%) than with manual instrumentation (22%). The overall mean tibial (89.9° versus 90.4°) and femoral (90.7° versus 91.3°) component angles were closer to neutral with patient-specific positioning guides than with manual instrumentation, but the rate of ± 2° outliers was similar for both the tibia (10% versus 7%) and femur (22% versus 18%). Patient-specific positioning guides can assist in achieving a neutral mechanical axis with reduction in outliers.

SMIF capability at Intel Mask Operation improves yield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dam, Thuc H.; Pekny, Matt; Millino, Jim; Luu, Gibson; Melwani, Nitesh; Venkatramani, Aparna; Tavassoli, Malahat

2003-08-01

At Intel Mask Operations (IMO), Standard Mechanical Interface (SMIF) processing has been employed to reduce environmental particle contamination from manual handling-related activities. SMIF handling entailed the utilization of automated robotic transfers of photoblanks/reticles between SMIF pods, whereas conventional handling utilized manual pick transfers of masks between SMIF pods with intermediate storage in Toppan compacts. The SMIF-enabling units in IMO's process line included: (1) coater, (2) exposure, (3) developer, (4) dry etcher, and (5) inspection. Each unit is equipped with automated I/O port, environmentally enclosed processing chamber, and SMIF pods. Yield metrics were utilized to demonstrate the effectiveness and advantages of SMIF processing compared to manual processing. The areas focused in this paper were blank resist coating, binary front-end reticle processing and 2nd level PSM reticle processing. Results obtained from the investigation showed yield improvements in these areas.

Dental health knowledge in a group of Latin American refugees in Sweden.

PubMed

Groisman, M; Bratthall, G T; Harari, S G; Tapia, J A

1989-01-01

Sixty-nine Latin American refugees with a mean age of 31 years participated in this study. The knowledge about dental health before and after reading a self-instructional manual in Spanish was tested by questionnaires. The test persons were also interviewed about their dietary habits. The results showed an improvement of 30% of right answers after reading the manual and that a frequent sugar consumption was common. This indicates that a self-instructional manual can be of value in oral health prevention in a similar group of non-resident immigrants.

Evaluation of manual and automatic manually triggered ventilation performance and ergonomics using a simulation model.

PubMed

Marjanovic, Nicolas; Le Floch, Soizig; Jaffrelot, Morgan; L'Her, Erwan

2014-05-01

In the absence of endotracheal intubation, the manual bag-valve-mask (BVM) is the most frequently used ventilation technique during resuscitation. The efficiency of other devices has been poorly studied. The bench-test study described here was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of an automatic, manually triggered system, and to compare it with manual BVM ventilation. A respiratory system bench model was assembled using a lung simulator connected to a manikin to simulate a patient with unprotected airways. Fifty health-care providers from different professional groups (emergency physicians, residents, advanced paramedics, nurses, and paramedics; n = 10 per group) evaluated manual BVM ventilation, and compared it with an automatic manually triggered device (EasyCPR). Three pathological situations were simulated (restrictive, obstructive, normal). Standard ventilation parameters were recorded; the ergonomics of the system were assessed by the health-care professionals using a standard numerical scale once the recordings were completed. The tidal volume fell within the standard range (400-600 mL) for 25.6% of breaths (0.6-45 breaths) using manual BVM ventilation, and for 28.6% of breaths (0.3-80 breaths) using the automatic manually triggered device (EasyCPR) (P < .0002). Peak inspiratory airway pressure was lower using the automatic manually triggered device (EasyCPR) (10.6 ± 5 vs 15.9 ± 10 cm H2O, P < .001). The ventilation rate fell consistently within the guidelines, in the case of the automatic manually triggered device (EasyCPR) only (10.3 ± 2 vs 17.6 ± 6, P < .001). Significant pulmonary overdistention was observed when using the manual BVM device during the normal and obstructive sequences. The nurses and paramedics considered the ergonomics of the automatic manually triggered device (EasyCPR) to be better than those of the manual device. The use of an automatic manually triggered device may improve ventilation efficiency and decrease the risk of pulmonary overdistention, while decreasing the ventilation rate.

The Incremental Effects of Manual Therapy or Booster Sessions in Addition to Exercise Therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

PubMed

Abbott, J Haxby; Chapple, Catherine M; Fitzgerald, G Kelley; Fritz, Julie M; Childs, John D; Harcombe, Helen; Stout, Kirsten

2015-12-01

A factorial randomized controlled trial. To investigate the addition of manual therapy to exercise therapy for the reduction of pain and increase of physical function in people with knee osteoarthritis (OA), and whether "booster sessions" compared to consecutive sessions may improve outcomes. The benefits of providing manual therapy in addition to exercise therapy, or of distributing treatment sessions over time using periodic booster sessions, in people with knee OA are not well established. All participants had knee OA and were provided 12 sessions of multimodal exercise therapy supervised by a physical therapist. Participants were randomly allocated to 1 of 4 groups: exercise therapy in consecutive sessions, exercise therapy distributed over a year using booster sessions, exercise therapy plus manual therapy without booster sessions, and exercise therapy plus manual therapy with booster sessions. The primary outcome measure was the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC score; 0-240 scale) at 1-year follow-up. Secondary outcome measures were the numeric pain-rating scale and physical performance tests. Of 75 participants recruited, 66 (88%) were retained at 1-year follow-up. Factorial analysis of covariance of the main effects showed significant benefit from booster sessions (P = .009) and manual therapy (P = .023) over exercise therapy alone. Group analysis showed that exercise therapy with booster sessions (WOMAC score, -46.0 points; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -80.0, -12.0) and exercise therapy plus manual therapy (WOMAC score, -37.5 points; 95% CI: -69.7, -5.5) had superior effects compared with exercise therapy alone. The combined strategy of exercise therapy plus manual therapy with booster sessions was not superior to exercise therapy alone. Distributing 12 sessions of exercise therapy over a year in the form of booster sessions was more effective than providing 12 consecutive exercise therapy sessions. Providing manual therapy in addition to exercise therapy improved treatment effectiveness compared to providing 12 consecutive exercise therapy sessions alone. Trial registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12612000460808).

Update of the Dutch manual for costing studies in health care

PubMed Central

Kanters, Tim A.; Bouwmans, Clazien A. M.; van der Linden, Naomi; Tan, Siok Swan; Hakkaart-van Roijen, Leona

2017-01-01

Objectives Dutch health economic guidelines include a costing manual, which describes preferred research methodology for costing studies and reference prices to ensure high quality studies and comparability between study outcomes. This paper describes the most important revisions of the costing manual compared to the previous version. Methods An online survey was sent out to potential users of the costing manual to identify topics for improvement. The costing manual was aligned with contemporary health economic guidelines. All methodology sections and parameter values needed for costing studies, particularly reference prices, were updated. An expert panel of health economists was consulted several times during the review process. The revised manual was reviewed by two members of the expert panel and by reviewers of the Dutch Health Care Institute. Results The majority of survey respondents was satisfied with content and usability of the existing costing manual. Respondents recommended updating reference prices and adding some particular commonly needed reference prices. Costs categories were adjusted to the international standard: 1) costs within the health care sector; 2) patient and family costs; and 3) costs in other sectors. Reference prices were updated to reflect 2014 values. The methodology chapter was rewritten to match the requirements of the costing manual and preferences of the users. Reference prices for nursing days of specific wards, for diagnostic procedures and nurse practitioners were added. Conclusions The usability of the costing manual was increased and parameter values were updated. The costing manual became integrated in the new health economic guidelines. PMID:29121647

Update of the Dutch manual for costing studies in health care.

PubMed

Kanters, Tim A; Bouwmans, Clazien A M; van der Linden, Naomi; Tan, Siok Swan; Hakkaart-van Roijen, Leona

2017-01-01

Dutch health economic guidelines include a costing manual, which describes preferred research methodology for costing studies and reference prices to ensure high quality studies and comparability between study outcomes. This paper describes the most important revisions of the costing manual compared to the previous version. An online survey was sent out to potential users of the costing manual to identify topics for improvement. The costing manual was aligned with contemporary health economic guidelines. All methodology sections and parameter values needed for costing studies, particularly reference prices, were updated. An expert panel of health economists was consulted several times during the review process. The revised manual was reviewed by two members of the expert panel and by reviewers of the Dutch Health Care Institute. The majority of survey respondents was satisfied with content and usability of the existing costing manual. Respondents recommended updating reference prices and adding some particular commonly needed reference prices. Costs categories were adjusted to the international standard: 1) costs within the health care sector; 2) patient and family costs; and 3) costs in other sectors. Reference prices were updated to reflect 2014 values. The methodology chapter was rewritten to match the requirements of the costing manual and preferences of the users. Reference prices for nursing days of specific wards, for diagnostic procedures and nurse practitioners were added. The usability of the costing manual was increased and parameter values were updated. The costing manual became integrated in the new health economic guidelines.

Eye-Hand Synergy and Intermittent Behaviors during Target-Directed Tracking with Visual and Non-visual Information

PubMed Central

Huang, Chien-Ting; Hwang, Ing-Shiou

2012-01-01

Visual feedback and non-visual information play different roles in tracking of an external target. This study explored the respective roles of the visual and non-visual information in eleven healthy volunteers who coupled the manual cursor to a rhythmically moving target of 0.5 Hz under three sensorimotor conditions: eye-alone tracking (EA), eye-hand tracking with visual feedback of manual outputs (EH tracking), and the same tracking without such feedback (EHM tracking). Tracking error, kinematic variables, and movement intermittency (saccade and speed pulse) were contrasted among tracking conditions. The results showed that EHM tracking exhibited larger pursuit gain, less tracking error, and less movement intermittency for the ocular plant than EA tracking. With the vision of manual cursor, EH tracking achieved superior tracking congruency of the ocular and manual effectors with smaller movement intermittency than EHM tracking, except that the rate precision of manual action was similar for both types of tracking. The present study demonstrated that visibility of manual consequences altered mutual relationships between movement intermittency and tracking error. The speed pulse metrics of manual output were linked to ocular tracking error, and saccade events were time-locked to the positional error of manual tracking during EH tracking. In conclusion, peripheral non-visual information is critical to smooth pursuit characteristics and rate control of rhythmic manual tracking. Visual information adds to eye-hand synchrony, underlying improved amplitude control and elaborate error interpretation during oculo-manual tracking. PMID:23236498

A Piano Training Program to Improve Manual Dexterity and Upper Extremity Function in Chronic Stroke Survivors

PubMed Central

Villeneuve, Myriam; Penhune, Virginia; Lamontagne, Anouk

2014-01-01

Objective: Music-supported therapy was shown to induce improvements in motor skills in stroke survivors. Whether all stroke individuals respond similarly to the intervention and whether gains can be maintained over time remain unknown. We estimated the immediate and retention effects of a piano training program on upper extremity function in persons with chronic stroke. Methods: Thirteen stroke participants engaged in a 3-week piano training comprising supervised sessions (9 × 60 min) and home practice. Fine and gross manual dexterity, movement coordination, and functional use of the upper extremity were assessed at baseline, pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at a 3-week follow-up. Results: Significant improvements were observed for all outcomes at post-intervention and follow-up compared to pre-intervention scores. Larger magnitudes of change in manual dexterity and functional use of the upper extremity were associated with higher initial levels of motor recovery. Conclusion: Piano training can result in sustainable improvements in upper extremity function in chronic stroke survivors. Individuals with a higher initial level of motor recovery at baseline appear to benefit the most from this intervention. PMID:25202258

Important wheelchair skills for new manual wheelchair users: health care professional and wheelchair user perspectives.

PubMed

Morgan, Kerri A; Engsberg, Jack R; Gray, David B

2017-01-01

The purpose of this project was to identify wheelchair skills currently being taught to new manual wheelchair users, identify areas of importance for manual wheelchair skills' training during initial rehabilitation, identify similarities and differences between the perspectives of health care professionals and manual wheelchair users and use the ICF to organize themes related to rehabilitation and learning how to use a manual wheelchair. Focus groups were conducted with health care professionals and experienced manual wheelchair users. ICF codes were used to identify focus group themes. The Activities and Participation codes were more frequently used than Structure, Function and Environment codes. Wheelchair skills identified as important for new manual wheelchair users included propulsion techniques, transfers in an out of the wheelchair, providing maintenance to the wheelchair and navigating barriers such as curbs, ramps and rough terrain. Health care professionals and manual wheelchair users identified the need to incorporate the environment (home and community) into the wheelchair training program. Identifying essential components for training the proper propulsion mechanics and wheelchair skills in new manual wheelchair users is an important step in preventing future health and participation restrictions. Implications for Rehabilitation Wheelchair skills are being addressed frequently during rehabilitation at the activity-dependent level. Propulsion techniques, transfers in an out of the wheelchair, providing maintenance to the wheelchair and navigating barriers such as curbs, ramps and rough terrain are important skills to address during wheelchair training. Environment factors (in the home and community) are important to incorporate into wheelchair training to maximize safe and multiple-environmental-setting uses of manual wheelchairs. The ICF has application to understanding manual wheelchair rehabilitation for wheelchair users and therapists for improving the understanding of manual wheelchair use.

Manual de Salud Familiar y Primeros Auxilios (Family Health and First Aid Manual).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Torres De Leon, Juana Maria

This textbook is part of a Mexican series of instructional materials designed for Spanish speaking adults who are in the process of becoming literate or have recently become literate in their native language. This textbook is designed to strengthen reading and writing skills while teaching basic principles and techniques to improve family health.…

Laboratory Training Manual on the Use of Nuclear Techniques in Pesticide Research. Technical Reports Series No. 225.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria).

Radiolabelled pesticides are used: in studies involving improved formulations of pesticides, to assist in developing standard residue analytical methodology, and in obtaining metabolism data to support registration of pesticides. This manual is designed to give the scientist involved in pesticide research the basic terms and principles for…

ENHANCED STREAM WATER QUALITY MODELS QUAL2E AND QUAL2E-UNCAS: DOCUMENTATION AND USER MANUAL

EPA Science Inventory

The manual is a major revision of the original QUAL2E program documentation released in 1985. It includes a description of the recent modifications and improvements to the widely used water quality models QUAL-II and QUAL2E. The enhancements include an extensive capability for un...

Developmental Dyspraxia: Identification and Intervention. A Manual for Parents and Professionals. Second Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Portwood, Madeleine

This manual is designed to provide parents, teachers, and health professionals with information on dyspraxia to enable diagnosis and treatment, and offers an intervention program to improve the cognitive functioning of students with dyspraxia. Dyspraxia is defined as a marked impairment in the development of motor coordination that may result in…

A Part, Not Apart: A Systematic Approach to Integrated Recreation and Leisure for Developmentally Disabled Adults.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congdon, David M.; And Others

This program manual was developed by the Grant-Blackford Development Center in order to help other professionals and organizations working with developmentally disabled persons to improve their recreation and leisure programs. The manual's philosophy is to structure recreation programs for fun, not just for skill teaching: stressing abilities, not…

Pine Response and Hardwood Development After Brushsawing and Manual Herbicide Release of Loblolly Pine

Treesearch

Ronald L. Muir; Dwight K. Laur; Glenn R. Glover; James H. Miller

1998-01-01

Manually applied release treatments with herbicides have been increasing in use over the past decade in forests of the southeastern U.S.. Both industrial and non-industrial forest land managers are employing directed foliar sprays and basal sprays of herbicides. Innovations of these standard application methods utilize lower volumes, better nozzles, and improved...

Migrant Education, Interstate Secondary Credit Accrual and Acceptance Manual: Practical Guidelines for School Personnel Serving Migrant Secondary Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Villarreal, Gay Callaway

Migrant students graduation rates, although improving, are still significantly lower than those of their non-migrant peers. This manual is a comprehensive reference guide for Chapter 1 Migrant Program personnel counselors and teachers serving migrant students at the secondary level. Migrant students are those who move across school district…

Helping Children Affected by Substance Abuse: A Manual for the Head Start Management Team.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Education Development Center, Washington, DC.

The manual contains technical assistance, information, and suggested strategies for staff who work with children enrolled in Head Start who are affected by substance abuse. The information is intended to bring about change and improvement in the developmental potential of these children. Chapter 1 presents general information on children affected…

Recycling Resources. [Student Handbook, Sound Filmstrips, 12-Inch Record, Pollution Simulation Game, Teacher's Manual

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hatch, C. Richard

A 15- to 20-hour course on materials recycling, teaching junior high school students about environmental problems and solutions, is developed in this set of materials. It attempts to stimulate them to participate in community efforts aimed at improving the environment. Items in the kit include: (1) teacher's manual, with lesson plans enumerating…

Community Health Education in Developing Countries. Appropriate Technologies for Development. Manual M-8.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Public Health Association, Washington, DC.

This manual was developed for those interested in promoting change to improve health conditions of their communities. Parts I and II focus on fundamental health education processes and discuss techniques and approaches for working with community members to plan and develop programs that are responsive to the community's expressed needs and goals.…

78 FR 15007 - Notice of Open House-Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Revised Water Control Manuals for...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-08

... by USACE to operate a system of five Federal reservoir projects in the basin--Allatoona Dam and Lake... manuals for the ACT Basin in order to improve operations for authorized purposes to reflect changed... determine how the federal projects in the ACT Basin should adjust operations for their authorized purposes...

Facilities Policies and Procedures Manual. South Carolina Commission on Higher Education. Division of Finance, Facilities, and Statistical Services.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, Columbia.

This manual outlines the policies and procedures related to the submission and review of facilities projects at South Carolina's public colleges and universities. It provides an overview of the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education's role and responsibilities and its general policy regarding permanent improvements to facilities. The report…

Forcible Rape: A Manual for Sex Crime Investigators. Police Volume III.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Battelle Memorial Inst., Seattle, WA. Law and Justice Study Center.

To help police investigators develop skills that will improve the low conviction rate for rape cases, this manual stresses an overall investigative strategy based on establishment of each element of the crime of rape. Analysis of data from large and small police departments across the United States shows that fewer than 3% of the crimes reported…

Improved Food Drying and Storage Training Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zweig, Peter R.; And Others

This manual is intended to serve as a guide for those who are helping future Peace Corps volunteers to acquire basic food drying and storage skills. Included in the guide are lesson outlines and handouts for use in each of the 30 sessions of the course. Representative topics discussed in the individual sessions are scheduling, solar dryers,…

[Manual trigger point therapy of shoulder pain : Randomized controlled study of effectiveness].

PubMed

Sohns, S; Schnieder, K; Licht, G; von Piekartz, H

2016-12-01

Although chronic shoulder pain is highly prevalent and myofascial trigger points (mTrP) are thought to be found in the majority of patients with shoulder complaints, the influence on the pain mechanism remains unclear. There are only very few controlled clinical studies on the effects of manual trigger point compression therapy. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) compared the short-term effects of manual trigger point compression therapy (n = 6) with manual sham therapy (n = 6) in patients with unilateral shoulder pain due to myofascial syndrome (MFS). The measurement data were collected before and after two sessions of therapy. Pressure pain thresholds (PPT) of mTrP and symmetrically located points on the asymptomatic side were measured together with neutral points in order to detect a potential unilateral or generalized hyperalgesia. Additionally, the pain was assessed on a visual analog scale (VAS) at rest and during movement and the neck disability index (NDI) and disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand (DASH) questionnaires were also completed and evaluated. Both treatment modalities led to a significant improvement; however, the manual trigger point compression therapy was significantly more effective in comparison to sham therapy, as measured by different parameters. The significant improvement of PPT values in the interventional group even at sites that were not directly treated, indicates central mechanisms in pain threshold modulation induced by manual compression therapy. The weaker but still measurable effects of sham therapy might be explained by the sham modality being a hands on technique or by sufficient stimulation of the trigger point region during the diagnostics and PPT measurements.

Comparing the effects of mechanical perturbation training with a compliant surface and manual perturbation training on joints kinematics after ACL-rupture.

PubMed

Nawasreh, Zakariya; Failla, Mathew; Marmon, Adam; Logerstedt, David; Snyder-Mackler, Lynn

2018-05-23

Performing physical activities on a compliant surface alters joint kinematics and increases joints stiffness. However, the effect of compliant surface on joint kinematics after ACL-rupture is yet unknown. To compare the effects of mechanical perturbation training with a compliant surface to manual perturbation training on joint kinematics after ACL-rupture. Sixteen level I/II athletes with ACL-rupture participated in this preliminary study. Eight patients received mechanical perturbation with compliant surface (Mechanical) and 8 patients received manual perturbation training (Manual). Patients completed standard gait analysis before (Pre) and after (Post) training. Significant group-by-time interactions were found for knee flexion angle at initial contact (IC) and peak knee flexion (PKF) (p<0.004), with manual group significantly increased knee flexion angle at IC and PKF (p<0.03). Main effects of group were found for hip flexion angle at IC (Manual:34.34+3.51°, Mechanical:27.68+4.08°, p = 0.011), hip rotation angle at PKE (Manual:-3.40+4.78°, Mechanical:5.43+4.78°, p < 0.0001), and knee adduction angle at PKE (Manual:-2.00+2.23°, Mechanical:0.55+2.23°, p = 0.039). Main effects of time were found for hip adduction angle at PKE (Pre:6.98+4.48°, Post:8.41+4.91°, p = 0.04), knee adduction angle at IC (Pre:-2.90+3.50°, Post:-0.62+2.58°, p = 0.03), ankle adduction angle at IC (Pre:2.16+3.54, Post:3.8+3.68, p = 0.008), and ankle flexion angle at PKF (Pre:-4.55+2.77°, Post:-2.39+3.48°, p = 0.01). Training on a compliant surface induces different effects on joint kinematics compared to manual perturbation training after ACL-rupture. Manual perturbation improved hip alignment and increased knee flexion angles, while mechanical training decreased knee flexion angles throughout the stance phase. Administering training on a compliant surface after ACL-rupture may help improving dynamic knee stability, however, long-term effects on knee health needs to be determined. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Periosteal Electrical Dry Needling as an Adjunct to Exercise and Manual Therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Multi-Center Randomized Clinical Trial.

PubMed

Dunning, James; Butts, Raymond; Young, Ian; Mourad, Firas; Galante, Victoria; Bliton, Paul; Tanner, Michelle; Fernández-de-Las-Peñas, César

2018-05-28

To compare the effects of adding electrical dry needling into a manual therapy and exercise program on pain, stiffness, function, and disability in individuals with painful knee osteoarthritis (OA). Two hundred and forty-two participants (n=242) with painful knee OA were randomized to receive 6 weeks of electrical dry needling, manual therapy and exercise (n=121) or manual therapy and exercise (n=121). The primary outcome was related-disability as assessed by the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) Osteoarthritis Index at 3 months. Individuals receiving the combination of electrical dry needling, manual therapy and exercise experienced significantly greater improvements in related-disability (WOMAC: F=35.504; P<0.001) than those receiving manual therapy and exercise alone at 6 weeks and 3 months. Patients receiving electrical dry needling were 1.7 times more likely to have completely stopped taking medication for their pain at 3 months than individuals receiving manual therapy and exercise (OR: 1.6; 95%CI: 1.24-2.01; P=0.001). Based on the cutoff score of +5 on the Global Rating of Change (GROC), significantly (X =14.887; P<0.001) more patients (n=91, 75%) within the dry needling group achieved a successful outcome compared to the manual therapy and exercise group (n=22, 18%) at 3 months. Effect sizes were large (SMD>0.82) for all outcome measures in favor of the electrical dry needling group at 3 months. The inclusion of electrical dry needling into a manual therapy and exercise program was more effective for improving pain, function and related-disability than the application of manual therapy and exercise alone in individuals with painful knee OA. Therapy, Level 1b. Prospectively registered February 10, 2015 on http://www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02373631)This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

Development and evaluation of an interactive electronic laboratory manual for cooperative learning of medical histology.

PubMed

Khalil, Mohammed K; Kirkley, Debbie L; Kibble, Jonathan D

2013-01-01

This article describes the development of an interactive computer-based laboratory manual, created to facilitate the teaching and learning of medical histology. The overarching goal of developing the manual is to facilitate self-directed group interactivities that actively engage students during laboratory sessions. The design of the manual includes guided instruction for students to navigate virtual slides, exercises for students to monitor learning, and cases to provide clinical relevance. At the end of the laboratory activities, student groups can generate a laboratory report that may be used to provide formative feedback. The instructional value of the manual was evaluated by a questionnaire containing both closed-ended and open-ended items. Closed-ended items using a five-point Likert-scale assessed the format and navigation, instructional contents, group process, and learning process. Open-ended items assessed student's perception on the effectiveness of the manual in facilitating their learning. After implementation for two consecutive years, student evaluation of the manual was highly positive and indicated that it facilitated their learning by reinforcing and clarifying classroom sessions, improved their understanding, facilitated active and cooperative learning, and supported self-monitoring of their learning. Copyright © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.

Semi-automating the manual literature search for systematic reviews increases efficiency.

PubMed

Chapman, Andrea L; Morgan, Laura C; Gartlehner, Gerald

2010-03-01

To minimise retrieval bias, manual literature searches are a key part of the search process of any systematic review. Considering the need to have accurate information, valid results of the manual literature search are essential to ensure scientific standards; likewise efficient approaches that minimise the amount of personnel time required to conduct a manual literature search are of great interest. The objective of this project was to determine the validity and efficiency of a new manual search method that utilises the scopus database. We used the traditional manual search approach as the gold standard to determine the validity and efficiency of the proposed scopus method. Outcome measures included completeness of article detection and personnel time involved. Using both methods independently, we compared the results based on accuracy of the results, validity and time spent conducting the search, efficiency. Regarding accuracy, the scopus method identified the same studies as the traditional approach indicating its validity. In terms of efficiency, using scopus led to a time saving of 62.5% compared with the traditional approach (3 h versus 8 h). The scopus method can significantly improve the efficiency of manual searches and thus of systematic reviews.

Root canal shaping with manual stainless steel files and rotary Ni-Ti files performed by students.

PubMed

Sonntag, D; Guntermann, A; Kim, S K; Stachniss, V

2003-04-01

To investigate root canal shaping with manual stainless steel files and rotary Ni-Ti files by students. Two hundred and ten simulated root canals with the same geometrical shape and size in acrylic resin blocks were prepared by 21 undergraduate dental students with manual stainless steel files using a stepback technique or with rotary Ni-Ti files in crown-down technique. Preparation length, canal shape, incidence of fracture and preparation time were investigated. Zips and elbows occurred significantly (P < 0.001) less frequently with rotary than with manual preparation. The correct preparation length was achieved significantly (P < 0.05) more often with rotary Ni-Ti files than with manual stainless steel files. Fractures occurred significantly (P < 0.05) less frequently with hand instrumentation. The mean time required for manual preparation was significantly (P < 0.001) longer than that required for rotary preparation. Prior experience with a hand preparation technique was not reflected in an improved quality of the subsequent engine-driven preparation. Inexperienced operators achieved better canal preparations with rotary Ni-Ti instruments than with manual stainless steel files. However, rotary preparation was associated with significantly more fractures.

Motion Perception and Manual Control Performance During Passive Tilt and Translation Following Space Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clement, Gilles; Wood, Scott J.

2010-01-01

This joint ESA-NASA study is examining changes in motion perception following Space Shuttle flights and the operational implications of post-flight tilt-translation ambiguity for manual control performance. Vibrotactile feedback of tilt orientation is also being evaluated as a countermeasure to improve performance during a closed-loop nulling task. METHODS. Data has been collected on 5 astronaut subjects during 3 preflight sessions and during the first 8 days after Shuttle landings. Variable radius centrifugation (216 deg/s) combined with body translation (12-22 cm, peak-to-peak) is utilized to elicit roll-tilt perception (equivalent to 20 deg, peak-to-peak). A forward-backward moving sled (24-390 cm, peak-to-peak) with or without chair tilting in pitch is utilized to elicit pitch tilt perception (equivalent to 20 deg, peak-to-peak). These combinations are elicited at 0.15, 0.3, and 0.6 Hz for evaluating the effect of motion frequency on tilt-translation ambiguity. In both devices, a closed-loop nulling task is also performed during pseudorandom motion with and without vibrotactile feedback of tilt. All tests are performed in complete darkness. PRELIMINARY RESULTS. Data collection is currently ongoing. Results to date suggest there is a trend for translation motion perception to be increased at the low and medium frequencies on landing day compared to pre-flight. Manual control performance is improved with vibrotactile feedback. DISCUSSION. The results of this study indicate that post-flight recovery of motion perception and manual control performance is complete within 8 days following short-duration space missions. Vibrotactile feedback of tilt improves manual control performance both before and after flight.

Mapping Health Data: Improved Privacy Protection With Donut Method Geomasking

PubMed Central

Hampton, Kristen H.; Fitch, Molly K.; Allshouse, William B.; Doherty, Irene A.; Gesink, Dionne C.; Leone, Peter A.; Serre, Marc L.; Miller, William C.

2010-01-01

A major challenge in mapping health data is protecting patient privacy while maintaining the spatial resolution necessary for spatial surveillance and outbreak identification. A new adaptive geomasking technique, referred to as the donut method, extends current methods of random displacement by ensuring a user-defined minimum level of geoprivacy. In donut method geomasking, each geocoded address is relocated in a random direction by at least a minimum distance, but less than a maximum distance. The authors compared the donut method with current methods of random perturbation and aggregation regarding measures of privacy protection and cluster detection performance by masking multiple disease field simulations under a range of parameters. Both the donut method and random perturbation performed better than aggregation in cluster detection measures. The performance of the donut method in geoprivacy measures was at least 42.7% higher and in cluster detection measures was less than 4.8% lower than that of random perturbation. Results show that the donut method provides a consistently higher level of privacy protection with a minimal decrease in cluster detection performance, especially in areas where the risk to individual geoprivacy is greatest. PMID:20817785

Mapping health data: improved privacy protection with donut method geomasking.

PubMed

Hampton, Kristen H; Fitch, Molly K; Allshouse, William B; Doherty, Irene A; Gesink, Dionne C; Leone, Peter A; Serre, Marc L; Miller, William C

2010-11-01

A major challenge in mapping health data is protecting patient privacy while maintaining the spatial resolution necessary for spatial surveillance and outbreak identification. A new adaptive geomasking technique, referred to as the donut method, extends current methods of random displacement by ensuring a user-defined minimum level of geoprivacy. In donut method geomasking, each geocoded address is relocated in a random direction by at least a minimum distance, but less than a maximum distance. The authors compared the donut method with current methods of random perturbation and aggregation regarding measures of privacy protection and cluster detection performance by masking multiple disease field simulations under a range of parameters. Both the donut method and random perturbation performed better than aggregation in cluster detection measures. The performance of the donut method in geoprivacy measures was at least 42.7% higher and in cluster detection measures was less than 4.8% lower than that of random perturbation. Results show that the donut method provides a consistently higher level of privacy protection with a minimal decrease in cluster detection performance, especially in areas where the risk to individual geoprivacy is greatest.

Development of multiple source data processing for structural analysis at a regional scale. [digital remote sensing in geology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carrere, Veronique

1990-01-01

Various image processing techniques developed for enhancement and extraction of linear features, of interest to the structural geologist, from digital remote sensing, geologic, and gravity data, are presented. These techniques include: (1) automatic detection of linear features and construction of rose diagrams from Landsat MSS data; (2) enhancement of principal structural directions using selective filters on Landsat MSS, Spacelab panchromatic, and HCMM NIR data; (3) directional filtering of Spacelab panchromatic data using Fast Fourier Transform; (4) detection of linear/elongated zones of high thermal gradient from thermal infrared data; and (5) extraction of strong gravimetric gradients from digitized Bouguer anomaly maps. Processing results can be compared to each other through the use of a geocoded database to evaluate the structural importance of each lineament according to its depth: superficial structures in the sedimentary cover, or deeper ones affecting the basement. These image processing techniques were successfully applied to achieve a better understanding of the transition between Provence and the Pyrenees structural blocks, in southeastern France, for an improved structural interpretation of the Mediterranean region.

Presentation Of The Small Baseline NSBAS Processing Chain On A Case Example: The ETNA Deformation Monitoring From 2003 to 2010 Using ENVISAT Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doin, Marie-Pierre; Lodge, Felicity; Guillaso, Stephane; Jolivet, Romain; Lasserre, Cecile; Ducret, Gabriel; Grandin, Raphael; Pathier, Erwan; Pinel, Virginie

2012-01-01

We assemble a processing chain that handles InSAR computation from raw data to time series analysis. A large part of the chain (from raw data to geocoded unwrapped interferograms) is based on ROI PAC modules (Rosen et al., 2004), with original routines rearranged and combined with new routines to process in series and in a common radar geometry all SAR images and interferograms. A new feature of the software is the range-dependent spectral filtering to improve coherence in interferograms with long spatial baselines. Additional components include a module to estimate and remove digital elevation model errors before unwrapping, a module to mitigate the effects of the atmospheric phase delay and remove residual orbit errors, and a module to construct the phase change time series from small baseline interferograms (Berardino et al. 2002). This paper describes the main elements of the processing chain and presents an example of application of the software using a data set from the ENVISAT mission covering the Etna volcano.

Applying geo-spatial analysis in community needs assessment: Implications for planning and prioritizing based on data.

PubMed

Baig, Kamran; Shaw-Ridley, Mary; Munoz, Oscar J

2016-10-01

Colonias are sub standardized and unincorporated areas located along the US-Mexico border, with severely lacking infrastructure. Residents have poor health and limited availability, accessibility and/or utilization of healthcare services in the region. Using 2006-2007 community needs assessment (CNA) surveys collected by the Center for Housing and Urban Development of Texas A&M University, 410 randomly selected surveys from Hidalgo County, Texas were analyzed. Descriptive and spatial analyses were performed and Odds ratio (OR) was calculated. Out of 410 surveys, 333 were geo-coded to identify areas most in need of dental and vision care. Two hospitals existed within 5 miles radius of the mean centers for the two areas. Distance to health care facility was not statistically predictive of the need of dental care OR=0.96 (95% CI=0.855-1.078, p value=0.492) and vision care OR=1.083 (95% CI=0.968-1.212, p value=0.164). Integrating spatial analysis and CNA enhances planning to improve service accessibility and utilization in underserved areas. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

"Community vital signs": incorporating geocoded social determinants into electronic records to promote patient and population health.

PubMed

Bazemore, Andrew W; Cottrell, Erika K; Gold, Rachel; Hughes, Lauren S; Phillips, Robert L; Angier, Heather; Burdick, Timothy E; Carrozza, Mark A; DeVoe, Jennifer E

2016-03-01

Social determinants of health significantly impact morbidity and mortality; however, physicians lack ready access to this information in patient care and population management. Just as traditional vital signs give providers a biometric assessment of any patient, "community vital signs" (Community VS) can provide an aggregated overview of the social and environmental factors impacting patient health. Knowing Community VS could inform clinical recommendations for individual patients, facilitate referrals to community services, and expand understanding of factors impacting treatment adherence and health outcomes. This information could also help care teams target disease prevention initiatives and other health improvement efforts for clinic panels and populations. Given the proliferation of big data, geospatial technologies, and democratization of data, the time has come to integrate Community VS into the electronic health record (EHR). Here, the authors describe (i) historical precedent for this concept, (ii) opportunities to expand upon these historical foundations, and (iii) a novel approach to EHR integration. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Improving registration accuracy.

PubMed

Murphy, J Patrick; Shorrosh, Paul

2008-04-01

A registration quality assurance initiative--whether manual or automated--can result in benefits such as: Cleaner claims, Reduced cost to collect, Enhanced revenue, Decreased registration, error rates, Improved staff morale, Fewer customer complaints

Improving patient safety via automated laboratory-based adverse event grading.

PubMed

Niland, Joyce C; Stiller, Tracey; Neat, Jennifer; Londrc, Adina; Johnson, Dina; Pannoni, Susan

2012-01-01

The identification and grading of adverse events (AEs) during the conduct of clinical trials is a labor-intensive and error-prone process. This paper describes and evaluates a software tool developed by City of Hope to automate complex algorithms to assess laboratory results and identify and grade AEs. We compared AEs identified by the automated system with those previously assessed manually, to evaluate missed/misgraded AEs. We also conducted a prospective paired time assessment of automated versus manual AE assessment. We found a substantial improvement in accuracy/completeness with the automated grading tool, which identified an additional 17% of severe grade 3-4 AEs that had been missed/misgraded manually. The automated system also provided an average time saving of 5.5 min per treatment course. With 400 ongoing treatment trials at City of Hope and an average of 1800 laboratory results requiring assessment per study, the implications of these findings for patient safety are enormous.

Performance Improvement of Friction Stir Welds by Better Surface Finish

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Russell, Sam; Nettles, Mindy

2015-01-01

The as-welded friction stir weld has a cross section that may act as a stress concentrator. The geometry associated with the stress concentration may reduce the weld strength and it makes the weld challenging to inspect with ultrasound. In some cases, the geometry leads to false positive nondestructive evaluation (NDE) indications and, in many cases, it requires manual blending to facilitate the inspection. This study will measure the stress concentration effect and develop an improved phased array ultrasound testing (PAUT) technique for friction stir welding. Post-welding, the friction stir weld (FSW) tool would be fitted with an end mill that would machine the weld smooth, trimmed shaved. This would eliminate the need for manual weld preparation for ultrasonic inspections. Manual surface preparation is a hand operation that varies widely depending on the person preparing the welds. Shaving is a process that can be automated and tightly controlled.

Mathematics: Program Assessment and Improvement Planning Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitman, Nancy C.; And Others

This document provides a model for assessing a school's mathematics program and planning for program improvement. A systematic process for instructional improvement focuses upon students' needs and the identification of successful instructional strategies to meet these needs. The improvement plan and the implementation of intervention strategies…

Examining the relationships among built environment, physical activity, and body mass index in El Paso, TX.

PubMed

Rutt, Candace D; Coleman, Karen J

2005-06-01

The current study examined the relationships among built environment, physical activity, and body mass index (BMI) in a primarily Hispanic border community in El Paso, TX. Data from a 2001 community-wide health survey were matched to environmental data using geocoding techniques in ARC VIEW software. A total of 996 adults were surveyed by phone and 452 were successfully geocoded. The sample was 71% female, 79% Hispanic, 42 +/- 17 years old, moderately acculturated, and had socioeconomic status (SES) levels of semi-skilled workers. Increasing BMI was related to less moderate intensity physical activity (P = 0.05), higher SES (P = 0.0003), worse overall health (P = 0.0004), and living in areas with greater land-use mix (less residential; P = 0.03). The relationship between overall health and BMI was in part mediated by higher numbers of barriers to physical activity in those with poor health, which lead to a decrease in moderate physical activity. These variables explained 20% of the variance in BMI. This is one of the first studies to find a positive relationship between land-use mix and BMI in a predominantly Hispanic, low-income community. The positive association between BMI and land-use mix may be due to the inclusion of individual SES as a controlling variable in the analyses, suggesting that SES may have a differential effect on how the built environment influences BMI in low- to moderate-income minority communities.

Implementing emergency manuals: can cognitive aids help translate best practices for patient care during acute events?

PubMed

Goldhaber-Fiebert, Sara N; Howard, Steven K

2013-11-01

In this article, we address whether emergency manuals are an effective means of helping anesthesiologists and perioperative teams apply known best practices for critical events. We review the relevant history of such cognitive aids in health care, as well as examples from other high stakes industries, and describe why emergency manuals have a role in improving patient care during certain events. We propose 4 vital elements: create, familiarize, use, and integrate, necessary for the widespread, successful development, and implementation of medical emergency manuals, using the specific example of the perioperative setting. The details of each element are presented, drawing from the medical literature as well as from our combined experience of more than 30 years of observing teams of anesthesiologists managing simulated and real critical events. We emphasize the importance of training clinicians in the use of emergency manuals for education on content, format, and location. Finally, we discuss cultural readiness for change, present a system example of successful integration, and highlight the importance of further research on the implementation of emergency manuals.

Assessing the economics of processing end-of-life vehicles through manual dismantling.

PubMed

Tian, Jin; Chen, Ming

2016-10-01

Most dismantling enterprises in a number of developing countries, such as China, usually adopt the "manual+mechanical" dismantling approach to process end-of-life vehicles. However, the automobile industry does not have a clear indicator to reasonably and effectively determine the manual dismantling degree for end-of-life vehicles. In this study, five different dismantling scenarios and an economic system for end-of-life vehicles were developed based on the actual situation of end-of-life vehicles. The fuzzy analytic hierarchy process was applied to set the weights of direct costs, indirect costs, and sales and to obtain an optimal manual dismantling scenario. Results showed that although the traditional method of "dismantling to the end" can guarantee the highest recycling rate, this method is not the best among all the scenarios. The profit gained in the optimal scenario is 100.6% higher than that in the traditional scenario. The optimal manual dismantling scenario showed that enterprises are required to select suitable parts to process through manual dismantling. Selecting suitable parts maximizes economic profit and improves dismantling speed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Movement and manual therapy for adults with arthritis: 2012 National Health Interview Survey.

PubMed

Pure, Elise; Terhorst, Lauren; Baker, Nancy

2018-04-01

The use of manual therapies (chiropractic manipulation, massage) and movement therapies (yoga, tai chi) by people with arthritis may relate to their personal characteristics, and the reported emotional and physical health outcomes may differ by type of therapy. To describe personal characteristics and predictors of manual and movement therapy use for people with arthritis, and to compare the use of manual versus movement therapy to improve physical and emotional health outcomes for people with arthritis. CAM respondents with arthritis were identified from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey (n = 8229). Data were analyzed to determine the overall percentages of CAM users, and to examine the associations between use/nonuse using multivariable linear regressions. White, well-educated, physically active females were more likely to use both types of therapy. Movement therapy users reported positive emotional health outcomes twice as much as manual therapy users and 10% more reported positive physical health outcomes. While both movement and manual therapies can have positive effects on people with arthritis, it appears that active therapies are more beneficial than passive therapies. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Speech recognition in advanced rotorcraft - Using speech controls to reduce manual control overload

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vidulich, Michael A.; Bortolussi, Michael R.

1988-01-01

An experiment has been conducted to ascertain the usefulness of helicopter pilot speech controls and their effect on time-sharing performance, under the impetus of multiple-resource theories of attention which predict that time-sharing should be more efficient with mixed manual and speech controls than with all-manual ones. The test simulation involved an advanced, single-pilot scout/attack helicopter. Performance and subjective workload levels obtained supported the claimed utility of speech recognition-based controls; specifically, time-sharing performance was improved while preparing a data-burst transmission of information during helicopter hover.

Do manual therapy techniques have a positive effect on quality of life in people with tension-type headache? A randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Espí-López, Gemma V; Rodríguez-Blanco, Cleofás; Oliva-Pascual-Vaca, Angel; Molina-Martínez, Francisco; Falla, Deborah

2016-08-01

Controversy exists regarding the effectiveness of manual therapy for the relief of tension-type headache (TTH). However most studies have addressed the impact of therapy on the frequency and intensity of pain. No studies have evaluated the potentially significant effect on the patient's quality of life. To assess the quality of life of patients suffering from TTH treated for 4 weeks with different manual therapy techniques. Factorial, randomized, single-blinded, controlled clinical trial. Specialized center for the treatment of headache. Seventy-six (62 women) patients aged between 18 and 65 years (age: 39.9±10.9) with either episodic or chronic TTH. Patients were divided into four groups: suboccipital inhibitory pressure; suboccipital spinal manipulation; a combination of the two treatments; control. Quality of life was assessed using the SF-12 questionnaire (considering both the overall score and the different dimensions) at the beginning and end of treatment, and after a one month follow-up. Compared to baseline, the suboccipital inhibition treatment group showed a significant improvement in their overall quality of life at the one month follow-up and also showed specific improvement in the dimensions related to moderate physical activities, and in their emotional role. All the treatment groups, but not the control group, showed improvements in their physical role, bodily pain, and social functioning at the one month follow-up. Post treatment and at the one month follow-up, the combined treatment group showed improved vitality and the two treatment groups that involved manipulation showed improved mental health. All three treatments were effective at changing different dimensions of quality of life, but the combined treatment showed the most change. The results support the effectiveness of treatments applied to the suboccipital region for patients with TTH. Manual therapy techniques applied to the suboccipital region, for as little as four weeks, offered a positive improvement in some aspects of quality of life of patient's suffering with TTH.

The Owner's Manual for the Brain: Everyday Applications from Mind-Brain Research. Second Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howard, Pierce J.

This book discusses what is known about the brain and memory storage and how people can improve their recall of information. There are 10 parts with 37 chapters. Part 1, "Forming a Foundation: The Context for Using Your Owner's Manual," includes topics like brain basics and brain imaging. Part 2, "Wellness: Getting the Most Out of…

33 CFR 150.35 - How may an adjacent coastal State request an amendment to the operations manual?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... provide equivalent or improved protection and safety. The adjacent coastal State may petition the... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How may an adjacent coastal State... § 150.35 How may an adjacent coastal State request an amendment to the operations manual? (a) An...

33 CFR 150.35 - How may an adjacent coastal State request an amendment to the operations manual?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... provide equivalent or improved protection and safety. The adjacent coastal State may petition the... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false How may an adjacent coastal State... § 150.35 How may an adjacent coastal State request an amendment to the operations manual? (a) An...

33 CFR 150.35 - How may an adjacent coastal State request an amendment to the operations manual?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... provide equivalent or improved protection and safety. The adjacent coastal State may petition the... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false How may an adjacent coastal State... § 150.35 How may an adjacent coastal State request an amendment to the operations manual? (a) An...

Internal Aspects of the Skill Transfer of Manual Assembly Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doyo, Daisuke

2009-01-01

In manual assembly work, parts are often assembled by applying force with a simple tool or by hand. A worker thus needs control the force he or she applies in working, as an appropriate level of force is requisite for minimizing work failures and improving efficiency. The object of this study is to clarify the relationship between the level of…

Pain Management Task Force

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-05-01

on ” review of manipulative therapies . For non-osteopathic residents and staff, the GME program will serve to teach them improved diagnostic...individual provider with manual therapy knowledge would be able to provide presentations and hands- on demonstrations and review of the manual therapy ... Therapy Guide, six of the top ten reasons for a medical evaluation board are musculoskeletal, with the top one being degenerative arthritis.

Multiple Intelligences: Theory to Practice in New York City Schools. Grades K-5. [Manual and Video Guide].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leopold, Marjorie

This program is a self-guided professional development experience that explains how to use multiple intelligences (MI) theory to improve teaching, learning, and achievement in elementary classrooms and schools. The program consists of one manual and six VHS videos, each of which corresponds to one of the six modules listed in the table of…

Crianza Practica de Aves (Practical Poultry Raising). Appropriate Technologies for Development. Peace Corps Information Collection & Exchange Manual Series [No.] M-34.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

French, Kenneth M.

Written in Spanish, this manual is designed to provide development workers with the information and tools needed to begin or to improve poultry production. Covered in the individual chapters are the following topics: the nature and scope of poultry production, assessment of local poultry selections, basic information about chickens, country…

Aerial applications dispersal systems control requirements study. [agriculture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauchspies, J. S.; Cleary, W. L.; Rogers, W. F.; Simpson, W.; Sanders, G. S.

1980-01-01

Performance deficiencies in aerial liquid and dry dispersal systems are identified. Five control system concepts are explored: (1) end of field on/off control; (2) manual control of particle size and application rate from the aircraft; (3) manual control of deposit rate on the field; (4) automatic alarm and shut-off control; and (5) fully automatic control. Operational aspects of the concepts and specifications for improved control configurations are discussed in detail. A research plan to provide the technology needed to develop the proposed improvements is presented along with a flight program to verify the benefits achieved.

Multivariable manual control with simultaneous visual and auditory presentation of information. [for improved compensatory tracking performance of human operator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Uhlemann, H.; Geiser, G.

1975-01-01

Multivariable manual compensatory tracking experiments were carried out in order to determine typical strategies of the human operator and conditions for improvement of his performance if one of the visual displays of the tracking errors is supplemented by an auditory feedback. Because the tracking error of the system which is only visually displayed is found to decrease, but not in general that of the auditorally supported system, it was concluded that the auditory feedback unloads the visual system of the operator who can then concentrate on the remaining exclusively visual displays.

Continuous Improvements to East Coast Abort Landings for Space Shuttle Aborts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Butler, Kevin D.

2003-01-01

Improvement initiatives in the areas of guidance, flight control, and mission operations provide increased capability for successful East Coast Abort Landings (ECAL). Automating manual crew procedures in the Space Shuttle's onboard guidance allows faster and more precise commanding of flight control parameters needed for successful ECALs. Automation also provides additional capability in areas not possible with manual control. Operational changes in the mission concept allow for the addition of new landing sites and different ascent trajectories that increase the regions of a successful landing. The larger regions of ECAL capability increase the safety of the crew and Orbiter.

Thoracic manual therapy is not more effective than placebo thoracic manual therapy in patients with shoulder dysfunctions: A systematic review with meta-analysis.

PubMed

Bizzarri, Paolo; Buzzatti, Luca; Cattrysse, Erik; Scafoglieri, Aldo

2018-02-01

Manual treatments targeting different regions (shoulder, cervical spine, thoracic spine, ribs) have been studied to deal with patients complaining of shoulder pain. Thoracic manual treatments seem able to produce beneficial effects on this group of patients. However, it is not clear whether the patient improvement is a consequence of thoracic manual therapy or a placebo effect. To compare the efficacy of thoracic manual therapy and placebo thoracic manual treatment for patients with shoulder dysfunction. Electronic databases (MEDLINE, CENTRAL, PEDro, CINAHL, WoS, EMBASE, ERIC) were searched through November 2016. Randomized Controlled Trials assessing pain, mobility and function were selected. The Cochrane bias estimation tool was applied. Outcome results were either extracted or computed from raw data. Meta-analysis was performed for outcomes with low heterogeneity. Four studies were included in the review. The methodology of the included studies was generally good except for one study that was rated as high risk of bias. Meta-analysis showed no significant effect for "pain at present" (SMD -0.02; 95% CI: -0.35, 0.32) and "pain during movement" (SMD -0.12; 95% CI: -0.45, 0.21). There is very low to low quality of evidence that a single session of thoracic manual therapy is not more effective than a single session of placebo thoracic manual therapy in patients with shoulder dysfunction at immediate post-treatment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Botulinum toxin type A combined with cervical spine manual therapy for masseteric hypertrophy in a patient with Alzheimer-type dementia: a case report.

PubMed

Villafañe, Jorge H; Fernandez-de-Las-Peñas, Cesar; Pillastrini, Paolo

2012-12-01

The purpose of this case study is to present the findings of combining botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) and cervical spine manual therapy to address masseter muscle spasticity in a patient with Alzheimer-type dementia. A 78-year-old woman with bilateral spasticity of the masseteric regions for 2 years was referred for physiotherapy. She had trismus and bruxism, and could neither close nor open her mouth normally; thus, she was unable to be fed orally in a normal manner. The patient underwent combined treatment with BoNT-A and cervical spine manual therapy. A medical physician (neurologist) performed the BoNT-A injections into 2 points at the center of the lower third of the masseter muscle. A physical therapist performed manual therapy interventions targeted at the cervical spine. Manual therapy started the day after the BoNT-A injection and continued for 5 sessions per week for a total period of 2 weeks. Clinical outcomes were measured including spasticity (Modified Ashworth Scale), functionality (Barthel Index), and jaw opening. Outcomes were conducted at baseline, 2 weeks after treatment, and at 2-month follow-up session after finishing the treatment. The patient improved in all of the outcomes at the end of treatment, and these results were maintained during the follow-up. After treatment, the patient was able to feed with minimal caregiver dependency because oral feeding was possible. The patient in this study responded positively to a combination of BoNT-A and manual therapy, resulting in decreased masseter muscles spasticity and improved trismus and bruxism.

The effectiveness of manual therapy for the management of musculoskeletal disorders of the upper and lower extremities: a systematic review by the Ontario Protocol for Traffic Injury Management (OPTIMa) Collaboration.

PubMed

Southerst, Danielle; Yu, Hainan; Randhawa, Kristi; Côté, Pierre; D'Angelo, Kevin; Shearer, Heather M; Wong, Jessica J; Sutton, Deborah; Varatharajan, Sharanya; Goldgrub, Rachel; Dion, Sarah; Cox, Jocelyn; Menta, Roger; Brown, Courtney K; Stern, Paula J; Stupar, Maja; Carroll, Linda J; Taylor-Vaisey, Anne

2015-01-01

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) of the upper and lower extremities are common in the general population and place a significant burden on the health care system. Manual therapy is recommended by clinical practice guidelines for the management of these injuries; however, there is limited evidence to support its effectiveness. The purpose of our review was to investigate the effectiveness of manual therapy in adults or children with MSDs of the upper or lower extremity. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), cohort studies, and case-control studies evaluating the effectiveness of manual therapy were eligible. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from 1990 to 2015. Paired reviewers screened studies for relevance and critically appraised relevant studies using the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network criteria. Studies with low risk of bias were synthesized following best-evidence synthesis principles. Where available, we computed mean changes between groups, relative risks and 95 % CI. We screened 6047 articles. Seven RCTs were critically appraised and three had low risk of bias. For adults with nonspecific shoulder pain of variable duration, cervicothoracic spinal manipulation and mobilization in addition to usual care may improve self-perceived recovery compared to usual care alone. For adults with subacromial impingement syndrome of variable duration, neck mobilization in addition to a multimodal shoulder program of care provides no added benefit. Finally, for adults with grade I-II ankle sprains of variable duration, lower extremity mobilization in addition to home exercise and advice provides greater short-term improvements in activities and function over home exercise and advice alone. No studies were included that evaluated the effectiveness of manual therapy in children or for the management of other extremity injuries in adults. The current evidence on the effectiveness of manual therapy for MSDs of the upper and lower extremities is limited. The available evidence supports the use of manual therapy for non-specific shoulder pain and ankle sprains, but not for subacromial impingement syndrome in adults. Future research is needed to determine the effectiveness of manual therapy and guide clinical practice. CRD42014009899.

SU-F-T-358: Is Auto-Planning Useful for Volumetric-Modulated Arc Therapy Planning in Rectal Cancer Radiotherapy?

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

Li, K; Chang, X; Wang, J

Purpose: To evaluate whether Auto-Planning based volumetric-modulated radiotherapy (auto-VMAT) can reduce manual interaction time during treatment planning and improve plan quality for rectal cancer radiotherapy. Methods: Ten rectal cancer patients (stage II and III) after radical resection using Dixon surgery were enrolled. All patients were treated with VMAT technique. The manual VMAT plans (man-VMAT) were designed in the Pinnacle treatment planning system (Version 9.10) following the standard treatment planning procedure developed in our department. Clinical plans were manually designed by our experienced dosimetrists. Additionally, an auto-VMAT plan was created for each patient using Auto-Planning module. However, manual interaction was stillmore » applied to meet the clinical requirements. The treatment planning time and plan quality surrogated by the DVH parameters were compared between manual and automated plans. Results: The total planning time and manual interaction time were 50.38 and 4.47 min for the auto-VMAT and 36.81 and 16.94 min for the man-VMAT (t=60.14,−23.86; p=0.000, 0.000). In terms of plan quality, both plans meet the clinical requirements. The PTV homogeneity index (HI) and conformity index (CI) were 0.054 and 0.822 for the auto-VMAT and 0.059 and 0.815 for the man-VMAT (t=−1.72, 0.36;p=0.119,0.730).Compared to the man-VMAT, the auto-VMAT showed reduction of 11.9% and 0.7% in V40 and V50 of the bladder, respectively.The V30 and D mean were reduced by 14.0% and 5.1Gy in the left femur and 12.2% and 3.8Gy in the right femur. Conclusion: The Auto-Planning based VMAT plans not only shows similar or superior plan quality to the manual ones in the rectal cancer radiotherapy, but also improve the planning efficiency significantly. However, manual interactions are still required to achieve a clinically acceptable plan based on our experiences.« less

Implementing bicycle improvements at the local level

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-09-01

This implementational manual is intended for local governments who want to make improvements to existing conditions that affect bicycling. Thirteen of the most typical situations or factors that impact bicycle use are considered.

RETROFITTING POTW

EPA Science Inventory

This manual is intended as a source document for individuals responsible for improving the performance of an existing, non-complying wastewater treatment facility. Described are: 1) methods to evaluate an existing facility's capability to achieve improved performance, 2) a ...

Comparison of automated and manual vital sign collection at hospital wards.

PubMed

Wood, Jeffrey; Finkelstein, Joseph

2013-01-01

Using a cross-over study design, vital signs were collected from 60 patients by 6 nurses. Each nurse was randomly assigned for manual vital sign collection in 5 patients and for automated data collection in other 5 patients. The mean time taken for vital signs information to be available in EMR was significantly (p <0.004) lower after automated data collection (158.7±67.0) than after the manual collection (4079.8±7091.8 s). The nursing satisfaction score of collecting vital signs was significantly lower (p<0.007) for the manual way (10.3±3.9) than for the automated way (16.5±3.4). We found that 30% of vital sign records were transmitted to EMR with at least one error after manual data collection whereas there wasno transmission error with automated data collection. Allparticipating nurses stated that the automated vital sign collection can improve their efficiency and save their time for direct patient care.

Numerical Arc Segmentation Algorithm for a Radio Conference-NASARC (version 4.0) technical manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whyte, Wayne A., Jr.; Heyward, Ann O.; Ponchak, Denise S.; Spence, Rodney L.; Zuzek, John E.

1988-01-01

The information contained in the NASARC (Version 4.0) Technical Manual and NASARC (Version 4.0) User's Manual relates to the Numerical Arc Segmentation Algorithm for a Radio Conference (NASARC) software development through November 1, 1988. The Technical Manual describes the NASARC concept and the algorithms used to implement the concept. The User's Manual provides information on computer system considerations, installation instructions, description of input files, and program operation instructions. Significant revisions were incorporated in the Version 4.0 software over prior versions. These revisions have further enhanced the modeling capabilities of the NASARC procedure and provide improved arrangements of predetermined arcs within the geostationary orbits. Array dimensions within the software were structured to fit within the currently available 12 megabyte memory capacity of the International Frequency Registration Board (IFRB) computer facility. A piecewise approach to predetermined arc generation in NASARC (Version 4.0) allows worldwide planning problem scenarios to be accommodated within computer run time and memory constraints with enhanced likelihood and ease of solution.

Manual therapy in the treatment of ankle hemophilic arthropathy. A randomized pilot study.

PubMed

Cuesta-Barriuso, Rubén; Gómez-Conesa, Antonia; López-Pina, José-Antonio

2014-11-01

Although physiotherapy has demonstrated effectiveness in preventing ankle arthropathy compared to prophylaxis treatment from early ages, there have been no conclusive studies examining physiotherapy intervention once hemophilic arthropathy of the ankle has been established. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of two physiotherapy interventions, in patients with hemophilic arthropathy of the ankle that had not been operated on previously. Nine patients with hemophilia (mean age of 35.7 SD 11.9 years) were randomized to a mobilization group (n = 5) and manual therapy group (n = 4). The two physiotherapy interventions were: (1) passive mobilization and stretching; and (2) manual orthopaedic therapy, both with proprioception training. The study lasted for six weeks, with two sessions a week. Ankle mobility and pain perception, lower limb proprioception and quality of life were the outcome measures. Both treatments improved all ankle movements (p < 0.05). The treatment with passive mobilizations also improved the perception of pain and quality of life. Six months later, both groups still had improved articular movement with the exception of plantar flexion and continued to perceive less pain. Both physiotherapy interventions improved the range of movement and lessened pain in patients with ankle arthropathy. No haemarthrosis was recorded during treatment or during the follow-up period.

Mechanical vs. manual cleaning of hospital beds: a prospective intervention study.

PubMed

Hopman, J; Nillesen, M; de Both, E; Witte, J; Teerenstra, S; Hulscher, M; Voss, A

2015-06-01

Cleaning regimens for hospital beds were evaluated in the context of a rising prevalence of highly resistant micro-organisms and increasing financial pressure on healthcare systems. Dutch hospitals have to choose between standardized, mechanical bed-washers advised in national guidance and manual cleaning. To evaluate the quality of mechanical and manual bed-cleaning regimens. The multi-faceted analysis of bed-cleaning regimens consisted of three steps. In Step 1, the training of the domestic service team was evaluated. In Step 2, the cleaning quality of manual and mechanical regimens was assessed. Soiled beds, obtained at random, from different departments were evaluated using microbiological analysis (N = 40) and ATP (N = 20). ATP and microbiological contamination were measured in five predetermined locations on all beds. In Step 3, manual cleaning was introduced over a two-month pilot study at the surgical short-stay unit, and beds from other departments were processed according to the 'gold standard' mechanical cleaning. ATP levels were evaluated in three locations on 300 beds after cleaning. Training was found to improve the quality of cleaning significantly. Mechanical cleaning resulted in significantly lower ATP levels than manual cleaning. Mechanical cleaning shows less variation and results in consistently lower ATP levels than manual cleaning. Copyright © 2015 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The addition of functional task-oriented mental practice to conventional physical therapy improves motor skills in daily functions after stroke.

PubMed

Santos-Couto-Paz, Clarissa C; Teixeira-Salmela, Luci F; Tierra-Criollo, Carlos J

2013-01-01

Mental practice (MP) is a cognitive strategy which may improve the acquisition of motor skills and functional performance of athletes and individuals with neurological injuries. To determine whether an individualized, specific functional task-oriented MP, when added to conventional physical therapy (PT), promoted better learning of motor skills in daily functions in individuals with chronic stroke (13 ± 6.5 months post-stroke). Nine individuals with stable mild and moderate upper limb impairments participated, by employing an A1-B-A2 single-case design. Phases A1 and A2 included one month of conventional PT, and phase B the addition of MP training to PT. The motor activity log (MAL-Brazil) was used to assess the amount of use (AOU) and quality of movement (QOM) of the paretic upper limb; the revised motor imagery questionnaire (MIQ-RS) to assess the abilities in kinesthetic and visual motor imagery; the Minnesota manual dexterity test to assess manual dexterity; and gait speed to assess mobility. After phase A1, no significant changes were observed for any of the outcome measures. However, after phase B, significant improvements were observed for the MAL, AOU and QOM scores (p<0.0001), and MIQ-RS kinesthetic and visual scores (p=0.003; p=0.007, respectively). The significant gains in manual dexterity (p=0.002) and gait speed (p=0.019) were maintained after phase A2. Specific functional task-oriented MP, when added to conventional PT, led to improvements in motor imagery abilities combined with increases in the AOU and QOM in daily functions, manual dexterity, and gait speed.

Manual, semiautomated, and fully automated measurement of the aortic annulus for planning of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR/TAVI): analysis of interchangeability.

PubMed

Lou, Junyang; Obuchowski, Nancy A; Krishnaswamy, Amar; Popovic, Zoran; Flamm, Scott D; Kapadia, Samir R; Svensson, Lars G; Bolen, Michael A; Desai, Milind Y; Halliburton, Sandra S; Tuzcu, E Murat; Schoenhagen, Paul

2015-01-01

Preprocedural 3-dimensional CT imaging of the aortic annular plane plays a critical role for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) planning; however, manual reconstructions are complex. Automated analysis software may improve reproducibility and agreement between readers but is incompletely validated. In 110 TAVR patients (mean age, 81 years; 37% female) undergoing preprocedural multidetector CT, automated reconstruction of the aortic annular plane and planimetry of the annulus was performed with a prototype of now commercially available software (syngo.CT Cardiac Function-Valve Pilot; Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany). Fully automated, semiautomated, and manual annulus measurements were compared. Intrareader and inter-reader agreement, intermodality agreement, and interchangeability were analyzed. Finally, the impact of these measurements on recommended valve size was evaluated. Semiautomated analysis required major correction in 5 patients (4.5%). In the remaining 95.5%, only minor correction was performed. Mean manual annulus area was significantly smaller than fully automated results (P < .001 for both readers) but similar to semiautomated measurements (5.0 vs 5.4 vs 4.9 cm(2), respectively). The frequency of concordant recommendations for valve size increased if manual analysis was replaced with the semiautomated method (60% agreement was improved to 82.4%; 95% confidence interval for the difference [69.1%-83.4%]). Semiautomated aortic annulus analysis, with minor correction by the user, provides reliable results in the context of TAVR annulus evaluation. Copyright © 2015 Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Microbleed detection using automated segmentation (MIDAS): a new method applicable to standard clinical MR images.

PubMed

Seghier, Mohamed L; Kolanko, Magdalena A; Leff, Alexander P; Jäger, Hans R; Gregoire, Simone M; Werring, David J

2011-03-23

Cerebral microbleeds, visible on gradient-recalled echo (GRE) T2* MRI, have generated increasing interest as an imaging marker of small vessel diseases, with relevance for intracerebral bleeding risk or brain dysfunction. Manual rating methods have limited reliability and are time-consuming. We developed a new method for microbleed detection using automated segmentation (MIDAS) and compared it with a validated visual rating system. In thirty consecutive stroke service patients, standard GRE T2* images were acquired and manually rated for microbleeds by a trained observer. After spatially normalizing each patient's GRE T2* images into a standard stereotaxic space, the automated microbleed detection algorithm (MIDAS) identified cerebral microbleeds by explicitly incorporating an "extra" tissue class for abnormal voxels within a unified segmentation-normalization model. The agreement between manual and automated methods was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Kappa statistic. We found that MIDAS had generally moderate to good agreement with the manual reference method for the presence of lobar microbleeds (Kappa = 0.43, improved to 0.65 after manual exclusion of obvious artefacts). Agreement for the number of microbleeds was very good for lobar regions: (ICC = 0.71, improved to ICC = 0.87). MIDAS successfully detected all patients with multiple (≥2) lobar microbleeds. MIDAS can identify microbleeds on standard MR datasets, and with an additional rapid editing step shows good agreement with a validated visual rating system. MIDAS may be useful in screening for multiple lobar microbleeds.

Katimavik Participant's Manual, Book VIII, Nutrition and Well-Being = Katimavik manuel du participant, cahier VIII, l'alimentation et le bien-etre.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crelinsten, Michael, Ed.

The bilingual student manual focuses on the nutrition and well-being learning activity portion of Katimavik, a nine-month volunteer community service and experiential learning program for 17 to 21 year old Canadians. Providing participants with basic information and tools to assess and improve nutritional states and tie nutrition concerns into a…

Career Oriented Mathematics, Student's Manual. [Includes Owning an Automobile and Driving as a Career; Retail Sales; Measurement; and Area-Perimeter.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahaffey, Michael L.; McKillip, William D.

This volume includes student manuals for four units in the Career Oriented Mathematics Program, which was developed to improve computational abilities and attitudes of secondary students by presenting the material in a job-relevant context. The units are titled: (1) Owning an Automobile and Driving as a Career, (2) Retail Sales, (3) Measurement,…

SELECTIVE DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION (SDI). VOLUME II, IMPLEMENTATION MANUAL. FINAL REPORT. ARMY TECHNICAL LIBRARY IMPROVEMENT STUDIES (ATLIS), REPORT NO. 16.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

BIVONA, WILLIAM A.

A SET OF GUIDELINES FOR IMPLEMENTING AND OPERATING A REPLICA OF A PROTOTYPE SELECTIVE DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION (SDI) SYSTEM TESTED AT U.S. ARMY NATICK LABORATORIES, AND REPORTED IN LI 000 273, IS GIVEN IN THIS MANUAL. INFORMATION IS SUPPLIED WHICH IS USEFUL IN THE INITIAL STAGES OF IMPLEMENTATION. THE APPLICATION OF SPECIFIC CRITERIA FOR…

A Self-Help Inservice-Guide for the Improvement of Teaching. A North Dakota Adaptation of the Utah Skills Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

North Dakota Univ., Grand Forks. Coll. of Education.

The purpose of this manual is to identify teaching skills and their justification and objectives in a learning situation and to suggest a few of a wide selection of professional activities and services which meet these objectives and satisfy learner needs. The manual is designed for inservice teacher education activities or supervisory programs.…

Multiple Intelligences: Theory to Practice in New York City Schools. Middle School/High School. [Manual and Video Guide].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leopold, Marjorie

This program is a self-guided professional development experience that explains how to use multiple intelligences (MI) theory to improve teaching, learning, and achievement in middle and high school classrooms. The program consists of one manual and six VHS videos, each of which corresponds to one of the six modules listed in the table of…

Elevage Pratique de la Volaille (Practical Poultry Raising). Appropriate Technologies for Development. Peace Corps Information Collection & Exchange Manual Series No. M-30.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

French, Kenneth M.

Written in French, this manual is designed to provide development workers with the information and tools needed to begin or to improve poultry production. Covered in the individual chapters are the following topics: the nature and scope of poultry production, assessment of local poultry selections, basic information about chickens, country…

A Model for Developing a Continuous Progress Program, April 1977. A Manual for Teachers and Administrators Concerned with Improving Reading.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldman, Rosalie; And Others

The focus of this manual is on the step-by-step development and implementation of a continuous-progress reading program--a system that permits instruction at each student's diagnosed level of ability. Analysis of program development includes advice on choosing a committee, writing the program, and presenting the program to others. The implications…

Effect of manual therapy versus proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation in dynamic balance, mobility and flexibility in field hockey players. A randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Espí-López, Gemma V; López-Martínez, Susana; Inglés, Marta; Serra-Añó, Pilar; Aguilar-Rodríguez, Marta

2018-04-22

To compare the effectiveness of a specific Manual Therapy (MT) protocol applied to field hockey players (FHP), versus a Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) protocol, in the improvement of dynamic balance, active range of movement and lumbar flexibility one-week and four-weeks after the treatment. Randomized controlled trial. Participants were assigned to 2 groups: MT and PNF. 30 min' sessions were performed once a week for three weeks. Three evaluations were performed: basal, one-week and four-weeks post-treatment. University of Valencia (Spain). 22 in MT group and 20 in PNF group. Dynamic Balance, measured with Star Excursion Balance Test; Active Range of Motion (ROM), using a manual goniometer and Lumbar Flexibility, assessed with Fingertip-to-floor test. Both groups significantly improved in lateral and medial dynamic balance one-week post-treatment (p < 0.05); but the improvement in the MT group lasted until the fourth-week after treatment in both reaches (lateral and medial) (p < 0.05). MT group also obtained significant improvements in dorsal flexion of the ankle in the fourth-week post-treatment (p < 0.05) and in lumbar flexibility one-week post-treatment (p < 0.05). MT and PNF improve dynamic balance one-week post-treatment; however, the improvement obtained through MT is maintained four-weeks later. Only MT improves dorsal flexion of the ankle four-weeks post-treatment and lumbar flexibility one-week post-treatment. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Data Management System (DMS) testbed user's manual development, volumes 1 and 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcbride, John G.; Cohen, Norman

1986-01-01

A critical review of the network communication services contained in the Tinman User's Manual for Data Management System Test Bed (Tinman DMS User's Manual) is presented. The review is from the perspective of applying modern software engineering principles and using the Ada language effectively to ensure the test bed network communication services provide a robust capability. Overall the material on network communication services reflects a reasonably good grasp of the Ada language. Language features are appropriately used for most services. Design alternatives are offered to provide improved system performance and a basis for better application software development. Section two contains a review and suggests clarifications of the Statement of Policies and Services contained in Appendix B of the Tinman DMS User's Manual. Section three contains a review of the Network Communication Services and section four contains concluding comments.

JacketSE: An Offshore Wind Turbine Jacket Sizing Tool; Theory Manual and Sample Usage with Preliminary Validation

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

Damiani, Rick

This manual summarizes the theory and preliminary verifications of the JacketSE module, which is an offshore jacket sizing tool that is part of the Wind-Plant Integrated System Design & Engineering Model toolbox. JacketSE is based on a finite-element formulation and on user-prescribed inputs and design standards' criteria (constraints). The physics are highly simplified, with a primary focus on satisfying ultimate limit states and modal performance requirements. Preliminary validation work included comparing industry data and verification against ANSYS, a commercial finite-element analysis package. The results are encouraging, and future improvements to the code are recommended in this manual.

Considerations to improve the safety of cervical spine manual therapy.

PubMed

Hutting, Nathan; Kerry, Roger; Coppieters, Michel W; Scholten-Peeters, Gwendolijne G M

2018-02-01

Manipulation and mobilisation of the cervical spine are well established interventions in the management of patients with headache and/or neck pain. However, their benefits are accompanied by potential, yet rare risks in terms of serious adverse events, including neurovascular insult to the brain. A recent international framework for risk assessment and management offers directions in the mitigation of this risk by facilitating sound clinical reasoning. The aim of this article is to critically reflect on and summarize the current knowledge about cervical spine manual therapy and to provide guidance for clinical reasoning for cervical spine manual therapy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Towards Automated Three-Dimensional Tracking of Nephrons through Stacked Histological Image Sets

PubMed Central

Bhikha, Charita; Andreasen, Arne; Christensen, Erik I.; Letts, Robyn F. R.; Pantanowitz, Adam; Rubin, David M.; Thomsen, Jesper S.; Zhai, Xiao-Yue

2015-01-01

An automated approach for tracking individual nephrons through three-dimensional histological image sets of mouse and rat kidneys is presented. In a previous study, the available images were tracked manually through the image sets in order to explore renal microarchitecture. The purpose of the current research is to reduce the time and effort required to manually trace nephrons by creating an automated, intelligent system as a standard tool for such datasets. The algorithm is robust enough to isolate closely packed nephrons and track their convoluted paths despite a number of nonideal, interfering conditions such as local image distortions, artefacts, and interstitial tissue interference. The system comprises image preprocessing, feature extraction, and a custom graph-based tracking algorithm, which is validated by a rule base and a machine learning algorithm. A study of a selection of automatically tracked nephrons, when compared with manual tracking, yields a 95% tracking accuracy for structures in the cortex, while those in the medulla have lower accuracy due to narrower diameter and higher density. Limited manual intervention is introduced to improve tracking, enabling full nephron paths to be obtained with an average of 17 manual corrections per mouse nephron and 58 manual corrections per rat nephron. PMID:26170896

Towards Automated Three-Dimensional Tracking of Nephrons through Stacked Histological Image Sets.

PubMed

Bhikha, Charita; Andreasen, Arne; Christensen, Erik I; Letts, Robyn F R; Pantanowitz, Adam; Rubin, David M; Thomsen, Jesper S; Zhai, Xiao-Yue

2015-01-01

An automated approach for tracking individual nephrons through three-dimensional histological image sets of mouse and rat kidneys is presented. In a previous study, the available images were tracked manually through the image sets in order to explore renal microarchitecture. The purpose of the current research is to reduce the time and effort required to manually trace nephrons by creating an automated, intelligent system as a standard tool for such datasets. The algorithm is robust enough to isolate closely packed nephrons and track their convoluted paths despite a number of nonideal, interfering conditions such as local image distortions, artefacts, and interstitial tissue interference. The system comprises image preprocessing, feature extraction, and a custom graph-based tracking algorithm, which is validated by a rule base and a machine learning algorithm. A study of a selection of automatically tracked nephrons, when compared with manual tracking, yields a 95% tracking accuracy for structures in the cortex, while those in the medulla have lower accuracy due to narrower diameter and higher density. Limited manual intervention is introduced to improve tracking, enabling full nephron paths to be obtained with an average of 17 manual corrections per mouse nephron and 58 manual corrections per rat nephron.

Performance of automated and manual coding systems for occupational data: a case study of historical records.

PubMed

Patel, Mehul D; Rose, Kathryn M; Owens, Cindy R; Bang, Heejung; Kaufman, Jay S

2012-03-01

Occupational data are a common source of workplace exposure and socioeconomic information in epidemiologic research. We compared the performance of two occupation coding methods, an automated software and a manual coder, using occupation and industry titles from U.S. historical records. We collected parental occupational data from 1920-40s birth certificates, Census records, and city directories on 3,135 deceased individuals in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. Unique occupation-industry narratives were assigned codes by a manual coder and the Standardized Occupation and Industry Coding software program. We calculated agreement between coding methods of classification into major Census occupational groups. Automated coding software assigned codes to 71% of occupations and 76% of industries. Of this subset coded by software, 73% of occupation codes and 69% of industry codes matched between automated and manual coding. For major occupational groups, agreement improved to 89% (kappa = 0.86). Automated occupational coding is a cost-efficient alternative to manual coding. However, some manual coding is required to code incomplete information. We found substantial variability between coders in the assignment of occupations although not as large for major groups.

Helicopter versus ground emergency medical services for the transportation of traumatically injured children.

PubMed

Stewart, Camille L; Metzger, Ryan R; Pyle, Laura; Darmofal, Joe; Scaife, Eric; Moulton, Steven L

2015-02-01

Helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) are a common mode of transportation for pediatric trauma patients. We hypothesized that HEMS improve outcomes for traumatically injured children compared to ground emergency medical services (GEMS). We queried trauma registries of two level 1 pediatric trauma centers for children 0-17 years, treated from 2003 to 2013, transported by HEMS or GEMS, with known transport starting location and outcome. A geocoding service estimated travel distance and time. Multivariate regression analyses were performed to adjust for injury severity variables and travel distance/time. We identified 14,405 traumatically injured children; 3870 (26.9%) transported by HEMS and 10,535 (73.1%) transported by GEMS. Transport type was not significantly associated with survival, ICU length of stay, or discharge disposition. Transport by GEMS was associated with a 68.6%-53.1% decrease in hospital length of stay, depending on adjustment for distance/time. Results were similar for children with severe injuries, and with propensity score matched cohorts. Of note, 862/3850 (22.3%) of HEMS transports had an ISS<10 and hospitalization<1 day. HEMS do not independently improve outcomes for traumatically injured children, and 22.3% of children transported by HEMS are not significantly injured. These factors should be considered when requesting HEMS for transport of traumatically injured children. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A computational platform to maintain and migrate manual functional annotations for BioCyc databases.

PubMed

Walsh, Jesse R; Sen, Taner Z; Dickerson, Julie A

2014-10-12

BioCyc databases are an important resource for information on biological pathways and genomic data. Such databases represent the accumulation of biological data, some of which has been manually curated from literature. An essential feature of these databases is the continuing data integration as new knowledge is discovered. As functional annotations are improved, scalable methods are needed for curators to manage annotations without detailed knowledge of the specific design of the BioCyc database. We have developed CycTools, a software tool which allows curators to maintain functional annotations in a model organism database. This tool builds on existing software to improve and simplify annotation data imports of user provided data into BioCyc databases. Additionally, CycTools automatically resolves synonyms and alternate identifiers contained within the database into the appropriate internal identifiers. Automating steps in the manual data entry process can improve curation efforts for major biological databases. The functionality of CycTools is demonstrated by transferring GO term annotations from MaizeCyc to matching proteins in CornCyc, both maize metabolic pathway databases available at MaizeGDB, and by creating strain specific databases for metabolic engineering.

Edutourism Taka Bonerate National Park through Scientific Approach to Improve Student Learning Outcomes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayati, R. S.

2017-02-01

This research aim is develop the potential of Taka Bonerate National Park as learning resources through edutourism with scientific approach to improve student learning outcomes. Focus of student learning outcomes are students psychomotor abilities and comprehension on Biodiversity of Marine Biota, Corals Ecosystem, and Conservation topics. The edutourism development products are teacher manual, edutourism worksheet, material booklet, guide’s manual, and Taka Bonerate National Park governor manual. The method to develop edutourism products is ADDIE research and development model that consist of analysis, design, development and production, implementation, and evaluation step. The subjects in the implementation step were given a pretest and posttest and observation sheet to see the effect of edutourism Taka Bonerate National Park through scientific approach to student learning outcomes on Biodiversity of Marine Biota, Corals Ecosystem, and Conservation topics. The data were analyzed qualitative descriptively. The research result is edutourism Taka Bonerate National Park through scientific approach can improve students learning outcomes on Biodiversity of Marine Biota, Corals Ecosystem, and Conservation topics. Edutourism Taka Bonerate National Park can be an alternative of learning method on Biodiversity of Marine Biota, Corals Ecosystem, and Conservation topics.

Autoverification process improvement by Six Sigma approach: Clinical chemistry & immunoassay.

PubMed

Randell, Edward W; Short, Garry; Lee, Natasha; Beresford, Allison; Spencer, Margaret; Kennell, Marina; Moores, Zoë; Parry, David

2018-05-01

This study examines effectiveness of a project to enhance an autoverification (AV) system through application of Six Sigma (DMAIC) process improvement strategies. Similar AV systems set up at three sites underwent examination and modification to produce improved systems while monitoring proportions of samples autoverified, the time required for manual review and verification, sample processing time, and examining characteristics of tests not autoverified. This information was used to identify areas for improvement and monitor the impact of changes. Use of reference range based criteria had the greatest impact on the proportion of tests autoverified. To improve AV process, reference range based criteria was replaced with extreme value limits based on a 99.5% test result interval, delta check criteria were broadened, and new specimen consistency rules were implemented. Decision guidance tools were also developed to assist staff using the AV system. The mean proportion of tests and samples autoverified improved from <62% for samples and <80% for tests, to >90% for samples and >95% for tests across all three sites. The new AV system significantly decreased turn-around time and total sample review time (to about a third), however, time spent for manual review of held samples almost tripled. There was no evidence of compromise to the quality of testing process and <1% of samples held for exceeding delta check or extreme limits required corrective action. The Six Sigma (DMAIC) process improvement methodology was successfully applied to AV systems resulting in an increase in overall test and sample AV by >90%, improved turn-around time, reduced time for manual verification, and with no obvious compromise to quality or error detection. Copyright © 2018 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Manual vs. computer-assisted sperm analysis: can CASA replace manual assessment of human semen in clinical practice?

PubMed

Talarczyk-Desole, Joanna; Berger, Anna; Taszarek-Hauke, Grażyna; Hauke, Jan; Pawelczyk, Leszek; Jedrzejczak, Piotr

2017-01-01

The aim of the study was to check the quality of computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) system in comparison to the reference manual method as well as standardization of the computer-assisted semen assessment. The study was conducted between January and June 2015 at the Andrology Laboratory of the Division of Infertility and Reproductive Endocrinology, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Poland. The study group consisted of 230 men who gave sperm samples for the first time in our center as part of an infertility investigation. The samples underwent manual and computer-assisted assessment of concentration, motility and morphology. A total of 184 samples were examined twice: manually, according to the 2010 WHO recommendations, and with CASA, using the program set-tings provided by the manufacturer. Additionally, 46 samples underwent two manual analyses and two computer-assisted analyses. The p-value of p < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Statistically significant differences were found between all of the investigated sperm parameters, except for non-progressive motility, measured with CASA and manually. In the group of patients where all analyses with each method were performed twice on the same sample we found no significant differences between both assessments of the same probe, neither in the samples analyzed manually nor with CASA, although standard deviation was higher in the CASA group. Our results suggest that computer-assisted sperm analysis requires further improvement for a wider application in clinical practice.

The role of failure modes and effects analysis in showing the benefits of automation in the blood bank.

PubMed

Han, Tae Hee; Kim, Moon Jung; Kim, Shinyoung; Kim, Hyun Ok; Lee, Mi Ae; Choi, Ji Seon; Hur, Mina; St John, Andrew

2013-05-01

Failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) is a risk management tool used by the manufacturing industry but now being applied in laboratories. Teams from six South Korean blood banks used this tool to map their manual and automated blood grouping processes and determine the risk priority numbers (RPNs) as a total measure of error risk. The RPNs determined by each of the teams consistently showed that the use of automation dramatically reduced the RPN compared to manual processes. In addition, FMEA showed where the major risks occur in each of the manual processes and where attention should be prioritized to improve the process. Despite no previous experience with FMEA, the teams found the technique relatively easy to use and the subjectivity associated with assigning risk numbers did not affect the validity of the data. FMEA should become a routine technique for improving processes in laboratories. © 2012 American Association of Blood Banks.

Manual and automatic flight control during severe turbulence penetration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnston, D. E.; Klein, R. H.; Hoh, R. H.

1976-01-01

An analytical and experimental investigation of possible contributing factors in jet aircraft turbulence upsets was conducted. Major contributing factors identified included autopilot and display deficiencies, the large aircraft inertia and associated long response time, and excessive pilot workload. An integrated flight and thrust energy management director system was synthesized. The system was incorporated in a moving-base simulation and evaluated using highly experienced airline pilots. The evaluation included comparison of pilot workload and flight performance during severe turbulence penetration utilizing four control/display concepts: manual control with conventional full panel display, conventional autopilot (A/P-A) with conventional full panel display, improved autopilot (A/P-B) with conventional full panel display plus thrust director display, and longitudinal flight director with conventional full panel display plus thrust director display. Simulation results show improved performance, reduced pilot workload, and a pilot preference for the autopilot system controlling to the flight director command and manual control of thrust following the trim thrust director.

Manual for monitoring the quality of nursing home care records.

PubMed

Barbosa, Silvia Freitas; Tronchin, Daisy Maria Rizatto

2015-01-01

to build and validate an instrument aimed at monitoring the quality of nursing records in the Home Care Program (HCP) of a university hospital. methodological study involving the elaboration of a manual, whose content was later submitted to six experts for validation, reaching a ≥ 80% consensus. The data collection process was carried out in 2012 by means of a questionnaire comprised of the following issues: nursing evolution, nursing diagnosis, and nursing prescription, and standards for the nursing team recommended by the Regional Nursing Council of São Paulo and by the assessed institution. Manual items were judged according to the following variables: relevance, pertinence, clarity and simplicity. of the 39 propositions, 100% achieved ≥ 80% agreement in the relevance, pertinence and clarity variables; 92.3% in the simplicity variable. Sleep/rest, Mobility and Check-out variables did not reach a favorable minimum consensus in the prescribed activities and were improved following suggestions from the experts. we believe that the instrument will enable the improvement of the HCP's work process.

Western pond turtle: Biology, sampling techniques, inventory and monitoring, conservation, and management: Northwest Fauna No. 7

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bury, R.B.; Welsh, Hartwell H.; Germano, David J.; Ashton, Donald T.

2012-01-01

One of only two native, freshwater turtle species in the western United States, western pond turtles are declining in portions of their original range. Declines are mostly due to habitat loss, introduction of non-native species, pollution, and lack of connectivity among populations. USGS zoologist R. Bruce Bury and colleagues from the U.S. Forest Service, California State University, and other agencies compiled and edited a new review and field manual of this charismatic species. Objectives were to determine its current distribution and abundance, summarize and evaluate population features, review techniques to detect population and habitat changes, and improve monitoring for long-term trends. Methods described in the manual should improve consistency, efficiency, and accuracy of survey data, resulting in improved management and conservation efforts.

The Digital Heart Manual: A pilot study of an innovative cardiac rehabilitation programme developed for and with users.

PubMed

Deighan, C; Michalova, L; Pagliari, C; Elliott, J; Taylor, L; Ranaldi, H

2017-08-01

Patients are seeking greater choice and flexibility in how they engage with self-management programmes. While digital innovations offer opportunities to deliver supportive interventions to patients undergoing cardiac rehabilitation little is known about how accessible, useful and acceptable they are for this group. This project developed a digital version of a leading evidenced cardiac rehabilitation programme, the Heart Manual (HM). The prototype was developed and evaluated iteratively in collaboration with end users. Using a mixed methods design 28 participants provided feedback using semi-structured questionnaires and telephone interviews. Rich data revealed the perceived user-friendliness of the HM digital format and its effectiveness at communicating the programme's key messages. It flagged areas requiring development, such as more flexible and intuitive navigation pathways. These suggestions informed the refinement of the resource. This evaluation offers support for the new Digital Heart Manual and confirms the value of employing a user-centred approach when developing and improving online interventions. The system is now in use and recommendations from the evaluation are being translated into quality improvements. The Digital Heart Manual is user friendly and accessible to patients and health professionals, regardless of age, presenting a suitable alternative to the paper version. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Manual lymphatic drainage therapy in patients with breast cancer related lymphoedema.

PubMed

Martín, Marta López; Hernández, Miguel A; Avendaño, Cristina; Rodríguez, Francisco; Martínez, Helena

2011-03-09

Lymphoedema is a common and troublesome condition that develops following breast cancer treatment. The aim of this study is to analyze the effectiveness of Manual Lymphatic Drainage in the treatment of postmastectomy lymphoedema in order to reduce the volume of lymphoedema and evaluate the improvement of the concomitant symptomatology. A randomized, controlled clinical trial in 58 women with post-mastectomy lymphoedema. The control group includes 29 patients with standard treatment (skin care, exercise and compression measures, bandages for one month and, subsequently, compression garments). The experimental group includes 29 patients with standard treatment plus Manual Lymphatic Drainage. The therapy will be administered daily for four weeks and the patient's condition will be assessed one, three and six months after treatment.The primary outcome parameter is volume reduction of the affected arm after treatment, expressed as a percentage. Secondary outcome parameters include: duration of lymphoedema reduction and improvement of the concomitant symptomatology (degree of pain, sensation of swelling and functional limitation in the affected extremity, subjective feeling of being physically less attractive and less feminine, difficulty looking at oneself naked and dissatisfaction with the corporal image). The results of this study will provide information on the effectiveness of Manual Lymphatic Drainage and its impact on the quality of life and physical limitations of these patients. ClinicalTrials (NCT): NCT01152099.

Breath-hold device for laboratory rodents undergoing imaging procedures.

PubMed

Rivera, Belinda; Bushman, Mark J; Beaver, Richard G; Cody, Dianna D; Price, Roger E

2006-07-01

The increased use in noninvasive imaging of laboratory rodents has prompted innovative techniques in animal handling. Lung imaging of rodents can be a difficult task because of tissue motion caused by breathing, which affects image quality. The use of a prototype flat-panel computed tomography unit allows the acquisition of images in as little as 2, 4, or 8 s. This short acquisition time has allowed us to improve the image quality of this instrument by performing a breath-hold during image acquisition. We designed an inexpensive and safe method for performing a constant-pressure breath-hold in intubated rodents. Initially a prototypic manual 3-way valve system, consisting of a 3-way valve, an air pressure regulator, and a manometer, was used to manually toggle between the ventilator and the constant-pressure breath-hold equipment. The success of the manual 3-way valve system prompted the design of an electronically actuated valve system. In the electronic system, the manual 3-way valve was replaced with a custom designed 3-way valve operated by an electrical solenoid. The electrical solenoid is triggered by using a hand-held push button or a foot pedal that is several feet away from the gantry of the scanner. This system has provided improved image quality and is safe for the animals, easy to use, and reliable.

Accuracy and time requirements of a bar-code inventory system for medical supplies.

PubMed

Hanson, L B; Weinswig, M H; De Muth, J E

1988-02-01

The effects of implementing a bar-code system for issuing medical supplies to nursing units at a university teaching hospital were evaluated. Data on the time required to issue medical supplies to three nursing units at a 480-bed, tertiary-care teaching hospital were collected (1) before the bar-code system was implemented (i.e., when the manual system was in use), (2) one month after implementation, and (3) four months after implementation. At the same times, the accuracy of the central supply perpetual inventory was monitored using 15 selected items. One-way analysis of variance tests were done to determine any significant differences between the bar-code and manual systems. Using the bar-code system took longer than using the manual system because of a significant difference in the time required for order entry into the computer. Multiple-use requirements of the central supply computer system made entering bar-code data a much slower process. There was, however, a significant improvement in the accuracy of the perpetual inventory. Using the bar-code system for issuing medical supplies to the nursing units takes longer than using the manual system. However, the accuracy of the perpetual inventory was significantly improved with the implementation of the bar-code system.

A comparison of computer-assisted and manual wound size measurement.

PubMed

Thawer, Habiba A; Houghton, Pamela E; Woodbury, M Gail; Keast, David; Campbell, Karen

2002-10-01

Accurate and precise wound measurements are a critical component of every wound assessment. To examine the reliability and validity of a new computerized technique for measuring human and animal wounds, chronic human wounds (N = 45) and surgical animal wounds (N = 38) were assessed using manual and computerized techniques. Using intraclass correlation coefficients, intrarater and interrater reliability of surface area measurements obtained using the computerized technique were compared to those obtained using acetate tracings and planimetry. A single measurement of surface area using either technique produced excellent intrarater and interrater reliability for both human and animal wounds, but the computerized technique was more precise than the manual technique for measuring the surface area of animal wounds. For both types of wounds and measurement techniques, intrarater and interrater reliability improved when the average of three repeated measurements was obtained. The precision of each technique with human wounds and the precision of the manual technique with animal wounds also improved when three repeated measurement results were averaged. Concurrent validity between the two techniques was excellent for human wounds but poor for the smaller animal wounds, regardless of whether single or the average of three repeated surface area measurements was used. The computerized technique permits reliable and valid assessment of the surface area of both human and animal wounds.

Sharing knowledge of Planetary Datasets through the Web-Based PRoGIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giordano, M. G.; Morley, J. M.; Muller, J. P. M.; Barnes, R. B.; Tao, Y. T.

2015-10-01

The large amount of raw and derived data available from various planetary surface missions (e.g. Mars and Moon in our case) has been integrated withco-registered and geocoded orbital image data to provide rover traverses and camera site locations in universal global co-ordinates [1]. This then allows an integrated GIS to use these geocoded products for scientific applications: we aim to create a web interface, PRoGIS, with minimal controls focusing on the usability and visualisation of the data, to allow planetary geologists to share annotated surface observations. These observations in a common context are shared between different tools and software (PRoGIS, Pro3D, 3D point cloud viewer). Our aim is to use only Open Source components that integrate Open Web Services for planetary data to make available an universal platform with a WebGIS interface, as well as a 3D point cloud and a Panorama viewer to explore derived data. On top of these tools we are building capabilities to make and share annotations amongst users. We use Python and Django for the server-side framework and Open Layers 3 for the WebGIS client. For good performance previewing 3D data (point clouds, pictures on the surface and panoramas) we employ ThreeJS, a WebGL Javascript library. Additionally, user and group controls allow scientists to store and share their observations. PRoGIS not only displays data but also launches sophisticated 3D vision reprocessing (PRoVIP) and an immersive 3D analysis environment (PRo3D).

An unsupervised classification method for inferring original case locations from low-resolution disease maps.

PubMed

Brownstein, John S; Cassa, Christopher A; Kohane, Isaac S; Mandl, Kenneth D

2006-12-08

Widespread availability of geographic information systems software has facilitated the use of disease mapping in academia, government and private sector. Maps that display the address of affected patients are often exchanged in public forums, and published in peer-reviewed journal articles. As previously reported, a search of figure legends in five major medical journals found 19 articles from 1994-2004 that identify over 19,000 patient addresses. In this report, a method is presented to evaluate whether patient privacy is being breached in the publication of low-resolution disease maps. To demonstrate the effect, a hypothetical low-resolution map of geocoded patient addresses was created and the accuracy with which patient addresses can be resolved is described. Through georeferencing and unsupervised classification of the original image, the method precisely re-identified 26% (144/550) of the patient addresses from a presentation quality map and 79% (432/550) from a publication quality map. For the presentation quality map, 99.8% of the addresses were within 70 meters (approximately one city block length) of the predicted patient location, 51.6% of addresses were identified within five buildings, 70.7% within ten buildings and 93% within twenty buildings. For the publication quality map, all addresses were within 14 meters and 11 buildings of the predicted patient location. This study demonstrates that lowering the resolution of a map displaying geocoded patient addresses does not sufficiently protect patient addresses from re-identification. Guidelines to protect patient privacy, including those of medical journals, should reflect policies that ensure privacy protection when spatial data are displayed or published.

Measuring women's cumulative neighborhood deprivation exposure using longitudinally linked vital records: a method for life course MCH research.

PubMed

Kramer, Michael R; Dunlop, Anne L; Hogue, Carol J R

2014-02-01

A life course conceptual framework for MCH research demands new tools for understanding population health and measuring exposures. We propose a method for measuring population-based socio-environmental trajectories for women of reproductive age. We merged maternal longitudinally-linked births to Georgia-resident women from 1994 to 2007 with census economic and social measures using residential geocodes to create woman-centered socio-environmental trajectories. We calculated a woman's neighborhood deprivation index (NDI) at the time of each of her births and, from these, we calculated a cumulative NDI. We fit Loess curves to describe average life course NDI trajectories and binomial regression models to test specific life course theory hypotheses relating cumulative NDI to risk for preterm birth. Of the 1,815,944 total live births, we linked 1,000,437 live births to 413,048 unique women with two or more births. Record linkage had high specificity but relatively low sensitivity which appears non-differential with respect to maternal characteristics. Georgia women on average experienced upward mobility across the life course, although differences by race, early life neighborhood quality, and age at first birth produced differences in cumulative NDI. Adjusted binomial models found evidence for modification of the effect of history of prior preterm birth and advancing age on risk for preterm birth by cumulative NDI. The creation of trajectories from geocoded maternal longitudinally-linked vital records is one method to carry out life course MCH research. We discuss approaches for investigating the impact of truncation of the life course, selection bias from migration, and misclassification of cumulative exposure.

Residential Proximity to Heavy-Traffic Roads, Benzene Exposure, and Childhood Leukemia-The GEOCAP Study, 2002-2007.

PubMed

Houot, Jennifer; Marquant, Fabienne; Goujon, Stéphanie; Faure, Laure; Honoré, Cécile; Roth, Marie-Hélène; Hémon, Denis; Clavel, Jacqueline

2015-10-15

Childhood leukemia may be associated with traffic-related environmental exposure to benzene, and additional data are needed. The Géolocalisation des Cancers Pédiatriques (GEOCAP) Study, a nationwide French case-control study, was designed to avoid selection bias due to differential participation and misclassification. The study compared the 2,760 childhood leukemia cases diagnosed in France between 2002 and 2007 (including 2,275 cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 418 cases of acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML)) with 30,000 contemporaneous child population controls. The residence addresses were precisely geocoded, and 3 indicators of residential proximity to traffic were considered. Estimates of benzene concentrations were also available for the Île-de-France region (including Paris). A 300-m increase in major road length within 150 m of the geocoded address was significantly associated with AML (odds ratio = 1.2, 95% confidence interval: 1.0, 1.4) but not with ALL (odds ratio = 1.0, 95% confidence interval: 0.9, 1.1), and the association was reinforced in the Île-de-France region when this indicator was combined with benzene estimates. These results, which were free from any participation bias and based on objectively determined indices of exposure, showed an increased incidence of AML associated with heavy-traffic road density near a child's home. The results support a role for traffic-related benzene exposure in the etiology of childhood AML. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

State of laboratory manual instruction in California community college introductory (non-majors) biology laboratory instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Priest, Michelle

College students must complete a life science course prior to graduation for a bachelor's degree. Generally, the course has lecture and laboratory components. It is in the laboratory where there are exceptional opportunities for exploration, challenge and application of the material learned. Optimally, this would utilize the best of inquiry based approaches. Most community colleges are using a home-grown or self written laboratory manual for the direction of work in the laboratory period. Little was known about the motivation, development and adaptation of use. It was also not known about the future of the laboratory manuals in light of the recent learning reform in California Community Colleges, Student Learning Outcomes. Extensive interviews were conducted with laboratory manual authors to determine the motivation, process of development, who was involved and learning framework used in the creation of the manuals. It was further asked of manual authors their ideas about the future of the manual, the development of staff and faculty and finally, the role Student Learning Outcomes would play in the manual. Science faculty currently teaching the non-majors biology laboratories for at least two semesters were surveyed on-line about actual practice of the manual, assessment, manual flexibility, faculty training and incorporation of Student Learning Outcomes. Finally, an evaluation of the laboratory manual was done using an established Laboratory Task Analysis Instrument. Laboratory manuals were evaluated on a variety of categories to determine the level of inquiry instruction done by students in the laboratory section. The results were that the development of homegrown laboratory manuals was done by community colleges in the Los Angeles and Orange Counties in an effort to minimize the cost of the manual to the students, to utilize all the exercises in a particular lab and to effectively utilize the materials already owned by the department. Further, schools wanted to utilize the current faculty research expertise and knowledge. Unfortunately, laboratory manual authors had no real learning framework in the development of the manual. Based on the LAI, most manuals focused on the lowest levels of inquiry based instruction. Most manuals focused exercises on cell and molecular topics. The manuals had little student exploration, creation or design in the laboratory exercise and no option for repeating the exercise. There was a clear desire of faculty and authors to improve the laboratory experience and manual. Authors and faculty wished to include more inquiry and utilize the best of Student Learning Outcome (SLO) methodologies. Authors and the laboratory manuals have a major disconnect in that authors have clear desires inquiry based learning for the manual but do not effectively implement the inquiry based learning for various reasons. The manuals themselves, laboratory manuals themselves are not robust inquiry based learning models to maximize student learning. Authors and faculty are disconnected in that authors know what they want their manuals to do...but do not effectively communicate that to faculty. Finally, schools are in a "wait and see" approach as to when to integrate the latest learning theory mandated by the Chancellors Office -- Student Learning Outcomes.

Exercise, education, manual-therapy and taping compared to education for patellofemoral osteoarthritis: a blinded, randomised clinical trial.

PubMed

Crossley, K M; Vicenzino, B; Lentzos, J; Schache, A G; Pandy, M G; Ozturk, H; Hinman, R S

2015-09-01

Patellofemoral joint osteoarthritis (PFJ OA) contributes considerably to knee OA symptoms. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of a PFJ-targeted exercise, education manual-therapy and taping program compared to OA education alone, in participants with PFJ OA. A randomised, participant-blinded and assessor-blinded clinical trial was conducted in primary-care physiotherapy. 92 people aged ≥40 years with symptomatic and radiographic PFJ OA participated. Physiotherapists delivered the PFJ-targeted exercise, education, manual-therapy and taping program, or the OA-education (control condition) in eight sessions over 12 weeks. Primary outcomes at 3-month (primary) and 9-month follow-up: (1) patient-perceived global rating of change (2) pain visual analogue scale (VAS) (100 mm); and (3) activities of daily living (ADL) subscale of the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). 81 people (88%) completed the 3-month follow-up and data analysed on an intention-to-treat basis. Between-group baseline similarity for participant characteristics was observed. The exercise, education, manual-therapy and taping program resulted in more people reporting much improvement (20/44) than the OA-education group (5/48) (number needed to treat 3 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2 to 5)) and greater pain reduction (mean difference: -15.2 mm, 95% CI -27.0 to -3.4). No significant effects on ADL were observed (5.8; 95% CI -0.6 to 12.1). At 9 months there were no significant effects for self-report of improvement, pain (-10.5 mm, 95% CI -22.7 to 1.8) or ADL (3.0, 95% CI -3.7 to 9.7). Exercise, education, manual-therapy and taping can be recommended to improve short-term patient rating of change and pain severity. However over 9-months, both options were equivalent. Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12608000288325): https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=82878. Copyright © 2015 Osteoarthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The disconnect between evidence and practice: a systematic review of person-centred interventions and training manuals for care home staff working with people with dementia.

PubMed

Fossey, Jane; Masson, Sarah; Stafford, Jane; Lawrence, Vanessa; Corbett, Anne; Ballard, Clive

2014-08-01

The overall objective is to determine the availability of person-centred intervention and training manuals for dementia care staff with clinical trial evidence of efficacy. Interventions were identified using a search of electronic databases, augmented by mainstream search engines, reference lists, hand searching for resources and consultation with an expert panel. The specific search for published manuals was complemented by a search for randomised control trials focussing on training and activity-based interventions for people with dementia in care homes. Manuals were screened for eligibility and rated to assess their quality, relevance and feasibility. A meta-analysis of randomised control trials indicated that person-centred training interventions conferred significant benefit in improving agitation and reducing the use of antipsychotics. Each of the efficacious packages included a sustained period of joint working and supervision with a trained mental health professional in addition to an educational element. However, of the 170 manuals that were identified, 30 met the quality criteria and only four had been evaluated in clinical trials. Despite the availability of a small number of evidence-based training manuals, there is a widespread use of person-centred intervention and training manuals that are not evidence-based. Clearer guidance is needed to ensure that commissioned training and interventions are based on robust evidence. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Quantifying the effects of on-the-fly changes of seating configuration on the stability of a manual wheelchair.

PubMed

Thomas, Louise; Borisoff, Jaimie; Sparrey, Carolyn J

2017-07-01

In general, manual wheelchairs are designed with a fixed frame, which is not optimal for every situation. Adjustable on the fly seating allow users to rapidly adapt their wheelchair configuration to suit different tasks. These changes move the center of gravity (CoG) of the system, altering the wheelchair stability and maneuverability. To assess these changes, a computer simulation of a manual wheelchair was created with adjustable seat, backrest, rear axle position and user position, and validated with experimental testing. The stability of the wheelchair was most affected by the position of the rear axle, but adjustments to the backrest and seat angles also result in stability improvements that could be used when wheeling in the community. These findings describe the most influential parameters for wheelchair stability and maneuverability, as well as provide quantitative guidelines for the use of manual wheelchairs with on the fly adjustable seats.

Federal Transit Administration's noise and vibration Guidance Manual: Updates after 10 years of experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanson, Carl E.

2005-09-01

In April 1995, the Federal Transit Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation issued its guidance manual, ``Transit Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment.'' The manual was written to provide direction for the preparation of noise and vibration sections of environmental documents for public transportation projects in the interest of promoting quality and uniformity in assessments. In the 10 years since its release, the guidance manual has been used as the basis of noise and vibration assessments in over 80 environmental documents and has been used worldwide as a standard method for performing transit noise analyses. An updated version has recently been prepared that takes account of improvements in tools, changes in the environmental assessment procedures, modifications of impact criteria, and experience with mitigation measures. These factors, and other background information, will be discussed to provide insight regarding the revisions in the new edition.

Nonsurgically treated carpal tunnel syndrome in the manual worker.

PubMed

Monsivais, J J; Bucher, P A; Monsivais, D B

1994-10-01

This study evaluates the course of carpal tunnel syndrome in a group of manual laborers who declined surgery for personal or social reasons. Thirty-five patients and 67 extremities with carpal tunnel syndrome were evaluated in a group of manual laborers. The carpal tunnel syndrome was classified as mild, moderate, or severe on the basis of initial evaluation data. Sensory batteries, motor and sensory conduction velocities, and electrical studies were performed on a scheduled basis. Follow-up ranged between 14 and 58 months, with an average of 34.3 months. Three patients became worse and one improved during the study period. All others remained unchanged. Six patients returned to work, but only three returned to their original jobs. Although carpal tunnel syndrome does not appear to be a progressive condition once the triggering cause is removed, nonsurgical treatment does not seem to be the treatment of choice for patients who must continue in a manual labor position.

Evaluation of three automatic oxygen therapy control algorithms on ventilated low birth weight neonates.

PubMed

Morozoff, Edmund P; Smyth, John A

2009-01-01

Neonates with under developed lungs often require oxygen therapy. During the course of oxygen therapy, elevated levels of blood oxygenation, hyperoxemia, must be avoided or the risk of chronic lung disease or retinal damage is increased. Low levels of blood oxygen, hypoxemia, may lead to permanent brain tissue damage and, in some cases, mortality. A closed loop controller that automatically administers oxygen therapy using 3 algorithms - state machine, adaptive model, and proportional integral derivative (PID) - is applied to 7 ventilated low birth weight neonates and compared to manual oxygen therapy. All 3 automatic control algorithms demonstrated their ability to improve manual oxygen therapy by increasing periods of normoxemia and reducing the need for manual FiO(2) adjustments. Of the three control algorithms, the adaptive model showed the best performance with 0.25 manual adjustments per hour and 73% time spent within target +/- 3% SpO(2).

An automatic alignment tool to improve repeatability of left ventricular function and dyssynchrony parameters in serial gated myocardial perfusion SPECT studies

PubMed Central

Zhou, Yanli; Faber, Tracy L.; Patel, Zenic; Folks, Russell D.; Cheung, Alice A.; Garcia, Ernest V.; Soman, Prem; Li, Dianfu; Cao, Kejiang; Chen, Ji

2013-01-01

Objective Left ventricular (LV) function and dyssynchrony parameters measured from serial gated single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) using blinded processing had a poorer repeatability than when manual side-by-side processing was used. The objective of this study was to validate whether an automatic alignment tool can reduce the variability of LV function and dyssynchrony parameters in serial gated SPECT MPI. Methods Thirty patients who had undergone serial gated SPECT MPI were prospectively enrolled in this study. Thirty minutes after the first acquisition, each patient was repositioned and a gated SPECT MPI image was reacquired. The two data sets were first processed blinded from each other by the same technologist in different weeks. These processed data were then realigned by the automatic tool, and manual side-by-side processing was carried out. All processing methods used standard iterative reconstruction and Butterworth filtering. The Emory Cardiac Toolbox was used to measure the LV function and dyssynchrony parameters. Results The automatic tool failed in one patient, who had a large, severe scar in the inferobasal wall. In the remaining 29 patients, the repeatability of the LV function and dyssynchrony parameters after automatic alignment was significantly improved from blinded processing and was comparable to manual side-by-side processing. Conclusion The automatic alignment tool can be an alternative method to manual side-by-side processing to improve the repeatability of LV function and dyssynchrony measurements by serial gated SPECT MPI. PMID:23211996

Meal services after the Great East Japan Earthquake at nursery schools in a tsunami-affected town: focus group observations.

PubMed

Amitani, Yukiko; Sudo, Noriko; Tsuboyama-Kasaoka, Nobuyo; Ishikawa, Fumiko; Sako, Kazuko

2017-03-01

This study aimed to collect information on experiences in the Great East Japan Earthquake (hereafter, 3.11), current preparedness, and barriers to building up stockpiles in nursery schools in affected areas. Based on the needs heard from the staff, we decided what contents should be included in our manual developed with the Japan Dietetic Association. A group interview was held in September 2012. We interviewed a principal, nurses, and registered dietitians working for a public and a private nursery school in Town A. We also invited an administrative dietitian who was an employee of Town A. One of the barriers to building up stockpiles was that they did not have any idea of what and how many items they should store. To deal with this situation, we developed a formula that could be used to calculate the quantity of stockpiles for their facilities in a newly developed feeding manual. In terms of current preparedness, the registered dietitians were not prepared for alternative menus in emergencies or how to manage garbage when the garbage collection was disrupted by disasters. The manual recommends to obtain the services of at least two food service personnel and spare space for storing filled garbage bags until garbage collection resumes. Some improvements in stocks were found in both of the public and private nursery schools. To improve the situation further, more financial support and detailed guidelines should be provided by the local government and authoritative organizations. Our manual should be a great asset for all nursery schools to improve their stockpiles.

Physical therapy treatment effectiveness for osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomized comparison of supervised clinical exercise and manual therapy procedures versus a home exercise program.

PubMed

Deyle, Gail D; Allison, Stephen C; Matekel, Robert L; Ryder, Michael G; Stang, John M; Gohdes, David D; Hutton, Jeremy P; Henderson, Nancy E; Garber, Matthew B

2005-12-01

Manual therapy and exercise have not previously been compared with a home exercise program for patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. The purpose of this study was to compare outcomes between a home-based physical therapy program and a clinically based physical therapy program. One hundred thirty-four subjects with OA of the knee were randomly assigned to a clinic treatment group (n=66; 61% female, 39% male; mean age [+/-SD]=64+/-10 years) or a home exercise group (n=68, 71% female, 29% male; mean age [+/-SD]=62+/-9 years). Subjects in the clinic treatment group received supervised exercise, individualized manual therapy, and a home exercise program over a 4-week period. Subjects in the home exercise group received the same home exercise program initially, reinforced at a clinic visit 2 weeks later. Measured outcomes were the distance walked in 6 minutes and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). Both groups showed clinically and statistically significant improvements in 6-minute walk distances and WOMAC scores at 4 weeks; improvements were still evident in both groups at 8 weeks. By 4 weeks, WOMAC scores had improved by 52% in the clinic treatment group and by 26% in the home exercise group. Average 6-minute walk distances had improved about 10% in both groups. At 1 year, both groups were substantially and about equally improved over baseline measurements. Subjects in the clinic treatment group were less likely to be taking medications for their arthritis and were more satisfied with the overall outcome of their rehabilitative treatment compared with subjects in the home exercise group. Although both groups improved by 1 month, subjects in the clinic treatment group achieved about twice as much improvement in WOMAC scores than subjects who performed similar unsupervised exercises at home. Equivalent maintenance of improvements at 1 year was presumably due to both groups continuing the identical home exercise program. The results indicate that a home exercise program for patients with OA of the knee provides important benefit. Adding a small number of additional clinical visits for the application of manual therapy and supervised exercise adds greater symptomatic relief.

Stabilized display of coronary x-ray image sequences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Close, Robert A.; Whiting, James S.; Da, Xiaolin; Eigler, Neal L.

2004-05-01

Display stabilization is a technique by which a feature of interest in a cine image sequence is tracked and then shifted to remain approximately stationary on the display device. Prior simulations indicate that display stabilization with high playback rates ( 30 f/s) can significantly improve detectability of low-contrast features in coronary angiograms. Display stabilization may also help to improve the accuracy of intra-coronary device placement. We validated our automated tracking algorithm by comparing the inter-frame difference (jitter) between manual and automated tracking of 150 coronary x-ray image sequences acquired on a digital cardiovascular X-ray imaging system with CsI/a-Si flat panel detector. We find that the median (50%) inter-frame jitter between manual and automatic tracking is 1.41 pixels or less, indicating a jump no further than an adjacent pixel. This small jitter implies that automated tracking and manual tracking should yield similar improvements in the performance of most visual tasks. We hypothesize that cardiologists would perceive a benefit in viewing the stabilized display as an addition to the standard playback of cine recordings. A benefit of display stabilization was identified in 87 of 101 sequences (86%). The most common tasks cited were evaluation of stenosis and determination of stent and balloon positions. We conclude that display stabilization offers perceptible improvements in the performance of visual tasks by cardiologists.

Evaluation of Veterinary Student Surgical Skills Preparation for Ovariohysterectomy Using Simulators: A Pilot Study.

PubMed

Read, Emma K; Vallevand, Andrea; Farrell, Robin M

2016-01-01

This paper describes the development and evaluation of training intended to enhance students' performance on their first live-animal ovariohysterectomy (OVH). Cognitive task analysis informed a seven-page lab manual, 30-minute video, and 46-item OVH checklist (categorized into nine surgery components and three phases of surgery). We compared two spay simulator models (higher-fidelity silicone versus lower-fidelity cloth and foam). Third-year veterinary students were randomly assigned to a training intervention: lab manual and video only; lab manual, video, and $675 silicone-based model; lab manual, video, and $64 cloth and foam model. We then assessed transfer of training to a live-animal OVH. Chi-square analyses determined statistically significant differences between the interventions on four of nine surgery components, all three phases of surgery, and overall score. Odds ratio analyses indicated that training with a spay model improved the odds of attaining an excellent or good rating on 25 of 46 checklist items, six of nine surgery components, all three phases of surgery, and the overall score. Odds ratio analyses comparing the spay models indicated an advantage for the $675 silicon-based model on only 6 of 46 checklist items, three of nine surgery components, and one phase of surgery. Training with a spay model improved performance when compared to training with a manual and video only. Results suggested that training with a lower-fidelity/cost model might be as effective when compared to a higher-fidelity/cost model. Further research is required to investigate simulator fidelity and costs on transfer of training to the operational environment.

Use of adenosine triphosphate to audit reprocessing of flexible endoscopes with an elevator mechanism.

PubMed

Quan, Erik; Mahmood, Rizwan; Naik, Amar; Sargon, Peter; Shastri, Nikhil; Venu, Mukund; Parada, Jorge P; Gupta, Neil

2018-05-21

There have been reported outbreaks of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae infections linked to endoscopes with elevator mechanisms. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) testing has been used as a marker for bioburden and monitoring manual cleaning for flexible endoscopes with and without an elevator mechanism. The objective of this study was to determine whether routine ATP testing could identify areas of improvement in cleaning of endoscopes with an elevator mechanism. ATP testing after manual cleaning of TJF-Q180V duodenoscopes and GF-UCT180 linear echoendoscopes (Olympus America Inc, Center Valley, PA) was implemented. Samples were tested from the distal end, the elevator mechanism, and water flushed through the lumen of the biopsy channel. Data were recorded and compared by time point, test point, and reprocessing technician. Overall failure rate was 6.99% (295 out of 4,219). The highest percentage of failed ATP tests (17.05%) was reported in the first quarter of routine testing, with an overall decrease in rates over time. The elevator mechanism and working channel lumen had higher failure rates than the distal end. Quality of manual cleaning between reprocessing technicians showed variation. ATP testing is effective in identifying residual organic material and improving quality of manual cleaning of endoscopes with an elevator mechanism. Cleaning efficacy is influenced by reprocessing technicians and location tested on the endoscope. Close attention to the working channel and elevator mechanism during manual cleaning is warranted. Copyright © 2018 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Microbleed Detection Using Automated Segmentation (MIDAS): A New Method Applicable to Standard Clinical MR Images

PubMed Central

Seghier, Mohamed L.; Kolanko, Magdalena A.; Leff, Alexander P.; Jäger, Hans R.; Gregoire, Simone M.; Werring, David J.

2011-01-01

Background Cerebral microbleeds, visible on gradient-recalled echo (GRE) T2* MRI, have generated increasing interest as an imaging marker of small vessel diseases, with relevance for intracerebral bleeding risk or brain dysfunction. Methodology/Principal Findings Manual rating methods have limited reliability and are time-consuming. We developed a new method for microbleed detection using automated segmentation (MIDAS) and compared it with a validated visual rating system. In thirty consecutive stroke service patients, standard GRE T2* images were acquired and manually rated for microbleeds by a trained observer. After spatially normalizing each patient's GRE T2* images into a standard stereotaxic space, the automated microbleed detection algorithm (MIDAS) identified cerebral microbleeds by explicitly incorporating an “extra” tissue class for abnormal voxels within a unified segmentation-normalization model. The agreement between manual and automated methods was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Kappa statistic. We found that MIDAS had generally moderate to good agreement with the manual reference method for the presence of lobar microbleeds (Kappa = 0.43, improved to 0.65 after manual exclusion of obvious artefacts). Agreement for the number of microbleeds was very good for lobar regions: (ICC = 0.71, improved to ICC = 0.87). MIDAS successfully detected all patients with multiple (≥2) lobar microbleeds. Conclusions/Significance MIDAS can identify microbleeds on standard MR datasets, and with an additional rapid editing step shows good agreement with a validated visual rating system. MIDAS may be useful in screening for multiple lobar microbleeds. PMID:21448456

Improving Hospital Reporting of Patient Race and Ethnicity--Approaches to Data Auditing.

PubMed

Zingmond, David S; Parikh, Punam; Louie, Rachel; Lichtensztajn, Daphne Y; Ponce, Ninez; Hasnain-Wynia, Romana; Gomez, Scarlett Lin

2015-08-01

To investigate new metrics to improve the reporting of patient race and ethnicity (R/E) by hospitals. California Patient Discharge Database (PDD) and birth registry, 2008-2009, Healthcare and Cost Utilization Project's State Inpatient Database, 2008-2011, cancer registry 2000-2008, and 2010 US Census Summary File 2. We examined agreement between hospital reported R/E versus self-report among mothers delivering babies and a cancer cohort in California. Metrics were created to measure root mean squared differences (RMSD) by hospital between reported R/E distribution and R/E estimates using R/E distribution within each patient's zip code of residence. RMSD comparisons were made to corresponding "gold standard" facility-level measures within the maternal cohort for California and six comparison states. Maternal birth hospitalization (linked to the state birth registry) and cancer cohort records linked to preceding and subsequent hospitalizations. Hospital discharges were linked to the corresponding Census zip code tabulation area using patient zip code. Overall agreement between the PDD and the gold standard for the maternal cohort was 86 percent for the combined R/E measure and 71 percent for race alone. The RMSD measure is modestly correlated with the summary level gold standard measure for R/E (r = 0.44). The RMSD metric revealed general improvement in data agreement and completeness across states. "Other" and "unknown" categories were inconsistently applied within inpatient databases. Comparison between reported R/E and R/E estimates using zip code level data may be a reasonable first approach to evaluate and track hospital R/E reporting. Further work should focus on using more granular geocoded data for estimates and tracking data to improve hospital collection of R/E data. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

The ability of a sustained within-session finding of pain reduction during traction to dictate improved outcomes from a manual therapy approach on patients with osteoarthritis of the hip.

PubMed

Wright, Alexis A; Abbott, J Haxby; Baxter, Dave; Cook, Chad

2010-09-01

THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY WERE TO: (1) determine the association of a within-session finding after traction of the hip with self-report of well-being, pain, and self-report of function at 9 weeks; and (2) to determine if the interactions between the within-session finding and the outcome measure are different between groups of patients with hip OA who receive and who do not receive manual therapy. Data were retrospectively analysed in 70 subjects who were part of a randomized control trial. Correlation analyses of within-session findings from the initial visit after traction of a concordantly painful hip were compared to self-report measures for function, pain, and well-being at 9 weeks. A comparison of slope coefficients between manual therapy and non-manual therapy groups was performed to determine the interactive aspects of the within-session finding. Although the correlations for the manual therapy group were higher than for the supervised neglect group, none of the correlational analyses for both groups was strong or significant. Significant differences in the slope coefficients for well-being and pain were found, suggesting that the interactions between the within-session findings and the targeted outcomes were different in the manual therapy group versus supervised neglect group. These findings suggest that within-session findings during the initial evaluation are not strongly related to a positive outcome after manual therapy, although the interaction of the finding of a within-session change and the use of manual therapy is more compelling than the finding in a sample of patients who did not receive manual therapy.

Numerical Arc Segmentation Algorithm for a Radio Conference (NASARC), version 4.0: User's manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whyte, Wayne A., Jr.; Heyward, Ann O.; Ponchak, Denise S.; Spence, Rodney L.; Zuzek, John E.

1988-01-01

The information in the NASARC (Version 4.0) Technical Manual (NASA-TM-101453) and NASARC (Version 4.0) User's Manual (NASA-TM-101454) relates to the state of Numerical Arc Segmentation Algorithm for a Radio Conference (NASARC) software development through November 1, 1988. The Technical Manual describes the NASARC concept and the algorithms used to implement the concept. The User's Manual provides information on computer system considerations, installation instructions, description of input files, and program operation instructions. Significant revisions were incorporated in the Version 4.0 software over prior versions. These revisions have further enhanced the modeling capabilities of the NASARC procedure and provide improved arrangements of predetermined arcs within the geostationary orbit. Array dimensions within the software were structured to fit within the currently available 12-megabyte memory capacity of the International Frequency Registration Board (IFRB) computer facility. A piecewise approach to predetermined arc generation in NASARC (Version 4.) allows worldwide planning problem scenarios to be accommodated within computer run time and memory constraints with enhanced likelihood and ease of solution.

Teaching Engineering Students Team Work

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levi, Daniel

1998-01-01

The purpose of this manual is to provide professor's in engineering classes which the background necessary to use student team projects effectively. This manual describes some of the characteristics of student teams and how to use them in class. It provides a set of class activities and films which can be used to introduce and support student teams. Finally, a set of teaching modules used in freshmen, sophomore, and senior aeronautical engineering classes are presented. This manual was developed as part of a NASA sponsored project to improve the undergraduate education of aeronautical engineers. The project has helped to purchase a set of team work films which can be checked out from Cal Poly's Learning Resources Center in the Kennedy Library. Research for this project has included literature reviews on team work and cooperative learning; interviews, observations, and surveys of Cal Poly students from Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering and Psychology; participation in the Aeronautical Engineering senior design lab; and interviews with engineering faculty. In addition to this faculty manual, there is a student team work manual which has been designed to help engineering students work better in teams.

Reliability and Maintainability Model (RAM): User and Maintenance Manual. Part 2; Improved Supportability Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ebeling, Charles E.

1996-01-01

This report documents the procedures for utilizing and maintaining the Reliability & Maintainability Model (RAM) developed by the University of Dayton for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center (LaRC). The purpose of the grant is to provide support to NASA in establishing operational and support parameters and costs of proposed space systems. As part of this research objective, the model described here was developed. This Manual updates and supersedes the 1995 RAM User and Maintenance Manual. Changes and enhancements from the 1995 version of the model are primarily a result of the addition of more recent aircraft and shuttle R&M data.

Automatic documentation system extension to multi-manufacturers' computers and to measure, improve, and predict software reliability. Appendix A and B

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simmons, D. B.

1975-01-01

A manual which explains how to use the DOMONIC command language is presented. The manual consists of the following sections: 1. Introduction 2. What You Must Know to Use DOMONIC 3. Functions of DOMONIC 4. Entering and Manipulating Data 5. Templates and Data Definitions 6. Recipes and Document Generation 7. Initiating A Project and 8. Entering and Changing Security Controls. The first four sections must be known by all DOMONIC users. Sections five, seven and eight describe functions normally used only by project management. Section six tells how to generate documents. The manual specifies what commands to use in performing each of the functions mentioned above.

Evaluation of a self-instructional manual for conducting discrete-trials teaching with children with autism.

PubMed

Thiessen, Carly; Fazzio, Daniela; Arnal, Lindsay; Martin, Garry L; Yu, C T; Keilback, Lukas

2009-05-01

Discrete-trials teaching (DTT) is commonly used to implement applied behavior analysis treatment for children with autism. The authors investigated a revised self-instructional manual for teaching university students to implement a 21-component DTT procedure to teach three tasks to confederates role-playing children with autism. Also, as a motivational contingency, for each DTT session in which a student scored at or above 90% accuracy, they received US$10. After an average of 4.5 hr to master the training manual, students' average DTT performance improved from 52% in baseline to 88% while teaching a confederate. Students averaged 77% DTT performance during subsequent generalization sessions with a child with autism.

Surgical manual of the Korean Gynecologic Oncology Group: ovarian, tubal, and peritoneal cancers.

PubMed

Jeon, Seob; Lee, Sung Jong; Lim, Myong Cheol; Song, Taejong; Bae, Jaeman; Kim, Kidong; Lee, Jung Yun; Kim, Sang Wun; Chang, Suk Joon; Lee, Jong Min

2017-01-01

The Surgery Treatment Modality Committee of the Korean Gynecologic Oncology Group has determined to develop a surgical manual to facilitate clinical trials and to improve communication between investigators by standardizing and precisely describing operating procedures. The literature on anatomic terminology, identification of surgical components, and surgical techniques were reviewed and discussed in depth to develop a surgical manual for gynecologic oncology. The surgical procedures provided here represent the minimum requirements for participating in a clinical trial. These procedures should be described in the operation record form, and the pathologic findings obtained from the procedures should be recorded in the pathologic report form. Here, we describe surgical procedure for ovarian, fallopian tubal, and peritoneal cancers.

Career Oriented Mathematics, Teacher's Manual. [Includes Mastering Computational Skill: A Use-Based Program; Owning an Automobile and Driving as a Career; Retail Sales; Measurement; and Area-Perimeter.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahaffey, Michael L.; McKillip, William D.

This manual is designed for teachers using the Career Oriented Mathematics units on owning an automobile and driving as a career, retail sales, measurement, and area-perimeter. The volume begins with a discussion of the philosophy and scheduling of the program which is designed to improve students' attitudes and ability in computation by…

Career Oriented Mathematics, Student's Manual. [Includes Scale; Apprenticeship: Learning to be a Cement Mason; Textiles; Being Self-Employed: Harvesting and Sale of Pulpwood; and Lumber Yard Employee.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahaffey, Michael L.; McKillip, William D.

This volume includes student manuals for five units in the Career Oriented Mathematics Program, which was developed to improve mathematical abilities and attitudes of secondary students by presenting the material in a job-relevant context. The units are titled: (1) Scale, (2) Apprenticeship: Learning to be a Cement Mason, (3) Textiles, (4) Being…

Kids First. Leadership Guide for School Reform. Facilitator's Manual, Participant's Resource Materials, and Los Ninos Primero: Guia de Liderazgo para la Reforma Escolar. Materiales de Recurso para Participantes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chicago School Reform Training Task Force, IL.

This document combines a facilitator's manual designed to train candidates for Local School Councils (LSCs) and others who want to improve Chicago (Illinois) schools with fact sheets, worksheets, checklists, and case studies (in English and Spanish) to be used by participants in the leadership training program. The following goals are outlined in…

Users' manual for computer program for three-dimensional analysis of coupler-cavity traveling wave tubes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Omalley, T. A.

1984-01-01

The use of the coupled cavity traveling wave tube for space communications has led to an increased interest in improving the efficiency of the basic interaction process in these devices through velocity resynchronization and other methods. A flexible, three dimensional, axially symmetric, large signal computer program was developed for use on the IBM 370 time sharing system. A users' manual for this program is included.

Manual therapy in the management of a patient with a symptomatic Morton's Neuroma: A case report.

PubMed

Sault, Josiah D; Morris, Matthew V; Jayaseelan, Dhinu J; Emerson-Kavchak, Alicia J

2016-02-01

Patients with Morton's neuroma are rarely referred to physical therapy. This case reports the resolution of pain, increase in local pressure pain thresholds, and improvement of scores on the Lower Extremity Functional Scale and Foot and Ankle Ability Measure following a course of joint based manual therapy for a patient who had failed standard conservative medical treatment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A comparison of the efficacy of powered and manual toothbrushes in controlling plaque and gingivitis: a clinical study

PubMed Central

Jain, Yashika

2013-01-01

Background Plaque is intimately related to the production and progress of dental caries and inflammatory gingival and periodontal diseases. Good plaque control facilitates the return to health for patients with gingival and periodontal diseases. Daily use of a toothbrush and other oral hygiene aids is the most dependable way to achieve oral health benefits for all patients. Methods A randomized clinical trial was conducted to compare the efficacy of a powered toothbrush with a manual toothbrush in controlling plaque and gingivitis over a 6-week period. The sample consisted of 60 dental students of both sexes, with ages ranging from 18 to 28 years. The samples were stratified and randomly divided into two groups of 30 by a second examiner using the coin toss method; one group used a manual toothbrush and the other group used a powered toothbrush. Each participant’s gingival index, plaque index and oral hygiene index were assessed on the seventh, 14th, and 45th days on the basis of the assigned toothbrush. Collected data were analyzed and different subgroups were compared using Student’s t-test. Results A paired t-test revealed a highly significant reduction in the gingival, plaque, and oral hygiene index scores of the manual and powered groups at the first, second, and sixth weeks (P-value < 0.0001). An unpaired t-test revealed a significant reduction between the plaque index scores of the manual and powered groups at the second week (P-value < 0.05). Another unpaired t-test revealed a highly significant reduction between the plaque index scores of the manual and powered groups at the sixth week (P-value < 0.0001). Conclusion The subject group using the powered toothbrush demonstrated clinical and statistical improvement in overall plaque scores. Powered toothbrushes offer an individual the ability to brush the teeth in a way that is optimal in terms of removing plaque and improving gingival health, conferring good brushing technique on all who use them, irrespective of manual dexterity or training. PMID:23674927

Therapist tips for the brief behavioural activation therapy for depression - revised (BATD-R) treatment manual practical wisdom and clinical nuance

PubMed Central

CASSAR, Joanne; ROSS, Joanne; DAHNE, Jennifer; EWER, Philippa; TEESSON, Maree; HOPKO, Derek; LEJUEZ, Carl W.

2018-01-01

Objective This article aims to provide supportive guidance for clinicians using the brief behavioral activation treatment for depression - revised (BATD-R) manual. Expanding upon key points less explicitly addressed in the treatment manual, the goal is to convey practical wisdom and clinical nuance beyond that available in the manual, thereby enhancing therapist comfort with the approach and improving treatment delivery. Methods In preparation for a randomised control trial of behavioural activation treatment for depression among substance users (the Activate Study), Professor Carl Lejuez, an author on the manual, provided training to our research team. This occurred over four days in May 2013 at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre in Sydney, Australia and involved in-depth discussion about treatment delivery, often addressing important issues implied but not addressed in-depth in the manual. Reflections were discussed throughout training and subsequently collated into key themes. Results Intricacies associated with treatment delivery were identified. Seven key themes emerged, covering: provision of the treatment rationale; therapeutic alliance and self-disclosure; behaviour monitoring; values; angles and steps; contracts; and drawing from other therapeutic approaches. A detailed discussion of how to approach these themes in treatment forms the basis of this article. Conclusions The current article seeks to guide therapists and provide a supplement to the BATD-R manual that will enhance the flexibility and accessibility for therapists utilising this treatment. The suggestions made are useful for straightforward cases of depression and more complicated comorbid presentations, serving as a useful complement for therapists using the manual. PMID:29720886

Sport stacking activities in school children's motor skill development.

PubMed

Li, Yuhua; Coleman, Diane; Ransdell, Mary; Coleman, Lyndsie; Irwin, Carol

2011-10-01

This study examined the impact of a 12-wk. sport stacking intervention on reaction time (RT), manual dexterity, and hand-eye coordination in elementary school-aged children. 80 Grade 2 students participated in a 15-min. sport stacking practice session every school day for 12 wk., and were tested on psychomotor performance improvement. Tests for choice RT, manual dexterity, and photoelectric rotary pursuit tracking were conducted pre- and post-intervention for both experimental group (n = 36) and the controls (n = 44) who did no sport stacking. Students who had the intervention showed a greater improvement in two-choice RT. No other group difference was found. Such sport stacking activities may facilitate children's central processing and perceptual-motor integration.

Researchermap: a tool for visualizing author locations using Google maps.

PubMed

Rastegar-Mojarad, Majid; Bales, Michael E; Yu, Hong

2013-01-01

We hereby present ResearcherMap, a tool to visualize locations of authors of scholarly papers. In response to a query, the system returns a map of author locations. To develop the system we first populated a database of author locations, geocoding institution locations for all available institutional affiliation data in our database. The database includes all authors of Medline papers from 1990 to 2012. We conducted a formative heuristic usability evaluation of the system and measured the system's accuracy and performance. The accuracy of finding the accurate address is 97.5% in our system.

Lessons Learned From the Environmental Public Health Tracking Sub-County Data Pilot Project.

PubMed

Werner, Angela K; Strosnider, Heather; Kassinger, Craig; Shin, Mikyong

2017-12-07

Small area data are key to better understanding the complex relationships between environmental health, health outcomes, and risk factors at a local level. In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program (Tracking Program) conducted the Sub-County Data Pilot Project with grantees to consider integration of sub-county data into the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (Tracking Network). The Tracking Program and grantees developed sub-county-level data for several data sets during this pilot project, working to standardize processes for submitting data and creating required geographies. Grantees documented challenges they encountered during the pilot project and documented decisions. This article covers the challenges revealed during the project. It includes insights into geocoding, aggregation, population estimates, and data stability and provides recommendations for moving forward. National standards for generating, analyzing, and sharing sub-county data should be established to build a system of sub-county data that allow for comparison of outcomes, geographies, and time. Increasing the availability and accessibility of small area data will not only enhance the Tracking Network's capabilities but also contribute to an improved understanding of environmental health and informed decision making at a local level.

Hyperspectral Technique for Detecting Soil Parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garfagnoli, F.; Ciampalini, A.; Moretti, S.; Chiarantini, L.

2011-12-01

In satellite and airborne remote sensing, hyperspectral technique has become a very powerful tool, due to the possibility of rapidly realizing chemical/mineralogical maps of the studied areas. Many studies are trying to customize the algorithms to identify several geo-physical soil properties. The specific objective of this study is to investigate those soil characteristics, such as clay mineral content, influencing degradation processes (soil erosion and shallow landslides), by means of correlation analysis, in order to examine the possibility of predicting the selected property using high-resolution reflectance spectra and images. The study area is located in the Mugello basin, about 30 km north of Firenze (Tuscany, Italy). Agriculturally suitable terrains are assigned mainly to annual crops, marginally to olive groves, vineyards and orchards. Soils mostly belong to Regosols and Cambisols orders. An ASD FieldSpec spectroradiometer was used to obtain reflectance spectra from about 80 dried, crushed and sieved samples under controlled laboratory conditions. Samples were collected simultaneously with the flight of SIM.GA hyperspectral camera from Selex Galileo, over an area of about 5 km2 and their positions were recorded with a differential GPS. The quantitative determination of clay minerals content was performed by means of XRD and Rietveld refinement. Different chemometric techniques were preliminarily tested to correlate mineralogical records with reflectance data. A one component partial least squares regression model yielded a preliminary R2 value of 0.65. A slightly better result was achieved by plotting the absorption peak depth at 2210 versus total clay content (band-depth analysis). The complete SIM.GA hyperspectral geocoded row dataset, with an approximate pixel resolution of 0.6 m (VNIR) and 1.2 m (SWIR), was firstly transformed into at sensor radiance values, by applying calibration coefficients and parameters from laboratory measurements to non-georeferred VNIR/SWIR DN values. Then, airborne imagery needed to be corrected for the influence of the atmosphere, solar illumination, sensor viewing geometry and terrain geometry information, for the retrieval of inherent surface reflectance properties. The geocoded products were obtained for each flight line by using a procedure developed in IDL Language and PARGE (PARametric Geocoding) software. When all compensation parameters were applied to hyperspectral data or to the final thematic map, orthorectified, georeferred and coregistered VNIR to SWIR images or maps were available for GIS application and 3D view as well as for the retrieval of different geophysical parameters by means of inversion algorithms. The experimental fitting of laboratory data on mineral content is used for airborne data inversion, whose results are in agreement with laboratory records, demonstrating the possibility to use this methodology for digital mapping of soil properties. In this study, we established a complete procedure for mapping clay content areal variations in agricultural soils starting form airborne hyperspectral imagery.

Hyperspectral Data Processing and Mapping of Soil Parameters: Preliminary Data from Tuscany (Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garfagnoli, F.; Moretti, S.; Catani, F.; Innocenti, L.; Chiarantini, L.

2010-12-01

Hyperspectral imaging has become a very powerful remote sensing tool for its capability of performing chemical and physical analysis of the observed areas. The objective of this study is to retrieve and characterize clay mineral content of the cultivated layer of soils, from both airborne hyperspectral and field spectrometry surveys in the 400-2500 nm spectral range. Correlation analysis is used to examine the possibility to predict the selected property using high-resolution reflectance spectra and images. The study area is located in the Mugello basin, about 30 km north of Firenze (Tuscany, Italy). Agriculturally suitable terrains are assigned mainly to annual crops, marginally to olive groves, vineyards and orchards. Soils mostly belong to Regosols and Cambisols orders. About 80 topsoil samples scattered all over the area were collected simultaneously with the flight of SIM.GA hyperspectral camera from Selex Galileo. The quantitative determination of clay minerals content in soil samples was performed by means of XRD and Rietveld refinement. An ASD FieldSpec spectroradiometer was used to obtain reflectance spectra from dried, crushed and sieved samples under controlled laboratory conditions. Different chemometric techniques (multiple linear regression, vertex component analysis, partial least squares regression and band depth analysis) were preliminarily tested to correlate mineralogical records with reflectance data. A one component partial least squares regression model yielded a preliminary R2 value of 0.65. A similar result was achieved by plotting the absorption peak depth at 2210 versus total clay mineral content (band-depth analysis). A complete hyperspectral geocoded reflectance dataset was collected using SIM.GA hyperspectral image sensor from Selex-Galileo, mounted on board of the University of Firenze ultra light aircraft. The approximate pixel resolution was 0.6 m (VNIR) and 1.2 m (SWIR). Airborne SIM.GA row data were firstly transformed into at-sensor radiance values, where calibration coefficients and parameters from laboratory measurements are applied to non-georeferred VNIR/SWIR DN values. Then, geocoded products are retrieved for each flight line by using a procedure developed in IDL Language and PARGE (PARametric Geocoding) software. When all compensation parameters are applied to hyperspectral data or to the final thematic map, orthorectified, georeferred and coregistered VNIR to SWIR images or maps are available for GIS application and 3D view. Airborne imagery has to be corrected for the influence of the atmosphere, solar illumination, sensor viewing geometry and terrain geometry information, for the retrieval of inherent surface reflectance properties. Then, different geophysical parameters can be investigated and retrieved by means of inversion algorithms. The experimental fitting of laboratory data on mineral content is used for airborne data inversion, whose results are in agreement with laboratory records, demonstrating the possibility to use this methodology for digital mapping of soil properties.

AEL Continuous School Improvement Questionnaire. User Manual and Technical Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meehan, Merrill L.; Cowley, Kimberly S.; Craig, James R.; Balow, Nancy; Childers, Robert D.

The Continuous School Improvement Questionnaire (CSIQ) developed by the AEL helps a school staff gauge its performance on six dimensions related to continuous school improvement. Each member of the staff responds to the CSIQ individually. Although results might be used at the district or regional level, the most widely intended unit for applying…

Measure of School Capacity for Improvement (MSCI). User Manual and Technical Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hughes, Georgia K.; Copley, Lisa D.; Howley, Caitlin W.; Meehan, Merrill L.

2005-01-01

Building capacity within schools and districts for continuous improvement is a goal of educators at all levels across the United States of America. An important first step in capacity building is identifying schools' current strengths and weaknesses. Schools can then begin building upon existing strengths to implement improvement initiatives.…

Dosimetric benefits of automation in the treatment of lower thoracic esophageal cancer: Is manual planning still an alternative option?

PubMed

Li, Xiadong; Wang, Lu; Wang, Jiahao; Han, Xu; Xia, Bing; Wu, Shixiu; Hu, Weigang

2017-01-01

This study aimed to design automated volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans in Pinnacle auto-planning and compare it with manual plans for patients with lower thoracic esophageal cancer (EC). Thirty patients with lower thoracic EC were randomly selected for replanning VMAT plans using auto-planning in Pinnacle treatment planning system (TPS) version 9.10. Historical plans of these patients were then compared. Dose-volume histogram (DVH) statistics, dose uniformity, and dose homogeneity were analyzed to evaluate treatment plans. Auto-planning was superior in terms of conformity index (CI) and homogeneity index (HI) for planning target volume (PTV), significantly improving 8.2% (p = 0.013) and 25% (p = 0.007) compared with manual planning, respectively, and decreasing dose of heart and liver irradiated by 20 to 40 Gy and 5 to 30 Gy, respectively (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, auto-planning further reduced the maximum dose (D max ) of spinal cord by 6.9 Gy compared with manual planning (p = 0.000). Additionally, manual planning showed the significantly lower low-dose volume (V 5 ) for the lung (p = 0.005). For auto-planning, the V 5 of the lung was significantly associated with the relative volume index (the volume ratio of PTV to the lung), and the correlation coefficient (R) and p-value were 0.994 and 0.000. Pinnacle auto-planning achieved superior target conformity and homogeneity and similar target coverage compared with historical manual planning. Most of organs at risk (OARs) sparing was significantly improved by auto-planning except for the V 5 of the lung, and the low dose distribution was highly associated with PTV volume and lung volume in auto-planning. Copyright © 2017 American Association of Medical Dosimetrists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

SU-F-T-359: Incorporating Dose Volume Histogram Prediction Into Auto-Planning for Volumetric-Modulated Arc Therapy in Rectal Cancer

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

Li, K; Chen, X; Wang, J

Purpose: To incorporate dose volume histogram (DVH) prediction into Auto-Planning for volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) treatment planning and investigate the benefit of this new technique for rectal cancer. Methods: Ninety clinically accepted VMAT plans for patients with rectal cancer were selected and trained in the RapidPlan for DVH prediction. Both internal and external validations were performed before implementing the prediction model. A new VMAT planning method (hybrid-VMAT) was created with combining the DVH prediction and Auto-Planning. For each new patient, the DVH will be predicted and individual DVH constrains will be obtained and were exported as the original optimization parametersmore » to the Auto-Planning (Pinnacle3 treatment planning system, v9.10) for planning. A total of 20 rectal cancer patients previously treated with manual VMAT (manual-VMAT) plans were replanned using this new method. Dosimetric comparisons were performed between manual VMAT and new method plans. Results: Hybrid-VMAT shows similar PTV coverage to manual-VMAT in D2%, D98% and HI (p>0.05) and superior coverage in CI (p=0.000). For the bladder, the means of V40 and mean dose are 36.0% and 35.6Gy for hybrid-VMAT and 42% and 38.0Gy for the manual-VMAT. For the left (right) femur, the means of V30 and mean dose are 10.6% (11.6%) and 17.9Gy (19.2Gy) for the hybrid-VMAT and 25.6% (24.1%) and 27.3Gy (26.2Gy) for the manual-VMAT. The hybrid-VMAT has significantly improved the organs at risk sparing. Conclusion: The integration of DVH prediction and Auto-Planning significantly improve the VMAT plan quality in the rectal cancer radiotherapy. Our results show the benefit of the new method and will be further investigated in other tumor sites.« less

Treating Small Bowel Obstruction with a Manual Physical Therapy: A Prospective Efficacy Study

PubMed Central

Rice, Amanda D.; Patterson, Kimberley; Reed, Evette D.; Wurn, Belinda F.; Klingenberg, Bernhard; King, C. Richard; Wurn, Lawrence J.

2016-01-01

Small bowel obstructions (SBOs) caused by adhesions are a common, often life-threatening postsurgical complication with few treatment options available for patients. This study examines the efficacy of a manual physical therapy treatment regimen on the pain and quality of life of subjects with a history of bowel obstructions due to adhesions in a prospective, controlled survey based study. Changes in six domains of quality of life were measured via ratings reported before and after treatment using the validated Small Bowel Obstruction Questionnaire (SBO-Q). Improvements in the domains for pain (p = 0.0087), overall quality of life (p = 0.0016), and pain severity (p = 0.0006) were significant when average scores before treatment were compared with scores after treatment. The gastrointestinal symptoms (p = 0.0258) domain was marginally significant. There was no statistically significant improvement identified in the diet or medication domains in the SBO-Q for this population. Significant improvements in range of motion in the trunk (p ≤ 0.001), often limited by adhesions, were also observed for all measures. This study demonstrates in a small number of subjects that this manual physical therapy protocol is an effective treatment option for patients with adhesive small bowel obstructions as measured by subject reported symptoms and quality of life. PMID:26989690

[Development of an automated processing method to detect coronary motion for coronary magnetic resonance angiography].

PubMed

Asou, Hiroya; Imada, N; Sato, T

2010-06-20

On coronary MR angiography (CMRA), cardiac motions worsen the image quality. To improve the image quality, detection of cardiac especially for individual coronary motion is very important. Usually, scan delay and duration were determined manually by the operator. We developed a new evaluation method to calculate static time of individual coronary artery. At first, coronary cine MRI was taken at the level of about 3 cm below the aortic valve (80 images/R-R). Chronological change of the signals were evaluated with Fourier transformation of each pixel of the images were done. Noise reduction with subtraction process and extraction process were done. To extract higher motion such as coronary arteries, morphological filter process and labeling process were added. Using these imaging processes, individual coronary motion was extracted and individual coronary static time was calculated automatically. We compared the images with ordinary manual method and new automated method in 10 healthy volunteers. Coronary static times were calculated with our method. Calculated coronary static time was shorter than that of ordinary manual method. And scan time became about 10% longer than that of ordinary method. Image qualities were improved in our method. Our automated detection method for coronary static time with chronological Fourier transformation has a potential to improve the image quality of CMRA and easy processing.

Utah Work-Based Learning Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Utah State Office of Education, Salt Lake City.

This document presents materials to assist Utah school personnel who are initiating, implementing, or improving work-based learning opportunities for students. The document presents detailed guidelines for creating and maintaining work-based learning systems in schools and resource materials for improving existing work-based opportunities. Formal…

Development of an improved overlay procedure for Oregon : volume III, field manual.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1987-12-01

This report is the third in a three-volume series dealing with the development of an improved overlay design procedure for Oregon. This report presents technical guidelines for using the proposed overlay design procedure. Four areas are described, in...

COURSE AND CURRICULUM IMPROVEMENT PROFECTS--MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, ENGINEERING.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

FONTAINE, THOMAS D.

ELEMENTARY, SECONDARY, AND COLLEGE LEVEL SCIENCE COURSE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS ARE DESCRIBED. INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS ARE CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO INSTITUTIONAL LEVEL AND ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE. MANY OF THE PROJECTS REPRESENT COMPLETE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AND INCLUDE SUCH MATERIALS AS STUDENT TEXTBOOKS, LABORATORY MANUALS, SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS, TEACHER…

Efficacy of manual therapy in the treatment of tension-type headache. A systematic review from 2000-2013.

PubMed

Lozano López, C; Mesa Jiménez, J; de la Hoz Aizpurúa, J L; Pareja Grande, J; Fernández de Las Peñas, C

2016-01-01

To study the efficacy of manual therapy in the treatment of tension-type headache (TTH) by assessing the quality of randomized control trials (RCTs) published from the year 2000 to April 2013. A search was performed in the following databases: MEDLINE, EBSCO, CINAHL, SCOPUS, PEDRO and OVID. An analysis was made of RCT including patients with TTH receiving any manual therapy, and assessing outcome measures including the intensity, and frequency or duration of the headache. Two independent referees reviewed the methodological quality of RCTs using the Jadad scale. Data from the studies were extracted by two different reviewers. A total of fourteen RCTs were selected. Twelve studies showed acceptable quality (Jadad scale ≥3), and the remaining 2 had low quality (Jadad=2). The studies showed positive results, including reduction in headache intensity and/or frequency, reduction of medication consumption, and improvement in quality of life. The effectiveness of manual therapy for TTH cannot be completely assessed due to the heterogeneity in study design, outcome measures, and different treatments. Nevertheless, the results suggest patients with TTH receiving manual therapies showed better progress than those receiving conventional treatment or placebo. Further studies of high quality using manual therapy protocols, and also including standardized outcome measures, are now needed to clarify the efficacy of manual therapy in the management of TTH. Copyright © 2013 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

I need to know! Timely accessing of perioperative user manuals.

PubMed

Landreneau, Raphael

2010-12-01

Ready access to equipment or product information is essential for the safe operation of the many items that a perioperative nurse is asked to use, troubleshoot, or maintain. One institution's solution for making manufacturer information available in the practice setting was to create a facility intranet site dedicated to OR equipment manuals. This site provides information access to perioperative nurses and support staff members and, ultimately, helps improve patient care. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Users' manual for computer program for one-dimensional analysis of coupled-cavity traveling wave tubes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Omalley, T. A.; Connolly, D. J.

1977-01-01

The use of the coupled cavity traveling wave tube for space communications has led to an increased interest in improving the efficiency of the basic interaction process in these devices through velocity resynchronization and other methods. To analyze these methods, a flexible, large signal computer program for use on the IBM 360/67 time-sharing system has been developed. The present report is a users' manual for this program.

Partnering for Quality under the Workforce Investment Act: A Tool Kit for One-Stop System Building. Module 5: Building a Process for Continuous Improvement. Training Manual with Participant Workbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kogan, Deborah; Koller, Vinz; Kozumplik, Richalene; Lawrence, Mary Ann

This document is part of a five-module training package to help employment and training service providers comply with the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 and develop a one-stop training and employment services system. It consists of the participant workbook, trainer manual, and activity worksheets for a module on building a process for…

Validation of a fibula graft cutting guide for mandibular reconstruction: experiment with rapid prototyping mandible model.

PubMed

Lim, Se-Ho; Kim, Yeon-Ho; Kim, Moon-Key; Nam, Woong; Kang, Sang-Hoon

2016-12-01

We examined whether cutting a fibula graft with a surgical guide template, prepared with computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM), would improve the precision and accuracy of mandibular reconstruction. Thirty mandibular rapid prototype (RP) models were allocated to experimental (N = 15) and control (N = 15) groups. Thirty identical fibular RP models were assigned randomly, 15 to each group. For reference, we prepared a reconstructed mandibular RP model with a three-dimensional printer, based on surgical simulation. In the experimental group, a stereolithography (STL) surgical guide template, based on simulation, was used for cutting the fibula graft. In the control group, the fibula graft was cut manually, with reference to the reconstructed RP mandible model. The mandibular reconstructions were compared to the surgical simulation, and errors were calculated for both the STL surgical guide and the manual methods. The average differences in three-dimensional, minimum distances between the reconstruction and simulation were 9.87 ± 6.32 mm (mean ± SD) for the STL surgical guide method and 14.76 ± 10.34 mm (mean ± SD) for the manual method. The STL surgical guide method incurred less error than the manual method in mandibular reconstruction. A fibula cutting guide improved the precision of reconstructing the mandible with a fibula graft.

The impact of a good practice manual on professional practice associated with psychotropic PRN in acute mental health wards: an exploratory study.

PubMed

Baker, J A; Lovell, K; Harris, N

2008-10-01

As required or pro re nata (PRN) psychotropic medicines are frequently used in acute mental health wards. PRN is known to contribute to polypharmacy and high doses of antipsychotic medication. Few studies have attempted to improve clinician's use of these potentially harmful drugs. The objectives of the study were to determine the impact and acceptability of a good practice manual on prescribing and administration practices of PRN psychotropic medication in acute mental health wards. The study used a pre-post exploratory design with two acute mental health wards in the NW of England. Over the total trial period of 10 weeks, 28 of 35 patients received 484 doses of PRN. Patients had a mean of 3.6 prescriptions of 14 different PRN medications in 34 different dose combinations prescribed. Medication errors beyond poor quality of prescribing occurred in 23 of the 35 patients (65.7%). Prescription quality improved following the introduction of the intervention but quality of nursing notes reduced. Acceptability of the manual to both nursing and medical staff was high. The introduction of the manual appeared to influence some of the practices associated with the prescribing and administration of PRN psychotropic medications. Further, larger, more robust studies are required in this area. In particular research is required to identify the reasons why professionals continue to rely so heavily on using PRN medication.

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

Bogunovic, Hrvoje; Pozo, Jose Maria; Villa-Uriol, Maria Cruz

Purpose: To evaluate the suitability of an improved version of an automatic segmentation method based on geodesic active regions (GAR) for segmenting cerebral vasculature with aneurysms from 3D x-ray reconstruction angiography (3DRA) and time of flight magnetic resonance angiography (TOF-MRA) images available in the clinical routine. Methods: Three aspects of the GAR method have been improved: execution time, robustness to variability in imaging protocols, and robustness to variability in image spatial resolutions. The improved GAR was retrospectively evaluated on images from patients containing intracranial aneurysms in the area of the Circle of Willis and imaged with two modalities: 3DRA andmore » TOF-MRA. Images were obtained from two clinical centers, each using different imaging equipment. Evaluation included qualitative and quantitative analyses of the segmentation results on 20 images from 10 patients. The gold standard was built from 660 cross-sections (33 per image) of vessels and aneurysms, manually measured by interventional neuroradiologists. GAR has also been compared to an interactive segmentation method: isointensity surface extraction (ISE). In addition, since patients had been imaged with the two modalities, we performed an intermodality agreement analysis with respect to both the manual measurements and each of the two segmentation methods. Results: Both GAR and ISE differed from the gold standard within acceptable limits compared to the imaging resolution. GAR (ISE) had an average accuracy of 0.20 (0.24) mm for 3DRA and 0.27 (0.30) mm for TOF-MRA, and had a repeatability of 0.05 (0.20) mm. Compared to ISE, GAR had a lower qualitative error in the vessel region and a lower quantitative error in the aneurysm region. The repeatability of GAR was superior to manual measurements and ISE. The intermodality agreement was similar between GAR and the manual measurements. Conclusions: The improved GAR method outperformed ISE qualitatively as well as quantitatively and is suitable for segmenting 3DRA and TOF-MRA images from clinical routine.« less

Heavily Oiled Salt Marsh following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Ecological Comparisons of Shoreline Cleanup Treatments and Recovery

PubMed Central

Zengel, Scott; Bernik, Brittany M.; Rutherford, Nicolle; Nixon, Zachary; Michel, Jacqueline

2015-01-01

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill affected hundreds of kilometers of coastal wetland shorelines, including salt marshes with persistent heavy oiling that required intensive shoreline “cleanup” treatment. Oiled marsh treatment involves a delicate balance among: removing oil, speeding the degradation of remaining oil, protecting wildlife, fostering habitat recovery, and not causing further ecological damage with treatment. To examine the effectiveness and ecological effects of treatment during the emergency response, oiling characteristics and ecological parameters were compared over two years among heavily oiled test plots subject to: manual treatment, mechanical treatment, natural recovery (no treatment, oiled control), as well as adjacent reference conditions. An additional experiment compared areas with and without vegetation planting following treatment. Negative effects of persistent heavy oiling on marsh vegetation, intertidal invertebrates, and shoreline erosion were observed. In areas without treatment, oiling conditions and negative effects for most marsh parameters did not considerably improve over two years. Both manual and mechanical treatment were effective at improving oiling conditions and vegetation characteristics, beginning the recovery process, though recovery was not complete by two years. Mechanical treatment had additional negative effects of mixing oil into the marsh soils and further accelerating erosion. Manual treatment appeared to strike the right balance between improving oiling and habitat conditions while not causing additional detrimental effects. However, even with these improvements, marsh periwinkle snails showed minimal signs of recovery through two years, suggesting that some ecosystem components may lag vegetation recovery. Planting following treatment quickened vegetation recovery and reduced shoreline erosion. Faced with comparable marsh oiling in the future, we would recommend manual treatment followed by planting. We caution against the use of intensive treatment methods with lesser marsh oiling. Oiled controls (no treatment “set-asides”) are essential for judging marsh treatment effectiveness and ecological effects; we recommend their use when applying intensive treatment methods. PMID:26200349

Experimental assessment of oral hygiene achieved by children wearing rapid palatal expanders, comparing manual and electric toothbrushes.

PubMed

Mazzoleni, S; Bonaldo, G; Pontarolo, E; Zuccon, A; De Francesco, M; Stellini, E

2014-08-01

The aim was to compare the efficacy of the electric versus the manual toothbrush in terms of the oral hygiene achieved by patients wearing rapid palatal expanders (RPEs). Forty patients were randomly divided into two groups; one equipped with a manual toothbrush (Group A), the other with an electric toothbrush (Group B). Each child's plaque index (PI) and gingival index (GI) were calculated at banded molar level at times T0 (before banding), T1 (a month later), T2 (3 months later) and T3 (when the expander was removed). At each appointment, the PI and GI were recorded and the patient was remotivated. The level of oral hygiene achieved by the group using an electric toothbrush produced a greater improvement in the two indexes than in the group using the manual toothbrush that showed no statistically significant improvement (PI T0-T3: P = 0.309; GI T0-T3: P = 0.141). Both indexes dropped considerably in both groups from T0 to T2, but more so in the group B. From T2 to T3, although the electric toothbrush continued to be substantially more effective, Group B showed a statistically significant deterioration in the oral hygiene (PI +20%; GI +33%). Other assessments conducted on particular areas of the tooth showed improvements in the PI (-33%) for the vestibular region, and for the GI (-57%) in the palatal region among the patients in Group B, while there were no significant changes in these indexes in Group A. Our findings show that the electric toothbrush is statistically more efficient in performing an adequate level of oral hygiene in children wearing RPE. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A randomized controlled trial of the effects of muscle stretching, manual therapy and steroid injections in addition to 'stay active' care on health-related quality of life in acute or subacute low back pain.

PubMed

Grunnesjö, Marie I; Bogefeldt, Johan P; Blomberg, Stefan I E; Strender, Lars-Erik; Svärdsudd, Kurt F

2011-11-01

To evaluate the health-related quality of life effects of muscle stretching, manual therapy and steroid injections in addition to 'stay active' care in acute or subacute low back pain patients. A randomized, controlled trial during 10 weeks with four treatment groups. Nine primary health care and one outpatient orthopaedic hospital department. One hundred and sixty patients with acute or subacute low back pain. Ten weeks of 'stay active' care only (group 1), or 'stay active' and muscle stretching (group 2), or 'stay active', muscle stretching and manual therapy (group 3), or 'stay active', muscle stretching, manual therapy and steroid injections (group 4). The Gothenburg Quality of Life instrument subscales Well-being score and Complaint score. In a multivariate analysis adjusted for possible outcome affecting variables other than the treatment given Well-being score was 68.4 (12.5), 72.1 (12.4), 72,3 (12.4) and 72.7 (12.5) in groups 1-4, respectively (P for trend <0.05). There were significant trends for the well-being components patience (P < 0.005), energy (P < 0.05), mood (P < 0.05) and family situation (P < 0.05). The remaining two components and Complaint score showed a non-significant trend towards improvement. The effects on health-related quality of life were greater the larger the number of treatment modalities available. The 'stay active' treatment group, with the most restricted number of modalities, had the most modest health-related quality of life improvement, while group 4 with the most generous choice of treatment modalities, had the greatest improvement.

Improving the quality of child anthropometry: Manual anthropometry in the Body Imaging for Nutritional Assessment Study (BINA).

PubMed

Conkle, Joel; Ramakrishnan, Usha; Flores-Ayala, Rafael; Suchdev, Parminder S; Martorell, Reynaldo

2017-01-01

Anthropometric data collected in clinics and surveys are often inaccurate and unreliable due to measurement error. The Body Imaging for Nutritional Assessment Study (BINA) evaluated the ability of 3D imaging to correctly measure stature, head circumference (HC) and arm circumference (MUAC) for children under five years of age. This paper describes the protocol for and the quality of manual anthropometric measurements in BINA, a study conducted in 2016-17 in Atlanta, USA. Quality was evaluated by examining digit preference, biological plausibility of z-scores, z-score standard deviations, and reliability. We calculated z-scores and analyzed plausibility based on the 2006 WHO Child Growth Standards (CGS). For reliability, we calculated intra- and inter-observer Technical Error of Measurement (TEM) and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). We found low digit preference; 99.6% of z-scores were biologically plausible, with z-score standard deviations ranging from 0.92 to 1.07. Total TEM was 0.40 for stature, 0.28 for HC, and 0.25 for MUAC in centimeters. ICC ranged from 0.99 to 1.00. The quality of manual measurements in BINA was high and similar to that of the anthropometric data used to develop the WHO CGS. We attributed high quality to vigorous training, motivated and competent field staff, reduction of non-measurement error through the use of technology, and reduction of measurement error through adequate monitoring and supervision. Our anthropometry measurement protocol, which builds on and improves upon the protocol used for the WHO CGS, can be used to improve anthropometric data quality. The discussion illustrates the need to standardize anthropometric data quality assessment, and we conclude that BINA can provide a valuable evaluation of 3D imaging for child anthropometry because there is comparison to gold-standard, manual measurements.

Brain tumor segmentation in MR slices using improved GrowCut algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Chunhong; Yu, Jinhua; Wang, Yuanyuan; Chen, Liang; Shi, Zhifeng; Mao, Ying

2015-12-01

The detection of brain tumor from MR images is very significant for medical diagnosis and treatment. However, the existing methods are mostly based on manual or semiautomatic segmentation which are awkward when dealing with a large amount of MR slices. In this paper, a new fully automatic method for the segmentation of brain tumors in MR slices is presented. Based on the hypothesis of the symmetric brain structure, the method improves the interactive GrowCut algorithm by further using the bounding box algorithm in the pre-processing step. More importantly, local reflectional symmetry is used to make up the deficiency of the bounding box method. After segmentation, 3D tumor image is reconstructed. We evaluate the accuracy of the proposed method on MR slices with synthetic tumors and actual clinical MR images. Result of the proposed method is compared with the actual position of simulated 3D tumor qualitatively and quantitatively. In addition, our automatic method produces equivalent performance as manual segmentation and the interactive GrowCut with manual interference while providing fully automatic segmentation.

[Effects of rice-duck mutualistic organic farming on rice quality in the Yellow River Delta, China.

PubMed

Wang, Jian Lin; Li, Jie; Cao, Yuan Yuan

2016-07-01

Three cultivation models including rice-duck mutualistic, manual weeding and conventional rice farming were designed in the Yellow River Delta area to study the effects on rice milling quality, appearance quality, cooking and eating quality, and sanitation quality. The results showed that compared to conventional rice farming, the rice-duckmutualistic treatment increased grain width and brown rice rate, milled rice rate, head rice rate and reduced the chalkiness. This was mainly due to the increase of panicle numbers and grain mass and the decrease of the inferior grains. Due to the application of organic manure, the gel consistency increased, amylose and protein contents decreased, and the rice taste improved under rice-duck mutualistic and manual weeding cultivation treatments. As no chemical fertilizers and pesticides were applied under rice-duck mutualistic and manual weeding treatments, pesticide residues were greatly reduced or even not detected. Rice duck farming could improve the quality of rice and protect the environment, which would be a good ecological technology for high quality rice production.

PNF and manual therapy treatment results of patients with cervical spine osteoarthritis.

PubMed

Maicki, Tomasz; Bilski, Jan; Szczygieł, Elżbieta; Trąbka, Rafał

2017-09-22

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of PNF and manual therapy methods in the treatment of patients with cervical spine osteoarthritis, especially their efficacy in reducing pain and improving functionality in everyday life. Long-term results were also compared in order to determine which method of treatment is more effective. Eighty randomly selected females aged 45-65 were included in the study. They were randomly divided into two groups of 40 persons. One group received PNF treatment and the other received manual therapy (MAN.T). To evaluate functional capabilities, the Functional Rating Index was used. To evaluate changes in pain, a shortened version of the McGill Questionnaire was used. The PNF group achieved a greater reduction in pain than the MAN.T group. The PNF group showed a greater improvement in performing daily activities such as sleeping, personal care, travelling, work, recreation, lifting, walking and standing as well as decreased intensity and frequency of pain compared to the MAN.T group. The PNF method proved to be more effective in both short (after two weeks) and long (after three months) term.

Clinical practice guideline development manual: a quality-driven approach for translating evidence into action.

PubMed

Rosenfeld, Richard M; Shiffman, Richard N

2009-06-01

Guidelines translate best evidence into best practice. A well-crafted guideline promotes quality by reducing health-care variations, improving diagnostic accuracy, promoting effective therapy, and discouraging ineffective-or potentially harmful-interventions. Despite a plethora of published guidelines, methodology is often poorly defined and varies greatly within and among organizations. This manual describes the principles and practices used successfully by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery to produce quality-driven, evidence-based guidelines using efficient and transparent methodology for action-ready recommendations with multidisciplinary applicability. The development process, which allows moving from conception to completion in 12 months, emphasizes a logical sequence of key action statements supported by amplifying text, evidence profiles, and recommendation grades that link action to evidence. As clinical practice guidelines become more prominent as a key metric of quality health care, organizations must develop efficient production strategies that balance rigor and pragmatism. Equally important, clinicians must become savvy in understanding what guidelines are-and are not-and how they are best utilized to improve care. The information in this manual should help clinicians and organizations achieve these goals.

Update on mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation devices.

PubMed

Rubertsson, Sten

2016-06-01

The aim of this review is to update and discuss the use of mechanical chest compression devices in treatment of cardiac arrest. Three recently published large multicenter randomized trials have not been able to show any improved outcome in adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients when compared with manual chest compressions. Mechanical chest compression devices have been developed to better deliver uninterrupted chest compressions of good quality. Prospective large randomized studies have not been able to prove a better outcome compared to manual chest compressions; however, latest guidelines support their use when high-quality manual chest compressions cannot be delivered. Mechanical chest compressions can also be preferred during transportation, in the cath-lab and as a bridge to more invasive support like extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

Surgical manual of the Korean Gynecologic Oncology Group: classification of hysterectomy and lymphadenectomy

PubMed Central

Choi, Chel Hun; Chun, Yi Kyeong

2017-01-01

The Surgery Treatment Modality Committee of the Korean Gynecologic Oncologic Group (KGOG) has determined to develop a surgical manual to facilitate clinical trials and to improve communication between investigators by standardizing and precisely describing operating procedures. The literature on anatomic terminology, identification of surgical components, and surgical techniques were reviewed and discussed in depth to develop a surgical manual for gynecologic oncology. The surgical procedures provided here represent the minimum requirements for participating in a clinical trial. These procedures should be described in the operation record form, and the pathologic findings obtained from the procedures should be recorded in the pathologic report form. Here, we focused on radical hysterectomy and lymphadenectomy, and we developed a KGOG classification for those conditions. PMID:27670259

Surgical manual of the Korean Gynecologic Oncology Group: classification of hysterectomy and lymphadenectomy.

PubMed

Lee, Maria; Choi, Chel Hun; Chun, Yi Kyeong; Kim, Yun Hwan; Lee, Kwang Beom; Lee, Shin Wha; Shim, Seung Hyuk; Song, Yong Jung; Roh, Ju Won; Chang, Suk Joon; Lee, Jong Min

2017-01-01

The Surgery Treatment Modality Committee of the Korean Gynecologic Oncologic Group (KGOG) has determined to develop a surgical manual to facilitate clinical trials and to improve communication between investigators by standardizing and precisely describing operating procedures. The literature on anatomic terminology, identification of surgical components, and surgical techniques were reviewed and discussed in depth to develop a surgical manual for gynecologic oncology. The surgical procedures provided here represent the minimum requirements for participating in a clinical trial. These procedures should be described in the operation record form, and the pathologic findings obtained from the procedures should be recorded in the pathologic report form. Here, we focused on radical hysterectomy and lymphadenectomy, and we developed a KGOG classification for those conditions.

Surgical manual of the Korean Gynecologic Oncology Group: ovarian, tubal, and peritoneal cancers

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

The Surgery Treatment Modality Committee of the Korean Gynecologic Oncology Group has determined to develop a surgical manual to facilitate clinical trials and to improve communication between investigators by standardizing and precisely describing operating procedures. The literature on anatomic terminology, identification of surgical components, and surgical techniques were reviewed and discussed in depth to develop a surgical manual for gynecologic oncology. The surgical procedures provided here represent the minimum requirements for participating in a clinical trial. These procedures should be described in the operation record form, and the pathologic findings obtained from the procedures should be recorded in the pathologic report form. Here, we describe surgical procedure for ovarian, fallopian tubal, and peritoneal cancers. PMID:27670260

A metronome for pacing manual ventilation in a neonatal resuscitation simulation.

PubMed

Cocucci, Cecilia; Madorno, Matías; Aguilar, Adriana; Acha, Leila; Szyld, Edgardo; Musante, Gabriel

2015-01-01

During manual positive pressure ventilation (PPV), delivering a recommended respiratory rate (RR) is operator dependent. We tested the efficacy of a metronome as a standardised method to improve the accuracy of delivered RR during manual PPV in a neonatal resuscitation simulation. We conducted a blinded simulation in two consecutive stages. Using a self-inflating bag, 36 CPR trained operators provided PPV to a modified neonatal manikin via an endotracheal tube. Pressure and flow signals were captured by a respiratory function monitor. In the first standard stage, participants delivered RR as they would in delivery room. Prior to the second stage, they were asked about what their target RR had been and a metronome was set to that target. Subsequently, operators repeated PPV attempting to coordinate their delivered RR with the metronome. To evaluate accuracy we generated the variable RR Gap as the absolute difference between delivered and target RR. The primary outcome was the difference in RR Gap between stages. Mean (SD) target RR was 50 (8.7) inflations/min. During the initial stage, median (IQR) RR Gap was 11.6 (4.7-18.3) inflations/min and 20/36 participants (55.5%) had a mean delivered RR beyond the recommended range. When paced by the metronome, RR Gap was reduced to 0.2 (0.1-0.4) inflations/min and 32/36 participants (89%) fell within the recommended range. The use of a metronome improved the accuracy of delivered RR during manual PPV. Novel approaches to deliver an accurate RR during manual PPV need to be tested in more realistic scenarios. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

A review of manual wheelchairs.

PubMed

Flemmer, Claire L; Flemmer, Rory C

2016-01-01

To review the scientific literature published in the last 14 years on the different types of manual wheelchairs. A systematic review of the literature was conducted to find the recent research on manual wheelchairs. The findings of 77 references on pushrim-propelled wheelchairs, crank-propelled wheelchairs, lever-propelled wheelchairs, geared manual wheelchairs and pushrim-activated power-assist wheelchairs are reported. The pushrim-propelled wheelchair is light, easy to steer and has good indoor manoeuvrability but is very inefficient and causes serious upper body overloading so that long-term use leads to steadily deteriorating capability for the user and ultimately a transition to a powered chair. Whilst the latter is less physically demanding, the sedentary lifestyle and decreasing muscle use lead to several secondary health problems. Crank- and lever-propelled wheelchairs and geared pushrim wheelchairs are more efficient and less demanding and may improve the quality of life of the user by expanding the range of accessible environments, reducing upper body pain, increasing independence and avoiding or delaying the 'debilitating cycle'. However, wheelchairs with these alternative modes of propulsion are often heavier, wider and/or longer and are less easy to steer, brake and fold than the pushrim wheelchair. Implications for rehabilitation Pushrim-propelled wheelchairs are difficult to drive on outdoor paths (grass and gravel/sand surfaces) and ramps so that users are confined to restricted environments and have limited participation in everyday activities. The repetitive strain imposed on the upper body by pushrim propulsion leads to very high prevalence of shoulder and wrist pain in manual wheelchair users. Crank-propelled and lever-propelled wheelchairs are more efficient and less straining than pushrim propelled wheelchairs, allowing users to access more challenging environments, prolong independence and improve the quality of life.

Computer-Aided Recognition of Facial Attributes for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.

PubMed

Valentine, Matthew; Bihm, Dustin C J; Wolf, Lior; Hoyme, H Eugene; May, Philip A; Buckley, David; Kalberg, Wendy; Abdul-Rahman, Omar A

2017-12-01

To compare the detection of facial attributes by computer-based facial recognition software of 2-D images against standard, manual examination in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Participants were gathered from the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Epidemiology Research database. Standard frontal and oblique photographs of children were obtained during a manual, in-person dysmorphology assessment. Images were submitted for facial analysis conducted by the facial dysmorphology novel analysis technology (an automated system), which assesses ratios of measurements between various facial landmarks to determine the presence of dysmorphic features. Manual blinded dysmorphology assessments were compared with those obtained via the computer-aided system. Areas under the curve values for individual receiver-operating characteristic curves revealed the computer-aided system (0.88 ± 0.02) to be comparable to the manual method (0.86 ± 0.03) in detecting patients with FASD. Interestingly, cases of alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND) were identified more efficiently by the computer-aided system (0.84 ± 0.07) in comparison to the manual method (0.74 ± 0.04). A facial gestalt analysis of patients with ARND also identified more generalized facial findings compared to the cardinal facial features seen in more severe forms of FASD. We found there was an increased diagnostic accuracy for ARND via our computer-aided method. As this category has been historically difficult to diagnose, we believe our experiment demonstrates that facial dysmorphology novel analysis technology can potentially improve ARND diagnosis by introducing a standardized metric for recognizing FASD-associated facial anomalies. Earlier recognition of these patients will lead to earlier intervention with improved patient outcomes. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Benefits of a clinical data warehouse with data mining tools to collect data for a radiotherapy trial

PubMed Central

Roelofs, Erik; Persoon, Lucas; Nijsten, Sebastiaan; Wiessler, Wolfgang; Dekker, André; Lambin, Philippe

2016-01-01

Introduction Collecting trial data in a medical environment is at present mostly performed manually and therefore time-consuming, prone to errors and often incomplete with the complex data considered. Faster and more accurate methods are needed to improve the data quality and to shorten data collection times where information is often scattered over multiple data sources. The purpose of this study is to investigate the possible benefit of modern data warehouse technology in the radiation oncology field. Material and methods In this study, a Computer Aided Theragnostics (CAT) data warehouse combined with automated tools for feature extraction was benchmarked against the regular manual data-collection processes. Two sets of clinical parameters were compiled for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and rectal cancer, using 27 patients per disease. Data collection times and inconsistencies were compared between the manual and the automated extraction method. Results The average time per case to collect the NSCLC data manually was 10.4 ± 2.1 min and 4.3 ± 1.1 min when using the automated method (p < 0.001). For rectal cancer, these times were 13.5 ± 4.1 and 6.8 ± 2.4 min, respectively (p < 0.001). In 3.2% of the data collected for NSCLC and 5.3% for rectal cancer, there was a discrepancy between the manual and automated method. Conclusions Aggregating multiple data sources in a data warehouse combined with tools for extraction of relevant parameters is beneficial for data collection times and offers the ability to improve data quality. The initial investments in digitizing the data are expected to be compensated due to the flexibility of the data analysis. Furthermore, successive investigations can easily select trial candidates and extract new parameters from the existing databases. PMID:23394741

Benefits of a clinical data warehouse with data mining tools to collect data for a radiotherapy trial.

PubMed

Roelofs, Erik; Persoon, Lucas; Nijsten, Sebastiaan; Wiessler, Wolfgang; Dekker, André; Lambin, Philippe

2013-07-01

Collecting trial data in a medical environment is at present mostly performed manually and therefore time-consuming, prone to errors and often incomplete with the complex data considered. Faster and more accurate methods are needed to improve the data quality and to shorten data collection times where information is often scattered over multiple data sources. The purpose of this study is to investigate the possible benefit of modern data warehouse technology in the radiation oncology field. In this study, a Computer Aided Theragnostics (CAT) data warehouse combined with automated tools for feature extraction was benchmarked against the regular manual data-collection processes. Two sets of clinical parameters were compiled for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and rectal cancer, using 27 patients per disease. Data collection times and inconsistencies were compared between the manual and the automated extraction method. The average time per case to collect the NSCLC data manually was 10.4 ± 2.1 min and 4.3 ± 1.1 min when using the automated method (p<0.001). For rectal cancer, these times were 13.5 ± 4.1 and 6.8 ± 2.4 min, respectively (p<0.001). In 3.2% of the data collected for NSCLC and 5.3% for rectal cancer, there was a discrepancy between the manual and automated method. Aggregating multiple data sources in a data warehouse combined with tools for extraction of relevant parameters is beneficial for data collection times and offers the ability to improve data quality. The initial investments in digitizing the data are expected to be compensated due to the flexibility of the data analysis. Furthermore, successive investigations can easily select trial candidates and extract new parameters from the existing databases. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Comparison of Robotically Assisted Microsurgery versus Manual Microsurgery in Challenging Situations.

PubMed

Willems, Joost I P; Shin, Alexandra M; Shin, Delaney M; Bishop, Allen T; Shin, Alexander Y

2016-04-01

Microsurgery can be challenging secondary to orientation of the vessels, accessibility, or depth of the wound. Robotically assisted microsurgery reduces tremors and improves visualization and may improve the quality of anastomosis compared with traditional microsurgery. The purpose of this study was to compare robotically assisted microsurgery to traditional microsurgery in technically challenging situations with respect to time of anastomosis, quality of anastomosis, and Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills. Two investigators with no prior surgery or microsurgery experience performed 160 anastomoses on artificial microvessels after undergoing standardized traditional and robotically assisted microsurgery courses. Five different exposure groups were created with depths of 0, 10, and 20 cm and sidewall angles of 20 and 30 degrees. A comparison of 80 manual with 80 robotically assisted microsurgery anastomoses in different exposure groups was undertaken. The modified Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills scoring system, duration per anastomosis, and a subjective comfort scale were evaluated. In the most difficult exposure, Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills scores were similar in both groups (p = 0.98), the duration was higher in the manual group (p = 0.004), and the subjective comfort rating was higher in the robotically assisted microsurgery group (p < 0.001). In the easiest (0-cm depth, flat) exposure, Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills scores were higher in the manual group (p = 0.018) and the duration was longer in the robotically assisted microsurgery group (p = 0.008). Manual surgery was superior to robotically assisted microsurgery in technically easy exposures. In difficult exposures (greater depth and lower sidewall angles), however, robotically assisted microsurgery had a shorter surgery time and a higher comfort rating, with Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills scores similar to those assessing traditional microsurgery. Therapeutic, V.

Cost effectiveness of physiotherapy, manual therapy, and general practitioner care for neck pain: economic evaluation alongside a randomised controlled trial

PubMed Central

Bos, Ingeborg B C Korthals-de; Hoving, Jan L; van Tulder, Maurits W; Mölken, Maureen P M H Rutten-van; Adèr, Herman J; de Vet, Henrica C W; Koes, Bart W; Vondeling, Hindrik; Bouter, Lex M

2003-01-01

Objective To evaluate the cost effectiveness of physiotherapy, manual therapy, and care by a general practitioner for patients with neck pain. Design Economic evaluation alongside a randomised controlled trial. Setting Primary care. Participants 183 patients with neck pain for at least two weeks recruited by 42 general practitioners and randomly allocated to manual therapy (n=60, spinal mobilisation), physiotherapy (n=59, mainly exercise), or general practitioner care (n=64, counselling, education, and drugs). Main outcome measures Clinical outcomes were perceived recovery, intensity of pain, functional disability, and quality of life. Direct and indirect costs were measured by means of cost diaries that were kept by patients for one year. Differences in mean costs between groups, cost effectiveness, and cost utility ratios were evaluated by applying non-parametric bootstrapping techniques. Results The manual therapy group showed a faster improvement than the physiotherapy group and the general practitioner care group up to 26 weeks, but differences were negligible by follow up at 52 weeks. The total costs of manual therapy (€447; £273; $402) were around one third of the costs of physiotherapy (€1297) and general practitioner care (€1379). These differences were significant: P<0.01 for manual therapy versus physiotherapy and manual therapy versus general practitioner care and P=0.55 for general practitioner care versus physiotherapy. The cost effectiveness ratios and the cost utility ratios showed that manual therapy was less costly and more effective than physiotherapy or general practitioner care. Conclusions Manual therapy (spinal mobilisation) is more effective and less costly for treating neck pain than physiotherapy or care by a general practitioner. What is already known on this topicThe cost of treating neck pain is considerableMany conservative interventions are available, such as prescription drugs, yet their cost effectiveness has not been evaluatedNo randomised trials of conservative treatment for neck pain have so far included an economic evaluationWhat this study addsManual therapy is more effective and less costly than physiotherapy or care by a general practitioner for treating neck painPatients undergoing manual therapy recovered more quickly than those undergoing the other interventions PMID:12714472

Injury surveillance in low-resource settings using Geospatial and Social Web technologies

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Extensive public health gains have benefited high-income countries in recent decades, however, citizens of low and middle-income countries (LMIC) have largely not enjoyed the same advancements. This is in part due to the fact that public health data - the foundation for public health advances - are rarely collected in many LMIC. Injury data are particularly scarce in many low-resource settings, despite the huge associated burden of morbidity and mortality. Advances in freely-accessible and easy-to-use information and communication (ICT) technology may provide the impetus for increased public health data collection in settings with limited financial and personnel resources. Methods and Results A pilot study was conducted at a hospital in Cape Town, South Africa to assess the utility and feasibility of using free (non-licensed), and easy-to-use Social Web and GeoWeb tools for injury surveillance in low-resource settings. Data entry, geocoding, data exploration, and data visualization were successfully conducted using these technologies, including Google Spreadsheet, Mapalist, BatchGeocode, and Google Earth. Conclusion This study examined the potential for Social Web and GeoWeb technologies to contribute to public health data collection and analysis in low-resource settings through an injury surveillance pilot study conducted in Cape Town, South Africa. The success of this study illustrates the great potential for these technologies to be leveraged for public health surveillance in resource-constrained environments, given their ease-of-use and low-cost, and the sharing and collaboration capabilities they afford. The possibilities and potential limitations of these technologies are discussed in relation to the study, and to the field of public health in general. PMID:20497570

Estimated Impact of Emergency Medical Service Triage of Stroke Patients on Comprehensive Stroke Centers: An Urban Population-Based Study.

PubMed

Katz, Brian S; Adeoye, Opeolu; Sucharew, Heidi; Broderick, Joseph P; McMullan, Jason; Khatri, Pooja; Widener, Michael; Alwell, Kathleen S; Moomaw, Charles J; Kissela, Brett M; Flaherty, Matthew L; Woo, Daniel; Ferioli, Simona; Mackey, Jason; Martini, Sharyl; De Los Rios la Rosa, Felipe; Kleindorfer, Dawn O

2017-08-01

The American Stroke Association recommends that Emergency Medical Service bypass acute stroke-ready hospital (ASRH)/primary stroke center (PSC) for comprehensive stroke centers (CSCs) when transporting appropriate stroke patients, if the additional travel time is ≤15 minutes. However, data on additional transport time and the effect on hospital census remain unknown. Stroke patients ≥20 years old who were transported from home to an ASRH/PSC or CSC via Emergency Medical Service in 2010 were identified in the Greater Cincinnati area population of 1.3 million. Addresses of all patients' residences and hospitals were geocoded, and estimated travel times were calculated. We estimated the mean differences between the travel time for patients taken to an ASRH/PSC and the theoretical time had they been transported directly to the region's CSC. Of 929 patients with geocoded addresses, 806 were transported via Emergency Medical Service directly to an ASRH/PSC. Mean additional travel time of direct transport to the CSC, compared with transport to an ASRH/PSC, was 7.9±6.8 minutes; 85% would have ≤15 minutes added transport time. Triage of all stroke patients to the CSC would have added 727 patients to the CSC's census in 2010. Limiting triage to the CSC to patients with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score of ≥10 within 6 hours of onset would have added 116 patients (2.2 per week) to the CSC's annual census. Emergency Medical Service triage to CSCs based on stroke severity and symptom duration may be feasible. The impact on stroke systems of care and patient outcomes remains to be determined and requires prospective evaluation. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

The Child Opportunity Index and Disparities in Pediatric Asthma Hospitalizations Across One Ohio Metropolitan Area, 2011-2013.

PubMed

Beck, Andrew F; Huang, Bin; Wheeler, Kathryn; Lawson, Nikki R; Kahn, Robert S; Riley, Carley L

2017-11-01

To determine whether the Child Opportunity Index (COI), a nationally available measure of relative educational, health/environmental, and social/economic opportunity across census tracts within metropolitan areas, is associated with population- and patient-level asthma morbidity. This population-based retrospective cohort study was conducted between 2011 and 2013 in a southwest Ohio county. Participants included all children aged 1-16 years with hospitalizations or emergency department visits for asthma or wheezing at a major pediatric hospital. Patients were identified using discharge diagnosis codes and geocoded to their home census tract. The primary population-level outcome was census tract asthma hospitalization rate. The primary patient-level outcome was rehospitalization within 12 months of the index hospitalization. Census tract opportunity was characterized using the COI and its educational, health/environmental, and social/economic domains. Across 222 in-county census tracts, there were 2539 geocoded hospitalizations. The median asthma-related hospitalization rate was 5.0 per 1000 children per year (IQR, 1.9-8.9). Median hospitalization rates in very low, low, moderate, high, and very high opportunity tracts were 9.1, 7.6, 4.6, 2.1, and 1.8 per 1000, respectively (P < .0001). The social/economic domain had the most variables significantly associated with the outcome at the population level. The adjusted patient-level analyses showed that the COI was not significantly associated with a patient's risk of rehospitalization within 12 months. The COI was associated with population-level asthma morbidity. The details provided by the COI may inform interventions aimed at increasing opportunity and reducing morbidity across regions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Patient and Community-Level Socio-Demographic Characteristics Associated with Emergency Department Visits for Childhood Injury; A Retrospective Analysis of Data from the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) Core Data Project 2004–2008

PubMed Central

Macy, Michelle L.; Zonfrillo, Mark R.; Cook, Lawrence J.; Funai, Tomohiko; Goldstick, Jason; Stanley, Rachel M.; Chamberlain, James M.; Cunningham, Rebecca M.; Lipton, Robert; Alpern, Elizabeth R.

2015-01-01

Objective To examine pediatric emergency department (ED) visits over 5 years, trends in injury severity, and associations between injury-related ED visit outcome and patient and community-level socio-demographic characteristics. Study design Retrospective analysis of administrative data provided to the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network Core Data Project, 2004–2008. Home addresses were geocoded to determine census block group and associated socio-demographic characteristics. Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale severity and Severity Classification System scores were calculated. Generalized estimating equations were used to test for associations between socio-demographic characteristics and admission or transfer among injury-related ED visits. Results Overall ED visits and injury-related visits increased from 2004 to 2008 at study sites. Of 2,833,676 successfully geocoded visits, 700,821 (24.7%) were injury-related. The proportion of higher severity injury-related visits remained consistent. Nearly 10% of injury-related visits resulted in admission or transfer each year. After adjusting for age, sex, payer, and injury severity, odds of admission or transfer were lower among minority children and children from areas with moderate and high prevalence of poverty. Conclusions Pediatric injury-related ED visits to included sites increased over the study period while injury severity, anticipated resource utilization, and visit outcomes remained stable, with low rates of admission or transfer. Socio-demographic differences in injury-related visits and ED disposition were apparent. ED-based injury surveillance is essential to understand disparities, inform targets for prevention programs, and reduce the overall burden of childhood injuries. PMID:26141551

Gender inequalities in health: exploring the contribution of living conditions in the intersection of social class.

PubMed

Malmusi, Davide; Vives, Alejandra; Benach, Joan; Borrell, Carme

2014-01-01

Women experience poorer health than men despite their longer life expectancy, due to a higher prevalence of non-fatal chronic illnesses. This paper aims to explore whether the unequal gender distribution of roles and resources can account for inequalities in general self-rated health (SRH) by gender, across social classes, in a Southern European population. Cross-sectional study of residents in Catalonia aged 25-64, using data from the 2006 population living conditions survey (n=5,817). Poisson regression models were used to calculate the fair/poor SRH prevalence ratio (PR) by gender and to estimate the contribution of variables assessing several dimensions of living conditions as the reduction in the PR after their inclusion in the model. Analyses were stratified by social class (non-manual and manual). SRH was poorer for women among both non-manual (PR 1.39, 95% CI 1.09-1.76) and manual social classes (PR 1.36, 95% CI 1.20-1.56). Adjustment for individual income alone eliminated the association between sex and SRH, especially among manual classes (PR 1.01, 95% CI 0.85-1.19; among non-manual 1.19, 0.92-1.54). The association was also reduced when adjusting by employment conditions among manual classes, and household material and economic situation, time in household chores and residential environment among non-manual classes. Gender inequalities in individual income appear to contribute largely to women's poorer health. Individual income may indicate the availability of economic resources, but also the history of access to the labour market and potentially the degree of independence and power within the household. Policies to facilitate women's labour market participation, to close the gender pay gap, or to raise non-contributory pensions may be helpful to improve women's health.

Enhanced insulin sensitivity and acute regulation of metabolic genes and signaling pathways after a single electrical or manual acupuncture session in female insulin-resistant rats.

PubMed

Benrick, Anna; Maliqueo, Manuel; Johansson, Julia; Sun, Miao; Wu, Xiaoke; Mannerås-Holm, Louise; Stener-Victorin, Elisabet

2014-12-01

To compare the effect of a single session of acupuncture with either low-frequency electrical or manual stimulation on insulin sensitivity and molecular pathways in the insulin-resistant dihydrotestosterone-induced rat polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) model. Both stimulations cause activation of afferent nerve fibers. In addition, electrical stimulation causes muscle contractions, enabling us to differentiate changes induced by activation of sensory afferents from contraction-induced changes. Control and PCOS rats were divided into no-stimulation, manual-, and electrical stimulation groups and insulin sensitivity was measured by euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp. Manually stimulated needles were rotated 180° ten times every 5 min, or low-frequency electrical stimulation was applied to evoke muscle twitches for 45 min. Gene and protein expression were analyzed by real-time PCR and Western blot. The glucose infusion rate (GIR) was lower in PCOS rats than in controls. Electrical stimulation was superior to manual stimulation during treatment but both methods increased GIR to the same extent in the post-stimulation period. Electrical stimulation decreased mRNA expression of Adipor2, Adrb1, Fndc5, Erk2, and Tfam in soleus muscle and increased ovarian Adrb2 and Pdf. Manual stimulation decreased ovarian mRNA expression of Erk2 and Sdnd. Electrical stimulation increased phosphorylated ERK levels in soleus muscle. One acupuncture session with electrical stimulation improves insulin sensitivity and modulates skeletal muscle gene and protein expression more than manual stimulation. Although electrical stimulation is superior to manual in enhancing insulin sensitivity during stimulation, they are equally effective after stimulation indicating that it is activation of sensory afferents rather than muscle contraction per se leading to the observed changes.

In Data We Trust? Comparison of Electronic Versus Manual Abstraction of Antimicrobial Prescribing Quality Metrics for Hospitalized Veterans With Pneumonia.

PubMed

Jones, Barbara E; Haroldsen, Candace; Madaras-Kelly, Karl; Goetz, Matthew B; Ying, Jian; Sauer, Brian; Jones, Makoto M; Leecaster, Molly; Greene, Tom; Fridkin, Scott K; Neuhauser, Melinda M; Samore, Matthew H

2018-07-01

Electronic health records provide the opportunity to assess system-wide quality measures. Veterans Affairs Pharmacy Benefits Management Center for Medication Safety uses medication use evaluation (MUE) through manual review of the electronic health records. To compare an electronic MUE approach versus human/manual review for extraction of antibiotic use (choice and duration) and severity metrics. Retrospective. Hospitalizations for uncomplicated pneumonia occurring during 2013 at 30 Veterans Affairs facilities. We compared summary statistics, individual hospitalization-level agreement, facility-level consistency, and patterns of variation between electronic and manual MUE for initial severity, antibiotic choice, daily clinical stability, and antibiotic duration. Among 2004 hospitalizations, electronic and manual abstraction methods showed high individual hospitalization-level agreement for initial severity measures (agreement=86%-98%, κ=0.5-0.82), antibiotic choice (agreement=89%-100%, κ=0.70-0.94), and facility-level consistency for empiric antibiotic choice (anti-MRSA r=0.97, P<0.001; antipseudomonal r=0.95, P<0.001) and therapy duration (r=0.77, P<0.001) but lower facility-level consistency for days to clinical stability (r=0.52, P=0.006) or excessive duration of therapy (r=0.55, P=0.005). Both methods identified widespread facility-level variation in antibiotic choice, but we found additional variation in manual estimation of excessive antibiotic duration and initial illness severity. Electronic and manual MUE agreed well for illness severity, antibiotic choice, and duration of therapy in pneumonia at both the individual and facility levels. Manual MUE showed additional reviewer-level variation in estimation of initial illness severity and excessive antibiotic use. Electronic MUE allows for reliable, scalable tracking of national patterns of antimicrobial use, enabling the examination of system-wide interventions to improve quality.

Comparison of Battery-Powered and Manual Bone Biopsy Systems for Core Needle Biopsy of Sclerotic Bone Lesions.

PubMed

Cohen, Micah G; McMahon, Colm J; Kung, Justin W; Wu, Jim S

2016-05-01

The purpose of this study was to compare manual and battery-powered bone biopsy systems for diagnostic yield and procedural factors during core needle biopsy of sclerotic bone lesions. A total of 155 consecutive CT-guided core needle biopsies of sclerotic bone lesions were performed at one institution from January 2006 to November 2014. Before March 2012, lesions were biopsied with manual bone drill systems. After March 2012, most biopsies were performed with a battery-powered system and either noncoaxial or coaxial biopsy needles. Diagnostic yield, crush artifact, CT procedure time, procedure radiation dose, conscious sedation dose, and complications were compared between the manual and battery-powered core needle biopsy systems by Fisher exact test and t test. One-way ANOVA was used for subgroup analysis of the two battery-powered systems for procedure time and radiation dose. The diagnostic yield for all sclerotic lesions was 60.0% (93/155) and was significantly higher with the battery-powered system (73.0% [27/37]) than with the manual systems (55.9% [66/118]) (p = 0.047). There was no significant difference between the two systems in terms of crush artifact, procedure time, radiation dose, conscious sedation administered, or complications. In subgroup analysis, the coaxial battery-powered biopsies had shorter procedure times (p = 0.01) and lower radiation doses (p = 0.002) than the coaxial manual systems, but the noncoaxial battery-powered biopsies had longer average procedure times and higher radiation doses than the coaxial manual systems. In biopsy of sclerotic bone lesions, use of a battery-powered bone drill system improves diagnostic yield over use of a manual system.

Is STAPLE algorithm confident to assess segmentation methods in PET imaging?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dewalle-Vignion, Anne-Sophie; Betrouni, Nacim; Baillet, Clio; Vermandel, Maximilien

2015-12-01

Accurate tumor segmentation in [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography is crucial for tumor response assessment and target volume definition in radiation therapy. Evaluation of segmentation methods from clinical data without ground truth is usually based on physicians’ manual delineations. In this context, the simultaneous truth and performance level estimation (STAPLE) algorithm could be useful to manage the multi-observers variability. In this paper, we evaluated how this algorithm could accurately estimate the ground truth in PET imaging. Complete evaluation study using different criteria was performed on simulated data. The STAPLE algorithm was applied to manual and automatic segmentation results. A specific configuration of the implementation provided by the Computational Radiology Laboratory was used. Consensus obtained by the STAPLE algorithm from manual delineations appeared to be more accurate than manual delineations themselves (80% of overlap). An improvement of the accuracy was also observed when applying the STAPLE algorithm to automatic segmentations results. The STAPLE algorithm, with the configuration used in this paper, is more appropriate than manual delineations alone or automatic segmentations results alone to estimate the ground truth in PET imaging. Therefore, it might be preferred to assess the accuracy of tumor segmentation methods in PET imaging.

Is STAPLE algorithm confident to assess segmentation methods in PET imaging?

PubMed

Dewalle-Vignion, Anne-Sophie; Betrouni, Nacim; Baillet, Clio; Vermandel, Maximilien

2015-12-21

Accurate tumor segmentation in [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography is crucial for tumor response assessment and target volume definition in radiation therapy. Evaluation of segmentation methods from clinical data without ground truth is usually based on physicians' manual delineations. In this context, the simultaneous truth and performance level estimation (STAPLE) algorithm could be useful to manage the multi-observers variability. In this paper, we evaluated how this algorithm could accurately estimate the ground truth in PET imaging. Complete evaluation study using different criteria was performed on simulated data. The STAPLE algorithm was applied to manual and automatic segmentation results. A specific configuration of the implementation provided by the Computational Radiology Laboratory was used. Consensus obtained by the STAPLE algorithm from manual delineations appeared to be more accurate than manual delineations themselves (80% of overlap). An improvement of the accuracy was also observed when applying the STAPLE algorithm to automatic segmentations results. The STAPLE algorithm, with the configuration used in this paper, is more appropriate than manual delineations alone or automatic segmentations results alone to estimate the ground truth in PET imaging. Therefore, it might be preferred to assess the accuracy of tumor segmentation methods in PET imaging.

The effect of manual therapy and exercise in patients with chronic low back pain: Double blind randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Ulger, Ozlem; Demirel, Aynur; Oz, Müzeyyen; Tamer, Seval

2017-11-06

To determine the effects of spinal stabilization exercises (SSE) and manual therapy methods on pain, function and quality of life (QoL) levels in individuals with chronic low back pain (CLBP). A total of one-hundred thirteen patients diagnosed as CLBP were enrolled to the study. The patients allocated into Spinal Stabilization group (SG) and manual therapy group (MG), randomly. While SSE performed in SG, soft tissue mobilizations, muscle-energy techniques, joint mobilizations and manipulations were performed in MG. While the severity of pain was assessed with Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and Short Form 36 (SF-36) assessments were performed to evaluate the functional status and QoL, respectively. All assessments were repeated before and after the treatment. Intragroup analyses both treatments were effective in terms of sub parameters of pain, function and life quality (p< 0.05). Inter group analyses, there was more reduction in pain and improvement in functional status in favor of MG (p< 0.05). This study showed that SSE and manual therapy methods have the same effects on QoL, while the manual treatment is more effective on the pain and functional parameters in particular.

Longitudinal development of manual motor ability in autism spectrum disorder from childhood to mid-adulthood relates to adaptive daily living skills.

PubMed

Travers, Brittany G; Bigler, Erin D; Duffield, Tyler C; Prigge, Molly D B; Froehlich, Alyson L; Lange, Nicholas; Alexander, Andrew L; Lainhart, Janet E

2017-07-01

Many individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit motor difficulties, but it is unknown whether manual motor skills improve, plateau, or decline in ASD in the transition from childhood into adulthood. Atypical development of manual motor skills could impact the ability to learn and perform daily activities across the life span. This study examined longitudinal grip strength and finger tapping development in individuals with ASD (n = 90) compared to individuals with typical development (n = 56), ages 5 to 40 years old. We further examined manual motor performance as a possible correlate of current and future daily living skills. The group with ASD demonstrated atypical motor development, characterized by similar performance during childhood but increasingly poorer performance from adolescence into adulthood. Grip strength was correlated with current adaptive daily living skills, and Time 1 grip strength predicted daily living skills eight years into the future. These results suggest that individuals with ASD may experience increasingly more pronounced motor difficulties from adolescence into adulthood and that manual motor performance in ASD is related to adaptive daily living skills. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Prospective study of automated versus manual annotation of early time-lapse markers in the human preimplantation embryo.

PubMed

Kaser, Daniel J; Farland, Leslie V; Missmer, Stacey A; Racowsky, Catherine

2017-08-01

How does automated time-lapse annotation (Eeva™) compare to manual annotation of the same video images performed by embryologists certified in measuring durations of the 2-cell (P2; time to the 3-cell minus time to the 2-cell, or t3-t2) and 3-cell (P3; time to 4-cell minus time to the 3-cell, or t4-t3) stages? Manual annotation was superior to the automated annotation provided by Eeva™ version 2.2, because manual annotation assigned a rating to a higher proportion of embryos and yielded a greater sensitivity for blastocyst prediction than automated annotation. While use of the Eeva™ test has been shown to improve an embryologist's ability to predict blastocyst formation compared to Day 3 morphology alone, the accuracy of the automated image analysis employed by the Eeva™ system has never been compared to manual annotation of the same time-lapse markers by a trained embryologist. We conducted a prospective cohort study of embryos (n = 1477) cultured in the Eeva™ system (n = 8 microscopes) at our institution from August 2014 to February 2016. Embryos were assigned a blastocyst prediction rating of High (H), Medium (M), Low (L), or Not Rated (NR) by Eeva™ version 2.2 according to P2 and P3. An embryologist from a team of 10, then manually annotated each embryo and if the automated and manual ratings differed, a second embryologist independently annotated the embryo. If both embryologists disagreed with the automated Eeva™ rating, then the rating was classified as discordant. If the second embryologist agreed with the automated Eeva™ score, the rating was not considered discordant. Spearman's correlation (ρ), weighted kappa statistics and the intra-class correlation (ICC) coefficients with 95% confidence intervals (CI) between Eeva™ and manual annotation were calculated, as were the proportions of discordant embryos, and the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and NPV of each method for blastocyst prediction. The distribution of H, M and L ratings differed by annotation method (P < 0.0001). The correlation between Eeva™ and manual annotation was higher for P2 (ρ = 0.75; ICC = 0.82; 95% CI 0.82-0.83) than for P3 (ρ = 0.39; ICC = 0.20; 95% CI 0.16-0.26). Eeva™ was more likely than an embryologist to rate an embryo as NR (11.1% vs. 3.0%, P < 0.0001). Discordance occurred in 30.0% (443/1477) of all embryos and was not associated with factors such as Day 3 cell number, fragmentation, symmetry or presence of abnormal cleavage. Rather, discordance was associated with direct cleavage (P2 ≤ 5 h) and short P3 (≤0.25 h), and also factors intrinsic to the Eeva™ system, such as the automated rating (proportion of discordant embryos by rating: H: 9.3%; M: 18.1%; L: 41.3%; NR: 31.4%; P < 0.0001), microwell location (peripheral: 31.2%; central: 23.8%; P = 0.02) and Eeva™ microscope (n = 8; range 22.9-42.6%; P < 0.0001). Manual annotation upgraded 82.6% of all discordant embryos from a lower to a higher rating, and improved the sensitivity for predicting blastocyst formation. One team of embryologists performed the manual annotations; however, the study staff was trained and certified by the company sponsor. Only two time-lapse markers were evaluated, so the results are not generalizable to other parameters; likewise, the results are not generalizable to future versions of Eeva™ or other automated image analysis systems. Based on the proportion of discordance and the improved performance of manual annotation, clinics using the Eeva™ system should consider manual annotation of P2 and P3 to confirm the automated ratings generated by Eeva™. These data were acquired in a study funded by Progyny, Inc. There are no competing interests. N/A. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Incorporating Manual and Autonomous Code Generation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McComas, David

1998-01-01

Code can be generated manually or using code-generated software tools, but how do you interpret the two? This article looks at a design methodology that combines object-oriented design with autonomic code generation for attitude control flight software. Recent improvements in space flight computers are allowing software engineers to spend more time engineering the applications software. The application developed was the attitude control flight software for an astronomical satellite called the Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP). The MAP flight system is being designed, developed, and integrated at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The MAP controls engineers are using Integrated Systems Inc.'s MATRIXx for their controls analysis. In addition to providing a graphical analysis for an environment, MATRIXx includes an autonomic code generation facility called AutoCode. This article examines the forces that shaped the final design and describes three highlights of the design process: (1) Defining the manual to autonomic code interface; (2) Applying object-oriented design to the manual flight code; (3) Implementing the object-oriented design in C.

Computer-aided target tracking in motion analysis studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burdick, Dominic C.; Marcuse, M. L.; Mislan, J. D.

1990-08-01

Motion analysis studies require the precise tracking of reference objects in sequential scenes. In a typical situation, events of interest are captured at high frame rates using special cameras, and selected objects or targets are tracked on a frame by frame basis to provide necessary data for motion reconstruction. Tracking is usually done using manual methods which are slow and prone to error. A computer based image analysis system has been developed that performs tracking automatically. The objective of this work was to eliminate the bottleneck due to manual methods in high volume tracking applications such as the analysis of crash test films for the automotive industry. The system has proven to be successful in tracking standard fiducial targets and other objects in crash test scenes. Over 95 percent of target positions which could be located using manual methods can be tracked by the system, with a significant improvement in throughput over manual methods. Future work will focus on the tracking of clusters of targets and on tracking deformable objects such as airbags.

Evaluation of heterotrophic plate and chromogenic agar colony counting in water quality laboratories.

PubMed

Hallas, Gary; Monis, Paul

2015-01-01

The enumeration of bacteria using plate-based counts is a core technique used by food and water microbiology testing laboratories. However, manual counting of bacterial colonies is both time and labour intensive, can vary between operators and also requires manual entry of results into laboratory information management systems, which can be a source of data entry error. An alternative is to use automated digital colony counters, but there is a lack of peer-reviewed validation data to allow incorporation into standards. We compared the performance of digital counting technology (ProtoCOL3) against manual counting using criteria defined in internationally recognized standard methods. Digital colony counting provided a robust, standardized system suitable for adoption in a commercial testing environment. The digital technology has several advantages:•Improved measurement of uncertainty by using a standard and consistent counting methodology with less operator error.•Efficiency for labour and time (reduced cost).•Elimination of manual entry of data onto LIMS.•Faster result reporting to customers.

Automatic sentence extraction for the detection of scientific paper relations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sibaroni, Y.; Prasetiyowati, S. S.; Miftachudin, M.

2018-03-01

The relations between scientific papers are very useful for researchers to see the interconnection between scientific papers quickly. By observing the inter-article relationships, researchers can identify, among others, the weaknesses of existing research, performance improvements achieved to date, and tools or data typically used in research in specific fields. So far, methods that have been developed to detect paper relations include machine learning and rule-based methods. However, a problem still arises in the process of sentence extraction from scientific paper documents, which is still done manually. This manual process causes the detection of scientific paper relations longer and inefficient. To overcome this problem, this study performs an automatic sentences extraction while the paper relations are identified based on the citation sentence. The performance of the built system is then compared with that of the manual extraction system. The analysis results suggested that the automatic sentence extraction indicates a very high level of performance in the detection of paper relations, which is close to that of manual sentence extraction.

[History of conservative spinal therapy].

PubMed

Kladny, B

2015-12-01

Hippocrates was the first to intensively describe and document the principles for the treatment of injuries and diseases of the spine. His principles for abrupt treatment of the "hunchback" were followed by physicians even up to the end of the nineteenth century. The non-operative treatment of scoliosis was improved in the beginning of the sixteenth century by the introduction of mechanical devices that started the development of corsets which are still in use in modern scoliosis treatment. Stretching beds were only in temporary use. With the beginning of the nineteenth century gymnastics and physiotherapy became more and more important. Manual therapy was exercised by physicians until the late Middle Ages. After a long period of time in which bonesetters and other laymen performed manual therapy it was professionalized at the end of the nineteenth century again by the introduction of osteopathy and chiropractic. In Germany the development and introduction of manual treatment started relatively late in the twentieth century, predominantly as manual medicine.

Self-reported skin symptoms and skin-related quality of life among Latino immigrant poultry processing and other manual workers.

PubMed

Quandt, Sara A; Newman, Jill C; Pichardo-Geisinger, Rita; Mora, Dana C; Chen, Haiying; Feldman, Steven R; Arcury, Thomas A

2014-05-01

Manual labor employment occurs in environments with exposures likely to impact skin-related quality of life (SRQOL). The objectives of this paper are to (1) document the dimensions of SRQOL, (2) examine its association with skin symptoms, and (3) identify the predictors of SRQOL in Latino manual workers. A population-based survey of 733 Latino manual workers obtained Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and skin symptoms in the prior year. Two-thirds of workers were employed in production. Skin symptoms in prior year were reported by 23%. Impaired SRQOL was reported by 23%. In multivariate analyses, reduced SRQOL was associated with age, occupation, childhood indigenous language use, and experience of skin symptoms in the prior year. Despite overall high SRQOL exposures in some immigrant occupational groups produce reduce SRQOL. This rural, immigrant population faces significant obstacles to obtaining dermatological care; efforts are needed to improve their SRQOL. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Modeling Improvements and Users Manual for Axial-flow Turbine Off-design Computer Code AXOD

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glassman, Arthur J.

1994-01-01

An axial-flow turbine off-design performance computer code used for preliminary studies of gas turbine systems was modified and calibrated based on the experimental performance of large aircraft-type turbines. The flow- and loss-model modifications and calibrations are presented in this report. Comparisons are made between computed performances and experimental data for seven turbines over wide ranges of speed and pressure ratio. This report also serves as the users manual for the revised code, which is named AXOD.

Users manual and modeling improvements for axial turbine design and performance computer code TD2-2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glassman, Arthur J.

1992-01-01

Computer code TD2 computes design point velocity diagrams and performance for multistage, multishaft, cooled or uncooled, axial flow turbines. This streamline analysis code was recently modified to upgrade modeling related to turbine cooling and to the internal loss correlation. These modifications are presented in this report along with descriptions of the code's expanded input and output. This report serves as the users manual for the upgraded code, which is named TD2-2.

NECAP 4.1: NASA's energy-cost analysis program user's manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jensen, R. N.; Henninger, R. H.; Miner, D. L.

1983-01-01

The Enery Cost Analysis Program (NECAP) is a powerful computerized method to determine and to minimize building energy consumption. The program calculates hourly heat gain or losses taking into account the building thermal resistance and mass, using hourly weather and a "response factor' method. Internal temperatures are allowed to vary in accordance with thermostat settings and equipment capacity. A simplified input procedure and numerous other technical improvements are presented. This Users Manual describes the program and provides examples.

On the dependence of information display quality requirements upon human characteristics and pilot/automatics relations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilckens, V.

1972-01-01

Present information display concepts for pilot landing guidance are outlined considering manual control as well as substitution of man by fully competent automatics. Display improvements are achieved by compressing the distributed indicators into an accumulative display and thus reducing information scanning. Complete integration of quantitative indications, outer loop information, and real world display in a pictorial information channel geometry constitutes an interface with human ability to differentiate and integrate for optimal manual control of the aircraft.