The Growth of Multi-Site Fatigue Damage in Fuselage Lap Joints

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Piascik, Robert S.; Willard, Scott A.

1999-01-01

Destructive examinations were performed to document the progression of multi-site damage (MSD) in three lap joint panels that were removed from a full scale fuselage test article that was tested to 60,000 full pressurization cycles. Similar fatigue crack growth characteristics were observed for small cracks (50 microns to 10 mm) emanating from counter bore rivets, straight shank rivets, and 100 deg counter sink rivets. Good correlation of the fatigue crack growth data base obtained in this study and FASTRAN Code predictions show that the growth of MSD in the fuselage lap joint structure can be predicted by fracture mechanics based methods.

Development of a continuous multisite accelerometry system for studying movements during sleep.

PubMed

Terrill, Philip I; Mason, David G; Wilson, Stephen J

2010-01-01

Actigraphy has proven to be a useful tool in the assessment of circadian rhythms, and more recently in the automatic staging of sleep and wake states. Whilst accuracy of commercial systems appears good over 24 hour periods, the sensitivity of detecting wake during time in bed is poor. One possible explanation for these poor results is the technical limitations of currently available commercial actigraphs. In particular, raw data is generally not available to the user. Instead, activity counts for each epoch (typically between 10-60 secs) are calculated using various algorithms, from which sleep state is identified. Consequently morphologically different movements observed during sleep and wake states may not be detected as such. In this paper, the development of a continuous multisite, accelerometry system (CMAS) is described. Initial results, comparing data collected using a commercial actigraph (Actiwatch- Mini Motionlogger), and the continuous multisite accelerometry system are presented. The CMAS is able to differentiate brief movement "twitches" from postural changes.

A hierarchical modeling approach to estimate regional acute health effects of particulate matter sources

PubMed Central

Krall, J. R.; Hackstadt, A. J.; Peng, R. D.

2017-01-01

Exposure to particulate matter (PM) air pollution has been associated with a range of adverse health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease (CVD) hospitalizations and other clinical parameters. Determining which sources of PM, such as traffic or industry, are most associated with adverse health outcomes could help guide future recommendations aimed at reducing harmful pollution exposure for susceptible individuals. Information obtained from multisite studies, which is generally more precise than information from a single location, is critical to understanding how PM impacts health and to informing local strategies for reducing individual-level PM exposure. However, few methods exist to perform multisite studies of PM sources, which are not generally directly observed, and adverse health outcomes. We developed SHARE, a hierarchical modeling approach that facilitates reproducible, multisite epidemiologic studies of PM sources. SHARE is a two-stage approach that first summarizes information about PM sources across multiple sites. Then, this information is used to determine how community-level (i.e. county- or city-level) health effects of PM sources should be pooled to estimate regional-level health effects. SHARE is a type of population value decomposition that aims to separate out regional-level features from site-level data. Unlike previous approaches for multisite epidemiologic studies of PM sources, the SHARE approach allows the specific PM sources identified to vary by site. Using data from 2000–2010 for 63 northeastern US counties, we estimated regional-level health effects associated with short-term exposure to major types of PM sources. We found PM from secondary sulfate, traffic, and metals sources was most associated with CVD hospitalizations. PMID:28098412

Multisite Ion Model in Concentrated Solutions of Divalent Cations (MgCl2 and CaCl2): Osmotic Pressure Calculations

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Accurate force field parameters for ions are essential for meaningful simulation studies of proteins and nucleic acids. Currently accepted models of ions, especially for divalent ions, do not necessarily reproduce the right physiological behavior of Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions. Saxena and Sept (J. Chem. Theor. Comput.2013, 9, 3538–3542) described a model, called the multisite-ion model, where instead of treating the ions as an isolated sphere, the charge was split into multiple sites with partial charge. This model provided accurate inner shell coordination of the ion with biomolecules and predicted better free energies for proteins and nucleic acids. Here, we expand and refine the multisite model to describe the behavior of divalent ions in concentrated MgCl2 and CaCl2 electrolyte solutions, eliminating the unusual ion–ion pairing and clustering of ions which occurred in the original model. We calibrate and improve the parameters of the multisite model by matching the osmotic pressure of concentrated solutions of MgCl2 to the experimental values and then use these parameters to test the behavior of CaCl2 solutions. We find that the concentrated solutions of both divalent ions exhibit the experimentally observed behavior with correct osmotic pressure, the presence of solvent separated ion pairs instead of direct ion pairs, and no aggregation of ions. The improved multisite model for (Mg2+ and Ca2+) can be used in classical simulations of biomolecules at physiologically relevant salt concentrations. PMID:25482831

The Role of Involvement and Use in Multisite Evaluations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawrenz, Frances; King, Jean A.; Ooms, Ann

2011-01-01

A cross-case analysis of four National Science Foundation (NSF) case studies identified both unique details and common themes related to promoting the use and influence of multisite evaluations. The analysis provided evidence of diverse evaluation use by stakeholders and suggested that people taking part in the multisite evaluations perceived…

HPV Vaccine Effective at Multiple Anatomic Sites

Cancer.gov

A new study from NCI researchers finds that the HPV vaccine protects young women from infection with high-risk HPV types at the three primary anatomic sites where persistent HPV infections can cause cancer. The multi-site protection also was observed at l

Reduced hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity in chronic multi-site musculoskeletal pain: partly masked by depressive and anxiety disorders.

PubMed

Generaal, Ellen; Vogelzangs, Nicole; Macfarlane, Gary J; Geenen, Rinie; Smit, Johannes H; Penninx, Brenda W J H; Dekker, Joost

2014-07-09

Studies on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA-axis) function amongst patients with chronic pain show equivocal results and well-controlled cohort studies are rare in this field. The goal of our study was to examine whether HPA-axis dysfunction is associated with the presence and the severity of chronic multi-site musculoskeletal pain. Data are from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety including 1125 subjects with and without lifetime depressive and anxiety disorders. The Chronic Pain Grade questionnaire was used to determine the presence and severity of chronic multi-site musculoskeletal pain. Subjects were categorized into a chronic multi-site musculoskeletal pain group (n = 471) and a control group (n = 654). Salivary cortisol samples were collected to assess HPA-axis function (awakening level, 1-h awakening response, evening level, diurnal slope and post-dexamethasone level). In comparison with the control group, subjects with chronic multi-site musculoskeletal pain showed significantly lower cortisol level at awakening, lower evening level and a blunted diurnal slope. Lower cortisol level at awakening and a blunted diurnal slope appeared to be restricted to those without depressive and/or anxiety disorders, who also showed a lower 1-h awakening response. Our results suggest hypocortisolemia in chronic multi-site musculoskeletal pain. However, if chronic pain is accompanied by a depressive or anxiety disorder, typically related to hypercortisolemia, the association between cortisol levels and chronic multi-site musculoskeletal pain appears to be partly masked. Future studies should take psychopathology into account when examining HPA-axis function in chronic pain.

Reduced hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity in chronic multi-site musculoskeletal pain: partly masked by depressive and anxiety disorders

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Studies on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA-axis) function amongst patients with chronic pain show equivocal results and well-controlled cohort studies are rare in this field. The goal of our study was to examine whether HPA-axis dysfunction is associated with the presence and the severity of chronic multi-site musculoskeletal pain. Methods Data are from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety including 1125 subjects with and without lifetime depressive and anxiety disorders. The Chronic Pain Grade questionnaire was used to determine the presence and severity of chronic multi-site musculoskeletal pain. Subjects were categorized into a chronic multi-site musculoskeletal pain group (n = 471) and a control group (n = 654). Salivary cortisol samples were collected to assess HPA-axis function (awakening level, 1-h awakening response, evening level, diurnal slope and post-dexamethasone level). Results In comparison with the control group, subjects with chronic multi-site musculoskeletal pain showed significantly lower cortisol level at awakening, lower evening level and a blunted diurnal slope. Lower cortisol level at awakening and a blunted diurnal slope appeared to be restricted to those without depressive and/or anxiety disorders, who also showed a lower 1-h awakening response. Conclusions Our results suggest hypocortisolemia in chronic multi-site musculoskeletal pain. However, if chronic pain is accompanied by a depressive or anxiety disorder, typically related to hypercortisolemia, the association between cortisol levels and chronic multi-site musculoskeletal pain appears to be partly masked. Future studies should take psychopathology into account when examining HPA-axis function in chronic pain. PMID:25007969

Does physical or psychosocial workload modify the effect of musculoskeletal pain on sickness absence? A prospective study among the Finnish population.

PubMed

Neupane, Subas; Pensola, Tiina; Haukka, Eija; Ojajärvi, Anneli; Leino-Arjas, Päivi

2016-07-01

Previously, among food industry workers, multisite pain predicted sickness absence (SA) only in those with low biomechanical workload. Here we studied among a wide range of occupations whether the relationship of pain with SA was modified by the level of physical or psychosocial workload. A nationally representative sample (Health 2000 Survey) comprised 3420 occupationally active Finns aged 30-55 years. Baseline data on musculoskeletal pain during the preceding month, strenuous work history, current physical workload, job demands, job control, support at work, lifestyle, and chronic diseases were obtained in 2000/2001 by questionnaire, interview, and clinical examination. Musculoskeletal pain in 18 body locations was combined into four sites (neck, upper limbs, low back, and lower limbs) and classified as no pain, single-site pain, and multisite pain (2-4 sites). The data were linked with information from national registers on annual SA periods lasting ≥10 workdays for 2002-2008. Negative binomial regression analysis was used. At baseline, one-third of the study sample reported single-site and one-third multisite pain. Allowing for gender and age, the employees with multisite pain in strata with high physical workload and high job demands tended to have the highest risk of SA, but no statistically significant interactive effects between work factors and pain were observed. Further adjustment for health-related lifestyle and chronic diseases decreased the risk estimates in all strata. We did not find evidence for significant modification by physical or psychosocial workload of the relationship between musculoskeletal pain and SA periods lasting ≥10 workdays.

Biological stress systems, adverse life events and the onset of chronic multisite musculoskeletal pain: a 6-year cohort study.

PubMed

Generaal, Ellen; Vogelzangs, Nicole; Macfarlane, Gary J; Geenen, Rinie; Smit, Johannes H; de Geus, Eco J C N; Penninx, Brenda W J H; Dekker, Joost

2016-05-01

Dysregulated biological stress systems and adverse life events, independently and in interaction, have been hypothesised to initiate chronic pain. We examine whether (1) function of biological stress systems, (2) adverse life events, and (3) their combination predict the onset of chronic multisite musculoskeletal pain. Subjects (n=2039) of the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety, free from chronic multisite musculoskeletal pain at baseline, were identified using the Chronic Pain Grade Questionnaire and followed up for the onset of chronic multisite musculoskeletal pain over 6 years. Baseline assessment of biological stress systems comprised function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (1-h cortisol awakening response, evening levels, postdexamethasone levels), the immune system (basal and lipopolysaccharide-stimulated inflammation) and the autonomic nervous system (heart rate, pre-ejection period, SD of the normal-to-normal interval, respiratory sinus arrhythmia). The number of recent adverse life events was assessed at baseline using the List of Threatening Events Questionnaire. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, immune system and autonomic nervous system functioning was not associated with onset of chronic multisite musculoskeletal pain, either by itself or in interaction with adverse life events. Adverse life events did predict onset of chronic multisite musculoskeletal pain (HR per event=1.14, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.24, p=0.005). This longitudinal study could not confirm that dysregulated biological stress systems increase the risk of developing chronic multisite musculoskeletal pain. Adverse life events were a risk factor for the onset of chronic multisite musculoskeletal pain, suggesting that psychosocial factors play a role in triggering the development of this condition. 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/

Replication and Comparison of the Newly Proposed ADOS-2, Module 4 Algorithm in ASD Without ID: A Multi-site Study.

PubMed

Pugliese, Cara E; Kenworthy, Lauren; Bal, Vanessa Hus; Wallace, Gregory L; Yerys, Benjamin E; Maddox, Brenna B; White, Susan W; Popal, Haroon; Armour, Anna Chelsea; Miller, Judith; Herrington, John D; Schultz, Robert T; Martin, Alex; Anthony, Laura Gutermuth

2015-12-01

Recent updates have been proposed to the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2 Module 4 diagnostic algorithm. This new algorithm, however, has not yet been validated in an independent sample without intellectual disability (ID). This multi-site study compared the original and revised algorithms in individuals with ASD without ID. The revised algorithm demonstrated increased sensitivity, but lower specificity in the overall sample. Estimates were highest for females, individuals with a verbal IQ below 85 or above 115, and ages 16 and older. Best practice diagnostic procedures should include the Module 4 in conjunction with other assessment tools. Balancing needs for sensitivity and specificity depending on the purpose of assessment (e.g., clinical vs. research) and demographic characteristics mentioned above will enhance its utility.

Quantification of source impact to PM using three-dimensional weighted factor model analysis on multi-site data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Guoliang; Peng, Xing; Huangfu, Yanqi; Wang, Wei; Xu, Jiao; Tian, Yingze; Feng, Yinchang; Ivey, Cesunica E.; Russell, Armistead G.

2017-07-01

Source apportionment technologies are used to understand the impacts of important sources of particulate matter (PM) air quality, and are widely used for both scientific studies and air quality management. Generally, receptor models apportion speciated PM data from a single sampling site. With the development of large scale monitoring networks, PM speciation are observed at multiple sites in an urban area. For these situations, the models should account for three factors, or dimensions, of the PM, including the chemical species concentrations, sampling periods and sampling site information, suggesting the potential power of a three-dimensional source apportionment approach. However, the principle of three-dimensional Parallel Factor Analysis (Ordinary PARAFAC) model does not always work well in real environmental situations for multi-site receptor datasets. In this work, a new three-way receptor model, called "multi-site three way factor analysis" model is proposed to deal with the multi-site receptor datasets. Synthetic datasets were developed and introduced into the new model to test its performance. Average absolute error (AAE, between estimated and true contributions) for extracted sources were all less than 50%. Additionally, three-dimensional ambient datasets from a Chinese mega-city, Chengdu, were analyzed using this new model to assess the application. Four factors are extracted by the multi-site WFA3 model: secondary source have the highest contributions (64.73 and 56.24 μg/m3), followed by vehicular exhaust (30.13 and 33.60 μg/m3), crustal dust (26.12 and 29.99 μg/m3) and coal combustion (10.73 and 14.83 μg/m3). The model was also compared to PMF, with general agreement, though PMF suggested a lower crustal contribution.

Safety and Clinical Activity of Pembrolizumab and Multisite Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy in Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors.

PubMed

Luke, Jason J; Lemons, Jeffrey M; Karrison, Theodore G; Pitroda, Sean P; Melotek, James M; Zha, Yuanyuan; Al-Hallaq, Hania A; Arina, Ainhoa; Khodarev, Nikolai N; Janisch, Linda; Chang, Paul; Patel, Jyoti D; Fleming, Gini F; Moroney, John; Sharma, Manish R; White, Julia R; Ratain, Mark J; Gajewski, Thomas F; Weichselbaum, Ralph R; Chmura, Steven J

2018-02-13

Purpose Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) may stimulate innate and adaptive immunity to augment immunotherapy response. Multisite SBRT is an emerging paradigm for treating metastatic disease. Anti-PD-1-treatment outcomes may be improved with lower disease burden. In this context, we conducted a phase I study to evaluate the safety of pembrolizumab with multisite SBRT in patients with metastatic solid tumors. Patients and Methods Patients progressing on standard treatment received SBRT to two to four metastases. Not all metastases were targeted, and metastases > 65 mL were partially irradiated. SBRT dosing varied by site and ranged from 30 to 50 Gy in three to five fractions with predefined dose de-escalation if excess dose-limiting toxicities were observed. Pembrolizumab was initiated within 7 days after completion of SBRT. Pre- and post-SBRT biopsy specimens were analyzed in a subset of patients to quantify interferon-γ-induced gene expression. Results A total of 79 patients were enrolled; three patients did not receive any treatment and three patients only received SBRT. Patients included in the analysis were treated with SBRT and at least one cycle of pembrolizumab. Most (94.5%) of patients received SBRT to two metastases. Median follow-up for toxicity was 5.5 months (interquartile range, 3.3 to 8.1 months). Six patients experienced dose-limiting toxicities with no radiation dose reductions. In the 68 patients with imaging follow-up, the overall objective response rate was 13.2%. Median overall survival was 9.6 months (95% CI, 6.5 months to undetermined) and median progression-free survival was 3.1 months (95% CI, 2.9 to 3.4 months). Expression of interferon-γ-associated genes from post-SBRT tumor biopsy specimens significantly correlated with nonirradiated tumor response. Conclusion Multisite SBRT followed by pembrolizumab was well tolerated with acceptable toxicity. Additional studies exploring the clinical benefit and predictive biomarkers of combined multisite SBRT and PD-1-directed immunotherapy are warranted.

Multi-site pain and working conditions as predictors of work ability in a 4-year follow-up among food industry employees.

PubMed

Neupane, S; Virtanen, P; Leino-Arjas, P; Miranda, H; Siukola, A; Nygård, C-H

2013-03-01

We investigated the separate and joint effects of multi-site musculoskeletal pain and physical and psychosocial exposures at work on future work ability. A survey was conducted among employees of a Finnish food industry company in 2005 (n = 1201) and a follow-up survey in 2009 (n = 734). Information on self-assessed work ability (current work ability on a scale from 0 to 10; 7 = poor work ability), multi-site musculoskeletal pain (pain in at least two anatomical areas of four), leisure-time physical activity, body mass index and physical and psychosocial exposures was obtained by questionnaire. The separate and joint effects of multi-site pain and work exposures on work ability at follow-up, among subjects with good work ability at baseline, were assessed by logistic regression, and p-values for the interaction derived. Compared with subjects with neither multi-site pain nor adverse work exposure, multi-site pain at baseline increased the risk of poor work ability at follow-up, allowing for age, gender, occupational class, body mass index and leisure-time physical activity. The separate effects of the work exposures on work ability were somewhat smaller than those of multi-site pain. Multi-site pain had an interactive effect with work environment and awkward postures, such that no association of multi-site pain with poor work ability was seen when work environment was poor or awkward postures present. The decline in work ability connected with multi-site pain was not increased by exposure to adverse physical or psychosocial factors at work. © 2012 European Federation of International Association for the Study of Pain Chapters.

76 FR 44512 - Human Subjects Research Protections: Enhancing Protections for Research Subjects and Reducing...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-26

... research enterprise, the proliferation of multi-site clinical trials and observational studies, the... and Drug Administration 21 CFR Parts 50 and 56 Human Subjects Research Protections: Enhancing Protections for Research Subjects and Reducing Burden, Delay, and Ambiguity for Investigators AGENCIES: The...

High prevalence of daily and multi-site pain – a cross-sectional population-based study among 3000 Danish adolescents

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Daily pain and multi-site pain are both associated with reduction in work ability and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among adults. However, no population-based studies have yet investigated the prevalence of daily and multi-site pain among adolescents and how these are associated with respondent characteristics. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of self-reported daily and multi-site pain among adolescents aged 12–19 years and associations of almost daily pain and multi-site pain with respondent characteristics (sex, age, body mass index, HRQoL and sports participation). Methods A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 4,007 adolescents aged 12–19 years in Denmark. Adolescents answered an online questionnaire during physical education lessons. The questionnaire contained a mannequin divided into 12 regions on which the respondents indicated their current pain sites and pain frequency (rarely, monthly, weekly, more than once per week, almost daily pain), characteristics, sports participation and HRQoL measured by the EuroQoL 5D. Multivariate regression was used to calculate the odds ratio for the association between almost daily pain, multi-site pain and respondent characteristics. Results The response rate was 73.7%. A total of 2,953 adolescents (62% females) answered the questionnaire. 33.3% reported multi-site pain (pain in >1 region) while 19.8% reported almost daily pain. 61% reported current pain in at least one region with knee and back pain being the most common sites. Female sex (OR: 1.35-1.44) and a high level of sports participation (OR: 1.51-2.09) were associated with increased odds of having almost daily pain and multi-site pain. Better EQ-5D score was associated with decreased odds of having almost daily pain or multi-site pain (OR: 0.92-0.94). Conclusion In this population-based cohort of school-attending Danish adolescents, nearly two out of three reported current pain and, on average, one out of three reported pain in more than one body region. Female sex, and high level of sports participation were associated with increased odds of having almost daily pain and multi-site pain. The study highlights an important health issue that calls for investigations to improve our understanding of adolescent pain and our capacity to prevent and treat this condition. PMID:24252440

Reading Shop Windows in Globalized Neighborhoods: Multilingual Literacy Practices and Indexicality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collins, James; Slembrouck, Stef

2007-01-01

Shop and cafe signs in multiple languages are familiar features of polyglot immigrant neighborhoods. This paper examines such signs, presenting photographic, observational, and interview data from a multisited ethnographic study of language contact in Ghent, an urban Belgian city. Drawing upon diverse ethnographic sources, especially the…

Nonlinear instabilities of multi-site breathers in Klein-Gordon lattices

DOE PAGES

Cuevas-Maraver, Jesus; Kevrekidis, Panayotis G.; Pelinovsky, Dmitry E.

2016-08-01

Here, we explore the possibility of multi-site breather states in a nonlinear Klein–Gordon lattice to become nonlinearly unstable, even if they are found to be spectrally stable. The mechanism for this nonlinear instability is through the resonance with the wave continuum of a multiple of an internal mode eigenfrequency in the linearization of excited breather states. For the nonlinear instability, the internal mode must have its Krein signature opposite to that of the wave continuum. This mechanism is not only theoretically proposed, but also numerically corroborated through two concrete examples of the Klein–Gordon lattice with a soft (Morse) and amore » hard (Φ 4) potential. Compared to the case of the nonlinear Schrödinger lattice, the Krein signature of the internal mode relative to that of the wave continuum may change depending on the period of the multi-site breather state. For the periods for which the Krein signatures of the internal mode and the wave continuum coincide, multi-site breather states are observed to be nonlinearly stable.« less

Replication and Comparison of the Newly Proposed ADOS-2, Module 4 Algorithm in ASD without ID: A Multi-site Study

PubMed Central

Pugliese, Cara E.; Kenworthy, Lauren; Bal, Vanessa Hus; Wallace, Gregory L; Yerys, Benjamin E; Maddox, Brenna B.; White, Susan W.; Popal, Haroon; Armour, Anna Chelsea; Miller, Judith; Herrington, John D.; Schultz, Robert T.; Martin, Alex; Anthony, Laura Gutermuth

2015-01-01

Recent updates have been proposed to the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2 Module 4 diagnostic algorithm. This new algorithm, however, has not yet been validated in an independent sample without intellectual disability (ID). This multi-site study compared the original and revised algorithms in individuals with ASD without ID. The revised algorithm demonstrated increased sensitivity, but lower specificity in the overall sample. Estimates were highest for females, individuals with a verbal IQ below 85 or above 115, and ages 16 and older. Best practice diagnostic procedures should include the Module 4 in conjunction with other assessment tools. Balancing needs for sensitivity and specificity depending on the purpose of assessment (e.g., clinical vs. research) and demographic characteristics mentioned above will enhance its utility. PMID:26385796

Multi-site precipitation downscaling using a stochastic weather generator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jie; Chen, Hua; Guo, Shenglian

2018-03-01

Statistical downscaling is an efficient way to solve the spatiotemporal mismatch between climate model outputs and the data requirements of hydrological models. However, the most commonly-used downscaling method only produces climate change scenarios for a specific site or watershed average, which is unable to drive distributed hydrological models to study the spatial variability of climate change impacts. By coupling a single-site downscaling method and a multi-site weather generator, this study proposes a multi-site downscaling approach for hydrological climate change impact studies. Multi-site downscaling is done in two stages. The first stage involves spatially downscaling climate model-simulated monthly precipitation from grid scale to a specific site using a quantile mapping method, and the second stage involves the temporal disaggregating of monthly precipitation to daily values by adjusting the parameters of a multi-site weather generator. The inter-station correlation is specifically considered using a distribution-free approach along with an iterative algorithm. The performance of the downscaling approach is illustrated using a 10-station watershed as an example. The precipitation time series derived from the National Centers for Environment Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis dataset is used as the climate model simulation. The precipitation time series of each station is divided into 30 odd years for calibration and 29 even years for validation. Several metrics, including the frequencies of wet and dry spells and statistics of the daily, monthly and annual precipitation are used as criteria to evaluate the multi-site downscaling approach. The results show that the frequencies of wet and dry spells are well reproduced for all stations. In addition, the multi-site downscaling approach performs well with respect to reproducing precipitation statistics, especially at monthly and annual timescales. The remaining biases mainly result from the non-stationarity of NCEP precipitation. Overall, the proposed approach is efficient for generating multi-site climate change scenarios that can be used to investigate the spatial variability of climate change impacts on hydrology.

Using Standardized Diagnostic Instruments to Classify Children with Autism in the Study to Explore Early Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiggins, Lisa D.; Reynolds, Ann; Rice, Catherine E.; Moody, Eric J.; Bernal, Pilar; Blaskey, Lisa; Rosenberg, Steven A.; Lee, Li-Ching; Levy, Susan E.

2015-01-01

The Study to Explore Early Development (SEED) is a multi-site case-control study designed to explore the relationship between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) phenotypes and etiologies. The goals of this paper are to (1) describe the SEED algorithm that uses the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule…

Work-related determinants of multi-site musculoskeletal pain among employees in the health care sector.

PubMed

Neupane, Subas; Nygård, Clas-Håkan; Oakman, Jodi

2016-06-16

Work-related musculoskeletal pain is a major occupational problem. Those with pain in multiple sites usually report worse health outcomes than those with pain in one site. This study explored prevalence and associated predictors of multi-site pain in health care sector employees. Survey responses from 1348 health care sector employees across three organisations (37% response rate) collected data on job satisfaction, work life balance, psychosocial and physical hazards, general health and work ability. Musculoskeletal discomfort was measured across 5 body regions with pain in ≥ 2 sites defined as multi-site pain. Generalized linear models were used to identify relationships between work-related factors and multi-site pain. Over 52% of the employees reported pain in multiple body sites and 19% reported pain in one site. Poor work life balance (PRR = 2.33, 95% CI = 1.06-5.14). physical (PRR = 7.58, 95% CI = 4.89-11.77) and psychosocial (PRR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.00-2.57) hazard variables were related to multi-site pain (after controlling for age, gender, health and work ability. Older employees and females were more likely to report multi-site pain. Effective risk management of work related multi-site pain must include identification and control of psychosocial and physical hazards.

The Relations among Measurements of Informant Discrepancies within a Multisite Trial of Treatments for Childhood Social Phobia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Los Reyes, Andres; Alfano, Candice A.; Beidel, Deborah C.

2010-01-01

Discrepancies between informants' reports of children's behavior are robustly observed in clinical child research and have important implications for interpreting the outcomes of controlled treatment trials. However, little is known about the basic psychometric properties of these discrepancies. This study examined the relation between…

Fostering Department Chair Instructional Leadership Capacity: Laying the Groundwork for Distributed Instructional Leadership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klar, Hans W.

2012-01-01

In this article, I provide findings from a multisite case study of three urban high schools. In each of the schools, principals endeavoured to foster the capabilities of their department chairs to enhance school-wide instructional capacity and increase student achievement. Data were gathered from interviews, participant observations and document…

Developmentally Responsive Teacher Practices across the Middle-to-High-School Transition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellerbrock, Cheryl R.; Abbas, Bridget; DiCicco, Michael

2014-01-01

In this year-long qualitative multi-site case study, researchers identified how eighth and ninth-grade teacher practices may support students' basic and developmental needs across the middle-to-high-school transition. Data were collected throughout 2009, including individual interviews, focus group interviews, observations, and artifact data of 23…

Coordination and Management of Multisite Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Therapies: Experience from a Multisite Reflexology Intervention Trial

PubMed Central

Rahbar, Mohammad H.; Wyatt, Gwen; Sikorskii, Alla; Victorson, David; Ardjomand-Hessabi, Manouchehr

2011-01-01

Background Multisite randomized clinical trials allow for increased research collaboration among investigators and expedite data collection efforts. As a result, government funding agencies typically look favorably upon this approach. As the field of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) continues to evolve, so do increased calls for the use of more rigorous study design and trial methodologies, which can present challenges for investigators. Purpose To describe the processes involved in the coordination and management of a multisite randomized clinical trial of a CAM intervention. Methods Key aspects related to the coordination and management of a multisite CAM randomized clinical trial are presented, including organizational and site selection considerations, recruitment concerns and issues related to data collection and randomization to treatment groups. Management and monitoring of data, as well as quality assurance procedures are described. Finally, a real world perspective is shared from a recently conducted multisite randomized clinical trial of reflexology for women diagnosed with advanced breast cancer. Results The use of multiple sites in the conduct of CAM-based randomized clinical trials can provide an efficient, collaborative and robust approach to study coordination and data collection that maximizes efficiency and ensures the quality of results. Conclusions Multisite randomized clinical trial designs can offer the field of CAM research a more standardized and efficient approach to examine the effectiveness of novel therapies and treatments. Special attention must be given to intervention fidelity, consistent data collection and ensuring data quality. Assessment and reporting of quantitative indicators of data quality should be required. PMID:21664296

Coordination and management of multicenter clinical studies in trauma: Experience from the PRospective Observational Multicenter Major Trauma Transfusion (PROMMTT) Study.

PubMed

Rahbar, Mohammad H; Fox, Erin E; del Junco, Deborah J; Cotton, Bryan A; Podbielski, Jeanette M; Matijevic, Nena; Cohen, Mitchell J; Schreiber, Martin A; Zhang, Jiajie; Mirhaji, Parsa; Duran, Sarah J; Reynolds, Robert J; Benjamin-Garner, Ruby; Holcomb, John B

2012-04-01

Early death due to hemorrhage is a major consequence of traumatic injury. Transfusion practices differ among hospitals and it is unknown which transfusion practices improve survival. This report describes the experience of the PRospective Observational Multicenter Major Trauma Transfusion (PROMMTT) Study Data Coordination Center in designing and coordinating a study to examine transfusion practices at ten Level 1 trauma centers in the US. PROMMTT was a multisite prospective observational study of severely injured transfused trauma patients. The clinical sites collected real-time information on the timing and amounts of blood product infusions as well as colloids and crystalloids, vital signs, initial diagnostic and clinical laboratory tests, life saving interventions and other clinical care data. Between July 2009 and October 2010, PROMMTT screened 12,561 trauma admissions and enrolled 1245 patients who received one or more blood transfusions within 6h of Emergency Department (ED) admission. A total of 297 massive transfusions were observed over the course of the study at a combined rate of 5.0 massive transfusion patients/week. PROMMTT is the first multisite study to collect real-time prospective data on trauma patients requiring transfusion. Support from the Department of Defense and collaborative expertise from the ten participating centers helped to demonstrate the feasibility of prospective trauma transfusion studies. The observational data collected from this study will be an invaluable resource for research in trauma surgery and it will guide the design and conduct of future randomized trials. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Coordination and management of multicenter clinical studies in trauma: Experience from the PRospective Observational Multicenter Major Trauma Transfusion (PROMMTT) Study

PubMed Central

Rahbar, Mohammad H.; Fox, Erin E.; del Junco, Deborah J.; Cotton, Bryan A.; Podbielski, Jeanette M.; Matijevic, Nena; Cohen, Mitchell J.; Schreiber, Martin A.; Zhang, Jiajie; Mirhaji, Parsa; Duran, Sarah; Reynolds, Robert J.; Benjamin-Garner, Ruby; Holcomb, John B.

2011-01-01

Aim Early death due to hemorrhage is a major consequence of traumatic injury. Transfusion practices differ among hospitals and it is unknown which transfusion practices improve survival. This report describes the experience of the PRospective Observational Multicenter Major Trauma Transfusion (PROMMTT) Study Data Coordination Center in designing and coordinating a study to examine transfusion practices at ten Level 1 trauma centers in the U.S. Methods PROMMTT was a multisite prospective observational study of severely injured transfused trauma patients. The clinical sites collected real-time information on the timing and amounts of blood product infusions as well as colloids and crystalloids, vital signs, initial diagnostic and clinical laboratory tests, life saving interventions and other clinical care data. Results Between July 2009 and October 2010, PROMMTT screened 12,561 trauma admissions and enrolled 1,245 patients who received one or more blood transfusions within 6 hours of ED admission. A total of 297 massive transfusions were observed over the course of the study at a combined rate of 5.0 massive transfusion patients/week. Conclusion PROMMTT is the first multisite study to collect real-time prospective data on trauma patients requiring transfusion. Support from the Department of Defense and collaborative expertise from the ten participating centers helped to demonstrate the feasibility of prospective trauma transfusion studies. The observational data collected from this study will be an invaluable resource for research in trauma surgery and it will guide the design and conduct of future randomized trials. PMID:22001613

Shared worlds: multi-sited ethnography and nursing research.

PubMed

Molloy, Luke; Walker, Kim; Lakeman, Richard

2017-03-22

Background Ethnography, originally developed for the study of supposedly small-scale societies, is now faced with an increasingly mobile, changing and globalised world. Cultural identities can exist without reference to a specific location and extend beyond regional and national boundaries. It is therefore no longer imperative that the sole object of the ethnographer's practice should be a geographically bounded site. Aim To present a critical methodological review of multi-sited ethnography. Discussion Understanding that it can no longer be taken with any certainty that location alone determines culture, multi-sited ethnography provides a method of contextualising multi-sited social phenomena. The method enables researchers to examine social phenomena that are simultaneously produced in different locations. It has been used to undertake cultural analysis of diverse areas such as organ trafficking, global organisations, technologies and anorexia. Conclusion The authors contend that multi-sited ethnography is particularly suited to nursing research as it provides researchers with an ethnographic method that is more relevant to the interconnected world of health and healthcare services. Implications for practice Multi-sited ethnography provides nurse researchers with an approach to cultural analysis in areas such as the social determinants of health, healthcare services and the effects of health policies across multiple locations.

Ethics Review for a Multi-Site Project Involving Tribal Nations in the Northern Plains.

PubMed

Angal, Jyoti; Petersen, Julie M; Tobacco, Deborah; Elliott, Amy J

2016-04-01

Increasingly, Tribal Nations are forming ethics review panels, which function separately from institutional review boards (IRBs). The emergence of strong community representation coincides with a widespread effort supported by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and other federal agencies to establish a single IRB for all multi-site research. This article underscores the value of a tribal ethics review board and describes the tribal oversight for the Safe Passage Study-a multi-site, community-based project in the Northern Plains. Our experience demonstrates the benefits of tribal ethics review and makes a strong argument for including tribal oversight in future regulatory guidance for multi-site, community-based research. © The Author(s) 2016.

MultiSite Gateway-Compatible Cell Type-Specific Gene-Inducible System for Plants1[OPEN

PubMed Central

Siligato, Riccardo; Wang, Xin; Yadav, Shri Ram; Lehesranta, Satu; Ma, Guojie; Ursache, Robertas; Sevilem, Iris; Zhang, Jing; Gorte, Maartje; Prasad, Kalika; Heidstra, Renze

2016-01-01

A powerful method to study gene function is expression or overexpression in an inducible, cell type-specific system followed by observation of consequent phenotypic changes and visualization of linked reporters in the target tissue. Multiple inducible gene overexpression systems have been developed for plants, but very few of these combine plant selection markers, control of expression domains, access to multiple promoters and protein fusion reporters, chemical induction, and high-throughput cloning capabilities. Here, we introduce a MultiSite Gateway-compatible inducible system for Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) plants that provides the capability to generate such constructs in a single cloning step. The system is based on the tightly controlled, estrogen-inducible XVE system. We demonstrate that the transformants generated with this system exhibit the expected cell type-specific expression, similar to what is observed with constitutively expressed native promoters. With this new system, cloning of inducible constructs is no longer limited to a few special cases but can be used as a standard approach when gene function is studied. In addition, we present a set of entry clones consisting of histochemical and fluorescent reporter variants designed for gene and promoter expression studies. PMID:26644504

Challenges and lessons learned in conducting comparative-effectiveness trials.

PubMed

Herrick, Linda M; Locke, G Richard; Zinsmeister, Alan R; Talley, Nicholas J

2012-05-01

The current health-care environment is demanding evidence-based medicine that relies on clinical trials as the basis for decisions. Clinician investigators are more often finding that they are personally responsible for coordinating large, multisite trials. We present strategies for successful implementation and management of multisite clinical trials and knowledge gained through an international, multisite randomized clinical trial. Topics include team composition, regulatory requirements, study organization and governance, communication strategies, recruitment and retention efforts, budget, technology transfer, and publication.

Challenges and Lessons Learned in Conducting Comparative-Effectiveness Trials

PubMed Central

Herrick, Linda M.; Locke, G. Richard; Zinsmeister, Alan R.; Talley, Nicholas J.

2014-01-01

The current health-care environment is demanding evidence-based medicine that relies on clinical trials as the basis for decisions. Clinician investigators are more often finding that they are personally responsible for coordinating large, multisite trials. We present strategies for successful implementation and management of multisite clinical trials and knowledge gained through an international, multisite randomized clinical trial. Topics include team composition, regulatory requirements, study organization and governance, communication strategies, recruitment and retention efforts, budget, technology transfer, and publication. PMID:22552235

Psychosocial stress and multi-site musculoskeletal pain: a cross-sectional survey of patient care workers.

PubMed

Sembajwe, Grace; Tveito, Torill Helene; Hopcia, Karen; Kenwood, Christopher; O'Day, Elizabeth Tucker; Stoddard, Anne M; Dennerlein, Jack T; Hashimoto, Dean; Sorensen, Glorian

2013-03-01

The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between psychosocial factors at work and multi-site musculoskeletal pain among patient care workers. In a survey of 1,572 workers from two hospitals, occupational psychosocial factors and health outcomes of workers with single and multi-site pain were evaluated using items from the Job Content Questionnaire that was designed to measure psychological demands, decision latitude, and social support. An adapted Nordic Questionnaire provided data on the musculoskeletal pain outcome. Covariates included body mass index, age, gender, and occupation. The analyses revealed statistically significant associations between psychosocial demands and multi-site musculoskeletal pain among patient care associates, nurses, and administrative personnel, both men and women. Supervisor support played a significant role for nurses and women. These results remained statistically significant after adjusting for covariates. These results highlight the associations between workplace psychosocial strain and multi-site musculoskeletal pain, setting the stage for future longitudinal explorations. Copyright 2013, SLACK Incorporated.

Systematic review of methods for quantifying teamwork in the operating theatre

PubMed Central

Marshall, D.; Sykes, M.; McCulloch, P.; Shalhoub, J.; Maruthappu, M.

2018-01-01

Background Teamwork in the operating theatre is becoming increasingly recognized as a major factor in clinical outcomes. Many tools have been developed to measure teamwork. Most fall into two categories: self‐assessment by theatre staff and assessment by observers. A critical and comparative analysis of the validity and reliability of these tools is lacking. Methods MEDLINE and Embase databases were searched following PRISMA guidelines. Content validity was assessed using measurements of inter‐rater agreement, predictive validity and multisite reliability, and interobserver reliability using statistical measures of inter‐rater agreement and reliability. Quantitative meta‐analysis was deemed unsuitable. Results Forty‐eight articles were selected for final inclusion; self‐assessment tools were used in 18 and observational tools in 28, and there were two qualitative studies. Self‐assessment of teamwork by profession varied with the profession of the assessor. The most robust self‐assessment tool was the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ), although this failed to demonstrate multisite reliability. The most robust observational tool was the Non‐Technical Skills (NOTECHS) system, which demonstrated both test–retest reliability (P > 0·09) and interobserver reliability (Rwg = 0·96). Conclusion Self‐assessment of teamwork by the theatre team was influenced by professional differences. Observational tools, when used by trained observers, circumvented this.

Brief Treatments for Cannabis Dependence: Findings From a Randomized Multisite Trial

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Babor, Thomas F.

2004-01-01

This study evaluated the efficacy of 2 brief interventions for cannabis-dependent adults. A multisite randomized controlled trial compared cannabis use outcomes across 3 study conditions: (a) 2 sessions of motivational enhancement therapy (MET); (b) 9 sessions of multicomponent therapy that included MET, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and case…

Voxel-based morphometric multisite collaborative study on schizophrenia.

PubMed

Segall, Judith M; Turner, Jessica A; van Erp, Theo G M; White, Tonya; Bockholt, H Jeremy; Gollub, Randy L; Ho, Beng C; Magnotta, Vince; Jung, Rex E; McCarley, Robert W; Schulz, S Charles; Lauriello, John; Clark, Vince P; Voyvodic, James T; Diaz, Michele T; Calhoun, Vince D

2009-01-01

Regional gray matter (GM) abnormalities are well known to exist in patients with chronic schizophrenia. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) has been previously used on structural magnetic resonance images (MRI) data to characterize these abnormalities. Two multisite schizophrenia studies, the Functional Biomedical Informatics Research Network and the Mind Clinical Imaging Consortium, which include 9 data collection sites, are evaluating the efficacy of pooling structural imaging data across imaging centers. Such a pooling of data could yield the increased statistical power needed to elucidate effects that may not be seen with smaller samples. VBM analyses were performed to evaluate the consistency of patient versus control gray matter concentration (GMC) differences across the study sites, as well as the effects of combining multisite data. Integration of data from both studies yielded a large sample of 503 subjects, including 266 controls and 237 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizoaffective or schizophreniform disorder. The data were analyzed using the combined sample, as well as analyzing each of the 2 multisite studies separately. A consistent pattern of reduced relative GMC in schizophrenia patients compared with controls was found across all study sites. Imaging center-specific effects were evaluated using a region of interest analysis. Overall, the findings support the use of VBM in combined multisite studies. This analysis of schizophrenics and controls from around the United States provides continued supporting evidence for GM deficits in the temporal lobes, anterior cingulate, and frontal regions in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Multisite Phosphorylation Modulates the T Cell Receptor ζ-Chain Potency but not the Switchlike Response.

PubMed

Mukhopadhyay, Himadri; de Wet, Ben; Clemens, Lara; Maini, Philip K; Allard, Jun; van der Merwe, P Anton; Dushek, Omer

2016-04-26

Multisite phosphorylation is ubiquitous in cellular signaling and is thought to provide signaling proteins with additional regulatory mechanisms. Indeed, mathematical models have revealed a large number of mechanisms by which multisite phosphorylation can produce switchlike responses. The T cell antigen receptor (TCR) is a multisubunit receptor on the surface of T cells that is a prototypical multisite substrate as it contains 20 sites that are distributed on 10 conserved immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motifs (ITAMs). The TCR ζ-chain is a homodimer subunit that contains six ITAMs (12 sites) and exhibits a number of properties that are predicted to be sufficient for a switchlike response. We have used cellular reconstitution to systematically study multisite phosphorylation of the TCR ζ-chain. We find that multisite phosphorylation proceeds by a nonsequential random mechanism, and find no evidence that multiple ITAMs modulate a switchlike response but do find that they alter receptor potency and maximum phosphorylation. Modulation of receptor potency can be explained by a reduction in molecular entropy of the disordered ζ-chain upon phosphorylation. We further find that the tyrosine kinase ZAP-70 increases receptor potency but does not modulate the switchlike response. In contrast to other multisite proteins, where phosphorylations act in strong concert to modulate protein function, we suggest that the multiple ITAMs on the TCR function mainly to amplify subsequent signaling. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Finding Efficiency in the Design of Large Multisite Evaluations: Estimating Variances for Science Achievement Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Westine, Carl D.

2016-01-01

Little is known empirically about intraclass correlations (ICCs) for multisite cluster randomized trial (MSCRT) designs, particularly in science education. In this study, ICCs suitable for science achievement studies using a three-level (students in schools in districts) MSCRT design that block on district are estimated and examined. Estimates of…

The Peculiar Institution?: A Multisite Case Study of Athletic Department Cultures at Small Christian Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramseyer, Paul Robert

2017-01-01

This multisite case study explored the perceptions of athletic department members of the important factors of organizational cultures in athletic departments at small Christian institutions in the Midwestern United States. The study comprised of site visits to three small Christian institutions in the Midwestern United States. At each site, six…

A Qualitative Multi-Site Case Study: Examining Principals' Leadership Styles and School Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Preyear, Loukisha

2015-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative multi-site case study was to explore the impact of principals' leadership styles on student academic achievement in a high-poverty low-performing school district in Louisiana. A total of 17 participants, principals and teachers, from this school district were used in this study. Data source triangulation of…

The ability of multi-site, multi-depth sacral lateral branch blocks to anesthetize the sacroiliac joint complex.

PubMed

Dreyfuss, Paul; Henning, Troy; Malladi, Niriksha; Goldstein, Barry; Bogduk, Nikolai

2009-01-01

To determine the physiologic effectiveness of multi-site, multi-depth sacral lateral branch injections. Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Outpatient pain management center. Twenty asymptomatic volunteers. The dorsal innervation to the sacroiliac joint (SIJ) is from the L5 dorsal ramus and the S1-3 lateral branches. Multi-site, multi-depth lateral branch blocks were developed to compensate for the complex regional anatomy that limited the effectiveness of single-site, single-depth lateral branch injections. Bilateral multi-site, multi-depth lateral branch green dye injections and subsequent dissection on two cadavers revealed a 91% accuracy with this technique. Session 1: 20 asymptomatic subjects had a 25-g spinal needle probe their interosseous (IO) and dorsal sacroiliac (DSI) ligaments. The inferior dorsal SIJ was entered and capsular distension with contrast medium was performed. Discomfort had to occur with each provocation maneuver and a contained arthrogram was necessary to continue in the study. Session 2: 1 week later; computer randomized, double-blind multi-site, multi-depth lateral branch blocks injections were performed. Ten subjects received active (bupivicaine 0.75%) and 10 subjects received sham (normal saline) multi-site, multi-depth lateral branch injections. Thirty minutes later, provocation testing was repeated with identical methodology used in session 1. Presence or absence of pain for ligamentous probing and SIJ capsular distension. Seventy percent of the active group had an insensate IO and DSI ligaments, and inferior dorsal SIJ vs 0-10% of the sham group. Twenty percent of the active vs 10% of the sham group did not feel repeat capsular distension. Six of seven subjects (86%) retained the ability to feel repeat capsular distension despite an insensate dorsal SIJ complex. Multi-site, multi-depth lateral branch blocks are physiologically effective at a rate of 70%. Multi-site, multi-depth lateral branch blocks do not effectively block the intra-articular portion of the SIJ. There is physiological evidence that the intra-articular portion of the SIJ is innervated from both ventral and dorsal sources. Comparative multi-site, multi-depth lateral branch blocks should be considered a potentially valuable tool to diagnose extra-articular SIJ pain and determine if lateral branch radiofrequency neurotomy may assist one with SIJ pain.

How Can Multi-Site Evaluations Be Participatory?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawrenz, Frances; Huffman, Douglas

2003-01-01

Multi-site evaluations are becoming increasingly common in federal funding portfolios. Although much thought has been given to multi-site evaluation, there has been little emphasis on how it might interact with participatory evaluation. Therefore, this paper reviews several National Science Foundation educational, multi-site evaluations for the…

A Multi-Site Study on Medical School Selection, Performance, Motivation and Engagement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wouters, A.; Croiset, G.; Schripsema, N. R.; Cohen-Schotanus, J.; Spaai, G. W.; Hulsman, R. L.; Kusurkar, R. A.

2017-01-01

Medical schools seek ways to improve their admissions strategies, since the available methods prove to be suboptimal for selecting the best and most motivated students. In this multi-site cross-sectional questionnaire study, we examined the value of (different) selection procedures compared to a weighted lottery procedure, which includes direct…

Development and Implementation of a Multisite Evaluation for the Women, Co-Occurring Disorders and Violence Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giard, Julienne; Hennigan, Karen; Huntington, Nicholas; Vogel, Wendy; Rinehart, Debbie; Mazelis, Ruta; Nadlicki, Terri; Veysey, Bonita M.

2005-01-01

In this article we describe the development and implementation of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA's) multisite Women, Co-Occurring Disorders and Violence Study (WCDVS), highlighting some of the challenges encountered, decisions made, and lessons learned. Four themes are discussed. First, the unique…

Power Calculations for Moderators in Multi-Site Cluster Randomized Trials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spybrook, Jessaca; Kelcey, Ben; Dong, Nianbo

2016-01-01

Cluster randomized trials (CRTs), or studies in which intact groups of individuals are randomly assigned to a condition, are becoming more common in evaluation studies of educational programs. A specific type of CRT in which clusters are randomly assigned to treatment within blocks or sites, known as multisite cluster randomized trials (MSCRTs),…

Reliability of instruments in a cooperative, multisite study: employment intervention demonstration program.

PubMed

Salyers, M P; McHugo, G J; Cook, J A; Razzano, L A; Drake, R E; Mueser, K T

2001-09-01

Reliability of well-known instruments was examined in 202 people with severe mental illness participating in a multisite vocational study. We examined interrater reliability of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the PANSS, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36), and the Quality of Life Interview. Most scales had good levels of reliability, with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and coefficient alphas above .70. However, the SF-36 scales were generally less stable over time, particularly Social Functioning (ICC = .55). Test-retest reliability was lower among less educated respondents and among ethnic minorities. We recommend close monitoring of psychometric issues in future multisite studies.

Multisite stochastic simulation of daily precipitation from copula modeling with a gamma marginal distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Taesam

2018-05-01

Multisite stochastic simulations of daily precipitation have been widely employed in hydrologic analyses for climate change assessment and agricultural model inputs. Recently, a copula model with a gamma marginal distribution has become one of the common approaches for simulating precipitation at multiple sites. Here, we tested the correlation structure of the copula modeling. The results indicate that there is a significant underestimation of the correlation in the simulated data compared to the observed data. Therefore, we proposed an indirect method for estimating the cross-correlations when simulating precipitation at multiple stations. We used the full relationship between the correlation of the observed data and the normally transformed data. Although this indirect method offers certain improvements in preserving the cross-correlations between sites in the original domain, the method was not reliable in application. Therefore, we further improved a simulation-based method (SBM) that was developed to model the multisite precipitation occurrence. The SBM preserved well the cross-correlations of the original domain. The SBM method provides around 0.2 better cross-correlation than the direct method and around 0.1 degree better than the indirect method. The three models were applied to the stations in the Nakdong River basin, and the SBM was the best alternative for reproducing the historical cross-correlation. The direct method significantly underestimates the correlations among the observed data, and the indirect method appeared to be unreliable.

Culture and Influence in Multisite Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kirkhart, Karen E.

2011-01-01

Understanding the influence of multisite evaluation requires careful consideration of cultural context. The author illustrates dimensions of influence and culture with excerpts from four National Science Foundation evaluation case studies and summarizes what influence teaches everyone about culture and what culture teaches everyone about…

The value and potential of multisited ethnography for science education research: a review of Jrène Rahm's Science in the Making at the Margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beeman-Cadwallader, Nicole

2012-03-01

Rahm sought to illuminate how children and youth make meaning of science in three out-of-school time programs, and the identity work that is done through the trajectory of their youth toward their young adulthood. Through using multisited ethnography, she asserts that we can learn more about what the youth say about their science learning and science literacy development in these programs. She has revealed through her rich data the potential value of multisited ethnography for science education research. A similar theme of insider/outsider status to science emerged in each of the three sites. The nature of the data collected in Rahm's multisited ethnography allowed for the unveiling of the similarities in this theme, but also made evident the nuanced ways that this theme presented itself differently across the three sites. The additional potential came through in the varied data Rahm could have delved into and did not. A unique characteristic of ethnographic research, that is not necessarily present in other research methods, is that a wide array of varied data is collected. An analysis of documents, images, and observational field notes, which go beyond interview data, may provide deeper understandings previously untouched in science education.

An Examination of Diversity within Three Southeastern Academic Libraries: A Mixed-Methods, Multi-Site Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaffer, Christopher A.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which three academic libraries in the Southeastern United States could be considered diverse. This was a multi-site, mixed methods study. It examined the climate and culture of the libraries, which was assessed through two methods; the first, through survey responses from full-time faculty…

Research staff training in a multisite randomized clinical trial: Methods and recommendations from the Stimulant Reduction Intervention using Dosed Exercise (STRIDE) trial.

PubMed

Walker, Robrina; Morris, David W; Greer, Tracy L; Trivedi, Madhukar H

2014-01-01

Descriptions of and recommendations for meeting the challenges of training research staff for multisite studies are limited despite the recognized importance of training on trial outcomes. The STRIDE (STimulant Reduction Intervention using Dosed Exercise) study is a multisite randomized clinical trial that was conducted at nine addiction treatment programs across the United States within the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) and evaluated the addition of exercise to addiction treatment as usual (TAU), compared to health education added to TAU, for individuals with stimulant abuse or dependence. Research staff administered a variety of measures that required a range of interviewing, technical, and clinical skills. In order to address the absence of information on how research staff are trained for multisite clinical studies, the current manuscript describes the conceptual process of training and certifying research assistants for STRIDE. Training was conducted using a three-stage process to allow staff sufficient time for distributive learning, practice, and calibration leading up to implementation of this complex study. Training was successfully implemented with staff across nine sites. Staff demonstrated evidence of study and procedural knowledge via quizzes and skill demonstration on six measures requiring certification. Overall, while the majority of staff had little to no experience in the six measures, all research assistants demonstrated ability to correctly and reliably administer the measures throughout the study. Practical recommendations are provided for training research staff and are particularly applicable to the challenges encountered with large, multisite trials.

Biological Stress Systems, Adverse Life Events, and the Improvement of Chronic Multisite Musculoskeletal Pain Across a 6-Year Follow-Up.

PubMed

Generaal, Ellen; Vogelzangs, Nicole; Macfarlane, Gary J; Geenen, Rinie; Smit, Johannes H; de Geus, Eco J C N; Dekker, Joost; Penninx, Brenda W J H

2017-02-01

Dysfunction of biological stress systems and adverse life events, independently and in interaction, have been hypothesized to predict chronic pain persistence. Conversely, these factors may hamper the improvement of chronic pain. Longitudinal evidence is currently lacking. We examined whether: 1) function of biological stress systems, 2) adverse life events, and 3) their combination predict the improvement of chronic multisite musculoskeletal pain. Subjects of the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA) with chronic multisite musculoskeletal pain at baseline (N = 665) were followed-up 2, 4, and 6 years later. The Chronic Pain Grade Questionnaire was used to determine improvement (not meeting the criteria) of chronic multisite musculoskeletal pain at follow-up. Baseline assessment of biological stress systems included function of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (1-hour cortisol awakening response, evening level, and post dexamethasone level), the immune system (basal and lipopolysaccharide-stimulated inflammatory markers), the autonomic nervous system (heart rate, pre-ejection period, SD of the normal-to-normal interval, and respiratory sinus arrhythmia). The number of adverse life events were assessed at baseline and 2-year follow-up using the List of Threatening Events Questionnaire. We showed that hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, immune system, and autonomic nervous system functioning and adverse life events were not associated with the improvement of chronic multisite musculoskeletal pain, either as a main effect or in interaction. This longitudinal study could not confirm that biological stress system dysfunction and adverse life events affect the course of chronic multisite musculoskeletal pain. Biological stress systems and adverse life events are not associated with the improvement of chronic multisite musculoskeletal pain over 6 years of follow-up. Other determinants should thus be considered in future research to identify in which persons pain symptoms will improve. Copyright © 2016 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Real-Time Enrollment Dashboard For Multisite Clinical Trials.

PubMed

Mattingly, William A; Kelley, Robert R; Wiemken, Timothy L; Chariker, Julia H; Peyrani, Paula; Guinn, Brian E; Binford, Laura E; Buckner, Kimberley; Ramirez, Julio

2015-10-30

Achieving patient recruitment goals are critical for the successful completion of a clinical trial. We designed and developed a web-based dashboard for assisting in the management of clinical trial screening and enrollment. We use the dashboard to assist in the management of two observational studies of community-acquired pneumonia. Clinical research associates and managers using the dashboard were surveyed to determine its effectiveness as compared with traditional direct communication. The dashboard has been in use since it was first introduced in May of 2014. Of the 23 staff responding to the survey, 77% felt that it was easier or much easier to use the dashboard for communication than to use direct communication. We have designed and implemented a visualization dashboard for managing multi-site clinical trial enrollment in two community acquired pneumonia studies. Information dashboards are a useful tool for clinical trial management. They can be used as a standalone trial information tool or included into a larger management system.

Interracial Contact and Racial Constancy: A Multi-Site Study of Racial Intergroup Bias in 3-5 Year Old Anglo-British Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rutland, Adam; Cameron, Lindsey; Bennett, Laura; Ferrell, Jennifer

2005-01-01

This paper examined the influence of interracial contact and racial constancy on the racial intergroup bias of young Anglo-British children. This multi-site study was conducted in areas of Great Britain that varied in terms of racial diversity. The study also investigated whether preschool children express bias on positive, but not negative,…

The Study to Explore Early Development (SEED): A Multisite Epidemiologic Study of Autism by the Centers for Autism and Developmental Disabilities Research and Epidemiology (CADDRE) Network

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schendel, Diana E.; DiGuiseppi, Carolyn; Croen, Lisa A.; Fallin, M. Daniele; Reed, Philip L.; Schieve, Laura A.; Wiggins, Lisa D.; Daniels, Julie; Grether, Judith; Levy, Susan E.; Miller, Lisa; Newschaffer, Craig; Pinto-Martin, Jennifer; Robinson, Cordelia; Windham, Gayle C.; Alexander, Aimee; Aylsworth, Arthur S.; Bernal, Pilar; Bonner, Joseph D.; Blaskey, Lisa; Bradley, Chyrise; Collins, Jack; Ferretti, Casara J.; Farzadegan, Homayoon; Giarelli, Ellen; Harvey, Marques; Hepburn, Susan; Herr, Matthew; Kaparich, Kristina; Landa, Rebecca; Lee, Li-Ching; Levenseller, Brooke; Meyerer, Stacey; Rahbar, Mohammad H.; Ratchford, Andria; Reynolds, Ann; Rosenberg, Steven; Rusyniak, Julie; Shapira, Stuart K.; Smith, Karen; Souders, Margaret; Thompson, Patrick Aaron; Young, Lisa; Yeargin-Allsopp, Marshalyn

2012-01-01

The Study to Explore Early Development (SEED), a multisite investigation addressing knowledge gaps in autism phenotype and etiology, aims to: (1) characterize the autism behavioral phenotype and associated developmental, medical, and behavioral conditions and (2) investigate genetic and environmental risks with emphasis on immunologic, hormonal,…

Partnership-driven Resources to Improve and Enhance Research (PRIMER): a survey of community-engaged researchers and creation of an online toolkit.

PubMed

Dolor, Rowena J; Greene, Sarah M; Thompson, Ella; Baldwin, Laura-Mae; Neale, Anne Victoria

2011-08-01

This project aimed to develop an open-access website providing adaptable resources to facilitate best practices for multisite research from initiation to closeout. methods: A web-based assessment was sent to the leadership of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Community Engagement Key Functions Committee (n= 38) and the CTSA-affiliated Primary Care Practice-based Research Networks (PBRN, n= 55). Respondents rated the benefits and barriers of multisite research, the utility of available resources, and indicated their level of interest in unavailable resources. Then, existing research resources were evaluated for relevance to multisite research, adaptability to other projects, and source credibility. Fifty-five (59%) of invited participants completed the survey. Top perceived benefits of multisite research were the ability to conduct community-relevant research through academic-community partnerships (34%) and accelerating translation of research into practice (31%). Top perceived barriers were lack of research infrastructure to support PBRNs and community partners (31%) and inadequate funding to support multisite collaborations (26%). Over 200 resources were evaluated, of which 120 unique resources were included in the website. The PRIMER Research Toolkit (http://www.researchtoolkit.org) provides an array of peer-reviewed resources to facilitate translational research for the conduct of multisite studies within PBRNs and community-based organizations. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Partnership‐Driven Resources to Improve and Enhance Research (PRIMER): A Survey of Community‐Engaged Researchers and Creation of an Online Toolkit

PubMed Central

Dolor, Rowena J.; Greene, Sarah M.; Thompson, Ella; Baldwin, Laura‐Mae; Neale, Anne Victoria

2011-01-01

Abstract Objective: This project aimed to develop an open‐access website providing adaptable resources to facilitate best practices for multisite research from initiation to closeout. Methods: A web‐based assessment was sent to the leadership of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Community Engagement Key Functions Committee (n= 38) and the CTSA‐affiliated Primary Care Practice‐based Research Networks (PBRN, n= 55). Respondents rated the benefits and barriers of multisite research, the utility of available resources, and indicated their level of interest in unavailable resources. Then, existing research resources were evaluated for relevance to multisite research, adaptability to other projects, and source credibility. Results: Fifty‐five (59%) of invited participants completed the survey. Top perceived benefits of multisite research were the ability to conduct community‐relevant research through academic–community partnerships (34%) and accelerating translation of research into practice (31%). Top perceived barriers were lack of research infrastructure to support PBRNs and community partners (31%) and inadequate funding to support multisite collaborations (26%). Over 200 resources were evaluated, of which 120 unique resources were included in the website. Conclusion: The PRIMER Research Toolkit (http://www.researchtoolkit.org) provides an array of peer‐reviewed resources to facilitate translational research for the conduct of multisite studies within PBRNs and community‐based organizations. Clin Trans Sci 2011; Volume 4: 259–265 PMID:21884512

Multi-Site Quality Assurance Project Plan for Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company, and North Shore Gas

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This Multi-Site QAPP presents the organization, data quality objectives (DQOs), a set of anticipated activities, sample analysis, data handling and specific Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) procedures associated with Studies done in EPA Region 5

Biphasic responses in multi-site phosphorylation systems.

PubMed

Suwanmajo, Thapanar; Krishnan, J

2013-12-06

Multi-site phosphorylation systems are repeatedly encountered in cellular biology and multi-site modification is a basic building block of post-translational modification. In this paper, we demonstrate how distributive multi-site modification mechanisms by a single kinase/phosphatase pair can lead to biphasic/partial biphasic dose-response characteristics for the maximally phosphorylated substrate at steady state. We use simulations and analysis to uncover a hidden competing effect which is responsible for this and analyse how it may be accentuated. We build on this to analyse different variants of multi-site phosphorylation mechanisms showing that some mechanisms are intrinsically not capable of displaying this behaviour. This provides both a consolidated understanding of how and under what conditions biphasic responses are obtained in multi-site phosphorylation and a basis for discriminating between different mechanisms based on this. We also demonstrate how this behaviour may be combined with other behaviour such as threshold and bistable responses, demonstrating the capacity of multi-site phosphorylation systems to act as complex molecular signal processors.

Awareness of Diagnosis and Knowledge of HPV in Women Patients: Data from a Multi-Site Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCree, Donna Hubbard; Daley, Ellen M.; Gorbach, Pamina; Hamm, Robert M.; Sharpe, Patricia A.; Brandt, Heather M.; McFarlane, Mary; Kerndt, Peter; McDermott, Robert J.; Perrin, Karen M.; St. Lawrence, Janet S.

2010-01-01

Background: Persistent infection with high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV) is associated with cervical and other anogenital cancers. Purpose: This paper reports results of awareness of an HPV diagnosis and HPV knowledge from a multi-site study of HPV knowledge, attitudes and behavior, and the impact of an HPV diagnosis on women and their…

WWC Review of the Report "Transfer Incentives for High-Performing Teachers: Final Results from a Multisite Randomized Experiment." What Works Clearinghouse Single Study Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2015

2015-01-01

For the 2013 study, "Transfer Incentives for High-Performing Teachers: Final Results from a Multisite Randomized Experiment," researchers examined the impact of the Talent Transfer Initiative (TTI) on students' reading and mathematics achievement in 10 school districts. The TTI enabled principals of low-performing schools to provide…

Multiple Repertoires of Ways of Being and Acting in Music: Immigrant Students' Musical Agency as an Impetus for Democracy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karlsen, Sidsel

2012-01-01

The aim of this article is to explore how immigrant students experience and enact musical agency inside and outside the music lessons in three Nordic lower secondary schools. The research was designed as a multi-sited ethnographic study and the data were collected in Helsinki, Stockholm and Oslo through classroom observations and interviews with…

Effectiveness of fixed-site high-frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in chronic pain: a large-scale, observational study

PubMed Central

Kong, Xuan; Gozani, Shai N

2018-01-01

Objective The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of fixed-site high-frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (FS-TENS) in a real-world chronic pain sample. Background There is a need for nonpharmacological treatment options for chronic pain. FS-TENS improved multisite chronic pain in a previous interventional study. Large observational studies are needed to further characterize its effectiveness. Methods This retrospective observational cohort study examined changes in chronic pain measures following 60 days of FS-TENS use. The study data were obtained from FS-TENS users who uploaded their device utilization and clinical data to an online database. The primary outcome measures were changes in pain intensity and pain interference with sleep, activity, and mood on an 11-point numerical rating scale. Dose–response associations were evaluated by stratifying subjects into low (≤30 days), intermediate (31–56 days), and high (≥57 days) utilization subgroups. FS-TENS effectiveness was quantified by baseline to follow-up group differences and a responder analysis (≥30% improvement in pain intensity or ≥2-point improvement in pain interference domains). Results Utilization and clinical data were collected from 11,900 people using FS-TENS for chronic pain, with 713 device users meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Study subjects were generally older, overweight adults. Subjects reported multisite pain with a mean of 4.8 (standard deviation [SD] 2.5) pain sites. A total of 97.2% of subjects identified low back and/or lower extremity pain, and 72.9% of subjects reported upper body pain. All pain measures exhibited statistically significant group differences from baseline to 60-day follow-up. The largest changes were pain interference with activity (−0.99±2.69 points) and mood (−1.02±2.78 points). A total of 48.7% of subjects exhibited a clinically meaningful reduction in pain interference with activity or mood. This proportion increased to 57.1% for the high utilization subgroup. Conclusion FS-TENS is a practical option for treating multisite chronic pain. The greatest impact is on pain interference with activity and mood. FS-TENS utilization and effectiveness exhibit a dose–response association, suggesting that daily use maximizes pain relief. PMID:29670397

MULTI-SITE EVALUATIONS OF CANDIDATE METHODOLOGIES FOR DETERMINING COARSE PARTICULATE (PM 10-2.5) CONCENTRATIONS: AUGUST 2005 UPDATED REPORT REGARDING SECOND-GENERATION AND NEW PM 10-2.5 SAMPLERS

EPA Science Inventory

Multi-site field studies were conducted to evaluate the performance of sampling methods for measuring the coarse fraction of PM10 (PM10 2.5) in ambient air. The field studies involved the use of both time-integrated filter-based and direct continuous methods. Despite operationa...

Testing the Feasibility of Fidelity Evaluation in a Multisite, Multiprogram Initiative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cornish, Disa Lubker; Losch, Mary E.; Avery, Mitchell

2016-01-01

Monitoring fidelity of implementation is a critical task when initiating evidence-based programs. This pilot study sought to identify best practices in a fidelity monitoring process and determine the feasibility of continuing a fidelity monitoring process with a multisite, multiprogram initiative. A fidelity log was created for each of 11…

Intraclass Correlations for Three-Level Multi-Site Cluster-Randomized Trials of Science Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Westine, Carl D.

2015-01-01

A cluster-randomized trial (CRT) relies on random assignment of intact clusters to treatment conditions, such as classrooms or schools (Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002). One specific type of CRT, a multi-site CRT (MSCRT), is commonly employed in educational research and evaluation studies (Spybrook & Raudenbush, 2009; Spybrook, 2014; Bloom,…

Toward Better Research on--and Thinking about--Evaluation Influence, Especially in Multisite Evaluations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mark, Melvin M.

2011-01-01

Evaluation is typically carried out with the intention of making a difference in the understandings and actions of stakeholders and decision makers. The author provides a general review of the concepts of evaluation "use," evaluation "influence," and "influence pathways," with connections to multisite evaluations. The study of evaluation influence…

A Multisite Psychotherapy and Medication Trial for Depressed Adolescents: Background and Benefits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kratochvil, Christopher J.; Simons, Anne; Vitiello, Benedetto; Walkup, John; Emslie, Graham; Rosenberg, David; March, John S.

2005-01-01

The Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study (TADS) is an NIMH-supported multisite clinical trial that compares the effectiveness of a depression-specific cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), medication management with fluoxetine (FLX), the combination of CBT and FLX (COMB), and medical management with pill placebo (PBO). TADS was…

Process evaluation of the Hunter Illawarra Kids Challenge Using Parent Support study: a multisite randomized controlled trial for the management of child obesity.

PubMed

Jones, Rachel A; Warren, Janet M; Okely, Anthony D; Collins, Clare E; Morgan, Philip J; Cliff, Dylan P; Burrows, Tracy; Cleary, Jane; Baur, Louise A

2010-11-01

The purposes of this article are to (a) outline findings from secondary or process outcome data of the Hunter Illawarra Kids Challenge Using Parent Support (HIKCUPS) study and (b) inform the design and development of future research interventions and practice in the management of child obesity. Data were collected by means of facilitator evaluations, independent session observation, attendance records, and parent questionnaires. Internal validity and reliability of the program delivery were high. All parents reported positive changes in their children as a result of the physical activity program, the dietary modification program, or both. Most participants completed the home activities, but more than half reported that finding time to do them was problematic. Facilitator review indicated that future programs should specifically cater to children of similar age or same sex, allow adequate time for explanation of complex nutritional concepts, and use intrinsic motivators for participants. Recommendations for future interventions, specifically the implementation of subsequent HIKCUPS or other multisite effectiveness studies, are detailed.

How Many Interviews Are Enough to Identify Metathemes in Multisited and Cross-Cultural Research? Another Perspective on Guest, Bunce, and Johnson's (2006) Landmark Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hagaman, Ashley K.; Wutich, Amber

2017-01-01

There is much debate over the number of interviews needed to reach data saturation for themes and metathemes in qualitative research. The primary purpose of this study is to determine the number of interviews needed to reach data saturation for metathemes in multisited and cross-cultural research. The analysis is based on a cross-cultural study on…

Perceived sleep deficit is a strong predictor of RLS in multisite pain - A population based study in middle aged females.

PubMed

Stehlik, Romana; Ulfberg, Jan; Zou, Ding; Hedner, Jan; Grote, Ludger

2017-10-01

Chronic pain conditions as well as Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) are known to be associated with subjectively and objectively disturbed sleep. RLS has been recently described as highly prevalent in multisite pain and the role of sleep as a modifying factor in this RLS phenotype is unknown. This study aimed to investigate if perceived sleep deficit and other sleep related parameters predict RLS in subjects with multisite pain. We have recently demonstrated a strong association between Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) and number of pain locations. In the current analysis we hypothesized that impaired sleep predicts RLS in subjects with multisite pain. Questionnaire-based data from 2727 randomly selected women aged 18-64 years were used to analyze RLS symptoms, self-reported sleep quality, and the degree of daytime sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS)) in relation to type, degree and localization of body pain. Potential confounders including anthropometrics, pain localization, co-morbidities, and medication were adjusted for in the Generalized Linear Models (GLM). Perceived sleep deficit ≥90min (OR 2.4 (1.5-3.8), p<0.001) and frequent nocturnal awakenings (OR 2.3 (1.4-3.6), p<0.001) were the strongest sleep related predictors for RLS in subjects with multisite pain. Additional factors include prolonged sleep latency (≥30min, OR 1.8 (1.1-2.8), p=0.01) and daytime symptoms like elevated daytime sleepiness (ESS score ≥9, OR 1.8 (1.2-2.7), p=0.005). Accordingly, RLS diagnosis was associated with impaired sleep quality (TST (Total Sleep Time) -8.2min, sleep latency +8.0min, and number of awakenings from sleep +0.4, p<0.01). ESS score increased with RLS diagnosis (+0.74, p<0.01) and number of pain locations (0.5, 1.7, and 1.8 for 1, 3, and 5 pain areas, p<0.001). In addition, confounders like pain severity, the history of psychiatric disease, and current smoking were associated with impaired sleep quality in this group of females. Perceived sleep deficit and sleep fragmentation are the strongest sleep related predictors of RLS in multisite pain. Potential implication of our results are that clinical management programmes of RLS in subjects with multisite pain need to consider both sleep quality and sleep quantity for individually tailored treatment regimes. RLS, pain, and sleep disorders are highly interrelated. Our study strongly suggests that clinical management of RLS in patients with multisite pain needs to consider sleep quality as an independent risk factor. Copyright © 2017 Scandinavian Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Childhood Traumatic Grief: A Multi-Site Empirical Examination of the Construct and Its Correlates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Elissa J.; Amaya-Jackson, Lisa; Cohen, Judith; Handel, Stephanie; De Bocanegra, Heike Thiel; Zatta, Eileen; Goodman, Robin F.; Mannarino, Anthony

2008-01-01

This study evaluated the construct of childhood traumatic grief (CTG) and its correlates through a multi-site assessment of 132 bereaved children and adolescents. Youth completed a new measure of the characteristics, attributions, and reactions to exposure to death (CARED), as well as measures of CTG, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD),…

Positive Family Intervention for Severe Challenging Behavior I: A Multisite Randomized Clinical Trial

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Durand, V. Mark; Hieneman, Meme; Clarke, Shelley; Wang, Mo; Rinaldi, Melissa L.

2013-01-01

The present study was a multisite randomized clinical trial assessing the effects of adding a cognitive-behavioral intervention to positive behavior support (PBS). Fifty-four families who met the criteria of (a) having a child with a developmental disability, (b) whose child displayed serious challenging behavior (e.g., aggression, self-injury,…

Collaborative Imaginaries and Multi-Sited Ethnography: Space-Time Dimensions of Engagement in an Afterschool Science Programme for Girls

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rahm, Jrene

2012-01-01

Temporal and spatial configurations that constitute learning and identity work across practices have been little explored in studies of science literacy development. Grounded in multi-sited ethnography, this paper explores diverse girls' engagement with and identity work in science locally, inside a newsletter activity in an afterschool programme…

Multi-Site Ethnography, Hypermedia and the Productive Hazards of Digital Methods: A Struggle for Liveness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gallagher, Kathleen; Freeman, Barry

2011-01-01

This article explores the possibilities and frustrations of using digital methods in a multi-sited ethnographic research project. The project, "Urban School Performances: The interplay, through live and digital drama, of local-global knowledge about student engagement", is a study of youth and teachers in drama classrooms in contexts of…

On multi-site damage identification using single-site training data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barthorpe, R. J.; Manson, G.; Worden, K.

2017-11-01

This paper proposes a methodology for developing multi-site damage location systems for engineering structures that can be trained using single-site damaged state data only. The methodology involves training a sequence of binary classifiers based upon single-site damage data and combining the developed classifiers into a robust multi-class damage locator. In this way, the multi-site damage identification problem may be decomposed into a sequence of binary decisions. In this paper Support Vector Classifiers are adopted as the means of making these binary decisions. The proposed methodology represents an advancement on the state of the art in the field of multi-site damage identification which require either: (1) full damaged state data from single- and multi-site damage cases or (2) the development of a physics-based model to make multi-site model predictions. The potential benefit of the proposed methodology is that a significantly reduced number of recorded damage states may be required in order to train a multi-site damage locator without recourse to physics-based model predictions. In this paper it is first demonstrated that Support Vector Classification represents an appropriate approach to the multi-site damage location problem, with methods for combining binary classifiers discussed. Next, the proposed methodology is demonstrated and evaluated through application to a real engineering structure - a Piper Tomahawk trainer aircraft wing - with its performance compared to classifiers trained using the full damaged-state dataset.

Planning and conducting a multi-institutional project on fatigue.

PubMed

Nail, L M; Barsevick, A M; Meek, P M; Beck, S L; Jones, L S; Walker, B L; Whitmer, K R; Schwartz, A L; Stephen, S; King, M E

1998-09-01

To describe the process used in proposal development and study implementation for a complex multisite project on cancer treatment-related fatigue (CRF), identify strategies used to manage the project, and provide recommendations for teams planning multisite research. Information derived from project team meeting records, correspondence, proposals, and personal recollection. The project was built on preexisting relationships among the three site investigators who then built a team including faculty, research coordinators, staff nurses, and students. Study sites had a range of organizational models, and the proposal was designed to capitalize on the organizational and resource strengths of each setting. Three team members drawn from outside oncology nursing provided expertise in measurement and experience with fatigue in other populations. Planning meetings were critical to the success of the project. Conference calls, fax technology, and electronic mail were used for communication. Flexibility was important in managing crises and shifting responsibility for specific components of the work. The team documented and evaluated the process used for multisite research, completed a major instrumentation study, and developed a cognitive-behavioral intervention for CRF. Accomplishments during the one-year planning grant exceeded initial expectations. The process of conducting multisite research is complex, especially when the starting point is a planning grant with specific research protocols to be developed and implemented over one year. Explicit planning for decision-making processes to be used throughout the project, acknowledging the differences among the study settings and planning the protocols to capitalize upon those differences, and recruiting a strong research team that included a member with planning grant and team-building expertise were essential elements for success. Specific recommendations for others planning multisite research are related to team-building, team membership, communication, behavioral norms, role flexibility, resources, feedback, problem management, and shared recognition.

Intra-operative multi-site stimulation: Expanding methodology for cortical brain mapping of language functions

PubMed Central

Korn, Akiva; Kirschner, Adi; Perry, Daniella; Hendler, Talma; Ram, Zvi

2017-01-01

Direct cortical stimulation (DCS) is considered the gold-standard for functional cortical mapping during awake surgery for brain tumor resection. DCS is performed by stimulating one local cortical area at a time. We present a feasibility study using an intra-operative technique aimed at improving our ability to map brain functions which rely on activity in distributed cortical regions. Following standard DCS, Multi-Site Stimulation (MSS) was performed in 15 patients by applying simultaneous cortical stimulations at multiple locations. Language functioning was chosen as a case-cognitive domain due to its relatively well-known cortical organization. MSS, performed at sites that did not produce disruption when applied in a single stimulation point, revealed additional language dysfunction in 73% of the patients. Functional regions identified by this technique were presumed to be significant to language circuitry and were spared during surgery. No new neurological deficits were observed in any of the patients following surgery. Though the neuro-electrical effects of MSS need further investigation, this feasibility study may provide a first step towards sophistication of intra-operative cortical mapping. PMID:28700619

Intra-operative multi-site stimulation: Expanding methodology for cortical brain mapping of language functions.

PubMed

Gonen, Tal; Gazit, Tomer; Korn, Akiva; Kirschner, Adi; Perry, Daniella; Hendler, Talma; Ram, Zvi

2017-01-01

Direct cortical stimulation (DCS) is considered the gold-standard for functional cortical mapping during awake surgery for brain tumor resection. DCS is performed by stimulating one local cortical area at a time. We present a feasibility study using an intra-operative technique aimed at improving our ability to map brain functions which rely on activity in distributed cortical regions. Following standard DCS, Multi-Site Stimulation (MSS) was performed in 15 patients by applying simultaneous cortical stimulations at multiple locations. Language functioning was chosen as a case-cognitive domain due to its relatively well-known cortical organization. MSS, performed at sites that did not produce disruption when applied in a single stimulation point, revealed additional language dysfunction in 73% of the patients. Functional regions identified by this technique were presumed to be significant to language circuitry and were spared during surgery. No new neurological deficits were observed in any of the patients following surgery. Though the neuro-electrical effects of MSS need further investigation, this feasibility study may provide a first step towards sophistication of intra-operative cortical mapping.

Progress in centralised ethics review processes: Implications for multi-site health evaluations.

PubMed

Prosser, Brenton; Davey, Rachel; Gibson, Diane

2015-04-01

Increasingly, public sector programmes respond to complex social problems that intersect specific fields and individual disciplines. Such responses result in multi-site initiatives that can span nations, jurisdictions, sectors and organisations. The rigorous evaluation of public sector programmes is now a baseline expectation. For evaluations of large and complex multi-site programme initiatives, the processes of ethics review can present a significant challenge. However in recent years, there have been new developments in centralised ethics review processes in many nations. This paper provides the case study of an evaluation of a national, inter-jurisdictional, cross-sector, aged care health initiative and its encounters with Australian centralised ethics review processes. Specifically, the paper considers progress against the key themes of a previous five-year, five nation study (Fitzgerald and Phillips, 2006), which found that centralised ethics review processes would save time, money and effort, as well as contribute to more equitable workloads for researchers and evaluators. The paper concludes with insights for those charged with refining centralised ethics review processes, as well as recommendations for future evaluators of complex multi-site programme initiatives. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Patterns of disclosure among youth who are HIV-positive: a multisite study.

PubMed

Dempsey, Allison G; MacDonell, Karen E; Naar-King, Sylvie; Lau, Chuen-Yen

2012-03-01

Disclosure of serostatus is critical in preventing the transmission of HIV among youth. The purpose of this exploratory study was to describe serostatus disclosure in a multisite study of youth living with HIV. This study investigated serostatus disclosure and its relationship to unprotected sex among 146 youth participating in a multisite study of young people living with HIV who were sexually active within the past 3 months. Forty percent of participants reported a sexual relationship with a partner to whom they had not disclosed their serostatus. Participants with multiple sexual partners were less likely to disclose their serostatus than those with one partner. Disclosure was more frequent when the serostatus of the sexual partner was known. Disclosure was not associated with unprotected sex. Prevention initiatives should focus on both disclosure and condom use in this high-risk population, particularly for youth with multiple sexual partners. Copyright © 2012 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. All rights reserved.

Multi-Sited Global Ethnography and Travel: Gendered Journeys in Three Registers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Epstein, Debbie; Fahey, Johannah; Kenway, Jane

2013-01-01

This paper joins a barely begun conversation about multi-sited and global ethnography in educational research; a conversation that is likely to intensify along with growing interest in the links between education, globalisation, internationalisation and transnationalism. Drawing on an ongoing multi-sited global ethnography of elite schools and…

Sources of Site Differences in the Efficacy of a Multisite Clinical Trial: The Treatment of SSRI-Resistant Depression in Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spirito, Anthony; Abebe, Kaleab Z.; Iyengar, Satish; Brent, David; Vitiello, Benedetto; Clarke, Gregory; Wagner, Karen Dineen; Asarnow, Joan; Emslie, Graham; Keller, Martin

2009-01-01

Site differences in treatment outcomes are not often highlighted when the results of multisite randomized clinical trials (MRCTs) are reported. The primary analyses of a 6-site MRCT, the Treatment of SSRI-Resistant Depression in Adolescents (TORDIA) study, showed substantial variation by site in the performance of a medication-only condition and a…

Year One Results from the Multisite Randomized Evaluation of the i3 Scale-Up of Reading Recovery

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

May, Henry; Gray, Abigail; Sirinides, Philip; Goldsworthy, Heather; Armijo, Michael; Sam, Cecile; Gillespie, Jessica N.; Tognatta, Namrata

2015-01-01

Reading Recovery (RR) is a short-term, one-to-one intervention designed to help the lowest achieving readers in first grade. This article presents first-year results from the multisite randomized controlled trial (RCT) and implementation study under the $55 million Investing in Innovation (i3) Scale-Up Project. For the 2011-2012 school year, the…

Efficient multi-site two-photon functional imaging of neuronal circuits.

PubMed

Castanares, Michael Lawrence; Gautam, Vini; Drury, Jack; Bachor, Hans; Daria, Vincent R

2016-12-01

Two-photon imaging using high-speed multi-channel detectors is a promising approach for optical recording of cellular membrane dynamics at multiple sites. A main bottleneck of this technique is the limited number of photons captured within a short exposure time (~1ms). Here, we implement temporal gating to improve the two-photon fluorescence yield from holographically projected multiple foci whilst maintaining a biologically safe incident average power. We observed up to 6x improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in Fluorescein and cultured hippocampal neurons showing evoked calcium transients. With improved SNR, we could pave the way to achieving multi-site optical recording of fluorogenic probes with response times in the order of ~1ms.

Efficient multi-site two-photon functional imaging of neuronal circuits

PubMed Central

Castanares, Michael Lawrence; Gautam, Vini; Drury, Jack; Bachor, Hans; Daria, Vincent R.

2016-01-01

Two-photon imaging using high-speed multi-channel detectors is a promising approach for optical recording of cellular membrane dynamics at multiple sites. A main bottleneck of this technique is the limited number of photons captured within a short exposure time (~1ms). Here, we implement temporal gating to improve the two-photon fluorescence yield from holographically projected multiple foci whilst maintaining a biologically safe incident average power. We observed up to 6x improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in Fluorescein and cultured hippocampal neurons showing evoked calcium transients. With improved SNR, we could pave the way to achieving multi-site optical recording of fluorogenic probes with response times in the order of ~1ms. PMID:28018745

Methodological challenges in conducting a multi-site randomized clinical trial of massage therapy in hospice.

PubMed

Kutner, Jean; Smith, Marlaine; Mellis, Karen; Felton, Sue; Yamashita, Traci; Corbin, Lisa

2010-06-01

Researchers conducting multi-site studies of interventions for end-of-life symptom management face significant challenges with respect to obtaining an adequate sample and training and retaining on-site study teams. The purpose of this paper is to describe the strategies and responses to these challenges in a multi-site randomized clinical trial (RCT) of the efficacy of massage therapy for decreasing pain among patients with advanced cancer in palliative care/hospice settings. Over a period of 36 months, we enrolled 380 participants across 15 sites; 27% of whom withdrew prior to study completion (less than the anticipated 30% rate). We saw an average of 68% turnover amongst study staff. Three key qualities characterized successful on-site study teams: (1) organizational commitment; (2) strong leadership from on-site study coordinators; and (3) effective lines of communication between the on-site study coordinators and both their teams and the university-based research team. Issues of recruitment, retention and training should be accounted for in hospice-based research study design and budgeting.

Creative Entextualizations of Discourses about Race in Multi-Sited Discursive Practices in the Brazilian "Periphery"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guimarães, Thayse Figueira; Moita-Lopes, Luiz Paulo

2017-01-01

This paper focuses on Luan's race performances both on the web and in classroom interaction. Luan is a black young man, who identifies himself as gay. The study is part of a multi-sited ethnographic piece of research on a group of high-school students in the state sector, in the "periphery" of a town on the Rio de Janeiro State north…

Exploiting Multisite Gateway and pENFRUIT plasmid collection for fruit genetic engineering.

PubMed

Estornell, Leandro H; Granell, Antonio; Orzaez, Diego

2012-01-01

MultiSite Gateway cloning techniques based on homologous recombination facilitate the combinatorial assembly of basic genetic pieces (i.e., promoters, CDS, and terminators) into gene expression or gene silencing cassettes. pENFRUIT is a collection of MultiSite Triple Gateway Entry vectors dedicated to genetic engineering in fruits. It comprises a number of fruit-operating promoters as well as C-terminal tags adapted to the Gateway standard. In this way, flanking regulatory/labeling sequences can be easily Gateway-assembled with a given gene of interest for its ectopic expression or silencing in fruits. The resulting gene constructs can be analyzed in stable transgenic plants or in transient expression assays, the latter allowing fast testing of the increasing number of combinations arising from MultiSite methodology. A detailed description of the use of MultiSite cloning methodology for the assembly of pENFRUIT elements is presented.

Implementation Considerations for Multisite Clinical Trials with Cognitive Neuroscience Tasks

PubMed Central

Keefe, Richard S. E.; Harvey, Philip D.

2008-01-01

Multisite clinical trials aimed at cognitive enhancement across various neuropsychiatric conditions have employed standard neuropsychological tests as outcome measures. While these tests have enjoyed wide clinical use and have proven reliable and predictive of functional disability, a number of implementation challenges have arisen when these tests are used in clinical trials. These issues are likely to be magnified in future studies when cognitive neuroscience (CN) procedures are explored in these trials, because in their current forms CN procedures are less standardized and more difficult to teach and monitor. For multisite trials, we anticipate that the most challenging issues will include assuring tester competence, monitoring tester performance, specific challenges with complex assessment methods, and having resources available for adequate monitoring of data quality. Suggestions for overcoming these implementation challenges are offered. PMID:18495645

The role of economics in the QUERI program: QUERI Series

PubMed Central

Smith, Mark W; Barnett, Paul G

2008-01-01

Background The United States (U.S.) Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) has implemented economic analyses in single-site and multi-site clinical trials. To date, no one has reviewed whether the QUERI Centers are taking an optimal approach to doing so. Consistent with the continuous learning culture of the QUERI Program, this paper provides such a reflection. Methods We present a case study of QUERI as an example of how economic considerations can and should be integrated into implementation research within both single and multi-site studies. We review theoretical and applied cost research in implementation studies outside and within VA. We also present a critique of the use of economic research within the QUERI program. Results Economic evaluation is a key element of implementation research. QUERI has contributed many developments in the field of implementation but has only recently begun multi-site implementation trials across multiple regions within the national VA healthcare system. These trials are unusual in their emphasis on developing detailed costs of implementation, as well as in the use of business case analyses (budget impact analyses). Conclusion Economics appears to play an important role in QUERI implementation studies, only after implementation has reached the stage of multi-site trials. Economic analysis could better inform the choice of which clinical best practices to implement and the choice of implementation interventions to employ. QUERI economics also would benefit from research on costing methods and development of widely accepted international standards for implementation economics. PMID:18430199

The role of economics in the QUERI program: QUERI Series.

PubMed

Smith, Mark W; Barnett, Paul G

2008-04-22

The United States (U.S.) Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) has implemented economic analyses in single-site and multi-site clinical trials. To date, no one has reviewed whether the QUERI Centers are taking an optimal approach to doing so. Consistent with the continuous learning culture of the QUERI Program, this paper provides such a reflection. We present a case study of QUERI as an example of how economic considerations can and should be integrated into implementation research within both single and multi-site studies. We review theoretical and applied cost research in implementation studies outside and within VA. We also present a critique of the use of economic research within the QUERI program. Economic evaluation is a key element of implementation research. QUERI has contributed many developments in the field of implementation but has only recently begun multi-site implementation trials across multiple regions within the national VA healthcare system. These trials are unusual in their emphasis on developing detailed costs of implementation, as well as in the use of business case analyses (budget impact analyses). Economics appears to play an important role in QUERI implementation studies, only after implementation has reached the stage of multi-site trials. Economic analysis could better inform the choice of which clinical best practices to implement and the choice of implementation interventions to employ. QUERI economics also would benefit from research on costing methods and development of widely accepted international standards for implementation economics.

Managing personal health information in distributed research network environments.

PubMed

Bredfeldt, Christine E; Butani, Amy L; Pardee, Roy; Hitz, Paul; Padmanabhan, Sandy; Saylor, Gwyn

2013-10-08

Studying rare outcomes, new interventions and diverse populations often requires collaborations across multiple health research partners. However, transferring healthcare research data from one institution to another can increase the risk of data privacy and security breaches. A working group of multi-site research programmers evaluated the need for tools to support data security and data privacy. The group determined that data privacy support tools should: 1) allow for a range of allowable Protected Health Information (PHI); 2) clearly identify what type of data should be protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); and 3) help analysts identify which protected health information data elements are allowable in a given project and how they should be protected during data transfer. Based on these requirements we developed two performance support tools to support data programmers and site analysts in exchanging research data. The first tool, a workplan template, guides the lead programmer through effectively communicating the details of multi-site programming, including how to run the program, what output the program will create, and whether the output is expected to contain protected health information. The second performance support tool is a checklist that site analysts can use to ensure that multi-site program output conforms to expectations and does not contain protected health information beyond what is allowed under the multi-site research agreements. Together the two tools create a formal multi-site programming workflow designed to reduce the chance of accidental PHI disclosure.

A multisite view of psychosocial risks in patients presenting for bariatric surgery.

PubMed

Rofey, Dana L; Zeller, Meg H; Brode, Cassie; Reiter-Purtill, Jennifer; Mikhail, Carmen; Washington, Gia; Baughcum, Amy E; Peugh, James; Austin, Heather; Jenkins, Todd M; Courcoulas, Anita P

2015-06-01

The psychosocial health of adolescents with severe obesity (BMI ≥ 120% for age and gender) has only recently been the focus of empirical work. This multisite study-an ancillary to a prospective longitudinal observational study documenting health in adolescents having weight loss surgery (WLS)-presents preoperative/baseline data from 141 WLS adolescents and 83 nonsurgical comparisons (NSComps). Self-report data from adolescent and caregiver dyads characterize adolescent psychopathology and potential correlates. One in three adolescents reported internalizing symptoms, and one in five endorsed externalizing symptoms in the clinical range. Generalized linear model analysis demonstrated that increased risk of psychopathology for adolescents with severe obesity was associated with family dysfunction, eating pathology, family composition, and seeking behavioral intervention (versus WLS), whereas better quality of life (QOL) was associated with lower psychopathology. While psychopathology rates are comparable to national samples, there is a subgroup of youth who present for behavioral weight loss services and are at greater risk for psychopathology relative to national adolescent base rates. Adolescents who achieve candidacy for WLS may be a highly selective population of youth with severe obesity and may have lower base rates of psychopathology compared to NSComps. © 2015 The Obesity Society.

Toward improved calibration of watershed models: multisite many objective measures of information

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This paper presents a computational framework for incorporation of disparate information from observed hydrologic responses at multiple locations into the calibration of watershed models. The framework consists of four components: (i) an a-priori characterization of system behavior; (ii) a formal an...

Single-site neural tube closure in human embryos revisited.

PubMed

de Bakker, Bernadette S; Driessen, Stan; Boukens, Bastiaan J D; van den Hoff, Maurice J B; Oostra, Roelof-Jan

2017-10-01

Since the multi-site closure theory was first proposed in 1991 as explanation for the preferential localizations of neural tube defects, the closure of the neural tube has been debated. Although the multi-site closure theory is much cited in clinical literature, single-site closure is most apparent in literature concerning embryology. Inspired by Victor Hamburgers (1900-2001) statement that "our real teacher has been and still is the embryo, who is, incidentally, the only teacher who is always right", we decided to critically review both theories of neural tube closure. To verify the theories of closure, we studied serial histological sections of 10 mouse embryos between 8.5 and 9.5 days of gestation and 18 human embryos of the Carnegie collection between Carnegie stage 9 (19-21 days) and 13 (28-32 days). Neural tube closure was histologically defined by the neuroepithelial remodeling of the two adjoining neural fold tips in the midline. We did not observe multiple fusion sites in neither mouse nor human embryos. A meta-analysis of case reports on neural tube defects showed that defects can occur at any level of the neural axis. Our data indicate that the human neural tube fuses at a single site and, therefore, we propose to reinstate the single-site closure theory for neural tube closure. We showed that neural tube defects are not restricted to a specific location, thereby refuting the reasoning underlying the multi-site closure theory. Clin. Anat. 30:988-999, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Streamflow prediction using multi-site rainfall obtained from hydroclimatic teleconnection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kashid, S. S.; Ghosh, Subimal; Maity, Rajib

2010-12-01

SummarySimultaneous variations in weather and climate over widely separated regions are commonly known as "hydroclimatic teleconnections". Rainfall and runoff patterns, over continents, are found to be significantly teleconnected, with large-scale circulation patterns, through such hydroclimatic teleconnections. Though such teleconnections exist in nature, it is very difficult to model them, due to their inherent complexity. Statistical techniques and Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools gain popularity in modeling hydroclimatic teleconnection, based on their ability, in capturing the complicated relationship between the predictors (e.g. sea surface temperatures) and predictand (e.g., rainfall). Genetic Programming is such an AI tool, which is capable of capturing nonlinear relationship, between predictor and predictand, due to its flexible functional structure. In the present study, gridded multi-site weekly rainfall is predicted from El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) indices, Equatorial Indian Ocean Oscillation (EQUINOO) indices, Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) and lag rainfall at grid points, over the catchment, using Genetic Programming. The predicted rainfall is further used in a Genetic Programming model to predict streamflows. The model is applied for weekly forecasting of streamflow in Mahanadi River, India, and satisfactory performance is observed.

Risk and direct protective factors for youth violence: results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Multisite Violence Prevention Project.

PubMed

Henry, David B; Tolan, Patrick H; Gorman-Smith, Deborah; Schoeny, Michael E

2012-08-01

This study was conducted as part of a multisite effort to examine risk and direct protective factors for youth violence. The goal was to identify those factors in the lives of young people that increase or decrease the risk of violence. These analyses fill an important gap in the literature, as few studies have examined risk and direct protective factors for youth violence across multiple studies. Data on 4432 middle-school youth, from the CDC Multisite Violence Prevention Project were used. Evaluations were made of effects of variables coded as risk and direct protective factors in the fall of 6th grade on violence measured in spring of 7th and 8th grades. Factors tested included depression, delinquency, alcohol and drug involvement, involvement in family activities, academic achievement, attitudes toward school, truancy, and peer deviance. Most variables were coded with two sets of dummy variables indicating risk and protective directions of effects. Results showed that higher teacher-rated study skills were associated with lower subsequent violence across genders and ethnic groups. Affiliation with deviant peers was significantly associated with increased subsequent violence among youth reporting their race/ethnicity as white or other, marginally associated with increased violence among African-American youth, and unrelated among Latino youth. This study identified some factors than should be areas of interest for effective prevention programs. Some ethnic differences also should be considered in planning of prevention. The CDC Multisite Violence Prevention Project completed enrollment prior to July 2005. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Comparison of non-invasive MRI measurements of cerebral blood flow in a large multisite cohort.

PubMed

Dolui, Sudipto; Wang, Ze; Wang, Danny Jj; Mattay, Raghav; Finkel, Mack; Elliott, Mark; Desiderio, Lisa; Inglis, Ben; Mueller, Bryon; Stafford, Randall B; Launer, Lenore J; Jacobs, David R; Bryan, R Nick; Detre, John A

2016-07-01

Arterial spin labeling and phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging provide independent non-invasive methods for measuring cerebral blood flow. We compared global cerebral blood flow measurements obtained using pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling and phase contrast in 436 middle-aged subjects acquired at two sites in the NHLBI CARDIA multisite study. Cerebral blood flow measured by phase contrast (CBFPC: 55.76 ± 12.05 ml/100 g/min) was systematically higher (p < 0.001) and more variable than cerebral blood flow measured by pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (CBFPCASL: 47.70 ± 9.75). The correlation between global cerebral blood flow values obtained from the two modalities was 0.59 (p < 0.001), explaining less than half of the observed variance in cerebral blood flow estimates. Well-established correlations of global cerebral blood flow with age and sex were similarly observed in both CBFPCASL and CBFPC CBFPC also demonstrated statistically significant site differences, whereas no such differences were observed in CBFPCASL No consistent velocity-dependent effects on pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling were observed, suggesting that pseudo-continuous labeling efficiency does not vary substantially across typical adult carotid and vertebral velocities, as has previously been suggested. Although CBFPCASL and CBFPC values show substantial similarity across the entire cohort, these data do not support calibration of CBFPCASL using CBFPC in individual subjects. The wide-ranging cerebral blood flow values obtained by both methods suggest that cerebral blood flow values are highly variable in the general population. © The Author(s) 2016.

Reliability of an fMRI Paradigm for Emotional Processing in a Multisite Longitudinal Study

PubMed Central

Gee, Dylan G.; McEwen, Sarah C.; Forsyth, Jennifer K.; Haut, Kristen M.; Bearden, Carrie E.; Addington, Jean; Goodyear, Bradley; Cadenhead, Kristin S.; Mirzakhanian, Heline; Cornblatt, Barbara A.; Olvet, Doreen; Mathalon, Daniel H.; McGlashan, Thomas H.; Perkins, Diana O.; Belger, Aysenil; Seidman, Larry J.; Thermenos, Heidi; Tsuang, Ming T.; van Erp, Theo G.M.; Walker, Elaine F.; Hamann, Stephan; Woods, Scott W.; Constable, Todd; Cannon, Tyrone D.

2015-01-01

Multisite neuroimaging studies can facilitate the investigation of brain-related changes in many contexts, including patient groups that are relatively rare in the general population. Though multisite studies have characterized the reliability of brain activation during working memory and motor functional magnetic resonance imaging tasks, emotion processing tasks, pertinent to many clinical populations, remain less explored. A traveling participants study was conducted with eight healthy volunteers scanned twice on consecutive days at each of the eight North American Longitudinal Prodrome Study sites. Tests derived from generalizability theory showed excellent reliability in the amygdala (Eρ2=0.82), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG;Eρ2=0.83), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC;Eρ2=0.76), insula (Eρ2=0.85), and fusiform gyrus (Eρ2=0.91) for maximum activation and fair to excellent reliability in the amygdala (Eρ2=0.44), IFG (Eρ2=0.48), ACC (Eρ2=0.55), insula (Eρ2=0.42), and fusiform gyrus (Eρ2=0.83) for mean activation across sites and test days. For the amygdala, habituation (Eρ2=0.71) was more stable than mean activation. In a second investigation, data from 111 healthy individuals across sites were aggregated in a voxelwise, quantitative meta-analysis. When compared with a mixed effects model controlling for site, both approaches identified robust activation in regions consistent with expected results based on prior single-site research. Overall, regions central to emotion processing showed strong reliability in the traveling participants study and robust activation in the aggregation study. These results support the reliability of blood oxygen level-dependent signal in emotion processing areas across different sites and scanners and may inform future efforts to increase efficiency and enhance knowledge of rare conditions in the population through multisite neuroimaging paradigms. PMID:25821147

A multi-site stochastic weather generator of daily precipitation and temperature

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Stochastic weather generators are used to generate time series of climate variables that have statistical properties similar to those of observed data. Most stochastic weather generators work for a single site, and can only generate climate data at a single point, or independent time series at sever...

Mixed mechanisms of multi-site phosphorylation

PubMed Central

Suwanmajo, Thapanar; Krishnan, J.

2015-01-01

Multi-site phosphorylation is ubiquitous in cell biology and has been widely studied experimentally and theoretically. The underlying chemical modification mechanisms are typically assumed to be distributive or processive. In this paper, we study the behaviour of mixed mechanisms that can arise either because phosphorylation and dephosphorylation involve different mechanisms or because phosphorylation and/or dephosphorylation can occur through a combination of mechanisms. We examine a hierarchy of models to assess chemical information processing through different mixed mechanisms, using simulations, bifurcation analysis and analytical work. We demonstrate how mixed mechanisms can show important and unintuitive differences from pure distributive and processive mechanisms, in some cases resulting in monostable behaviour with simple dose–response behaviour, while in other cases generating new behaviour-like oscillations. Our results also suggest patterns of information processing that are relevant as the number of modification sites increases. Overall, our work creates a framework to examine information processing arising from complexities of multi-site modification mechanisms and their impact on signal transduction. PMID:25972433

Increasing the ranks of academic researchers in mental health: a multisite approach to postdoctoral fellowship training.

PubMed

O'Hara, Ruth; Cassidy-Eagle, Erin L; Beaudreau, Sherry A; Eyler, Lisa T; Gray, Heather L; Giese-Davis, Janine; Hubbard, Jeffrey; Yesavage, Jerome A

2010-01-01

This report highlights the use of multisite training for psychiatry and psychology postdoctoral fellows developing careers in academic clinical research in the field of mental health. The objective is to describe a model of training for young investigators to establish independent academic clinical research careers, including (1) program structure and eligibility, (2) program goals and development of a multisite curriculum, (3) use of technology for implementing the program across multiple sites, and (4) advantages and challenges of this multisite approach. In 2000, in collaboration with the Veterans Affairs (VA) Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Centers (MIRECCs), the VA Office of Academic Affiliations launched the Special Fellowship Program in Advanced Psychiatry and Psychology. Each of the 10 currently participating VA sites across the United States is affiliated with a MIRECC and an academic medical institution. In the first five years of this fellowship program, 83 fellows (34 psychiatrists and 49 psychologists) have participated. The success of this multisite approach is evidenced by the 58 fellows who have already graduated from the program: 70% have entered academic clinical research positions, and over 25 have obtained independent extramural grant support from the VA or the National Institutes of Health. Multisite training results in a greater transfer of knowledge and capitalizes on the nationwide availability of experts, creating unique networking and learning opportunities for trainees. The VA's multisite fellowship program plays a valuable role in preparing substantial numbers of psychiatry and psychology trainees for a range of academic clinical research and leadership positions in the field of mental health.

Applying the Brakes to Multi-Site SR Protein Phosphorylation: Substrate-Induced Effects on the Splicing Kinase SRPK1†

PubMed Central

Aubol, Brandon E.; Adams, Joseph A.

2011-01-01

To investigate how a protein kinase interacts with its protein substrate during extended, multi-site phosphorylation, the kinetic mechanism of a protein kinase involved in mRNA splicing control was investigated using rapid quench flow techniques. The protein kinase SRPK1 phosphorylates approximately 10 serines in the arginine-serine-rich domain (RS domain) of the SR protein SRSF1 in a C-to-N-terminal direction, a modification that directs this essential splicing factor from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. Transient-state kinetic experiments illustrate that the first phosphate is added rapidly onto the RS domain of SRSF1 (t1/2 = 0.1 sec) followed by slower, multi-site phosphorylation at the remaining serines (t1/2 = 15 sec). Mutagenesis experiments suggest that efficient phosphorylation rates are maintained by an extensive hydrogen bonding and electrostatic network between the RS domain of the SR protein and the active site and docking groove of the kinase. Catalytic trapping and viscosometric experiments demonstrate that while the phosphoryl transfer step is fast, ADP release limits multi-site phosphorylation. By studying phosphate incorporation into selectively pre-phosphorylated forms of the enzyme-substrate complex, the kinetic mechanism for site-specific phosphorylation along the reaction coordinate was assessed. The binding affinity of the SR protein, the phosphoryl transfer rate and ADP exchange rate were found to decline significantly as a function of progressive phosphorylation in the RS domain. These findings indicate that the protein substrate actively modulates initiation, extension and termination events associated with prolonged, multi-site phosphorylation. PMID:21728354

Comparison of CCD astrolabe multi-site solar diameter observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andrei, A. H.; Boscardin, S. C.; Chollet, F.; Delmas, C.; Golbasi, O.; Jilinski, E. G.; Kiliç, H.; Laclare, F.; Morand, F.; Penna, J. L.; Reis Neto, E.

2004-11-01

Results are presented of measured variations of the photospheric solar diameter, as concurrently observed at three sites of the R2S3 (Réseau de Suivi au Sol du Rayon Solaire) consortium in 2001. Important solar flux variations appeared in that year, just after the maximum of solar activity cycle 23, make that time stretch particularly promising for a comparison of the multi-site results. The sites are those in Turkey, France and Brasil. All observations are made with similar CCD solar astrolabes, and at nearby effective wavelengths. The data reductions share algorithms, that are alike, the outcomes of which are here treated after applying a normalization correction using the Fried parameter. Since the sites are geographically quite far, atmospheric conditions are dismissed as possible causes of the large common trend found. Owing to particularities of each site, the common continuous observational period extends from April to September. The standard deviation for the daily averages is close to 0.47 arcsec for the three sites. Accordingly, the three series are smoothed by a low-pass-band Fourier filter of 150 observations (typically one month). The main common features found are a declining linear trend, of the order of 0.7 mas/day, and a relative maximum, around MJD 2120, of the order of 100 mas. Standard statistical tests endorse the correlation of the three series.

Supervision of Facilitators in a Multisite Study: Goals, Process, and Outcomes

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Objective To describe the aims, implementation, and desired outcomes of facilitator supervision for both interventions (treatment and control) in Project Eban and to present the Eban Theoretical Framework for Supervision that guided the facilitators’ supervision. The qualifications and training of supervisors and facilitators are also described. Design This article provides a detailed description of supervision in a multisite behavioral intervention trial. The Eban Theoretical Framework for Supervision is guided by 3 theories: cognitive behavior therapy, the Life-long Model of Supervision, and “Empowering supervisees to empower others: a culturally responsive supervision model.” Methods Supervision is based on the Eban Theoretical Framework for Supervision, which provides guidelines for implementing both interventions using goals, process, and outcomes. Results Because of effective supervision, the interventions were implemented with fidelity to the protocol and were standard across the multiple sites. Conclusions Supervision of facilitators is a crucial aspect of multisite intervention research quality assurance. It provides them with expert advice, optimizes the effectiveness of facilitators, and increases adherence to the protocol across multiple sites. Based on the experience in this trial, some of the challenges that arise when conducting a multisite randomized control trial and how they can be handled by implementing the Eban Theoretical Framework for Supervision are described. PMID:18724192

Integrating ecosystems measurements from multiple eddy-covariance sites to a simple model of ecosystem process - Are there possibilities for a uniform model calibration?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minunno, Francesco; Peltoniemi, Mikko; Launiainen, Samuli; Mäkelä, Annikki

2014-05-01

Biogeochemical models quantify the material and energy flux exchanges between biosphere, atmosphere and soil, however there is still considerable uncertainty underpinning model structure and parametrization. The increasing availability of data from of multiple sources provides useful information for model calibration and validation at different space and time scales. We calibrated a simplified ecosystem process model PRELES to data from multiple sites. In this work we had the following objective: to compare a multi-site calibration and site-specific calibrations, in order to test if PRELES is a model of general applicability, and to test how well one parameterization can predict ecosystem fluxes. Model calibration and evaluation were carried out by the means of the Bayesian method; Bayesian calibration (BC) and Bayesian model comparison (BMC) were used to quantify the uncertainty in model parameters and model structure. Evapotranspiration (ET) and gross primary production (GPP) measurements collected in 9 sites of Finland and Sweden were used in the study; half dataset was used for model calibrations and half for the comparative analyses. 10 BCs were performed; the model was independently calibrated for each of the nine sites (site-specific calibrations) and a multi-site calibration was achieved using the data from all the sites in one BC. Then 9 BMCs were carried out, one for each site, using output from the multi-site and the site-specific versions of PRELES. Similar estimates were obtained for the parameters at which model outputs are most sensitive. Not surprisingly, the joint posterior distribution achieved through the multi-site calibration was characterized by lower uncertainty, because more data were involved in the calibration process. No significant differences were encountered in the prediction of the multi-site and site-specific versions of PRELES, and after BMC, we concluded that the model can be reliably used at regional scale to simulate carbon and water fluxes of Boreal forests. Despite being a simple model, PRELES provided good estimates of GPP and ET; only for one site PRELES multi-site version underestimated water fluxes. Our study implies convergence of GPP and water processes in boreal zone to the extent that their plausible prediction is possible with a simple model using global parameterization.

A general Bayesian framework for calibrating and evaluating stochastic models of annual multi-site hydrological data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frost, Andrew J.; Thyer, Mark A.; Srikanthan, R.; Kuczera, George

2007-07-01

SummaryMulti-site simulation of hydrological data are required for drought risk assessment of large multi-reservoir water supply systems. In this paper, a general Bayesian framework is presented for the calibration and evaluation of multi-site hydrological data at annual timescales. Models included within this framework are the hidden Markov model (HMM) and the widely used lag-1 autoregressive (AR(1)) model. These models are extended by the inclusion of a Box-Cox transformation and a spatial correlation function in a multi-site setting. Parameter uncertainty is evaluated using Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques. Models are evaluated by their ability to reproduce a range of important extreme statistics and compared using Bayesian model selection techniques which evaluate model probabilities. The case study, using multi-site annual rainfall data situated within catchments which contribute to Sydney's main water supply, provided the following results: Firstly, in terms of model probabilities and diagnostics, the inclusion of the Box-Cox transformation was preferred. Secondly the AR(1) and HMM performed similarly, while some other proposed AR(1)/HMM models with regionally pooled parameters had greater posterior probability than these two models. The practical significance of parameter and model uncertainty was illustrated using a case study involving drought security analysis for urban water supply. It was shown that ignoring parameter uncertainty resulted in a significant overestimate of reservoir yield and an underestimation of system vulnerability to severe drought.

Integrating qualitative research into occupational health: a case study among hospital workers.

PubMed

Gordon, Deborah R; Ames, Genevieve M; Yen, Irene H; Gillen, Marion; Aust, Birgit; Rugulies, Reiner; Frank, John W; Blanc, Paul D

2005-04-01

We sought to better use qualitative approaches in occupational health research and integrate them with quantitative methods. We systematically reviewed, selected, and adapted qualitative research methods as part of a multisite study of the predictors and outcomes of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among hospital workers in two large urban tertiary hospitals. The methods selected included participant observation; informal, open-ended, and semistructured interviews with individuals or small groups; and archival study. The nature of the work and social life of the hospitals and the foci of the study all favored using more participant observation methods in the case study than initially anticipated. Exploiting the full methodological spectrum of qualitative methods in occupational health is increasingly relevant. Although labor-intensive, these approaches may increase the yield of established quantitative approaches otherwise used in isolation.

Multisite musculoskeletal pain in adolescence as a predictor of medical and social welfare benefits in young adulthood: The Norwegian Arctic Adolescent Health Cohort Study.

PubMed

Eckhoff, C; Straume, B; Kvernmo, S

2017-11-01

Pain in adolescence is associated with mental health problems, the main reason for work disability in young adults. This study explores the relationship between multisite musculoskeletal pain in adolescence and later medical (sickness and medical rehabilitation benefits) and social welfare benefits, adjusted for sociodemographic, adolescent psychosocial and mental health problems. Data were obtained by linkage between the National Insurance Registry (2003-11) and the Norwegian Arctic Adolescent Health Study, a school-based survey in North Norway (2003-05), accepted by 3987 fifteen- to sixteen-year-olds (68% of the total population). The start of the follow-up time was July 1st of the corresponding year the participants responded to the health study. Musculoskeletal pain was measured by the number of musculoskeletal pain sites. We found a positive linear relationship between adolescent musculoskeletal pain sites and the occurrence of medical and social welfare benefits in young adulthood (p ≤ 0.001). Adolescent musculoskeletal pain was a significant predictor of sickness (p < 0.001) and social welfare benefits in females (p = 0.036), when adjusted for adolescent psychosocial and mental health problems. The most important adolescent psychosocial predictors were externalizing problems, less parental involvement and adverse life events. Adolescent multisite musculoskeletal pain was found to be an important predictor of later sickness and social welfare benefit receipt from adolescence to young adulthood. Adolescents with multisite musculoskeletal pain are at substantially increased risk of health and social difficulties into young adulthood. Identification and interventions for these adolescent problems could alleviate this risk and be a sound socioeconomic investment. © 2017 European Pain Federation - EFIC®.

Quality assurance of data collection in the multi-site community randomized trial and prevalence survey of the children's healthy living program.

PubMed

Yamanaka, Ashley; Fialkowski, Marie Kainoa; Wilkens, Lynne; Li, Fenfang; Ettienne, Reynolette; Fleming, Travis; Power, Julianne; Deenik, Jonathan; Coleman, Patricia; Leon Guerrero, Rachael; Novotny, Rachel

2016-09-02

Quality assurance plays an important role in research by assuring data integrity, and thus, valid study results. We aim to describe and share the results of the quality assurance process used to guide the data collection process in a multi-site childhood obesity prevalence study and intervention trial across the US Affiliated Pacific Region. Quality assurance assessments following a standardized protocol were conducted by one assessor in every participating site. Results were summarized to examine and align the implementation of protocol procedures across diverse settings. Data collection protocols focused on food and physical activity were adhered to closely; however, protocols for handling completed forms and ensuring data security showed more variability. Quality assurance protocols are common in the clinical literature but are limited in multi-site community-based studies, especially in underserved populations. The reduction in the number of QA problems found in the second as compared to the first data collection periods for the intervention study attest to the value of this assessment. This paper can serve as a reference for similar studies wishing to implement quality assurance protocols of the data collection process to preserve data integrity and enhance the validity of study findings. NIH clinical trial #NCT01881373.

Multisite HPV16/18 Vaccine Efficacy Against Cervical, Anal, and Oral HPV Infection

PubMed Central

Kreimer, Aimée R.; Schiffman, Mark; Herrero, Rolando; Wacholder, Sholom; Rodriguez, Ana Cecilia; Lowy, Douglas R.; Porras, Carolina; Schiller, John T.; Quint, Wim; Jimenez, Silvia; Safaeian, Mahboobeh; Struijk, Linda; Schussler, John; Hildesheim, Allan; Gonzalez, Paula

2016-01-01

Background: Previous Costa Rica Vaccine Trial (CVT) reports separately demonstrated vaccine efficacy against HPV16 and HPV18 (HPV16/18) infections at the cervical, anal, and oral regions; however, the combined overall multisite efficacy (protection at all three sites) and vaccine efficacy among women infected with HPV16 or HPV18 prior to vaccination are less known. Methods: Women age 18 to 25 years from the CVT were randomly assigned to the HPV16/18 vaccine (Cervarix) or a hepatitis A vaccine. Cervical, oral, and anal specimens were collected at the four-year follow-up visit from 4186 women. Multisite and single-site vaccine efficacies (VEs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed for one-time detection of point prevalent HPV16/18 in the cervical, anal, and oral regions four years after vaccination. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results: The multisite woman-level vaccine efficacy was highest among “naïve” women (HPV16/18 seronegative and cervical HPV high-risk DNA negative at vaccination) (vaccine efficacy = 83.5%, 95% CI = 72.1% to 90.8%). Multisite woman-level vaccine efficacy was also demonstrated among women with evidence of a pre-enrollment HPV16 or HPV18 infection (seropositive for HPV16 and/or HPV18 but cervical HPV16/18 DNA negative at vaccination) (vaccine efficacy = 57.8%, 95% CI = 34.4% to 73.4%), but not in those with cervical HPV16 and/or HPV18 DNA at vaccination (anal/oral HPV16/18 VE = 25.3%, 95% CI = -40.4% to 61.1%). Concordant HPV16/18 infections at two or three sites were also less common in HPV16/18-infected women in the HPV vaccine vs control arm (7.4% vs 30.4%, P < .001). Conclusions: This study found high multisite vaccine efficacy among “naïve” women and also suggests the vaccine may provide protection against HPV16/18 infections at one or more anatomic sites among some women infected with these types prior to HPV16/18 vaccination. PMID:26467666

Ground-based search for the brightest transiting planets with the Multi-site All-Sky CAmeRA: MASCARA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Snellen, Ignas A. G.; Stuik, Remko; Navarro, Ramon; Bettonvil, Felix; Kenworthy, Matthew; de Mooij, Ernst; Otten, Gilles; ter Horst, Rik; le Poole, Rudolf

2012-09-01

The Multi-site All-sky CAmeRA MASCARA is an instrument concept consisting of several stations across the globe, with each station containing a battery of low-cost cameras to monitor the near-entire sky at each location. Once all stations have been installed, MASCARA will be able to provide a nearly 24-hr coverage of the complete dark sky, down to magnitude 8, at sub-minute cadence. Its purpose is to find the brightest transiting exoplanet systems, expected in the V=4-8 magnitude range - currently not probed by space- or ground-based surveys. The bright/nearby transiting planet systems, which MASCARA will discover, will be the key targets for detailed planet atmosphere observations. We present studies on the initial design of a MASCARA station, including the camera housing, domes, and computer equipment, and on the photometric stability of low-cost cameras showing that a precision of 0.3-1% per hour can be readily achieved. We plan to roll out the first MASCARA station before the end of 2013. A 5-station MASCARA can within two years discover up to a dozen of the brightest transiting planet systems in the sky.

Demographic characteristics and employment among people with severe mental illness in a multisite study.

PubMed

Burke-Miller, Jane K; Cook, Judith A; Grey, Dennis D; Razzano, Lisa A; Blyler, Crystal R; Leff, H Stephen; Gold, Paul B; Goldberg, Richard W; Mueser, Kim T; Cook, William L; Hoppe, Sue K; Stewart, Michelle; Blankertz, Laura; Dudek, Kenn; Taylor, Amanda L; Carey, Martha Ann

2006-04-01

People with psychiatric disabilities experience disproportionately high rates of unemployment. As research evidence is mounting regarding effective vocational programs, interest is growing in identifying subgroup variations. Data from a multisite research and demonstration program were analyzed to identify demographic characteristics associated with employment outcomes, after adjusting for the effects of program, services, and study site. Longitudinal analyses found that people with more recent work history, younger age, and higher education were more likely to achieve competitive employment and to work more hours per month, while race and gender effects varied by employment outcome. Results provide strong evidence of demographic subgroup variation and need.

Evaluation of Intervention Fidelity in a Multisite Clinical Trial in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis.

PubMed

Morrison, Janet D; Becker, Heather; Stuifbergen, Alexa K

2017-12-01

Careful consideration of intervention fidelity is critical to establishing the validity and reliability of research findings, yet such reports are often lacking in the research literature. It is imperative that intervention fidelity be methodically evaluated and reported to promote the translation of effective interventions into sound evidence-based practice. The purpose of this article is to explore strategies used to promote intervention fidelity, incorporating examples from a multisite clinical trial, that illustrate the National Institutes of Health Behavior Change Consortium's 5 domains for recommended treatment practices: (1) study design, (2) facilitator training, (3) intervention delivery, (4) intervention receipt, and (5) intervention enactment. A multisite randomized clinical trial testing the efficacy of a computer-assisted cognitive rehabilitation intervention for adults with multiple sclerosis is used to illustrate strategies promoting intervention fidelity. Data derived from audiotapes of intervention classes, audits of computer exercises completed by participants, participant class attendance, and goal attainment scaling suggested relatively high fidelity to the intervention protocol. This study illustrates how to report intervention fidelity in the literature guided by best practice strategies, which may serve to promote fidelity monitoring and reporting in future studies.

Characteristics of chronic pain associated with sleep difficulty in the older population: The MOBILIZE Boston Study

PubMed Central

Chen, Qian; Hayman, Laura L.; Shmerling, Robert H.; Bean, Jonathan F.; Leveille, Suzanne G.

2012-01-01

Objectivers To evaluate pain severity and distribution in relation to sleep difficulty in older adults. Design Population-based cross-sectional study Setting Community within a 5-mile radius of the study center at the Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife (HSL) in Boston Participants 765 participants of the Maintenance of Balance, Independent Living, Intellect, and Zest in the Elderly (MOBILIZE) Boston Study, aged 64 and older. Measurements Pain severity was measured using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), Pain Severity Subscale. Musculoskeletal pain distribution was grouped according to no pain, single site, ≥2 sites, and widespread pain (upper and lower extremities and back pain). We measured 3 aspects of sleep difficulty using items from the CESD-R (trouble getting to sleep, sleep more than usual, and restless sleep). Results Prevalence of trouble getting to sleep according to BPI severity was 17.8%, 19.7%, 32.0%, and 37.0% for the lowest to highest pain severity quartiles, respectively. Similar relationships between pain and sleep were observed across sleep measures according to pain severity and distribution. Adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, chronic conditions and health behaviors, chronic pain was strongly associated with trouble sleeping (≥1d/week), (single site pain, OR=1.77, 95%CI, 1.10–2.87; multisite pain OR=2.38, 95% CI, 1.48–3.83; and widespread pain, OR=2.55, 95% CI, 1.43–4.54, each compared with no pain). Similar associations were observed for restless sleep and sleeping more than usual. With specific pain sites alone or in combination with other sites of pain, only modest associations were observed with sleep problems. Conclusion Widespread or other multisite pain and moderate to severe pain are strongly associated with sleep difficulty in older adults. Further research is needed to better understand the burden and consequences of pain-related sleep problems in the older population. PMID:21806564

Ensuring treatment fidelity in a multi-site behavioral intervention study: implementing NIH Behavior Change Consortium recommendations in the SMART trial.

PubMed

Robb, Sheri L; Burns, Debra S; Docherty, Sharron L; Haase, Joan E

2011-11-01

The Stories and Music for Adolescent/Young Adult Resilience during Transplant (SMART) study (R01NR008583; U10CA098543; U10CA095861) is an ongoing multi-site Children's Oncology Group randomized clinical trial testing the efficacy of a therapeutic music video intervention for adolescents/young adults (11-24 years of age) with cancer undergoing stem cell transplant. Treatment fidelity strategies from our trial are consistent with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Behavior Change Consortium Treatment Fidelity Workgroup (BCC) recommendations and provide a successful working model for treatment fidelity implementation in a large, multi-site behavioral intervention study. In this paper, we summarize 20 specific treatment fidelity strategies used in the SMART trial and how these strategies correspond with NIH BCC recommendations in five specific areas: (1) study design, (2) training providers, (3) delivery of treatment, (4) receipt of treatment, and (5) enactment of treatment skills. Increased use and reporting of treatment fidelity procedures is essential in advancing the reliability and validity of behavioral intervention research. The SMART trial provides a strong model for the application of fidelity strategies to improve scientific findings and addresses the absence of published literature, illustrating the application of BCC recommendations in behavioral intervention studies. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Tools and Methods for Risk Management in Multi-Site Engineering Projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Mingwei; Nemes, Laszlo; Reidsema, Carl; Ahmed, Ammar; Kayis, Berman

In today's highly global business environment, engineering and manufacturing projects often involve two or more geographically dispersed units or departments, research centers or companies. This paper attempts to identify the requirements for risk management in a multi-site engineering project environment, and presents a review of the state-of-the-art tools and methods that can be used to manage risks in multi-site engineering projects. This leads to the development of a risk management roadmap, which will underpin the design and implementation of an intelligent risk mapping system.

The importance of the verbal shift handover report: a multi-site case study.

PubMed

Randell, Rebecca; Wilson, Stephanie; Woodward, Peter

2011-11-01

Shift handover is seen as a key tool in ensuring continuity of care yet a number of studies have highlighted the role of shift handovers in adverse events. This, combined with the increased frequency of shift handovers, has led to interest in providing technological support for handover to enhance safety. The aim of this paper is to describe current practices for the conduct of shift handovers and to use this as a basis for considering the role that technology could play in supporting handover. A multi-site case study of handover was conducted. Data included observations of 15 medical shift handovers and 33 nursing shift handovers across three case sites. The findings highlight the way in which the verbal shift handover report is practically focused, displaying the healthcare professional's ability to know what information is required and where further explanation is needed. As well as supporting teaching and team cohesion, shift handover can provide an opportunity to reflect on the previous shift and for discussion with patients and their families. The benefits provided by a face to face handover suggest that technology should focus on supporting rather than replacing the verbal shift handover report, providing a flexible solution that allows handover participants to gather more information as it is required. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multisite musculoskeletal pain in adolescence and later mental health disorders: a population-based registry study of Norwegian youth: the NAAHS cohort study

PubMed Central

Eckhoff, Christian; Straume, Bjørn; Kvernmo, Siv

2017-01-01

Objectives To examine the association between multisite musculoskeletal pain in adolescence and mental health disorders in young adulthood. Design and setting Data were obtained from a linkage between the Norwegian Patient Registry (2008–2012) and the Norwegian Arctic Adolescent Health Study, a school-based survey conducted among 10th grade students in North Norway (2003–2005). Participants In total, 3987 (68%) of all 5877 invited participants consented to the registry linkage. Outcome measures Mental healthcare use and disorders from age 18–20 to 23–25 years (5 years). Methods Musculoskeletal pain was measured by the number of musculoskeletal pain sites. Multivariable logistic regression was used to explore the association with later mental healthcare use and disorders. Results Multisite adolescent musculoskeletal pain was significantly associated with an increase in mental healthcare use and mental health disorders in young adulthood. The relationship was stronger for anxiety and mood disorders, in both genders. Overall, the association between musculoskeletal pain and later mental health problems was attenuated after controlling for adolescent psychosocial and mental health problems, not by physical or sedentary activity. This could be due to confounding or mediation. However, when examining different mental health disorders, we found musculoskeletal pain to be significantly associated with anxiety disorders, and showing a strong trend in mood disorders, when adjusted for the adolescent factors. Conclusions Physicians should be aware that multisite adolescent pain is associated with mental health problems in adolescence, and that these adolescents are at increased risk of mental health disorders in young adulthood. As youth troubled by mental health problems commonly present physical symptoms it is important to examine for psychosocial problems in order to offer early interventions. PMID:28188150

Insomnia, Sleep Duration, Depressive Symptoms, and the Onset of Chronic Multisite Musculoskeletal Pain.

PubMed

Generaal, Ellen; Vogelzangs, Nicole; Penninx, Brenda W J H; Dekker, Joost

2017-01-01

The temporal relationships among sleep, depressive symptoms, and pain are unclear. This longitudinal study examines whether insomnia and sleep duration predict the onset of chronic multisite musculoskeletal pain over 6 years and whether this association is mediated by depressive symptoms. 1860 subjects of the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety, free from chronic multisite musculoskeletal pain at baseline, were followed up for the onset of chronic multisite musculoskeletal pain over 6 years (Chronic Pain Grade Questionnaire). We determined baseline insomnia (Women's Health Initiative Insomnia Rating Scale ≥9) and sleep duration (short: ≤6 hr, normal: 7-9 hr, long: ≥10 hr). Depressive symptoms were assessed at baseline and as a change score over time (Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology). Insomnia (hazard ratio [HR] [95% confidence interval, 95%CI] = 1.60 [1.30-1.96], p < .001) and short sleep duration (HR [95%CI] = 1.52 [1.22-1.90], p < .001) were associated with chronic pain onset. Adding baseline depressive symptoms as a mediator attenuated the associations for insomnia and short sleep with chronic pain onset (∆B = 40% and 26%, respectively). Adding the change score of depressive symptoms further weakened the association for insomnia (∆B = 16%) but not for short sleep. All direct effects for sleep measures with chronic pain onset remained statistically significant (p < .05). This longitudinal study shows that insomnia and short sleep duration are risk factors for developing chronic pain. Depressive symptoms partially mediate the effect for insomnia and short sleep with developing chronic pain. © Sleep Research Society 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Sleep Research Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

Multiperiod planning tool for multisite pig production systems.

PubMed

Nadal-Roig, E; Plà, L M

2014-09-01

This paper presents a multiperiod planning tool for multisite pig production systems based on Linear Programming (LP). The aim of the model is to help pig managers of multisite systems in making short-term decisions (mainly related to pig transfers between farms and batch management in fattening units) and mid-term or long-term decisions (according to company targets and expansion strategy). The model skeleton follows the structure of a three-site system that can be adapted to any multisite system present in the modern pig industry. There are three basic phases, namely, piglet production, rearing pigs, and fattening. Each phase involves a different set of farms; therefore, transportation between farms and delivering of pigs to the abattoir are under consideration. The model maximizes the total gross margin calculated from the income of sales to the abattoir and the production costs over the time horizon considered. Production cost depends on each type of farm involved in the process. Parameters like number of farms per phase and distance, farm capacity, reproduction management policies, feeding and veterinary expenses, and transportation costs are taken into account. The model also provides a schedule of transfers between farms in terms of animals to be transported and number of trucks involved. The use of the model is illustrated with a case study based on a real instance of a company located in Catalonia (Spain).

Multisite occupation of divalent dopants in barium and strontium titanates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zulueta, Yohandys A.; Nguyen, Minh Tho

2018-10-01

Based on recent experimental and theoretical proofs of calcium multisite occupation in barium titanate, we investigated a mixed incorporation mechanism for divalent dopants in barium and strontium titanates (BaTiO3 and SrTiO3). Our present theoretical results demonstrated the multisite occupation of divalent dopants in both perovskite structures. We determined the dependences of the solution, binding energies, and final solution energies with respect to the ionic radii of the dopants. Calculated results obtained based on classical simulations showed that the divalent dopants can occupy both A- and Ti- cation sites in ATiO3 perovskite structures. Such a multisite occupation has direct implications for other experimental findings regarding BaTiO3, such as non-stabilization of the tetragonal phase, shifts in the Curie temperature, intensification of the diffuse phase transition, and shifts in the absorption of ultraviolet light to the visible range in photocatalytic applications related to solar cells for producing energy.

Transmission Heterogeneity and Autoinoculation in a Multisite Infection Model of HPV

PubMed Central

Brouwer, Andrew F.; Meza, Rafael; Eisenberg, Marisa C.

2015-01-01

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is sexually transmitted and can infect oral, genital, and anal sites in the human epithelium. Here, we develop a multisite transmission model that includes autoinoculation, to study HPV and other multisite diseases. Under a homogeneous-contacts assumption, we analyze the basic reproduction number R0, as well as type and target reproduction numbers, for a two-site model. In particular, we find that R0 occupies a space between taking the maximum of next generation matrix terms for same site transmission and taking the geometric average of cross-site transmission terms in such a way that heterogeneity in the same-site transmission rates increases R0 while heterogeneity in the cross-site transmission decreases it. Additionally, autoinoculation adds considerable complexity to the form of R0. We extend this analysis to a heterosexual population, which additionally yields dynamics analogous to those of vector–host models. We also examine how these issues of heterogeneity may affect disease control, using type and target reproduction numbers. PMID:26518265

The effect of simulation courseware on critical thinking in undergraduate nursing students: multi-site pre-post study.

PubMed

Shin, Hyunsook; Ma, Hyunhee; Park, Jiyoung; Ji, Eun Sun; Kim, Dong Hee

2015-04-01

The use of simulations has been considered as opportunities for students to enhance their critical thinking (CT), but previous studies were limited because they did not provide in-depth information on the working dynamics of simulation or on the effects of the number of simulation exposures on CT. This study examined the effect of an integrated pediatric nursing simulation used in a nursing practicum on students' CT abilities and identified the effects of differing numbers of simulation exposures on CT in a multi-site environment. The study used a multi-site, pre-test, post-test design. A total of 237 nursing students at three universities enrolled in a pediatric practicum participated in this study from February to December 2013. All three schools used the same simulation courseware, including the same simulation scenarios, evaluation tools, and simulation equipment. The courseware incorporated high-fidelity simulators and standardized patients. Students at school A completed one simulation session, whereas students at schools B and C completed two and three simulation sessions, respectively. Yoon's Critical Thinking Disposition tool (2008) was used to measure students' CT abilities. The gains in students' CT scores varied according to their numbers of exposures to the simulation courseware. With a single exposure, there were no statistically significant gains in CT, whereas three exposures to the courseware produced significant gains in CT. In seven subcategories of critical thinking, three exposures to the simulation courseware produced CT gains in the prudence and intellectual eagerness subcategories, and the overall simulation experience produced CT gains in the prudence, systematicity, healthy skepticism, and intellectual eagerness subcategories. Simulation courseware may produce positive learning outcomes for prudence in nursing education. In addition, the findings from the multi-site comparative study may contribute to greater understanding of how patient simulation experiences impact students' CT abilities. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Women, Co-occurring Disorders, and Violence Study: evaluation design and study population.

PubMed

McHugo, G J; Kammerer, N; Jackson, E W; Markoff, L S; Gatz, M; Larson, M J; Mazelis, R; Hennigan, K

2005-03-01

The Women, Co-occurring Disorders, and Violence Study (WCDVS) was a multi-site cooperative study to evaluate new service models for women with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders and a history of physical and/or sexual abuse. Despite common features in the service interventions and evaluation procedures, diversity across the nine sites plus differences introduced by non-random assignment led to numerous methodological challenges. This article describes the design, measurement, and analysis decisions behind the WCDVS and lays the foundation for understanding participant-level outcomes and service costs. This article also describes the study population, as recruited and following attrition at the 6-month follow-up, in order to address the threat of selection bias to inferences drawn from this multi-site study.

Multi-site Study of Diffusion Metric Variability: Characterizing the Effects of Site, Vendor, Field Strength, and Echo Time using the Histogram Distance.

PubMed

Helmer, K G; Chou, M-C; Preciado, R I; Gimi, B; Rollins, N K; Song, A; Turner, J; Mori, S

2016-02-27

MRI-based multi-site trials now routinely include some form of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in their protocol. These studies can include data originating from scanners built by different vendors, each with their own set of unique protocol restrictions, including restrictions on the number of available gradient directions, whether an externally-generated list of gradient directions can be used, and restrictions on the echo time (TE). One challenge of multi-site studies is to create a common imaging protocol that will result in a reliable and accurate set of diffusion metrics. The present study describes the effect of site, scanner vendor, field strength, and TE on two common metrics: the first moment of the diffusion tensor field (mean diffusivity, MD), and the fractional anisotropy (FA). We have shown in earlier work that ROI metrics and the mean of MD and FA histograms are not sufficiently sensitive for use in site characterization. Here we use the distance between whole brain histograms of FA and MD to investigate within- and between-site effects. We concluded that the variability of DTI metrics due to site, vendor, field strength, and echo time could influence the results in multi-center trials and that histogram distance is sensitive metrics for each of these variables.

AstroNet: A Tool Set for Simultaneous, Multi-Site Observations of Astronomical Objects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chakrabarti, Supriya

1995-01-01

Earth-based, fully automatic "robotic" telescopes have been in routine operation for a number of years. As their number grows and their distribution becomes global, increasing attention is being given to forming networks of various sorts that will allow them, as a group, to make observations 24 hours a day in both hemispheres. We have suggested that telescopes based in space be part of this network. We further suggested that any telescope on this network be capable of asking, almost in real time, that other robotic telescopes perform support observations for them. When a target of opportunity required support observations, the system would determine which telescope(s) in the network would be most appropriate to make the observations and formulate a request to do so. Because the network would be comprised of telescopes located in widely distributed regions, this system would guarantee continuity of observations This report summarizes our efforts under this contract. We proposed to develop a set of data collection and display tools to aid simultaneous observation of astronomical targets from a number of observing sites. We planned to demonstrate the usefulness of this toolset for simultaneous multi-site observation of astronomical targets. Possible candidates or the proposed demonstration included the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE), International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE), and ALEXIS, sounding rocket experiments. Ground-based observatories operated by the University of California, Berkeley, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Fairborn Observatory in Mesa, Arizona were to be used to demonstrate the proposed concept. Although the demonstration was to have involved astronomical investigations, the tools were to have been applicable to a large number of scientific disciplines. The software tools and systems developed as a result of the work were to have been made available to the scientific community.

"She Don't Know I Got It. You Ain't Gonna Tell Her, Are You?" Popular Culture as Resistance in American Preschools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henward, Allison S.

2015-01-01

Popular culture is often a site of contestation in preschool classrooms. A multisited ethnographic design revealed preschools employed varied strategies to limit popular culture. Teacher and children's actions were considered through Michel de Certeau's (1984) concepts of tactics and strategies. Interviews and observations revealed children were…

Analysis Concerning the Inspection Threshold for Multi-Site Damage.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1993-12-01

Periodic inspections, at a prescribed interval, for Multi-Site Damage (MS) in longitudinal fuselage lap-joints start when the aircraft has accumulated a certain number of flights, the inspection threshold. The work reported here was an attempt to obt...

Multisite tumor sampling enhances the detection of intratumor heterogeneity at all different temporal stages of tumor evolution.

PubMed

Erramuzpe, Asier; Cortés, Jesús M; López, José I

2018-02-01

Intratumor heterogeneity (ITH) is an inherent process of tumor development that has received much attention in previous years, as it has become a major obstacle for the success of targeted therapies. ITH is also temporally unpredictable across tumor evolution, which makes its precise characterization even more problematic since detection success depends on the precise temporal snapshot at which ITH is analyzed. New and more efficient strategies for tumor sampling are needed to overcome these difficulties which currently rely entirely on the pathologist's interpretation. Recently, we showed that a new strategy, the multisite tumor sampling, works better than the routine sampling protocol for the ITH detection when the tumor time evolution was not taken into consideration. Here, we extend this work and compare the ITH detections of multisite tumor sampling and routine sampling protocols across tumor time evolution, and in particular, we provide in silico analyses of both strategies at early and late temporal stages for four different models of tumor evolution (linear, branched, neutral, and punctuated). Our results indicate that multisite tumor sampling outperforms routine protocols in detecting ITH at all different temporal stages of tumor evolution. We conclude that multisite tumor sampling is more advantageous than routine protocols in detecting intratumor heterogeneity.

Developmental and behavioral consequences of prenatal methamphetamine exposure: a review of the Infant Development, Environment, and Lifestyle (IDEAL) Study

PubMed Central

Smith, Lynne M.; Diaz, Sabrina; LaGasse, Linda L.; Wouldes, Trecia; Derauf, Chris; Newman, Elana; Arria, Amelia; Huestis, Marilyn A.; Haning, William; Strauss, Arthur; Grotta, Sheri Della; Dansereau, Lynne M.; Neal, Charles; Lester, Barry M.

2015-01-01

This study reviews the findings from the Infant Development, Environment, and Lifestyle Study (IDEAL), a multisite, longitudinal, prospective study designed to determine maternal outcome and child growth and developmental findings following prenatal methamphetamine exposure from birth up to age 7.5 years. These findings are presented in the context of the home environment and caregiver characteristics to determine how the drug and the environment interact to affect the outcome of these children. No neonatal abstinence syndrome requiring pharmacologic intervention was observed but heavy drug exposure was associated with increased stress responses in the neonatal period. Poorer inhibitory control was also observed in heavy methamphetamine exposed children placing them at high risk for impaired executive function. Independent of methamphetamine exposure, children with more responsive home environments to developmental and emotional needs demonstrated lower risks for internalizing and externalizing behavior. PMID:26212684

The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI): MRI Methods

PubMed Central

Jack, Clifford R.; Bernstein, Matt A.; Fox, Nick C.; Thompson, Paul; Alexander, Gene; Harvey, Danielle; Borowski, Bret; Britson, Paula J.; Whitwell, Jennifer L.; Ward, Chadwick; Dale, Anders M.; Felmlee, Joel P.; Gunter, Jeffrey L.; Hill, Derek L.G.; Killiany, Ron; Schuff, Norbert; Fox-Bosetti, Sabrina; Lin, Chen; Studholme, Colin; DeCarli, Charles S.; Krueger, Gunnar; Ward, Heidi A.; Metzger, Gregory J.; Scott, Katherine T.; Mallozzi, Richard; Blezek, Daniel; Levy, Joshua; Debbins, Josef P.; Fleisher, Adam S.; Albert, Marilyn; Green, Robert; Bartzokis, George; Glover, Gary; Mugler, John; Weiner, Michael W.

2008-01-01

The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) is a longitudinal multisite observational study of healthy elders, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer's disease. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), (18F)-fluorode-oxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET), urine serum, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers, as well as clinical/psychometric assessments are acquiredat multiple time points. All data will be cross-linked and made available to the general scientific community. The purpose of this report is to describe the MRI methods employed in ADNI. The ADNI MRI core established specifications thatguided protocol development. A major effort was devoted toevaluating 3D T1-weighted sequences for morphometric analyses. Several options for this sequence were optimized for the relevant manufacturer platforms and then compared in a reduced-scale clinical trial. The protocol selected for the ADNI study includes: back-to-back 3D magnetization prepared rapid gradient echo (MP-RAGE) scans; B1-calibration scans when applicable; and an axial proton density-T2 dual contrast (i.e., echo) fast spin echo/turbo spin echo (FSE/TSE) for pathology detection. ADNI MRI methods seek to maximize scientific utility while minimizing the burden placed on participants. The approach taken in ADNI to standardization across sites and platforms of the MRI protocol, postacquisition corrections, and phantom-based monitoring of all scanners could be used as a model for other multisite trials. PMID:18302232

The added value of auditory cortex transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) after bifrontal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for tinnitus.

PubMed

To, Wing Ting; Ost, Jan; Hart, John; De Ridder, Dirk; Vanneste, Sven

2017-01-01

Tinnitus is the perception of a sound in the absence of a corresponding external sound source. Research has suggested that functional abnormalities in tinnitus patients involve auditory as well as non-auditory brain areas. Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES), such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) to the auditory cortex, has demonstrated modulation of brain activity to transiently suppress tinnitus symptoms. Targeting two core regions of the tinnitus network by tES might establish a promising strategy to enhance treatment effects. This proof-of-concept study aims to investigate the effect of a multisite tES treatment protocol on tinnitus intensity and distress. A total of 40 tinnitus patients were enrolled in this study and received either bifrontal tDCS or the multisite treatment of bifrontal tDCS before bilateral auditory cortex tRNS. Both groups were treated on eight sessions (two times a week for 4 weeks). Our results show that a multisite treatment protocol resulted in more pronounced effects when compared with the bifrontal tDCS protocol or the waiting list group, suggesting an added value of auditory cortex tRNS to the bifrontal tDCS protocol for tinnitus patients. These findings support the involvement of the auditory as well as non-auditory brain areas in the pathophysiology of tinnitus and demonstrate the idea of the efficacy of network stimulation in the treatment of neurological disorders. This multisite tES treatment protocol proved to be save and feasible for clinical routine in tinnitus patients.

Tender point count, pain, and mobility in the older population: the mobilize Boston study.

PubMed

Eggermont, Laura H P; Shmerling, Robert H; Leveille, Suzanne G

2010-01-01

Prevalence of tender points (TP), and widespread pain and fibromyalgia, as well as the relationship between TP and widespread pain and mobility, was examined in 585 community-dwelling older adults (mean age 78.2 years, 63.4% female). Pain was based on location (none, single site, multisite, widespread). Mobility was measured by the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), gait speed, and self-reported (S-R) mobility difficulty. Tender-point count and health characteristics (ie, BMI, chronic conditions, analgesic use, number of medications, depression, and blocks walked per week) were assessed. Several participants had 3 or more TP (22.1%) although prevalence of criteria-based fibromyalgia was low (.3%). Mobility was more limited in persons with higher tender-point counts. After adjustment for pain and other risk factors, higher tender-point count was associated with poorer SPPB performance (score < 10, aOR = 1.09 per TP, 95%CI, 1.01-1.17), and slow gait speed (< .784m/sec, aOR = 1.14 per TP, 95%CI, 1.05-1.24), but not with S-R mobility difficulty. S-R mobility difficulty was associated with more disseminated pain (multisite pain, aOR = 2.01, 95%CI, 1.21-3.34; widespread pain, aOR = 2.47, 95%CI, 1.09-5.62). These findings portray a significant mobility burden related to tender-point count and multisite and widespread pain in the older population. Future studies using longitudinal methods are warranted. Higher tender-point count, multisite pain, and widespread pain are common in community-dwelling older adults and associated with mobility problems. Both the manual tender-point exam and the McGill Pain Map may provide important yet different information about risks for mobility disability in older individuals. Copyright 2010 American Pain Society. All rights reserved.

Expansion of the gateway multisite recombination cloning toolkit.

PubMed

Shearin, Harold K; Dvarishkis, Alisa R; Kozeluh, Craig D; Stowers, R Steven

2013-01-01

Precise manipulation of transgene expression in genetic model organisms has led to advances in understanding fundamental mechanisms of development, physiology, and genetic disease. Transgene construction is, however, a precondition of transgene expression, and often limits the rate of experimental progress. Here we report an expansion of the modular Gateway MultiSite recombination-cloning platform for high efficiency transgene assembly. The expansion includes two additional destination vectors and entry clones for the LexA binary transcription system, among others. These new tools enhance the expression levels possible with Gateway MultiSite generated transgenes and make possible the generation of LexA drivers and reporters with Gateway MultiSite cloning. In vivo data from transgenic Drosophila functionally validating each novel component are presented and include neuronal LexA drivers, LexAop2 red and green fluorescent synaptic vesicle reporters, TDC2 and TRH LexA, GAL4, and QF drivers, and LexAop2, UAS, and QUAS channelrhodopsin2 T159C reporters.

Expansion of the Gateway MultiSite Recombination Cloning Toolkit

PubMed Central

Shearin, Harold K.; Dvarishkis, Alisa R.; Kozeluh, Craig D.; Stowers, R. Steven

2013-01-01

Precise manipulation of transgene expression in genetic model organisms has led to advances in understanding fundamental mechanisms of development, physiology, and genetic disease. Transgene construction is, however, a precondition of transgene expression, and often limits the rate of experimental progress. Here we report an expansion of the modular Gateway MultiSite recombination-cloning platform for high efficiency transgene assembly. The expansion includes two additional destination vectors and entry clones for the LexA binary transcription system, among others. These new tools enhance the expression levels possible with Gateway MultiSite generated transgenes and make possible the generation of LexA drivers and reporters with Gateway MultiSite cloning. In vivo data from transgenic Drosophila functionally validating each novel component are presented and include neuronal LexA drivers, LexAop2 red and green fluorescent synaptic vesicle reporters, TDC2 and TRH LexA, GAL4, and QF drivers, and LexAop2, UAS, and QUAS channelrhodopsin2 T159C reporters. PMID:24204935

Multi-level assessment protocol (MAP) for adoption in multi-site clinical trials

PubMed Central

Guydish, J.; Manser, S.T.; Jessup, M.; Tajima, B.; Sears, C.; Montini, T.

2010-01-01

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Clinical Trials Network (CTN) is intended to test promising drug abuse treatment models in multi-site clinical trials, and to support adoption of new interventions into clinical practice. Using qualitative research methods we asked: How might the technology of multi-site clinical trials be modified to better support adoption of tested interventions? A total of 42 participants, representing 8 organizational levels ranging from clinic staff to clinical trial leaders, were interviewed about their role in the clinical trial, its interactions with clinics, and intervention adoption. Among eight clinics participating in the clinical trial, we found adoption of the tested intervention in one clinic only. In analysis of interview data we identified four conceptual themes which are likely to affect adoption and may be informative in future multi-site clinical trials. We offer the conclusion that planning for adoption in the early stages of protocol development will better serve the aim of integrating new interventions into practice. PMID:20890376

Knowledge of practice: A multi-sited event ethnography of border security fairs in Europe and North America.

PubMed

Baird, Theodore

2017-06-01

This article takes the reader inside four border security fairs in Europe and North America to examine the knowledge practices of border security professionals. Building on the border security as practice research agenda, the analysis focuses on the production, circulation, and consumption of scarce forms of knowledge. To explore situated knowledge of border security practices, I develop an approach to multi-sited event ethnography to observe and interpret knowledge that may be hard to access at the security fairs. The analysis focuses on mechanisms for disseminating and distributing scarce forms of knowledge, technological materializations of situated knowledge, expressions of transversal knowledge of security problems, how masculinities structure knowledge in gendered ways, and how unease is expressed through imagined futures in order to anticipate emergent solutions to proposed security problems. The article concludes by reflecting on the contradictions at play at fairs and how to address such contradictions through alternative knowledges and practices.

Knowledge of practice: A multi-sited event ethnography of border security fairs in Europe and North America

PubMed Central

Baird, Theodore

2017-01-01

This article takes the reader inside four border security fairs in Europe and North America to examine the knowledge practices of border security professionals. Building on the border security as practice research agenda, the analysis focuses on the production, circulation, and consumption of scarce forms of knowledge. To explore situated knowledge of border security practices, I develop an approach to multi-sited event ethnography to observe and interpret knowledge that may be hard to access at the security fairs. The analysis focuses on mechanisms for disseminating and distributing scarce forms of knowledge, technological materializations of situated knowledge, expressions of transversal knowledge of security problems, how masculinities structure knowledge in gendered ways, and how unease is expressed through imagined futures in order to anticipate emergent solutions to proposed security problems. The article concludes by reflecting on the contradictions at play at fairs and how to address such contradictions through alternative knowledges and practices. PMID:29046601

Multi-site Study of Diffusion Metric Variability: Characterizing the Effects of Site, Vendor, Field Strength, and Echo Time using the Histogram Distance

PubMed Central

Helmer, K. G.; Chou, M-C.; Preciado, R. I.; Gimi, B.; Rollins, N. K.; Song, A.; Turner, J.; Mori, S.

2016-01-01

MRI-based multi-site trials now routinely include some form of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in their protocol. These studies can include data originating from scanners built by different vendors, each with their own set of unique protocol restrictions, including restrictions on the number of available gradient directions, whether an externally-generated list of gradient directions can be used, and restrictions on the echo time (TE). One challenge of multi-site studies is to create a common imaging protocol that will result in a reliable and accurate set of diffusion metrics. The present study describes the effect of site, scanner vendor, field strength, and TE on two common metrics: the first moment of the diffusion tensor field (mean diffusivity, MD), and the fractional anisotropy (FA). We have shown in earlier work that ROI metrics and the mean of MD and FA histograms are not sufficiently sensitive for use in site characterization. Here we use the distance between whole brain histograms of FA and MD to investigate within- and between-site effects. We concluded that the variability of DTI metrics due to site, vendor, field strength, and echo time could influence the results in multi-center trials and that histogram distance is sensitive metrics for each of these variables. PMID:27350723

Self-assembly of metal nanostructures on binary alloy surfaces

PubMed Central

Duguet, T.; Han, Yong; Yuen, Chad; Jing, Dapeng; Ünal, Barış; Evans, J. W.; Thiel, P. A.

2011-01-01

Deposition of metals on binary alloy surfaces offers new possibilities for guiding the formation of functional metal nanostructures. This idea is explored with scanning tunneling microscopy studies and atomistic-level analysis and modeling of nonequilibrium island formation. For Au/NiAl(110), complex monolayer structures are found and compared with the simple fcc(110) bilayer structure recently observed for Ag/NiAl(110). We also consider a more complex codeposition system, (Ni + Al)/NiAl(110), which offers the opportunity for fundamental studies of self-growth of alloys including deviations for equilibrium ordering. A general multisite lattice-gas model framework enables analysis of structure selection and morphological evolution in these systems. PMID:21097706

Supporting research sites in resource-limited settings: Challenges in implementing IT infrastructure

PubMed Central

Whalen, Christopher; Donnell, Deborah; Tartakovsky, Michael

2014-01-01

As Information and Communication Technology infrastructure becomes more reliable, new methods of Electronic Data Capture (EDC), datamarts/Data warehouses, and mobile computing provide platforms for rapid coordination of international research projects and multisite studies. However, despite the increasing availability of internet connectivity and communication systems in remote regions of the world, there are still significant obstacles. Sites with poor infrastructure face serious challenges participating in modern clinical and basic research, particularly that relying on EDC and internet communication technologies. This report discusses our experiences in supporting research in resource-limited settings (RLS). We describe examples of the practical and ethical/regulatory challenges raised by use of these newer technologies for data collection in multisite clinical studies. PMID:24321986

Childhood traumatic grief: a multi-site empirical examination of the construct and its correlates.

PubMed

Brown, Elissa J; Amaya-Jackson, Lisa; Cohen, Judith; Handel, Stephanie; Thiel De Bocanegra, Heike; Zatta, Eileen; Goodman, Robin F; Mannarino, Anthony

2008-01-01

This study evaluated the construct of childhood traumatic grief (CTG) and its correlates through a multi-site assessment of 132 bereaved children and adolescents. Youth completed a new measure of the characteristics, attributions, and reactions to exposure to death (CARED), as well as measures of CTG, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anger. CTG was distinct from but highly correlated with PTSD, depression, and, to a lesser degree, anger. In contrast to a recent study of complicated grief, CTG severity was significantly associated with the degree to which the death was viewed as traumatic. CTG was also associated with caregivers' emotional reaction at the time of the death and caregivers' current sadness. Clinical implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Supporting research sites in resource-limited settings: challenges in implementing information technology infrastructure.

PubMed

Whalen, Christopher J; Donnell, Deborah; Tartakovsky, Michael

2014-01-01

As information and communication technology infrastructure becomes more reliable, new methods of electronic data capture, data marts/data warehouses, and mobile computing provide platforms for rapid coordination of international research projects and multisite studies. However, despite the increasing availability of Internet connectivity and communication systems in remote regions of the world, there are still significant obstacles. Sites with poor infrastructure face serious challenges participating in modern clinical and basic research, particularly that relying on electronic data capture and Internet communication technologies. This report discusses our experiences in supporting research in resource-limited settings. We describe examples of the practical and ethical/regulatory challenges raised by the use of these newer technologies for data collection in multisite clinical studies.

A Multisite Evaluation of Reading Is Fundamental: Summary Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Ronald K.; And Others

Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) is a national program that seeks to motivate children to read. Implemented by local sponsors and aimed at disadvantaged groups, it offers participating children a wide selection of attractive paperback books about interesting people, places, and events. The multisite evaluation summarized in this report studied…

A Multisite Evaluation of Reading Is Fundamental: Technical Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Ronald K.; And Others

Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) is a national program that seeks to motivate children to read. Implemented by local sponsors and aimed at disadvantaged groups, it offers participating children a wide selection of attractive paperbound books about interesting people, places, and events. The multisite evaluation discussed in this technical report…

Network cyberinfrastructure as a shared platform to support multi-site research

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Multi-site research across the Long-term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network requires access to data and information. We present some existing examples where you can get data from across the network and summarize the rich inventory of measurements taken across LTAR sites. But data management suppo...

Conducting a team-based multi-sited focused ethnography in primary care.

PubMed

Bikker, A P; Atherton, H; Brant, H; Porqueddu, T; Campbell, J L; Gibson, A; McKinstry, B; Salisbury, C; Ziebland, S

2017-09-12

Focused ethnography is an applied and pragmatic form of ethnography that explores a specific social phenomenon as it occurs in everyday life. Based on the literature a problem-focused research question is formulated before the data collection. The data generation process targets key informants and situations so that relevant results on the pre-defined topic can be obtained within a relatively short time-span. As part of a theory based evaluation of alternative forms of consultation (such as video, phone and email) in primary care we used the focused ethnographic method in a multisite study in general practice across the UK. To date there is a gap in the literature on using focused ethnography in healthcare research.The aim of the paper is to build on the various methodological approaches in health services research by presenting the challenges and benefits we encountered whilst conducing a focused ethnography in British primary care. Our considerations are clustered under three headings: constructing a shared understanding, dividing the tasks within the team, and the functioning of the focused ethnographers within the broader multi-disciplinary team.As a result of using this approach we experienced several advantages, like the ability to collect focused data in several settings simultaneously within in a short time-span. Also, the sharing of experiences and interpretations between the researchers contributed to a more holistic understanding of the research topic. However, mechanisms need to be in place to facilitate and synthesise the observations, guide the analysis, and to ensure that all researchers feel engaged. Reflection, trust and flexibility among the team members were crucial to successfully adopt a team focused ethnographic approach. When used for policy focussed applied healthcare research a team-based multi-sited focused ethnography can uncover practices and understandings that would not be apparent through surveys or interviews alone. If conducted with care, it can provide timely findings within the fast moving context of healthcare policy and research.

The National Trauma Institute: Lessons learned in the funding and conduct of 16 trauma research studies.

PubMed

Price, Michelle A; Beilman, Gregory J; Fabian, Timothy C; Hoyt, David B; Jurkovich, Gregory J; Knudson, M Margaret; MacKenzie, Ellen J; Marshall, Vivienne S; Overton, Kimberly E; Peitzman, Andrew B; Phillips, Monica J; Pruitt, Basil A; Smith, Sharon L; Stewart, Ronald M; Jenkins, Donald H

2016-09-01

To increase trauma-related research and elevate trauma on the national research agenda, the National Trauma Institute (NTI) issued calls for proposals, selected funding recipients, and coordinated 16 federally funded (Department of Defense) trauma research awards over a 4-year period. We sought to collect and describe the lessons learned from this activity to inform future researchers of barriers and facilitators. Fifteen principal investigators participated in semistructured interviews focused on study management issues such as securing institutional approvals, screening and enrollment, multisite trials management, project funding, staffing, and institutional support. NTI Science Committee meeting minutes and study management data were included in the analysis. Simple descriptive statistics were generated and textual data were analyzed for common themes. Principal investigators reported challenges in obtaining institutional approvals, delays in study initiation, screening and enrollment, multisite management, and study funding. Most were able to successfully resolve challenges and have been productive in terms of scholarly publications, securing additional research funding, and training future trauma investigators. Lessons learned in the conduct of the first two funding rounds managed by NTI are instructive in four key areas: regulatory processes, multisite coordination, adequate funding, and the importance of an established research infrastructure to ensure study success. Recommendations for addressing institution-related and investigator-related challenges are discussed along with ongoing advocacy efforts to secure sustained federal funding of a national trauma research program commensurate with the burden of injury.

VIOLENCE AND NON-VIOLENCE-RELATED INJURIES AND ALCOHOL IN WOMEN FROM DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: A MULTI-SITE EMERGENCY ROOM STUDY

PubMed Central

da Silva, Rosiane Lopes; Diehl, Alessandra; Cherpitel, Cheryl J.; Figlie, Neliana B.

2014-01-01

This study sought to analyze the association between alcohol consumption and the occurrence of injuries in women attending the emergency room (ER) from developing and developed countries. The sample consisted of ER data from women in 15 countries that were collected as part of two multi-site studies using similar methodologies: the Emergency Room Collaborative Alcohol Analysis Project (ERCAAP), and World Health Organization Collaborative Study on Alcohol and Injuries (WHO Study). Women ranged in age from 18 and 98 years. Those from developed countries had higher levels of education (43% completed high-school) than women from developing countries (37%). Over half of the women from developing countries reported they had not consumed alcohol in the last 12 months (abstentious), while 2% reported drinking every day. In addition, current drinking women from developing countries reported more binge drinking episodes (33% reported 5 to 11 drinks and 15% reported 12 or more drinks on an occasion) compared to those from developed countries (28% and 11%, respectively). Violence-related injury was more prevalent in developing countries (18%) compared to developed countries (9%). An association between injury and the frequency of alcohol consumption in the last 12 months was observed in both developing and developed countries. Although women from developing countries who suffered violence-related injuries were more likely to demonstrate alcohol abstinence or have lower rates of daily alcohol consumption, these women drank in a more dangerous way, and violence-related injuries were more likely to occur in these women than in those living in developed countries. PMID:25452073

Lessons learned from a practice-based, multi-site intervention study with nurse participants

PubMed Central

Friese, Christopher R.; Mendelsohn-Victor, Kari; Ginex, Pamela; McMahon, Carol M.; Fauer, Alex J.; McCullagh, Marjorie C.

2016-01-01

Purpose To identify challenges and solutions to the efficient conduct of a multi-site, practice-based randomized controlled trial to improve nurses’ adherence to personal protective equipment use in ambulatory oncology settings. Design The Drug Exposure Feedback and Education for Nurses’ Safety (DEFENS) study is a clustered, randomized, controlled trial. Participating sites are randomized to web-based feedback on hazardous drug exposures in the sites plus tailored messages to address barriers versus a control intervention of a web-based continuing education video. Approach The study principal investigator, the study coordinator, and two site leaders identified challenges to study implementation and potential solutions, plus potential methods to prevent logistical challenges in future studies. Findings Noteworthy challenges included variation in human subjects protection policies, grants and contracts budgeting, infrastructure for nursing-led research, and information technology variation. Successful strategies included scheduled web conferences, site-based study champions, site visits by the principal investigator, and centrally-based document preparation. Strategies to improve efficiency in future studies include early and continued engagement with contract personnel in sites, and proposed changes to the common rule concerning human subjects. The DEFENS study successfully recruited 393 nurses across 12 sites. To date, 369 have completed surveys and 174 nurses have viewed educational materials. Conclusions Multi-site studies of nursing personnel are rare and challenging to existing infrastructure. These barriers can be overcome with strong engagement and planning. Clinical Relevance Leadership engagement, onsite staff support, and continuous communication can facilitate successful recruitment to a workplace-based randomized, controlled behavioral trial. PMID:28098951

Issues in the design of multisite clinical trials of psychotherapy: VA Cooperative Study No. 494 as an example.

PubMed

Schnurr, Paula P; Friedman, Matthew J; Engel, Charles C; Foa, Edna B; Shea, M Tracie; Resick, Patricia M; James, Kenneth E; Chow, Bruce K

2005-12-01

This article describes issues in the design of an ongoing multisite randomized clinical trial of psychotherapy for treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in female veterans and active duty personnel. Research aimed at testing treatments for PTSD in women who have served in the military is especially important due to the high prevalence of PTSD in this population. VA Cooperative Study 494 was designed to enroll 384 participants across 12 sites. Participants are randomly assigned to receive 10 weekly sessions of individual psychotherapy: Prolonged Exposure, a specific cognitive-behavioral therapy protocol for PTSD, or present-centered therapy, a comparison treatment that addresses current interpersonal problems but avoids a trauma focus. PTSD is the primary outcome. Additional outcomes are comorbid problems such as depression and anxiety; psychosocial function and quality of life; physical health status; satisfaction with treatment; and service utilization. Follow-up assessments are conducted at the end of treatment and then 3 and 6 months after treatment. Both treatments are delivered according to a manual. Videotapes of therapy sessions are viewed by experts who provide feedback to therapists throughout the trial to ensure adherence to the treatment manual. Discussion includes issues encountered in multisite psychotherapy trials along with the rationale for our decisions about how we addressed these issues in CSP #494.

Ten Steps to Conducting a Large, Multi-Site, Longitudinal Investigation of Language and Reading in Young Children

PubMed Central

Farquharson, Kelly; Murphy, Kimberly A.

2016-01-01

Purpose: This paper describes methodological procedures involving execution of a large-scale, multi-site longitudinal study of language and reading comprehension in young children. Researchers in the Language and Reading Research Consortium (LARRC) developed and implemented these procedures to ensure data integrity across multiple sites, schools, and grades. Specifically, major features of our approach, as well as lessons learned, are summarized in 10 steps essential for successful completion of a large-scale longitudinal investigation in early grades. Method: Over 5 years, children in preschool through third grade were administered a battery of 35 higher- and lower-level language, listening, and reading comprehension measures (RCM). Data were collected from children, their teachers, and their parents/guardians at four sites across the United States. Substantial and rigorous effort was aimed toward maintaining consistency in processes and data management across sites for children, assessors, and staff. Conclusion: With appropriate planning, flexibility, and communication strategies in place, LARRC developed and executed a successful multi-site longitudinal research study that will meet its goal of investigating the contribution and role of language skills in the development of children's listening and reading comprehension. Through dissemination of our design strategies and lessons learned, research teams embarking on similar endeavors can be better equipped to anticipate the challenges. PMID:27064308

Learning "about" and "from" Variation in Program Impacts Using Multisite Trials. MDRC Working Papers on Research Methodology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raudenbush, Stephen W.; Bloom, Howard S.

2015-01-01

The present paper, which is intended for a diverse audience of evaluation researchers, applied social scientists, and research funders, provides a broad overview of the conceptual and statistical issues involved in using multisite randomized trials to learn "about" and "from" variation in program effects across…

Learning about and from a Distribution of Program Impacts Using Multisite Trials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raudenbush, Stephen W.; Bloom, Howard S.

2015-01-01

The present article provides a synthesis of the conceptual and statistical issues involved in using multisite randomized trials to learn about and from a distribution of heterogeneous program impacts across individuals and/or program sites. Learning "about" such a distribution involves estimating its mean value, detecting and quantifying…

Statistical Analysis for Multisite Trials Using Instrumental Variables with Random Coefficients

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raudenbush, Stephen W.; Reardon, Sean F.; Nomi, Takako

2012-01-01

Multisite trials can clarify the average impact of a new program and the heterogeneity of impacts across sites. Unfortunately, in many applications, compliance with treatment assignment is imperfect. For these applications, we propose an instrumental variable (IV) model with person-specific and site-specific random coefficients. Site-specific IV…

How Does a Multi-Site Institution Plan Effectively?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jefferson, Curtis F.

A multi-site college plans effectively by having in place planning and evaluation systems that enhance its capability to respond effectively to changes in the environment in order to continue to provide high quality educational programs and services for the people in its service area. The effectiveness of these systems is dependent on clearly…

Site Matters: Multisite Randomized Trial of Motivational Enhancement Therapy in Community Drug Abuse Clinics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ball, Samuel A.; Martino, Steve; Nich, Charla; Frankforter, Tami L.; Van Horn, Deborah; Crits-Christoph, Paul; Woody, George E.; Obert, Jeanne L.; Farentinos, Christiane; Carroll, Kathleen M.

2007-01-01

The effectiveness of motivational enhancement therapy (MET) in comparison with counseling as usual (CAU) for increasing retention and reducing substance use was evaluated in a multisite randomized clinical trial. Participants were 461 outpatients treated by 31 therapists within 1 of 5 outpatient substance abuse programs. There were no retention…

Distribution of Bell-inequality violation versus multiparty-quantum-correlation measures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Kunal; Das, Tamoghna; Sen (de), Aditi; Sen, Ujjwal

Violation of a Bell inequality guarantees the existence of quantum correlations in a shared quantum state. A pure bipartite quantum state, having nonvanishing quantum correlation, always violates a Bell inequality. Such correspondence is absent for multipartite pure quantum states in the case of multipartite correlation function Bell inequalities with two settings at each site. We establish a connection between the monogamy of Bell-inequality violation and multiparty quantum correlations for shared multisite quantum states. We believe that the relation is generic, as it is true for a number of different multisite measures that are defined from radically different perspectives. Precisely, we quantify the multisite-quantum-correlation content in the states by generalized geometric measure, a genuine multisite entanglement measure, as well as three monogamybased multiparty-quantum-correlation measures, viz., 3-tangle, quantum-discord score, and quantum-work-deficit score. We find that generalized Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states and another single-parameter family of states, which we refer to as the special Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states, have the status of extremal states in such relations.

Non-Gaussian spatiotemporal simulation of multisite daily precipitation: downscaling framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ben Alaya, M. A.; Ouarda, T. B. M. J.; Chebana, F.

2018-01-01

Probabilistic regression approaches for downscaling daily precipitation are very useful. They provide the whole conditional distribution at each forecast step to better represent the temporal variability. The question addressed in this paper is: how to simulate spatiotemporal characteristics of multisite daily precipitation from probabilistic regression models? Recent publications point out the complexity of multisite properties of daily precipitation and highlight the need for using a non-Gaussian flexible tool. This work proposes a reasonable compromise between simplicity and flexibility avoiding model misspecification. A suitable nonparametric bootstrapping (NB) technique is adopted. A downscaling model which merges a vector generalized linear model (VGLM as a probabilistic regression tool) and the proposed bootstrapping technique is introduced to simulate realistic multisite precipitation series. The model is applied to data sets from the southern part of the province of Quebec, Canada. It is shown that the model is capable of reproducing both at-site properties and the spatial structure of daily precipitations. Results indicate the superiority of the proposed NB technique, over a multivariate autoregressive Gaussian framework (i.e. Gaussian copula).

Distribution of Bell-inequality violation versus multiparty-quantum-correlation measures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Kunal; Das, Tamoghna; SenDe, Aditi; Sen, Ujjwal

2016-06-01

Violation of a Bell inequality guarantees the existence of quantum correlations in a shared quantum state. A pure bipartite quantum state, having nonvanishing quantum correlation, always violates a Bell inequality. Such correspondence is absent for multipartite pure quantum states in the case of multipartite correlation function Bell inequalities with two settings at each site. We establish a connection between the monogamy of Bell-inequality violation and multiparty quantum correlations for shared multisite quantum states. We believe that the relation is generic, as it is true for a number of different multisite measures that are defined from radically different perspectives. Precisely, we quantify the multisite-quantum-correlation content in the states by generalized geometric measure, a genuine multisite entanglement measure, as well as three monogamy-based multiparty-quantum-correlation measures, viz., 3-tangle, quantum-discord score, and quantum-work-deficit score. We find that generalized Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states and another single-parameter family of states, which we refer to as the special Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states, have the status of extremal states in such relations.

A Meta-Analysis and Multisite Time-Series Analysis of the Differential Toxicity of Major Fine Particulate Matter Constituents

PubMed Central

Levy, Jonathan I.; Diez, David; Dou, Yiping; Barr, Christopher D.; Dominici, Francesca

2012-01-01

Health risk assessments of particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) often assume that all constituents of PM2.5 are equally toxic. While investigators in previous epidemiologic studies have evaluated health risks from various PM2.5 constituents, few have conducted the analyses needed to directly inform risk assessments. In this study, the authors performed a literature review and conducted a multisite time-series analysis of hospital admissions and exposure to PM2.5 constituents (elemental carbon, organic carbon matter, sulfate, and nitrate) in a population of 12 million US Medicare enrollees for the period 2000–2008. The literature review illustrated a general lack of multiconstituent models or insight about probabilities of differential impacts per unit of concentration change. Consistent with previous results, the multisite time-series analysis found statistically significant associations between short-term changes in elemental carbon and cardiovascular hospital admissions. Posterior probabilities from multiconstituent models provided evidence that some individual constituents were more toxic than others, and posterior parameter estimates coupled with correlations among these estimates provided necessary information for risk assessment. Ratios of constituent toxicities, commonly used in risk assessment to describe differential toxicity, were extremely uncertain for all comparisons. These analyses emphasize the subtlety of the statistical techniques and epidemiologic studies necessary to inform risk assessments of particle constituents. PMID:22510275

A P&T Committee’s Transition to a Complete Electronic Meeting System—A Multisite Institution Experience

PubMed Central

Al-Jedai, Ahmed H.; Algain, Roaa A.; Alghamidi, Said A.; Al-Jazairi, Abdulrazaq S.; Amin, Rashid; Bin Hussain, Ibrahim Z.

2017-01-01

Purpose In the last few decades, changes to formulary management processes have taken place in institutions with closed formulary systems. However, many P&T committees continued to operate using traditional paper-based systems. Paper-based systems have many limitations, including confidentiality, efficiency, open voting, and paper wastage. This becomes more challenging when dealing with a multisite P&T committee that handles formulary matters across the whole health care system. In this paper, we discuss the implementation of the first paperless, completely electronic, Web-based formulary management system across a large health care system in the Middle East. Summary We describe the transitioning of a multisite P&T committee in a large tertiary care institution from a paper-based to an all-electronic system. The challenges and limitations of running a multisite P&T committee utilizing a paper system are discussed. The design and development of a Web-based committee floor management application that can be used from notebooks, tablets, and hand-held devices is described. Implementation of a flexible, interactive, easy-to-use, and efficient electronic formulary management system is explained in detail. Conclusion The development of an electronic P&T committee meeting system that encompasses electronic document sharing, voting, and communication could help multisite health care systems unify their formularies across multiple sites. Our experience might not be generalizable to all institutions because this depends heavily on system features, existing processes and workflow, and implementation across different sites. PMID:29018301

A P&T Committee's Transition to a Complete Electronic Meeting System-A Multisite Institution Experience.

PubMed

Al-Jedai, Ahmed H; Algain, Roaa A; Alghamidi, Said A; Al-Jazairi, Abdulrazaq S; Amin, Rashid; Bin Hussain, Ibrahim Z

2017-10-01

In the last few decades, changes to formulary management processes have taken place in institutions with closed formulary systems. However, many P&T committees continued to operate using traditional paper-based systems. Paper-based systems have many limitations, including confidentiality, efficiency, open voting, and paper wastage. This becomes more challenging when dealing with a multisite P&T committee that handles formulary matters across the whole health care system. In this paper, we discuss the implementation of the first paperless, completely electronic, Web-based formulary management system across a large health care system in the Middle East. We describe the transitioning of a multisite P&T committee in a large tertiary care institution from a paper-based to an all-electronic system. The challenges and limitations of running a multisite P&T committee utilizing a paper system are discussed. The design and development of a Web-based committee floor management application that can be used from notebooks, tablets, and hand-held devices is described. Implementation of a flexible, interactive, easy-to-use, and efficient electronic formulary management system is explained in detail. The development of an electronic P&T committee meeting system that encompasses electronic document sharing, voting, and communication could help multisite health care systems unify their formularies across multiple sites. Our experience might not be generalizable to all institutions because this depends heavily on system features, existing processes and workflow, and implementation across different sites.

Beyond Lecture and Non-Lecture Classrooms: LA-student interactions in Active Learning Classrooms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzalez, Dayana; Kornreich, Hagit; Rodriguez, Idaykis; Monslave, Camila; Pena-Flores, Norma

Our expanded multi-site study on active learning classrooms supported by Learning Assistants (LAs) aims to understand the connections between three classroom elements: the activity, student learning, and how LAs support the learning process in the classroom. At FIU, LAs are used in a variety of active learning settings, from large auditorium settings to studio classroom with movable tables. Our study uses the COPUS observation protocol as a way to characterize LAs behaviors in these classrooms. With a focus on LA-student interactions, our analysis of how LAs interact with students during a 'learning session' generated new observational codes for specific new categories of LA roles. Preliminary results show that LAs spend more time interacting with students in some classes, regardless of the classroom setting, while in other classrooms, LA-student interactions are mostly brief. We discuss how LA-student interactions contribute to the dynamics and mechanism of the socially shared learning activity.

Contextual Factors Related to Implementation and Reach of a Pragmatic Multisite Trial– The My Own Health Report (MOHR) Study

PubMed Central

Balasubramanian, Bijal A.; Heurtin-Roberts, Suzanne; Krasny, Sarah; Rohweder, Catherine; Fair, Kayla; Olmos, Tanya; Stange, Kurt C.; Gorin, Sherri Sheinfeld

2018-01-01

Background Contextual factors relevant to health care improvement studies are important for translating findings to other settings; however, these are rarely collected systematically and reported. This study articulates a prospective method for assessing contextual factors and describes factors related to implementation and patient reach of a pragmatic multisite trial conducted in nine primary care practices. Methods In a qualitative case-series, contextual factors were assessed from the My Own Health Report (MOHR) study, focused on systematically conducting health risk assessments and goal setting for unhealthy behaviors and behavioral health in primary care. Data were collected prospectively at baseline, mid-point, and end of intervention using a template that guided conduct of interviews and observations at practice sites. A multidisciplinary team used an iterative process to summarize themes describing contextual factors related to intervention implementation and patient reach, calculated by dividing the number of patients who completed the MOHR assessment by the number of patients offered MOHR. Results Contextual factors operational both within and external to the practice environment influenced implementation and patient reach over time. These included practice members’ motivations towards the MOHR intervention, practice staff capacity to take on additional responsibilities for implementation, practice information system capacity, external resources to support quality improvement, linkages with community resources, and fit of implementation strategy to patient populations. Conclusions Systematic assessment of contextual factors throughout implementation of quality improvement initiatives is needed to meaningfully interpret findings and translate lessons learned to other health care settings. Thus, knowledge of contextual factors is essential for scaling up of effective improvement strategies. PMID:28484066

Endoscope reprocessing methods: a prospective study on the impact of human factors and automation.

PubMed

Ofstead, Cori L; Wetzler, Harry P; Snyder, Alycea K; Horton, Rebecca A

2010-01-01

The main cause of endoscopy-associated infections is failure to adhere to reprocessing guidelines. More information about factors impacting compliance is needed to support the development of effective interventions. The purpose of this multisite, observational study was to evaluate reprocessing practices, employee perceptions, and occupational health issues. Data were collected utilizing interviews, surveys, and direct observation. Written reprocessing policies and procedures were in place at all five sites, and employees affirmed the importance of most recommended steps. Nevertheless, observers documented guideline adherence, with only 1.4% of endoscopes reprocessed using manual cleaning methods with automated high-level disinfection versus 75.4% of those reprocessed using an automated endoscope cleaner and reprocessor. The majority reported health problems (i.e., pain, decreased flexibility, numbness, or tingling). Physical discomfort was associated with time spent reprocessing (p = .041). Discomfort diminished after installation of automated endoscope cleaners and reprocessors (p = .001). Enhanced training and accountability, combined with increased automation, may ensure guideline adherence and patient safety while improving employee satisfaction and health.

Reliability and Validity of the Dyadic Observed Communication Scale (DOCS).

PubMed

Hadley, Wendy; Stewart, Angela; Hunter, Heather L; Affleck, Katelyn; Donenberg, Geri; Diclemente, Ralph; Brown, Larry K

2013-02-01

We evaluated the reliability and validity of the Dyadic Observed Communication Scale (DOCS) coding scheme, which was developed to capture a range of communication components between parents and adolescents. Adolescents and their caregivers were recruited from mental health facilities for participation in a large, multi-site family-based HIV prevention intervention study. Seventy-one dyads were randomly selected from the larger study sample and coded using the DOCS at baseline. Preliminary validity and reliability of the DOCS was examined using various methods, such as comparing results to self-report measures and examining interrater reliability. Results suggest that the DOCS is a reliable and valid measure of observed communication among parent-adolescent dyads that captures both verbal and nonverbal communication behaviors that are typical intervention targets. The DOCS is a viable coding scheme for use by researchers and clinicians examining parent-adolescent communication. Coders can be trained to reliably capture individual and dyadic components of communication for parents and adolescents and this complex information can be obtained relatively quickly.

Self-adaptive tensor network states with multi-site correlators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kovyrshin, Arseny; Reiher, Markus

2017-12-01

We introduce the concept of self-adaptive tensor network states (SATNSs) based on multi-site correlators. The SATNS ansatz gradually extends its variational space incorporating the most important next-order correlators into the ansatz for the wave function. The selection of these correlators is guided by entanglement-entropy measures from quantum information theory. By sequentially introducing variational parameters and adjusting them to the system under study, the SATNS ansatz achieves keeping their number significantly smaller than the total number of full-configuration interaction parameters. The SATNS ansatz is studied for manganocene in its lowest-energy sextet and doublet states; the latter of which is known to be difficult to describe. It is shown that the SATNS parametrization solves the convergence issues found for previous correlator-based tensor network states.

Multi-site study of diffusion metric variability: effects of site, vendor, field strength, and echo time on regions-of-interest and histogram-bin analyses.

PubMed

Helmer, K G; Chou, M-C; Preciado, R I; Gimi, B; Rollins, N K; Song, A; Turner, J; Mori, S

2016-02-27

It is now common for magnetic-resonance-imaging (MRI) based multi-site trials to include diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) as part of the protocol. It is also common for these sites to possess MR scanners of different manufacturers, different software and hardware, and different software licenses. These differences mean that scanners may not be able to acquire data with the same number of gradient amplitude values and number of available gradient directions. Variability can also occur in achievable b-values and minimum echo times. The challenge of a multi-site study then, is to create a common protocol by understanding and then minimizing the effects of scanner variability and identifying reliable and accurate diffusion metrics. This study describes the effect of site, scanner vendor, field strength, and TE on two diffusion metrics: the first moment of the diffusion tensor field (mean diffusivity, MD), and the fractional anisotropy (FA) using two common analyses (region-of-interest and mean-bin value of whole brain histograms). The goal of the study was to identify sources of variability in diffusion-sensitized imaging and their influence on commonly reported metrics. The results demonstrate that the site, vendor, field strength, and echo time all contribute to variability in FA and MD, though to different extent. We conclude that characterization of the variability of DTI metrics due to site, vendor, field strength, and echo time is a worthwhile step in the construction of multi-center trials.

What Works Clearinghouse Quick Review: "Transfer Incentives for High-Performing Teachers: Final Results from a Multisite Experiment"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2014

2014-01-01

"Transfer Incentives for High-Performing Teachers: Final Results from a Multisite Experiment," examined the impact of the Talent Transfer Initiative (TTI) on both student achievement and teacher retention in 10 school districts across seven states. The initiative gave bonuses to high-performing teachers for them to transfer to and stay…

Multi-Sited Ethnography and the Field of Educational Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pierides, Dean

2010-01-01

This paper responds to the challenge of how educational research might be practised in a contemporary world that is no longer necessarily organised by nearness and unity. Focusing on ethnography, it argues for what a multi-sited imaginary contributes to research in the field of education. By giving prominence to the notion of multi-sited…

Documenting the Impact of Multisite Evaluations on the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Field

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roseland, Denise; Greenseid, Lija O.; Volkov, Boris B.; Lawrenz, Frances

2011-01-01

This chapter discusses the impact that four multisite National Science Foundation (NSF) evaluations had on the broader field of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and evaluation. Three approaches were used to investigate the broader impact of these evaluations on the field: (a) a citation analysis, (b) an on-line survey,…

A Multisite Cluster Randomized Field Trial of Open Court Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borman, Geoffrey D.; Dowling, N. Maritza; Schneck, Carrie

2008-01-01

In this article, the authors report achievement outcomes of a multisite cluster randomized field trial of Open Court Reading 2005 (OCR), a K-6 literacy curriculum published by SRA/McGraw-Hill. The participants are 49 first-grade through fifth-grade classrooms from predominantly minority and poor contexts across the nation. Blocking by grade level…

Use of focus groups in multi-site, multi-ethnic research projects for women's health: a Study of Women Across the Nation (swan) example.

PubMed

Kagawa-Singer, Marjorie; Adler, Shelley R; Mouton, Charles E; Ory, Marcia; Underwood, Lynne G

2009-01-01

To outline the lessons learned about the use of focus groups for the multisite, multi-ethnic longitudinal Study of Women Across the Nation (SWAN). Focus groups were designed to identify potential cultural differences in the incidence of symptoms and the meaning of transmenopause among women of diverse cultures, and to identify effective recruitment and retention strategies. Inductive and deductive focus groups for a multi-ethnic study. Seven community research sites across the United States conducted focus groups with six ethnic populations: African American, Chinese American, Japanese American, Mexican American, non-Hispanic white, and Puerto Rican. Community women from each ethnic group of color. A set of four/five focus groups in each ethnic group as the formative stage of the deductive, quantitative SWAN survey. Identification of methodological advantages and challenges to the successful implementation of formative focus groups in a multi-ethnic, multi-site population-based epidemiologic study. We provide recommendations from our lessons learned to improve the use of focus groups in future studies with multi-ethnic populations. Mixed methods using inductive and deductive approaches require the scientific integrity of both research paradigms. Adequate resources and time must be budgeted as essential parts of the overall strategy from the outset of study. Inductive cross-cultural researchers should be key team members, beginning with inception through each subsequent design phase to increase the scientific validity, generalizability, and comparability of the results across diverse ethnic groups, to assure the relevance, validity and applicability of the findings to the multicultural population of focus.

The impact of lymphatic filariasis on labour inputs in southern India: results of a multi-site study.

PubMed

Ramaiah, K D; Radhamani, M P; John, K R; Evans, D B; Guyatt, H; Joseph, A; Datta, M; Vanamail, P

2000-06-01

A multi-site study was undertaken, in the rural areas of three districts in Tamil Nadu state, in southern India, to examine the impact of acute and chronic forms of lymphatic filariasis, caused by infection with Wuchereria bancrofti, on labour inputs. More than half of the acute episodes of adenolymphangitis (ADL) observed in the study communities caused total disability. The mean (S.D.) time that each ADL case was able to allocate to economic activity each day during these acute episodes was much less than seen in the controls matched for sex, age and occupation [0.97 (2.36) v. 4.48 (3.82) h; P < 0.01]. The acute disease also severely affected domestic activities, with female ADL cases spending only 1.54 (2.12) h/day on domestic activity, compared with 4.18 (2.61) h by controls. The subjects with chronic filariasis also spent significantly less time in economic activity than their matched controls [4.40 (3.79) v. 5.13 (3.83) h/day; P < 0.01). Although the acute episodes have a dramatic effect on the productivity of the affected individual, the labour loss caused by chronic disease is more serious, as the manifestations of chronic disease mostly affect the most productive age-groups, persist for life and are mostly irreversible. The adverse impact of acute and chronic filariasis was observed in males and females, farmers and non-farmers and during the rainy, winter and summer seasons. It is estimated that about 3.8% of the potential labour inputs of the men and 0.77% of those of the women were lost because of lymphatic filariasis. In addition to this loss, the total economic burden of the disease must include the costs of treatment and other health care and of the resources spent on control programmes. Estimates of the disease burden are likely to be useful in determining the costs and benefits of the recently launched campaign to eliminate lymphatic filariasis.

Unveiling a novel transient druggable pocket in BACE-1 through molecular simulations: Conformational analysis and binding mode of multisite inhibitors

PubMed Central

Di Pietro, Ornella; Laughton, Charles A.

2017-01-01

The critical role of BACE-1 in the formation of neurotoxic ß-amyloid peptides in the brain makes it an attractive target for an efficacious treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. However, the development of clinically useful BACE-1 inhibitors has proven to be extremely challenging. In this study we examine the binding mode of a novel potent inhibitor (compound 1, with IC50 80 nM) designed by synergistic combination of two fragments—huprine and rhein—that individually are endowed with very low activity against BACE-1. Examination of crystal structures reveals no appropriate binding site large enough to accommodate 1. Therefore we have examined the conformational flexibility of BACE-1 through extended molecular dynamics simulations, paying attention to the highly flexible region shaped by loops 8–14, 154–169 and 307–318. The analysis of the protein dynamics, together with studies of pocket druggability, has allowed us to detect the transient formation of a secondary binding site, which contains Arg307 as a key residue for the interaction with small molecules, at the edge of the catalytic cleft. The formation of this druggable “floppy” pocket would enable the binding of multisite inhibitors targeting both catalytic and secondary sites. Molecular dynamics simulations of BACE-1 bound to huprine-rhein hybrid compounds support the feasibility of this hypothesis. The results provide a basis to explain the high inhibitory potency of the two enantiomeric forms of 1, together with the large dependence on the length of the oligomethylenic linker. Furthermore, the multisite hypothesis has allowed us to rationalize the inhibitory potency of a series of tacrine-chromene hybrid compounds, specifically regarding the apparent lack of sensitivity of the inhibition constant to the chemical modifications introduced in the chromene unit. Overall, these findings pave the way for the exploration of novel functionalities in the design of optimized BACE-1 multisite inhibitors. PMID:28505196

Mortality related to extreme temperature for 15 cities in northeast Asia.

PubMed

Chung, Yeonseung; Lim, Youn-Hee; Honda, Yasushi; Guo, Yue-Liang Leon; Hashizume, Masahiro; Bell, Michelle L; Chen, Bing-Yu; Kim, Ho

2015-03-01

Multisite time-series studies for temperature-related mortality have been conducted mainly in the United States and Europe, but are lacking in Asia. This multisite time-series study examined mortality related to extreme temperatures (both cold and hot) in Northeast Asia, focusing on 15 cities of 3 high-income countries. This study includes 3 cities in Taiwan for 1994-2007, 6 cities in Korea for 1992-2010, and 6 cities in Japan for 1972-2009. We used 2-stage Bayesian hierarchical Poisson semiparametric regression to model the nonlinear relationship between temperature and mortality, providing city-specific and country-wide estimates for cold and heat effects. Various exposure time frames, age groups, and causes of death were considered. Cold effects had longer time lags (5-11 days) than heat effects, which were immediate (1-3 days). Cold effects were larger for cities in Taiwan, whereas heat effects were larger for cities in Korea and Japan. Patterns of increasing effects with age were observed in both cold and heat effects. Both cold and heat effects were larger for cardiorespiratory mortality than for other causes of death. Several city characteristics related to weather or air pollution were associated with both cold and heat effects. Mortality increased with either cold or hot temperature in urban populations of high-income countries in Northeast Asia, with spatial variations of effects among cities and countries. Findings suggest that climate factors are major contributors to the spatial heterogeneity of effects in this region, although further research is merited to identify other factors as determinants of variability.

Multisite Parent-Centered Risk Assessment to Reduce Pediatric Oral Chemotherapy Errors

PubMed Central

Walsh, Kathleen E.; Mazor, Kathleen M.; Roblin, Douglas; Biggins, Colleen; Wagner, Joann L.; Houlahan, Kathleen; Li, Justin W.; Keuker, Christopher; Wasilewski-Masker, Karen; Donovan, Jennifer; Kanaan, Abir; Weingart, Saul N.

2013-01-01

Purpose: Observational studies describe high rates of errors in home oral chemotherapy use in children. In hospitals, proactive risk assessment methods help front-line health care workers develop error prevention strategies. Our objective was to engage parents of children with cancer in a multisite study using proactive risk assessment methods to identify how errors occur at home and propose risk reduction strategies. Methods: We recruited parents from three outpatient pediatric oncology clinics in the northeast and southeast United States to participate in failure mode and effects analyses (FMEA). An FMEA is a systematic team-based proactive risk assessment approach in understanding ways a process can fail and develop prevention strategies. Steps included diagram the process, brainstorm and prioritize failure modes (places where things go wrong), and propose risk reduction strategies. We focused on home oral chemotherapy administration after a change in dose because prior studies identified this area as high risk. Results: Parent teams consisted of four parents at two of the sites and 10 at the third. Parents developed a 13-step process map, with two to 19 failure modes per step. The highest priority failure modes included miscommunication when receiving instructions from the clinician (caused by conflicting instructions or parent lapses) and unsafe chemotherapy handling at home. Recommended risk assessment strategies included novel uses of technology to improve parent access to information, clinicians, and other parents while at home. Conclusion: Parents of pediatric oncology patients readily participated in a proactive risk assessment method, identifying processes that pose a risk for medication errors involving home oral chemotherapy. PMID:23633976

The Setting-up of Multi-Site School Collaboratives: The Benefits of This Organizational Reform in Terms of Networking Opportunities and Their Effects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mifsud, Denise

2015-01-01

This article, which is set within the Maltese education scenario of unfolding decentralization through the setting-up of multi-site school collaboratives (legally termed "colleges") via a policy mandate, explores a particular aspect of this reform--that of "networking". This is examined in terms of the potential for…

How Much Do the Effects of Education and Training Programs Vary across Sites? Evidence from Past Multisite Randomized Trials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weiss, Michael J.; Bloom, Howard S.; Verbitsky-Savitz, Natalya; Gupta, Himani; Vigil, Alma E.; Cullinan, Daniel N.

2017-01-01

Multisite trials, in which individuals are randomly assigned to alternative treatment arms within sites, offer an excellent opportunity to estimate the cross-site average effect of treatment assignment (intent to treat or ITT) "and" the amount by which this impact varies across sites. Although both of these statistics are substantively…

Sensitivity of the Modified Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale to Detect Change: Results from Two Multi-Site Trials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scahill, Lawrence; Sukhodolsky, Denis G.; Anderberg, Emily; Dimitropoulos, Anastasia; Dziura, James; Aman, Michael G.; McCracken, James; Tierney, Elaine; Hallett, Victoria; Katz, Karol; Vitiello, Benedetto; McDougle, Christopher

2016-01-01

Repetitive behavior is a core feature of autism spectrum disorder. We used 8-week data from two federally funded, multi-site, randomized trials with risperidone conducted by the Research Units on Pediatric Psychopharmacology Autism Network to evaluate the sensitivity of the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale modified for autism…

Applying probabilistic temporal and multisite data quality control methods to a public health mortality registry in Spain: a systematic approach to quality control of repositories.

PubMed

Sáez, Carlos; Zurriaga, Oscar; Pérez-Panadés, Jordi; Melchor, Inma; Robles, Montserrat; García-Gómez, Juan M

2016-11-01

To assess the variability in data distributions among data sources and over time through a case study of a large multisite repository as a systematic approach to data quality (DQ). Novel probabilistic DQ control methods based on information theory and geometry are applied to the Public Health Mortality Registry of the Region of Valencia, Spain, with 512 143 entries from 2000 to 2012, disaggregated into 24 health departments. The methods provide DQ metrics and exploratory visualizations for (1) assessing the variability among multiple sources and (2) monitoring and exploring changes with time. The methods are suited to big data and multitype, multivariate, and multimodal data. The repository was partitioned into 2 probabilistically separated temporal subgroups following a change in the Spanish National Death Certificate in 2009. Punctual temporal anomalies were noticed due to a punctual increment in the missing data, along with outlying and clustered health departments due to differences in populations or in practices. Changes in protocols, differences in populations, biased practices, or other systematic DQ problems affected data variability. Even if semantic and integration aspects are addressed in data sharing infrastructures, probabilistic variability may still be present. Solutions include fixing or excluding data and analyzing different sites or time periods separately. A systematic approach to assessing temporal and multisite variability is proposed. Multisite and temporal variability in data distributions affects DQ, hindering data reuse, and an assessment of such variability should be a part of systematic DQ procedures. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Gene Expression-Based Survival Prediction in Lung Adenocarcinoma: A Multi-Site, Blinded Validation Study

PubMed Central

Shedden, Kerby; Taylor, Jeremy M.G.; Enkemann, Steve A.; Tsao, Ming S.; Yeatman, Timothy J.; Gerald, William L.; Eschrich, Steve; Jurisica, Igor; Venkatraman, Seshan E.; Meyerson, Matthew; Kuick, Rork; Dobbin, Kevin K.; Lively, Tracy; Jacobson, James W.; Beer, David G.; Giordano, Thomas J.; Misek, David E.; Chang, Andrew C.; Zhu, Chang Qi; Strumpf, Dan; Hanash, Samir; Shepherd, Francis A.; Ding, Kuyue; Seymour, Lesley; Naoki, Katsuhiko; Pennell, Nathan; Weir, Barbara; Verhaak, Roel; Ladd-Acosta, Christine; Golub, Todd; Gruidl, Mike; Szoke, Janos; Zakowski, Maureen; Rusch, Valerie; Kris, Mark; Viale, Agnes; Motoi, Noriko; Travis, William; Sharma, Anupama

2009-01-01

Although prognostic gene expression signatures for survival in early stage lung cancer have been proposed, for clinical application it is critical to establish their performance across different subject populations and in different laboratories. Here we report a large, training-testing, multi-site blinded validation study to characterize the performance of several prognostic models based on gene expression for 442 lung adenocarcinomas. The hypotheses proposed examined whether microarray measurements of gene expression either alone or combined with basic clinical covariates (stage, age, sex) can be used to predict overall survival in lung cancer subjects. Several models examined produced risk scores that substantially correlated with actual subject outcome. Most methods performed better with clinical data, supporting the combined use of clinical and molecular information when building prognostic models for early stage lung cancer. This study also provides the largest available set of microarray data with extensive pathological and clinical annotation for lung adenocarcinomas. PMID:18641660

The Study to Explore Early Development (SEED): A Multisite Epidemiologic Study of Autism by the Centers for Autism and Developmental Disabilities Research and Epidemiology (CADDRE) Network

PubMed Central

Schendel, Diana; DiGuiseppi, Carolyn; Croen, Lisa; Fallin, M Danielle; Reed, Philip L.; Schieve, Laura; Wiggins, Lisa; Daniels, Julie; Grether, Judith; Levy, Susan; Miller, Lisa; Newschaffer, Craig; Pinto-Martin, Jennifer; Robinson, Cordelia; Windham, Gayle; Alexander, Aimee; Aylsworth, Arthur; Bernal, Pilar; Bonner, Joseph D.; Blaskey, Lisa; Bradley, Chyrise; Collins, Jack; Ferretti, Casara; Farzadegan, Homayoon; Giarelli, Ellen; Harvey, Marques; Hepburn, Susan; Herr, Matthew; Kaparich, Kristina; Landa, Rebecca; Lee, Li-Ching; Levenseller, Brooke; Meyerer, Stacey; Rahbar, Mohammad H.; Ratchford, Andria; Reynolds, Ann; Rosenberg, Steve; Rusyniak, Julie; Shapira, Stuart K.; Smith, Karen; Souders, Margaret; AaronThompson, Patrick; Young, Lisa; Yeargin-Allsopp, Marshalyn

2015-01-01

The Study to Explore Early Development (SEED), a multisite investigation addressing knowledge gaps in autism phenotype and etiology, aims to: (1) characterize the autism behavioral phenotype and associated developmental, medical, and behavioral conditions and (2) investigate genetic and environmental risks with emphasis on immunologic, hormonal, gastrointestinal, and sociodemographic characteristics. SEED uses a case–control design with population-based ascertainment of children aged 2–5 years with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and children in two control groups—one from the general population and one with non-ASD developmental problems. Data from parent-completed questionnaires, interviews, clinical evaluations, biospecimen sampling, and medical record abstraction focus on the prenatal and early postnatal periods. SEED is a valuable resource for testing hypotheses regarding ASD characteristics and causes. PMID:22350336

Artificial redirection of sensation from prosthetic fingers to the phantom hand map on transradial amputees: vibrotactile versus mechanotactile sensory feedback.

PubMed

Antfolk, Christian; D'Alonzo, Marco; Controzzi, Marco; Lundborg, Göran; Rosén, Birgitta; Sebelius, Fredrik; Cipriani, Christian

2013-01-01

This work assesses the ability of transradial amputees to discriminate multi-site tactile stimuli in sensory discrimination tasks. It compares different sensory feedback modalities using an artificial hand prosthesis in: 1) a modality matched paradigm where pressure recorded on the five fingertips of the hand was fed back as pressure stimulation on five target points on the residual limb; and 2) a modality mismatched paradigm where the pressures were transformed into mechanical vibrations and fed back. Eight transradial amputees took part in the study and were divided in two groups based on the integrity of their phantom map; group A had a complete phantom map on the residual limb whereas group B had an incomplete or nonexisting map. The ability in localizing stimuli was compared with that of 10 healthy subjects using the vibration feedback and 11 healthy subjects using the pressure feedback (in a previous study), on their forearms, in similar experiments. Results demonstrate that pressure stimulation surpassed vibrotactile stimulation in multi-site sensory feedback discrimination. Furthermore, we demonstrate that subjects with a detailed phantom map had the best discrimination performance and even surpassed healthy participants for both feedback paradigms whereas group B had the worst performance overall. Finally, we show that placement of feedback devices on a complete phantom map improves multi-site sensory feedback discrimination, independently of the feedback modality.

Evaluation of vSim for Nursing in an Adult Health Nursing Course: A Multisite Pilot Study.

PubMed

Wright, Renée R; Tinnon, Elizabeth A; Newton, Rebecca H

2018-02-01

Virtual simulation technology is the next step in using simulation as an accepted teaching-learning pedagogy in nursing. The purpose of this multisite, quasi-experimental, three-group, posttest-only design was to evaluate the effectiveness and participant satisfaction of vSim for Nursing in an Adult Health Nursing course. Although the quantitative findings (examination scores and postsimulation scores) were not statistically significant, participants overwhelmingly found vSim for Nursing to be a positive experiential learning endeavor. Ninety-one percent of the participants (n = 61) indicated that vSim for Nursing helped them understand adult health concepts and that vSim for Nursing was beneficial to learning. vSim for Nursing warrants further investigation, using other methods to measure effectiveness to ascertain whether knowledge acquisition is indeed improved as indicated by participant data in this study.

Use of the World Wide Web for multisite data collection.

PubMed

Subramanian, A K; McAfee, A T; Getzinger, J P

1997-08-01

As access to the Internet becomes increasingly available, research applications in medicine will increase. This paper describes the use of the Internet, and, more specifically, the World Wide Web (WWW), as a channel of communication between EDs throughout the world and investigators who are interested in facilitating the collection of data from multiple sites. Data entered into user-friendly electronic surveys can be transmitted over the Internet to a database located at the site of the study, rendering geographic separation less of a barrier to the conduction of multisite studies. The electronic format of the data can enable real-time statistical processing while data are stored using existing database technologies. In theory, automated processing of variables within such a database enables early identification of data trends. Methods of ensuring validity, security, and compliance are discussed.

Cerebral Oxygenation of the Cortex and Striatum following Normobaric Hyperoxia and Mild Hypoxia in Rats by EPR Oximetry using Multi-Probe Implantable Resonators

PubMed Central

Hou, Huagang; Li, Hongbin; Dong, Ruhong; Mupparaju, Sriram; Khan, Nadeem; Swartz, Harold

2013-01-01

Multi-site electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) oximetry, using multi-probe implantable resonators, was used to measure the partial pressure of oxygen (pO2) in the brains of rats following normobaric hyperoxia and mild hypoxia. The cerebral tissue pO2 was measured simultaneously in the cerebral cortex and striatum in the same rats before, during, and after normobaric hyperoxia and mild hypoxia challenges. The baseline mean tissue pO2 values (±SE) were not significantly different between the cortex and striatum. During 30 min of 100% O2 inhalation, a statistically significant increase in tissue pO2 of all four sites was observed, however, the tissue pO2 of the striatum area was significantly higher than in the forelimb area of the cortex. Brain pO2 significantly decreased from the baseline value during 15 min of 15% O2 challenge. No differences in the recovery of the cerebral cortex and striatum pO2 were observed when the rats were allowed to breathe 30% O2. It appears that EPR oximetry using implantable resonators can provide information on pO2 under the experimental conditions needed for such a study. The levels of pO2 that occurred in these experiments are readily resolvable by multi-site EPR oximetry with multi-probe resonators. In addition, the ability to simultaneously measure the pO2 in several areas of the brain provides important information that could potentially help differentiate the pO2 changes that can occur due to global or local mechanisms. PMID:21445770

Multisite EPR oximetry from multiple quadrature harmonics.

PubMed

Ahmad, R; Som, S; Johnson, D H; Zweier, J L; Kuppusamy, P; Potter, L C

2012-01-01

Multisite continuous wave (CW) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) oximetry using multiple quadrature field modulation harmonics is presented. First, a recently developed digital receiver is used to extract multiple harmonics of field modulated projection data. Second, a forward model is presented that relates the projection data to unknown parameters, including linewidth at each site. Third, a maximum likelihood estimator of unknown parameters is reported using an iterative algorithm capable of jointly processing multiple quadrature harmonics. The data modeling and processing are applicable for parametric lineshapes under nonsaturating conditions. Joint processing of multiple harmonics leads to 2-3-fold acceleration of EPR data acquisition. For demonstration in two spatial dimensions, both simulations and phantom studies on an L-band system are reported. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Multisite Reliability of MR-Based Functional Connectivity

PubMed Central

Noble, Stephanie; Scheinost, Dustin; Finn, Emily S.; Shen, Xilin; Papademetris, Xenophon; McEwen, Sarah C.; Bearden, Carrie E.; Addington, Jean; Goodyear, Bradley; Cadenhead, Kristin S.; Mirzakhanian, Heline; Cornblatt, Barbara A.; Olvet, Doreen M.; Mathalon, Daniel H.; McGlashan, Thomas H.; Perkins, Diana O.; Belger, Aysenil; Seidman, Larry J.; Thermenos, Heidi; Tsuang, Ming T.; van Erp, Theo G.M.; Walker, Elaine F.; Hamann, Stephan; Woods, Scott W.; Cannon, Tyrone D.; Constable, R. Todd

2016-01-01

Recent years have witnessed an increasing number of multisite MRI functional connectivity (fcMRI) studies. While multisite studies are an efficient way to speed up data collection and increase sample sizes, especially for rare clinical populations, any effects of site or MRI scanner could ultimately limit power and weaken results. Little data exists on the stability of functional connectivity measurements across sites and sessions. In this study, we assess the influence of site and session on resting state functional connectivity measurements in a healthy cohort of traveling subjects (8 subjects scanned twice at each of 8 sites) scanned as part of the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study (NAPLS). Reliability was investigated in three types of connectivity analyses: (1) seed-based connectivity with posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), right motor cortex (RMC), and left thalamus (LT) as seeds; (2) the intrinsic connectivity distribution (ICD), a voxel-wise connectivity measure; and (3) matrix connectivity, a whole-brain, atlas-based approach assessing connectivity between nodes. Contributions to variability in connectivity due to subject, site, and day-of-scan were quantified and used to assess between-session (test-retest) reliability in accordance with Generalizability Theory. Overall, no major site, scanner manufacturer, or day-of-scan effects were found for the univariate connectivity analyses; instead, subject effects dominated relative to the other measured factors. However, summaries of voxel-wise connectivity were found to be sensitive to site and scanner manufacturer effects. For all connectivity measures, although subject variance was three times the site variance, the residual represented 60–80% of the variance, indicating that connectivity differed greatly from scan to scan independent of any of the measured factors (i.e., subject, site, and day-of-scan). Thus, for a single 5 min scan, reliability across connectivity measures was poor (ICC=0.07–0.17), but increases with increasing scan duration (ICC=0.21–0.36 at 25 min). The limited effects of site and scanner manufacturer support the use of multisite studies, such as NAPLS, as a viable means of collecting data on rare populations and increasing power in univariate functional connectivity studies. However, the results indicate that aggregation of fcMRI data across longer scan durations is necessary to increase the reliability of connectivity estimates at the single-subject level. PMID:27746386

Repeated assessment of orthotopic glioma pO2 by multi-site EPR oximetry: A technique with the potential to guide therapeutic optimization by repeated measurements of oxygen

PubMed Central

Khan, Nadeem; Mupparaju, Sriram; Hou, Huagang; Williams, Benjamin B.; Swartz, Harold

2011-01-01

Tumor hypoxia plays a vital role in therapeutic resistance. Consequently, measurements of tumor pO2 could be used to optimize the outcome of oxygen-dependent therapies, such as, chemoradiation. However, the potential optimizations are restricted by the lack of methods to repeatedly and quantitatively assess tumor pO2 during therapies, particularly in gliomas. We describe the procedures for repeated measurements of orthotopic glioma pO2 by multi-site electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) oximetry. This oximetry approach provides simultaneous measurements of pO2 at more than one site in the glioma and contralateral cerebral tissue. The pO2 of intracerebral 9L, C6, F98 and U251 tumors, as well as contralateral brain, were measured repeatedly for five consecutive days. The 9L glioma was well oxygenated with pO2 of 27 - 36 mm Hg, while C6, F98 and U251 glioma were hypoxic with pO2 of 7 - 12 mm Hg. The potential of multi-site EPR oximetry to assess temporal changes in tissue pO2 was investigated in rats breathing 100% O2. A significant increase in F98 tumor and contralateral brain pO2 was observed on day 1 and day 2, however, glioma oxygenation declined on subsequent days. In conclusion, EPR oximetry provides the capability to repeatedly assess temporal changes in orthotopic glioma pO2. This information could be used to test and optimize the methods being developed to modulate tumor hypoxia. Furthermore, EPR oximetry could be potentially used to enhance the outcome of chemoradiation by scheduling treatments at times of increase in glioma pO2. PMID:22079559

Repeated assessment of orthotopic glioma pO(2) by multi-site EPR oximetry: a technique with the potential to guide therapeutic optimization by repeated measurements of oxygen.

PubMed

Khan, Nadeem; Mupparaju, Sriram; Hou, Huagang; Williams, Benjamin B; Swartz, Harold

2012-02-15

Tumor hypoxia plays a vital role in therapeutic resistance. Consequently, measurements of tumor pO(2) could be used to optimize the outcome of oxygen-dependent therapies, such as, chemoradiation. However, the potential optimizations are restricted by the lack of methods to repeatedly and quantitatively assess tumor pO(2) during therapies, particularly in gliomas. We describe the procedures for repeated measurements of orthotopic glioma pO(2) by multi-site electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) oximetry. This oximetry approach provides simultaneous measurements of pO(2) at more than one site in the glioma and contralateral cerebral tissue. The pO(2) of intracerebral 9L, C6, F98 and U251 tumors, as well as contralateral brain, were measured repeatedly for five consecutive days. The 9L glioma was well oxygenated with pO(2) of 27-36 mm Hg, while C6, F98 and U251 glioma were hypoxic with pO(2) of 7-12mm Hg. The potential of multi-site EPR oximetry to assess temporal changes in tissue pO(2) was investigated in rats breathing 100% O(2). A significant increase in F98 tumor and contralateral brain pO(2) was observed on day 1 and day 2, however, glioma oxygenation declined on subsequent days. In conclusion, EPR oximetry provides the capability to repeatedly assess temporal changes in orthotopic glioma pO(2). This information could be used to test and optimize the methods being developed to modulate tumor hypoxia. Furthermore, EPR oximetry could be potentially used to enhance the outcome of chemoradiation by scheduling treatments at times of increase in glioma pO(2). Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Challenges and Benefits of Employing a Mobile Research Fellow to Facilitate Team Work on a Large, Interdisciplinary, Multi-Sited Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sugden, Fraser; Punch, Samantha

2014-01-01

Over the last few years research funding has increasingly moved in favour of large, multi-partner, interdisciplinary and multi-site research projects. This article explores the benefits and challenges of employing a full-time research fellow to work across multiple field sites, with all the local research teams, on an international,…

Distortions in Distributions of Impact Estimates in Multi-Site Trials: The Central Limit Theorem Is Not Your Friend

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

May, Henry

2014-01-01

Interest in variation in program impacts--How big is it? What might explain it?--has inspired recent work on the analysis of data from multi-site experiments. One critical aspect of this problem involves the use of random or fixed effect estimates to visualize the distribution of impact estimates across a sample of sites. Unfortunately, unless the…

A multisite validation of whole slide imaging for primary diagnosis using standardized data collection and analysis.

PubMed

Wack, Katy; Drogowski, Laura; Treloar, Murray; Evans, Andrew; Ho, Jonhan; Parwani, Anil; Montalto, Michael C

2016-01-01

Text-based reporting and manual arbitration for whole slide imaging (WSI) validation studies are labor intensive and do not allow for consistent, scalable, and repeatable data collection or analysis. The objective of this study was to establish a method of data capture and analysis using standardized codified checklists and predetermined synoptic discordance tables and to use these methods in a pilot multisite validation study. Fifteen case report form checklists were generated from the College of American Pathology cancer protocols. Prior to data collection, all hypothetical pairwise comparisons were generated, and a level of harm was determined for each possible discordance. Four sites with four pathologists each generated 264 independent reads of 33 cases. Preestablished discordance tables were applied to determine site by site and pooled accuracy, intrareader/intramodality, and interreader intramodality error rates. Over 10,000 hypothetical pairwise comparisons were evaluated and assigned harm in discordance tables. The average difference in error rates between WSI and glass, as compared to ground truth, was 0.75% with a lower bound of 3.23% (95% confidence interval). Major discordances occurred on challenging cases, regardless of modality. The average inter-reader agreement across sites for glass was 76.5% (weighted kappa of 0.68) and for digital it was 79.1% (weighted kappa of 0.72). These results demonstrate the feasibility and utility of employing standardized synoptic checklists and predetermined discordance tables to gather consistent, comprehensive diagnostic data for WSI validation studies. This method of data capture and analysis can be applied in large-scale multisite WSI validations.

A Multisite Study of Learning in Introductory Psychology Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gurung, Regan A. R.; Daniel, David B.; Landrum, R. Eric

2012-01-01

Four hundred and fifty-four students enrolled in introductory psychology at different institutions across the nation participated in a study of factors related to learning. Key measures included an instructor rating, ratings of textbook quality and helpfulness, study time, student self-evaluations of study behaviors, approach to learning,…

Impact of Institutional Review Board Practice Variation on Observational Health Services Research

PubMed Central

Green, Lee A; Lowery, Julie C; Kowalski, Christine P; Wyszewianski, Leon

2006-01-01

Objective To describe, qualitatively and quantitatively, the impact of a review by multiple institutional review boards (IRBs) on the conduct of a multisite observational health services research study. Data Source and Setting Primary data collection during 2002, 2003, and 2004 at 43 United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) primary care clinics. Design Explanatory sequential mixed methods design incorporating qualitative and quantitative elements in sequence. Data Collection and Abstraction Methods Field notes and documents collected by research staff during a multisite observational health services research study were used in thematic analysis. Themes were quantified descriptively and merged with timeline data. Principal Findings Approximately 4,680 hours of staff time over a 19-month period were devoted solely to the IRB process. Four categories of phenomena impacting research were observed: Recruitment, retention, and communication issues with local site principal investigators (PIs). Local PIs had no real role but were required by IRBs. Twenty-one percent of sites experienced turnover in local PIs, and local PI issues added significant delay to most sites.Wide variation in standards applied to review and approval of IRB applications. The study was designed to be qualified under U.S. government regulations for expedited review. One site exempted it from review (although it did not qualify for exemption), 10 granted expedited review, 31 required full review, and one rejected it as being too risky to be permitted. Twenty-three required inapplicable sections in the consent form and five required HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) consent from physicians although no health information was asked of them. Twelve sites requested, and two insisted upon, provisions that directly increased the risk to participants.Multiple returns for revision of IRB applications, consent documents, and ancillary forms. Seventy-six percent of sites required at least one resubmission, and 15 percent of sites required three or more (up to six) resubmissions. Only 12 percent of sites required any procedural or substantive revision; most resubmissions were editorial changes to the wording of the consent document.Process failures (long turnaround times, lost paperwork, difficulty in obtaining necessary forms, unavailability of key personnel at IRBs). The process required from 52 to 798 (median 286) days to obtain approval at each site. Conclusions Several features of the IRB system as currently configured impose costly burdens of administrative activity and delay on observational health services research studies, and paradoxically decrease protection of human subjects. Central review with local opt-out, cooperative review, or a system of peer review could reduce costs and improve protection of human subjects. PMID:16430608

Multisite accelerometry for sleep and wake classification in children.

PubMed

Lamprecht, Marnie L; Bradley, Andrew P; Tran, Tommy; Boynton, Alison; Terrill, Philip I

2015-01-01

Actigraphy is a useful alternative to the gold standard polysomnogram for non-invasively measuring sleep and wakefulness. However, it is unable to accurately assess sleep fragmentation due to its inability to differentiate restless sleep from wakefulness and quiet wake from sleep. This presents significant limitations in the assessment of sleep-related breathing disorders where sleep fragmentation is a common symptom. We propose that this limitation may be caused by hardware constraints and movement representation techniques. Our objective was to determine if multisite tri-axial accelerometry improves sleep and wake classification. Twenty-four patients aged 6-15 years (median: 8 years, 16 male) underwent a diagnostic polysomnogram while simultaneously recording motion from the left wrist and index fingertip, upper thorax and left ankle and great toe using a custom accelerometry system. Movement was quantified using several features and two feature selection techniques were employed to select optimal features for restricted feature set sizes. A heuristic was also applied to identify movements during restless sleep. The sleep and wake classification performance was then assessed and validated against the manually scored polysomnogram using discriminant analysis. Tri-axial accelerometry measured at the wrist significantly improved the wake detection when compared to uni-axial accelerometry (specificity at 85% sensitivity: 71.3(14.2)% versus 55.2(24.7)%, p < 0.01). Multisite accelerometry significantly improved the performance when compared to the single wrist placement (specificity at 85% sensitivity: 82.1(12.5)% versus 71.3(14.2)%, p < 0.05). Our results indicate that multisite accelerometry offers a significant performance benefit which could be further improved by analysing movement in raw multisite accelerometry data.

Variability of acute extracellular action potential measurements with multisite silicon probes

PubMed Central

Scott, Kimberly M.; Du, Jiangang; Lester, Henry A.; Masmanidis, Sotiris C.

2012-01-01

Device miniaturization technologies have led to significant advances in sensors for extracellular measurements of electrical activity in the brain. Multisite, silicon-based probes containing implantable electrode arrays afford greater coverage of neuronal activity than single electrodes and therefore potentially offer a more complete view of how neuronal ensembles encode information. However, scaling up the number of sites is not sufficient to ensure capture of multiple neurons, as action potential signals from extracellular electrodes may vary due to numerous factors. In order to understand the large-scale recording capabilities and potential limitations of multisite probes, it is important to quantify this variability, and to determine whether certain key device parameters influence the recordings. Here we investigate the effect of four parameters, namely, electrode surface, width of the structural support shafts, shaft number, and position of the recording site relative to the shaft tip. This study employs acutely implanted silicon probes containing up to 64 recording sites, whose performance is evaluated by the metrics of noise, spike amplitude, and spike detection probability. On average, we find no significant effect of device geometry on spike amplitude and detection probability but we find significant differences among individual experiments, with the likelihood of detecting spikes varying by a factor of approximately three across trials. PMID:22971352

Robust multi-site MR data processing: iterative optimization of bias correction, tissue classification, and registration.

PubMed

Young Kim, Eun; Johnson, Hans J

2013-01-01

A robust multi-modal tool, for automated registration, bias correction, and tissue classification, has been implemented for large-scale heterogeneous multi-site longitudinal MR data analysis. This work focused on improving the an iterative optimization framework between bias-correction, registration, and tissue classification inspired from previous work. The primary contributions are robustness improvements from incorporation of following four elements: (1) utilize multi-modal and repeated scans, (2) incorporate high-deformable registration, (3) use extended set of tissue definitions, and (4) use of multi-modal aware intensity-context priors. The benefits of these enhancements were investigated by a series of experiments with both simulated brain data set (BrainWeb) and by applying to highly-heterogeneous data from a 32 site imaging study with quality assessments through the expert visual inspection. The implementation of this tool is tailored for, but not limited to, large-scale data processing with great data variation with a flexible interface. In this paper, we describe enhancements to a joint registration, bias correction, and the tissue classification, that improve the generalizability and robustness for processing multi-modal longitudinal MR scans collected at multi-sites. The tool was evaluated by using both simulated and simulated and human subject MRI images. With these enhancements, the results showed improved robustness for large-scale heterogeneous MRI processing.

Evaluation of a multi-site program designed to strengthen relational bonds for siblings separated by foster care.

PubMed

Waid, Jeffrey; Wojciak, Armeda Stevenson

2017-10-01

Sibling relationships in foster care settings have received increased attention in recent years. Despite growing evidence regarding the protective potential of sibling relationships for youth in care, some sibling groups continue to experience foster care related separation, and few programs exist to address the needs of these youth. This study describes and evaluates Camp To Belong, a multi-site program designed to provide short-term reunification to separated sibling groups through a week-long summer camp experience. Using a pre-test post-test survey design, this paper examines changes in youth ratings of sibling conflict and sibling support across camps located in six geographically distinct regions of the United States. The effects of youth age, number of prior camp exposures, and camp location were tested using multilevel modeling procedures. Findings suggest that participation in Camp To Belong may reduce sibling conflict, and improvements in sibling support are noted for youth who have had prior exposure to the camp's programming. Camp-level variance in the sibling support outcome highlight the complex nature of relationships for siblings separated by foster care, and suggest the need for additional research. Lessons learned from this multi-site evaluation and future directions are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Caring letters for suicide prevention: implementation of a multi-site randomized clinical trial in the U.S. military and Veteran Affairs healthcare systems.

PubMed

Luxton, David D; Thomas, Elissa K; Chipps, Joan; Relova, Rona M; Brown, Daphne; McLay, Robert; Lee, Tina T; Nakama, Helenna; Smolenski, Derek J

2014-03-01

Caring letters is a suicide prevention intervention that entails the sending of brief messages that espouse caring concern to patients following discharge from treatment. First tested more than four decades ago, this intervention is one of the only interventions shown in a randomized controlled trial to reduce suicide mortality rates. Due to elevated suicide risk among patients following psychiatric hospitalization and the steady increase in suicide rates among the U.S. military personnel, it is imperative to test interventions that may help prevent suicide among high-risk military personnel and veterans. This paper describes the design, methods, study protocol, and regulatory implementation processes for a multi-site randomized controlled trial that aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a caring emails intervention for suicide prevention in the military and VA healthcare systems. The primary outcome is suicide mortality rates to be determined 24 months post-discharge from index hospital stay. Healthcare re-utilization rates will also be evaluated and comprehensive data will be collected regarding suicide risk factors. Recommendations for navigating the military and VA research regulatory processes and implementing a multi-site clinical trial at military and VA hospitals are discussed. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Proton adsorption onto alumina: extension of multisite complexation (MUSIC) theory

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

Nagashima, K.; Blum, F.D.

1999-09-01

The adsorption isotherm of protons onto a commercial {gamma}-alumina sample was determined in aqueous nitric acid with sodium nitrate as a background electrolyte. Three discrete regions could be discerned in the log-log plots of the proton isotherm determined at the solution pH 5 to 2. The multisite complexation (MUSIC) model was modified to analyze the simultaneous adsorption of protons onto various kinds of surface species.

Effect Sizes in Cluster-Randomized Designs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hedges, Larry V.

2007-01-01

Multisite research designs involving cluster randomization are becoming increasingly important in educational and behavioral research. Researchers would like to compute effect size indexes based on the standardized mean difference to compare the results of cluster-randomized studies (and corresponding quasi-experiments) with other studies and to…

Lifestyle interventions and independence for elders study: Recruitment and baseline characteristics

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Recruitment of older adults into long-term clinical trials involving behavioral interventions is a significant challenge. The Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders (LIFE) Study is a Phase 3 multicenter randomized controlled multisite trial, designed to compare the effects of a moderate...

NCORP Gets Underway

Cancer.gov

NCI has awarded 53 new 5-year grants to researchers across the country to conduct multi-site cancer clinical trials and cancer care delivery research studies in their communities. The grants are being awarded under the NCI Community Oncology Research Prog

Characteristics of the Healthy Brain Project Sample: Representing Diversity among Study Participants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bryant, Lucinda L.; Laditka, James N.; Laditka, Sarah B.; Mathews, Anna E.

2009-01-01

Purpose: Description of study participants and documentation of the desired diversity in the Prevention Research Centers Healthy Aging Research Network's Workgroup on Promoting Cognitive Health large multisite study designed to examine attitudes about brain health, behaviors associated with its maintenance, and information-receiving preferences…

Does 'Time Together' increase quality of interaction and decrease stress? A study protocol of a multisite nursing intervention in psychiatric inpatient care, using a mixed method approach.

PubMed

Molin, Jenny; Lindgren, Britt-Marie; Graneheim, Ulla Hällgren; Ringnér, Anders

2017-08-28

Despite the long-known significance of the nurse-patient relationship, research in psychiatric inpatient care still reports unfulfilled expectations of, and difficulties in, interactions and relationships between patients and staff. Interventions that create structures to allow quality interactions between patients and staff are needed to solve these problems. The aim of this project is to test effects of the nursing intervention Time Together and to evaluate the intervention process. This is a multisite study with a single-system experimental design using frequent measures. The primary outcomes are quality interactions for patients and perceived stress for staff. Secondary outcomes are levels of symptoms of anxiety and depression for patients and stress of conscience for staff. A process evaluation is performed to describe contextual factors and experiences. Data are collected using questionnaires, participant observations and semistructured interviews. For analysis of quantitative data, both visual and statistical methods will be used. Qualitative data will be analysed using qualitative content analysis. Ethical approval was granted by the Ethical Review Board in the region (Dnr 2016/339-31). The findings will contribute to the development of nursing interventions in general, but more specifically to the development of the intervention. This is relevant both nationally and internationally as similar interventions are needed but sparse. The findings will be disseminated through conference presentations and peer-reviewed publications. NCT02981563. © 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.

Combining biophysical methods for the analysis of protein complex stoichiometry and affinity in SEDPHAT

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

Zhao, Huaying, E-mail: zhaoh3@mail.nih.gov; Schuck, Peter, E-mail: zhaoh3@mail.nih.gov

2015-01-01

Global multi-method analysis for protein interactions (GMMA) can increase the precision and complexity of binding studies for the determination of the stoichiometry, affinity and cooperativity of multi-site interactions. The principles and recent developments of biophysical solution methods implemented for GMMA in the software SEDPHAT are reviewed, their complementarity in GMMA is described and a new GMMA simulation tool set in SEDPHAT is presented. Reversible macromolecular interactions are ubiquitous in signal transduction pathways, often forming dynamic multi-protein complexes with three or more components. Multivalent binding and cooperativity in these complexes are often key motifs of their biological mechanisms. Traditional solution biophysicalmore » techniques for characterizing the binding and cooperativity are very limited in the number of states that can be resolved. A global multi-method analysis (GMMA) approach has recently been introduced that can leverage the strengths and the different observables of different techniques to improve the accuracy of the resulting binding parameters and to facilitate the study of multi-component systems and multi-site interactions. Here, GMMA is described in the software SEDPHAT for the analysis of data from isothermal titration calorimetry, surface plasmon resonance or other biosensing, analytical ultracentrifugation, fluorescence anisotropy and various other spectroscopic and thermodynamic techniques. The basic principles of these techniques are reviewed and recent advances in view of their particular strengths in the context of GMMA are described. Furthermore, a new feature in SEDPHAT is introduced for the simulation of multi-method data. In combination with specific statistical tools for GMMA in SEDPHAT, simulations can be a valuable step in the experimental design.« less

Multisite Reliability of Cognitive BOLD Data

PubMed Central

Brown, Gregory G.; Mathalon, Daniel H.; Stern, Hal; Ford, Judith; Mueller, Bryon; Greve, Douglas N.; McCarthy, Gregory; Voyvodic, Jim; Glover, Gary; Diaz, Michele; Yetter, Elizabeth; Burak Ozyurt, I.; Jorgensen, Kasper W.; Wible, Cynthia G.; Turner, Jessica A.; Thompson, Wesley K.; Potkin, Steven G.

2010-01-01

Investigators perform multi-site functional magnetic resonance imaging studies to increase statistical power, to enhance generalizability, and to improve the likelihood of sampling relevant subgroups. Yet undesired site variation in imaging methods could off-set these potential advantages. We used variance components analysis to investigate sources of variation in the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal across four 3T magnets in voxelwise and region of interest (ROI) analyses. Eighteen participants traveled to four magnet sites to complete eight runs of a working memory task involving emotional or neutral distraction. Person variance was more than 10 times larger than site variance for five of six ROIs studied. Person-by-site interactions, however, contributed sizable unwanted variance to the total. Averaging over runs increased between-site reliability, with many voxels showing good to excellent between-site reliability when eight runs were averaged and regions of interest showing fair to good reliability. Between-site reliability depended on the specific functional contrast analyzed in addition to the number of runs averaged. Although median effect size was correlated with between-site reliability, dissociations were observed for many voxels. Brain regions where the pooled effect size was large but between-site reliability was poor were associated with reduced individual differences. Brain regions where the pooled effect size was small but between-site reliability was excellent were associated with a balance of participants who displayed consistently positive or consistently negative BOLD responses. Although between-site reliability of BOLD data can be good to excellent, acquiring highly reliable data requires robust activation paradigms, ongoing quality assurance, and careful experimental control. PMID:20932915

The subchronic phencyclidine rat model: relevance for the assessment of novel therapeutics for cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia.

PubMed

Janhunen, Sanna K; Svärd, Heta; Talpos, John; Kumar, Gaurav; Steckler, Thomas; Plath, Niels; Lerdrup, Linda; Ruby, Trine; Haman, Marie; Wyler, Roger; Ballard, Theresa M

2015-11-01

Current treatments for schizophrenia have modest, if any, efficacy on cognitive dysfunction, creating a need for novel therapies. Their development requires predictive animal models. The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) hypothesis of schizophrenia indicates the use of NMDA antagonists, like subchronic phencyclidine (scPCP) to model cognitive dysfunction in adult animals. The objective of this study was to assess the scPCP model by (1) reviewing published findings of scPCP-induced neurochemical changes and effects on cognitive tasks in adult rats and (2) comparing findings from a multi-site study to determine scPCP effects on standard and touchscreen cognitive tasks. Across four research sites, the effects of scPCP (typically 5 mg/kg twice daily for 7 days, followed by at least 7-day washout) in adult male Lister Hooded rats were studied on novel object recognition (NOR) with 1-h delay, acquisition and reversal learning in Morris water maze and touchscreen-based visual discrimination. Literature findings showed that scPCP impaired attentional set-shifting (ASST) and NOR in several labs and induced a variety of neurochemical changes across different labs. In the multi-site study, scPCP impaired NOR, but not acquisition or reversal learning in touchscreen or water maze. Yet, this treatment regimen induced locomotor hypersensitivity to acute PCP until 13-week post-cessation. The multi-site study confirmed that scPCP impaired NOR and ASST only and demonstrated the reproducibility and usefulness of the touchscreen approach. Our recommendation, prior to testing novel therapeutics in the scPCP model, is to be aware that further work is required to understand the neurochemical changes and specificity of the cognitive deficits.

Overcoming the Challenges of Unstructured Data in Multisite, Electronic Medical Record-based Abstraction.

PubMed

Polnaszek, Brock; Gilmore-Bykovskyi, Andrea; Hovanes, Melissa; Roiland, Rachel; Ferguson, Patrick; Brown, Roger; Kind, Amy J H

2016-10-01

Unstructured data encountered during retrospective electronic medical record (EMR) abstraction has routinely been identified as challenging to reliably abstract, as these data are often recorded as free text, without limitations to format or structure. There is increased interest in reliably abstracting this type of data given its prominent role in care coordination and communication, yet limited methodological guidance exists. As standard abstraction approaches resulted in substandard data reliability for unstructured data elements collected as part of a multisite, retrospective EMR study of hospital discharge communication quality, our goal was to develop, apply and examine the utility of a phase-based approach to reliably abstract unstructured data. This approach is examined using the specific example of discharge communication for warfarin management. We adopted a "fit-for-use" framework to guide the development and evaluation of abstraction methods using a 4-step, phase-based approach including (1) team building; (2) identification of challenges; (3) adaptation of abstraction methods; and (4) systematic data quality monitoring. Unstructured data elements were the focus of this study, including elements communicating steps in warfarin management (eg, warfarin initiation) and medical follow-up (eg, timeframe for follow-up). After implementation of the phase-based approach, interrater reliability for all unstructured data elements demonstrated κ's of ≥0.89-an average increase of +0.25 for each unstructured data element. As compared with standard abstraction methodologies, this phase-based approach was more time intensive, but did markedly increase abstraction reliability for unstructured data elements within multisite EMR documentation.

Tender Point Count, Pain, and Mobility in the Older Population: The MOBILIZE Boston Study

PubMed Central

Eggermont, Laura H.P.; Shmerling, Robert H.; Leveille, Suzanne G.

2011-01-01

Prevalence of tender points (TP), widespread pain and fibromyalgia, as well as the relationship between TP, widespread pain and mobility was examined in 585 community-dwelling older adults (mean age 78.2 years, 63.4% female). Pain was based on location (none, single site, multisite, widespread). Mobility was measured by the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), gait speed, and self-reported (S–R) mobility difficulty. Tender point count and health characteristics (i.e. BMI, chronic conditions, analgesic use, number of medications, depression, and blocks walked per week) were assessed. Results Several participants had 3 or more TP (22.1%) although prevalence of criteria-based fibromyalgia was low (0.3%). Mobility was more limited in persons with higher tender point counts. After adjustment for pain and other risk factors, higher tender point count was associated with poorer SPPB performance (score<10, aOR=1.09 per TP, 95%CI, 1.01–1.17), and slow gait speed (<0.784m/sec, aOR=1.14 per TP, 95%CI, 1.05–1.24), but not with S–R mobility difficulty. S–R mobility difficulty was associated with more disseminated pain (multisite pain, aOR=2.01, 95%CI, 1.21–3.34; widespread pain, aOR=2.47, 95%CI, 1.09–5.62). These findings portray a significant mobility burden related to tender point count and multisite and widespread pain in the older population. Future studies using longitudinal methods are warranted. PMID:19665937

Spectroscopy of γ Doradus stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brunsden, E.; Pollard, K. R.; Cottrell, P. L.; Wright, D. J.; De Cat, P.; Kilmartin, P. M.

2014-02-01

The musician programme at the University of Canterbury has been successfully identifying pulsation modes in many γ Doradus stars using hundreds of ground-based spectroscopic observations. This paper describes some of the successful mode identifications and emerging patterns of the programme. The hybrid γ Doradus/δ Scuti star HD 49434 remains an enigma, despite the analysis of more than 1700 multi-site high-resolution spectra. A new result for this star is apparently distinct line-profile variations for the γ Doradus and δ Scuti frequencies.

Time-Series Spectroscopy and Photometry of the Helium Atmosphere Pulsating White Dwarf EC 20058-5234

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sullivan, D. J.

2017-03-01

We summarise both photometric and spectroscopic observations of the southern DBV white dwarf EC 20058-5234 (QU Tel) obtained primarily using a Magellan 6.5 m telescope. With the aim of identifying pulsation-induced spectral variations, the time-resolved 30 sMagellan spectra are phased using 54 h of contiguous time-series photometry obtained using the Mt John (NZ) 1.0 m telescope. A comparison of the DFTs obtained from a 1997 nine day multisite WET run and the two day single site Magellan observations is made. The difficulty of establishing a reliable surface temperatures for DBVs is mentioned.

Physical Therapy to Treat Torn Meniscus Comparable to Surgery for Many Patients

MedlinePlus

... to Surgery for Many Patients Spotlight on Research Physical Therapy to Treat Torn Meniscus Comparable to Surgery ... to avoid surgery and achieve comparable relief from physical therapy, according to a recent, multisite study funded ...

From Controlled Trial to Community Adoption: The Multisite Translational Community Trial

PubMed Central

Murimi, Mary; Gonzalez, Anjelica; Njike, Valentine; Green, Lawrence W.

2011-01-01

Methods for translating the findings of controlled trials, such as the Diabetes Prevention Program, into real-world community application have not been clearly defined. A standardized research methodology for making and evaluating such a transition is needed. We introduce the multisite translational community trial (mTCT) as the research analog to the multisite randomized controlled trial. The mTCT is adapted to incorporate the principles and practices of community-based participatory research and the increased relevance and generalizability gained from diverse community settings. The mTCT is a tool designed to bridge the gap between what a clinical trial demonstrates can work in principle and what is needed to make it workable and effective in real-world settings. Its utility could be put to the test, in particular with practice-based research networks such as the Prevention Research Centers. PMID:21680935

Analytic hierarchy process-based approach for selecting a Pareto-optimal solution of a multi-objective, multi-site supply-chain planning problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ayadi, Omar; Felfel, Houssem; Masmoudi, Faouzi

2017-07-01

The current manufacturing environment has changed from traditional single-plant to multi-site supply chain where multiple plants are serving customer demands. In this article, a tactical multi-objective, multi-period, multi-product, multi-site supply-chain planning problem is proposed. A corresponding optimization model aiming to simultaneously minimize the total cost, maximize product quality and maximize the customer satisfaction demand level is developed. The proposed solution approach yields to a front of Pareto-optimal solutions that represents the trade-offs among the different objectives. Subsequently, the analytic hierarchy process method is applied to select the best Pareto-optimal solution according to the preferences of the decision maker. The robustness of the solutions and the proposed approach are discussed based on a sensitivity analysis and an application to a real case from the textile and apparel industry.

Determination of emamectin benzoate in medicated fish feed: a multisite study.

PubMed

Farer, Leslie J

2005-01-01

A new method was developed for the quantitation of emamectin benzoate in medicated fish feed at levels between 1 and 30 ppm. The new procedure, based on a previously reported assay, consists of a wet methanolic extraction of ground feed, followed by solid-phase extraction and injection onto a gradient liquid chromatographic system. A multisite study involving 3 laboratories (the developing laboratory and 2 independent laboratories) was performed to evaluate precision, recovery, linearity, and sensitivity. Mean recove;ries for triplicate analyses at 3 levels, performed by 2 analysts per laboratory, were between 89 and 97%, with coefficients of variation ranging from 1.6 to 8.6%. Coefficients of determination (r2) obtained from the plotted data were > or =0.993. The precision of the method, determined from 6 replicate preparations from the same batch of medicated feed assayed in 3 separate trials per laboratory, was between 0.6 and 5.8%. The quantitation limit was established at 0.5 ppm. Specificity and robustness studies were performed by the developing laboratory.

Towards a Neurobehavioral Profile of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

PubMed Central

Mattson, Sarah N.; Roesch, Scott C.; Fagerlund, Åse; Autti-Rämö, Ilona; Jones, Kenneth Lyons; May, Philip A.; Adnams, Colleen M.; Konovalova, Valentina; Riley, Edward P.

2010-01-01

Background A primary goal of recent research is the development of neurobehavioral profiles that specifically define fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), which may assist differential diagnosis or improve treatment. In the current study we define a preliminary profile using neuropsychological data from a multisite study. Methods Data were collected using a broad neurobehavioral protocol from two sites of a multisite study of FASD. Subjects were children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure and unexposed controls. The alcohol-exposed group included children with and with out fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). From 547 neuropsychological, 22 variables were selected for analysis based on their ability to distinguish children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure from nonexposed controls. These data were analyzed using latent profile analysis (LPA). Results The results indicated that a 2-class model best fit the data. The resulting profile was successful at distinguishing subjects with FAS from nonexposed controls without FAS with 92% overall accuracy; 87.8% of FAS cases and 95.7% of controls were correctly classified. The same analysis was repeated with children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure but without FAS and non-exposed controls with similar results. The overall accuracy was 84.7%; 68.4% of alcohol-exposed cases and 95% of controls were correctly classified. In both analyses, the profile based on neuropsychological variables was more successful at distinguishing the groups than was IQ alone. Conclusions We used data from two sites of a multisite study and a broad neuropsychological test battery to determine a profile that could be used to accurately identify children affected by prenatal alcohol exposure. Results indicated that measures of executive function and spatial processing are especially sensitive to prenatal alcohol exposure. PMID:20569243

Provision of bednets and water filters to delay HIV-1 progression: cost-effectiveness analysis of a Kenyan multisite study.

PubMed

Kern, Eli; Verguet, Stéphane; Yuhas, Krista; Odhiambo, Frederick H; Kahn, James G; Walson, Judd

2013-08-01

To estimate the effectiveness, costs and cost-effectiveness of providing long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) and point-of-use water filters to antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naïve HIV-infected adults and their family members, in the context of a multisite study in Kenya of 589 HIV-positive adults followed on average for 1.7 years. The effectiveness, costs and cost-effectiveness of the intervention were estimated using an epidemiologic-cost model. Model epidemiologic inputs were derived from the Kenya multisite study data, local epidemiological data and from the published literature. Model cost inputs were derived from published literature specific to Kenya. Uncertainty in the model estimates was assessed through univariate and multivariate sensitivity analyses. We estimated net cost savings of about US$ 26 000 for the intervention, over 1.7 years. Even when ignoring net cost savings, the intervention was found to be very cost-effective at a cost of US$ 3100 per death averted or US$ 99 per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted. The findings were robust to the sensitivity analysis and remained most sensitive to both the duration of ART use and the cost of ART per person-year. The provision of LLINs and water filters to ART-naïve HIV-infected adults in the Kenyan study resulted in substantial net cost savings, due to the delay in the initiation of ART. The addition of an LLIN and a point-of-use water filter to the existing package of care provided to ART-naïve HIV-infected adults could bring substantial cost savings to resource-constrained health systems in low- and middle-income countries. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Testing Maternal Depression and Attachment Style as Moderators of Early Head Start's Effects on Parenting

PubMed Central

Berlin, Lisa J.; Whiteside-Mansell, Leanne; Roggman, Lori A.; Green, Beth L.; Robinson, JoAnn; Spieker, Susan

2010-01-01

This study examined maternal depression, attachment avoidance, and attachment anxiety as moderators of Early Head Start's effects on four parenting outcomes assessed at age 3. Participants (N = 947) were drawn from six sites of the Early Head Start National Research and Evaluation Project, a multi-site randomized trial. Findings suggest more positive program effects for mothers with less initial attachment avoidance or attachment anxiety. First, baseline attachment avoidance moderated EHS program effects on observed maternal supportiveness, such that program mothers with lower baseline attachment avoidance were rated as more supportive of their 3-year-olds than program mothers with higher baseline attachment avoidance. Second, program effects on spanking varied depending on mothers’ baseline attachment anxiety. PMID:21240694

Testing maternal depression and attachment style as moderators of Early Head Start's effects on parenting.

PubMed

Berlin, Lisa J; Whiteside-Mansell, Leanne; Roggman, Lori A; Green, Beth L; Robinson, JoAnn; Spieker, Susan

2011-01-01

This study examined maternal depression, attachment avoidance, and attachment anxiety as moderators of Early Head Start's effects on four parenting outcomes assessed at age three. Participants (N = 947) were drawn from six sites of the Early Head Start National Research and Evaluation Project, a multi-site randomized trial. Findings suggest more positive program effects for mothers with less initial attachment avoidance or attachment anxiety. First, baseline attachment avoidance moderated Early Head Start program effects on observed maternal supportiveness, such that program mothers with lower baseline attachment avoidance were rated as more supportive of their three-year-olds than program mothers with higher baseline attachment avoidance. Second, program effects on spanking varied depending on mothers' baseline attachment anxiety.

Workplace Learning: The Roles of Knowledge Accessibility and Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Jessica; Brake, Gary; Champion, Angeline; Fuller, Tony; Gabel, Sandy; Hatcher-Busch, Lori

2009-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how knowledge management systems have been used by the studied organizations to improve knowledge accessibility and knowledge sharing in order to increase workplace learning. Design/methodology/approach: The study relies on a qualitative multisite case study method. Data were obtained from five…

Implementing Transfer and Articulation: A Case Study of Community Colleges and State Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Senie, Kathryn C.

2016-01-01

This study examined the cultural aspects of a transfer articulation policy between public community colleges and state universities enacted by a newly consolidated state governing board for higher education in a northeastern state. A qualitative multisite case study design explored how key stakeholders, faculty, administrators and staff viewed the…

Laterality defects in the national birth defects prevention study 1998-2007 birth prevalence and descriptive epidemiology

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Little is known epidemiologically about laterality defects. Using data from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS), a large multi-site case-control study of birth defects, we analyzed prevalence and selected characteristics in children born with laterality defects born from 1998 to 2007...

Conceptualizing Social Integration among Formerly Homeless Adults with Severe Mental Illness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsai, Jack; Rosenheck, Robert A.

2012-01-01

The multiple dimensions of social integration among formerly homeless adults with severe mental illness have not been well-studied. Previous studies have focused on clinical measures or narrow components of social integration. We used a multisite study of chronically homeless adults who were provided housing to (a) identify the main factors…

Gaming Geography: Educational Games and Literacy Development in the Grade 4 Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lotherington, Heather; Ronda, Natalia Sinitskaya

2009-01-01

This paper outlines a case study conducted in two public schools in the greater Toronto area as a complementary component of a multisite experimental study exploring educational game development as a learning activity for motivating and engaging students in curriculum-related literacy activities (Owston et al., 2007). Researchers studied children…

Families' Goals, School Involvement, and Children's Academic Achievement: A Follow-Up Study Thirteen Years Later

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kyle, Diane W.

2011-01-01

A study conducted from 1996-2000 focused on the academic development of children within a statewide educational reform effort, including changing the organizational structure of the early years of schooling into nongraded primary programs (formerly age-based classrooms for kindergarteners through third grade). The multisite study involved children…

Multisite Studies and Scaling up in Educational Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harwell, Michael

2012-01-01

A scale-up study in education typically expands the sample of students, schools, districts, and/or practices or materials used in smaller studies in ways that build in heterogeneity. Yet surprisingly little is known about the factors that promote successful scaling up efforts in education, in large part due to the absence of empirically supported…

Declining Student Enrollment: A Case Study Exploring How Three Suburban School Districts Crafted Coherence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dimmitt, Eric J.

2012-01-01

This qualitative multi-site case study's purpose was to prove that the crafting coherence process was evident when three suburban Midwestern school districts implemented schools' goals while experiencing reductions in instructional programming, staffing, and facilities resources along with school closings due to significant declining student…

State-Space Analysis of Working Memory in Schizophrenia: An FBIRN Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Janoos, Firdaus; Brown, Gregory; Morocz, Istvan A.; Wells, William M., III

2013-01-01

The neural correlates of "working memory" (WM) in schizophrenia (SZ) have been extensively studied using the multisite fMRI data acquired by the Functional Biomedical Informatics Research Network (fBIRN) consortium. Although univariate and multivariate analysis methods have been variously employed to localize brain responses under differing task…

Coherent Power Analysis in Multilevel Studies Using Parameters from Surveys

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rhoads, Christopher

2017-01-01

Researchers designing multisite and cluster randomized trials of educational interventions will usually conduct a power analysis in the planning stage of the study. To conduct the power analysis, researchers often use estimates of intracluster correlation coefficients and effect sizes derived from an analysis of survey data. When there is…

Enhanced efficiency fertilizers: A multi-site comparison of the effects on nitrous oxide emissions and agronomic performance

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The need to understand the effects of enhanced efficiency fertilizers (EEF) for their effect on nitrous oxide emissions and agronomic performance was the motivation underpinning this multi-location study across North America. Research locations participating in this study included Ames, IA; Auburn, ...

Understanding Learning Transfer in Employment Preparation Programmes for Adults with Low Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Maurice C.; Ayala, Gabriel E.; Pinsent-Johnson, Christine

2009-01-01

This Canadian study investigated how the transfer of learning occurred in an employment preparation programme for adults with low literacy skills using a multi-site case study research design. Four different programmes involving trainees, instructors and workplace supervisors participated in the investigation. Results indicated that the transfer…

Developing Music Teacher Identities: An International Multi-Site Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ballantyne, Julie; Kerchner, Jody L.; Arostegui, Jose Luis

2012-01-01

This study investigates pre-service music teacher's (PSMT) perceptions of their professional identities. University-level education students in the United States America (USA), Spain and Australia were all asked interview questions based on general themes relevant to teacher identity development, and their responses were subjected to content…

Social Studies Pedagogy for Latino/a Newcomer Youth: Toward a Theory of Culturally and Linguistically Relevant Citizenship Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jaffee, Ashley Taylor

2016-01-01

This study examines how teachers in 4 urban newcomer high schools conceptualized and implemented social studies education for Latino/a newcomer youth through an emerging framework of culturally and linguistically relevant citizenship education. Through a multi-site, collective case study design, the perspectives and decision making of social…

Evaluating the Eclipse: How good was it?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noel-Storr, Jacob; InsightSTEM Evaluation Team

2018-01-01

We present findings from the evaluation program carried out of education, public outreach, and communication activities around the "Great American Eclipse" of August 21, 2017. We include findings drawn from the experiences of 30 participants in planning activities prior to the eclipse and 31 recipients of mini-grants for eclipse activities supported by the American Astronomical Society through a grant from the National Science Foundation. We synthesize evaluations gathered by these and other volunteering organizations to provide a multi-site picture of experiences and learning outcomes at eclipse-related events - both in the path of totality and in partial eclipse settings. We make use of qualitative and quantitative responses representing over 30,000 individuals who observed (or tried to observe) the eclipse. We will share findings from across the range of programs included in our evaluation network along with specific highlights. We emphasize a reflection on the motivation and activity behind the 2017 eclipse, and how to leverage the lessons learned for future events on this scale (such as the eclipse of April 8, 2024) along with messages relevant to other events connected with astronomical phenomena, or in multi-site settings.This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1564535 awarded to the American Astronomical Society. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or the American Astronomical Society.

User acceptance of observation and response charts with a track and trigger system: a multisite staff survey.

PubMed

Elliott, Doug; Allen, Emily; McKinley, Sharon; Perry, Lin; Duffield, Christine; Fry, Margaret; Gallagher, Robyn; Iedema, Rick; Roche, Michael

2016-08-01

To examine user acceptance with a new format of charts for recording observations and as a prompt for responding to episodes of clinical deterioration in adult medical-surgical patients. Improving recognition and response to clinical deterioration remains a challenge for acute healthcare institutions globally. Five chart templates were developed in Australia, combining human factors design principles with a track and trigger system for escalation of care. Two chart templates were previously tested in simulations, but none had been evaluated in clinical practice. Prospective multisite survey of user acceptance of the charts in practice. New observation and response charts were trialled in parallel with existing charts for 24 hours across 36 adult acute medical-surgical wards, covering 108 shifts, in five Australian states. Surveys were completed by 477 staff respondents, with open-ended comments and narrative from short informal feedback groups providing elaboration and context of user experiences. Respondents were broadly supportive of the chart format and content for monitoring patients, and as a prompt for escalating care. Some concerns were noted for chart size and style, use of ranges to graph vital signs and with specific human factors design features. Information and training issues were identified to improve usability and adherence to chart guidelines and to support improved detection and response for patients with clinical deterioration. This initial evaluation demonstrated that the charts were perceived as appropriate for documenting observations and as a prompt to detect clinical deterioration. Further evaluation after some minor modifications to the chart is recommended. Explicit training on the principles and rationale of human factors chart design, use of embedded change management strategies and addressing practical issues will improve authentic engagement, staff acceptance and adoption by all clinical users when implementing a similar observation and response chart into practice. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Designing an audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI) system in a multisite trial: a brief report.

PubMed

2008-09-01

To describe the advantages and limitations of an audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI) system in a multisite trial with African American couples and to present the steps in designing, testing, and implementing a system. The ACASI system evolved from a paper and pencil interview that was pilot tested. Based on this initial work, the paper and pencil interview was translated into storyboards that were the basis of the development of ACASI system. Storyboards consisted of 1 page per question and provided the programmers with the test of the question, valid responses, and any instructions that were to be read to the participants. Storyboards were further translated into flow diagrams representing each module of the survey and illustrating the skip patterns used to navigate a participant through the survey. Provisions were also made to insert a face-to-face interview, into the ACASI assessment process, to elicit sexual abuse history data, which typically requires specially trained data collectors with active listening skills to help participants reframe and coordinate times, places and, emotionally difficult memories. The ACASI was successfully developed and implemented in the main trial. During an exit interview, respondents indicated that they liked using the ACASI and indicating that they favored it as the method to answer questions. It is feasible to implement an ACASI system in a multisite study in a timely and efficient way.

Clinical Trials in Your Community

Cancer.gov

The NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) is a national network of investigators, cancer care providers, academic institutions, and other organizations. NCORP conducts multi-site cancer clinical trials and studies in diverse populations in community-based healthcare systems across the United States and Puerto Rico.

Pedagogy for Latino/a Newcomer Students: A Study of Four Secondary Social Studies Teachers in New York City Urban Newcomer Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Ashley M.

2013-01-01

This dissertation study examined how teachers in four newcomer schools conceptualized and implemented social studies education for newcomer Latino/a youth. I designed this multi-site, collective case study to examine the perspectives and decision making of four social studies teachers' enacted pedagogy for Latino/a newcomer students. I…

A study of science leadership and science standards in exemplary standards-based science programs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carpenter, Wendy Renae

The purpose for conducting this qualitative study was to explore best practices of exemplary standards-based science programs and instructional leadership practices in a charter high school and in a traditional high school. The focus of this study included how twelve participants aligned practices to National Science Education Standards to describe their science programs and science instructional practices. This study used a multi-site case study qualitative design. Data were obtained through a review of literature, interviews, observations, review of educational documents, and researcher's notes collected in a field log. The methodology used was a multi-site case study because of the potential, through cross analysis, for providing greater explanation of the findings in the study (Merriam, 1988). This study discovered six characteristics about the two high school's science programs that enhance the literature found in the National Science Education Standards; (a) Culture of expectations for learning-In exemplary science programs teachers are familiar with a wide range of curricula. They have the ability to examine critically and select activities to use with their students to promote the understanding of science; (b) Culture of varied experiences-In exemplary science programs students are provided different paths to learning, which help students, take in information and make sense of concepts and skills that are set forth by the standards; (c) Culture of continuous feedback-In exemplary science programs teachers and students work together to engage students in ongoing assessments of their work and that of others as prescribed in the standards; (d) Culture of Observations-In exemplary science programs students, teachers, and principals reflect on classroom instructional practices; teachers receive ongoing evaluations about their teaching and apply feedback towards improving practices as outlined in the standards; (e) Culture of continuous learning-In exemplary science programs teachers value continuous personal development, teachers are provided on-going science professional development opportunities to improve instructional practices, teachers reflect and share professional practices, and teachers establish professional learning communities within their classrooms; and (f) Culture of shared leadership-In exemplary science programs instructional leadership purposes and values are consistently shared among all stakeholders which are outlined in the standards. These results are potentially useful for understanding exemplary standards-based science programs and science instructional leadership practices as a model for science programs trying to improve science education so that all students can have a true scientific learning experience.

Methods for Constructing and Assessing Propensity Scores

PubMed Central

Garrido, Melissa M; Kelley, Amy S; Paris, Julia; Roza, Katherine; Meier, Diane E; Morrison, R Sean; Aldridge, Melissa D

2014-01-01

Objectives To model the steps involved in preparing for and carrying out propensity score analyses by providing step-by-step guidance and Stata code applied to an empirical dataset. Study Design Guidance, Stata code, and empirical examples are given to illustrate (1) the process of choosing variables to include in the propensity score; (2) balance of propensity score across treatment and comparison groups; (3) balance of covariates across treatment and comparison groups within blocks of the propensity score; (4) choice of matching and weighting strategies; (5) balance of covariates after matching or weighting the sample; and (6) interpretation of treatment effect estimates. Empirical Application We use data from the Palliative Care for Cancer Patients (PC4C) study, a multisite observational study of the effect of inpatient palliative care on patient health outcomes and health services use, to illustrate the development and use of a propensity score. Conclusions Propensity scores are one useful tool for accounting for observed differences between treated and comparison groups. Careful testing of propensity scores is required before using them to estimate treatment effects. PMID:24779867

Standardized patient walkthroughs in the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network: common challenges to protocol implementation.

PubMed

Fussell, Holly E; Kunkel, Lynn E; McCarty, Dennis; Lewy, Colleen S

2011-09-01

Training research staff to implement clinical trials occurring in community-based addiction treatment programs presents unique challenges. Standardized patient walkthroughs of study procedures may enhance training and protocol implementation. Examine and discuss cross-site and cross-study challenges of participant screening and data collection procedures identified during standardized patient walkthroughs of multi-site clinical trials. Actors portrayed clients and "walked through" study procedures with protocol research staff. The study completed 57 walkthroughs during implementation of 4 clinical trials. Observers and walkthrough participants identified three areas of concern (consent procedures, screening and assessment processes, and protocol implementation) and made suggestions for resolving the concerns. Standardized patient walkthroughs capture issues with study procedures previously unidentified with didactic training or unscripted rehearsals. Clinical trials within the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network are conducted in addiction treatment centers that vary on multiple dimensions. Based on walkthrough observations, the national protocol team and local site leadership modify standardized operating procedures and resolve cross-site problems prior to recruiting study participants. The standardized patient walkthrough improves consistency across study sites and reduces potential site variation in study outcomes.

The brain-derived neurotrophic factor pathway, life stress, and chronic multi-site musculoskeletal pain.

PubMed

Generaal, Ellen; Milaneschi, Yuri; Jansen, Rick; Elzinga, Bernet M; Dekker, Joost; Penninx, Brenda W J H

2016-01-01

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) disturbances and life stress, both independently and in interaction, have been hypothesized to induce chronic pain. We examined whether (a) the BDNF pathway (val(66)met genotype, gene expression, and serum levels), (b) early and recent life stress, and (c) their interaction are associated with the presence and severity of chronic multi-site musculoskeletal pain. Cross-sectional data are from 1646 subjects of the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety. The presence and severity of chronic multi-site musculoskeletal pain were determined using the Chronic Pain Grade (CPG) questionnaire. The BDNF val(66)met polymorphism, BDNF gene expression, and BDNF serum levels were measured. Early life stress before the age of 16 was assessed by calculating a childhood trauma index using the Childhood Trauma Interview. Recent life stress was assessed as the number of recent adverse life events using the List of Threatening Events Questionnaire. Compared to val(66)val, BDNF met carriers more often had chronic pain, whereas no differences were found for BDNF gene expression and serum levels. Higher levels of early and recent stress were both associated with the presence and severity of chronic pain (p < 0.001). No interaction effect was found for the BDNF pathway with life stress in the associations with chronic pain presence and severity. This study suggests that the BDNF gene marks vulnerability for chronic pain. Although life stress did not alter the impact of BDNF on chronic pain, it seems an independent factor in the onset and persistence of chronic pain. © The Author(s) 2016.

Overcoming the Challenges of Unstructured Data in Multi-site, Electronic Medical Record-based Abstraction

PubMed Central

Polnaszek, Brock; Gilmore-Bykovskyi, Andrea; Hovanes, Melissa; Roiland, Rachel; Ferguson, Patrick; Brown, Roger; Kind, Amy JH

2014-01-01

Background Unstructured data encountered during retrospective electronic medical record (EMR) abstraction has routinely been identified as challenging to reliably abstract, as this data is often recorded as free text, without limitations to format or structure. There is increased interest in reliably abstracting this type of data given its prominent role in care coordination and communication, yet limited methodological guidance exists. Objective As standard abstraction approaches resulted in sub-standard data reliability for unstructured data elements collected as part of a multi-site, retrospective EMR study of hospital discharge communication quality, our goal was to develop, apply and examine the utility of a phase-based approach to reliably abstract unstructured data. This approach is examined using the specific example of discharge communication for warfarin management. Research Design We adopted a “fit-for-use” framework to guide the development and evaluation of abstraction methods using a four step, phase-based approach including (1) team building, (2) identification of challenges, (3) adaptation of abstraction methods, and (4) systematic data quality monitoring. Measures Unstructured data elements were the focus of this study, including elements communicating steps in warfarin management (e.g., warfarin initiation) and medical follow-up (e.g., timeframe for follow-up). Results After implementation of the phase-based approach, inter-rater reliability for all unstructured data elements demonstrated kappas of ≥ 0.89 -- an average increase of + 0.25 for each unstructured data element. Conclusions As compared to standard abstraction methodologies, this phase-based approach was more time intensive, but did markedly increase abstraction reliability for unstructured data elements within multi-site EMR documentation. PMID:27624585

Early Implementation Experiences of the 2010 Teacher Incentive Fund Grantees. NCEE Study Snapshot. NCEE 2014-4021

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, 2014

2014-01-01

The Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) provides grants to support performance-based compensation systems for teachers and principals in high-need schools. The study measures the impact of pay-for-performance bonuses as part of a comprehensive compensation system within a large, multisite random assignment study design. The treatment schools were to…

Association Between Barriers and Facilitators to Meeting the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and Body Weight Status: The HEALTH Study

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Few Americans meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). Objective: The goal of this research was to examine the association between barriers and facilitators to meeting the DGA and weight in a multi-site study. Design: A cross-sectional study. Participants/Setting: A total of 836 caregiver-ch...

THE HEALTHY MEN STUDY: A MODEL APPROACH FOR EXAMINING POTENTIAL MALE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH EFFECTS ASSOCIATED WITH EXPOSURE TO DISINFECTION BYPRODUCTS IN DRINKING WATER.

EPA Science Inventory

The Healthy Men Study (HMS) is a prospective multisite community study on drinking water disinfection byproducts (DBPs) and male reproductive health. We are testing whether exposure to DBPs in drinking water may be associated with altered semen quality, a hypothesis derived from...

The Heart of School Improvement: A Multi-Site Case Study of Leadership for Teacher Learning in Vietnam

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tran, Ngoc H.; Hallinger, Philip; Truong, Thang

2018-01-01

This study addressed the research question: How do Vietnamese principals lead the professional learning of teachers? The research was comprised of a multiple-site case study of leadership and teacher learning in four Vietnamese schools. Qualitative data analysis aimed at identifying modal practices adopted by these Vietnamese principals to lead…

Examining the Decisional Ethic of Textbook Adoption in Christian Schools: A Collective Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phillips, Cecil John

2016-01-01

The purpose of this collective case study is to examine the decisional ethic Christian school administrators employ when evaluating textbooks for adoption in Christian schools. The study affirms the truism that Christian schools ought to be decidedly Christian and focuses upon textbook adoption practices in Christian schools. A multisite,…

Impactful Student Learning Outcomes of One-to-One Student Laptop Programs in Low Socioeconomic Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Matthew Joseph

2010-01-01

At present, a majority of one-to-one student laptop programs exist in schools that serve affluent communities, which denies low socioeconomic students the learning benefits of ubiquitous access to technology. Using a "Studying Up-Studying Down" paradigm, this multi-site case study collected mixed method data from program participants at five…

Striving for Effectiveness in the Treatment of Adolescent Depression: Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Multisite Community Intervention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curry, John F.; Wells, Karen C.

2005-01-01

The Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study (TADS) was designed to compare the relative and combined effectiveness of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and fluoxetine, each of which had demonstrated efficacy in carefully controlled single-site studies. Models of CBT from these efficacy studies served as the foundation for the TADS…

Osteoporosis prevention using soy: the OPUS study

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soy isoflavones are believed to have anti-osteoporotic properties. To evaluate the effect of soy isoflavones on bone loss, 403 early postmenopausal women (54.0+/-4.0 y) were enrolled in an intent-to-treat, multi-site, 2-year follow-up, randomized, double-blind study with 1/3 on placebo, 1/3 on 80 mg...

Designing Large-Scale Multisite and Cluster-Randomized Studies of Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelcey, Ben; Spybrook, Jessaca; Phelps, Geoffrey; Jones, Nathan; Zhang, Jiaqi

2017-01-01

We develop a theoretical and empirical basis for the design of teacher professional development studies. We build on previous work by (a) developing estimates of intraclass correlation coefficients for teacher outcomes using two- and three-level data structures, (b) developing estimates of the variance explained by covariates, and (c) modifying…

Factors Influencing Teachers' Technology Self-Efficacy: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farah, Amy Caroline

2012-01-01

Factors influencing teachers' levels of technology self-efficacy were examined through a qualitative multi-site, multi-subject case study research design. An initial survey was administered to all full-time, certified teachers at three school sites in order to gauge teachers' current level of technology self-efficacy. From that…

Community Building as an Instructional Goal in Japanese Adult Basic Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobson, Erik

2009-01-01

This paper presents the results of a multisite case study of adult basic education in Japan. A key finding of the study is that as part of community building within classrooms, students, teachers, and administrators prioritize human relations and expressions of empathy rather than academic skill development. In contrast to Japanese educational…

Social Justice and Juvenile Offenders: Examples of Fairness, Respect, and Access in Education Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sander, Janay B.; Sharkey, Jill D.; Groomes, Amber N.; Krumholz, Lauren; Walker, Kimberly; Hsu, Julie Y.

2011-01-01

Youths involved in juvenile justice face unique barriers to educational and mental health services. This qualitative study illustrates social justice violations that are particularly salient for this population. Youths on probation, their mothers, and juvenile probation staff participated in interviews as part of a multisite study conducted in…

Young Dual Language Learners' Emergent Writing Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gillanders, Cristina; Franco, Ximena; Seidel, Kent; Castro, Dina C.; Méndez, Lucía I.

2017-01-01

This study examined how early writing develops in Spanish-English-speaking children of Mexican and Central American descent who are dual language learners (DLLs) in the United States. The emergent writing skills in Spanish and English of 140 preschoolers in a multisite study were assessed using name- and word-writing tasks during the children's…

Functioning and Quality of Life in the Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vitiello, Benedetto; Rohde, Paul; Silva, Susan; Wells, Karen; Casat, Charles; Waslick, Bruce; Simons, Anne; Reinecke, Mark; Weller, Elizabeth; Kratochvil, Christopher; Walkup, John; Pathak, Sanjeev; Robins, Michele; March, John

2006-01-01

Obective: To test whether 12-week treatment of major depression improved the level of functioning, global health, and quality of life of adolescents. Method: The Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study was a multisite, randomized clinical trial of fluoxetine, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), their combination (COMB), or clinical…

Increased mortality among Indigenous persons in a multisite cohort of people living with HIV in Canada.

PubMed

Benoit, Anita C; Younger, Jaime; Beaver, Kerrigan; Jackson, Randy; Loutfy, Mona; Masching, Renée; Nobis, Tony; Nowgesic, Earl; O'Brien-Teengs, Doe; Whitebird, Wanda; Zoccole, Art; Hull, Mark; Jaworsky, Denise; Benson, Elizabeth; Rachlis, Anita; Rourke, Sean B; Burchell, Ann N; Cooper, Curtis; Hogg, Robert S; Klein, Marina B; Machouf, Nima; Montaner, Julio S G; Tsoukas, Chris; Raboud, Janet

2017-06-16

Compare all-cause mortality between Indigenous participants and participants of other ethnicities living with HIV initiating combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in an interprovincial multi-site cohort. The Canadian Observational Cohort is a collaboration of 8 cohorts of treatment-naïve persons with HIV initiating cART after January 1, 2000. Participants were followed from the cART initiation date until death or last viral load (VL) test date on or before December 31, 2012. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate the effect of ethnicity on time until death after adjusting for age, gender, injection drug use, being a man who has sex with men, hepatitis C, province of origin, baseline VL and CD4 count, year of cART initiation and class of antiretroviral medication. The study sample consisted of 7080 participants (497 Indigenous, 2471 Caucasian, 787 African/Caribbean/Black (ACB), 629 other, and 2696 unknown ethnicity). Most Indigenous persons were from British Columbia (BC) (83%), with smaller numbers from Ontario (13%) and Québec (4%). During the study period, 714 (10%) participants died. The five-year survival probability was lower for Indigenous persons (0.77) than for Caucasian (0.94), ACB (0.98), other ethnicities (0.96) and unknown ethnicities (0.85) (p < 0.0001). In an adjusted proportional hazard model for which missing data were imputed, Indigenous persons were more likely to die than Caucasian participants (hazard ratio = 2.69, p < 0.0001). The mortality rate for Indigenous persons was higher than for other ethnicities and is largely reflective of the BC population. Addressing treatment challenges and identifying HIV- and non-HIV-related causes for mortality among Indigenous persons is required to optimize their clinical management.

[Clinical epidemiological study of neural tube defects classified according to the five sites of closure].

PubMed

Sanchis Calvo, A; Martínez- Frías, M

2001-02-01

To identify the frequency at birth of neural tube defects (NTD) in the Spanish population. NTDs were considered as a whole as well as according to the different sites of closure failure, following the theory of multisite closure of the neural tube. To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of the different sites. Data derived from the Spanish Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations (ECEMC), from April 1976 to March 1995. Among the 1,222,698 live births during this period, 784 infants had NTD were controlled. Among these, 784 infants had NTD. The prevalence of NTD in our population was 1.01 per 1,000 births, a frequency which is considered medium-to low. Only 5.74% of the NTD were of known etiology: 2.17% were genic, 1.27% were chromosomic and 2.29% were environmental. Excluding NTD of genetic etiology, whether genic or chromosomic, most of the remaining were isolated defects (multifactorial) and 16.78% multiple malformations. Site 1, where the closure of the neural tube starts, represented 24% of all the affected sites. However, more than 50% of the NTDs corresponded to closure failure at the junction of two sites. As in other populations with a low prevalence of NTD at birth, the prevalence of these defects in our population showed a trend to decrease with time, due to the possibility of interrupting gestation after prenatal diagnosis. All the NTD could be classified according to the theory of multisite closure of the neural tube, including 13 cases with several noncontiguous affected sites. Two types of NTD were observed: in the first, closure failed to occur and in the second, two closures failed to meet.

Their Work, Identity, and Entry to the Profession

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Washington, Youlanda C.; Miller, Stephen K.; Fiene, Jeanne R.

2007-01-01

This qualitative multi-site case study examines Kentucky's female superintendents: their professional work, identity, and entry to the role. Data sources were extensive interviews from twelve districts--superintendents, central office administrators, and school board members, plus questionnaires and district documents. Results revealed a web-like…

MULTI-SITE FIELD EVALUATION OF CANDIDATE SAMPLERS FOR MEASURING COARSE-MODE PM

EPA Science Inventory

In response to expected changes to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for particulate matter, comprehensive field studies were conducted to evaluate the performance of sampling methods for measuring coarse mode aerosols (i.e. PMc). Five separate PMc sampling approaches w...

Kidney Injury Molecule-1 Outperforms Traditional Biomarkers of Kidney Injury in Multi-site Preclinical Biomarker Qualification Studies

PubMed Central

Vaidya, Vishal S.; Ozer, Josef S.; Frank, Dieterle; Collings, Fitz B.; Ramirez, Victoria; Troth, Sean; Muniappa, Nagaraja; Thudium, Douglas; Gerhold, David; Holder, Daniel J.; Bobadilla, Norma A.; Marrer, Estelle; Perentes, Elias; Cordier, André; Vonderscher, Jacky; Maurer, Gérard; Goering, Peter L.; Sistare, Frank D.; Bonventre, Joseph V.

2010-01-01

Kidney toxicity accounts for a significant percentage of morbidity and drug candidate failure. Serum creatinine (SCr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) have been used to monitor kidney dysfunction for over a century but these markers are insensitive and non-specific. In multi-site preclinical rat toxicology studies the diagnostic performance of urinary kidney injury molecule-1 (Kim-1) was compared to traditional biomarkers as predictors of kidney tubular histopathologic changes, currently considered the “gold standard” of nephrotoxicity. In multiple models of kidney injury, urinary Kim-1 significantly outperformed SCr and BUN. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for Kim-1 was between 0.91 and 0.99 as compared to 0.79 to 0.9 for BUN and 0.73 to 0.85 for SCr. Thus urinary Kim-1 is the first injury biomarker of kidney toxicity qualified by the FDA and EMEA and is expected to significantly improve kidney safety monitoring. PMID:20458318

The opportunities and challenges of multi-site evaluations: lessons from the jail diversion and trauma recovery national cross-site evaluation.

PubMed

Stainbrook, Kristin; Penney, Darby; Elwyn, Laura

2015-06-01

Multi-site evaluations, particularly of federally funded service programs, pose a special set of challenges for program evaluation. Not only are there contextual differences related to project location, there are often relatively few programmatic requirements, which results in variations in program models, target populations and services. The Jail Diversion and Trauma Recovery-Priority to Veterans (JDTR) National Cross-Site Evaluation was tasked with conducting a multi-site evaluation of thirteen grantee programs that varied along multiple domains. This article describes the use of a mixed methods evaluation design to understand the jail diversion programs and client outcomes for veterans with trauma, mental health and/or substance use problems. We discuss the challenges encountered in evaluating diverse programs, the benefits of the evaluation in the face of these challenges, and offer lessons learned for other evaluators undertaking this type of evaluation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

RFWD3-Dependent Ubiquitination of RPA Regulates Repair at Stalled Replication Forks.

PubMed

Elia, Andrew E H; Wang, David C; Willis, Nicholas A; Boardman, Alexander P; Hajdu, Ildiko; Adeyemi, Richard O; Lowry, Elizabeth; Gygi, Steven P; Scully, Ralph; Elledge, Stephen J

2015-10-15

We have used quantitative proteomics to profile ubiquitination in the DNA damage response (DDR). We demonstrate that RPA, which functions as a protein scaffold in the replication stress response, is multiply ubiquitinated upon replication fork stalling. Ubiquitination of RPA occurs on chromatin, involves sites outside its DNA binding channel, does not cause proteasomal degradation, and increases under conditions of fork collapse, suggesting a role in repair at stalled forks. We demonstrate that the E3 ligase RFWD3 mediates RPA ubiquitination. RFWD3 is necessary for replication fork restart, normal repair kinetics during replication stress, and homologous recombination (HR) at stalled replication forks. Mutational analysis suggests that multisite ubiquitination of the entire RPA complex is responsible for repair at stalled forks. Multisite protein group sumoylation is known to promote HR in yeast. Our findings reveal a similar requirement for multisite protein group ubiquitination during HR at stalled forks in mammalian cells. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Multi-site campaign for transit timing variations of WASP-12 b: possible detection of a long-period signal of planetary origin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maciejewski, G.; Dimitrov, D.; Seeliger, M.; Raetz, St.; Bukowiecki, Ł.; Kitze, M.; Errmann, R.; Nowak, G.; Niedzielski, A.; Popov, V.; Marka, C.; Goździewski, K.; Neuhäuser, R.; Ohlert, J.; Hinse, T. C.; Lee, J. W.; Lee, C.-U.; Yoon, J.-N.; Berndt, A.; Gilbert, H.; Ginski, Ch.; Hohle, M. M.; Mugrauer, M.; Röll, T.; Schmidt, T. O. B.; Tetzlaff, N.; Mancini, L.; Southworth, J.; Dall'Ora, M.; Ciceri, S.; Zambelli, R.; Corfini, G.; Takahashi, H.; Tachihara, K.; Benkő, J. M.; Sárneczky, K.; Szabo, Gy. M.; Varga, T. N.; Vaňko, M.; Joshi, Y. C.; Chen, W. P.

2013-03-01

Aims: The transiting planet WASP-12 b was identified as a potential target for transit-timing studies because a departure from a linear ephemeris has been reported in the literature. Such deviations could be caused by an additional planet in the system. We attempt to confirm the claimed variations in transit timing and interpret their origin. Methods: We organised a multi-site campaign to observe transits by WASP-12 b in three observing seasons, using 0.5-2.6-metre telescopes. Results: We obtained 61 transit light curves, many of them with sub-millimagnitude precision. The simultaneous analysis of the best-quality datasets allowed us to obtain refined system parameters, which agree with values reported in previous studies. The residuals versus a linear ephemeris reveal a possible periodic signal that may be approximated by a sinusoid with an amplitude of 0.00068 ± 0.00013 d and period of 500 ± 20 orbital periods of WASP-12 b. The joint analysis of timing data and published radial velocity measurements results in a two-planet model that explains observations better than do single-planet scenarios. We hypothesise that WASP-12 b might not be the only planet in the system, and there might be the additional 0.1 MJup body on a 3.6-d eccentric orbit. A dynamical analysis indicates that the proposed two-planet system is stable on long timescales. Partly based on (1) data collected with the Nordic Optical Telescope, operated on the island of La Palma jointly by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, (2) observations made at the Centro Astronómico Hispano Alemán (CAHA), operated jointly by the Max-Planck Institut für Astronomie and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (CSIC), (3) data collected with telescopes at the Rozhen National Astronomical Observatory, and (4) observations obtained with telescopes of the University Observatory Jena, which is operated by the Astrophysical Institute of the Friedrich-Schiller-University.Tables 2 and 3 are available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.orgLight curves are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/551/A108

Direct replication of Gervais & Norenzayan (2012): No evidence that analytic thinking decreases religious belief

PubMed Central

Sanchez, Clinton; Sundermeier, Brian; Gray, Kenneth

2017-01-01

Gervais & Norenzayan (2012) reported in Science a series of 4 experiments in which manipulations intended to foster analytic thinking decreased religious belief. We conducted a precise, large, multi-site pre-registered replication of one of these experiments. We observed little to no effect of the experimental manipulation on religious belief (d = 0.07 in the wrong direction, 95% CI[-0.12, 0.25], N = 941). The original finding does not seem to provide reliable or valid evidence that analytic thinking causes a decrease in religious belief. PMID:28234942

Direct replication of Gervais & Norenzayan (2012): No evidence that analytic thinking decreases religious belief.

PubMed

Sanchez, Clinton; Sundermeier, Brian; Gray, Kenneth; Calin-Jageman, Robert J

2017-01-01

Gervais & Norenzayan (2012) reported in Science a series of 4 experiments in which manipulations intended to foster analytic thinking decreased religious belief. We conducted a precise, large, multi-site pre-registered replication of one of these experiments. We observed little to no effect of the experimental manipulation on religious belief (d = 0.07 in the wrong direction, 95% CI[-0.12, 0.25], N = 941). The original finding does not seem to provide reliable or valid evidence that analytic thinking causes a decrease in religious belief.

Comment Comparison of the fluorescence lifetimes of Cr 3+ in crystals, glasses and glass ceramics and their use to interpret the effect of pressure on ruby

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Champagnon, B.; Pilla, O.

1989-09-01

A correlation has been proposed by Urošević Panić Jovanić, Zeković and Savić between the lifetimes of Cr 3+ in various environments and the Dq parameter of ligand field theory. We show that these observed lifetimes depend on various factors such as multisite effects, reabsorption, thermal excitation or 2E 4T 2 mixing. The correlation between lifetimes and pressure on ruby has to consider these different effects.

Efficacy of the Social Skills Improvement System Classwide Intervention Program (SSIS-CIP) primary version.

PubMed

DiPerna, James Clyde; Lei, Puiwa; Bellinger, Jillian; Cheng, Weiyi

2015-03-01

A multisite cluster randomized trial was conducted to examine the effects of the Social Skills Improvement System Classwide Intervention Program (SSIS-CIP; Elliott & Gresham, 2007) on students' classroom social behavior. The final sample included 432 students across 38 second grade classrooms. Social skills and problem behaviors were measured via the SSIS rating scale for all participants, and direct observations were completed for a subsample of participants within each classroom. Results indicated that the SSIS-CIP demonstrated positive effects on teacher ratings of participants' social skills and internalizing behaviors, with the greatest changes occurring in classrooms with students who exhibited lower skill proficiency prior to implementation. Statistically significant differences were not observed between treatment and control participants on teacher ratings of externalizing problem behaviors or direct observation.

Principles and strategies for monitoring data collection integrity in a multi-site randomized clinical trial of a behavioral intervention.

PubMed

Phillips-Salimi, Celeste R; Donovan Stickler, Molly A; Stegenga, Kristin; Lee, Melissa; Haase, Joan E

2011-08-01

Although treatment fidelity strategies for enhancing the integrity of behavioral interventions have been well described, little has been written about monitoring data collection integrity. This article describes the principles and strategies developed to monitor data collection integrity of the "Stories and Music for Adolescent/Young Adult Resilience During Transplant" study (R01NR008583, U10CA098543, and U10CA095861)-a multi-site Children's Oncology Group randomized clinical trial of a music therapy intervention for adolescents and young adults undergoing stem cell transplant. The principles and strategies outlined in this article provide one model for development and evaluation of a data collection integrity monitoring plan for behavioral interventions that may be adapted by investigators and may be useful to funding agencies and grant application reviewers in evaluating proposals. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Engaging with Drama

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gallagher, Kathleen

2013-01-01

This article reports on a multi-site global, ethnographic, and mixed methods study on student engagement. Our research has closely examined how engagement and disengagement operate subtly, simultaneously and relationally in the places and spaces where drama is made. Through years of qualitative time in high school classrooms and two different…

Talking with Abuelo: Performing Authenticity in a Multicultural, Multisited Family

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vidal, Mónica

2015-01-01

Taking an interactional sociolinguistic approach, this study explores how multicultural and multilingual siblings interact with their Spanish grandfather and how, through the use of styling and stylization in these interactions, they negotiate and construct multicultural family identities. Using Tannen's power and solidarity framework, I analyze…

Governing Universities. Changing the Culture?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bargh, Catherine; Scott, Peter; Smith, David

This book reports on a British research project involving a questionnaire survey of 494 university governors and a multi-site case study analysis to examine how different types of higher education institutions (especially "old" and "new" universities and colleges) converge and/or diverge in their governance styles. Chapter 1…

An Analysis of the Demand for and Value of Outdoor Recreation in the United States.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bergstrom, John C.; Cordell, H. Ken

1991-01-01

Results of a study of demand equations for 37 outdoor recreational activities using a multicommunity, multisite travel cost model suggest that determinants of the demand for outdoor recreation include population, residence, income, age, price, quality, and recreational opportunity substitutes. (JD)

EFFECTS OF AMBIENT PM ON CYTOKINE PRODUCTION IN MOUSE MACHROPHAGES AND EPITHELIAL CELLS

EPA Science Inventory

The objective of the Multi-Site Ambient Particle Study (MAPS) was to collect ambient particles from different geographical regions, examine their health effects using various in vitro and in vivo experimental approaches, and ultimately relate the health effects to particle compon...

EFFECTS OF AMBIENT PM ON CYTOKINE PRODUCTION IN MOUSE MACROPHAGES AND EPITHELIAL CELLS

EPA Science Inventory

The objective of the Multi-Site Ambient Particle Study (MAPS) was to collect ambient particles from different geographical regions, examine their health effects using various in vitro and in vivo experimental approaches, and ultimately relate the health effects to particle compon...

A comprehensive examination of the psychometric properties of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised in a Canadian multisite sample of indigenous and non-indigenous offenders.

PubMed

Olver, Mark E; Neumann, Craig S; Sewall, Lindsay A; Lewis, Kathy; Hare, Robert D; Wong, Stephen C P

2018-06-01

The present study examined the psychometric properties of Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 2003) scores in a multisite sample of 1,163 federally incarcerated Canadian indigenous and non-indigenous offenders from the Prairie Region of the Correctional Service of Canada. The research occurred against the backdrop of the Ewert v. Canada (2015) matter, in which the PCL-R was originally impugned in Federal Court for use with indigenous persons (later overturned in Canada v. Ewert, 2016). Indigenous men scored higher than non-indigenous men on most components of the PCL-R and had higher rates of recidivism, irrespective of follow-up. Discrimination analyses, however, supported the predictive efficacy of PCL-R total, factor, and facet scores for violent and general recidivism across both ancestral groups, with most group differences in area under the curve (AUC) magnitudes being small and nonsignificant. Calibration analyses demonstrated that higher PCL-R scores were associated with higher rates of general and violent recidivism for both ancestral groups, although higher recidivism rates were observed and estimated for indigenous men at specific PCL-R score thresholds. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the 4-factor model of psychopathy and hence, structural invariance, of PCL-R scores across ancestral groups. Structural equation modeling affirmed the predictive efficacy of the 4-factor model for recidivism. We discuss these findings in terms of clinical applications of the PCL-R and the psychopathy construct in general, with male offenders of indigenous ancestry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring dynamics of abusive lesbian relationships: preliminary analysis of a multisite, qualitative study.

PubMed

Ristock, Janice L

2003-06-01

This paper presents preliminary results from a multisite, qualitative study on violence in lesbian relationships. A framework for conducting community-based, empowerment research that draws on theories of community psychology, feminism, and postmodernism is presented. The study was designed to understand the dynamics of abusive lesbian relationships and social service providers' responses to the abuse. Results from 80 in-depth interviews with lesbians who have experienced relationship violence are examined with a particular focus on a pattern of first relationships being abusive and a theme of shifting power dynamics. Analysis of focus group discussions with 45 feminist service providers (e.g., counselors, shelter workers, social workers, healthcare providers) reveals the difficulties in assessing the power dynamics of abusive same-sex relationships and in developing appropriate responses when relying on heterosexually gendered models developed to address men's violence against women. The preliminary results present implications both for how we theorize and research this form of violence, and for improving the practices and policies of social services that work with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered communities.

Implementing a Statewide Mandated Career Pathways/Programs of Study School Reform Model: Select Findings from a Multisite Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Withington, Cairen; Hammond, Cathy; Mobley, Catherine; Stipanovic, Natalie; Sharp, Julia L.; Stringfield, Sam; Drew, Sam F., Jr.

2012-01-01

"A Longitudinal Study of the South Carolina Personal Pathways to Success Initiative" (see Hammond, Drew, et al., 2011) follows the implementation of a statewide mandated career-focused school reform policy in one U.S. state. The research focuses on eight diverse high schools in the state, personnel at those schools, and approximately…

Battered Women's Perceptions of Risk Versus Risk Factors and Instruments in Predicting Repeat Reassault

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heckert, D. Alex; Gondolf, Edward W.

2004-01-01

This study partially replicates and expands on a previous study that showed women's perceptions of risk to be a strong predictor of reassault among batterers. The current study employed a larger and multisite sample, a longer follow-up period of 15 months, and multiple outcomes including "repeated reassault" (n = 499). According to the multinomial…

The Relationship between Pedagogical Beliefs and Teacher Efficacy: A Case Study of Chinese Foreign Language Teachers in Texas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, I-Chun

2012-01-01

This study investigated an emerging language learning culture by examining the relationship between teachers' pedagogical beliefs and perceived efficacy in two cities in southern Texas. Drawing on Bandura's (1994) theory of self-efficacy and Ashton and Webb's (1986) notions about teacher efficacy, a multi-sited case study was conducted to explore…

A Multiple Case Study: The Effect of Professional Development on Teachers' Perceived Ability to Foster Resilience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klinger, Mary A.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine the effect of professional development on teachers' perceptions of their ability to foster resilience. Secondary questions investigated the effects of school level and socioeconomic status. An exploratory multi-site case study was designed to compare the perceptions of educators from…

Interorganizational Special Education Programming in Rural Areas: Technical Report on the Multisite Naturalistic Field Study. Volumes I through IV.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skrtic, Thomas M.; And Others

The report discusses a field study of the implementation of major requirements of P.L. 94-142, the Education For All Handicapped Children Act, by rural districts, and presents detailed case studies of five districts' responses. The first volume introduces the naturalistic model of inquiry, noting its philosophical underpinnings and basic…

Design of a cluster-randomized minority recruitment trial: RECRUIT.

PubMed

Tilley, Barbara C; Mainous, Arch G; Smith, Daniel W; McKee, M Diane; Amorrortu, Rossybelle P; Alvidrez, Jennifer; Diaz, Vanessa; Ford, Marvella E; Fernandez, Maria E; Hauser, Robert A; Singer, Carlos; Landa, Veronica; Trevino, Aron; DeSantis, Stacia M; Zhang, Yefei; Daniels, Elvan; Tabor, Derrick; Vernon, Sally W

2017-06-01

Racial/ethnic minority groups remain underrepresented in clinical trials. Many strategies to increase minority recruitment focus on minority communities and emphasize common diseases such as hypertension. Scant literature focuses on minority recruitment to trials of less common conditions, often conducted in specialty clinics and dependent on physician referrals. We identified trust/mistrust of specialist physician investigators and institutions conducting medical research and consequent participant reluctance to participate in clinical trials as key-shared barriers across racial/ethnic groups. We developed a trust-based continuous quality improvement intervention to build trust between specialist physician investigators and community minority-serving physicians and ultimately potential trial participants. To avoid the inherent biases of non-randomized studies, we evaluated the intervention in the national Randomized Recruitment Intervention Trial (RECRUIT). This report presents the design of RECRUIT. Specialty clinic follow-up continues through April 2017. We hypothesized that specialist physician investigators and coordinators trained in the trust-based continuous quality improvement intervention would enroll a greater proportion of minority participants in their specialty clinics than specialist physician investigators in control specialty clinics. Specialty clinic was the unit of randomization. Using continuous quality improvement, the specialist physician investigators and coordinators tailored recruitment approaches to their specialty clinic characteristics and populations. Primary analyses were adjusted for clustering by specialty clinic within parent trial and matching covariates. RECRUIT was implemented in four multi-site clinical trials (parent trials) supported by three National Institutes of Health institutes and included 50 associated specialty clinics from these parent trials. Using current data, we have 88% power or greater to detect a 0.15 or greater difference from the currently observed control proportion adjusting for clustering. We detected no differences in baseline matching criteria between intervention and control specialty clinics (all p values > 0.17). RECRUIT was the first multi-site randomized control trial to examine the effectiveness of a trust-based continuous quality improvement intervention to increase minority recruitment into clinical trials. RECRUIT's innovations included its focus on building trust between specialist investigators and minority-serving physicians, the use of continuous quality improvement to tailor the intervention to each specialty clinic's specific racial/ethnic populations and barriers to minority recruitment, and the use of specialty clinics from more than one parent multi-site trial to increase generalizability. The effectiveness of the RECRUIT intervention will be determined after the completion of trial data collection and planned analyses.

Adult Health Learning and Transformation: A Case Study of a Canadian Community-Based Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coady, Maureen

2013-01-01

This article describes a case study of adult learning in a Canadian multisite Community Cardiovascular Hearts in Motion program. The researcher highlights the informal learning of 40 adult participants in this 12-week community-based cardiac rehabilitation/education program in five rural Nova Scotia communities. The effects of this learning and…

A Study of Rural High School Principals' Perceptions as Social Justice Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Albritton, Shelly; Huffman, Stephanie; McClellan, Rhonda

2017-01-01

This multisite case study explores how rural principals in high poverty schools in a Southern state that had identified themselves as social justice leaders perceived student diversity, specifically LGBTQ students, and how they sustained a socially-just school climate for all students. Using a qualitative approach lent itself to understanding the…

Fostering a Developmentally Responsive Middle-to-High School Transition: The Role of Transition Supports

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellerbrock, Cheryl R.; Denmon, Jennifer; Owens, Ruchelle; Lindstrom, Krista

2015-01-01

This yearlong qualitative multisite case study investigated ways middle and high school transition supports foster a developmentally responsive transition for students. A total of 23 participants engaged in this study, including 4 students, 4 middle school teachers, 13 high school teachers, 1 middle school principal, and 1 high school principal.…

Methods and Management of the Healthy Brain Study: A Large Multisite Qualitative Research Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laditka, Sarah B.; Corwin, Sara J.; Laditka, James N.; Liu, Rui; Friedman, Daniela B.; Mathews, Anna E.; Wilcox, Sara

2009-01-01

Purpose of the study: To describe processes used in the Healthy Brain project to manage data collection, coding, and data distribution in a large qualitative project, conducted by researchers at 9 universities in 9 states. Design and Methods: Project management protocols included: (a) managing audiotapes and surveys to ensure data confidentiality,…

Food Defense Practices of School Districts in Northern U.S. States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klitzke, Carol J.

2013-01-01

This study assessed implementation of food defense practices in public schools in Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The first phase involved a qualitative multi-site case study: one-day visits were made to five school districts in the states of Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. A principal,…

"It's an Amazing Learning Curve to Be Part of the Project": Exploring Academic Identity in Collaborative Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leibowitz, Brenda; Ndebele, Clever; Winberg, Christine

2014-01-01

This article reports on an investigation into the role of academic identity within collaborative research in higher education in South Africa. The study was informed by the literature on academic identities, collaborative research and communities of practice. It was located within a multi-site study, with involvement of researcher collaborators…

Decision Rules Used in Academic Program Closure: Where the Rubber Meets the Road.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eckel, Peter D.

This study examines, from an organizational perspective, decision rules guiding program discontinuance, testing the framework of decision rule rationality versus action rationality. A multi-site case study method was used; interviews were conducted with 11-16 individuals at each of four research I or II universities that had discontinued at least…

Recruiting a Diverse Group of Middle School Girls into the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elder, John P.; Shuler, LaVerne; Moe, Stacey G.; Grieser, Mira; Pratt, Charlotte; Cameron, Sandra; Hingle, Melanie; Pickrel, Julie L.; Saksvig, Brit I.; Schachter, Kenneth; Greer, Susan; Bothwell, Elizabeth K. Guth

2008-01-01

Background: School-based study recruitment efforts are both time consuming and challenging. This paper highlights the recruitment strategies employed by the national, multisite Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls (TAAG), a study designed to measure the effectiveness of an intervention to reduce the decline of physical activity levels among…

Parental Involvement in Active Transport to School Initiatives: A Multi-Site Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eyler, Amy; Baldwin, Julie; Carnoske, Cheryl; Nickelson, Jan; Troped, Philip; Steinman, Lesley; Pluto, Delores; Litt, Jill; Evenson, Kelly; Terpstra, Jennifer; Brownson, Ross; Schmid, Thomas

2008-01-01

Background: Increasing physical activity in youth is a recommended approach to curbing the childhood obesity epidemic. One way to help increase children's daily activity is to promote active transportation to and from school (ATS). Purpose: The purpose of this case study was to explore parental perception of, and participation in, ATS initiatives.…

Policies Related to Active Transport to and from School: A Multisite Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eyler, Amy A.; Brownson, Ross C.; Doescher, Mark P.; Evenson, Kelly R.; Fesperman, Carrie E.; Litt, Jill S.; Pluto, Delores; Steinman, Lesley E.; Terpstra, Jennifer L.; Troped, Philip J.; Schmid, Thomas L.

2008-01-01

Active transportation to and from school (ATS) is a viable strategy to help increase physical activity among youth. ATS can be challenging because initiatives require transdisciplinary collaboration, are influenced by the built environment and are affected by numerous policies. The purpose of this study is to identify policies and factors that…

The Implementation of Enrollment Management at Two Public Universities Experiencing Demographic and Funding Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Stephen

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implementation of enrollment management at two public universities. The theoretical framework was conceptual and centered on the effectiveness of the implementation process as a pivotal factor in the development of a comprehensive enrollment management operation. This multi-site case study included 14…

Suicide Attempts within 12 Months of Treatment for Substance Use Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Britton, Peter C.; Conner, Kenneth R.

2010-01-01

There are limited prospective data on suicide attempts (SA) during the months following treatment for substance use disorders (SUD), a period of high risk. In an analysis of the Drug Abuse Treatment Outcomes Study, a longitudinal naturalistic multisite study of treated SUDs, variables associated with SA in the 12 months following SUD treatment…

Remission and Residual Symptoms after Short-Term Treatment in the Treatment of Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennard, Betsy; Silva, Susan; Vitiello, Benedetto; Curry, John; Kratochvil, Christopher; Simons, Anne; Hughes, Jennifer; Feeny, Norah; Weller, Elizabeth; Sweeney, Michael; Reinecke, Mark; Pathak, Sanjeev; Ginsburg, Golda; Emslie, Graham; March, John

2006-01-01

Objective: To ascertain remission rates in depressed youth participating in the Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study (TADS), a multisite clinical trial that randomized 439 adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD) to a 12-week treatment of fluoxetine (FLX), cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), their combination (COMB), or clinical…

A Comparison of Methods to Test for Mediation in Multisite Experiments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pituch, Keenan A.; Whittaker, Tiffany A.; Stapleton, Laura M.

2005-01-01

A Monte Carlo study extended the research of MacKinnon, Lockwood, Hoffman, West, and Sheets (2002) for single-level designs by examining the statistical performance of four methods to test for mediation in a multilevel experimental design. The design studied was a two-group experiment that was replicated across several sites, included a single…

The MTA at 8 Years: Prospective Follow-Up of Children Treated for Combined-Type ADHD in a Multisite Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Molina, Brooke S. G.; Hinshaw, Stephen P.; Swanson, James W.; Arnold, L. Eugene; Vitiello, Benedetto; Jensen, Peter S.; Epstein, Jeffery N.; Hoza, Betsy; Hechtman, Lily; Abikoff, Howard B.; Elliott, Glen R.; Greenhill, Laurence L.; Newcorn, Jeffrey H.; Wells, Karen C.; Wigal, Timothy; Gibbons, Robert D.; Hur, Kwan; Houck, Patricia R.

2009-01-01

Participants of the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) eight years earlier do not differ significantly in repeated measures or newly analyzed variables that include school grades and psychiatric hospitalization. The treatment of childhood ADHD does not predict functioning six to eight…

Standards of Competence: A Multi-Site Case Study of School Reform. Project: Effects of Testing Reforms and Standards.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellwein, Mary Catherine; Glass, Gene V.

A qualitative case study involving five educational institutions assessed the use of competency testing as a prerequisite for high school graduation, criterion for admission into college, criterion for teacher certification, and statewide assessment tool. Focus was on persons and processes involved in setting educational standards associated with…

A Multisite Study of High School Mathematics Curricula and the Impact of Taking a Developmental Mathematics Course in College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harwell, Michael; Dupuis, Danielle; Post, Thomas R.; Medhanie, Amanuel; LeBeau, Brandon

2014-01-01

The relationship between high school mathematics curricula and the likelihood of students who enroll in a developmental (non-credit bearing) course in college taking additional mathematics courses was studied. The results showed that high school mathematics curriculum, years of high school mathematics completed, and ACT mathematics scores were…

A Comparison of Rural and Urban Indian Children's Visual Detection of Threatening and Nonthreatening Animals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Penkunas, Michael J.; Coss, Richard G.

2013-01-01

Recent studies indicate that young children preferentially attend to snakes, spiders, and lions compared with nondangerous species, but these results have yet to be replicated in populations that actually experience dangerous animals in nature. This multi-site study investigated the visual-detection biases of southern Indian children towards two…

Issues in the Multi-Cultural Assessment of Parent-Child Interaction: An Exploratory Study from the Starting Early Starting Smart Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bernstein, V.J.; Harris, E.J.; Long, C.W.; Iida, E.; Hans, S.L.

2005-01-01

A national, multi-site study of behavioral health services integration developed a parent-child interaction assessment tool and culturally anchored videotape protocol. Representatives from programs serving Chinese, Native American, Latin-American, African-American, and Anglo-American families discussed cross-cultural issues in parenting and…

Utility in a Fallible Tool: A Multi-Site Case Study of Automated Writing Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grimes, Douglas; Warschauer, Mark

2010-01-01

Automated writing evaluation (AWE) software uses artificial intelligence (AI) to score student essays and support revision. We studied how an AWE program called MY Access![R] was used in eight middle schools in Southern California over a three-year period. Although many teachers and students considered automated scoring unreliable, and teachers'…

The At Home/Chez Soi trial protocol: a pragmatic, multi-site, randomised controlled trial of a Housing First intervention for homeless individuals with mental illness in five Canadian cities

PubMed Central

Streiner, David L; Adair, Carol; Aubry, Tim; Barker, Jayne; Distasio, Jino; Hwang, Stephen W; Komaroff, Janina; Latimer, Eric; Somers, Julian; Zabkiewicz, Denise M

2011-01-01

Introduction Housing First is a complex housing and support intervention for homeless individuals with mental health problems. It has a sufficient knowledge base and interest to warrant a test of wide-scale implementation in various settings. This protocol describes the quantitative design of a Canadian five city, $110 million demonstration project and provides the rationale for key scientific decisions. Methods A pragmatic, mixed methods, multi-site field trial of the effectiveness of Housing First in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Moncton, is randomising approximately 2500 participants, stratified by high and moderate need levels, into intervention and treatment as usual groups. Quantitative outcome measures are being collected over a 2-year period and a qualitative process evaluation is being completed. Primary outcomes are housing stability, social functioning and, for the economic analyses, quality of life. Hierarchical linear modelling is the primary data analytic strategy. Ethics and dissemination Research ethics board approval has been obtained from 11 institutions and a safety and adverse events committee is in place. The results of the multi-site analyses of outcomes at 12 months and 2 years will be reported in a series of core scientific journal papers. Extensive knowledge exchange activities with non-academic audiences will occur throughout the duration of the project. Trial registration number This study has been registered with the International Standard Randomised Control Trial Number Register and assigned ISRCTN42520374. PMID:22102645

Facebook as a tool for communication, collaboration, and informal knowledge exchange among members of a multisite family health team.

PubMed

Lofters, Aisha K; Slater, Morgan B; Nicholas Angl, Emily; Leung, Fok-Han

2016-01-01

To implement and evaluate a private Facebook group for members of a large Ontario multisite Family Health Team (FHT) to facilitate improved communication and collaboration. Program implementation and subsequent survey of team members. A large multisite FHT in Toronto, Ontario. Health professionals of the FHT. Usage patterns and self-reported perceptions of the Facebook group by team members. At the time of the evaluation survey, the Facebook group had 43 members (37.4% of all FHT members). Activity in the group was never high, and posts by team members who were not among the researchers were infrequent throughout the study period. The content of posts fell into two broad categories: 1) information that might be useful to various team members and 2) questions posed by team members that others might be able to answer. Of the 26 team members (22.6%) who completed the evaluation survey, many reported that they never logged into the Facebook page (16 respondents), and never used it to communicate with team members outside of their own site of practice (19 respondents). Only six respondents reported no concerns with using Facebook as a professional communication tool; the most frequent concerns were regarding personal and patient privacy. The use of social media by health care practitioners is becoming ubiquitous. However, the issues of privacy concerns and determining how to use social media without adding to provider workload must be addressed to make it a useful tool in health care.

A Mixed-Methods, Randomized, Controlled Feasibility Trial to Inform the Design of a Phase III Trial to Test the Effect of the Handheld Fan on Physical Activity and Carer Anxiety in Patients With Refractory Breathlessness.

PubMed

Johnson, Miriam J; Booth, Sara; Currow, David C; Lam, Lawrence T; Phillips, Jane L

2016-05-01

The handheld fan is an inexpensive and safe way to provide facial airflow, which may reduce the sensation of chronic refractory breathlessness, a frequently encountered symptom. To test the feasibility of developing an adequately powered, multicenter, multinational randomized controlled trial comparing the efficacy of a handheld fan and exercise advice with advice alone in increasing activity in people with chronic refractory breathlessness from a variety of medical conditions, measuring recruitment rates; data quality; and potential primary outcome measures. This was a Phase II, multisite, international, parallel, nonblinded, mixed-methods randomized controlled trial. Participants were centrally randomized to fan or control. All received breathlessness self-management/exercise advice and were followed up weekly for four weeks. Participants/carers were invited to participate in a semistructured interview at the study's conclusion. Ninety-seven people were screened, 49 randomized (mean age 68 years; 49% men), and 43 completed the study. Site recruitment varied from 0.25 to 3.3/month and screening:randomization from 1.1:1 to 8.5:1. There were few missing data except for the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Self-Efficacy Scale (two-thirds of data missing). No harms were observed. Three interview themes included 1) a fan is a helpful self-management strategy, 2) a fan aids recovery, and 3) a symptom control trial was welcome. A definitive, multisite trial to study the use of the handheld fan as part of self-management of chronic refractory breathlessness is feasible. Participants found the fan useful. However, the value of information for changing practice or policy is unlikely to justify the expense of such a trial, given perceived benefits, the minimal costs, and an absence of harms demonstrated in this study. Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Socioeconomic Status and Improvements in Lifestyle, Coronary Risk Factors, and Quality of Life: The Multisite Cardiac Lifestyle Intervention Program

PubMed Central

Govil, Sarah R.; Merritt-Worden, Terri; Ornish, Dean

2009-01-01

Objectives. We sought to clarify whether patients of low socioeconomic status (SES) can make lifestyle changes and show improved outcomes in coronary heart disease (CHD), similar to patients with higher SES. Methods. We examined lifestyle, risk factors, and quality of life over 3 months, by SES and gender, in 869 predominantly White, nonsmoking CHD patients (34% female) in the insurance-sponsored Multisite Cardiac Lifestyle Intervention Program. SES was defined primarily by education. Results. At baseline, less-educated participants were more likely to be disadvantaged (e.g., past smoking, sedentary lifestyle, high fat diet, overweight, depression) than were higher-SES participants. By 3 months, participants at all SES levels reported consuming 10% or less dietary fat, exercising 3.5 hours per week or more, and practicing stress management 5.5 hours per week or more. These self-reports were substantiated by improvements in risk factors (e.g., 5-kg weight loss, and improved blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and exercise capacity; P < .001), and accompanied by improvements in well-being (e.g., depression, hostility, quality of life; P < .001). Conclusions. The observed benefits for CHD patients with low SES indicate that broadening accessibility of lifestyle programs through health insurance should be strongly encouraged. PMID:18923113

Psychiatric Residents' Views of Quality of Psychotherapy Training and Psychotherapy Competencies: A Multisite Survey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calabrese, Christina; Sciolla, Andres; Zisook, Sidney; Bitner, Robin; Tuttle, Jeffrey; Dunn, Laura B.

2010-01-01

Objective: Few studies of residents' attitudes toward psychotherapy training exist. The authors examined residents' perceptions of the quality of their training, support for training, their own competence levels, and associations between self-perceived competence and perceptions of the training environment. Methods: An anonymous, web-based…

Teachers' Clinical Experiences and Attitudes toward Technology Inclusion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paganelli, Andrea Lynch

2010-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative multisite case study is to examine participants' attitudes toward technology, types of technology available for participant use, and the extent to which technology is used by preservice and mentor teachers during clinical experiences. Research supports the benefit of improved attitudes toward technology integration…

Leadership Strategies in Implementation of High-School Standards-Based Grading Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pritzl, Jerome

2016-01-01

This multi-site case study examined leadership strategies used during successful implementation of standards-based grading systems in three Wisconsin high schools. It found that leaders' reported commitment, patience, and persistence showed evidence of sustainable, high-functioning systems. It drew two main conclusions: first, school leaders need…

Special Diabetes Program for Indians: Retention in Cardiovascular Risk Reduction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manson, Spero M.; Jiang, Luohua; Zhang, Lijing; Beals, Janette; Acton, Kelly J.; Roubideaux, Yvette

2011-01-01

Purpose: This study examined the associations between participant and site characteristics and retention in a multisite cardiovascular disease risk reduction project. Design and Methods: Data were derived from the Special Diabetes Program for Indians Healthy Heart Demonstration Project, an intervention to reduce cardiovascular risk among American…

Confronting "Difficult Knowledge": Critical Aesthetics and War in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heybach Vivirito, Jessica A.

2012-01-01

This qualitative multi-site case study explores critical aesthetic experiences in teacher education classrooms, and advocates for the inclusion of theoretical and practical knowledge of "difficult knowledge," visual culture, and critical aesthetics in the classroom. Social reality consists of a perpetual stream of tragic and horrific…

Perceptions of Absenteeism and Diminished Engagement among Instructors and Nonlicensed Students in Medical Assistant Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Russell

2012-01-01

Adult nonlicensed students can experience diminished engagement and increased absenteeism while attempting to complete medical assistant programs. The purpose of this qualitative, multisite narrative case study was to explore the perceptions, meanings, and interpretations of instructors and students. The theoretical foundation focused on the…

Accuracy of stated energy contents of restaurant foods in a multi-site study

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Context National recommendations for prevention and treatment of obesity emphasize reducing energy intake. Foods purchased in restaurants provide approximately 35% of daily energy intake, but the accuracy of information on the energy contents of these foods is unknown. Objective To examine the a...

Forest type influences transmission of Phytophthora ramorum in California oak woodlands

Treesearch

J. M. Davidson; H. A. Patterson; A. C. Wickland; E. J. Fichtner; D. M. Rizzo

2011-01-01

The transmission ecology of Phytophthora ramorum from bay laurel (Umbellularia californica) leaves was compared between mixed-evergreen and redwood forest types throughout winter and summer disease cycles in central, coastal California. In a preliminary multisite study, we found that abscission rates of infected leaves were higher at mixed...

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND RELATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FOR A LARGE SCALE, MULTI-SITE RESEARCH PROJECT

EPA Science Inventory

During the summer of 2000, as part of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study designed to improve microbial water quality monitoring protocols at public beaches, over 11,000 water samples were collected at five selected beaches across the country. At each beach, samples wer...

Teacher Evaluation Initial Policy Implementation: Superintendent and Principal Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Derrington, Mary Lynne

2014-01-01

This multi-site qualitative study examined the perspectives of K-12 superintendents and principals in four districts of a Southeastern state during the implementation of a new teacher evaluation system required by the Race to the Top federal grant. Specifically, these educators' viewpoints regarding this two-year implementation's impact are…

Estimating Cross-Site Impact Variation in the Presence of Heteroscedasticity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bloom, Howard S.; Porter, Kristin E.; Weiss, Michael J.; Raudenbush, Stephen

2013-01-01

To date, evaluation research and policy analysis have focused mainly on average program impacts and paid little systematic attention to their variation. Recently, the growing number of multi-site randomized trials that are being planned and conducted make it increasingly feasible to study "cross-site" variation in impacts. Important…

Extra-team Connections for Knowledge Transfer between Staff Teams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramanadhan, Shoba; Wiecha, Jean L.; Emmons, Karen M.; Gortmaker, Steven L.; Viswanath, Kasisomayajula

2009-01-01

As organizations implement novel health promotion programs across multiple sites, they face great challenges related to knowledge management. Staff social networks may be a useful medium for transferring program-related knowledge in multi-site implementation efforts. To study this potential, we focused on the role of extra-team connections (ties…

Educational Inequalities and Ukrainian Orphans' Future Pathways: Social Reproduction or Transformation through the Hidden Curriculum?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Korzh, Alla

2013-01-01

This qualitative multi-site case study, situated in the context of Ukraine's post-Soviet political economy, examined how orphanage educators' expectations and beliefs about orphans' academic abilities and potential, curriculum, peer relationships, and education policy shaped orphans' post-secondary education decisions and trajectories. Examination…

Exploring Principals' Nonroutine Problems in Bilingual Immersion Schools: Lessons Learned for Multicultural Leadership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schwabsky, Nitza

2013-01-01

The present study examines the nonroutine problems that eight Anglo-American principals encountered in managing three elementary bilingual immersion schools in the Northwest United States. Using qualitative inquiry to collect data, I employed the multisited ethnographic research model. The principals reported nonroutine problems in the following…

Domestic Violence and Dependency Courts: The "Greenbook" Demonstration Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malik, Neena M.; Silverman, Jerry; Wang, Kathleen; Janczewski, Colleen

2008-01-01

This field study reports on a cross-site evaluation of dependency courts in communities receiving federal funding to implement the "Greenbook" initiative, a multisite demonstration for community improvement of coordinated responses to families victimized by domestic violence and child maltreatment. This article focuses on the dependency court,…

The Impact of E-Skills on the Settlement of Iranian Refugees in Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shariati, Saeed; Armarego, Jocelyn; Sudweeks, Fay

2017-01-01

Aim/Purpose: The research investigates the impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) on Iranian refugees' settlement in Australia. Background: The study identifies the issues of settlement, such as language, cultural and social differences. Methodology: The Multi-Sited Ethnography (MSE), which is a qualitative methodology, has…

Colorblind Mentoring? Exploring White Faculty Mentoring of Students of Color

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCoy, Dorian L.; Winkle-Wagner, Rachelle; Luedke, Courtney L.

2015-01-01

In this critical multisite case study we examined the concept of colorblind mentoring. Using Bonilla-Silva's Colorblind Racism Frames, we sought to understand White faculty members' perspectives on their mentoring of Students of Color. The findings revealed that White faculty members often engage with students from a "colorblind…

Principals and Teachers Leading Together.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryan, Sherrill A.

This report has two main purposes: to examine the perceived impact of teacher leadership, and to explore the conditions in schools that support or constrain teacher leadership. It discusses peer-nominated, nonadministrative leaders; leadership practices; and sources of power. The report is based on a multisite case study of three schools, serving…

MULTI-SITE PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS OF CANDIDATE METHODOLOGIES FOR DETERMINING COARSE PARTICULATE MATTER (PMC) CONCENTRATIONS

EPA Science Inventory

Comprehensive field studies were conducted to evaluate the performance of sampling methods for measuring the coarse fraction of PM10 in ambient air. Five separate sampling approaches were evaluated at each of three sampling sites. As the primary basis of comparison, a discret...

MULTI-SITE EVALUATIONS OF CANDIDATE METHODOLOGIES FOR DETERMINING COARSE PARTICULATE MATTER (PMC) CONCENTRATIONS

EPA Science Inventory

Comprehensive field studies were conducted to evaluate the performance of sampling methods for measuring the coarse fraction of PM10 in ambient air. Five separate sampling approaches were evaluated at each of three sampling sites. As the primary basis of comparison, a discret...

MULTI-SITE EVALUATIONS OF CANDIDATE METHODOLOGIES FOR DETERMINING COARSE PARTICULATE MATTER (PMC) CONCENTRATIONS

EPA Science Inventory

Comprehensive field studies were conducted to evaluate the performance of sampling methods for measuring the coarse fraction of PM10 in ambient air. Five separate sampling approaches were evaluated at each of three sampling sites. As the primary basis of comparison, a discrete ...

Multi-site p-loss assessment from privately owned cropland in Northeast Missouri

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Phosphorus exported from watersheds can accelerate eutrophication and is identified as one of the main causes of water impairment. Accurate phosphorus (P) loss assessment has become vital for effective implementation of conservation measures. The study objective was to assess the validity of a cla...

Ultrasensitivity and sharp threshold theorems for multisite systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dougoud, M.; Mazza, C.; Vinckenbosch, L.

2017-02-01

This work studies the ultrasensitivity of multisite binding processes where ligand molecules can bind to several binding sites. It considers more particularly recent models involving complex chemical reactions in allosteric phosphorylation processes and for transcription factors and nucleosomes competing for binding on DNA. New statistics-based formulas for the Hill coefficient and the effective Hill coefficient are provided and necessary conditions for a system to be ultrasensitive are exhibited. It is first shown that the ultrasensitivity of binding processes can be approached using sharp-threshold theorems which have been developed in applied probability theory and statistical mechanics for studying sharp threshold phenomena in reliability theory, random graph theory and percolation theory. Special classes of binding process are then introduced and are described as density dependent birth and death process. New precise large deviation results for the steady state distribution of the process are obtained, which permits to show that switch-like ultrasensitive responses are strongly related to the multi-modality of the steady state distribution. Ultrasensitivity occurs if and only if the entropy of the dynamical system has more than one global minimum for some critical ligand concentration. In this case, the Hill coefficient is proportional to the number of binding sites, and the system is highly ultrasensitive. The classical effective Hill coefficient I is extended to a new cooperativity index I q , for which we recommend the computation of a broad range of values of q instead of just the standard one I  =  I 0.9 corresponding to the 10%-90% variation in the dose-response. It is shown that this single choice can sometimes mislead the conclusion by not detecting ultrasensitivity. This new approach allows a better understanding of multisite ultrasensitive systems and provides new tools for the design of such systems.

How Exemplary Inpatient Teaching Physicians Foster Clinical Reasoning.

PubMed

Houchens, Nathan; Harrod, Molly; Fowler, Karen E; Moody, Stephanie; Saint, Sanjay

2017-09-01

Clinical reasoning is a crucial component of training in health professions. These cognitive skills are necessary to provide quality care and avoid diagnostic error. Much previous literature has focused on teaching clinical reasoning in nonclinical environments and does not include learner reflections. The authors sought to explore, through multiple perspectives including learners, techniques used by exemplary inpatient clinician-educators for explicitly cultivating clinical reasoning. The authors conducted (2014-2015) a multisite, exploratory qualitative study examining how excellent clinician-educators foster clinical reasoning during general medicine rounds. This was accomplished through interviews of educators, focus group discussions with learners, and direct observations of clinical teaching. The authors reviewed field notes and transcripts using techniques of thematic analysis. Twelve clinician-educators, 57 current learners, and 26 former learners participated in observations and interviews. The techniques and behaviors of educators were categorized into 4 themes, including 1) emphasizing organization and prioritization, 2) accessing prior knowledge, 3) thinking aloud, and 4) analyzing the literature. The findings of this comprehensive study both confirm strategies found in previous literature and provide novel approaches. This is the first study to incorporate the perspectives of learners. Educators' techniques and behaviors, identified through direct observation and supported by reflections from the entire team, can inform best practices for the teaching of clinical reasoning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Technological aspects of hospital communication challenges: an observational study.

PubMed

Popovici, Ilinca; Morita, Plinio P; Doran, Diane; Lapinsky, Stephen; Morra, Dante; Shier, Ashleigh; Wu, Robert; Cafazzo, Joseph A

2015-06-01

To gain insights into how technological communication tools impact effective communication among clinicians, which is critical for patient safety. This multi-site observational study analyzes inter-clinician communication and interaction with information technology, with a focus on the critical process of patient transfer from the Emergency Department to General Internal Medicine. Mount Sinai Hospital, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Toronto General Hospital. At least five ED and general internal medicine nurses and physicians directly involved in patient transfers were observed on separate occasions at each institution. N/A. N/A. The study provides insight into clinician workflow, evaluates current hospital communication systems and identifies key issues affecting communication: interruptions, issues with numeric pagers, lack of integrated communication tools, lack of awareness of consultation status, inefficiencies related to the paper chart, unintuitive user interfaces, mixed use of electronic and paper systems and lack of up-to-date contact information. It also identifies design trade-offs to be negotiated: synchronous communication vs. reducing interruptions, notification of patient status vs. reducing interruptions and speed vs. quality of handovers. The issues listed should be considered in the design of new technology for hospital communications. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press in association with the International Society for Quality in Health Care; all rights reserved.

The Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration project: a team approach for supporting a multisite, multisector intervention.

PubMed

Williams, Nancy; Dooyema, Carrie A; Foltz, Jennifer L; Belay, Brook; Blanck, Heidi M

2015-02-01

Comprehensive multisector, multilevel approaches are needed to address childhood obesity. This article introduces the structure of a multidisciplinary team approach used to support and guide the multisite, multisector interventions implemented as part of the Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration (CORD) project. This article will describe the function, roles, and lessons learned from the CDC-CORD approach to project management. The CORD project works across multisectors and multilevels in three demonstration communities. Working with principal investigators and their research teams who are engaging multiple stakeholder groups, including community organizations, schools and child care centers, health departments, and healthcare providers, can be a complex endeavor. To best support the community-based research project, scientific and programmatic expertise in a wide range of areas was required. The team was configured based on the skill sets needed to interact with the various levels of staff working with the project. By thoughtful development of the team and processes, an efficient system for supporting the multisite, multisector intervention project sites was developed. The team approach will be formally evaluated at the end of the project period.

Risperidone in Children with Disruptive Behavior Disorders and Subaverage Intelligence: A 1-Year, Open-Label Study of 504 Patients

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Croonenberghs, Jan; Fegert, Joerg M.; Findling, Robert L.; de Smedt, Goedele; van Dongen, Stefan

2005-01-01

Objective: To determine the long-term safety and effectiveness of risperidone for severe disruptive behaviors in children. Method: A multisite, 1-year, open-label study of patients aged 5 to 14 years with disruptive behaviors and subaverage intelligence was conducted. Results: Seventy-three percent of the 504 patients enrolled completed the study.…

Association between barriers and facilitators to meeting the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and body weight status of caregiver-child dyads: The HEALTH study

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Few Americans meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) yet, a large percentage are overweight. The goal of this research was to examine the association between barriers and facilitators to meeting the DGA and weight in a multi-site study. In a cross-sectional study, a total of 836 caregiver-c...

Implementation and Impacts of Pay-for-Performance: The 2010 Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) Grantees after Two Years. NCEE Study Snapshot. NCEE 2015-4022

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, 2015

2015-01-01

The Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) provides grants to support performance-based compensation systems for teachers and principals in high-need schools. The study measures the impact of pay-for-performance bonuses as part of a comprehensive compensation system within a large, multisite random assignment study design. The treatment schools were to…

Scientific Growth and Identity Development during a Postbaccalaureate Program: Results from a Multisite Qualitative Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Remich, Robin; Naffziger-Hirsch, Michelle E.; Gazley, J. Lynn; McGee, Richard

2016-01-01

This report builds upon our previous study, which described five patterns of why college graduates join National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded diversity-focused Postbaccalaureate Research Education Programs (PREP). A 2015 report from the NIH showed that a high fraction of PREP participants matriculate into PhD and MD/PhD programs. This current…

Treatment of Adolescent Marijuana Abuse: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Presentation 1: Structure of the Cannabis Youth Treatment Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Titus, Janet C.; Dennis, Michael L.; Diamond, Guy; Godley, Susan H.; Babor, Thomas; Donaldson, Jean; Herrell, James; Tims, Frank; Webb, Charles

The Cannabis Youth Treatment (CYT) study is a multi-site randomized field experiment examining five outpatient treatment protocols for adolescents who abuse or are dependent on marijuana. The purpose of the CYT project is twofold: (a) to test the relative clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of five promising interventions targeted at…

Reduced Financial Resources and the Strategic Position of Community Colleges: How an "Embedded Community College" Can Neutralize External Pressures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Namuo, Clyne G. H.

2013-01-01

This multi-site case study is really the story of three same-state community colleges (Bridge and Buffer Community College, Grants and Reserves Community College, and Crystal Ball Community College) two years after they suffered a potentially catastrophic 50% reduction in state allocations. This study examined their responses to those reductions…

Which Sexual Abuse Victims Receive a Forensic Medical Examination?: The Impact of Children's Advocacy Centers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walsh, Wendy A.; Cross, Theodore P.; Jones, Lisa M.; Simone, Monique; Kolko, David J.

2007-01-01

Objective: This study examines the impact of Children's Advocacy Centers (CAC) and other factors, such as the child's age, alleged penetration, and injury on the use of forensic medical examinations as part of the response to reported child sexual abuse. Methods: This analysis is part of a quasi-experimental study, the Multi-Site Evaluation of…

Psychometric Study of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist in Fragile X Syndrome and Implications for Targeted Treatment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sansone, Stephanie M.; Widaman, Keith F.; Hall, Scott S.; Reiss, Allan L.; Lightbody, Amy; Kaufmann, Walter E.; Berry-Kravis, Elizabeth; Lachiewicz, Ave; Brown, Elaine C.; Hessl, David

2012-01-01

Animal studies elucidating the neurobiology of fragile X syndrome (FXS) have led to multiple controlled trials in humans, with the Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Community (ABC-C) commonly adopted as a primary outcome measure. A multi-site collaboration examined the psychometric properties of the ABC-C in 630 individuals (ages 3-25) with FXS using…

Substance Abuse Treatment Outcomes: A Multi-Site Study of Male and Female Prison Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pelissier, Bernadette; Motivans, Mark; Rounds-Bryant, Jennifer L.

2005-01-01

The present study examined whether there were program differences with respect to post-release outcomes in 20 federal in-prison substance abuse programs which used a cognitive-behavioral treatment approach. Recidivism and post-release drug use were examined for a sample of 1,343 individuals--1,065 men and 278 women. Discrete time proportional…

An Examination of Physical Education Data Sources and Collection Procedures during a Federally Funded Grant

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dauenhauer, Brian D.; Keating, Xiaofen D.; Lambdin, Dolly

2018-01-01

Purpose: This study aimed to conduct an in-depth investigation into physical education data sources and collection procedures in a district that was awarded a Physical Education Program (PEP) grant. Method: A qualitative, multi-site case study was conducted in which a single school district was the overarching case and eight schools served as…

Strategies Pregnant Rural Women Employ to Deal with Intimate Partner Violence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bhandari, Shreya; Bullock, Linda F. C.; Sharps, Phyllis W.

2013-01-01

This study explored strategies from the Intimate Partner Violence Strategy Index (IPVSI) that a sub-set of 20 rural, low-income, abused women of a larger, multi-site, mixed-method study employed to deal with Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) during the perinatal period. We conducted 32 in-depth interviews with women who were pregnant (N = 12) and/or…

Is There a "Regressive Phenotype" of Autism Spectrum Disorder Associated with the Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine? A CPEA Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richler, Jennifer; Luyster, Rhiannon; Risi, Susan; Hsu, Wan-Ling; Dawson, Geraldine; Bernier, Raphael; Dunn, Michelle; Hepburn, Susan; Hyman, Susan L.; McMahon, William M.; Goudie-Nice, Julie; Minshew, Nancy; Rogers, Sally; Sigman, Marian; Spence, M. Anne; Goldberg, Wendy A.; Tager-Flusbert, Helen; Volkmar, Fred R.; Lord, Catherine

2006-01-01

A multi-site study of 351 children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and 31 typically developing children used caregiver interviews to describe the children's early acquisition and loss of social-communication milestones. For the majority of children with ASD who had experienced a regression, pre-loss development was clearly atypical. Children…

Promoting Adolescent Health and Well-Being through Outdoor Youth Programs: Results from a Multisite Australian Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rose, Lauren; Williams, Ian R.; Olsson, Craig A.; Allen, Nicholas B.

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which participation in structured outdoor programs is associated with improvements in adolescent health and well-being. Students (n = 160) were recruited from three secondary schools in Victoria, Australia. Adolescents completed online surveys 3 weeks before camp (Time 1), 1 week before camp…

Multisite Study of New Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) Algorithms for Toddlers and Young Preschoolers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, So Hyun; Thurm, Audrey; Shumway, Stacy; Lord, Catherine

2013-01-01

Using two independent datasets provided by National Institute of Health funded consortia, the Collaborative Programs for Excellence in Autism and Studies to Advance Autism Research and Treatment (n = 641) and the National Institute of Mental Health (n = 167), diagnostic validity and factor structure of the new Autism Diagnostic Interview (ADI-R)…

Exploring Democracy: Nordic Music Teachers' Approaches to the Development of Immigrant Students' Musical Agency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karlsen, Sidsel

2014-01-01

In this article, a multi-sited ethnographic study was taken as a point of departure for exploring how Nordic music teachers, who work in multicultural environments, understand the development of their students' musical agency. The study was based on theories developed within general sociology and the sociology of music, as well as in previous…

The Maternal Description of Child (MDoC): A New Audiotaped Measure of Maternal Affect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Anne; Razza, Rachel A.; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne

2015-01-01

We report on a new measure of maternal affect from an ongoing multi-site birth cohort study with primarily low-income families, the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. At child age of 5?years, mothers were asked to describe their child in a short, semi-structured home interview. One innovation of this measure--called the Maternal…

Evaluation of the Teacher Incentive Fund: Implementation and Early Impacts of Pay-for-Performance after One Year. NCEE 2014-4019

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Max, Jeffrey; Constantine, Jill; Wellington, Alison; Hallgren, Kristin; Glazerman, Steven; Chiang, Hanley; Speroni, Cecilia

2014-01-01

The Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) provides grants to support performance-based compensation systems for teachers and principals in high-need schools. The study measures the impact of pay-for-performance bonuses as part of a comprehensive compensation system within a large, multisite random assignment study design. The treatment schools were to…

Evaluation of the Teacher Incentive Fund: Implementation and Impacts of Pay-for-Performance after Two Years. NCEE 2015-4020

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chiang, Hanley; Wellington, Alison; Hallgren, Kristin; Speroni, Cecilia; Herrmann, Mariesa; Glazerman, Steven; Constantine, Jill

2015-01-01

The Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) provides grants to support performance-based compensation systems for teachers and principals in high-need schools. The study measures the impact of pay-for-performance bonuses as part of a comprehensive compensation system within a large, multisite random assignment study design. The treatment schools were to…

Is There a Magnet-School Effect? A Multisite Study of MSAP-Funded Magnet Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Jia; Schweig, Jonathan D.; Herman, Joan L.

2017-01-01

Magnet schools are one of the largest sectors of choice schools in the United States. In this study, we explored the heterogeneity in magnet-school effects on student achievement by examining 24 magnet schools, funded under the Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP), in 5 school districts across 4 states. The magnet effects were synthesized…

Evaluating meteorological data from weather stations, and from satellites and global models for a multi-site epidemiological study.

PubMed

Colston, Josh M; Ahmed, Tahmeed; Mahopo, Cloupas; Kang, Gagandeep; Kosek, Margaret; de Sousa Junior, Francisco; Shrestha, Prakash Sunder; Svensen, Erling; Turab, Ali; Zaitchik, Benjamin

2018-04-21

Longitudinal and time series analyses are needed to characterize the associations between hydrometeorological parameters and health outcomes. Earth Observation (EO) climate data products derived from satellites and global model-based reanalysis have the potential to be used as surrogates in situations and locations where weather-station based observations are inadequate or incomplete. However, these products often lack direct evaluation at specific sites of epidemiological interest. Standard evaluation metrics of correlation, agreement, bias and error were applied to a set of ten hydrometeorological variables extracted from two quasi-global, commonly used climate data products - the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) and Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Stations (CHIRPS) - to evaluate their performance relative to weather-station derived estimates at the specific geographic locations of the eight sites in a multi-site cohort study. These metrics were calculated for both daily estimates and 7-day averages and for a rotavirus-peak-season subset. Then the variables from the two sources were each used as predictors in longitudinal regression models to test their association with rotavirus infection in the cohort after adjusting for covariates. The availability and completeness of station-based validation data varied depending on the variable and study site. The performance of the two gridded climate models varied considerably within the same location and for the same variable across locations, according to different evaluation criteria and for the peak-season compared to the full dataset in ways that showed no obvious pattern. They also differed in the statistical significance of their association with the rotavirus outcome. For some variables, the station-based records showed a strong association while the EO-derived estimates showed none, while for others, the opposite was true. Researchers wishing to utilize publicly available climate data - whether EO-derived or station based - are advised to recognize their specific limitations both in the analysis and the interpretation of the results. Epidemiologists engaged in prospective research into environmentally driven diseases should install their own weather monitoring stations at their study sites whenever possible, in order to circumvent the constraints of choosing between distant or incomplete station data or unverified EO estimates. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Nonparametric estimation of median survival times with applications to multi-site or multi-center studies.

PubMed

Rahbar, Mohammad H; Choi, Sangbum; Hong, Chuan; Zhu, Liang; Jeon, Sangchoon; Gardiner, Joseph C

2018-01-01

We propose a nonparametric shrinkage estimator for the median survival times from several independent samples of right-censored data, which combines the samples and hypothesis information to improve the efficiency. We compare efficiency of the proposed shrinkage estimation procedure to unrestricted estimator and combined estimator through extensive simulation studies. Our results indicate that performance of these estimators depends on the strength of homogeneity of the medians. When homogeneity holds, the combined estimator is the most efficient estimator. However, it becomes inconsistent when homogeneity fails. On the other hand, the proposed shrinkage estimator remains efficient. Its efficiency decreases as the equality of the survival medians is deviated, but is expected to be as good as or equal to the unrestricted estimator. Our simulation studies also indicate that the proposed shrinkage estimator is robust to moderate levels of censoring. We demonstrate application of these methods to estimating median time for trauma patients to receive red blood cells in the Prospective Observational Multi-center Major Trauma Transfusion (PROMMTT) study.

Living at Risk: Concealing Risk and Preserving Hope in Huntington Disease

PubMed Central

Sims, Sharon L.; Swenson, Melinda M.; Harrison, Joan M.; Moskowitz, Carol; Stepanov, Nonna; Suter, Gregory W.; Westphal, Beryl J.

2013-01-01

Much of the qualitative research on Huntington disease has focused on the genetic testing aspects of HD. The overall purpose of this qualitative study was to gather information about the everyday experience of living with the risk of developing Huntington disease in a sample of individuals at risk for HD who have chosen not to pursue genetic testing. Data for this article was obtained from unstructured, open-ended qualitative interviews of a sample of people participating in the PHAROS study. PHAROS, the Prospective Huntington At-Risk Observational Study, is a multi-site study that aims to establish whether experienced clinicians can reliably determine the earliest clinical symptoms of Huntington disease in individuals at 50% risk for HD who have chosen not to undergo genetic testing. Interviews were conducted at six PHAROS research sites across the United States. In this paper, the research team used qualitative description to construct and explore two main themes: (1) careful concealment of risk as an act of self-preservation and (2) preserving hope. PMID:17943424

Nonparametric estimation of median survival times with applications to multi-site or multi-center studies

PubMed Central

Choi, Sangbum; Hong, Chuan; Zhu, Liang; Jeon, Sangchoon; Gardiner, Joseph C.

2018-01-01

We propose a nonparametric shrinkage estimator for the median survival times from several independent samples of right-censored data, which combines the samples and hypothesis information to improve the efficiency. We compare efficiency of the proposed shrinkage estimation procedure to unrestricted estimator and combined estimator through extensive simulation studies. Our results indicate that performance of these estimators depends on the strength of homogeneity of the medians. When homogeneity holds, the combined estimator is the most efficient estimator. However, it becomes inconsistent when homogeneity fails. On the other hand, the proposed shrinkage estimator remains efficient. Its efficiency decreases as the equality of the survival medians is deviated, but is expected to be as good as or equal to the unrestricted estimator. Our simulation studies also indicate that the proposed shrinkage estimator is robust to moderate levels of censoring. We demonstrate application of these methods to estimating median time for trauma patients to receive red blood cells in the Prospective Observational Multi-center Major Trauma Transfusion (PROMMTT) study. PMID:29772007

Analytical recursive method to ascertain multisite entanglement in doped quantum spin ladders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roy, Sudipto Singha; Dhar, Himadri Shekhar; Rakshit, Debraj; SenDe, Aditi; Sen, Ujjwal

2017-08-01

We formulate an analytical recursive method to generate the wave function of doped short-range resonating valence bond (RVB) states as a tool to efficiently estimate multisite entanglement as well as other physical quantities in doped quantum spin ladders. We prove that doped RVB ladder states are always genuine multipartite entangled. Importantly, our results show that within specific doping concentration and model parameter regimes, the doped RVB state essentially characterizes the trends of genuine multiparty entanglement in the exact ground states of the Hubbard model with large on-site interactions, in the limit that yields the t -J Hamiltonian.

Becoming a Networked Public: Digital Ethnography, Youth and Global Research Collectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gallagher, Kathleen; Wessels, Anne; Ntelioglou, Burcu Yaman

2013-01-01

The following article describes a research context that has privileged both virtual and placed-based ethnographic fieldwork, using a hybrid methodology of live and digital communications across school sites in Toronto, Canada; Lucknow, India; Taipei, Taiwan; and Boston, USA. The multi-site ethnographic study is concerned with questions of school…

Entering the (Postgraduate) Field: Underrepresented Students' Acquisition of Cultural and Social Capital in Graduate School Preparation Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winkle-Wagner, Rachelle; McCoy, Dorian L.

2016-01-01

Examining the role of humanities graduate preparation programs in facilitating underrepresented undergraduate students' socialization to the field (social context) of graduate education, this critical multisite case study finds that these programs are crucial to bidirectional anticipatory socialization for graduate education, where one gains new…

Teachers' Beliefs on Inclusion and Teaching Students with Disabilities: A Representation of Diverse Voices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodge, Samuel R.; Sato, Takahiro; Samalot-Rivera, Amaury; Hersman, Bethany L.; LaMaster, Kathryn; Casebolt, Kevin M.; Ammah, Jonathan O. A.

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to analyze the beliefs of physical education teachers on teaching students with disabilities in inclusive classes. Participants were 29 physical education teachers from Ghana (Africa), Japan, the United States, and Puerto Rico. The research paradigm was qualitatively descriptive using a multisite interview design…

Effectiveness of Abstinence-Based Incentives: Interaction with Intake Stimulant Test Results

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stitzer, Maxine L.; Petry, Nancy; Peirce, Jessica; Kirby, Kimberly; Killeen, Therese; Roll, John; Hamilton, John; Stabile, Patricia Q.; Sterling, Robert; Brown, Chanda; Kolodner, Ken; Li, Rui

2007-01-01

Intake urinalysis test result (drug positive vs. negative) has been previously identified as a strong predictor of drug abuse treatment outcome, but there is little information about how this prognostic factor may interact with the type of treatment delivered. The authors used data from a multisite study of abstinence incentives for stimulant…

Campus Sustainability in Chinese Higher Education Institutions: Focuses, Motivations and Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lo, Kevin

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the focuses, motivations and challenges of achieving campus sustainability in Chinese higher education institutions (HEIs). Design/methodology/approach: A multisite case study was conducted in Changchun City, Jilin, where eight HEIs of various types were examined. Structured interviews with school…

Psychiatric Syndromes in Adolescents with Marijuana Abuse and Dependency in Outpatient Treatment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diamond, Guy; Panichelli-Mindel, Susan M.; Shera, David; Dennis, Mike; Tims, Frank; Ungemack, Jane

2006-01-01

Objective: The purpose of the current study to assist in understanding the prevalence and clinical correlates of psychiatric distress in adolescents seeking outpatient services for marijuana abuse or dependency. Methods: In a multi-site randomized clinical trial, 600 adolescents and their parents were assessed at intake using the Global Appraisals…

Understanding a Successful Implementation of Organizational Social Media: A Multi-Site Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lahman, Caroline D.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the successful implementation of social media strategies in multiple organizations. Examining the factors an organization used to implement social media can provide the understanding of the benefits and risks associated with this technology. Some businesses are considered successful using social…

Coping Strategies Title I Teachers Use to Manage Burnout and Stress: A Multisite Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeter, Lisa

2013-01-01

Teacher burnout contributes to poor psychological and physical health, absenteeism, early retirement, and leads to inadequate teacher performance with adverse outcomes in student learning and achievement. Effective coping skills have been proposed as possible protectors from the effects of burnout; therefore, examining teachers' coping resources…

Family-Based Genome-Wide Association Scan of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mick, Eric; Todorov, Alexandre; Smalley, Susan; Hu, Xiaolan; Loo, Sandra; Todd, Richard D.; Biederman, Joseph; Byrne, Deirdre; Dechairo, Bryan; Guiney, Allan; McCracken, James; McGough, James; Nelson, Stanley F.; Reiersen, Angela M.; Wilens, Timothy E.; Wozniak, Janet; Neale, Benjamin M.; Faraone, Stephen V.

2010-01-01

Objective: Genes likely play a substantial role in the etiology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, the genetic architecture of the disorder is unknown, and prior genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have not identified a genome-wide significant association. We have conducted a third, independent, multisite GWAS of…

Relationship between level of antibiotic use and resistance among Escherichia coli isolates from integrated multi-site cohorts of humans and swine

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The objective of this longitudinal ecological study was to examine the relationship between the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant (AR) commensal E. coli isolates from both monthly human wastewater and composite swine fecal samples, and the concurrent aggregated monthly antibiotic use recorded withi...

Personal Resources and Homelessness in Early Life: Predictors of Depression in Consumers of Homeless Multiservice Centers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeForge, Bruce R.; Belcher, John R.; O'Rourke, Michael; Lindsey, Michael A.

2008-01-01

This study explored the relationship between personal resources and previous adverse life events such as homelessness and depression. Participants were recruited from two church sponsored multisite social service centers in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The interview included demographics and several standardized scales to assess history of…

Traumatic Events among Undergraduate Students: Prevalence and Associated Symptoms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frazier, Patricia; Anders, Samantha; Perera, Sulani; Tennen, Howard; Tashiro, Ty; Park, Crystal; Tomich, Patricia

2009-01-01

This multisite study assessed the prevalence of exposure to traumatic events and associated symptoms among undergraduate students (N = 1,528) using online surveys. Most students (85%) reported having experienced a traumatic event in their lifetime (Time 1) and 21% reported experiencing an event over a 2-month period during college (Time 2). The…

Educational Reforms in Malta: A Missed Opportunity to Establish Distributed Governance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cutajar, Mario; Bezzina, Christopher; James, Chris

2013-01-01

This article critically analyses the current Maltese educational reform process, which aimed to transform educational governance in Malta from a centralized system to a more decentralized one. This longitudinal study adopted a multi-site inquiry of a sample of the colleges involving different stakeholders, including key policy-makers, college…

Organizational Development in Transition: The Schooling Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snyder, Karolyn J.; And Others

This paper presents the initial findings of a comprehensive 28-school multi-site case study, which sought to identify patterns in schools that are changing bureaucratic work patterns to those found in quality-management systems. The schools are located in Florida, Virginia, Minnesota, and Louisiana; all are led by principals who are trainers in…

Effects of Comprehensive School Reform on Student Achievement and School Change: A Longitudinal Multi-Site Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sterbinsky, Allan; Ross, Steven M.; Redfield, Doris

2006-01-01

The longitudinal impacts on school change and student achievement of implementing varied Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) models was investigated in 12 elementary schools in diverse geographic locations. Each school was individually matched and compared to a demographically similar control school on measures of school climate, teacher…

Bridging the Divide: Developing a Scholarly Habitus for Aspiring Graduate Students through Summer Bridge Programs Participation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCoy, Dorian L.; Winkle-Wagner, Rachelle

2015-01-01

This multisite case study explored the role of summer institutes in preparing Students of Color for doctoral programs. Bourdieu's social reproduction theory, particularly the concept of habitus, was employed as a theoretical framework to investigate how the participants further developed habitus (their dispositions, identities, and perspectives)…

Aggression in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and a Clinic-Referred Comparison Group

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farmer, Cristan; Butter, Eric; Mazurek, Micah O.; Cowan, Charles; Lainhart, Janet; Cook, Edwin H.; DeWitt, Mary Beth; Aman, Michael

2015-01-01

A gap exists in the literature regarding aggression in autism spectrum disorders and how this behavior compares to other groups. In this multisite study, the "Children's Scale for Hostility and Aggression: Reactive/Proactive" and the Aggression subscale of the "Child Behavior Checklist" were rated for 414 children with autism…

Levels and Growth of Specific and General Norms for Nonviolence among Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dymnicki, Allison B.; Antonio, Tiago; Henry, David B.

2011-01-01

This study examined the levels and growth of specific and general normative beliefs about nonviolence (called norms for nonviolence). The sample consisted of 1254 middle school students from four metropolitan areas who participated in the control condition of the Multisite Violence Prevention Project. We predicted that the association and…

Course and Severity of Maternal Depression: Associations with Family Functioning and Child Adjustment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foster, Cynthia Ewell; Webster, Melissa C.; Weissman, Myrna M.; Pilowsky, Daniel J.; Wickramaratne, Priya J.; Rush, A. John; Hughes, Carroll W.; Garber, Judy; Malloy, Erin; Cerda, Gabrielle; Kornstein, Susan G.; Alpert, Jonathan E.; Wisniewski, Stephen R.; Trivedi, Madhukar H.; Fava, Maurizio; King, Cheryl A.

2008-01-01

Number of lifetime episodes, duration of current episode, and severity of maternal depression were investigated in relation to family functioning and child adjustment. Participants were the 151 mother-child pairs in the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) child multi-site study. Mothers were diagnosed with Major…

Factors Contributing to the Attrition of Adult Basic and Secondary Education Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leonard, Rex; And Others

Attrition among students in adult basic and secondary education programs has been a perennial problem. Conducting research on this population is also problematic once they have dropped out of a program. A study surveyed 76 dropouts and 35 General Educational Development (GED) program completers from two large, multisite programs about factors…

Coordinated Community Response to Family Violence: The Role of Domestic Violence Service Organizations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malik, Neena M.; Ward, Kristin; Janczewski, Colleen

2008-01-01

There is increasing awareness that domestic violence (DV) and child maltreatment often overlap and that there are significant negative consequences to women and children who are victims in the same families. The present study contains data from a participatory evaluation of a multisite national demonstration project on family violence (the…

Evaluating Federal Social Programs: Finding out What Works and What Does Not

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muhlhausen, David B.

2012-01-01

Federal social programs are rarely evaluated to determine whether they are actually accomplishing their intended purposes. As part of its obligation to spend taxpayers' dollars wisely, Congress should mandate that experimental evaluations of every federal social program be conducted. The evaluations should be large-scale, multisite studies to…

Under What Assumptions Do Site-by-Treatment Instruments Identify Average Causal Effects?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reardon, Sean F.; Raudenbush, Stephen W.

2013-01-01

The increasing availability of data from multi-site randomized trials provides a potential opportunity to use instrumental variables methods to study the effects of multiple hypothesized mediators of the effect of a treatment. We derive nine assumptions needed to identify the effects of multiple mediators when using site-by-treatment interactions…

Outcome Evaluation of a Community Center-Based Program for Mothers at High Psychosocial Risk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodrigo, Maria Jose; Maiquez, Maria Luisa; Correa, Ana Delia; Martin, Juan Carlos; Rodriguez, Guacimara

2006-01-01

Objective: This study reported the outcome evaluation of the "Apoyo Personal y Familiar" (APF) program for poorly-educated mothers from multi-problem families, showing inadequate behavior with their children. APF is a community-based multi-site program delivered through weekly group meetings in municipal resource centers. Method: A total…

A multi-site recycled tire crumb rubber characterization study: recruitment strategy and field sampling approach

EPA Science Inventory

Recently, concerns have been raised by the public about the safety of tire crumb rubber infill used in synthetic turf fields. In response, the 2016 Federal Research Action Plan on Recycled Tire Crumb Used on Playing Fields and Playgrounds (FRAP) was developed to examine key envir...

Encouraged or Weeded Out: Perspectives of Students of Color in the STEM Disciplines on Faculty Interactions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCoy, Dorian L.; Luedke, Courtney L.; Winkle-Wagner, Rachelle

2017-01-01

For this multisite qualitative case study, framed in Bourdieu's social reproduction theory, we examined mentoring experiences among Students of Color majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines at both a predominantly White institution and a historically Black institution. Findings revealed that faculty served…

Stakeholder Perspectives on Creating and Maintaining Trust in Community--Academic Research Partnerships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frerichs, Leah; Kim, Mimi; Dave, Gaurav; Cheney, Ann; Hassmiller Lich, Kristen; Jones, Jennifer; Young, Tiffany L.; Cene, Crystal W.; Varma, Deepthi S.; Schaal, Jennifer; Black, Adina; Striley, Catherine W.; Vassar, Stefanie; Sullivan, Greer; Cottler, Linda B.; Brown, Arleen; Burke, Jessica G.; Corbie-Smith, Giselle

2017-01-01

Community-academic research partnerships aim to build stakeholder trust in order to improve the reach and translation of health research, but there is limited empirical research regarding effective ways to build trust. This multisite study was launched to identify similarities and differences among stakeholders' perspectives of antecedents to…

Becoming an Engineer in Public Universities: Pathways for Women and Minorities. Palgrave Studies in Urban Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borman, Kathryn M., Ed.; Tyson, Will, Ed.; Halperin, Rhoda H., Ed.

2010-01-01

Based on research conducted in a three-year, mixed-method, multi-site National Science Foundation, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program (STEP) Project, this book offers a comprehensive look into how engineering department culture and climate impacts the successful retention of female and under-represented…

Is a Response to Intervention (RTI) Approach to Preschool Language and Early Literacy Instruction Needed?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenwood, Charles R.; Carta, Judith J.; Atwater, Jane; Goldstein, Howard; Kaminski, Ruth; McConnell, Scott

2013-01-01

Preschool experience plays a role in children's development. However, for programs with language and early literacy goals, the question remains whether preschool instructional experiences are sufficiently effective to achieve these goals for all children. In a multisite study, the authors conducted a process-product description of preschool…

The Impact of Tutoring on Early Reading Achievement for Children with and without Attention Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rabiner, David L.; Malone, Patrick S.

2004-01-01

This study examined whether the benefits of reading tutoring in first grade were moderated by children's level of attention problems. Participants were 581 children from the intervention and control samples of Fast Track, a longitudinal multisite investigation of the development and prevention of conduct problems. Standardized reading achievement…

Using Meta-Regression to Explore Moderating Effects in Surveys of International Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benton, Tom

2014-01-01

This article demonstrates how meta-analytic techniques, that have typically been used to synthesize findings across numerous studies, can also be applied to examine the reasons why relationships between background characteristics and outcomes may vary across different locations in a single multi-site survey. This application is particularly…

Students' Experience of Synchronous Learning in Distributed Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, Anissa R.; Harlow, Danielle B.; DeBacco, Kim

2011-01-01

This article reports on a two-year ethnographic study of learners participating in multi-site, graduate-level education classes. Classes sometimes met face-to-face in the same physical location; at other times part of the class met physically elsewhere. Yet all were linked through the virtual space. Ethnographic analysis of four data types…

Do Parents Know Best? Examining the Relationship Between Parenting Profiles, Prevention Efforts, and Peak Drinking in College Students1

PubMed Central

Mallett, Kimberly A.; Turrisi, Rob; Ray, Anne E.; Stapleton, Jerod; Abar, Caitlin; Mastroleo, Nadine R.; Tollison, Sean; Grossbard, Joel; Larimer, Mary E.

2013-01-01

The study examined parent profiles among high school athletes transitioning to college and their association with high-risk drinking in a multi-site, randomized trial. Students (n = 587) were randomized to a control or combined parent-based and brief motivational intervention condition and completed measures at baseline and at 5- and 10-month follow-ups. Four parent profiles (authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, indifferent) were observed among participants. Findings indicated control participants with authoritarian parenting were at the greatest risk for heavy drinking. Alternately, students exposed to permissive or authoritarian parenting reported lower peak drinking when administered the combined intervention, compared to controls. Findings suggest the combined intervention was efficacious in reducing peak alcohol consumption among high-risk students based on athlete status and parenting profiles. PMID:24109150

Mobile Phone Use in Psychiatry Residents in the United States: Multisite Cross-Sectional Survey Study

PubMed Central

Torous, John; Boland, Robert; Conrad, Erich

2017-01-01

Background Mobile technology ownership in the general US population and medical professionals is increasing, leading to increased use in clinical settings. However, data on use of mobile technology by psychiatry residents remain unclear. Objective In this study, our aim was to provide data on how psychiatric residents use mobile phones in their clinical education as well as barriers relating to technology use. Methods An anonymous, multisite survey was given to psychiatry residents in 2 regions in the United States, including New Orleans and Boston, to understand their technology use. Results All participants owned mobile phones, and 79% (54/68) used them to access patient information. The majority do not use mobile phones to implement pharmacotherapy (62%, 42/68) or psychotherapy plans (90%, 61/68). The top 3 barriers to using mobile technology in clinical care were privacy concerns (56%, 38/68), lack of clinical guidance (40%, 27/68), and lack of evidence (29%, 20/68). Conclusions We conclude that developing a technology curriculum and engaging in research could address these barriers to using mobile phones in clinical practice. PMID:29092807

English and More: A Multisite Study of Roles and Conceptualisations of Language in English Medium Multilingual Universities from Europe to Asia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Will; Hüttner, Julia

2017-01-01

The rapid increase in English medium instruction (EMI) in higher education has resulted in the need for a greater evidence base documenting EMI in practice spanning a range of settings. Studies of EMI focusing on linguistic issues are beginning to emerge but there are few comparative studies looking at multiple sites, levels and stakeholders. In…

Evaluating Why and How the Teen Outreach Program Works: Years 3-5 of the Teen Outreach National Replication (1986/87-1988/89).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, Joseph P.; Philliber, Susan

An evaluative study was done of the Teen Outreach Program, a national, multi-site effort to reduce teenage pregnancy, school failure, and dropout. The study sought to identify the critical "active ingredients" of the program responsible for its success. The study was based on analyses of data collected at 114 different sites nationally,…

What Works in Gifted Education Mathematics Study: Impact of Pre-Differentiated and Enriched Curricula on General Education Teachers and Their Students. Research Monograph Series. RM13242

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gubbins, E. Jean; McCoach, D. Betsy; Foreman, Jennifer L.; Gilson, Cindy M.; Bruce-Davis, Micah N.; Rubenstein, Lisa DaVia; Savino, Jennifer; Rambo, Karen; Waterman, Craig

2013-01-01

The present study seeks to determine how exposure to pre-differentiated and enriched curricula incorporating educative curriculum materials affects students' achievement as well as teacher and administrator responses to the intervention. A 2-year multi-site cluster randomized control trial study recruited a national sample of 4,530 grade 3…

The impact of gender on treatment effectiveness of body psychotherapy for negative symptoms of schizophrenia: a secondary analysis of the NESS trial data

PubMed Central

Savill, Mark; Orfanos, Stavros; Bentall, Richard; Reininghaus, Ulrich; Wykes, Til; Priebe, Stefan

2016-01-01

Despite promising findings from small-scale studies suggesting that body psychotherapy may be an effective treatment for negative symptoms, these results were not replicated in a recent multisite trial. In this trial a far smaller proportion of women were recruited relative to earlier studies, which may be an issue given the gender mix of the sample evaluated has been found to affect trial outcomes in schizophrenia. Using data from our multisite trial, the interaction between gender and treatment allocation as a predictor of outcomes was examined in 275 participants (72 women and 203 men) randomised to either a body psychotherapy or Pilates group. Negative symptoms were found to significantly reduce in women randomised to the body psychotherapy condition in comparison to Pilates, while no such effect was detected in men. Consistent with the smaller trials, this improvement was found to relate predominantly to expressive deficits. These findings suggest that body psychotherapy may be an effective treatment for negative symptoms in women. These findings emphasise the importance of sample characteristics in determining trial outcome in psychological treatment studies. PMID:27871030

Significant Learning Experiences and Ignatian Pedagogy: A Case Study of Curricula, Academic Practices, and Graduate Outcomes in Jesuit Universities' Honors Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pampel, Robert

2017-01-01

This qualitative, multisite case study used Dee Fink's taxonomy of significant learning as a lens through which to examine the curricular structure, academic practices, and graduate outcomes for honors programs at Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States. Special attention was given to the distinctive quality of Ignatian pedagogy and…

Evaluation of the Teacher Incentive Fund: Final Report on Implementation and Impacts of Pay-for-Performance across Four Years: Executive Summary. NCEE 2018-4005

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chiang, Hanley; Speroni, Cecilia; Herrmann, Mariesa; Hallgren, Kristin; Burkander, Paul; Wellington, Alison

2017-01-01

The Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) provides grants to support performance-based compensation systems for teachers and principals in high-need schools. The study measures the impact of pay-for-performance bonuses as part of a comprehensive compensation system within a large, multisite random assignment study design. The treatment schools were to…

Evaluation of the Teacher Incentive Fund: Final Report on Implementation and Impacts of Pay-for-Performance across Four Years. NCEE 2018-4004

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chiang, Hanley; Speroni, Cecilia; Herrmann, Mariesa; Hallgren, Kristin; Burkander, Paul; Wellington, Alison

2017-01-01

The Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) provides grants to support performance-based compensation systems for teachers and principals in high-need schools. The study measures the impact of pay-for-performance bonuses as part of a comprehensive compensation system within a large, multisite random assignment study design. The treatment schools were to…

Evaluation of the Teacher Incentive Fund: Implementation and Early Impacts of Pay-for-Performance after One Year. Executive Summary. NCEE 2014-4020

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Max, Jeffrey; Constantine, Jill; Wellington, Alison; Hallgren, Kristin; Glazerman, Steven; Chiang, Hanley; Speroni, Cecilia

2014-01-01

The Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) provides grants to support performance-based compensation systems for teachers and principals in high-need schools. The study measures the impact of pay-for-performance bonuses as part of a comprehensive compensation system within a large, multisite random assignment study design. The treatment schools were to…

Machine Learning-Augmented Propensity Score-Adjusted Multilevel Mixed Effects Panel Analysis of Hands-On Cooking and Nutrition Education versus Traditional Curriculum for Medical Students as Preventive Cardiology: Multisite Cohort Study of 3,248 Trainees over 5 Years

PubMed Central

Dart, Lyn; Vanbeber, Anne; Smith-Barbaro, Peggy; Costilla, Vanessa; Samuel, Charlotte; Terregino, Carol A.; Abali, Emine Ercikan; Dollinger, Beth; Baumgartner, Nicole; Kramer, Nicholas; Seelochan, Alex; Taher, Sabira; Deutchman, Mark; Evans, Meredith; Ellis, Robert B.; Oyola, Sonia; Maker-Clark, Geeta; Budnick, Isadore; Tran, David; DeValle, Nicole; Shepard, Rachel; Chow, Erika; Petrin, Christine; Razavi, Alexander; McGowan, Casey; Grant, Austin; Bird, Mackenzie; Carry, Connor; McGowan, Glynis; McCullough, Colleen; Berman, Casey M.; Dotson, Kerri; Sarris, Leah; Harlan, Timothy S.; Co-investigators, on behalf of the CHOP

2018-01-01

Background Cardiovascular disease (CVD) annually claims more lives and costs more dollars than any other disease globally amid widening health disparities, despite the known significant reductions in this burden by low cost dietary changes. The world's first medical school-based teaching kitchen therefore launched CHOP-Medical Students as the largest known multisite cohort study of hands-on cooking and nutrition education versus traditional curriculum for medical students. Methods This analysis provides a novel integration of artificial intelligence-based machine learning (ML) with causal inference statistics. 43 ML automated algorithms were tested, with the top performer compared to triply robust propensity score-adjusted multilevel mixed effects regression panel analysis of longitudinal data. Inverse-variance weighted fixed effects meta-analysis pooled the individual estimates for competencies. Results 3,248 unique medical trainees met study criteria from 20 medical schools nationally from August 1, 2012, to June 26, 2017, generating 4,026 completed validated surveys. ML analysis produced similar results to the causal inference statistics based on root mean squared error and accuracy. Hands-on cooking and nutrition education compared to traditional medical school curriculum significantly improved student competencies (OR 2.14, 95% CI 2.00–2.28, p < 0.001) and MedDiet adherence (OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.07–1.84, p = 0.015), while reducing trainees' soft drink consumption (OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.37–0.85, p = 0.007). Overall improved competencies were demonstrated from the initial study site through the scale-up of the intervention to 10 sites nationally (p < 0.001). Discussion This study provides the first machine learning-augmented causal inference analysis of a multisite cohort showing hands-on cooking and nutrition education for medical trainees improves their competencies counseling patients on nutrition, while improving students' own diets. This study suggests that the public health and medical sectors can unite population health management and precision medicine for a sustainable model of next-generation health systems providing effective, equitable, accessible care beginning with reversing the CVD epidemic. PMID:29850526

Machine Learning-Augmented Propensity Score-Adjusted Multilevel Mixed Effects Panel Analysis of Hands-On Cooking and Nutrition Education versus Traditional Curriculum for Medical Students as Preventive Cardiology: Multisite Cohort Study of 3,248 Trainees over 5 Years.

PubMed

Monlezun, Dominique J; Dart, Lyn; Vanbeber, Anne; Smith-Barbaro, Peggy; Costilla, Vanessa; Samuel, Charlotte; Terregino, Carol A; Abali, Emine Ercikan; Dollinger, Beth; Baumgartner, Nicole; Kramer, Nicholas; Seelochan, Alex; Taher, Sabira; Deutchman, Mark; Evans, Meredith; Ellis, Robert B; Oyola, Sonia; Maker-Clark, Geeta; Dreibelbis, Tomi; Budnick, Isadore; Tran, David; DeValle, Nicole; Shepard, Rachel; Chow, Erika; Petrin, Christine; Razavi, Alexander; McGowan, Casey; Grant, Austin; Bird, Mackenzie; Carry, Connor; McGowan, Glynis; McCullough, Colleen; Berman, Casey M; Dotson, Kerri; Niu, Tianhua; Sarris, Leah; Harlan, Timothy S; Co-Investigators, On Behalf Of The Chop

2018-01-01

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) annually claims more lives and costs more dollars than any other disease globally amid widening health disparities, despite the known significant reductions in this burden by low cost dietary changes. The world's first medical school-based teaching kitchen therefore launched CHOP-Medical Students as the largest known multisite cohort study of hands-on cooking and nutrition education versus traditional curriculum for medical students. This analysis provides a novel integration of artificial intelligence-based machine learning (ML) with causal inference statistics. 43 ML automated algorithms were tested, with the top performer compared to triply robust propensity score-adjusted multilevel mixed effects regression panel analysis of longitudinal data. Inverse-variance weighted fixed effects meta-analysis pooled the individual estimates for competencies. 3,248 unique medical trainees met study criteria from 20 medical schools nationally from August 1, 2012, to June 26, 2017, generating 4,026 completed validated surveys. ML analysis produced similar results to the causal inference statistics based on root mean squared error and accuracy. Hands-on cooking and nutrition education compared to traditional medical school curriculum significantly improved student competencies (OR 2.14, 95% CI 2.00-2.28, p < 0.001) and MedDiet adherence (OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.07-1.84, p = 0.015), while reducing trainees' soft drink consumption (OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.37-0.85, p = 0.007). Overall improved competencies were demonstrated from the initial study site through the scale-up of the intervention to 10 sites nationally ( p < 0.001). This study provides the first machine learning-augmented causal inference analysis of a multisite cohort showing hands-on cooking and nutrition education for medical trainees improves their competencies counseling patients on nutrition, while improving students' own diets. This study suggests that the public health and medical sectors can unite population health management and precision medicine for a sustainable model of next-generation health systems providing effective, equitable, accessible care beginning with reversing the CVD epidemic.

Climate change impact assessment on flow regime by incorporating spatial correlation and scenario uncertainty

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vallam, P.; Qin, X. S.

2017-07-01

Flooding risk is increasing in many parts of the world and may worsen under climate change conditions. The accuracy of predicting flooding risk relies on reasonable projection of meteorological data (especially rainfall) at the local scale. The current statistical downscaling approaches face the difficulty of projecting multi-site climate information for future conditions while conserving spatial information. This study presents a combined Long Ashton Research Station Weather Generator (LARS-WG) stochastic weather generator and multi-site rainfall simulator RainSim (CLWRS) approach to investigate flow regimes under future conditions in the Kootenay Watershed, Canada. To understand the uncertainty effect stemming from different scenarios, the climate output is fed into a hydrologic model. The results showed different variation trends of annual peak flows (in 2080-2099) based on different climate change scenarios and demonstrated that the hydrological impact would be driven by the interaction between snowmelt and peak flows. The proposed CLWRS approach is useful where there is a need for projection of potential climate change scenarios.

EMERGEncy ID NET: Review of a 20-Year Multisite Emergency Department Emerging Infections Research Network

PubMed Central

Santibanez, Scott; Fischer, Leah S; Krishnadasan, Anusha; Sederdahl, Bethany; Merlin, Toby; Moran, Gregory J; Talan, David A; Mower, William; Sullivan, Matthew; Abrahamian, Fredrick M; Ong, Sam; Gross, Eric; Salhi, Bisan; Heilpern, Katherine; Hess, Jeremy; Karras, David; Biros, Michelle; Dunbar, Lala; Takhar, Sukhjit; Pollack, Charles; Runge, Jeffrey; Cheney, Paul; Rothrock, Stephen; O’Brian, John; Citron, Diane; Goldstein, Ellie; Finegold, Sydney; Nakase, Janet; Newdow, Michael; Merchant, Guy; Pathmarajah, Kavitha; Gonzalez, Eva; Mulrow, Mary; Bussman, Silas; Kalugdnan, Vernon; Peterson, Stephen; Pitts, Seth; Narayan, Kamil; Rubin, Ada; Kemble, Laurie; Beckham, Danielle; Neal, Niccole; Yagapen, Annick; Von Hofen, Carol; Hatala, Kathleen; Fuentes, Shelley; Sibley, Debbi; Colucci, Ashley; Hernandez, Jackeline; Cruse, Hope; Usher, Sarah; Hendrickson, Audrey; Dehnkamp, Kimberly; Zeglin, Britney; Jambaulikar, Guruprasad; Gorwitz, Rachel; Limbago, Brandi; Kuehnert, Matthew; Jarvis, William; Slutsker, Larry; Arvay, Melissa; Conn, Laura

2017-01-01

Abstract As providers of frontline clinical care for patients with acute and potentially life-threatening infections, emergency departments (EDs) have the priorities of saving lives and providing care quickly and efficiently. Although these facilities see a diversity of patients 24 hours per day and can collect prospective data in real time, their ability to conduct timely research on infectious syndromes is not well recognized. EMERGEncy ID NET is a national network that demonstrates that EDs can also collect data and conduct research in real time. This network collaborates with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other partners to study and address a wide range of infectious diseases and clinical syndromes. In this paper, we review selected highlights of EMERGEncy ID NET’s history from 1995 to 2017. We focus on the establishment of this multisite research network and the network’s collaborative research on a wide range of ED clinical topics. PMID:29670931

Did you know Medicare does not usually include a dental benefit? Findings from a multisite investigation of oral health literacy.

PubMed

Macek, Mark D; Atchison, Kathryn A; Wells, William; Haynes, Don; Parker, Ruth M; Chen, Haiyan

2017-03-01

Medicare does not usually include a dental benefit. Adults who are unaware of this fact risk unanticipated expenses after retirement. This report will explore the sociodemographic and oral health literacy determinants of this knowledge. Data came from the Multi-Site Oral Health Literacy Research Study, a survey of patients presenting to two university dental clinics. Sociodemographic descriptors included age, sex, race/ethnicity, education level, and dental insurance status. Oral health literacy was measured by the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine and Dentistry (REALM-D). Only 34 percent of respondents knew the correct answer to the Medicare question. Knowledge was significantly associated with age, race/ethnicity, education level (bivariate only), and REALM-D score. Policymakers and those assisting in Medicare enrollment should ensure information regarding dental coverage is communicated in ways that individuals of varying literacy, language, and culture understand what is necessary to make appropriate decisions. © 2017 American Association of Public Health Dentistry.

Can a workbook work? Examining whether a practitioner evaluation toolkit can promote instrumental use.

PubMed

Campbell, Rebecca; Townsend, Stephanie M; Shaw, Jessica; Karim, Nidal; Markowitz, Jenifer

2015-10-01

In large-scale, multi-site contexts, developing and disseminating practitioner-oriented evaluation toolkits are an increasingly common strategy for building evaluation capacity. Toolkits explain the evaluation process, present evaluation design choices, and offer step-by-step guidance to practitioners. To date, there has been limited research on whether such resources truly foster the successful design, implementation, and use of evaluation findings. In this paper, we describe a multi-site project in which we developed a practitioner evaluation toolkit and then studied the extent to which the toolkit and accompanying technical assistance was effective in promoting successful completion of local-level evaluations and fostering instrumental use of the findings (i.e., whether programs directly used their findings to improve practice, see Patton, 2008). Forensic nurse practitioners from six geographically dispersed service programs completed methodologically rigorous evaluations; furthermore, all six programs used the findings to create programmatic and community-level changes to improve local practice. Implications for evaluation capacity building are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multi-site Observations of Pulsation in the Accreting White Dwarf SDSS J161033.64-010223.3 (V386 Ser)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukadam, Anjum S.; Townsley, D. M.; Gänsicke, B. T.; Szkody, P.; Marsh, T. R.; Robinson, E. L.; Bildsten, L.; Aungwerojwit, A.; Schreiber, M. R.; Southworth, J.; Schwope, A.; For, B.-Q.; Tovmassian, G.; Zharikov, S. V.; Hidas, M. G.; Baliber, N.; Brown, T.; Woudt, P. A.; Warner, B.; O'Donoghue, D.; Buckley, D. A. H.; Sefako, R.; Sion, E. M.

2010-05-01

Non-radial pulsations in the primary white dwarfs of cataclysmic variables can now potentially allow us to explore the stellar interior of these accretors using stellar seismology. In this context, we conducted a multi-site campaign on the accreting pulsator SDSS J161033.64-010223.3 (V386 Ser) using seven observatories located around the world in 2007 May over a duration of 11 days. We report the best-fit periodicities here, which were also previously observed in 2004, suggesting their underlying stability. Although we did not uncover a sufficient number of independent pulsation modes for a unique seismological fit, our campaign revealed that the dominant pulsation mode at 609 s is an evenly spaced triplet. The even nature of the triplet is suggestive of rotational splitting, implying an enigmatic rotation period of about 4.8 days. There are two viable alternatives assuming the triplet is real: either the period of 4.8 days is representative of the rotation period of the entire star with implications for the angular momentum evolution of these systems, or it is perhaps an indication of differential rotation with a fast rotating exterior and slow rotation deeper in the star. Investigating the possibility that a changing period could mimic a triplet suggests that this scenario is improbable, but not impossible. Using time-series spectra acquired in 2009 May, we determine the orbital period of SDSS J161033.64-010223.3 to be 83.8 ± 2.9 minutes. Three of the observed photometric frequencies from our 2007 May campaign appear to be linear combinations of the 609 s pulsation mode with the first harmonic of the orbital period at 41.5 minutes. This is the first discovery of a linear combination between non-radial pulsation and orbital motion for a variable white dwarf.

What is the benefit of driving a hydrological model with data from a multi-site weather generator compared to data from a simple delta change approach?"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rössler, Ole; Keller, Denise; Fischer, Andreas

2016-04-01

In 2011 the Swiss national consortium C2SM providednew climate change scenarios were released in Switzerland that came with a comprehensive data set of temperature and precipitation changes under climate change conditions for every a large network of meteorological stations, and for aggregated as well as regions in across Switzerland. These climate change signals were generated for three emission scenarios and three different future time-periods and designed to be used asbased on a delta change factors approach. This data set proved to be very successful in Switzerland as many different users, researchers, private companies, and societal users were able to use and interpret the climate data set. Thus, a range of applications that are all based on the same climate data set enabled a comparable view on climate change impact in several disciplines. The main limitation and criticism to this data set was the usage of the delta change approach for downscaling as it comes with severe limitations such as underestimatinges changes in extreme values and neglecting changes in variability and changes in temporal sequencesneglecting changes in variability, be it year-to-year or day-to-day, and changes in temporal sequences . lacks a change in the day-to-day-variability. One way to overcome this the latter limitation is the usage of stochastic weather generators in a downscaling context. Weather generators are known to be one suitable downscaling technique, but A common limitation of most weather generators is the absence of spatial consistency rrelation in the generated daily time-series, resulting in an underestimation of areal means over several stations that are often low-biased. refer to one point scale (single-site) and lacks the spatial representation of weather. The latter A realistic representation of the inter-station correlation in the downscaled time-series This is of high particular importance in some impact studies, especially infor any hydrological impact studiesy. Recently, a multi-site weather generator was developed and tested for downscaling purposes over Switzerland. The weather generator is of type Richardson, that is run with spatially correlated random number streams to ensure spatial consistency. As a downside, multi-site weather generators are much more complex to develop, but they are a very promising alternative downscaling technique. A new multi-site-weather generator was developed for Switzerland in a previous study (Keller et al. 2014). In this study, we tested this new multi-site-weather generator against the "standard" delta change derived data in a hydrological impact assessment study that focused on runoff in the meso-scale catchment of the river Thur catchment. Two hydrological models of different complexity were run with the data sets under present (1980-2009) and under future conditions (2070-2099), assuming the SRES A1B emission2070-2100 scenario conditions. Eight meteorological stations were used to interpolate a meteorological field that served as input to calibrate and validate the two hydrological models against runoff. The downscaling intercomparison was done for We applied 10 GCM-RCM combinations simulations of the ENSEMBLES. In case of the weather generator, that allows for multiple synthetic realizations, we generated for which change factors for each station (delta change approach) were available and generated 25 realizations of multi-site weather. with each climate model projection. Results show that the delta change driven data constitutes only one appropriate representation compared to theof a bandwidth of runoff projections yielded by the multi-site weather generator data. Especially oOn average, differences between both the two approaches are small. Low and high runoff Runoff values to both extremes are however better reproduced with the weather generator driven data set. The stochastic representation of multiday rainfall events are considered as the main reason. Hence, tThere is a clear yet small added value to the delta change approach that in turn performs rather well. Although these small but considerable differences might questioning the need to construct a multi-site-weather generator with a huge effort, the potential and possibilities to further develop the multi-site weather generator is undoubted.

New multi-site observations of the delta Scuti stars BS and BT Cancri. Results of the STEPHI VII campaign on the Praesepe cluster

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hernandez, M. M.; Michel, E.; Belmonte, J. A.; Jiang, S. Y.; Alvarez, M.; Chevreton, M.; Paparo, M.; Kjeldsen, H.; Bauduin, D.; Fromage, J.; Goupil, M. J.; Li, Z. P.; Liu, Y. Y.; Mangeney, A.; Massacrier, G.; Ringot, O.; Cortes, T. Roca; Servan, B.; Vidal, I.

1998-09-01

New observations of BS and BT Cnc were performed during the STEPHI VII campaign in 1996 February. An overall run of 115 hours of data was collected. Different methods have been used to analyse the time series, bringing the detection of 2 frequencies for BT Cnc and 3 frequencies for BS Cnc above the 99% confidence level. A comparison with the literature reveals that the dominant mode of BT Cnc ( ~ 9.8 c/d) has kept excited over tens of years, while the secondary modes have not been the same all the time. However, during the very last years the two frequencies detected by us have been the only ones noticeably excited in the spectrum.

Development of a Lightweight, Portable, Minimally-Invasive Sensor for the Multi-Site Determination and Quantitation of Physiologic Lactate. Phase 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1996-10-01

P13. IS THIS PUNCTUATION CORRECT? (.01 mm diameter polyimide ) 304 stainless steel core single strand wire over which a sheath of conductive plastic...atmospheric to 500 torr 02 Dimensions 0.38 mm Shelf Life Not studied Leachable Chemicals None Biocompatibility In whole blood for 10 hours

Level 2 Screening with the PDD Behavior Inventory: Subgroup Profiles and Implications for Differential Diagnosis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cohen, Ira L.; Liu, Xudong; Hudson, Melissa; Gillis, Jennifer; Cavalari, Rachel N. S.; Romanczyk, Raymond G.; Karmel, Bernard Z.; Gardner, Judith M.

2017-01-01

The PDD Behavior Inventory (PDDBI) has recently been shown, in a large multisite study, to discriminate well between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other groups when its scores were examined using a machine learning tool, Classification and Regression Trees (CART). Discrimination was good for toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age children;…

Borderline Personality Traits and Intimate Partner Aggression: An International Multisite, Cross-Gender Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hines, Denise A.

2008-01-01

Although research has consistently shown that men and women use intimate partner aggression (IPA) at approximately equal rates, there is little empirical research on whether the predictors of IPA are the same for men and women. The current study investigated whether borderline personality (BP) differentially predicted the use of IPA for men and…

Church-Based ESL Adult Programs: Social Mediators for Empowering "Family Literacy Ecology of Communities"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chao, Xia; Mantero, Miguel

2014-01-01

This multi-sited ethnographic study examines the ways in which Latino and Asian immigrant parents' English learning through two church-based ESL programs in a Southeastern U.S. city affects their family literacy and home language practices. It demonstrates that the parents' participation in the programs is an empowering experience promoting ESL…

Parent and Peer Predictors of Physical Dating Violence Perpetration in Early Adolescence: Tests of Moderation and Gender Differences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Shari; Gorman-Smith, Deborah; Sullivan, Terri; Orpinas, Pamela; Simon, Thomas R.

2009-01-01

This study examined parenting and peer predictors of physical dating violence perpetration during early adolescence and tested moderation among these predictors and gender. Participants were 2,824 ethnically diverse sixth-grade students with a recent boyfriend/girlfriend who was part of a multisite, longitudinal investigation of the development…

Risk Factors and Neuropsychological Recovery in Clients with Alcohol Use Disorders Who Were Exposed to Different Treatments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bates, Marsha E.; Barry, Danielle; Labouvie, Erich W.; Fals-Stewart, William; Voelbel, Gerald; Buckman, Jennifer F.

2004-01-01

Risk covariates of neuropsychological ability (NA) at treatment entry and neuropsychological recovery (NR) across 15 months were examined and replicated in 2 samples (Ns = 952 and 774) from Project MATCH, a multisite study of alcoholism treatments. NA at treatment entry was associated with age, education, and other covariates. Statistically…

The Effects of Collaborative Strategic Reading Instruction on the Reading Comprehension of Middle School Students: Year 1

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mohammed, Sarojani S.; Swanson, Elizabeth; Roberts, Greg; Vaughn, Sharon; Klingner, Janette K.; Boardman, Alison Gould

2010-01-01

This project is a multi-site, multi-year study designed to test the efficacy of a fully developed intervention, Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR), with adolescent readers. In year 1, the research questions were: (1) "Does CSR improve reading comprehension for adolescent readers attending relatively low SES schools?"; and (2)…

Teaching in a Digital Age: How Educators Use Technology to Improve Student Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKnight, Katherine; O'Malley, Kimberly; Ruzic, Roxanne; Horsley, Maria Kelly; Franey, John J.; Bassett, Katherine

2016-01-01

A successful digital conversion for classrooms, districts, and states is not determined by the technology, but by how technology enables teaching and learning. The purpose of our multisite case study was to document digital instructional strategies teachers use to enhance and transform student learning, and align that use with learning research.…

Do Children's Advocacy Centers Improve Families' Experiences of Child Sexual Abuse Investigations?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Lisa M.; Cross, Theodore P.; Walsh, Wendy A.; Simone, Monique

2007-01-01

Objective: The Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) model of child abuse investigation is designed to be more child and family-friendly than traditional methods, but there have been no rigorous studies of their effect on children's and caregivers' experience. Data collected as part of the Multi-Site Evaluation of Children's Advocacy Centers were used…

Engaging High School Students as Co-Researchers in Qualitative Research: Logistical, Methodological and Ethical Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Dana L.; McVea, Kristine L. S. P.; Creswell, John W.; Harter, Lynn; Mickelson, William; McEntarffer, Rob

This paper explores six phases of a research project designed specifically to engage high school students as co-researchers in a multisite qualitative study exploring perceptions of tobacco use among high school students in four schools. It describes how university researchers collaborated with the high school students and summarizes seven major…

Constancy and Variability: Dialogic Literacy Events as Sites for Improvisation in Two 3rd-Grade Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jordan, Michelle E.; Santori, Diane

2015-01-01

This multisite study investigates dialogic literacy events that revolved around narrative and informational texts in two 3rd-grade classrooms. The authors offer a metaphor of musical improvisation to contemplate dialogic literacy events as part of the repertoire of teaching and learning experiences. In literacy learning, where there is much…

Multisite Randomized Controlled Trial Examining Intelligent Tutoring of Structure Strategy for Fifth-Grade Readers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wijekumar, Kausalai; Meyer, Bonnie J. F.; Lei, Pui-Wa; Lin, Yu-Chu; Johnson, Lori A.; Spielvogel, James A.; Shurmatz, Kathryn M.; Ray, Melissa; Cook, Michael

2014-01-01

This article reports on a large scale randomized controlled trial to study the efficacy of a web-based intelligent tutoring system for the structure strategy designed to improve content area reading comprehension. The research was conducted with 128 fifth-grade classrooms within 12 school districts in rural and suburban settings. Classrooms within…

The Effect of Art Therapy on Cognitive Performance among Ethnically Diverse Older Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pike, Amanda Alders

2013-01-01

This study examined the effect of art therapy on the cognitive performance of a multisite, ethnically diverse sample ("N" = 91) of older adults. Participants were recruited from several U.S. facilities that included a community center, a retirement center, an adult daycare, an assisted living facility, and a skilled nursing facility.…

Progressive Educational Practices and Environments in Sweden: Preparing Students to Live and Work in the Global Age

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nordgren, R. D.

2006-01-01

A multi-site case study of three Swedish schools examined the dimensions of trust, responsibility, shared power (democracy), and global workforce competence as required by a decade-old national education reforms. A key finding was the existence of progressive educational practices including constructivist epistemology, evidenced by the schools'…

Binge Drinking and Rape: A Prospective Examination of College Women with a History of Previous Sexual Victimization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCauley, Jenna L.; Calhoun, Karen S.; Gidycz, Christine A.

2010-01-01

The current study prospectively examined the longitudinal relationships between binge drinking behavior and rape experiences among a multisite sample of college women with a history of prior attempted or completed rape (N = 228). Rates of binge drinking among this high-risk sample were high. Prospective analyses indicated that binge drinking…

76 FR 51056 - Notice of Random Assignment Study To Evaluate the YouthBuild Program; Request for Comment

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-17

... assigned to the control group can re-apply to the YouthBuild program. The Department is soliciting comments... ``utilize appropriate methodology and research designs, including the use of control groups chosen by.... Accordingly, ETA is conducting a multisite control group evaluation to provide rigorous estimates [[Page 51058...

Does Recent Physical and Sexual Victimization Affect Further Substance Use for Adult Drug-Involved Offenders?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zweig, Janine M.; Yahner, Jennifer; Rossman, Shelli B.

2012-01-01

This study examined whether physical and sexual victimization experiences were related to further substance use for a sample of drug-involved adult offenders and whether this increase could be attributed to depression experienced after the victimization occurred. A total of 674 men and 284 women from the longitudinal Multisite Adult Drug Court…

The Meaning Students Make as Participants in Short-Term Immersion Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Susan R.; Rowan-Kenyon, Heather T.; Ireland, S. Mei-Yen; Niehaus, Elizabeth; Skendall, Kristan Cilente

2012-01-01

The purpose of this article is to present the results of a multi-site case study designed to investigate students' experiences as participants in four week-long immersion programs (New York City, Peru, the Czech Republic, Chicago). Results highlight the significance of the context of the trips and specific characteristics of the trip (e.g.,…

"I'm Tired. You Clean and Cook." Shifting Gender Identities and Second Language Socialization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gordon, Daryl

2004-01-01

Drawing on a multisite ethnographic study that spans educational, domestic, and workplace contexts in the United States and Laos, this article investigates the interplay between gender identity shifts and second language socialization, documenting the process by which working-class Lao women and men redefine gender identities in the United States.…

Challenging Segregational Practices in a Spanish Secondary School: Results from an Ethnographic Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanchez-Valero, Joan-Anton; Padilla-Petry, Paulo

2016-01-01

This article presents partial results of a multi-sited ethnographic study about the role of multiple literacies in young people's learning in and outside school. In one of the five participant secondary schools, fourth grade students were segregated in groups according to their special needs. We start with a critical review on segregated and…

"Contra La Corriente" (Against the Current): The Role of Latino Fathers in Family-School Engagement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quiñones, Sandra; Kiyama, Judy Marquez

2014-01-01

A community-based, multisite study using mixed methods examined the experiences and perspectives of Latino students and families in a low performing urban school district in New York State. This research project was spearheaded by a Latino Education Task Force which brought together multiple stakeholders in a collaborative effort to counteract…

Exploring the Establishment of the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer in Higher Education: A Multisite Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Eugene T., III

2015-01-01

Our nation is experiencing a demographic shift. The proportion of racial minorities will significantly increase during the next several decades. Higher education will similarly experience a demographic shift among its students. Institutions of higher education will have to navigate issues of multiculturalism on campus. Issues of diversity, equity…

Discussions That "Tickle Our Brains": Constructing Interpretations through Multiple Ethnographic Data-Sets

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lahelma, Elina; Lappalainen, Sirpa; Mietola, Reetta; Palmu, Tarja

2014-01-01

In this article, we discuss the usefulness of collaborative, multi-sited and cross-cultural ethnography. Giving three examples from our work, we suggest that it is possible to find new kinds of interpretations by joint reflections that draw from several studies with their own research questions. The cases presented discuss teachers' embodiment and…

Remission and Recovery in the Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS): Acute and Long-Term Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennard, Betsy D.; Silva, Susan G.; Tonev, Simon; Rohde, Paul; Hughes, Jennifer L.; Vitiello, Benedetto; Kratochvil, Christopher J.; Curry, John F.; Emslie, Graham J.; Reinecke, Mark; March, John

2009-01-01

The remission and recovery rates of adolescent patients with depression who were treated with fluoxetine, cognitive-behavioral therapy, their combination, and placebos were examined through a multisite clinical trial. It is concluded that most depressed adolescents who received such therapies achieved remission at the end of nine months.

Remission after Acute Treatment in Children and Adolescents with Anxiety Disorders: Findings from the CAMS

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ginsburg, Golda S.; Kendall, Philip C.; Sakolsky, Dara; Compton, Scott N.; Piacentini, John; Albano, Anne Marie; Walkup, John T.; Sherrill, Joel; Coffey, Kimberly A.; Rynn, Moira A.; Keeton, Courtney P.; McCracken, James T.; Bergman, Lindsey; Iyengar, Satish; Birmaher, Boris; March, John

2011-01-01

Objective: To report on remission rates in anxious youth who participated in the Child/Adolescent Anxiety Multimodal Study (CAMS). The CAMS, a multisite clinical trial, randomized 488 children and adolescents (ages 7-17 years; 79% Caucasian; 50% female) with separation, social, and/or generalized anxiety disorder to a 12-week treatment of…

Creating, Constructing, and Cultivating Professional Development within a Reggio-Inspired Early Childhood Education Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haigh, Karen M.

2009-01-01

The study examined the professional development system of an early childhood education program which was influenced by the Reggio Emilia Approach to early learning. This multi-site program thrived within low-income, inner-city communities of Chicago. Literature connected to the program's historical context of the Settlement House and the Reggio…

Effects of Check and Connect on Attendance, Behavior, and Academics: A Randomized Effectiveness Trial

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maynard, Brandy R.; Kjellstrand, Elizabeth K.; Thompson, Aaron M.

2014-01-01

Objectives: This study examined the effects of Check & Connect (C&C) on the attendance, behavior, and academic outcomes of at-risk youth in a field-based effectiveness trial. Method: A multisite randomized block design was used, wherein 260 primarily Hispanic (89%) and economically disadvantaged (74%) students were randomized to treatment…

The Role of Leadership in Starting and Operating Blended Learning Charter Schools: A Multisite Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agostini, Michael Eric

2013-01-01

Heavily utilizing both instructional technology and face-to-face instruction within a bricks-and-mortar school environment, blended learning charter schools are gaining attention as a cost-effective school design. As educators turn to these blended learning school models to improve both the operational efficiency and student outcomes of America's…

Challenges for a New Bilingual Program: Implementing the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme in Four Colombian Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lochmiller, Chad R.; Lucero, Audrey; Lester, Jessica Nina

2016-01-01

The International Baccalaureate (IB) has expanded in Latin America. Drawing from a larger multi-sited qualitative case study, we examined the challenges associated with the implementation of the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) in a Colombian and bilingual context. Findings highlight (1) the intersecting nature of challenges associated with the…

"The Only Mexican in the Room": "Sobrevivencia" as a Way of Knowing for Mexican Transnational Students and Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kasun, G. Sue

2015-01-01

Drawing upon multisited ethnographic case studies in the United States and Mexico, I demonstrate "sobrevivencia", a survivalist way of knowing of Mexican-origin families. Through an underdog mentality, family members persisted and sometimes thrived. However, the grittiness of the underdog mentality did not always work out. By…

The California All-sky Meteor Surveillance (CAMS) System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gural, P. S.

2011-01-01

A unique next generation multi-camera, multi-site video meteor system is being developed and deployed in California to provide high accuracy orbits of simultaneously captured meteors. Included herein is a description of the goals, concept of operations, hardware, and software development progress. An appendix contains a meteor camera performance trade study made for video systems circa 2010.

Multi-site evaluation of APEX for crop and grazing land in the Heartland region of the US

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Agricultural and Policy Environmental Extender (APEX) is powerful and useful to estimate the edge-of-field impacts of management practices. A drawback is that it needs to be calibrated for each site, which requires resources and data. The objective of this study was to compare annual model perfo...

CHERISH (collaboration for hospitalised elders reducing the impact of stays in hospital): protocol for a multi-site improvement program to reduce geriatric syndromes in older inpatients.

PubMed

Mudge, Alison M; Banks, Merrilyn D; Barnett, Adrian G; Blackberry, Irene; Graves, Nicholas; Green, Theresa; Harvey, Gillian; Hubbard, Ruth E; Inouye, Sharon K; Kurrle, Sue; Lim, Kwang; McRae, Prue; Peel, Nancye M; Suna, Jessica; Young, Adrienne M

2017-01-09

Older inpatients are at risk of hospital-associated geriatric syndromes including delirium, functional decline, incontinence, falls and pressure injuries. These contribute to longer hospital stays, loss of independence, and death. Effective interventions to reduce geriatric syndromes remain poorly implemented due to their complexity, and require an organised approach to change care practices and systems. Eat Walk Engage is a complex multi-component intervention with structured implementation, which has shown reduced geriatric syndromes and length of stay in pilot studies at one hospital. This study will test effectiveness of implementing Eat Walk Engage using a multi-site cluster randomised trial to inform transferability of this intervention. A hybrid study design will evaluate the effectiveness and implementation strategy of Eat Walk Engage in a real-world setting. A multisite cluster randomised study will be conducted in 8 medical and surgical wards in 4 hospitals, with one ward in each site randomised to implement Eat Walk Engage (intervention) and one to continue usual care (control). Intervention wards will be supported to develop and implement locally tailored strategies to enhance early mobility, nutrition, and meaningful activities. Resources will include a trained, mentored facilitator, audit support, a trained healthcare assistant, and support by an expert facilitator team using the i-PARIHS implementation framework. Patient outcomes and process measures before and after intervention will be compared between intervention and control wards. Primary outcomes are any hospital-associated geriatric syndrome (delirium, functional decline, falls, pressure injuries, new incontinence) and length of stay. Secondary outcomes include discharge destination; 30-day mortality, function and quality of life; 6 month readmissions; and cost-effectiveness. Process measures including patient interviews, activity mapping and mealtime audits will inform interventions in each site and measure improvement progress. Factors influencing the trajectory of implementation success will be monitored on implementation wards. Using a hybrid design and guided by an explicit implementation framework, the CHERISH study will establish the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and transferability of a successful pilot program for improving care of older inpatients, and identify features that support successful implementation. ACTRN12615000879561 registered prospectively 21/8/2015.

Mental Health and Behavioral Problems of Youth in the Child Welfare System: Residential Treatment Centers Compared to Therapeutic Foster Care in the Odyssey Project Population

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Amy J. L.; Kurland, David; Curtis, Patrick; Alexander, Gina; Papa-Lentini, Cynthia

2007-01-01

This is the first multisite, prospective study of behavioral and mental health disorders of youth in residential treatment centers (RTC) and therapeutic foster care (TFC), and the first study to compare the two. This study addressed two questions in a sample of 22 agencies in 13 states: (1) how prevalent were emotional and behavioral disorders in…

The work of commissioning: a multisite case study of healthcare commissioning in England's NHS

PubMed Central

Shaw, Sara E; Smith, Judith A; Porter, Alison; Rosen, Rebecca; Mays, Nicholas

2013-01-01

Objective To examine the work of commissioning care for people with long-term conditions and the factors inhibiting or facilitating commissioners making service change. Design Multisite mixed methods case study research, combining qualitative analysis of interviews, documents and observation of meetings. Participants Primary care trust managers and clinicians, general practice-based commissioners, National Health Service trust and foundation trust senior managers and clinicians, voluntary sector and local government representatives. Setting Three ‘commissioning communities’ (areas covered by a primary care trust) in England, 2010–2012. Results Commissioning services for people with long-term conditions was a long drawn-out process involving a range of activities and partners. Only some of the activities undertaken by commissioners, such as assessment of local health needs, coordination of healthcare planning and service specification, appeared in the official ‘commissioning cycle’ promoted by the Department of Health. Commissioners undertook a significant range of additional activities focused on reviewing and redesigning services and providing support for implementation of new services. These activities often involved partnership working with providers and other stakeholders and appeared to be largely divorced from contracting and financial negotiations. At least for long-term condition services, the time and effort involved in such work appeared to be disproportionate to the anticipated or likely service gains. Commissioners adopting an incremental approach to service change in defined and manageable areas of work appeared to be more successful in terms of delivering planned changes in service delivery than those attempting to bring about wide-scale change across complex systems. Conclusions Commissioning for long-term condition services challenges the conventional distinction between commissioners and providers with a significant amount of work focused on redesigning services in partnership with providers. Such work is labour-intensive and potentially unsustainable at a time of reduced finances. New clinical commissioning groups will need to determine how best to balance the relational and transactional elements of commissioning. PMID:24014483

Food security is related to adult type 2 diabetes control over time in a United States safety net primary care clinic population.

PubMed

Shalowitz, M U; Eng, J S; McKinney, C O; Krohn, J; Lapin, B; Wang, C-H; Nodine, E

2017-05-15

Successful Type 2 diabetes management requires adopting a high nutrient-density diet made up of food items that both meet dietary needs and preferences and can be feasibly obtained on a regular basis. However, access to affordable, nutrient-dense foods often is lacking in poorer neighbourhoods. Therefore, low food security should directly impair glucose control, even when patients have full access to and utilize comprehensive medical management. The present study sought to determine whether food security is related longitudinally to glucose control, over-and-above ongoing medication management, among Type 2 diabetes patients receiving comprehensive care at a Midwestern multi-site federally qualified health centre (FQHC). In this longitudinal observational study, we completed a baseline assessment of patients' food security (using the US Household Food Security Module), demographics (via Census items), and diabetes history/management (using a structured clinical encounter form) when patients began receiving diabetes care at the health centre. We then recorded those patients' A1C levels several times during a 24-month follow-up period. Three hundred and ninety-nine patients (56% with low food security) had a baseline A1c measurement; a subsample of 336 (median age=52 years; 56% female; 60% Hispanic, 27% African American, and 9% White) also had at least one follow-up A1c measurement. Patients with lower (vs higher) food security were more likely to be on insulin and have higher A1c levels at baseline. Moreover, the disparity in glucose control by food security status persisted throughout the next 2 years. Although results were based on one multi-site FQHC, potentially limiting their generalizability, they seem to suggest that among Type 2 diabetes patients, low food security directly impairs glucose control-even when patients receive full access to comprehensive medical management-thereby increasing their long-term risks of high morbidity, early mortality, and high health-care utilization and cost.

Methods for using clinical laboratory test results as baseline confounders in multi-site observational database studies when missing data are expected.

PubMed

Raebel, Marsha A; Shetterly, Susan; Lu, Christine Y; Flory, James; Gagne, Joshua J; Harrell, Frank E; Haynes, Kevin; Herrinton, Lisa J; Patorno, Elisabetta; Popovic, Jennifer; Selvan, Mano; Shoaibi, Azadeh; Wang, Xingmei; Roy, Jason

2016-07-01

Our purpose was to quantify missing baseline laboratory results, assess predictors of missingness, and examine performance of missing data methods. Using the Mini-Sentinel Distributed Database from three sites, we selected three exposure-outcome scenarios with laboratory results as baseline confounders. We compared hazard ratios (HRs) or risk differences (RDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) from models that omitted laboratory results, included only available results (complete cases), and included results after applying missing data methods (multiple imputation [MI] regression, MI predictive mean matching [PMM] indicator). Scenario 1 considered glucose among second-generation antipsychotic users and diabetes. Across sites, glucose was available for 27.7-58.9%. Results differed between complete case and missing data models (e.g., olanzapine: HR 0.92 [CI 0.73, 1.12] vs 1.02 [0.90, 1.16]). Across-site models employing different MI approaches provided similar HR and CI; site-specific models provided differing estimates. Scenario 2 evaluated creatinine among individuals starting high versus low dose lisinopril and hyperkalemia. Creatinine availability: 44.5-79.0%. Results differed between complete case and missing data models (e.g., HR 0.84 [CI 0.77, 0.92] vs. 0.88 [0.83, 0.94]). HR and CI were identical across MI methods. Scenario 3 examined international normalized ratio (INR) among warfarin users starting interacting versus noninteracting antimicrobials and bleeding. INR availability: 20.0-92.9%. Results differed between ignoring INR versus including INR using missing data methods (e.g., RD 0.05 [CI -0.03, 0.13] vs 0.09 [0.00, 0.18]). Indicator and PMM methods gave similar estimates. Multi-site studies must consider site variability in missing data. Different missing data methods performed similarly. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Parameter identification of the SWAT model on the BANI catchment (West Africa) under limited data condition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaibou Begou, Jamilatou; Jomaa, Seifeddine; Benabdallah, Sihem; Rode, Michael

2015-04-01

Due to the climate change, drier conditions have prevailed in West Africa, since the seventies, and the consequences are important on water resources. In order to identify and implement management strategies of adaptation to climate change in the sector of water, it is crucial to improve our physical understanding of water resources evolution in the region. To this end, hydrologic modelling is an appropriate tool for flow predictions under changing climate and land use conditions. In this study, the applicability and performance of the recent version of Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT2012) model were tested on the Bani catchment in West Africa under limited data condition. Model parameters identification was also tested using one site and multisite calibration approaches. The Bani is located in the upper part of the Niger River and drains an area of about 101, 000 km2 at the outlet of Douna. The climate is tropical, humid to semi-arid from the South to the North with an average annual rainfall of 1050 mm (period 1981-2000). Global datasets were used for the model setup such as: USGS hydrosheds DEM, USGS LCI GlobCov2009 and the FAO Digital Soil Map of the World. Daily measured rainfall from nine rain gauges and maximum and minimum temperature from five weather stations covering the period 1981-1997 were used for model setup. Sensitivity analysis, calibration and validation are performed within SWATCUP using GLUE procedure at Douna station first (one site calibration), then at three additional internal stations, Bougouni, Pankourou and Kouoro1 (multi-site calibration). Model parameters were calibrated at daily time step for the period 1983-1992, then validated for the period 1993-1997. A period of two years (1981-1982) was used for model warming up. Results of one-site calibration showed that the model performance is evaluated by 0.76 and 0.79 for Nash-Sutcliffe (NS) and correlation coefficient (R2), respectively. While for the validation period the performance improved considerably with NS and R2 equal to 0.84 and 0.87, respectively. The degree of total uncertainties is quantified by a minimum P-factor of 0.61 and a maximum R-factor of 0.59. These statistics suggest that the model performance can be judged as very good, especially considering limited data condition and high climate, land use and soil variability in the studied basin. The most sensitive parameters (CN2, OVN and SLSUBBSN) are related to surface runoff reflecting the dominance of this process on the streamflow generation. In the next step, multisite calibration approach will be performed on the BANI basin to assess how much additional observations improve the model parameter identification.

"We Could Think of Things That Could Be Science": Girls' Re-Figuring of Science in an Out-Of-School-Time Club

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gonsalves, Allison; Rahm, Jrène; Carvalho, Alice

2013-01-01

Grounded in sociocultural theory, this study explores how the figured world of science is reworked through a series of multi-media activities that were introduced into a girls-only conversation club in an after school program for Teens. The study is part of a multi-sited ethnography in which we explored youths' engagement with science within…

Quantifying Variation in Head Start Effects on Young Children's Cognitive and Socio-Emotional Skills Using Data from the National Head Start Impact Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bloom, Howard S.; Weiland, Christina

2015-01-01

This paper uses data from the Head Start Impact Study (HSIS), a nationally representative multisite randomized trial, to quantify variation in effects of Head Start during 2002-2003 on children's cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes relative to the effects of other local alternatives, including parent care. We find that (1) treatment and control…

Childhood Sexual Abuse Patterns, Psychosocial Correlates, and Treatment Outcomes among Adults in Drug Abuse Treatment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boles, Sharon M.; Joshi, Vandana; Grella, Christine; Wellisch, Jean

2005-01-01

This study reports on the effects of having a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on treatment outcomes among substance abusing men and women (N = 2,434) in a national, multisite study of drug treatment outcomes. A history of CSA was reported by 27.2% of the women and 9.2% of the men. Controlling for gender, compared to patients without CSA,…

Internal Consistency and Associated Characteristics of Informant Discrepancies in Clinic Referred Youths Age 11 to 17 Years

PubMed Central

De Los Reyes, Andres; Youngstrom, Eric A.; Pabón, Shairy C.; Youngstrom, Jennifer K.; Feeny, Norah C.; Findling, Robert L.

2011-01-01

In this study, we examined the internal consistency of informant discrepancies in reports of youth behavior and emotional problems and their unique relations with youth, caregiver, and family characteristics. In a heterogeneous multisite clinic sample of 420 youths (ages 11 to 17 years), high internal consistency estimates were observed across measures of informant discrepancies. Further, latent profile analyses identified systematic patterns of discrepancies, characterized by their magnitude and direction (i.e., which informant reported greater youth problems). Additionally, informant discrepancies systematically and uniquely related to informants' own perspectives of youth mood problems, and these relations remained significant after taking into account multiple informants' reports of informant characteristics widely known to relate to informant discrepancies. These findings call into the question the prevailing view of informant discrepancies as indicative of unreliability and/or bias on the part of informants' reports of youths' behavior. PMID:21229442

Multisite two-photon imaging of neurons on multielectrode arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potter, Steve M.; Lukina, Natalia; Longmuir, Kenneth J.; Wu, Yan

2001-04-01

We wish to understand how neural systems store, recall, and process information. We are using cultured networks of cortical neurons grown on microelectrode arrays as a model system for studying the emergent properties of ensembles of living neurons. We have developed a 2-way communication interface between the cultured network and a computer- generated animal, the Neurally Controlled Animat. Neural activity is used to control the behavior of the Animat, and 2- photon time-lapse imaging is carried out in order to observe the morphological changes that might underlie changes in neural processing. The 2-photon microscope is ideal for repeated imaging over hours or days, with submicron resolution and little photodamage. We have designed a computer-controlled microscope stage that allows imaging several locations in sequence, in order to collect more image data. For the latest progress, see: http://www.caltech.edu/~pinelab/PotterGroup.htm.

Multi-site recording and spectral analysis of spontaneous photon emission from human body.

PubMed

Wijk, Eduard P A Van; Wijk, Roeland Van

2005-04-01

In the past years, research on ultraweak photon emission (UPE) from human body has increased for isolated cells and tissues. However, there are only limited data on UPE from the whole body, in particular from the hands. To describe a protocol for the management of subjects that (1) avoids interference with light-induced longterm delayed luminescence, and (2) includes the time slots for recording photon emission. The protocol was utilised for multi-site recording of 4 subjects at different times of the day and different seasons, and for one subject to complete spectral analysis of emission from different body locations. An especially selected low-noise end-window photomultiplier was utilised for the detection of ultraviolet / visible light (200-650 nm) photon emission. For multi-site recording it was manipulated in three directions in a darkroom with a very low count rate. A series of cut-off filters was used for spectral analysis of UPE. 29 body sites were selected such that the distribution in UPE could be studied as right-left symmetry, dorsal-ventral symmetry, and the ratio between the central body part and extremities. Generally, the fluctuation in photon counts over the body was lower in the morning than in the afternoon. The thorax-abdomen region emitted lowest and most constantly. The upper extremities and the head region emitted most and increasingly over the day. Spectral analysis of low, intermediate and high emission from the superior frontal part of the right leg, the forehead and the palms in the sensitivity range of the photomultiplier showed the major spontaneous emission at 470-570 nm. The central palm area of hand emission showed a larger contribution of the 420-470 nm range in the spectrum of spontaneous emission from the hand in autumn/winter. The spectrum of delayed luminescence from the hand showed major emission in the same range as spontaneous emission. Examples of multi-site UPE recordings and spectral analysis revealed individual patterns and dynamics of spontaneous UPE over the body, and spectral differences over the body. The spectral data suggest that measurements might well provide quantitative data on the individual pattern of peroxidative and anti-oxidative processes in vivo. We expect that the measurements provide physiological information that can be useful in clinical examination.

Connecting Smartphone and Wearable Fitness Tracker Data with a Nationally Used Electronic Health Record System for Diabetes Education to Facilitate Behavioral Goal Monitoring in Diabetes Care: Protocol for a Pragmatic Multi-Site Randomized Trial

PubMed Central

Coleman, Deidra Carroll; Kanter, Justin; Ummer, Brad; Siminerio, Linda

2018-01-01

Background Mobile and wearable technology have been shown to be effective in improving diabetes self-management; however, integrating data from these technologies into clinical diabetes care to facilitate behavioral goal monitoring has not been explored. Objective The objective of this paper is to report on a study protocol for a pragmatic multi-site trial along with the intervention components, including the detailed connected health interface. This interface was developed to integrate patient self-monitoring data collected from a wearable fitness tracker and its companion smartphone app to an electronic health record system for diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) to facilitate behavioral goal monitoring. Methods A 3-month multi-site pragmatic clinical trial was conducted with eligible patients with diabetes mellitus from DSMES programs. The Chronicle Diabetes system is currently freely available to diabetes educators through American Diabetes Association–recognized DSMES programs to set patient nutrition and physical activity goals. To integrate the goal-setting and self-monitoring intervention into the DSMES process, a connected interface in the Chronicle Diabetes system was developed. With the connected interface, patient self-monitoring information collected from smartphones and wearable fitness trackers can facilitate educators’ monitoring of patients’ adherence to their goals. Feasibility outcomes of the 3-month trial included hemoglobin A1c levels, weight, and the usability of the connected system. Results An interface designed to connect data from a wearable fitness tracker with a companion smartphone app for nutrition and physical activity self-monitoring into a diabetes education electronic health record system was successfully developed to enable diabetes educators to facilitate goal setting and monitoring. A total of 60 eligible patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were randomized into either group 1) standard diabetes education or 2) standard education enhanced with the connected system. Data collection for the 3-month pragmatic trial is completed. Data analysis is in progress. Conclusions If results of the pragmatic multi-site clinical trial show preliminary efficacy and usability of the connected system, a large-scale implementation trial will be conducted. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02664233; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02664233 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6yDEwXHo5) PMID:29610111

Multisite evaluation of environmental cleanliness of high-touch surfaces in intensive care unit patient rooms.

PubMed

Hopman, Joost; Donskey, Curtis J; Boszczowski, Icaro; Alfa, Michelle J

2018-05-23

The efficacy of discharge cleaning and disinfection of high-touch surfaces of intensive care unit patient rooms in Brazil, Canada, the Netherlands, and the United States was evaluated and the effect of an educational intervention was determined. Significant site-to-site differences in cleaning regimens and baseline cleanliness levels were observed using ATP levels, colony-forming units, and reflective surface marker removal percent pass rates. An educational intervention that includes rapid feedback of the ATP measurements could significantly improve the quality of the cleaning and disinfection regimens. Copyright © 2018 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. All rights reserved.

A mechanistic modeling and data assimilation framework for Mojave Desert ecohydrology

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ng, Gene-Hua Crystal.; Bedford, David; Miller, David

2014-01-01

This study demonstrates and addresses challenges in coupled ecohydrological modeling in deserts, which arise due to unique plant adaptations, marginal growing conditions, slow net primary production rates, and highly variable rainfall. We consider model uncertainty from both structural and parameter errors and present a mechanistic model for the shrub Larrea tridentata (creosote bush) under conditions found in the Mojave National Preserve in southeastern California (USA). Desert-specific plant and soil features are incorporated into the CLM-CN model by Oleson et al. (2010). We then develop a data assimilation framework using the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) to estimate model parameters based on soil moisture and leaf-area index observations. A new implementation procedure, the “multisite loop EnKF,” tackles parameter estimation difficulties found to affect desert ecohydrological applications. Specifically, the procedure iterates through data from various observation sites to alleviate adverse filter impacts from non-Gaussianity in small desert vegetation state values. It also readjusts inconsistent parameters and states through a model spin-up step that accounts for longer dynamical time scales due to infrequent rainfall in deserts. Observation error variance inflation may also be needed to help prevent divergence of estimates from true values. Synthetic test results highlight the importance of adequate observations for reducing model uncertainty, which can be achieved through data quality or quantity.

Identifying seizure clusters in patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures.

PubMed

Baird, Grayson L; Harlow, Lisa L; Machan, Jason T; Thomas, Dave; LaFrance, W C

2017-08-01

The present study explored how seizure clusters may be defined for those with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES), a topic for which there is a paucity of literature. The sample was drawn from a multisite randomized clinical trial for PNES; seizure data are from participants' seizure diaries. Three possible cluster definitions were examined: 1) common clinical definition, where ≥3 seizures in a day is considered a cluster, along with two novel statistical definitions, where ≥3 seizures in a day are considered a cluster if the observed number of seizures statistically exceeds what would be expected relative to a patient's: 1) average seizure rate prior to the trial, 2) observed seizure rate for the previous seven days. Prevalence of clusters was 62-68% depending on cluster definition used, and occurrence rate of clusters was 6-19% depending on cluster definition. Based on these data, clusters seem to be common in patients with PNES, and more research is needed to identify if clusters are related to triggers and outcomes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for major depression: a multisite, naturalistic, observational study of quality of life outcome measures in clinical practice.

PubMed

Janicak, Philip G; Dunner, David L; Aaronson, Scott T; Carpenter, Linda L; Boyadjis, Terrence A; Brock, David G; Cook, Ian A; Lanocha, Karl; Solvason, Hugh B; Bonneh-Barkay, Dafna; Demitrack, Mark A

2013-12-01

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is an effective and safe therapy for major depressive disorder (MDD). This study assessed quality of life (QOL) and functional status outcomes for depressed patients after an acute course of TMS. Forty-two, U.S.-based, clinical TMS practice sites treated 307 outpatients with a primary diagnosis of MDD and persistent symptoms despite prior adequate antidepressant pharmacotherapy. Treatment parameters were based on individual clinical considerations and followed the labeled procedures for use of the approved TMS device. Patient self-reported QOL outcomes included change in the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the EuroQol 5-Dimensions (EQ-5D) ratings from baseline to end of the acute treatment phase. Statistically significant improvement in functional status on a broad range of mental health and physical health domains was observed on the SF-36 following acute TMS treatment. Similarly, statistically significant improvement in patient-reported QOL was observed on all domains of the EQ-5D and on the General Health Perception and Health Index scores. Improvement on these measures was observed across the entire range of baseline depression symptom severity. These data confirm that TMS is effective in the acute treatment of MDD in routine clinical practice settings. This symptom benefit is accompanied by statistically and clinically meaningful improvements in patient-reported QOL and functional status outcomes.

Recruitment and accrual of women in a placebo-controlled clinical pilot study on manual therapy.

PubMed

Cambron, Jerrilyn A; Hawk, Cheryl; Evans, Roni; Long, Cynthia R

2004-06-01

To investigate the accrual rates and recruitment processes among 3 Midwestern sites during a pilot study on manual therapy for chronic pelvic pain. Multisite pilot study for a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Three chiropractic institutions in or near major metropolitan cities in the Midwestern United States. Thirty-nine women aged 18 to 45 with chronic pelvic pain of at least 6 months duration, diagnosed by a board certified gynecologist. The method of recruitment was collected for each individual who responded to an advertisement and completed an interviewer-administered telephone screen. Participants who were willing and eligible after 3 baseline visits were entered into a randomized clinical trial. The number of responses and accrual rates were determined for the overall study, each of the 3 treatment sites, and each of the 5 recruitment efforts. In this study, 355 women were screened over the telephone and 39 were randomized, making the rate of randomization approximately 10%. The most effective recruitment methods leading to randomization were direct mail (38%) and radio advertisements (34%). However, success of the recruitment process differed by site. Based on the accrual of this multisite pilot study, a full-scale trial would not be feasible using this study's parameters. However, useful information was gained on recruitment effectiveness, eligibility criteria, and screening protocols among the 3 metropolitan sites.

Genetic Parameters and the Impact of Off-Types for Theobroma cacao L. in a Breeding Program in Brazil

PubMed Central

DuVal, Ashley; Gezan, Salvador A.; Mustiga, Guiliana; Stack, Conrad; Marelli, Jean-Philippe; Chaparro, José; Livingstone, Donald; Royaert, Stefan; Motamayor, Juan C.

2017-01-01

Breeding programs of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) trees share the many challenges of breeding long-living perennial crops, and genetic progress is further constrained by both the limited understanding of the inheritance of complex traits and the prevalence of technical issues, such as mislabeled individuals (off-types). To better understand the genetic architecture of cacao, in this study, 13 years of phenotypic data collected from four progeny trials in Bahia, Brazil were analyzed jointly in a multisite analysis. Three separate analyses (multisite, single site with and without off-types) were performed to estimate genetic parameters from statistical models fitted on nine important agronomic traits (yield, seed index, pod index, % healthy pods, % pods infected with witches broom, % of pods other loss, vegetative brooms, diameter, and tree height). Genetic parameters were estimated along with variance components and heritabilities from the multisite analysis, and a trial was fingerprinted with low-density SNP markers to determine the impact of off-types on estimations. Heritabilities ranged from 0.37 to 0.64 for yield and its components and from 0.03 to 0.16 for disease resistance traits. A weighted index was used to make selections for clonal evaluation, and breeding values estimated for the parental selection and estimation of genetic gain. The impact of off-types to breeding progress in cacao was assessed for the first time. Even when present at <5% of the total population, off-types altered selections by 48%, and impacted heritability estimations for all nine of the traits analyzed, including a 41% difference in estimated heritability for yield. These results show that in a mixed model analysis, even a low level of pedigree error can significantly alter estimations of genetic parameters and selections in a breeding program. PMID:29250097

Solar Coronal Jets Extending to High Altitudes Observed during the 2017 August 21 Total Eclipse

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanaoka, Yoichiro; Hasuo, Ryuichi; Hirose, Tsukasa; Ikeda, Akiko C.; Ishibashi, Tsutomu; Manago, Norihiro; Masuda, Yukio; Morita, Sakuhiro; Nakazawa, Jun; Ohgoe, Osamu; Sakai, Yoshiaki; Sasaki, Kazuhiro; Takahashi, Koichi; Toi, Toshiyuki

2018-06-01

Coronal jets, which extend from the solar surface to beyond 2 R ⊙, were observed in the polar coronal hole regions during the total solar eclipse on 2017 August 21. In a time-series of white-light images of the corona spanning 70 minutes taken with our multi-site observations of this eclipse, six jets were found as narrow structures upwardly ejected with an apparent speed of about 450 km s‑1 in polar plumes. On the other hand, extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) images taken with the Atmospheric Image Assembly of the Solar Dynamics Observatory show that all of the eclipse jets were preceded by EUV jets. Conversely, all the EUV jets whose brightnesses are comparable to ordinary soft X-ray jets and that occurred in the polar regions near the eclipse period, were observed as eclipse jets. These results suggest that ordinary polar jets generally reach high altitudes and escape from the Sun as part of the solar wind.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Parental Refusal of Consent in a Large, Multisite Pediatric Critical Care Clinical Trial.

PubMed

Natale, Joanne E; Lebet, Ruth; Joseph, Jill G; Ulysse, Christine; Ascenzi, Judith; Wypij, David; Curley, Martha A Q

2017-05-01

To evaluate whether race or ethnicity was independently associated with parental refusal of consent for their child's participation in a multisite pediatric critical care clinical trial. We performed a secondary analyses of data from Randomized Evaluation of Sedation Titration for Respiratory Failure (RESTORE), a 31-center cluster randomized trial of sedation management in critically ill children with acute respiratory failure supported on mechanical ventilation. Multivariable logistic regression modeling estimated associations between patient race and ethnicity and parental refusal of study consent. Among the 3438 children meeting enrollment criteria and approached for consent, 2954 had documented race/ethnicity of non-Hispanic White (White), non-Hispanic Black (Black), or Hispanic of any race. Inability to approach for consent was more common for parents of Black (19.5%) compared with White (11.7%) or Hispanic children (13.2%). Among those offered consent, parents of Black (29.5%) and Hispanic children (25.9%) more frequently refused consent than parents of White children (18.2%, P < .0167 for each). Compared with parents of White children, parents of Black (OR 2.15, 95% CI 1.56-2.95, P < .001) and Hispanic (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.10-1.88, P = .01) children were more likely to refuse consent. Parents of children offered participation in the intervention arm were more likely to refuse consent than parents in the control arm (OR 2.15, 95% CI 1.37-3.36, P < .001). Parents of Black and Hispanic children were less likely to be approached for, and more frequently declined consent for, their child's participation in a multisite critical care clinical trial. Ameliorating this racial disparity may improve the validity and generalizability of study findings. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00814099. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Knowledge-Guided Robust MRI Brain Extraction for Diverse Large-Scale Neuroimaging Studies on Humans and Non-Human Primates

PubMed Central

Wang, Yaping; Nie, Jingxin; Yap, Pew-Thian; Li, Gang; Shi, Feng; Geng, Xiujuan; Guo, Lei; Shen, Dinggang

2014-01-01

Accurate and robust brain extraction is a critical step in most neuroimaging analysis pipelines. In particular, for the large-scale multi-site neuroimaging studies involving a significant number of subjects with diverse age and diagnostic groups, accurate and robust extraction of the brain automatically and consistently is highly desirable. In this paper, we introduce population-specific probability maps to guide the brain extraction of diverse subject groups, including both healthy and diseased adult human populations, both developing and aging human populations, as well as non-human primates. Specifically, the proposed method combines an atlas-based approach, for coarse skull-stripping, with a deformable-surface-based approach that is guided by local intensity information and population-specific prior information learned from a set of real brain images for more localized refinement. Comprehensive quantitative evaluations were performed on the diverse large-scale populations of ADNI dataset with over 800 subjects (55∼90 years of age, multi-site, various diagnosis groups), OASIS dataset with over 400 subjects (18∼96 years of age, wide age range, various diagnosis groups), and NIH pediatrics dataset with 150 subjects (5∼18 years of age, multi-site, wide age range as a complementary age group to the adult dataset). The results demonstrate that our method consistently yields the best overall results across almost the entire human life span, with only a single set of parameters. To demonstrate its capability to work on non-human primates, the proposed method is further evaluated using a rhesus macaque dataset with 20 subjects. Quantitative comparisons with popularly used state-of-the-art methods, including BET, Two-pass BET, BET-B, BSE, HWA, ROBEX and AFNI, demonstrate that the proposed method performs favorably with superior performance on all testing datasets, indicating its robustness and effectiveness. PMID:24489639

Health Care Providers’ Support of Patients’ Autonomy, Phosphate Medication Adherence, Race and Gender in End Stage Renal Disease

PubMed Central

Umeukeje, Ebele; Merighi, J. R.; Browne, T.; Wild, M.; Alsmaan, H.; Umanath, K.; Lewis, J.; Wallston, K; Cavanaugh, K. L.

2016-01-01

This study was designed to assess dialysis subjects’ perceived autonomy support association with phosphate binder medication adherence, race and gender. A multi-site cross-sectional study was conducted among 377 dialysis subjects. The Health Care Climate (HCC) Questionnaire assessed subjects’ perception of their providers’ autonomy support for phosphate binder use, and adherence was assessed by the self-reported Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS). Serum phosphorus was obtained from the medical record. Regression models were used to examine independent factors of medication adherence, serum phosphorus, and differences by race and gender. Non-white HCC scores were consistently lower compared with white subjects’ scores. No differences were observed by gender. Reported phosphate binder adherence was associated with HCC score, and also with phosphorus control. No significant association was found between HCC score and serum phosphorus. Autonomy support, especially in non-white end stage renal disease subjects, may be an appropriate target for culturally informed strategies to optimize mineral bone health. PMID:27167227

A 3-Year Prospective Study of Parent–Child Communication in Early Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes: Relationship to Adherence and Glycemic Control

PubMed Central

Rohan, Jennifer M.; Pendley, Jennifer Shroff; Delamater, Alan; Drotar, Dennis

2015-01-01

Objective To examine changes in parent–child communication patterns and their relation to glycemic control and treatment adherence using observational data in a 3-year prospective multisite study of youth with type 1 diabetes aged 9–11 years at baseline and their families (n = 217). Methods Adolescents and caregivers participated in a diabetes problem-solving discussion. Families were rated on negative and positive communication and interactions using the Interaction Behavior Code. Results Maternal and paternal negative communication decreased over time, whereas adolescent and maternal positive communication and positive reciprocity increased. Baseline preadolescent youth and maternal positive communication predicted adherence 3 years later. Changes in family communication did not predict changes in glycemic control or adherence. Conclusions During the transition to adolescence, family communication changed in unexpected and positive ways. Additionally, the relationship of baseline family communication to subsequent adherence suggests the need to assess family communication concerning diabetes-related management during preadolescence. PMID:24839292

Improving Quality of Life and Depression After Stroke Through Telerehabilitation

PubMed Central

Linder, Susan M.; Rosenfeldt, Anson B.; Bay, R. Curtis; Sahu, Komal; Wolf, Steven L.

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of home-based robot-assisted rehabilitation coupled with a home exercise program compared with a home exercise program alone on depression and quality of life in people after stroke. METHOD. A multisite randomized controlled clinical trial was completed with 99 people <6 mo after stroke who had limited access to formal therapy. Participants were randomized into one of two groups, (1) a home exercise program or (2) a robot-assisted therapy + home exercise program, and participated in an 8-wk home intervention. RESULTS. We observed statistically significant changes in all but one domain on the Stroke Impact Scale and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for both groups. CONCLUSION. A robot-assisted intervention coupled with a home exercise program and a home exercise program alone administered using a telerehabilitation model may be valuable approaches to improving quality of life and depression in people after stroke. PMID:26122686

Improving Quality of Life and Depression After Stroke Through Telerehabilitation.

PubMed

Linder, Susan M; Rosenfeldt, Anson B; Bay, R Curtis; Sahu, Komal; Wolf, Steven L; Alberts, Jay L

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of home-based robot-assisted rehabilitation coupled with a home exercise program compared with a home exercise program alone on depression and quality of life in people after stroke. A multisite randomized controlled clinical trial was completed with 99 people<6 mo after stroke who had limited access to formal therapy. Participants were randomized into one of two groups, (1) a home exercise program or (2) a robot-assisted therapy+home exercise program, and participated in an 8-wk home intervention. We observed statistically significant changes in all but one domain on the Stroke Impact Scale and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for both groups. A robot-assisted intervention coupled with a home exercise program and a home exercise program alone administered using a telerehabilitation model may be valuable approaches to improving quality of life and depression in people after stroke. Copyright © 2015 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

Physical Therapy-Related Child Outcomes in School: An Example of Practice-Based Evidence Methodology.

PubMed

Effgen, Susan K; McCoy, Sarah Westcott; Chiarello, Lisa A; Jeffries, Lynn M; Bush, Heather

2016-01-01

To describe the use of practice-based evidence research methodology in a prospective, multisite observational study to investigate changes in students' participation in school activity, self-care, posture/mobility, recreation/fitness, and academic outcomes, and the relationships of these changes to characteristics of school-based physical therapy. One hundred nine physical therapists completed the training and data collection and 296 students, 5 to 12 years of age (mean age = 7.3 years) had 6 months of complete data. Therapists completed individualized (Goal Attainment Scaling) and standardized (School Function Assessment) outcome measures for students at the beginning and end of the school year and during the year collected weekly data on services to and on behalf of the students. This research design enabled the investigation of complex research questions related to school-based practice. The findings of this study, to be reported later, should influence school-based therapy by providing guidance related to what activities, interventions, and services influence student outcomes.

Teachers' Perceptions of the Socioemotional Development of Intellectually Gifted Primary Aged Students and Their Attitudes towards Ability Grouping and Acceleration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gallagher, Selena; Smith, Susen R.; Merrotsy, Peter

2011-01-01

This qualitative multi-site case study sought to examine the current educational provisions in place for intellectually gifted primary school students in Queensland and to consider how the beliefs and attitudes of primary school stakeholders were reflected in the production of their school gifted education policies. Attitudes and perceptions of…

What Are We Educating Our Youth for? The Role of Education in the Era of Vocational Schools for "Dummies" and Diploma Mill Universities in Ukraine

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Korzh, Alla

2013-01-01

This qualitative multisite case study contextualized in the political economy of Ukraine examines orphanage youth's conceptualization of the role of vocational and higher education in the neoliberal era and highlights educational transformations in Ukraine. Drawing on Bourdieu's forms of capital (cultural, social, and economic), this research…

The Effects of Collaborative Strategic Reading Instruction on the Reading Comprehension of Middle School Students: Year 2 Replication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swanson, Elizabeth; Mohammed, Sarojani S.; Boardman, Alison Gould; Vaughn, Sharon; Klingner, Janette; Roberts, Greg; Leroux, Audrey; Solis, Michael

2011-01-01

The current study is the second in a series of multi-site, multi-year randomized control trials designed to test the efficacy of a fully developed intervention, Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR), with adolescent readers. In year 1, the research questions were: (1) Does CSR improve reading comprehension for adolescent readers attending…

Examination of Individual Differences in Outcomes from a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial Comparing Formal and Informal Individual Auditory Training Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Sherri L.; Saunders, Gabrielle H.; Chisolm, Theresa H.; Frederick, Melissa; Bailey, Beth A.

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if patient characteristics or clinical variables could predict who benefits from individual auditory training. Method: A retrospective series of analyses were performed using a data set from a large, multisite, randomized controlled clinical trial that compared the treatment effects of at-home…

Community-Based Early Intervention for Children with Behavioural, Emotional and Social Problems: Evaluation of the Scallywags Scheme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lovering, Kathryn; Frampton, Ian; Crowe, Ben; Moseley, Alice; Broadhead, Moira

2006-01-01

Scallywags is a community-based, early intervention programme for young children (aged 3-7) with behavioural, emotional and social problems, which integrates work in the home and school with a parenting curriculum and direct work with children. A pre-post intervention study across multi-sites of 340 participants is reported. Using standardised…