VIP: A knowledge-based design aid for the engineering of space systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, Steven M.; Bellman, Kirstie L.

1990-01-01

The Vehicles Implementation Project (VIP), a knowledge-based design aid for the engineering of space systems is described. VIP combines qualitative knowledge in the form of rules, quantitative knowledge in the form of equations, and other mathematical modeling tools. The system allows users rapidly to develop and experiment with models of spacecraft system designs. As information becomes available to the system, appropriate equations are solved symbolically and the results are displayed. Users may browse through the system, observing dependencies and the effects of altering specific parameters. The system can also suggest approaches to the derivation of specific parameter values. In addition to providing a tool for the development of specific designs, VIP aims at increasing the user's understanding of the design process. Users may rapidly examine the sensitivity of a given parameter to others in the system and perform tradeoffs or optimizations of specific parameters. A second major goal of VIP is to integrate the existing corporate knowledge base of models and rules into a central, symbolic form.

Rapid detox: understanding new treatment approaches for the addicted patient.

PubMed

McCabe, S

2000-01-01

Despite substantive advances in understanding of genetic and biochemical basis of substance abuse and addiction in the last decade, little information has been translated into alternative treatment models for the addicted patient. Rapid detox, an alternative form of detox treatment, is gaining in both acceptance and popularity. To increase readers' understanding of the neurobiology of addiction and the mode of action of new detox approaches for patients addicted to opiate drugs. A review of the current literature pertaining to rapid detox. Rapid detox is a viable alternative for selected patients attempting to detox from opiate agents of abuse. Increasing knowledge of new treatment approaches allows nurses working to assist addicted patients in planning and receiving treatment based on new awareness of the neurobiology of addiction.

Knowledge service decision making in business incubators based on the supernetwork model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Liming; Zhang, Haihong; Wu, Wenqing

2017-08-01

As valuable resources for incubating firms, knowledge resources have received gradually increasing attention from all types of business incubators, and business incubators use a variety of knowledge services to stimulate rapid growth in incubating firms. Based on previous research, we generalize the knowledge transfer and knowledge networking services of two main forms of knowledge services and further divide knowledge transfer services into knowledge depth services and knowledge breadth services. Then, we construct the business incubators' knowledge supernetwork model, describe the evolution mechanism among heterogeneous agents and utilize a simulation to explore the performance variance of different business incubators' knowledge services. The simulation results show that knowledge stock increases faster when business incubators are able to provide knowledge services to more incubating firms and that the degree of discrepancy in the knowledge stock increases during the process of knowledge growth. Further, knowledge transfer services lead to greater differences in the knowledge structure, while knowledge networking services lead to smaller differences. Regarding the two types of knowledge transfer services, knowledge depth services are more conducive to knowledge growth than knowledge breadth services, but knowledge depth services lead to greater gaps in knowledge stocks and greater differences in knowledge structures. Overall, it is optimal for business incubators to select a single knowledge service or portfolio strategy based on the amount of time and energy expended on the two types of knowledge services.

Healthcare providers' knowledge and attitudes about rapid tissue donation (RTD): phase one of establishing a rapid tissue donation programme in thoracic oncology.

PubMed

Schabath, Matthew B; McIntyre, Jessica; Pratt, Christie; Gonzalez, Luis E; Munoz-Antonia, Teresita; Haura, Eric B; Quinn, Gwendolyn P

2014-02-01

In preparation for the development of a rapid tissue donation (RTD) programme, we surveyed healthcare providers (HCPs) in our institution about knowledge and attitudes related to RTD with lung cancer patients. A 31-item web based survey was developed collecting data on demographics, knowledge and attitudes about RTD. The survey contained three items measuring participants' knowledge about RTD, five items assessing attitudes towards RTD recruitment and six items assessing HCPs' level of agreement with factors influencing decisions to discuss RTD. Response options were presented on a 5-point Likert scale. Ninety-one HCPs participated in the study. 66% indicated they had never heard of RTD prior to the survey, 78% rated knowledge of RTD as none or limited and 95.6% reported not having ethical or religious concerns about discussing RTD with patients. The majority were either not comfortable (17.8%) or not sure if they felt comfortable discussing RTD with cancer patients (42.2%). 56.1% indicated their knowledge of RTD would play an integral role in their decision to discuss RTD with patients. 71.4% reported concerns with RTD discussion and the emotional state of the patient. Physicians and nurses play an important role in initiating conversations about recruitment and donation to research that can ultimately influence uptake. Increasing HCP knowledge about RTD is a necessary step towards building an RTD programme. Our study provides important information about characteristics associated with low levels of knowledge and practice related to RTD where additional education and training may be warranted.

Teachers' Journal Club: Bridging between the Dynamics of Biological Discoveries and Biology Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brill, Gilat; Falk, Hedda; Yarden, Anat

2003-01-01

Since biology is one of the most dynamic research fields within the natural sciences, the gap between the accumulated knowledge in biology and the knowledge that is taught in schools, increases rapidly with time. Our long-term objective is to develop means to bridge between the dynamics of biological discoveries and the biology teachers and…

Investigating Bilingual/ESL Teachers' Knowledge and Professional Development Opportunities in a Large Suburban School District in Texas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Franco-Fuenmayor, Susana E.; Padrón, Yolanda N.; Waxman, Hersh C.

2015-01-01

Despite the fact that the population of English Language Learners (ELLs) is rapidly increasing, there is ample evidence that indicates that most teachers can benefit from training for teaching ELLs effectively. The purpose of this study is to examine teachers' knowledge of instructional practices for ELLs, research on bilingual programs,…

HIV and STD Knowledge, Sexual Behaviors and Drug Taking Behaviors of Adolescents in Southern Russia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelley, R. Mark; Ball, Marcia; Cerullo, Jennie; Trunova, Elena

2004-01-01

For several years, HIV infection has increasing rapidly in Eastern Europe and Russia (UNAIDS, 2000, 2003). The purpose of the study was to investigate the HIV and STD knowledge, sexual behaviors and drug taking behaviors of adolescents in southern Russia. The instrument was compiled by the authors, professionally translated, and pilot tested. Most…

The Impact of Instructor Intention for Student Learning and Implementaton of Undergraduate Science Education Reform on Student Perception of the Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steele, Erika M.

2013-01-01

The rapid advances in technology and scientific knowledge in modern society increases the need for a workforce with an understanding of technology and critical thinking skills College graduates are entering the working world without the critical thinking skills and ability to apply the scientific knowledge gained during their undergraduate…

The Characterization of Brain Behavior Relationships via Cognitive Neuroinformatic Approaches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kalar, Donald James, II

2009-01-01

The scope, breadth, and volume of data characterizing our current understanding of how the brain functions is growing at an increasingly rapid pace. What is more, theories are becoming increasing complex and nuanced, integrating knowledge from multiple previously independent sources of scientific inquiry. The research described within this…

A University-Industry Collaborative Response to the Growing Global Demand for Student Talent: Using Interpretive Phenomenology to Discover Life-World Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vauterin, Johanna Julia; Linnanen, Lassi; Michelsen, Karl-Erik

2013-01-01

The supply of student talent is now taking on an increasingly global dimension and this has extended the breadth of university-industry interaction. Set in the context of a rapidly growing international student market, knowledge transfer between academia and business through global student talent supply is an emerging practice. This paper…

Getting a Bigger Picture in Less Time: Viewing Curriculum Reform in a Chinese Graduate Chemistry Program through the Lens of an Organic Structure Analysis Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ma, Jiahai

2011-01-01

As China's university enrollment has been rapidly expanding since 1999, along with a steady increase in graduate enrollment, graduate-level chemistry education is confronted with many challenges, such as how to enhance the connection between fundamental knowledge and advanced frontier knowledge, and how to encourage students to do self-directed…

Basic Geriatrics Knowledge Among Internal Medicine Trainees in a Teaching Hospital in Saudi Arabia.

PubMed

Al-Aama, Tareef

2016-06-01

To assess the basic knowledge of medical trainees, in the absence of a structured geriatrics curriculum, around a variety of geriatric medicine components that are considered essential for the care of the rapidly increasing elderly population. Eighty-three trainees at different levels of training in internal medicine were asked about a variety of common geriatric conditions. Those included: delirium, falls, geriatric syndromes, pain, cognitive impairment, and medications. The trainees' knowledge about common geriatric condition was overall poor. The most pronounced deficits included: the lack of familiarity in diagnosing geriatric syndromes (63 %) or managing them (67 %), the underestimation of the prevalence of delirium (49 %), and the tendency to undertreat pain (64 %). Poor familiarity with polypharmacy and its impact, as well as inappropriate prescription practices in the elderly were also observed. In the absence of a structured geriatric medicine curriculum, internal medicine trainees' knowledge about important geriatric conditions is poor, even if their internal medicine knowledge is overall adequate. This would translate into suboptimal care for this vulnerable and rapidly expanding segment of the population.

Novel and unexpected clearance mechanisms for cold platelets

PubMed Central

Rumjantseva, Viktoria; Hoffmeister, Karin M.

2015-01-01

Storage at room temperature is limited to 5 days because of the risk of bacterial growth and loss of platelet functionality. Platelet refrigeration remains impossible, because once chilled, platelets are rapidly removed from circulation. Chilling platelets (<4 h) clusters glycoprotein (GP) Ibα receptors, and β2 integrins on hepatic macrophages recognize clustered βGlcNAc residues leading to rapid clearance of acutely chilled platelets. Prolonged refrigeration increases the exposure of galactose residues such that, unexpectedly, hepatocytes remove platelets using their asialoglycoprotein receptors. Here we review current knowledge of the mechanisms of platelet removal, the existing knowledge of refrigerated platelet function, and methods to preserve platelet concentrates long-term for transfusion. PMID:19932055

Capturing flight system test engineering expertise: Lessons learned

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woerner, Irene Wong

1991-01-01

Within a few years, JPL will be challenged by the most active mission set in history. Concurrently, flight systems are increasingly more complex. Presently, the knowledge to conduct integration and test of spacecraft and large instruments is held by a few key people, each with many years of experience. JPL is in danger of losing a significant amount of this critical expertise, through retirement, during a period when demand for this expertise is rapidly increasing. The most critical issue at hand is to collect and retain this expertise and develop tools that would ensure the ability to successfully perform the integration and test of future spacecraft and large instruments. The proposed solution was to capture and codity a subset of existing knowledge, and to utilize this captured expertise in knowledge-based systems. First year results and activities planned for the second year of this on-going effort are described. Topics discussed include lessons learned in knowledge acquisition and elicitation techniques, life-cycle paradigms, and rapid prototyping of a knowledge-based advisor (Spacecraft Test Assistant) and a hypermedia browser (Test Engineering Browser). The prototype Spacecraft Test Assistant supports a subset of integration and test activities for flight systems. Browser is a hypermedia tool that allows users easy perusal of spacecraft test topics. A knowledge acquisition tool called ConceptFinder which was developed to search through large volumes of data for related concepts is also described and is modified to semi-automate the process of creating hypertext links.

Humans Rapidly Learn Grammatical Structure in a New Musical Scale

PubMed Central

Loui, Psyche; Wessel, David L.; Hudson Kam, Carla L.

2010-01-01

Knowledge of musical rules and structures has been reliably demonstrated in humans of different ages, cultures, and levels of music training, and has been linked to our musical preferences. However, how humans acquire knowledge of and develop preferences for music remains unknown. The present study shows that humans rapidly develop knowledge and preferences when given limited exposure to a new musical system. Using a non-traditional, unfamiliar musical scale (Bohlen-Pierce scale), we created finite-state musical grammars from which we composed sets of melodies. After 25–30 min of passive exposure to the melodies, participants showed extensive learning as characterized by recognition, generalization, and sensitivity to the event frequencies in their given grammar, as well as increased preference for repeated melodies in the new musical system. Results provide evidence that a domain-general statistical learning mechanism may account for much of the human appreciation for music. PMID:20740059

Humans Rapidly Learn Grammatical Structure in a New Musical Scale.

PubMed

Loui, Psyche; Wessel, David L; Hudson Kam, Carla L

2010-06-01

Knowledge of musical rules and structures has been reliably demonstrated in humans of different ages, cultures, and levels of music training, and has been linked to our musical preferences. However, how humans acquire knowledge of and develop preferences for music remains unknown. The present study shows that humans rapidly develop knowledge and preferences when given limited exposure to a new musical system. Using a non-traditional, unfamiliar musical scale (Bohlen-Pierce scale), we created finite-state musical grammars from which we composed sets of melodies. After 25-30 min of passive exposure to the melodies, participants showed extensive learning as characterized by recognition, generalization, and sensitivity to the event frequencies in their given grammar, as well as increased preference for repeated melodies in the new musical system. Results provide evidence that a domain-general statistical learning mechanism may account for much of the human appreciation for music.

Ecosystem services provided by pacific NW Estuaries: State of knowledge

EPA Science Inventory

Coastal regions in the United States are rapidly developing areas, with increasing urbanization and growing populations. Estuarine and nearshore coastal marine waters provide valuable ecosystem services to resident and transient human communities. In the Pacific Northwest (PNW)...

Expediting evidence synthesis for healthcare decision-making: exploring attitudes and perceptions towards rapid reviews using Q methodology

PubMed Central

Moher, David; Clifford, Tammy J.

2016-01-01

Background Rapid reviews expedite the knowledge synthesis process with the goal of providing timely information to healthcare decision-makers who want to use evidence-informed policy and practice approaches. A range of opinions and viewpoints on rapid reviews is thought to exist; however, no research to date has formally captured these views. This paper aims to explore evidence producer and knowledge user attitudes and perceptions towards rapid reviews. Methods A Q methodology study was conducted to identify central viewpoints about rapid reviews based on a broad topic discourse. Participants rank-ordered 50 text statements and explained their Q-sort in free-text comments. Individual Q-sorts were analysed using Q-Assessor (statistical method: factor analysis with varimax rotation). Factors, or salient viewpoints on rapid reviews, were identified, interpreted and described. Results Analysis of the 11 individual Q sorts identified three prominent viewpoints: Factor A cautions against the use of study design labels to make judgements. Factor B maintains that rapid reviews should be the exception and not the rule. Factor C focuses on the practical needs of the end-user over the review process. Conclusion Results show that there are opposing viewpoints on rapid reviews, yet some unity exists. The three factors described offer insight into how and why various stakeholders act as they do and what issues may need to be resolved before increase uptake of the evidence from rapid reviews can be realized in healthcare decision-making environments. PMID:27761324

Internationalisation of Doctoral Education: Possibilities for New Knowledge and Understandings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryan, Janette

2012-01-01

The past decade has seen a rapid increase in the number of international students undertaking doctorates in Anglophone universities such as Australia and the UK. In 2009, 11,500 international students were undertaking postgraduate research in Australia, with a 20 per cent increase in doctoral enrolments over the previous year (AEI, 2011). In the…

Policy of Education for the 21st Century in Developed and Developing Countries: Focus on Japan and Persian Gulf Region

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arani, Mohammad Reza Sarkar

2004-01-01

Increasing globalization, information technology, based on a knowledge economy, and socio-economic changes are rapidly changing the goals, policies, curricula, contents and methods of education. The need to differentiate and re-thinking education and learning, both within and outside the school system, is gaining increased attention among…

Rapid-onset obesity, hypoventilation, hypothalamic dysfunction, autonomic dysregulation and neuroendocrine tumor syndrome with a homogenous enlargement of the pituitary gland: a case report.

PubMed

Aljabban, Lama; Kassab, Lina; Bakoura, Nour Alhuda; Alsalka, Mohammad Fayez; Maksoud, Ismaeil

2016-11-22

Rapid-onset obesity with hypoventilation, hypothalamic dysfunction, and autonomic dysregulation syndrome is a rare pediatric disorder with a variable sequence of clinical presentations, undefined etiology, and high risk of mortality. Our patient presented an unusual course of the disease accompanied by a homogenous mild enlargement of her pituitary gland with an intact pituitary-endocrine axis which, to the best of our knowledge, represents a new finding in rapid-onset obesity with hypoventilation, hypothalamic dysfunction, and autonomic dysregulation syndrome. We present a documented case of a 4 years and 8-month-old Syrian Arabic girl with a distinctive course of signs and symptoms of rapid-onset obesity with hypoventilation, hypothalamic dysfunction, and autonomic dysregulation syndrome accompanied by mature ganglioneuroma in her chest, a homogenous mild enlargement of her pituitary gland, generalized cortical brain atrophy, and seizures. Three months after her first marked symptoms were noted she had a sudden progression of severe respiratory distress that ended with her death. The findings of this case could increase our understanding of the pathogenetic mechanisms of rapid-onset obesity with hypoventilation, hypothalamic dysfunction, and autonomic dysregulation, and place more emphases on pediatricians to consider rapid-onset obesity with hypoventilation, hypothalamic dysfunction, and autonomic dysregulation syndrome whenever early rapid onset of obesity, associated with any malfunction, is observed in children. This knowledge could be lifesaving for children with rapid-onset obesity with hypoventilation, hypothalamic dysfunction, and autonomic dysregulation syndrome.

Developing Trust in Virtual Teams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Germain, Marie-Line

2011-01-01

Rapid globalization, advances in technology, flatter organizational structures, synergistic cooperation among firms, and a shift to knowledge work environments have led to the increasing use of virtual teams in organizations. Selecting, training, and socializing employees in virtual teamwork has therefore become an important human resource…

Ecosystem services provided by Pacific NW estuaries: State of knowledge - March 3, 2011

EPA Science Inventory

Coastal regions in the United States are rapidly developing areas, with increasing urbanization and growing populations. Estuarine and nearshore coastal marine waters provide valuable ecosystem services to resident and transient human communities. In the Pacific Northwest (PNW) ...

Environmental Education Center.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holmes (Warren) Co. and Black (Kenneth) Associate, Architects, Lansing, MI.

Public awareness and concern for our natural environment have rapidly increased. With new demands for knowledge and action concerning all aspects of environmental quality, schools have begun to incorporate into their curriculums new programs emphasizing environmental awareness and appreciation at all age levels. To bring students into further…

The speed of metacognition: taking time to get to know one's structural knowledge.

PubMed

Mealor, Andy D; Dienes, Zoltan

2013-03-01

The time course of different metacognitive experiences of knowledge was investigated using artificial grammar learning. Experiment 1 revealed that when participants are aware of the basis of their judgments (conscious structural knowledge) decisions are made most rapidly, followed by decisions made with conscious judgment but without conscious knowledge of underlying structure (unconscious structural knowledge), and guess responses (unconscious judgment knowledge) were made most slowly, even when controlling for differences in confidence and accuracy. In experiment 2, short response deadlines decreased the accuracy of unconscious but not conscious structural knowledge. Conversely, the deadline decreased the proportion of conscious structural knowledge in favour of guessing. Unconscious structural knowledge can be applied rapidly but becomes more reliable with additional metacognitive processing time whereas conscious structural knowledge is an all-or-nothing response that cannot always be applied rapidly. These dissociations corroborate quite separate theories of recognition (dual-process) and metacognition (higher order thought and cross-order integration). Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Challenges, developments and perspectives in intermittent river ecology

EPA Science Inventory

Although more than half the world's river networks comprise channels that periodically cease to flow and dry [intermittent rivers (IRs)], river ecology was largely developed from and for perennial systems. Ecological knowledge of IRs is rapidly increasing, so there is a need to s...

Knowledge acquisition and interface design for learning on demand systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nelson, Wayne A.

1993-01-01

The rapid changes in our world precipitated by technology have created new problems and new challenges for education and training. A knowledge 'explosion' is occurring as our society moves toward a service oriented economy that relies on information as the major resource. Complex computer systems are beginning to dominate the workplace, causing alarming growth and change in many fields. The rapidly changing nature of the workplace, especially in fields related to information technology, requires that our knowledge be updated constantly. This characteristic of modern society poses seemingly unsolvable instructional problems involving coverage and obsolescence. The sheer amount of information to be learned is rapidly increasing, while at the same time some information becomes obsolete in light of new information. Education, therefore, must become a lifelong process that features learning of new material and skills as needed in relation to the job to be done. Because of the problems cited above, the current model of learning in advance may no longer be feasible in our high-technology world. In many cases, learning in advance is impossible because there are simply too many things to learn. In addition, learning in advance can be time consuming, and often results in decontextualized knowledge that does not readily transfer to the work environment. The large and growing discrepancy between the amount of potentially relevant knowledge available and the amount a person can know and remember makes learning on demand an important alternative to current instructional practices. Learning on demand takes place whenever an individual must learn something new in order to perform a task or make a decision. Learning on demand is a promising approach for addressing the problems of coverage and obsolescence because learning is contextualized and integrated into the task environment rather than being relegated to a separate phase that precedes work. Learning on demand allows learners to see for themselves the usefulness of new knowledge for actual problem situations, thereby increasing the motivation for learning new information. Finally, learning on demand makes new information relevant to the task at hand, leading to more informed decision making, better quality products, and improved performance.

Development of a Value Inquiry Model in Biology Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeong, Eun-Young; Kim, Young-Soo

2000-01-01

Points out the rapid advances in biology, increasing bioethical issues, and how students need to make rational decisions. Introduces a value inquiry model development that includes identifying and clarifying value problems; understanding biological knowledge related to conflict situations; considering, selecting, and evaluating each alternative;…

Teacher Leader Model Standards: Implications for Preparation, Policy, and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berg, Jill Harrison; Carver, Cynthia L.; Mangin, Melinda M.

2014-01-01

Teacher leadership is increasingly recognized as a resource for instructional improvement. Consequently, teacher leader initiatives have expanded rapidly despite limited knowledge about how to prepare and support teacher leaders. In this context, the "Teacher Leader Model Standards" represent an important development in the field. In…

Preparation for Lifelong Learning Using ePortfolios

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heinrich, E.; Bhattacharya, M.; Rayudu, R.

2007-01-01

Rapid technological change, increasing globalization and a changing world of employment with multiple roles during one's professional life are necessitating a change from knowledge to learning societies. Full participation requires lifelong learning skills, meaning the ability to solve problems, work both independently and in a team, communicate…

Knowledge creation using artificial intelligence: a twin approach to improve breast screening attendance.

PubMed

Baskaran, Vikraman; Bali, Rajeev K; Arochena, Hisbel; Naguib, Rauf N G; Wallis, Matthew; Wheaton, Margot

2006-01-01

Knowledge management (KM) is rapidly becoming established as a core organizational element within the healthcare industry to assist in the delivery of better patient care. KM is a cyclical process which typically starts with knowledge creation (KC), progresses to knowledge sharing, knowledge accessibility and eventually results in new KC (in the same or a related domain). KC plays a significant role in KM as it creates the necessary "seeds" for propagating many more knowledge cycles. This paper addresses the potential of KC in the context of the UK's National Health Service (NHS) breast screening service. KC can be automated to a greater extent by embedding processes within an artificial intelligence (AI) based environment. The UK breast screening service is concerned about non-attendance and this paper discusses issues pertaining to increasing attendance.

A Knowledge Navigation Method for the Domain of Customers' Services of Mobile Communication Corporations in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Jiangning; Wang, Xiaohuan

Rapidly increasing amount of mobile phone users and types of services leads to a great accumulation of complaining information. How to use this information to enhance the quality of customers' services is a big issue at present. To handle this kind of problem, the paper presents an approach to construct a domain knowledge map for navigating the explicit and tacit knowledge in two ways: building the Topic Map-based explicit knowledge navigation model, which includes domain TM construction, a semantic topic expansion algorithm and VSM-based similarity calculation; building Social Network Analysis-based tacit knowledge navigation model, which includes a multi-relational expert navigation algorithm and the criterions to evaluate the performance of expert networks. In doing so, both the customer managers and operators in call centers can find the appropriate knowledge and experts quickly and exactly. The experimental results show that the above method is very powerful for knowledge navigation.

Genetics of Dyslipidemia and Ischemic Heart Disease.

PubMed

Sharma, Kavita; Baliga, Ragavendra R

2017-05-01

Genetic dyslipidemias contribute to the prevalence of ischemic heart disease. The field of genetic dyslipidemias and their influence on atherosclerotic heart disease is rapidly developing and accumulating increasing evidence. The purpose of this review is to describe the current state of knowledge in regard to inherited atherogenic dyslipidemias. The disorders of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) and elevated lipoprotein(a) will be detailed. Genetic technology has made rapid advancements, leading to new discoveries in inherited atherogenic dyslipidemias, which will be explored in this review, as well as a description of possible future developments. Increasing attention has come upon the genetic disorders of familial hypercholesterolemia and elevated lipoprotein(a). This review includes new knowledge of these disorders including description of these disorders, their method of diagnosis, their prevalence, their genetic underpinnings, and their effect on the development of cardiovascular disease. In addition, it discusses major advances in genetic technology, including the completion of the human genome sequence, next-generation sequencing, and genome-wide association studies. Also discussed are rare variant studies with specific genetic mechanisms involved in inherited dyslipidemias, such as in the proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) enzyme. The field of genetics of dyslipidemia and cardiovascular disease is rapidly growing, which will result in a bright future of novel mechanisms of action and new therapeutics.

Effect of 5E Learning Model on Academic Achievement, Attitude and Science Process Skills: Meta-Analysis Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cakir, Nevin Kozcu

2017-01-01

Today, with the development of science and technology and its rapid progress, the importance attached to science education has increased. This increase in interest has led to the development of the methods, techniques, and approaches that enable the students to be active, question and construct knowledge. The 5E learning model is one of them, and…

Educating to Use Evidence in Thinking about Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newcombe, Nora S.

2013-01-01

There is an increasing emphasis on evidence-based education, and the sciences of learning are progressing rapidly. But are reports, guidelines, and outreach enough to disseminate this knowledge and affect educational practice? In fact, policy makers and the public often resist evidence-based recommendations about education. This article suggests…

Science at the Crossroads? The Decline of Science in Australian Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dobson, Ian R.

2006-01-01

The Australian Government has stressed the important role universities play in producing knowledge workers to service the needs of the technology-driven "new economy". The massification of Australian higher education from 1989 rapidly increased the stock of university-educated people in all disciplines. Although university science…

Redefining Entrepreneurial Learning Paradigms in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Ghana

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owusu-Manu, D.; Afrane, S. K.; Badu, E.; Edwards, D. J.; Brown, M.

2013-01-01

In a rapidly changing world of knowledge exchange, innovation and technological advancements, entrepreneurship continues to fuel economic growth in both developed and developing countries. In the developed world, an increased influx of graduate entrepreneurs sustains economic growth whilst, in contrast, developing countries continue to suffer from…

Vascular structure determines pulmonary blood flow distribution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hlastala, M. P.; Glenny, R. W.

1999-01-01

Scientific knowledge develops through the evolution of new concepts. This process is usually driven by new methodologies that provide observations not previously available. Understanding of pulmonary blood flow determinants advanced significantly in the 1960s and is now changing rapidly again, because of increased spatial resolution of regional pulmonary blood flow measurements.

E-Learning in Higher Education--Opportunities & Challenges for Dubai

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gokah, Theophilus K.; Gupta, Namrata; Ndiweni, Esinath

2015-01-01

E-Learning is becoming a popular delivery method across various universities and colleges in Dubai as the region is experiencing a rapid growth of e-Learning in higher education. Adequate infrastructure, changes in demographic profile, globalization, government initiatives, outsourcing and increasing demand for IT knowledge based jobs are the…

Developing a Dynamic Inference Expert System to Support Individual Learning at Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hung, Yu Hsin; Lin, Chun Fu; Chang, Ray I.

2015-01-01

In response to the rapid growth of information in recent decades, knowledge-based systems have become an essential tool for organizational learning. The application of electronic performance-support systems in learning activities has attracted considerable attention from researchers. Nevertheless, the vast, ever-increasing amount of information is…

Qualitative analysis of volatiles in rabbiteye blueberry cultivars at various maturities using rapid solid-phase micro extraction

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Recently, superfruits, such as blueberries, have received much attention as scientists, marketers, and consumers push forward knowledge and demand for high antioxidant, healthier diets. Production and consumption are steadily increasing. Yet, there are very few studies detailing the aroma, astring...

Social Networking Sites as Virtual Communities of Practice: A Mixed Method Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Lorretta J.

2010-01-01

Membership in social networking sites is increasing rapidly. Social networking sites serve many purposes including networking, communication, recruitment, and sharing knowledge. Social networking sites, public or private, may be hosted on applications such as Facebook and LinkedIn. As individuals begin to follow and participate in social…

Environmental Activities. Environmental Education Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Topeka Public Schools, KS.

This unit attempts to respond to societal concerns for the rapid depletion of our world's natural resources, our increasing world population, current pollution problems and the lack of knowledge about natural interdependence. The material is intended as a source from which primary teachers can select activities from five generalized groups as…

Educational Blogging: Integrating Technology into Marketing Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaplan, Melike Demirbag; Piskin, Burak; Bol, Beste

2010-01-01

The major challenge of marketing education is that the discipline continually reinvents itself. Marketing approaches and practices once new rapidly become old and many texts grow outdated in a short period of time, increasing the pressure on the instructors to provide the students with the latest knowledge. The changing environment of business…

Evaluation of an Online Bioterrorism Continuing Medical Education Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Casebeer, Linda; Andolsek, Kathryn; Abdolrasulnia, Maziar; Green, Joseph; Weissman, Norman; Pryor, Erica; Zheng, Shimin; Terndrup, Thomas

2006-01-01

Introduction: Much of the international community has an increased awareness of potential biologic, chemical, and nuclear threats and the need for physicians to rapidly acquire new knowledge and skills in order to protect the public's health. The present study evaluated the educational effectiveness of an online bioterrorism continuing medical…

Youth with Visual Impairments: Experiences in General Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lieberman, Lauren J.; Robinson, Barbara L.; Rollheiser, Heidi

2006-01-01

The rapid increase in the number of students with visual impairments currently being educated in inclusive general physical education makes it important that physical education instructors know how best to serve them. Assessment of the experiences of students with visual impairments during general physical education classes, knowledge of students'…

Influences on Self-Evaluation during a Clinical Skills Programme for Nurses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yeo, J.; Steven, A.; Pearson, P.; Price, C.

2010-01-01

Education has moved from teacher to student-centred practices. Increasing emphasis is placed on "life-long" learning in the context of a rapidly changing knowledge base. Self-evaluation is seen as one strategy to facilitate student-centred continuous professional development. The literature, however, suggests that learners' ability to…

Improving the Human Condition: A Curricular Response to Critical Realities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jelinek, James John, Ed.

The handbook examines issues facing the increasingly interdependent world and suggests areas of knowledge which educators must consider as they develop and implement curriculum to help students deal effectively with the future. The document contains eight articles. The first article identifies problems facing society as rapid change, economic…

Biogeochemical research priorities for sustainable biofuel and bioenergy feedstock production in the Americas

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Rapid expansion in biomass production for biofuels and bioenergy in the Americas is increasing demands on the ecosystem resources required to sustain soil and site productivity. We review the current state of knowledge and highlight gaps in research on biogeochemical processes and ecosystem sustaina...

How copying affects the amount, evenness and persistence of cultural knowledge: insights from the social learning strategies tournament

PubMed Central

Rendell, L.; Boyd, R.; Enquist, M.; Feldman, M. W.; Fogarty, L.; Laland, K. N.

2011-01-01

Darwinian processes should favour those individuals that deploy the most effective strategies for acquiring information about their environment. We organized a computer-based tournament to investigate which learning strategies would perform well in a changing environment. The most successful strategies relied almost exclusively on social learning (here, learning a behaviour performed by another individual) rather than asocial learning, even when environments were changing rapidly; moreover, successful strategies focused learning effort on periods of environmental change. Here, we use data from tournament simulations to examine how these strategies might affect cultural evolution, as reflected in the amount of culture (i.e. number of cultural traits) in the population, the distribution of cultural traits across individuals, and their persistence through time. We found that high levels of social learning are associated with a larger amount of more persistent knowledge, but a smaller amount of less persistent expressed behaviour, as well as more uneven distributions of behaviour, as individuals concentrated on exploiting a smaller subset of behaviour patterns. Increased rates of environmental change generated increases in the amount and evenness of behaviour. These observations suggest that copying confers on cultural populations an adaptive plasticity, allowing them to respond to changing environments rapidly by drawing on a wider knowledge base. PMID:21357234

How copying affects the amount, evenness and persistence of cultural knowledge: insights from the social learning strategies tournament.

PubMed

Rendell, L; Boyd, R; Enquist, M; Feldman, M W; Fogarty, L; Laland, K N

2011-04-12

Darwinian processes should favour those individuals that deploy the most effective strategies for acquiring information about their environment. We organized a computer-based tournament to investigate which learning strategies would perform well in a changing environment. The most successful strategies relied almost exclusively on social learning (here, learning a behaviour performed by another individual) rather than asocial learning, even when environments were changing rapidly; moreover, successful strategies focused learning effort on periods of environmental change. Here, we use data from tournament simulations to examine how these strategies might affect cultural evolution, as reflected in the amount of culture (i.e. number of cultural traits) in the population, the distribution of cultural traits across individuals, and their persistence through time. We found that high levels of social learning are associated with a larger amount of more persistent knowledge, but a smaller amount of less persistent expressed behaviour, as well as more uneven distributions of behaviour, as individuals concentrated on exploiting a smaller subset of behaviour patterns. Increased rates of environmental change generated increases in the amount and evenness of behaviour. These observations suggest that copying confers on cultural populations an adaptive plasticity, allowing them to respond to changing environments rapidly by drawing on a wider knowledge base.

Managing bioengineering complexity with AI techniques.

PubMed

Beal, Jacob; Adler, Aaron; Yaman, Fusun

2016-10-01

Our capabilities for systematic design and engineering of biological systems are rapidly increasing. Effectively engineering such systems, however, requires the synthesis of a rapidly expanding and changing complex body of knowledge, protocols, and methodologies. Many of the problems in managing this complexity, however, appear susceptible to being addressed by artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, i.e., methods enabling computers to represent, acquire, and employ knowledge. Such methods can be employed to automate physical and informational "routine" work and thus better allow humans to focus their attention on the deeper scientific and engineering issues. This paper examines the potential impact of AI on the engineering of biological organisms through the lens of a typical organism engineering workflow. We identify a number of key opportunities for significant impact, as well as challenges that must be overcome. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Knowledge acquisition and rapid protyping of an expert system: Dealing with real world problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bailey, Patrick A.; Doehr, Brett B.

1988-01-01

The knowledge engineering and rapid prototyping phases of an expert system that does fault handling for a Solid Amine, Water Desorbed CO2 removal assembly for the Environmental Control and Life Support System for space based platforms are addressed. The knowledge acquisition phase for this project was interesting because it could not follow the textbook examples. As a result of this, a variety of methods were used during the knowledge acquisition task. The use of rapid prototyping and the need for a flexible prototype suggested certain types of knowledge representation. By combining various techniques, a representative subset of faults and a method for handling those faults was achieved. The experiences should prove useful for developing future fault handling expert systems under similar constraints.

Urbanisation and health in China

PubMed Central

Gong, Peng; Liang, Song; Carlton, Elizabeth J; Jiang, Qingwu; Wu, Jianyong; Wang, Lei; Remais, Justin V

2013-01-01

China has seen the largest human migration in history, and the country's rapid urbanisation has important consequences for public health. A provincial analysis of its urbanisation trends shows shifting and accelerating rural-to-urban migration across the country and accompanying rapid increases in city size and population. The growing disease burden in urban areas attributable to nutrition and lifestyle choices is a major public health challenge, as are troubling disparities in health-care access, vaccination coverage, and accidents and injuries in China's rural-to-urban migrant population. Urban environmental quality, including air and water pollution, contributes to disease both in urban and in rural areas, and traffic-related accidents pose a major public health threat as the country becomes increasingly motorised. To address the health challenges and maximise the benefits that accompany this rapid urbanisation, innovative health policies focused on the needs of migrants and research that could close knowledge gaps on urban population exposures are needed. PMID:22386037

Hospital preparedness for Ebola virus disease: a training course in the Philippines

PubMed Central

Carlos, Celia; Capistrano, Rowena; Tobora, Charissa Fay; delos Reyes, Mari Rose; Lupisan, Socorro; Corpuz, Aura; Aumentado, Charito; Suy, Lyndon Lee; Hall, Julie; Donald, Julian; Counahan, Megan; Curless, Melanie S; Rhymer, Wendy; Gavin, Melanie; Lynch, Chelsea; Black, Meredith A; Anduyon, Albert D; Buttner, Petra

2015-01-01

Objective To develop, teach and evaluate a training workshop that could rapidly prepare large numbers of health professionals working in hospitals in the Philippines to detect and safely manage Ebola virus disease (EVD). The strategy was to train teams (each usually with five members) of key health professionals from public, private and local government hospitals across the Philippines who could then guide Ebola preparedness in their hospitals. Methods The workshop was developed collaboratively by the Philippine Department of Health and the country office of the World Health Organization. It was evaluated using a pre- and post-workshop test and two evaluation forms. χ2 tests and linear regression analyses were conducted comparing pre- and post-workshop test results. Results A three-day workshop was developed and used to train 364 doctors, nurses and medical technologists from 78 hospitals across the Philippines in three initial batches. Knowledge about EVD increased significantly (P < 0.009) although knowledge on transmission remained suboptimal. Confidence in managing EVD increased significantly (P = 0.018) with 96% of participants feeling more prepared to safely manage EVD cases. Discussion: The three-day workshop to prepare hospital staff for EVD was effective at increasing the level of knowledge about EVD and the level of confidence in managing EVD safely. This workshop could be adapted for use as baseline training in EVD in other developing countries to prepare large numbers of hospital staff to rapidly detect, isolate and safely manage EVD cases. PMID:25960920

The Arts in Contemporary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eger, John M.

2008-01-01

The demand for a new workforce to meet the challenges of a global knowledge economy is rapidly increasing. As a special report in Business Week magazine observed last year: "The game is changing. It isn't just about math and science anymore. It's about creativity, imagination, and, above all, innovation." Most analysts studying the new global…

Psychology of Working Narratives of STEM Career Exploration for Non-Dominant Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mark, Sheron L.

2016-01-01

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is a domain of knowledge, skills, and practices that is pervasive and of critical importance in our highly technological, rapidly advancing, and increasingly connected world; however, non-dominant youth, namely from non-White, lower-income, non-English-speaking, and immigrant backgrounds,…

Setting and measuring team goals and objectives for improved management of forestry research

Treesearch

Scott J. Josiah

1999-01-01

As our world becomes more complex and diverse, many forestry research organizations are responding by adopting more interdisciplinary and collaborative research programs. Our rapidly increasing knowledge of the ecological, social, and economic factors affecting forestry and natural resource management makes it simply untenable to expect that complex problems can be...

Designing and Implementing a Personalized Remedial Learning System for Enhancing the Programming Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsieh, Tung-Cheng; Lee, Ming-Che; Su, Chien-Yuan

2013-01-01

In recent years, the demand for computer programming professionals has increased rapidly. These computer engineers not only play a key role in the national development of the computing and software industries, they also have a significant influence on the broader national knowledge industry. Therefore, one of the objectives of information…

Strategic Intervention of ODL in Bangladesh

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rashid, A. Q. M. Bazlur; Rahman, M. Rokibur

2010-01-01

Education has been considered as a priority sector and a great challenge to the Bangladesh Government, with a view to transforming human potential into a productive workforce. The conventional face to face education system is not enough to cope with the need of an ever increasing population, rapid changes in human knowledge and the global context…

Re-Engineering Academic Library Services: The Case of the Technical Knowledge Center & Library of Denmark.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bjoernshauge, Lars

The traditional mode of operation of academic libraries is in crisis due to a combination of zero growth funding, rapidly escalating pricing on information resources (especially scientific journals), necessary investments in technology and human resource development, and increasing customer expectations. These issues are addressed as they relate…

Longitudinal Stability of Pre-Reading Skill Profiles of Kindergarten Children: Implications for Early Screening and Theories of Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ozernov-Palchik, Ola; Norton, Elizabeth S.; Sideridis, Georgios; Beach, Sara D.; Wolf, Maryanne; Gabrieli, John D. E.; Gaab, Nadine

2017-01-01

Research suggests that early identification of developmental dyslexia is important for mitigating the negative effects of dyslexia, including reduced educational attainment and increased socioemotional difficulties. The strongest pre-literacy predictors of dyslexia are rapid automatized naming (RAN), phonological awareness (PA), letter knowledge,…

Learning to Learn: A Key-Competence for All Adults?!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hofmann, Peter

2008-01-01

Learning to learn is important and increasingly vital for people trying to deal with a rapidly changing world! Or, in the words of the European Union, learning to learn is one of the eight "key competences that citizens require for their personal fulfilment, social inclusion, active citizenship and employability in our knowledge-based…

Interactions between dietary n-3 fatty acids and genetic variants and risk of disease

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Nutritional genomics has undergone rapid development and the concept is now very popular with the general public. Therefore, there is increasing demand for knowledge on adapting dietary composition to the genome. Our aim has been to undertake a systematic review so as to find out the level of eviden...

Addressing the Dynamics of Science in Curricular Reform for Scientific Literacy: The Case of Genomics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Eijck, Michiel

2010-01-01

Science education reform must anticipate the scientific literacy required by the next generation of citizens. Particularly, this counts for rapidly emerging and evolving scientific disciplines such as genomics. Taking this discipline as a case, such anticipation is becoming increasingly problematic in today's knowledge societies in which the…

Student Engagement in Very Large Classes: The Teachers' Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Exeter, Daniel J.; Ameratunga, Shanthi; Ratima, Matiu; Morton, Susan; Dickson, Martin; Hsu, Dennis; Jackson, Rod

2010-01-01

The rapid growth in the student population observed in higher education over the past 10-15 years in some countries has coincided with an increased recognition of student engagement and its value in developing knowledge. Active learning approaches have the potential to promote student engagement with lectures, but this becomes more challenging as…

Workforce and Leader Development: Learning From the Baldrige Winners in Health Care.

PubMed

Arnold, Edwin W; Goodson, Jane R; Duarte, Neville T

2015-01-01

It is ironic that perhaps the only constant in health care organizations today is change. To compete successfully in health care and position an organization for high performance amid continuous change, it is very important for managers to have knowledge of the best learning and development practices of high-performing organizations in their industry. The rapid increases in the rate of technological change and geometric increases in knowledge make it virtually imperative that human resources are developed effectively. This article discusses the best learning and development practices among the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winners in the health care industry since 2002 when the industry had its first award-winning organization.

Using a knowledge-based planning solution to select patients for proton therapy.

PubMed

Delaney, Alexander R; Dahele, Max; Tol, Jim P; Kuijper, Ingrid T; Slotman, Ben J; Verbakel, Wilko F A R

2017-08-01

Patient selection for proton therapy by comparing proton/photon treatment plans is time-consuming and prone to bias. RapidPlan™, a knowledge-based-planning solution, uses plan-libraries to model and predict organ-at-risk (OAR) dose-volume-histograms (DVHs). We investigated whether RapidPlan, utilizing an algorithm based only on photon beam characteristics, could generate proton DVH-predictions and whether these could correctly identify patients for proton therapy. Model PROT and Model PHOT comprised 30 head-and-neck cancer proton and photon plans, respectively. Proton and photon knowledge-based-plans (KBPs) were made for ten evaluation-patients. DVH-prediction accuracy was analyzed by comparing predicted-vs-achieved mean OAR doses. KBPs and manual plans were compared using salivary gland and swallowing muscle mean doses. For illustration, patients were selected for protons if predicted Model PHOT mean dose minus predicted Model PROT mean dose (ΔPrediction) for combined OARs was ≥6Gy, and benchmarked using achieved KBP doses. Achieved and predicted Model PROT /Model PHOT mean dose R 2 was 0.95/0.98. Generally, achieved mean dose for Model PHOT /Model PROT KBPs was respectively lower/higher than predicted. Comparing Model PROT /Model PHOT KBPs with manual plans, salivary and swallowing mean doses increased/decreased by <2Gy, on average. ΔPrediction≥6Gy correctly selected 4 of 5 patients for protons. Knowledge-based DVH-predictions can provide efficient, patient-specific selection for protons. A proton-specific RapidPlan-solution could improve results. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dementia knowledge transfer project in a rural area.

PubMed

Stark, C; Innes, A; Szymczynska, P; Forrest, L; Proctor, K

2013-01-01

Rural Scotland has an ageing population. There has been an increase in the number of people with dementia and as the proportion of people aged over 75 years continues to rise, this will increase still further. The Scottish Government has produced a dementia strategy and implementing this will be a challenge for rural Scotland. Transferring academic knowledge into practice is challenging. A Knowledge Transfer Partnership was formed between NHS Highland and the University of Stirling. A literature review was undertaken of the rural dementia literature; local services were surveyed and described; and interviews were undertaken with people with dementia and carers. Work was conducted on training, diagnostic service provision and local policy. Throughout the project, a collaborative approach was used, which aimed at the joint production of knowledge. Involving University staff in local service development had a substantial impact. Reviewing existing research knowledge and setting it in the context of local services, and of experience of service use, allowed the relevant priorities to be identified. As well as identifying training needs and providing training, the work influenced local decisions on diagnostic service design and standards, and on policy. This embedded engagement model appeared to produce more rapid change than traditional models of use of academic knowledge.

MedRapid--medical community & business intelligence system.

PubMed

Finkeissen, E; Fuchs, H; Jakob, T; Wetter, T

2002-01-01

currently, it takes at least 6 months for researchers to communicate their results. This delay is caused (a) by partial lacks of machine support for both representation as well as communication and (b) by media breaks during the communication process. To make an integrated communication between researchers and practitioners possible, a general structure for medical content representation has been set up. The procedure for data entry and quality management has been generalized and implemented in a web-based authoring system. The MedRapid-system supports the medical experts in entering their knowledge into a database. Here, the level of detail is still below that of current medical guidelines representation. However, the symmetric structure for an area-wide medical knowledge representation is highly retrievable and thus can quickly be communicated into daily routine for the improvement of the treatment quality. In addition, other sources like journal articles and medical guidelines can be references within the MedRapid-system and thus be communicated into daily routine. The fundamental system for the representation of medical reference knowledge (from reference works/books) itself is not sufficient for the friction-less communication amongst medical staff. Rather, the process of (a) representing medical knowledge, (b) refereeing the represented knowledge, (c) communicating the represented knowledge, and (d) retrieving the represented knowledge has to be unified. MedRapid will soon support the whole process on one server system.

Medical knowledge discovery and management.

PubMed

Prior, Fred

2009-05-01

Although the volume of medical information is growing rapidly, the ability to rapidly convert this data into "actionable insights" and new medical knowledge is lagging far behind. The first step in the knowledge discovery process is data management and integration, which logically can be accomplished through the application of data warehouse technologies. A key insight that arises from efforts in biosurveillance and the global scope of military medicine is that information must be integrated over both time (longitudinal health records) and space (spatial localization of health-related events). Once data are compiled and integrated it is essential to encode the semantics and relationships among data elements through the use of ontologies and semantic web technologies to convert data into knowledge. Medical images form a special class of health-related information. Traditionally knowledge has been extracted from images by human observation and encoded via controlled terminologies. This approach is rapidly being replaced by quantitative analyses that more reliably support knowledge extraction. The goals of knowledge discovery are the improvement of both the timeliness and accuracy of medical decision making and the identification of new procedures and therapies.

a Conceptual Framework for Virtual Geographic Environments Knowledge Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

You, Lan; Lin, Hui

2016-06-01

VGE geographic knowledge refers to the abstract and repeatable geo-information which is related to the geo-science problem, geographical phenomena and geographical laws supported by VGE. That includes expert experiences, evolution rule, simulation processes and prediction results in VGE. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for VGE knowledge engineering in order to effectively manage and use geographic knowledge in VGE. Our approach relies on previous well established theories on knowledge engineering and VGE. The main contribution of this report is following: (1) The concepts of VGE knowledge and VGE knowledge engineering which are defined clearly; (2) features about VGE knowledge different with common knowledge; (3) geographic knowledge evolution process that help users rapidly acquire knowledge in VGE; and (4) a conceptual framework for VGE knowledge engineering providing the supporting methodologies system for building an intelligent VGE. This conceptual framework systematically describes the related VGE knowledge theories and key technologies. That will promote the rapid transformation from geodata to geographic knowledge, and furtherly reduce the gap between the data explosion and knowledge absence.

Stream Chemistry After An Operational Fertilizer Application in the Ouachita Mountains

Treesearch

Hal O. Liechty; Jami Nettles; Daniel A. Marion; Donald J. Turton

1999-01-01

The amount of forested land annually fertilized in the southern United States has increased rapidly in the past 10 years. Although forest growth responses to fertilizer are fairly well understood, knowledge concerning the effects of fertilization on stream chemistry and health in this region is limited. To better understand the potential changes in stream chemistry...

Query Enhancement with Topic Detection and Disambiguation for Robust Retrieval

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Hui

2013-01-01

With the rapid increase in the amount of available information, people nowadays rely heavily on information retrieval (IR) systems such as web search engine to fulfill their information needs. However, due to the lack of domain knowledge and the limitation of natural language such as synonyms and polysemes, many system users cannot formulate their…

A Critical Time for Medical Education: The Perils of Competence-Based Reform of the Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malone, Karen; Supri, Salinder

2012-01-01

Rapid expansion in scientific knowledge, changes in medical practice, and greater demands from patients and society necessitate reform of the medical curriculum. In recognition of this, medical educators across the world have recommended the adoption of competence-based education. This is intended to increase the rigour and relevance of the…

Mhealth on Campus: Assessing Undergraduates' Attitudes and Utilization of Mobile Health Applications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haithcox-Dennis, Melissa; Brinkley, Jason; Richman, Alice; DeWeese, Amanda; Byrd, James L., III

2012-01-01

Mhealth is rapidly becoming a valuable tool to increase knowledge and skills that contribute to healthy behaviors. Currently, little is known about college students' ownership and use of health apps. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate undergraduates' mhealth app usage and views. A secondary purpose was to identify any subgroup…

Mobile-Assisted Narrative Writing Practice for Young English Language Learners from a Funds of Knowledge Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Yan; Carger, Chris Liska; Smith, Thomas J.

2017-01-01

As a nation of immigrants with diverse cultures and nationalities, one of the most striking occurrences in the United States educational system is the rapidly increasing enrollment of English Language Learners (ELLs). In view of their multicultural backgrounds, the multiliteracies education of ELLs is intertwined with their diverse socioeconomic,…

Ecohydrological consequences of drought- and infestation-triggered tree die-off: Insights and hypotheses

Treesearch

Henry D. Adams; Charles H. Luce; David D. Breshears; Craig D. Allen; Markus Weiler; V. Cody Hale; Alistair M. S. Smith; Travis E. Huxman

2012-01-01

Widespread, rapid, drought-, and infestation-triggered tree mortality is emerging as a phenomenon affecting forests globally and may be linked to increasing temperatures and drought frequency and severity. The ecohydrological consequences of forest die-off have been little studied and remain highly uncertain. To explore this knowledge gap, we apply the extensive...

Aspirations of and Realities for Hong Kong Students: Is the "Formal" Transition System Effective?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pavlova, Margarita

2017-01-01

School to work transition is an important aspect of lifelong learning that has increased in significance as the knowledge-based economy takes off in developed countries. Rapid structural economic changes, the importance of innovation, and a shorter lifecycle of products require education systems to adjust to the needs of economies and individuals.…

Environmental Knowledge and Attitudes among a Cohort of Pre-Service Primary School Teachers in Fiji

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Neil; Doff, Tamar; Jenkins, Kathy; Kennelly, Julie

2007-01-01

Fiji is developing rapidly, and with an emerging middle class, more of its population are adopting a western lifestyle with its associate patterns of high consumption. This is inevitably having an impact on the country's environment with increased waste production and energy use, and consequently there is a need for effective environmental…

Hidden Stories: Uncovering the Visual Metaphor for Education and Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hube, Amy M.; Tremblay, Kenneth R., Jr.; Leigh, Katharine E.

2015-01-01

Design solutions have become increasingly complex and based on a rapidly growing body of knowledge. In order to articulate a design solution to a client, the graphic use of the design narrative can effectively communicate complex ideas. Two case study interventions were conducted in an interior design program in which students were introduced to…

Biogeochemical research priorities for sustainable biofuel and bioenergy feedstock production in the Americas

Treesearch

Hero T. Gollany; Brian D. Titus; D. Andrew Scott; Heidi Asbjornsen; Sigrid C. Resh; Rodney A. Chimner; Donald J. Kaczmarek; Luiz F.C. Leite; Ana C.C. Ferreira; Kenton A. Rod; Jorge Hilbert; Marcelo V. Galdos; Michelle E. Cisz

2015-01-01

Rapid expansion in biomass production for biofuels and bioenergy in the Americas is increasing demand on the ecosystem resources required to sustain soil and site productivity. We review the current state of knowledge and highlight gaps in research on biogeochemical processes and ecosystem sustainability related to biomass production. Biomass production systems...

Lifelong Learning Imperative in Engineering: Summary of a Workshop

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dutta, Debasish

2010-01-01

The 21st century is witnessing a rapid increase in the pace of knowledge creation in the sciences and engineering. Competing in this global economy requires a science and engineering workforce that is consistently at the technological forefront. Dr. Charles Vest, President of the National Academy of Engineering, in a speech at the University of…

The invasive mosquito species Aedes albopictus: current knowledge and future perspectives

PubMed Central

Bonizzoni, Mariangela; Gasperi, Giuliano; Chen, Xioaguang; James, Anthony A.

2013-01-01

One of the most dynamic events in public health is being mediated by the global spread of the invasive mosquito Aedes albopictus. Its rapid expansion and vectorial capacity for various arboviruses affect an increasingly larger proportion of the world population. Responses to the challenges of controlling this vector are expected to be enhanced by an increased knowledge of its biology, ecology, and vector competence. Details of population genetics and structure will allow following, and possibly predicting, the geographical and temporal dynamics of its expansion, and will inform the practical operations of control programs. Experts are coming together now to describe the history, characterize the present circumstances, and collaborate on future efforts to understand and mitigate this emerging public health threat. PMID:23916878

Recent insertion/deletion (reINDEL) mutations: increasing awareness to boost molecular-based research in ecology and evolution

PubMed Central

Schlick-Steiner, Birgit C; Arthofer, Wolfgang; Moder, Karl; Steiner, Florian M

2015-01-01

Today, the comparative analysis of DNA molecules mainly uses information inferred from nucleotide substitutions. Insertion/deletion (INDEL) mutations, in contrast, are largely considered uninformative and discarded, due to our lacking knowledge on their evolution. However, including rather than discarding INDELs would be relevant to any research area in ecology and evolution that uses molecular data. As a practical approach to better understanding INDEL evolution in general, we propose the study of recent INDEL (reINDEL) mutations – mutations where both ancestral and derived state are seen in the sample. The precondition for reINDEL identification is knowledge about the pedigree of the individuals sampled. Sound reINDEL knowledge will allow the improved modeling needed for including INDELs in the downstream analysis of molecular data. Both microsatellites, currently still the predominant marker system in the analysis of populations, and sequences generated by next-generation sequencing, a promising and rapidly developing range of technologies, offer the opportunity for reINDEL identification. However, a 2013 sample of animal microsatellite studies contained unexpectedly few reINDELs identified. As most likely explanation, we hypothesize that reINDELs are underreported rather than absent and that this underreporting stems from common reINDEL unawareness. If our hypothesis applies, increased reINDEL awareness should allow gathering data rapidly. We recommend the routine reporting of either the absence or presence of reINDELs together with standardized key information on the nature of mutations when they are detected and the use of the keyword “reINDEL” to increase visibility in both instances of successful and unsuccessful search. PMID:25628861

Knowledge will Propel Machine Understanding of Content: Extrapolating from Current Examples

PubMed Central

Sheth, Amit; Perera, Sujan; Wijeratne, Sanjaya; Thirunarayan, Krishnaprasad

2018-01-01

Machine Learning has been a big success story during the AI resurgence. One particular stand out success relates to learning from a massive amount of data. In spite of early assertions of the unreasonable effectiveness of data, there is increasing recognition for utilizing knowledge whenever it is available or can be created purposefully. In this paper, we discuss the indispensable role of knowledge for deeper understanding of content where (i) large amounts of training data are unavailable, (ii) the objects to be recognized are complex, (e.g., implicit entities and highly subjective content), and (iii) applications need to use complementary or related data in multiple modalities/media. What brings us to the cusp of rapid progress is our ability to (a) create relevant and reliable knowledge and (b) carefully exploit knowledge to enhance ML/NLP techniques. Using diverse examples, we seek to foretell unprecedented progress in our ability for deeper understanding and exploitation of multimodal data and continued incorporation of knowledge in learning techniques.

The development of a model of psychological first aid for non-mental health trained public health personnel: the Johns Hopkins RAPID-PFA.

PubMed

Everly, George S; Lee McCabe, O; Semon, Natalie L; Thompson, Carol B; Links, Jonathan M

2014-01-01

The Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health Preparedness, which houses the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center, has been addressing the challenge of disaster-caused behavioral health surge by conducting training programs in psychological first aid (PFA) for public health professionals. This report describes our approach, named RAPID-PFA, and summarizes training evaluation data to determine if relevant knowledge, skills, and attitudes are imparted to trainees to support effective PFA delivery. In the wake of disasters, there is an increase in psychological distress and dysfunction among survivors and first responders. To meet the challenges posed by this surge, a professional workforce trained in PFA is imperative. More than 1500 participants received a 1-day RAPID-PFA training. Pre-/postassessments were conducted to measure (a) required knowledge to apply PFA; (b) perceived self-efficacy, that is, belief in one's own ability, to apply PFA techniques; and (c) confidence in one's own resilience in a crisis context. Statistical techniques were used to validate the extent to which the survey successfully measured individual PFA constructs, that is, unidimensionality, and to quantify the reliability of the assessment tool. Statistically significant pre-/postimprovements were observed in (a) knowledge items supportive of PFA delivery, (b) perceived self-efficacy to apply PFA interventions, and (c) confidence about being a resilient PFA provider. Cronbach alpha coefficients ranging from 0.87 to 0.90 suggested that the self-reported measures possessed sufficient internal consistency. Findings were consistent with our pilot work, and with our complementary research initiatives validating a variant of RAPID-PFA with faith communities. The RAPID-PFA model promises to be a broadly applicable approach to extending community behavioral health surge capacity. Relevant next steps include evaluating the effectiveness of trained providers in real crisis situations, and determining if PFA training may have potential beyond the disaster context.

The CROPROTECT project and wider opportunities to improve farm productivity through web-based knowledge exchange.

PubMed

Bruce, Toby J A

2016-05-01

A key global 21st century challenge is to maximize agricultural production while minimizing use of resources such as land, water, and energy to meet rising demand for produce. To meet this challenge, while also adapting to climate change, agriculture will have to become more knowledge intensive and deploy smarter farming techniques. The intention of this study was to: (1) Highlight the opportunity for web-based knowledge exchange to increase farm productivity and thus contribute to achieving food and energy security, (2) Give some examples of online farming information services such as the "CROPROTECT" tool I am developing in the UK, the CABI "Plantwise" Knowledge Bank and the IRRI "Rice Doctor," and (3) Consider lessons learnt so far. There are huge opportunities to facilitate knowledge exchange through online systems for farmers and people who advise farmers. CROPROTECT is interacting with users to determine priorities in terms of the pests, weeds, and diseases covered and is providing key information to assist with their management. Knowledge is a critical input for farming systems. Crop protection in particular is becoming more difficult due to evolution of pest resistance and changes in legislation. Up to date information can be made rapidly available and shared online through websites and smartphone Apps. Agricultural extension no longer relies solely on physical meetings and printed documents. The capacity to share information via the Internet is tremendous with its potential to reach a wide audience in the farming community, to provide rapid updates and to interact more with the users. However, in an era of information deluge, accessing relevant information and ensuring reliability are essential considerations. There is also a need to bring science and farming communities together to turn information into relevant farming knowledge.

Thermal Tomography of Asteroid Surface Structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harris, Alan W.; Drube, Line

2016-12-01

Knowledge of the surface thermal inertia of an asteroid can provide insight into its surface structure: porous material has a lower thermal inertia than rock. We develop a means to estimate thermal inertia values of asteroids and use it to show that thermal inertia appears to increase with spin period in the case of main-belt asteroids (MBAs). Similar behavior is found on the basis of thermophysical modeling for near-Earth objects (NEOs). We interpret our results in terms of rapidly increasing material density and thermal conductivity with depth, and provide evidence that thermal inertia increases by factors of 10 (MBAs) to 20 (NEOs) within a depth of just 10 cm. Our results are consistent with a very general picture of rapidly changing material properties in the topmost regolith layers of asteroids and have important implications for calculations of the Yarkovsky effect, including its perturbation of the orbits of potentially hazardous objects and those of asteroid family members after the break-up event. Evidence of a rapid increase of thermal inertia with depth is also an important result for studies of the ejecta-enhanced momentum transfer of impacting vehicles (“kinetic impactors”) in planetary defense.

THERMAL TOMOGRAPHY OF ASTEROID SURFACE STRUCTURE

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

Harris, Alan W.; Drube, Line, E-mail: alan.harris@dlr.de

Knowledge of the surface thermal inertia of an asteroid can provide insight into its surface structure: porous material has a lower thermal inertia than rock. We develop a means to estimate thermal inertia values of asteroids and use it to show that thermal inertia appears to increase with spin period in the case of main-belt asteroids (MBAs). Similar behavior is found on the basis of thermophysical modeling for near-Earth objects (NEOs). We interpret our results in terms of rapidly increasing material density and thermal conductivity with depth, and provide evidence that thermal inertia increases by factors of 10 (MBAs) tomore » 20 (NEOs) within a depth of just 10 cm. Our results are consistent with a very general picture of rapidly changing material properties in the topmost regolith layers of asteroids and have important implications for calculations of the Yarkovsky effect, including its perturbation of the orbits of potentially hazardous objects and those of asteroid family members after the break-up event. Evidence of a rapid increase of thermal inertia with depth is also an important result for studies of the ejecta-enhanced momentum transfer of impacting vehicles (“kinetic impactors”) in planetary defense.« less

Urbanisation and health in China.

PubMed

Gong, Peng; Liang, Song; Carlton, Elizabeth J; Jiang, Qingwu; Wu, Jianyong; Wang, Lei; Remais, Justin V

2012-03-03

China has seen the largest human migration in history, and the country's rapid urbanisation has important consequences for public health. A provincial analysis of its urbanisation trends shows shifting and accelerating rural-to-urban migration across the country and accompanying rapid increases in city size and population. The growing disease burden in urban areas attributable to nutrition and lifestyle choices is a major public health challenge, as are troubling disparities in health-care access, vaccination coverage, and accidents and injuries in China's rural-to-urban migrant population. Urban environmental quality, including air and water pollution, contributes to disease both in urban and in rural areas, and traffic-related accidents pose a major public health threat as the country becomes increasingly motorised. To address the health challenges and maximise the benefits that accompany this rapid urbanisation, innovative health policies focused on the needs of migrants and research that could close knowledge gaps on urban population exposures are needed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Malignant melanoma of the skin in Denmark--epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment].

PubMed

von der Maase, H; Osterlind, A; Drzewiecki, K T; Dahlstrøm, K K; Geertsen, P F; Gjedde, S B; Hastrup, N C; Holmberg, S B; Krag, C; Lock-Andersen, J

1992-07-06

About 700 new cases of malignant melanoma of the skin are registered annually in Denmark. The incidence is increasing rapidly and the number of new cases increases by more than 5% per annum. The most important phenotypical risk factors are the number of acquired pigmented naevi and exposure to sunlight is the most important risk factor in the external environment so that severe sunburn in children and intermittent intense exposure to sunlight increase the risk of melanoma. The thickness of the tumour at the time of the diagnosis is the most important prognostic factor. The prognosis deteriorates with increasing thickness. Treatment is primarily surgical. In cases of inoperable local melanoma and regional recurrences, irradiation may be administered. Chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy are of experimental character. In the light of the rapidly increasing incidence, it is important that knowledge of risk factors for development of the disease and the clinical characteristics of early melanoma is spread to not only the medical profession but also to the general public.

A Review of Curriculum in the UK: Internationalising in a Changing Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hayden, Mary

2013-01-01

The present article focuses on the growing emphasis on international dimensions of the curriculum in the UK. Educators and policymakers increasingly grapple with the thorny issue of how best to prepare future generations for life in a world changing so rapidly that no-one is able to predict precisely what knowledge and skills will be relevant for…

Bridging Water Issue Knowledge Gaps between the General Public and Opinion Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lamm, Kevan W.; Lamm, Alexa J.; Carter, Hannah S.

2015-01-01

Global conflicts have rapidly made water the most contentious issue in the world today. Considering water drives health, industry, recreation, and the agricultural food system it is no surprise that it has become such a hot topic. As a result, the general public has an increased interest in water-focused policy; policy that can have a large impact…

A Framework for Finding and Summarizing Product Defects, and Ranking Helpful Threads from Online Customer Forums through Machine Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jiao, Jian

2013-01-01

The Internet has revolutionized the way users share and acquire knowledge. As important and popular Web-based applications, online discussion forums provide interactive platforms for users to exchange information and report problems. With the rapid growth of social networks and an ever increasing number of Internet users, online forums have…

The Moral Dimension of Lifelong Learning: Giddens, Taylor, and the "Reflexive Project of the Self"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhao, Kang; Biesta, Gert

2012-01-01

A key aspect of contemporary lifelong learning theory, policy, and practice is the idea that, because of rapid changes in contemporary societies, there is a constant need for individuals to learn new knowledge and skills in order to adapt themselves to changing conditions. There is, therefore, an increased emphasis on the personal dimension of…

The Children of Mexican Immigrants in U.S. Schools: Exploring Their Parents' and Teachers' Perception and Knowledge Gaps

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Janecek, Uvaldina

2012-01-01

The influx of Mexican immigrants has posed enormous challenges to the nation's public school systems where migration is rapidly increasing. The high Hispanic dropout rate points to a failure in educating Latinos and has received ample attention from researchers, educators, and policymakers; but the achievement disparities persist. Using the lens…

Using a Module-Based Laboratory to Incorporate Inquiry into a Large Cell Biology Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howard, David R.; Miskowski, Jennifer A.

2005-01-01

Because cell biology has rapidly increased in breadth and depth, instructors are challenged not only to provide undergraduate science students with a strong, up-to-date foundation of knowledge, but also to engage them in the scientific process. To these ends, revision of the Cell Biology Lab course at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse was…

Integrating Curriculum and Practice with Students and Their Field Supervisors: Reflections on Spirituality and The Aging (Rosa) Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Birkenmaier, Julie; Behrman, Gary; Berg-Weger, Marla

2005-01-01

Knowledge and sensitivity about diverse aging populations is a rapidly emerging area of interest in higher education. The next decades will see dramatic increases in the number of older adults in the United States (Administration on Aging (AOA), 2000). Recognizing and utilizing spiritual and religious traditions holds special significance when…

Using an Audience Response System Smartphone App to Improve Resident Education in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

PubMed

Chung, Hoyoung; Kallay, Tom; Anas, Nick; Bruno, Diana; Decamps, Jose; Evans, Darci; Vilasagar, Niveditha; Mink, Richard B

2018-01-01

In the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), most teaching occurs during bedside rounds, but technology now provides new opportunities to enhance education. Specifically, smartphone apps allow rapid communication between instructor and student. We hypothesized that using an audience response system (ARS) app can identify resident knowledge gaps, guide teaching, and enhance education in the PICU. Third-year pediatric residents rotating through the PICU participated in ARS-based education or received traditional teaching. Before rounds, experimental subjects completed an ARS quiz using the Socrative app. Concomitantly, the fellow leading rounds predicted quiz performance. Then, discussion points based on the incorrect answers were used to guide instruction. Scores on the pre-rotation test were similar between groups. On the post-rotation examination, ARS participants did not increase their scores more than controls. The fellow's prediction of performance was poor. Residents felt that the method enhanced their education whereas fellows reported that it improved their teaching efficiency. Although there was no measurable increase in knowledge using the ARS app, it may still be a useful tool to rapidly assess learners and help instructors provide learner-centered education.

Current status of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever in the World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean Region: issues, challenges, and future directions.

PubMed

Al-Abri, Seif S; Abaidani, Idris Al; Fazlalipour, Mehdi; Mostafavi, Ehsan; Leblebicioglu, Hakan; Pshenichnaya, Natalia; Memish, Ziad A; Hewson, Roger; Petersen, Eskild; Mala, Peter; Nhu Nguyen, Tran Minh; Rahman Malik, Mamunur; Formenty, Pierre; Jeffries, Rosanna

2017-05-01

Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is the most widespread, tick-borne viral disease affecting humans. The disease is endemic in many regions, such as Africa, Asia, Eastern and Southern Europe, and Central Asia. Recently, the incidence of CCHF has increased rapidly in the countries of the World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean Region (WHO EMR), with sporadic human cases and outbreaks of CCHF being reported from a number of countries in the region. Despite the rapidly growing incidence of the disease, there are currently no accurate data on the burden of the disease in the region due to the different surveillance systems used for CCHF in these countries. In an effort to increase our understanding of the epidemiology and risk factors for the transmission of the CCHF virus (CCHFV; a Nairovirus of the family Bunyaviridae) in the WHO EMR, and to identify the current knowledge gaps that are hindering effective control interventions, a sub-regional meeting was organized in Muscat, Oman, from December 7 to 9, 2015. This article summarizes the current knowledge of the disease in the region, identifies the knowledge gaps that present challenges for the prevention and control of CCHFV, and details a strategic framework for research and development activities that would be necessary to curb the ongoing and new threats posed by CCHFV. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Staff attitudes and job satisfaction in the care of demented elderly people: group living compared with long-term care institutions.

PubMed

Alfredson, B B; Annerstedt, L

1994-11-01

The present study is one part of a study evaluating group living (GL) care for demented elderly people in comparison with traditional institutional (TI) care. The present report concentrates on personal and work-related effects on staff. A staff training programme has been implemented, including relevant gerontological knowledge, principles of the new care concept, support and supervision. Effects are evaluated by staff interviews, observation and staff turnover rates. Results show increased knowledge and new emotional and social attitudes, resulting in higher competence and professional conduct towards patients as well as increased motivation, job satisfaction and quality of work for GL staff but not for TI staff. Group living is now a rapidly developing form of care in Sweden.

Coins and Costs: A Simple and Rapid Assessment of Basic Financial Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Willner, Paul; Bailey, Rebecca; Dymond, Simon; Parry, Rhonwen

2011-01-01

Introduction: We describe a simple and rapid screening test for basic financial knowledge that is suitable for administration to people with mild intellectual disabilities. Method: The Coins and Costs test asks respondents to name coins, and to estimate prices of objects ranging between 1 British Pound (an ice cream) and 100K British Pounds (a…

Rapid Learning of an Abstract Language-Specific Category: Polish Children's Acquisition of the Instrumental Construction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dabrowska, Ewa; Tomasello, Michael

2008-01-01

Rapid acquisition of linguistic categories or constructions is sometimes regarded as evidence of innate knowledge. In this paper, we examine Polish children's early understanding of an idiosyncratic, language-specific construction involving the instrumental case--which could not be due to innate knowledge. Thirty Polish-speaking children aged 2; 6…

Rapid Modeling and Analysis Tools: Evolution, Status, Needs and Directions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knight, Norman F., Jr.; Stone, Thomas J.; Ransom, Jonathan B. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Advanced aerospace systems are becoming increasingly more complex, and customers are demanding lower cost, higher performance, and high reliability. Increased demands are placed on the design engineers to collaborate and integrate design needs and objectives early in the design process to minimize risks that may occur later in the design development stage. High performance systems require better understanding of system sensitivities much earlier in the design process to meet these goals. The knowledge, skills, intuition, and experience of an individual design engineer will need to be extended significantly for the next generation of aerospace system designs. Then a collaborative effort involving the designer, rapid and reliable analysis tools and virtual experts will result in advanced aerospace systems that are safe, reliable, and efficient. This paper discusses the evolution, status, needs and directions for rapid modeling and analysis tools for structural analysis. First, the evolution of computerized design and analysis tools is briefly described. Next, the status of representative design and analysis tools is described along with a brief statement on their functionality. Then technology advancements to achieve rapid modeling and analysis are identified. Finally, potential future directions including possible prototype configurations are proposed.

On being a scientist in a rapidly changing world.

PubMed

Mandel, I D

1996-02-01

The practice of biological science has changed dramatically since mid-century, reshaped not only by a rapid series of landmark discoveries, but also by governmental directives, institutional policies, and public attitudes. Until 1964, the major influences were the mentor, who provided direction and indoctrination into the culture of science, and in dentistry, the newly established NIDR, which fueled the research engine with an expanding research and training program. The 1965-74 period witnessed the advent of the Institutional Review Board, an increased social involvement of biological scientists, and a recognition of the need for biological and physical safeguards in the conduct of research. The most turbulent years were 1975-89, when there was a confluence of animal rights activism and regulation, growing concerns with scientific fraud and publication malpractice, and the stresses and strains (and opportunities) resulting from the rapid expansion of the academic-industrial complex. The current period is characterized by rapid pace, high volume, and an increased depth and breadth of knowledge-a major change in scale in the conduct of science. It is an exciting time but one in which ethical issues are multiplying. Attention must be paid.

Improving our knowledge of drought-induced forest mortality through experiments, observations, and modeling

Treesearch

Nate G. McDowell; Michael G. Ryan; Melanie J. B. Zeppel; David T. Tissue

2013-01-01

Regional and continental-scale forest and woodland mortality appears to be accelerating over recent decades (Allen et al., 2010; Peng et al., 2011). These contemporary increases in mortality are just the beginning, as temperature is rising rapidly and global models predict a large decline in the strength of the terrestrial carbon sink over the next century (Arora et al...

Identifying the trends in wound-healing patents for successful investment strategies

PubMed Central

Gwak, Jae Ha

2017-01-01

Background Recently, the need for rapid wound-healing has significantly increased because of the increasing number of patients who are diagnosed with diabetes and obesity. These conditions have contributed to a surge in the number of patients with chronic wounds worldwide. Furthermore, many cost-effective wound-healing technologies have been developed in order to keep up with the increased demand. In this paper, we performed a quantitative study of the trends associated with wound-healing technologies using patent data. Methodology We analyzed the trends considering four different groups of patent applicants: firms, universities, research institutes, and individuals using a structural topic model. In addition, we analyzed the knowledge flow between patent applicants using citation analysis, and confirmed the role of applicants in the knowledge-flow network using k-means clustering. As a result, the primary wound-healing technology patents applied for by the four groups varied considerably, and we classified the roles of patent applicants were found in the knowledge-flow network. Conclusions Our results showed the organizations that are leading each area of wound-healing technology. Furthermore, from the results, we identified specific institutions that are efficient for spreading knowledge related to wound-healing technology based on the patents. This information can contribute to the planning of investment strategies and technology policies related to wound-healing. PMID:28306732

Application of a Rapid Knowledge Synthesis and Transfer Approach to Assess the Microbial Safety of Low-Moisture Foods

PubMed Central

Young, Ian; Waddell, Lisa; Cahill, Sarah; Kojima, Mina; Clarke, Renata; Rajic, Andrijana

2016-01-01

Low-moisture foods (LMF) are increasingly implicated in outbreaks of foodborne illness resulting in a significant public health burden. To inform the development of a new Codex Alimentarius code of hygienic practice for LMF, we applied a rapid knowledge synthesis and transfer approach to review global research on the burden of illness, prevalence, and interventions to control nine selected microbial hazards in eight categories of LMF. Knowledge synthesis methods included an integrated scoping review (search strategy, relevance screening and confirmation, and evidence mapping), systematic review (detailed data extraction), and meta-analysis of prevalence data. Knowledge transfer of the results was achieved through multiple reporting formats, including evidence summary cards. We identified 214 unique outbreaks and 204 prevalence and 126 intervention studies. ‘Cereals and grains’ (n=142) and Salmonella spp. (n=278) were the most commonly investigated LMF and microbial hazard categories, respectively. Salmonella spp. was implicated in the most outbreaks (n=96, 45%), several of which were large and widespread, resulting in the most hospitalizations (n=895, 89%) and deaths (n=14, 74%). Salmonella spp. had a consistently low prevalence across all LMF categories (0-3%), while other hazards (e.g. B. cereus) were found at highly variable levels. A variety of interventions were investigated in small challenge trials. Key knowledge gaps included under-reporting of LMF outbreaks, limited reporting of microbial concentration data from prevalence studies, and a lack of intervention-efficacy research under commercial conditions. Summary cards were a useful knowledge transfer format to inform complementary risk ranking activities. This review builds upon previous work in this area by synthesizing a broad range of evidence using a structured, transparent, and integrated approach to provide timely evidence-informed inputs into international guidelines. PMID:26613924

Expedited Systems Engineering for Rapid Capability and Urgent Needs

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-12-31

rapid organizations start to differ from traditional ones, and there is a shift in energy , commitment, and knowledge. These findings are motivated by...123 C.7.1 Description: Integration of Modeling and Simulation , Software Design, and...differ from traditional ones, and there is a shift in energy , commitment, and knowledge. These findings are motivated by an analysis of effective

Rapid Prototyping in Instructional Design: Creating Competencies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fulton, Carolyn D.

2010-01-01

Instructional designers working in rapid prototyping environments currently do not have a list of competencies that help to identify the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) required in these workplaces. This qualitative case study used multiple cases in an attempt to identify rapid prototyping competencies required in a rapid prototyping…

Human Microbiome and Learning Healthcare Systems: Integrating Research and Precision Medicine for Inflammatory Bowel Disease

PubMed Central

Chuong, Kim H.; Mack, David R.; Stintzi, Alain

2018-01-01

Abstract Healthcare institutions face widespread challenges of delivering high-quality and cost-effective care, while keeping up with rapid advances in biomedical knowledge and technologies. Moreover, there is increased emphasis on developing personalized or precision medicine targeted to individuals or groups of patients who share a certain biomarker signature. Learning healthcare systems (LHS) have been proposed for integration of research and clinical practice to fill major knowledge gaps, improve care, reduce healthcare costs, and provide precision care. To date, much discussion in this context has focused on the potential of human genomic data, and not yet on human microbiome data. Rapid advances in human microbiome research suggest that profiling of, and interventions on, the human microbiome can provide substantial opportunity for improved diagnosis, therapeutics, risk management, and risk stratification. In this study, we discuss a potential role for microbiome science in LHSs. We first review the key elements of LHSs, and discuss possibilities of Big Data and patient engagement. We then consider potentials and challenges of integrating human microbiome research into clinical practice as part of an LHS. With rapid growth in human microbiome research, patient-specific microbial data will begin to contribute in important ways to precision medicine. Hence, we discuss how patient-specific microbial data can help guide therapeutic decisions and identify novel effective approaches for precision care of inflammatory bowel disease. To the best of our knowledge, this expert analysis makes an original contribution with new insights poised at the emerging intersection of LHSs, microbiome science, and postgenomics medicine. PMID:28282257

The role of innovative global institutions in linking knowledge and action.

PubMed

van Kerkhoff, Lorrae; Szlezák, Nicole A

2016-04-26

It is becoming increasingly recognized that our collective ability to tackle complex problems will require the development of new, adaptive, and innovative institutional arrangements that can deal with rapidly changing knowledge and have effective learning capabilities. In this paper, we applied a knowledge-systems perspective to examine how institutional innovations can affect the generation, sharing, and application of scientific and technical knowledge. We report on a case study that examined the effects that one large innovative organization, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, is having on the knowledge dimensions of decision-making in global health. The case study shows that the organization created demand for new knowledge from a range of actors, but it did not incorporate strategies for meeting this demand into their own rules, incentives, or procedures. This made it difficult for some applicants to meet the organization's dual aims of scientific soundness and national ownership of projects. It also highlighted that scientific knowledge needed to be integrated with managerial and situational knowledge for success. More generally, the study illustrates that institutional change targeting implementation can also significantly affect the dynamics of knowledge creation (learning), access, distribution, and use. Recognizing how action-oriented institutions can affect these dynamics across their knowledge system can help institutional designers build more efficient and effective institutions for sustainable development.

[Deficient education in health and nutrition in Mexican schools: the topic of salt].

PubMed

Lozada, Michelle; Sánchez-Castillo, Claudia P; Mata, Irma I; Cabrera, Georgina A; Pichardo-Ontiveros, Edgar; James, W Philip T

2007-01-01

Given the rapidly increasing rates of adult chronic diseases in Mexico there is a need to assess the knowledge and understanding of these sufferings in relation to an inadequate diet. In a randomly selected sample of primary, secondary and high schools in a region of Mexico City, the knowledge of the dietary contributors to chronic disease was assessed by taking the specific example of salt and the knowledge of its importance. Participation encompassed: 1504 students, 890 parents and 27 teachers. An analysis was made of the curricular contribution of the school to nutritional and health knowledge. Forty five percent of students showed knowledge about the role of salt in health as well as 64.7% and 70% of parents and teachers respectively. Knowledge increased along with age: high school students showed a greater number of correct answers (74.3%) than those from secondary (48.8%) and primary (55.2%) (p < 0.0001). More girls (30.3%) (p < 0.001) answered rightly that industrialized foods contain more salt. No formal lessons are given on any aspects of nutrition or health, but one subject dealing with sexual education. There is little health education and no nutritional teaching in the studied schools despite the wide ranging of nutritional deficiencies and the national epidemic of chronic diseases in Mexico. A change in the scholastic curriculum in schools, that includes subjects on nutrition and health, is urgently required.

Rapid knowledge assessment (RKA): Assessing students content knowledge through rapid, in class assessment of expertise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Connell, Erin

Understanding how students go about problem solving in chemistry lends many possible advantages for interventions in teaching strategies for the college classroom. The work presented here is the development of an in-classroom, real-time, formative instrument to assess student expertise in chemistry with the purpose of developing classroom interventions. The development of appropriate interventions requires the understanding of how students go about starting to solve tasks presented to them, what their mental effort (load on working memory) is, and whether or not their performance was accurate. To measure this, the Rapid Knowledge Assessment (RKA) instrument uses clickers (handheld electronic instruments for submitting answers) as a means of data collection. The classroom data was used to develop an algorithm to deliver student assessment scores, which when correlated to external measure of standardized American Chemical Society (ACS) examinations and class score show a significant relationship between the accuracy of knowledge assessment (p=0.000). Use of eye-tracking technology and student interviews supports the measurements found in the classroom.

The epistemology of quality improvement: it's all Greek

PubMed Central

Perla, Rocco J

2011-01-01

In Plato's Theaetetus, knowledge is defined as the intersection of truth and belief, where knowledge cannot be claimed if something is true but not believed or believed but not true. Using an example from neonatal intensive care, this paper adapts Plato's definition of the concept ‘knowledge’ and applies it to the field of quality improvement in order to explore and understand where current tensions may lie for both practitioners and decision makers. To increase the uptake of effective interventions, not only does there need to be scientific evidence, there also needs to be an understanding of how people's beliefs are changed in order to increase adoption more rapidly. Understanding how best to maximise the overlap between actual and best practice is where quality improvement needs to employ educational and social sciences' methodologies and techniques. PMID:21450765

Achieving best outcomes of patients with cardiovascular diseases in China by enhancing the quality of medical care and establishing a learning health care system

PubMed Central

Jiang, Lixin; Krumholz, Harlan M; Li, Xi; Li, Jing; Hu, Shengshou

2016-01-01

Summary China faces the immediate need of addressing the rapidly growing population with cardiovascular disease (CVD) events and the increasing numbers who are living with CVD. Despite progress in increasing access to services, China faces the dual challenge of addressing gaps in quality of care and producing more evidence to support clinical practice. In this article, we address opportunities to strengthen performance measurement, programs to improve quality of care and national capacity to produce high impact knowledge for clinical practice. Moreover, we propose recommendations, with implications for other conditions, for how China can immediately leverage its Hospital Quality Monitoring System and other existing national platforms to evaluate and improve performance, as well as generate new knowledge to inform clinical decisions and national policies. PMID:26466053

Partnership in Knowledge Creation: Lessons Learned from a Researcher-Policy Actor Partnership to Co-Produce a Rapid Appraisal Case Study of South Australia's Social Inclusion Initiative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newman, Lareen; Biedrzycki, Kate; Patterson, Jan; Baum, Fran

2011-01-01

This paper describes a partnership between researchers and policy actors that was developed within a short timeframe to produce a rapid appraisal case study of a government policy initiative--South Australia's "Social Inclusion Initiative"--for the Social Exclusion Knowledge Network of the international Commission on Social Determinants…

A Rapid Systematic Review of Outcomes Studies in Genetic Counseling.

PubMed

Madlensky, Lisa; Trepanier, Angela M; Cragun, Deborah; Lerner, Barbara; Shannon, Kristen M; Zierhut, Heather

2017-06-01

As healthcare reimbursement is increasingly tied to value-of-service, it is critical for the genetic counselor (GC) profession to demonstrate the value added by GCs through outcomes research. We conducted a rapid systematic literature review to identify outcomes of genetic counseling. Web of Science (including PubMed) and CINAHL databases were systematically searched to identify articles meeting the following criteria: 1) measures were assessed before and after genetic counseling (pre-post design) or comparisons were made between a GC group vs. a non-GC group (comparative cohort design); 2) genetic counseling outcomes could be assessed independently of genetic testing outcomes, and 3) genetic counseling was conducted by masters-level genetic counselors, or non-physician providers. Twenty-three papers met the inclusion criteria. The majority of studies were in the cancer genetic setting and the most commonly measured outcomes included knowledge, anxiety or distress, satisfaction, perceived risk, genetic testing (intentions or receipt), health behaviors, and decisional conflict. Results suggest that genetic counseling can lead to increased knowledge, perceived personal control, positive health behaviors, and improved risk perception accuracy as well as decreases in anxiety, cancer-related worry, and decisional conflict. However, further studies are needed to evaluate a wider array of outcomes in more diverse genetic counseling settings.

Assessment of Factors Related to the Understanding of Education and Knowledge of Self-Care among Patients with Diabetes Mellitus: A Cross-Sectional Prospective Study.

PubMed

Dizdar, Oguzhan Sıtkı; Gul, Ozen Oz; Baspınar, Osman; Cander, Soner; Sisman, Pınar; Eker, Baki; Ersoy, Canan

2016-09-01

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus is rapidly increasing particularly in developing countries. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and self-care practices of diabetes patients and to assess the contribution of the education to this knowledge level and glycemic control. We formed patient groups consisting of 15-30 diabetic patients. First, patients were surveyed using a diabetes self-care knowledge questionnaire (DSCKQ-30). Sunsequently, a standard PowerPoint presentation about diabetes self-management was made to the patients who were then surveyed again using DSCKQ-30. All patients were invited to hospital to measure their control glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level 3 months later. Of the total 364 participants, 62.9% were females. Significant increases in the percentage of correct responses were determined in all components between, before and after education. There was a significant decline of 1.1 in HbA1c levels after 3 months of education. Married or active working patients had a better understanding of the education about diabetes and had a greater knowledge of self-care management regardless of their level of education or income. Education about diabetes can significantly improve knowledge of self-care management and can help in achieving glycemic control. Continuing education about self-care management and complications is crucial and this should be accompanied by a regular assessment of pateients' diabetic knowledge.

A quantitative analysis of the state of knowledge of turtles of the United States and Canada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lovich, Jeffrey E.; Ennen, Joshua R.

2013-01-01

The “information age” ushered in an explosion of knowledge and access to knowledge that continues to revolutionize society. Knowledge about turtles, as measured by number of published papers, has been growing at an exponential rate since the early 1970s, a phenomenon mirrored in all scientific disciplines. Although knowledge about turtles, as measured by number of citations for papers in scientific journals, has been growing rapidly, this taxonomic group remains highly imperiled suggesting that knowledge is not always successfully translated into effective conservation of turtles. We reviewed the body of literature on turtles of the United States and Canada and found that: 1) the number of citations is biased toward large-bodied species, 2) the number of citations is biased toward wide-ranging species, and 3) conservation status has little effect on the accumulation of knowledge for a species, especially after removing the effects of body size or range size. The dispersion of knowledge, measured by Shannon Weiner diversity and evenness indices across species, was identical from 1994 to 2009 suggesting that poorly studied species remained poorly-studied species while well-studied species remained well studied. Several species listed as threatened or endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (e.g., Pseudemys alabamensis, Sternotherus depressus, and Graptemys oculifera) remain poorly studied with the estimated number of citations for each ranging from only 13-24. The low number of citations for these species could best be explained by their restricted distribution and/or their smaller size. Despite the exponential increase in knowledge of turtles in the United States and Canada, no species of turtle listed under the Endangered Species Act has ever been delisted for reason of recovery. Therefore, increased knowledge does not necessarily contribute appreciably to recovery of threatened turtles.

Knowledge bases, clinical decision support systems, and rapid learning in oncology.

PubMed

Yu, Peter Paul

2015-03-01

One of the most important benefits of health information technology is to assist the cognitive process of the human mind in the face of vast amounts of health data, limited time for decision making, and the complexity of the patient with cancer. Clinical decision support tools are frequently cited as a technologic solution to this problem, but to date useful clinical decision support systems (CDSS) have been limited in utility and implementation. This article describes three unique sources of health data that underlie fundamentally different types of knowledge bases which feed into CDSS. CDSS themselves comprise a variety of models which are discussed. The relationship of knowledge bases and CDSS to rapid learning health systems design is critical as CDSS are essential drivers of rapid learning in clinical care. Copyright © 2015 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Knowledge Integration in Public Health: A Rapid Review Using Systems Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riley, Barbara; Norman, Cameron D.; Best, Allan

2012-01-01

There are tradeoffs in knowledge synthesis--for example, between comprehensiveness and timeliness, between generalisability and policy relevance. The tradeoffs are particularly challenging for public health. A growing international community is grappling with building more relevant and useful knowledge bases, to facilitate use of this knowledge in…

Comparison of Planning Quality and Efficiency Between Conventional and Knowledge-based Algorithms in Nasopharyngeal Cancer Patients Using Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy.

PubMed

Chang, Amy T Y; Hung, Albert W M; Cheung, Fion W K; Lee, Michael C H; Chan, Oscar S H; Philips, Helen; Cheng, Yung-Tang; Ng, Wai-Tong

2016-07-01

Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is widely used to achieve a highly conformal dose and improve treatment outcome. However, plan quality and planning time are institute and planner dependent, and no standardized tool exists to recognize an optimal plan. RapidPlan, a knowledge-based algorithm, can generate constraints to assist optimization and produce high-quality IMRT plans. This report evaluated the quality and efficiency of using RapidPlan in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) IMRT planning. RapidPlan was configured using 79 radical IMRT plans for NPC; 20 consecutive NPC patients indicated for radical radiation therapy between October 2014 and May 2015 were then recruited to assess its performance. The ability of RapidPlan to produce acceptable plans was evaluated. For plans that could not achieve clinical acceptance, manual touch-up was performed. The IMRT plans produced without RapidPlan (manual plans) and with RapidPlan (RP-2 plans, including those with manual touch-up) were compared in terms of dosimetric quality and planning efficiency. RapidPlan by itself could produce clinically acceptable plans for 9 of the 20 patients; manual touch-up increased the number of acceptable plans (RP-2 plans) to 19. The target dose coverage and conformity were very similar. No difference was found in the maximum dose to the brainstem and optic chiasm. RP-2 plans delivered a higher maximum dose to the spinal cord (46.4 Gy vs 43.9 Gy, P=.002) but a lower dose to the parotid (mean dose to right parotid, 37.3 Gy vs 45.4 Gy; left, 34.4 Gy vs 43.1 Gy; P<.001) and the right cochlea (mean dose, 48.6 Gy vs 52.6 Gy; P=.02). The total planning time for RP-2 plans was significantly less than that for manual plans (64 minutes vs 295 minutes, P<.001). This study shows that RapidPlan can significantly improve planning efficiency and produce quality IMRT plans for NPC patients. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of a knowledge-based planning solution for head and neck cancer.

PubMed

Tol, Jim P; Delaney, Alexander R; Dahele, Max; Slotman, Ben J; Verbakel, Wilko F A R

2015-03-01

Automated and knowledge-based planning techniques aim to reduce variations in plan quality. RapidPlan uses a library consisting of different patient plans to make a model that can predict achievable dose-volume histograms (DVHs) for new patients and uses those models for setting optimization objectives. We benchmarked RapidPlan versus clinical plans for 2 patient groups, using 3 different libraries. Volumetric modulated arc therapy plans of 60 recent head and neck cancer patients that included sparing of the salivary glands, swallowing muscles, and oral cavity were evenly divided between 2 models, Model(30A) and Model(30B), and were combined in a third model, Model60. Knowledge-based plans were created for 2 evaluation groups: evaluation group 1 (EG1), consisting of 15 recent patients, and evaluation group 2 (EG2), consisting of 15 older patients in whom only the salivary glands were spared. RapidPlan results were compared with clinical plans (CP) for boost and/or elective planning target volume homogeneity index, using HI(B)/HI(E) = 100 × (D2% - D98%)/D50%, and mean dose to composite salivary glands, swallowing muscles, and oral cavity (D(sal), D(swal), and D(oc), respectively). For EG1, RapidPlan improved HI(B) and HI(E) values compared with CP by 1.0% to 1.3% and 1.0% to 0.6%, respectively. Comparable D(sal) and D(swal) values were seen in Model(30A), Model(30B), and Model60, decreasing by an average of 0.1, 1.0, and 0.8 Gy and 4.8, 3.7, and 4.4 Gy, respectively. However, differences were noted between individual organs at risk (OARs), with Model(30B) increasing D(oc) by 0.1, 3.2, and 2.8 Gy compared with CP, Model(30A), and Model60. Plan quality was less consistent when the patient was flagged as an outlier. For EG2, RapidPlan decreased D(sal) by 4.1 to 4.9 Gy on average, whereas HI(B) and HI(E) decreased by 1.1% to 1.5% and 2.3% to 1.9%, respectively. RapidPlan knowledge-based treatment plans were comparable to CP if the patient's OAR-planning target volume geometry was within the range of those included in the models. EG2 results showed that a model including swallowing-muscle and oral-cavity sparing can be applied to patients with only salivary gland sparing. This may allow model library sharing between institutes. Optimal detection of inadequate plans and population of model libraries requires further investigation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Evaluation of the level of knowledge of medical secretaries about clinical specimens].

PubMed

Ciftçi, Ihsan Hakki; Safak, Birol; Cetinkaya, Zafer; Aktepe, Orhan Cem; Unalan, Demet

2006-10-01

The rapid development of medical industry in the last 5 years in Turkey led to an increased demand for medical technicians and secretaries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of knowledge of students in Occupational School of Medical Documentation and Secretary about the clinical specimens, and to estimate the need for an additional education on clinical specimens. Four hundred and forty eight students from eight universities were participated to this questionnaire survey. Mean age of the participants were 20.4+/-1.66 years and 342 (76.3%) of them were female students. The mean answer rate of students to the questions about clinical specimens was found 3.4+/-1.9% (min-max: 0-10). Correct answer rates were similar for both first and second year students. There was a negative relationship between the educational year and the rate of correct answer, however the correlation was not significant. Additionally, internship period did not have any effect on the level of knowledge. The results of this survey have indicated that the level of knowledge of medical secretaries about clinical specimens was very low. As the roles and responsibilities of medical secretaries in medical industry increases, in order to increase the cost-effectivity, quality and patient satisfaction, the contents of their education programs must be reorganized, and a lecture about clinical specimens should be integrated.

Midwives' Experiences, Education, and Support Needs Regarding Basic Newborn Resuscitation in Jordan.

PubMed

Kassab, Manal; Alnuaimi, Karimeh; Mohammad, Khitam; Creedy, Debra; Hamadneh, Shereen

2016-06-01

Newborns who are compromised at birth require rapid attention to stabilize their respiration attempts. Lack of knowledge regarding basic newborn resuscitation is a contributing factor to poor newborn health outcomes and increased mortality. The purpose of this study was to explore Jordanian midwives' experiences, education, and support needs to competently perform basic newborn resuscitation. Qualitative descriptive methodology was used to analyze a convenience sample of 20 midwives. A thematic approach was used to analyze the data. Participants discussed their experiences of basic newborn resuscitation including knowledge, skills, and barriers and suggested solutions to improve practice. Four themes were revealed: lack of knowledge and skills in newborn resuscitation, organizational constraints, inadequate teamwork, and educational needs. The midwives perceived that their ability to perform newborn resuscitation was hindered by lack of knowledge and skills in newborn resuscitation, organizational constraints (such as lack of equipment), and poor co-ordination and communication among team members. © The Author(s) 2015.

The Deep Fried South: A Literary Analysis of Nutritional Knowledge of Students and Adults in Alabama

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holden, Shelley L.; Norrell, Phillip M.

2014-01-01

Obesity is a major concern in the United States because of its rapid rate of increase. In 2000, there was no state that had a prevalence of obesity of less than 10% and by 2010 there was no state that had a prevalence of obesity of less than 20% and 12 states reported an obesity rate equal to or greater than 30% (National Center for Health…

National Knowledge Commission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pitroda, Sam

2007-04-01

India's National Knowledge Commission (NKC) established by the prime minister is focused on building institutions and infrastructure in Education, Science and Technology, Innovation etc. to meet the challenges of the knowledge economy in the 21st century and increase India's competitive advantage in the global market. India today stands poised to reap the benefits of a rapidly growing economy and a major demographic advantage, with 550 million young people below the age of 25 years, the largest in the world. The NKC is focused on five critical areas of knowledge related to access, concepts, creation, applications and services. This includes a variety of subject areas such as language, translations, libraries, networks, portals, affirmative action, distance learning, intellectual property, Entrepreneurship, application in Agriculture, health, small and medium scale industries, e-governance etc. One of the keys to this effort is to build a national broadband gigabit of networks of 500 nodes to connect universities, Libraries, Laboratories, Hospitals, Agriculture institutions etc. to share resources and collaborate on multidisciplinary activities. This presentation will introduce the NKC, discuss methodology, subject areas, specific recommendation and outline a plan to build knowledge networks and specifics on network architecture, applications, and utilities.

Using rapid reviews: an example from a study conducted to inform policy-making.

PubMed

O'Leary, Denise F; Casey, Mary; O'Connor, Laserina; Stokes, Diarmuid; Fealy, Gerard M; O'Brien, Denise; Smith, Rita; McNamara, Martin S; Egan, Claire

2017-03-01

A discussion of the potential use of rapid review approaches in nursing and midwifery research which presents a worked example from a study conducted to inform policy decision-making. Rapid reviews, which can be defined as outputs of a knowledge synthesis approach that involves modifying or omitting elements of a systematic review process due to limited time or resources, are becoming increasingly popular in health research. This paper provides guidance on how a rapid review can be undertaken and discusses the strengths and challenges of the approach. Data from a rapid review of the literature undertaken in 2015 is used as a worked example to highlight one method of undertaking a rapid review. Seeking evidence to inform health policy-making or evidence based practice is a process that can be limited by time constraints, making it difficult to conduct comprehensive systematic reviews. Rapid reviews provide a solution as they are a systematic method of synthesizing evidence quickly. There is no single best way to conduct a rapid review but researchers can ensure they are adhering to best practice by being systematic, having subject and methodological expertise on the review team, reporting the details of the approach they took, highlighting the limitations of the approach, engaging in good evidence synthesis and communicating regularly with end users, other team members and experts. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Stop the sores: the making and evaluation of a successful social marketing campaign.

PubMed

Plant, Aaron; Montoya, Jorge A; Rotblatt, Harlan; Kerndt, Peter R; Mall, Karen L; Pappas, Les G; Kent, Charlotte K; Klausner, Jeffrey D

2010-01-01

Los Angeles County has experienced a rapid increase in early syphilis among men who have sex with men (MSM) in recent years, with the number of cases rising from 126 in 2000 to 809 in 2005. As part of the public health response to this outbreak, a sustained social marketing campaign was launched in 2002, with the objectives of increasing syphilis testing, knowledge, and awareness among MSM in Los Angeles. This campaign, as implemented, exemplified key principles of social marketing, including market research, audience segmentation, and branding. A cross-sectional study conducted in 2004 to evaluate the campaign found that those MSM who were aware of the campaign were nearly twice as likely to have tested for syphilis in the past 6 months as those MSM who were not aware of the campaign. Those MSM who were aware of the campaign also had more syphilis awareness and knowledge in key areas.

The power of collaboration: using internet-based tools to facilitate networking and benchmarking within a consortium of academic health centers.

PubMed

Korner, Eli J; Oinonen, Michael J; Browne, Robert C

2003-02-01

The University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) represents a strategic alliance of 169 academic health centers and associated institutions engaged in knowledge sharing and idea-generation. The use of the Internet as a tool in the delivery of UHC's products and services has increased dramatically over the past year and will continue to increase during the foreseeable future. This paper examines the current state of UHC-member institution driven tools and services that utilize the Web as a fundamental component in their delivery. The evolution of knowledge management at UHC, its management information and reporting tools, and expansion of e-commerce provide real world examples of Internet use in health care delivery and management. Health care workers are using these Web-based tools to help manage rising costs and optimize patient outcomes. Policy, technical, and organizational issues must be resolved to facilitate rapid adoption of Internet applications.

Achieving best outcomes for patients with cardiovascular disease in China by enhancing the quality of medical care and establishing a learning health-care system.

PubMed

Jiang, Lixin; Krumholz, Harlan M; Li, Xi; Li, Jing; Hu, Shengshou

2015-10-10

China has an immediate need to address the rapidly growing population with cardiovascular disease events and the increasing number of people living with this illness. Despite progress in increasing access to services, China faces the dual challenge of addressing gaps in quality of care and producing more evidence to support clinical practice. In this Review, we address opportunities to strengthen performance measurement, programmes to improve quality of care, and national capacity to produce high-impact knowledge for clinical practice. Moreover, we propose recommendations, with implications for other diseases, for how China can immediately make use of its Hospital Quality-Monitoring System and other existing national platforms to assess and improve performance of medical care, and to generate new knowledge to inform clinical decisions and national policies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Emerging spatial patterns in Antarctic prokaryotes

PubMed Central

Chong, Chun-Wie; Pearce, David A.; Convey, Peter

2015-01-01

Recent advances in knowledge of patterns of biogeography in terrestrial eukaryotic organisms have led to a fundamental paradigm shift in understanding of the controls and history of life on land in Antarctica, and its interactions over the long term with the glaciological and geological processes that have shaped the continent. However, while it has long been recognized that the terrestrial ecosystems of Antarctica are dominated by microbes and their processes, knowledge of microbial diversity and distributions has lagged far behind that of the macroscopic eukaryote organisms. Increasing human contact with and activity in the continent is leading to risks of biological contamination and change in a region whose isolation has protected it for millions of years at least; these risks may be particularly acute for microbial communities which have, as yet, received scant recognition and attention. Even a matter apparently as straightforward as Protected Area designation in Antarctica requires robust biodiversity data which, in most parts of the continent, remain almost completely unavailable. A range of important contributing factors mean that it is now timely to reconsider the state of knowledge of Antarctic terrestrial prokaryotes. Rapid advances in molecular biological approaches are increasingly demonstrating that bacterial diversity in Antarctica may be far greater than previously thought, and that there is overlap in the environmental controls affecting both Antarctic prokaryotic and eukaryotic communities. Bacterial dispersal mechanisms and colonization patterns remain largely unaddressed, although evidence for regional evolutionary differentiation is rapidly accruing and, with this, there is increasing appreciation of patterns in regional bacterial biogeography in this large part of the globe. In this review, we set out to describe the state of knowledge of Antarctic prokaryote diversity patterns, drawing analogy with those of eukaryote groups where appropriate. Based on our synthesis, it is clear that spatial patterns of Antarctic prokaryotes can be unique at local scales, while the limited evidence available to date supports the group exhibiting overall regional biogeographical patterns similar to the eukaryotes. We further consider the applicability of the concept of “functional redundancy” for the Antarctic microbial community and highlight the requirements for proper consideration of their important and distinctive roles in Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems. PMID:26483777

Upper Face: Clinical Anatomy and Regional Approaches with Injectable Fillers.

PubMed

Sykes, Jonathan M; Cotofana, Sebastian; Trevidic, Patrick; Solish, Nowell; Carruthers, Jean; Carruthers, Alastair; Moradi, Amir; Swift, Arthur; Massry, Guy G; Lambros, Val; Remington, B Kent

2015-11-01

The use of facial fillers has been rapidly increased as the range of injectable products and indications continues to expand. Complications may arise from improper placement or technique. This article highlights the importance of anatomic knowledge when using injectable fillers in the face. A detailed review of the clinical anatomy of the upper face is performed. Regional approaches are described using the applied anatomy to efficiently and safely augment the different subunits of the upper face. Key aspects of safe and successful injection of fillers in the upper face include a thorough knowledge of the location of fat compartments and neurovascular structures. Awareness of these structures enables the practitioner to maximize injections, while avoiding damage to important nerves and vessels. A detailed knowledge of the anatomy and properties of the product is paramount to maximize the efficacy while minimizing the risk of complications.

Automatic Invocation Linking for Collaborative Web-Based Corpora

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gardner, James; Krowne, Aaron; Xiong, Li

Collaborative online encyclopedias or knowledge bases such as Wikipedia and PlanetMath are becoming increasingly popular because of their open access, comprehensive and interlinked content, rapid and continual updates, and community interactivity. To understand a particular concept in these knowledge bases, a reader needs to learn about related and underlying concepts. In this chapter, we introduce the problem of invocation linking for collaborative encyclopedia or knowledge bases, review the state of the art for invocation linking including the popular linking system of Wikipedia, discuss the problems and challenges of automatic linking, and present the NNexus approach, an abstraction and generalization of the automatic linking system used by PlanetMath.org. The chapter emphasizes both research problems and practical design issues through discussion of real world scenarios and hence is suitable for both researchers in web intelligence and practitioners looking to adopt the techniques. Below is a brief outline of the chapter.

The Effects of Training on Knowledge and Beliefs About Breast Cancer and Early Diagnosis Methods Among Women.

PubMed

Yılmaz, Meryem; Sayın, Yazile; Cengiz, Hatice Öner

2017-10-01

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common female malignancy in the world and Turkey. Its prevalence and mortality are surprisingly increasing at a rapid rate. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of training sessions on women's knowledge of relevant risk factors of BC and screening methods, screening behaviors and health beliefs among of healthy women in Turkey. In this study, in order to establish the efficiency of BC training, a semi-empirical single group pre-test & post-test research model was used. The data were collected by using a self-administered questionnaire and by using the Turkish version of Champion's health belief model scale (CHBMS). The pre-test was performed before the training and after one week of the training, post-test was performed with a questionnaire having the same content. In total, 244 women participated in the study. The average age of the women was 39.44 (SD=1.06) years. The mean total knowledge score increased significantly (p<.001) from 9.05 in the pre-test to 16.53 in the post-test. The results showed that both mean knowledge scores and CHBMS subscales scores of the women were increased significantly (p<.001) from the pre-test to the post-test. In multiple linear regression analysis, BC screening knowledge of women with susceptibility, benefit, self-efficacy and health motivation subscales of CHBMS, breast self-examination (BSE) practice and self-efficacy were also significant in the post-test; in the pre- and post-tests, a significant relationship among the level of education of women, susceptibility and seriousness was found (p<.001). The study showed that the training program had profound effects on BC knowledge, screening behaviors and health beliefs of women.

Summary appraisals of the Nation's ground-water resources; Missouri Basin region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Taylor, O. James

1978-01-01

Comprehensive water-management planning in the Missouri Basin Region will require periodic or continuing inventory of precipitation, streamflow, surface-water storage, and ground water. Water demands for irrigation, industrial, public supply, and rural use are increasing rapidly. Reliance on ground-water supplies is increasing even though in many areas the ground water is still mostly undeveloped. Optimal use of water supplies will require the establishment of realistic goals and carefully conceived water-management plans, each of which will necessarily be based on an adequate baseline of hydrologic data and knowledge of the highly variable hydrologic systems in the region.

Let Food Be Thy Medicine: Diet, Nutrition, and Biomarkers’ Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

PubMed Central

Mosconi, Lisa; McHugh, Pauline F.

2015-01-01

Epidemiological evidence linking diet—one of the most important modifiable lifestyle factors—and risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD)—the most common cause of dementia—is rapidly increasing. However, the biological mechanisms underlying the relationship between dietary nutrients, brain aging, and risk of AD are largely unexplored. Recent studies using brain imaging and biological markers of AD have begun to clarify how diet and nutrition modulate risk of AD in cognitively normal individuals, especially those at increased genetic risk. Such knowledge is critical prior to implementing dietary recommendations for prevention and treatment of disease. PMID:26167396

The interplay between knowledge, perceived efficacy, and concern about global warming and climate change: a one-year longitudinal study.

PubMed

Milfont, Taciano L

2012-06-01

If the long-term goal of limiting warming to less than 2°C is to be achieved, rapid and sustained reductions of greenhouse gas emissions are required. These reductions will demand political leadership and widespread public support for action on global warming and climate change. Public knowledge, level of concern, and perceived personal efficacy, in positively affecting these issues are key variables in understanding public support for mitigation action. Previous research has documented some contradictory associations between knowledge, personal efficacy, and concern about global warming and climate change, but these cross-sectional findings limit inferences about temporal stability and direction of influence. This study examines the relationships between these three variables over a one-year period and three waves with national data from New Zealand. Results showed a positive association between the variables, and the pattern of findings was stable and consistent across the three data points. More importantly, results indicate that concern mediates the influence of knowledge on personal efficacy. Knowing more about global warming and climate change increases overall concern about the risks of these issues, and this increased concern leads to greater perceived efficacy and responsibility to help solving them. Implications for risk communication are discussed. © 2012 Society for Risk Analysis.

Potential Biomarkers and Their Applications for Rapid and Reliable Detection of Malaria

PubMed Central

Jain, Priyamvada; Chakma, Babina; Patra, Sanjukta; Goswami, Pranab

2014-01-01

Malaria has been responsible for the highest mortality in most malaria endemic countries. Even after decades of malaria control campaigns, it still persists as a disease of high mortality due to improper diagnosis and rapidly evolving drug resistant malarial parasites. For efficient and economical malaria management, WHO recommends that all malaria suspected patients should receive proper diagnosis before administering drugs. It is thus imperative to develop fast, economical, and accurate techniques for diagnosis of malaria. In this regard an in-depth knowledge on malaria biomarkers is important to identify an appropriate biorecognition element and utilize it prudently to develop a reliable detection technique for diagnosis of the disease. Among the various biomarkers, plasmodial lactate dehydrogenase and histidine-rich protein II (HRP II) have received increasing attention for developing rapid and reliable detection techniques for malaria. The widely used rapid detection tests (RDTs) for malaria succumb to many drawbacks which promotes exploration of more efficient economical detection techniques. This paper provides an overview on the current status of malaria biomarkers, along with their potential utilization for developing different malaria diagnostic techniques and advanced biosensors. PMID:24804253

A systematic review of community pharmacist therapeutic knowledge of dietary supplements.

PubMed

Waddington, Freya; Naunton, Mark; Kyle, Greg; Thomas, Jackson; Cooper, Gabrielle; Waddington, Ainsley

2015-06-01

Internationally, the use of dietary supplements has been growing rapidly. Patient support for pharmacist sales of nutritional and dietary supplements is also strong. The increase in demand for nutritional and dietary supplements and subsequent advice about these products, however, makes it necessary that pharmacists maintain a contemporary knowledge of the area. This systematic review was conducted to examine the current evidence regarding the level of the nutritional and dietary supplement knowledge of community pharmacists and their understanding of their therapeutic effects. Electronic databases including Medline, Scopus, Embase, CINAHL, Scifinder and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register were searched. Studies assessing nutritional knowledge of pharmacists in community pharmacies were eligible for inclusion. All languages and study designs were considered. Study results were analysed and pharmacist knowledge scores were given out of 100 %. Results From 5594 studies identified, nine met the inclusion criteria. Each study tested pharmacist knowledge with predetermined questions calculating results as the number of questions answered correctly. These knowledge scores were converted to a percentage score for the purpose of this paper. The median knowledge score across all papers was 64 %. A lack of studies assessing community pharmacists' knowledge of commonly sold vitamins and minerals was observed. Global community pharmacist knowledge of dietary supplements appears to be poor. Community pharmacists have an professional responsibility to provide accurate health information about dietary supplements as they do for any other therapies they provide to patients. Further research including that which assesses pharmacists' therapeutic knowledge of commonly sold vitamins and minerals is suggested.

Assessment and Challenges of Ligand Docking into Comparative Models of G-Protein Coupled Receptors

PubMed Central

Frimurer, Thomas M.; Meiler, Jens

2013-01-01

The rapidly increasing number of high-resolution X-ray structures of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) creates a unique opportunity to employ comparative modeling and docking to provide valuable insight into the function and ligand binding determinants of novel receptors, to assist in virtual screening and to design and optimize drug candidates. However, low sequence identity between receptors, conformational flexibility, and chemical diversity of ligands present an enormous challenge to molecular modeling approaches. It is our hypothesis that rapid Monte-Carlo sampling of protein backbone and side-chain conformational space with Rosetta can be leveraged to meet this challenge. This study performs unbiased comparative modeling and docking methodologies using 14 distinct high-resolution GPCRs and proposes knowledge-based filtering methods for improvement of sampling performance and identification of correct ligand-receptor interactions. On average, top ranked receptor models built on template structures over 50% sequence identity are within 2.9 Å of the experimental structure, with an average root mean square deviation (RMSD) of 2.2 Å for the transmembrane region and 5 Å for the second extracellular loop. Furthermore, these models are consistently correlated with low Rosetta energy score. To predict their binding modes, ligand conformers of the 14 ligands co-crystalized with the GPCRs were docked against the top ranked comparative models. In contrast to the comparative models themselves, however, it remains difficult to unambiguously identify correct binding modes by score alone. On average, sampling performance was improved by 103 fold over random using knowledge-based and energy-based filters. In assessing the applicability of experimental constraints, we found that sampling performance is increased by one order of magnitude for every 10 residues known to contact the ligand. Additionally, in the case of DOR, knowledge of a single specific ligand-protein contact improved sampling efficiency 7 fold. These findings offer specific guidelines which may lead to increased success in determining receptor-ligand complexes. PMID:23844000

Inter-firm Networks, Organizational Learning and Knowledge Updating: An Empirical Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Su-rong; Wang, Wen-ping

In the era of knowledge-based economy which information technology develops rapidly, the rate of knowledge updating has become a critical factor for enterprises to gaining competitive advantage .We build an interactional theoretical model among inter-firm networks, organizational learning and knowledge updating thereby and demonstrate it with empirical study at last. The result shows that inter-firm networks and organizational learning is the source of knowledge updating.

When Less Is More in Cognitive Diagnosis: A Rapid Online Method for Diagnosing Learner Task-Specific Expertise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kalyuga, Slava

2008-01-01

Rapid cognitive diagnosis allows measuring current levels of learner domain-specific knowledge in online learning environments. Such measures are required for individualizing instructional support in real time, as students progress through a learning session. This article describes 2 experiments designed to validate a rapid online diagnostic…

Shifting from Implicit to Explicit Knowledge: Different Roles of Early- and Late-Night Sleep

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yordanova, Juliana; Kolev, Vasil; Verleger, Rolf; Bataghva, Zhamak; Born, Jan; Wagner, Ullrich

2008-01-01

Sleep has been shown to promote the generation of explicit knowledge as indicated by the gain of insight into previously unrecognized task regularities. Here, we explored whether this generation of explicit knowledge depends on pre-sleep implicit knowledge, and specified the differential roles of slow-wave sleep (SWS) vs. rapid eye movement (REM)…

The changing role of history in restoration ecology

USGS Publications Warehouse

Eric Higgs,; Falk, Donald A.; Guerrini, Anita; Hall, Marcus; Harris, Jim; Hobbs, Richard J.; Jackson, Stephen T.; Rhemtulla, Jeanine M.; Throop, William

2014-01-01

In the face of rapid environmental and cultural change, orthodox concepts in restoration ecology such as historical fidelity are being challenged. Here we re-examine the diverse roles played by historical knowledge in restoration, and argue that these roles remain vitally important. As such, historical knowledge will be critical in shaping restoration ecology in the future. Perhaps the most crucial role in shifting from the present version of restoration ecology (“v1.0”) to a newer formulation (“v2.0”) is the value of historical knowledge in guiding scientific interpretation, recognizing key ecological legacies, and influencing the choices available to practitioners of ecosystem intervention under conditions of open-ended and rapid change.

City and cosmology: genetics, health, and urban living in Dubai.

PubMed

Parkhurst, Aaron

2018-04-01

In light of increasingly high rates of diabetes, heart disease, and obesity among citizens of the Arabian Gulf, popular health discourse in the region has emphasised the emergent Arab genome as the primary etiological basis of major health conditions. However, after many years of public dissemination of genomic knowledge in the region, and widespread acceptance of this knowledge among Gulf Arab citizens, the rates of chronic illness continue to increase. This paper briefly explores the clash between indigenous Islamic knowledge systems and biomedical knowledge systems imported into the United Arab Emirates. It presents vignettes collected from interviews and participant observation in Dubai as part of nearly four years of ethnographic research, completed as part of the author's doctoral work on 'Anxiety and Identity in Southeast Arabia'. Rather than radically informing health seeking behaviours among many UAE citizens, the emphasis on the 'Arab Genome' has instead reconfirmed the authority of Bedouin cosmological understandings of disease, reshaping the language that people use to engage with their bodies and their health. Local cosmology remains a powerful discursive element that often operates in contention, in sometimes powerfully subtle ways, with novel health initiative regimes. For many people in the region, genomic information, as it is often discussed and propagated in the UAE, shares an intimate relationship with ideas of fate and national identity, and sometimes serves to mitigate the increasingly uncertain terms of engagement that people share between the body, their health, and rapidly changing urban landscapes.

EXTENSION EDUCATION SYMPOSIUM: reinventing extension as a resource--what does the future hold?

PubMed

Mirando, M A; Bewley, J M; Blue, J; Amaral-Phillips, D M; Corriher, V A; Whittet, K M; Arthur, N; Patterson, D J

2012-10-01

The mission of the Cooperative Extension Service, as a component of the land-grant university system, is to disseminate new knowledge and to foster its application and use. Opportunities and challenges facing animal agriculture in the United States have changed dramatically over the past few decades and require the use of new approaches and emerging technologies that are available to extension professionals. Increased federal competitive grant funding for extension, the creation of eXtension, the development of smartphone and related electronic technologies, and the rapidly increasing popularity of social media created new opportunities for extension educators to disseminate knowledge to a variety of audiences and engage these audiences in electronic discussions. Competitive grant funding opportunities for extension efforts to advance animal agriculture became available from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and have increased dramatically in recent years. The majority of NIFA funding opportunities require extension efforts to be integrated with research, and NIFA encourages the use of eXtension and other cutting-edge approaches to extend research to traditional clientele and nontraditional audiences. A case study is presented to illustrate how research and extension were integrated to improve the adoption of AI by beef producers. Those in agriculture are increasingly resorting to the use of social media venues such as Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter to access information required to support their enterprises. Use of these various approaches by extension educators requires appreciation of the technology and an understanding of how the target audiences access information available on social media. Technology to deliver information is changing rapidly, and Cooperative Extension Service professionals will need to continuously evaluate digital technology and social media tools to appropriately integrate them into learning and educational opportunities.

Life expectancy and national income in Europe, 1900-2008: an update of Preston's analysis.

PubMed

Mackenbach, Johan P; Looman, Caspar Wn

2013-08-01

In the past, upward shifts of the so-called Preston curve, which relates life expectancy to national income, have contributed importantly to worldwide increases in life expectancy. These shifts were due to rapid diffusion of knowledge and technology for infectious disease control from high-income to low-income countries. We assessed to what extent life expectancy growth in Europe has been accompanied by upward shifts in the relation between national income and life expectancy in later parts of the 20th century, when progress in cardiovascular disease control was the main driver of life expectancy growth. Data on national income (gross domestic product per capita, in 1990 international dollars), life expectancy and cause-specific mortality covering the period 1900-2008 were extracted from international data banks. (Change in) life expectancy and age-standardized mortality was regressed on (change in) national income, and the regression parameters were used to estimate the contribution to rising life expectancy and declining mortality in Europe as a whole of changes in national income vs shifts in the relation between national income and health outcomes. Large upward shifts in the relation between national income and life expectancy only occurred before 1960, and were due to rapid declines in mortality from infectious diseases which were independent of rises in national income. These shifts account for between two-thirds and four-fifths of the increase in life expectancy in Europe as a whole during this period. After 1960, upward shifts in the relation between national income and life expectancy were much smaller, and contributed only between one-quarter and one-half to the increase in life expectancy in Europe as a whole. During the latter period, declines in mortality from cardiovascular disease were mainly attributable to increases in national income. In contrast to earlier periods, recent life expectancy growth in European countries appears to have been dependent on their economic growth. More rapid diffusion of knowledge and technology for cardiovascular disease control from higher- to lower-income countries in Europe may be needed to close the East-West life expectancy gap, but it is unlikely that this can be achieved in the absence of more equal economic conditions.

Evaluation of a Knowledge-Based Planning Solution for Head and Neck Cancer

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

Tol, Jim P., E-mail: j.tol@vumc.nl; Delaney, Alexander R.; Dahele, Max

2015-03-01

Purpose: Automated and knowledge-based planning techniques aim to reduce variations in plan quality. RapidPlan uses a library consisting of different patient plans to make a model that can predict achievable dose-volume histograms (DVHs) for new patients and uses those models for setting optimization objectives. We benchmarked RapidPlan versus clinical plans for 2 patient groups, using 3 different libraries. Methods and Materials: Volumetric modulated arc therapy plans of 60 recent head and neck cancer patients that included sparing of the salivary glands, swallowing muscles, and oral cavity were evenly divided between 2 models, Model{sub 30A} and Model{sub 30B}, and were combinedmore » in a third model, Model{sub 60}. Knowledge-based plans were created for 2 evaluation groups: evaluation group 1 (EG1), consisting of 15 recent patients, and evaluation group 2 (EG2), consisting of 15 older patients in whom only the salivary glands were spared. RapidPlan results were compared with clinical plans (CP) for boost and/or elective planning target volume homogeneity index, using HI{sub B}/HI{sub E} = 100 × (D2% − D98%)/D50%, and mean dose to composite salivary glands, swallowing muscles, and oral cavity (D{sub sal}, D{sub swal}, and D{sub oc}, respectively). Results: For EG1, RapidPlan improved HI{sub B} and HI{sub E} values compared with CP by 1.0% to 1.3% and 1.0% to 0.6%, respectively. Comparable D{sub sal} and D{sub swal} values were seen in Model{sub 30A}, Model{sub 30B}, and Model{sub 60}, decreasing by an average of 0.1, 1.0, and 0.8 Gy and 4.8, 3.7, and 4.4 Gy, respectively. However, differences were noted between individual organs at risk (OARs), with Model{sub 30B} increasing D{sub oc} by 0.1, 3.2, and 2.8 Gy compared with CP, Model{sub 30A}, and Model{sub 60}. Plan quality was less consistent when the patient was flagged as an outlier. For EG2, RapidPlan decreased D{sub sal} by 4.1 to 4.9 Gy on average, whereas HI{sub B} and HI{sub E} decreased by 1.1% to 1.5% and 2.3% to 1.9%, respectively. Conclusions: RapidPlan knowledge-based treatment plans were comparable to CP if the patient's OAR-planning target volume geometry was within the range of those included in the models. EG2 results showed that a model including swallowing-muscle and oral-cavity sparing can be applied to patients with only salivary gland sparing. This may allow model library sharing between institutes. Optimal detection of inadequate plans and population of model libraries requires further investigation.« less

Rapid Propellant Loading Approach Exploration

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-11-01

the impact upon ground operations of three configuration options. Ground operations management was addressed through a series of studies performed...and operations management system can enable safe rapid propellant loading operations with limited operator knowledge and involvement. A single

Hidden Anemias in the Critically Ill.

PubMed

O'Malley, Patricia

2017-09-01

With increasing knowledge of the risks associated with receiving blood transfusions, a new paradigm of bloodless medicine is needed. Principles of bloodless medicine include careful monitoring for obvious and hidden anemias, rapid intervention, minimizing blood losses from laboratory testing and procedures, and careful management of bleeding diatheses. As evidence is revealed and refined, standard treatment of anemia in the intensive care unit will include erythropoietin-stimulating agents, iron, folate, and vitamin B12, which will reduce risks associated with blood transfusions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Research on Knowledge-Based Optimization Method of Indoor Location Based on Low Energy Bluetooth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, C.; Li, G.; Deng, Y.; Wang, T.; Kang, Z.

2017-09-01

With the rapid development of LBS (Location-based Service), the demand for commercialization of indoor location has been increasing, but its technology is not perfect. Currently, the accuracy of indoor location, the complexity of the algorithm, and the cost of positioning are hard to be simultaneously considered and it is still restricting the determination and application of mainstream positioning technology. Therefore, this paper proposes a method of knowledge-based optimization of indoor location based on low energy Bluetooth. The main steps include: 1) The establishment and application of a priori and posterior knowledge base. 2) Primary selection of signal source. 3) Elimination of positioning gross error. 4) Accumulation of positioning knowledge. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can eliminate the signal source of outliers and improve the accuracy of single point positioning in the simulation data. The proposed scheme is a dynamic knowledge accumulation rather than a single positioning process. The scheme adopts cheap equipment and provides a new idea for the theory and method of indoor positioning. Moreover, the performance of the high accuracy positioning results in the simulation data shows that the scheme has a certain application value in the commercial promotion.

Emergency Contraception in Mexico: Trends in Knowledge and Ever-Use 2006-2014.

PubMed

Han, Leo; Saavedra-Avendano, Biani; Lambert, William; Fu, Rongwei; Rodriguez, Maria I; Edelman, Alison; Darney, Blair

2017-11-01

Objectives A package of interventions to introduce emergency contraception (EC) to Mexico was implemented, resulting in the addition of EC to the national family planning guidelines in 2004. We describe EC knowledge and use among women in Mexico over time. Methods We used the 2006, 2009, and 2014 of waves of a nationally representative demographic survey (ENADID). We assessed EC knowledge and usage in women ages 15-29 who are not using permanent methods and tested whether EC knowledge and use is changing over time after controlling for socio-demographic characteristics using logistic regression. Results Our sample included n = 99,223 (population N = 40,234,355) women ages 15-29. Overall, knowledge of EC increased over time: 62% in 2006 to 79% in 2009 to 83% in 2014 (p < 0.001). Among young women who have used contraception (n = 42,883; N = 16,816,701), the proportion that reported EC use increased from 3 to 11% to 29% (p < 0.001). Compared to non-users, women who had ever used EC were more likely to be using no method of contraception (44 vs. 35%) or barrier method (22 vs. 17%). Demographic factors including lower wealth, lower education, indigenous status and rural living are significantly associated with less EC knowledge and use. Stratified multivariate analysis found that demographic disadvantages magnify lower EC use among rural residents compared to non-rural residents. Conclusions for Practice Knowledge and use of EC are growing rapidly in Mexico, but disparities persist in demographically disadvantaged women, particularly those living in rural areas. Women who use EC appear to be at higher risk of unintended pregnancy based on current contraceptive use.

Parallel and Serial Reading Processes in Children's Word and Nonword Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van den Boer, Madelon; de Jong, Peter F.

2015-01-01

Fluent reading is characterized by rapid and accurate identification of words. It is commonly accepted that such identification relies on the availability of orthographic knowledge. However, whether this orthographic knowledge should be seen as an accumulation of word-specific knowledge in a lexicon acquired through decoding or as a well-developed…

Coming Full Circle: Indigenous Knowledge, Environment, and Our Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGregor, Deborah

2004-01-01

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) as a construct of broader society is a relatively recent phenomenon, and the field that supports the acquisition of environmental knowledge from Aboriginal people has rapidly grown over the last two decades. In part, TEK has emerged from the growing recognition that Indigenous people all over the world…

Integrating Neuroscience Knowledge into Social Work Education: A Case-Based Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Egan, Marcia; Neely-Barnes, Susan L.; Combs-Orme, Terri

2011-01-01

New knowledge from the rapidly growing field of neuroscience has important implications for our understanding of human behavior in the social environment, yet little of this knowledge has made its way into social work education. This article presents a model for integrating neuroscience into instruction on human development, the bio psychosocial…

Sustainable urban systems: Co-design and framing for transformation.

PubMed

Webb, Robert; Bai, Xuemei; Smith, Mark Stafford; Costanza, Robert; Griggs, David; Moglia, Magnus; Neuman, Michael; Newman, Peter; Newton, Peter; Norman, Barbara; Ryan, Chris; Schandl, Heinz; Steffen, Will; Tapper, Nigel; Thomson, Giles

2018-02-01

Rapid urbanisation generates risks and opportunities for sustainable development. Urban policy and decision makers are challenged by the complexity of cities as social-ecological-technical systems. Consequently there is an increasing need for collaborative knowledge development that supports a whole-of-system view, and transformational change at multiple scales. Such holistic urban approaches are rare in practice. A co-design process involving researchers, practitioners and other stakeholders, has progressed such an approach in the Australian context, aiming to also contribute to international knowledge development and sharing. This process has generated three outputs: (1) a shared framework to support more systematic knowledge development and use, (2) identification of barriers that create a gap between stated urban goals and actual practice, and (3) identification of strategic focal areas to address this gap. Developing integrated strategies at broader urban scales is seen as the most pressing need. The knowledge framework adopts a systems perspective that incorporates the many urban trade-offs and synergies revealed by a systems view. Broader implications are drawn for policy and decision makers, for researchers and for a shared forward agenda.

Globalisation and health: the need for a global vision.

PubMed

Schrecker, Ted; Labonté, Ronald; De Vogli, Roberto

2008-11-08

The reduction of health inequities is an ethical imperative, according to the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH). Drawing on detailed multidisciplinary evidence assembled by the Globalization Knowledge Network that supported the CSDH, we define globalisation in mainly economic terms. We consider and reject the presumption that globalisation will yield health benefits as a result of its contribution to rapid economic growth and associated reductions in poverty. Expanding on this point, we describe four disequalising dynamics by which contemporary globalisation causes divergence: the global reorganisation of production and emergence of a global labour-market; the increasing importance of binding trade agreements and processes to resolve disputes; the rapidly increasing mobility of financial capital; and the persistence of debt crises in developing countries. Generic policies designed to reduce health inequities are described with reference to the three Rs of redistribution, regulation, and rights. We conclude with an examination of the interconnected intellectual and institutional challenges to reduction of health inequities that are created by contemporary globalisation.

Knowledge and perceptions of hospice care of Chinese older adults.

PubMed

Enguidanos, Susan; Yonashiro-Cho, Jeanine; Cote, Sarah

2013-06-01

Despite dramatic increases in hospice enrollment, ethnic disparities persist. With rapidly growing populations of Asian Americans, research is needed to elucidate factors that contribute to hospice underenrollment in subgroups of Asian populations. The purpose of this study was to explore older Chinese Americans' knowledge, understanding, and perceptions of hospice care. Three focus groups were conducted, one each in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese, all recruited from a Chinese social service agency. Focus groups were audiotaped and transcribed and then coded for themes. Thirty-four Chinese Americans participated in the groups, all but one reporting primary language other than English. Themes included lack of knowledge, death timing, burden (financial, emotional, physical toward family or government), peaceful death (relief of suffering), and quality of care (and its influence on perception of best care location). Findings indicate the need for hospice education and outreach to Chinese Americans. Additionally, to address concerns about burden and death in the home, efforts to improve access to hospice facilities are needed. Findings from this study provide direction for healthcare providers to address potential barriers to increasing access to hospice of Chinese Americans. © 2013, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2013, The American Geriatrics Society.

Influence of berry ripeness on accumulation, composition and extractability of skin and seed flavonoids in cv. Sangiovese (Vitis vinifera L.).

PubMed

Allegro, Gianluca; Pastore, Chiara; Valentini, Gabriele; Muzzi, Enrico; Filippetti, Ilaria

2016-10-01

The anthocyanin and tannin concentration and composition of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Sangiovese berries were investigated from post-veraison to harvest. Exhaustive extraction with methanol and acetone was performed to determine the total flavonoid concentration, while a model hydroalcoholic solution was used to prepare extracts representing the winemaking process. The aim of this study was to improve the knowledge of the phenolic maturity of Sangiovese grape. The total anthocyanin concentration increased during ripening, but the quantity of extractable anthocyanins increased more rapidly than the total. The total skin tannin concentration declined from post-veraison to harvest, whereas the extractable portion increased, with little difference in the composition of the fractions. Both the total and extractable seed tannin concentration diminished rapidly just after veraison, and only small fluctuations were detected until harvest. These results indicate that the extractability of anthocyanins and skin tannins increases during ripening, whereas there is no clear trend for seed tannins during the same period. This is the first survey to study the behavior of phenolic compounds during different steps of ripening of Sangiovese grape. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Architecture and Initial Development of a Knowledge-as-a-Service Activator for Computable Knowledge Objects for Health.

PubMed

Flynn, Allen J; Boisvert, Peter; Gittlen, Nate; Gross, Colin; Iott, Brad; Lagoze, Carl; Meng, George; Friedman, Charles P

2018-01-01

The Knowledge Grid (KGrid) is a research and development program toward infrastructure capable of greatly decreasing latency between the publication of new biomedical knowledge and its widespread uptake into practice. KGrid comprises digital knowledge objects, an online Library to store them, and an Activator that uses them to provide Knowledge-as-a-Service (KaaS). KGrid's Activator enables computable biomedical knowledge, held in knowledge objects, to be rapidly deployed at Internet-scale in cloud computing environments for improved health. Here we present the Activator, its system architecture and primary functions.

Magnetic Resonance of Pelvic and Gastrointestinal Emergencies.

PubMed

Wongwaisayawan, Sirote; Kaewlai, Rathachai; Dattwyler, Matthew; Abujudeh, Hani H; Singh, Ajay K

2016-05-01

Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is gaining increased acceptance in the emergency setting despite the continued dominance of computed tomography. MR has the advantages of more precise tissue characterization, superior soft tissue contrast, and a lack of ionizing radiation. Traditional barriers to emergent MR are being overcome by streamlined imaging protocols and newer rapid-acquisition sequences. As the utilization of MR imaging in the emergency department increases, a strong working knowledge of the MR appearance of the most commonly encountered abdominopelvic pathologies is essential. In this article, MR imaging protocols and findings of acute pelvic, scrotal, and gastrointestinal pathologies are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Genetic control of inflorescence architecture in legumes

PubMed Central

Benlloch, Reyes; Berbel, Ana; Ali, Latifeh; Gohari, Gholamreza; Millán, Teresa; Madueño, Francisco

2015-01-01

The architecture of the inflorescence, the shoot system that bears the flowers, is a main component of the huge diversity of forms found in flowering plants. Inflorescence architecture has also a strong impact on the production of fruits and seeds, and on crop management, two highly relevant agronomical traits. Elucidating the genetic networks that control inflorescence development, and how they vary between different species, is essential to understanding the evolution of plant form and to being able to breed key architectural traits in crop species. Inflorescence architecture depends on the identity and activity of the meristems in the inflorescence apex, which determines when flowers are formed, how many are produced and their relative position in the inflorescence axis. Arabidopsis thaliana, where the genetic control of inflorescence development is best known, has a simple inflorescence, where the primary inflorescence meristem directly produces the flowers, which are thus borne in the main inflorescence axis. In contrast, legumes represent a more complex inflorescence type, the compound inflorescence, where flowers are not directly borne in the main inflorescence axis but, instead, they are formed by secondary or higher order inflorescence meristems. Studies in model legumes such as pea (Pisum sativum) or Medicago truncatula have led to a rather good knowledge of the genetic control of the development of the legume compound inflorescence. In addition, the increasing availability of genetic and genomic tools for legumes is allowing to rapidly extending this knowledge to other grain legume crops. This review aims to describe the current knowledge of the genetic network controlling inflorescence development in legumes. It also discusses how the combination of this knowledge with the use of emerging genomic tools and resources may allow rapid advances in the breeding of grain legume crops. PMID:26257753

A knowledgebase system to enhance scientific discovery: Telemakus

PubMed Central

Fuller, Sherrilynne S; Revere, Debra; Bugni, Paul F; Martin, George M

2004-01-01

Background With the rapid expansion of scientific research, the ability to effectively find or integrate new domain knowledge in the sciences is proving increasingly difficult. Efforts to improve and speed up scientific discovery are being explored on a number of fronts. However, much of this work is based on traditional search and retrieval approaches and the bibliographic citation presentation format remains unchanged. Methods Case study. Results The Telemakus KnowledgeBase System provides flexible new tools for creating knowledgebases to facilitate retrieval and review of scientific research reports. In formalizing the representation of the research methods and results of scientific reports, Telemakus offers a potential strategy to enhance the scientific discovery process. While other research has demonstrated that aggregating and analyzing research findings across domains augments knowledge discovery, the Telemakus system is unique in combining document surrogates with interactive concept maps of linked relationships across groups of research reports. Conclusion Based on how scientists conduct research and read the literature, the Telemakus KnowledgeBase System brings together three innovations in analyzing, displaying and summarizing research reports across a domain: (1) research report schema, a document surrogate of extracted research methods and findings presented in a consistent and structured schema format which mimics the research process itself and provides a high-level surrogate to facilitate searching and rapid review of retrieved documents; (2) research findings, used to index the documents, allowing searchers to request, for example, research studies which have studied the relationship between neoplasms and vitamin E; and (3) visual exploration interface of linked relationships for interactive querying of research findings across the knowledgebase and graphical displays of what is known as well as, through gaps in the map, what is yet to be tested. The rationale and system architecture are described and plans for the future are discussed. PMID:15507158

Early Career Hire Rapid Training and Development Program: Status Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Riley, Betsy N.; Solish, Benjamin S.; Halatek, Lauren; Rieber, Richard R.

2009-01-01

The aging of the industrialized workforce, particularly in the aerospace industry, has resulted in a very large generation gap in the workforce. The disproportionate size of Baby Boomers, increasing longevity and declining birth rates has made this phenomenon a reality that no organization can ignore. It is now critical that aerospace organizations prepare themselves for this watershed transformation in the workforce and take the initiative to prepare the incoming workforce with the skills and knowledge necessary to stay at the forefront. Last year the Jet Propulsion Laboratory launched a pioneering training program, known as Phaeton, to provide the knowledge, practice, experience, mentoring opportunities, and project life cycle exposure to our incoming generation of engineers. After 14 months of operation, now is the time to discuss the preliminary results of this new program.

[Personalized urooncology based on molecular uropathology: what is the future?].

PubMed

Dahl, E; Haller, F

2013-07-01

Targeted therapies and biomarker validation are key drivers in the advancement of personalized oncology which is a growing topic in all clinical areas. Compared with other professions, such as pulmonology and gynecology, development in urology has so far been retarded but has recently gained increasing momentum. A basis for this is the currently growing and in future accelerated application of new knowledge derived from molecular biology in the field of uropathology. The rapid gain of knowledge is driven by a whole new class of analytical methods, such as massively parallel sequencing (deep sequencing or next generation sequencing), which enables analysis of virtually a new universe of potential biomarkers. This article describes the emerging paradigm shift in molecular pathological diagnostics of urological tumors using the example of prostate cancer.

"Herbal seizures"--atypical symptoms after ibogaine intoxication: a case report.

PubMed

Breuer, Lorenz; Kasper, Burkhard S; Schwarze, Bernd; Gschossmann, Juergen M; Kornhuber, Johannes; Müller, Helge H

2015-10-31

Misuse of various new psychotropic substances such as ibogaine is increasing rapidly. Knowledge of their negative side effects is sparse. We present a case of intoxication with the herbal substance ibogaine in a 22-year-old white man. After taking a cumulative dose of 38 g (taken in two doses), he developed visual memories, nausea and vomiting. He developed a generalized tonic-clonic seizure with additional grand mal seizures. He was treated with midazolam and levetiracetam. Extended drug screenings and computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging findings were all negative. Knowledge of the side effects of ibogaine has mainly come from reports of cardiovascular complications; seizures are rarely mentioned and experimental findings are inconsistent. It seems that ibogaine acts like a proconvulsive drug at high doses.

Rapid effects of the G-protein coupled oestrogen receptor (GPER) on learning and dorsal hippocampus dendritic spines in female mice.

PubMed

Gabor, Christopher; Lymer, Jennifer; Phan, Anna; Choleris, Elena

2015-10-01

Recently, oestrogen receptors (ERs) have been implicated in rapid learning processes. We have previously shown that 17β-estradiol, ERα and ERβ agonists can improve learning within 40 min of drug administration in mice. However, oestrogen action at the classical receptors may only in part explain these rapid learning effects. Chronic treatment of a G-protein coupled oestrogen receptor (GPER) agonist has been shown to affect learning and memory in ovariectomized rats, yet little is known about its rapid learning effects. Therefore we investigated whether the GPER agonist G-1 at 1 μg/kg, 6 μg/kg, 10 μg/kg, and 30 μg/kg could affect social recognition, object recognition, and object placement learning in ovariectomized CD1 mice within 40 min of drug administration. We also examined rapid effects of G-1 on CA1 hippocampal dendritic spine density and length within 40 min of drug administration, but in the absence of any learning tests. Results suggest a rapid enhancing effect of GPER activation on social recognition, object recognition and object placement learning. G-1 treatment also resulted in increased dendritic spine density in the stratum radiatum of the CA1 hippocampus. Hence GPER, along with the classical ERs, may mediate the rapid effects of oestrogen on learning and neuronal plasticity. To our knowledge, this is the first report of GPER effects occurring within a 40 min time frame. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rapid consolidation of new knowledge in adulthood via fast mapping.

PubMed

Coutanche, Marc N; Thompson-Schill, Sharon L

2015-09-01

Rapid word learning, where words are 'fast mapped' onto new concepts, may help build vocabulary during childhood. Recent evidence has suggested that fast mapping might help to rapidly integrate information into memory networks of the adult neocortex. The neural basis for this learning by fast mapping determines key properties of the learned information. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Food Allergies: Novel Mechanisms and Therapeutic Perspectives.

PubMed

Di Costanzo, Margherita; Paparo, Lorella; Cosenza, Linda; Di Scala, Carmen; Nocerino, Rita; Aitoro, Rosita; Canani, Roberto Berni

2016-01-01

Childhood food allergy (FA) rates have rapidly increased with significant direct medical costs for the health care system and even larger costs for the families with a food-allergic child. The possible causes of food allergy become the target of intense scrutiny in recent years. Increasing evidence underline the importance in early life of gut microbiome in the development of allergic diseases. There are a range of factors in the modern environment that may be associated with changes to both the gut microbiome and risk of FA, such as mode of delivery, antibiotic exposure, infant feeding practices, farming environment, and country of origin. Knowledge of the relationship between early life gut microbiome and allergic diseases may facilitate development of novel preventive and treatment strategies. Based on our current knowledge, there are no currently available approved therapies for food allergy. More studies are needed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of allergen-specific and allergen-nonspecific approaches, as well as combination approaches.

Career Exploration by Adults. Practice Application Brief No. 14.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kerka, Sandra

In an era of rapid social and economic changes, the demand for adult career exploration services is growing in career-tech and one-stop centers and community college and university reentry programs. Career exploration is a process of acquiring self-knowledge and career knowledge and using this knowledge to formulate plans and prepare for a career.…

Recovering Knowledge for Science Education Research: Exploring the "Icarus Effect" in Student Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Georgiou, Helen; Maton, Karl; Sharma, Manjula

2014-01-01

Science education research has built a strong body of work on students' understandings but largely overlooked the nature of science knowledge itself. Legitimation Code Theory (LCT), a rapidly growing approach to education, offers a way of analyzing the organizing principles of knowledge practices and their effects on science education. This…

Using Regular, Lowstakes Tests to Secure Pupils' Contextual Knowledge in Year 10

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Donaghy, Lee

2014-01-01

Lee Donaghy was concerned that his GCSE students' weak contextual knowledge was letting them down. Inspired by a mixture of cognitive science and the arguments of other teachers expressed in various blogs, he decided to tackle the problem by teaching and testing knowledge more intensively. The result was a rapid improvement in secure factual…

Expert system and process optimization techniques for real-time monitoring and control of plasma processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Jie; Qian, Zhaogang; Irani, Keki B.; Etemad, Hossein; Elta, Michael E.

1991-03-01

To meet the ever-increasing demand of the rapidly-growing semiconductor manufacturing industry it is critical to have a comprehensive methodology integrating techniques for process optimization real-time monitoring and adaptive process control. To this end we have accomplished an integrated knowledge-based approach combining latest expert system technology machine learning method and traditional statistical process control (SPC) techniques. This knowledge-based approach is advantageous in that it makes it possible for the task of process optimization and adaptive control to be performed consistently and predictably. Furthermore this approach can be used to construct high-level and qualitative description of processes and thus make the process behavior easy to monitor predict and control. Two software packages RIST (Rule Induction and Statistical Testing) and KARSM (Knowledge Acquisition from Response Surface Methodology) have been developed and incorporated with two commercially available packages G2 (real-time expert system) and ULTRAMAX (a tool for sequential process optimization).

Bipolar disorders in the Arab world: a critical review.

PubMed

Kronfol, Ziad; Zakaria Khalil, Mostafa; Kumar, Pankaj; Suhre, Karsten; Karam, Elie; McInnis, Melvin

2015-05-01

Bipolar disorders are common psychiatric disorders that affect 1-5% of the population worldwide. Major advances in the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and treatment of the disorders have recently occurred. The majority of published reports, however, originate from the Western hemisphere, mostly Europe and the United States. There is a shortage of data from the Arab world on bipolar disorders. In an era of globalization and rapid communication, it is not clear to what extent research findings pertaining to one part of the world are by necessity applicable to other parts. Psychiatric disorders are known to be affected by the culture in which they occur, and knowledge of variations in illness presentation in different ethnic groups is also increasing. However, knowledge of variations affecting Arab populations remains quite limited. This paper provides a critical review of the literature on bipolar affective disorders in the Arab world, pointing to major gaps in knowledge and future opportunities to fill these gaps. © 2015 New York Academy of Sciences.

Building a Rapid Learning Health Care System for Oncology: Why CancerLinQ Collects Identifiable Health Information to Achieve Its Vision.

PubMed

Shah, Alaap; Stewart, Andrew K; Kolacevski, Andrej; Michels, Dina; Miller, Robert

2016-03-01

The ever-increasing volume of scientific discoveries, clinical knowledge, novel diagnostic tools, and treatment options juxtaposed with rising costs in health care challenge physicians to identify, prioritize, and use new information rapidly to deliver efficient and high-quality care to a growing and aging patient population. CancerLinQ, a rapid learning health care system in oncology, is an initiative of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and its Institute for Quality that addresses these challenges by collecting information from the electronic health records of large numbers of patients with cancer. CancerLinQ is first and foremost a quality measurement and reporting system through which oncologists can harness the depth and power of their patients' clinical records and other data to assess, monitor, and improve the care they deliver. However, in light of privacy and security concerns with regard to collection, use, and disclosure of patient information, this article addresses the need to collect protected health information as defined under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 to drive rapid learning through CancerLinQ. © 2016 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Stroke awareness among inpatient nursing staff at an academic medical center

PubMed Central

Adelman, Eric E.; Meurer, William J.; Nance, Dorinda K.; Kocan, Mary Jo; Maddox, Kate E.; Morgenstern, Lewis B.; Skolarus, Lesli E.

2015-01-01

Background and Purpose Since 10% of strokes occur in hospitalized patients, we sought to evaluate stroke knowledge and predictors of stroke knowledge among inpatient and emergency department nursing staff. Methods Nursing staff completed an on-line stroke survey. The survey queried outcome expectations (the importance of rapid stroke identification), self-efficacy in recognizing stroke, and stroke knowledge (name three stroke warning signs/symptoms). Adequate stroke knowledge was defined as the ability to name two or more stroke warning signs. Logistic regression was used to identify the association between stroke symptom knowledge and staff characteristics (education, clinical experience, and nursing unit), stroke self-efficacy, and outcome expectations. Results A total of 875 respondents (84% response rate) completed the survey and most of the respondents were nurses. More than 85% of respondents correctly reported 2 or more stroke warning signs or symptoms. Greater self-efficacy in identifying stroke symptoms (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.01–1.27) and higher ratings for the importance of rapid identification of stroke symptoms (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.002–1.51) were associated with stroke knowledge. Clinical experience, educational experience, nursing unit, and personal knowledge of a stroke patient were not associated with stroke knowledge. Conclusions Stroke outcome expectations and self-efficacy are associated with stroke knowledge and should be included in nursing education about stroke. PMID:24135928

Consumer participation in early detection of the deteriorating patient and call activation to rapid response systems: a literature review.

PubMed

Vorwerk, Jane; King, Lindy

2016-01-01

This review investigated the impact of consumer participation in recognition of patient deterioration and response through call activation in rapid response systems. Nurses and doctors have taken the main role in recognition and response to patient deterioration through hospital rapid response systems. Yet patients and visitors (consumers) have appeared well placed to notice early signs of deterioration. In response, many hospitals have sought to partner health professionals with consumers in detection and response to early deterioration. However, to date, there have been no published research-based reviews to establish the impact of introducing consumer involvement into rapid response systems. A critical research-based review was undertaken. A comprehensive search of databases from 2006-2014 identified 11 studies. Critical appraisal of these studies was undertaken and thematic analysis of the findings revealed four major themes. Following implementation of the consumer activation programmes, the number of calls made by the consumers following detection of deterioration increased. Interestingly, the number of staff calls also increased. Importantly, mortality numbers were found to decrease in one major study following the introduction of consumer call activation. Consumer and staff knowledge and satisfaction with the new programmes indicated mixed results. Initial concerns of the staff over consumer involvement overwhelming the rapid response systems did not eventuate. Evaluation of successful consumer-activated programmes indicated the importance of: effective staff education and training; ongoing consumer education by nurses and clear educational materials. Findings indicated positive patient outcomes following introduction of consumer call activation programmes within rapid response systems. Effective consumer programmes included information that was readily accessible, easy-to-understand and available in a range of multimedia materials accompanied by the explanation and support of health professionals. Introduction of consumer-activated programmes within rapid response systems appears likely to improve outcomes for patients experiencing deterioration. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Citizen Science Initiatives: Engaging the Public and Demystifying Science

PubMed Central

Van Vliet, Kim; Moore, Claybourne

2016-01-01

The Internet and smart phone technologies have opened up new avenues for collaboration among scientists around the world. These technologies have also expanded citizen science opportunities and public participation in scientific research (PPSR). Here we discuss citizen science, what it is, who does it, and the variety of projects and methods used to increase scientific knowledge and scientific literacy. We describe a number of different types of citizen-science projects. These greatly increase the number of people involved, helping to speed the pace of data analysis and allowing science to advance more rapidly. As a result of the numerous advantages of citizen-science projects, these opportunities are likely to expand in the future and increase the rate of novel discoveries. PMID:27047582

Citizen Science Initiatives: Engaging the Public and Demystifying Science.

PubMed

Van Vliet, Kim; Moore, Claybourne

2016-03-01

The Internet and smart phone technologies have opened up new avenues for collaboration among scientists around the world. These technologies have also expanded citizen science opportunities and public participation in scientific research (PPSR). Here we discuss citizen science, what it is, who does it, and the variety of projects and methods used to increase scientific knowledge and scientific literacy. We describe a number of different types of citizen-science projects. These greatly increase the number of people involved, helping to speed the pace of data analysis and allowing science to advance more rapidly. As a result of the numerous advantages of citizen-science projects, these opportunities are likely to expand in the future and increase the rate of novel discoveries.

Old knowledge and new technologies allow rapid development of model organisms

PubMed Central

Cook, Charles E.; Chenevert, Janet; Larsson, Tomas A.; Arendt, Detlev; Houliston, Evelyn; Lénárt, Péter

2016-01-01

Until recently the set of “model” species used commonly for cell biology was limited to a small number of well-understood organisms, and developing a new model was prohibitively expensive or time-consuming. With the current rapid advances in technology, in particular low-cost high-throughput sequencing, it is now possible to develop molecular resources fairly rapidly. Wider sampling of biological diversity can only accelerate progress in addressing cellular mechanisms and shed light on how they are adapted to varied physiological contexts. Here we illustrate how historical knowledge and new technologies can reveal the potential of nonconventional organisms, and we suggest guidelines for selecting new experimental models. We also present examples of nonstandard marine metazoan model species that have made important contributions to our understanding of biological processes. PMID:26976934

Increasing population and declining biological resources in the context of global change and globalization.

PubMed

Ramakrishnan, P S

2001-11-01

In the context of over-consumption of natural resources in the name of development and rapid industrialization by a small section of the human population that is rapidly growing, the world is currently faced with a variety of environmental uncertainties. 'Global change' covering a whole variety of ecological issues, and 'globalization' in an economic sense, are two major phenomena that are responsible for these uncertainties. There is increasing evidence to suggest that the developing countries more than the developed, particularly the marginalized traditional (those living close to nature and natural resources) societies would be the worst sufferers. In order to cope with this problem in a situation where the traditional societies have to cope with rapidly depleting biodiversity on which they are dependant for their livelihood, there is an urgent need to explore additional pathways for sustainable management of natural resources and societal development. Such pathways should be based on a landscape management strategy, that takes into consideration the rich traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) that these societies have. This is critical because TEK is the connecting link between conservation and sustainable development. This paper explores the possibilities in this direction through a balanced approach to development, that links the 'traditional' with the 'modern', in a location-specific way.

Alaska's Secondary Science Teachers and Students Receive Earth Systems Science Knowledge, GIS Know How and University Technical Support for Pre- College Research Experiences: The EDGE Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Connor, C. L.; Prakash, A.

2007-12-01

Alaska's secondary school teachers are increasingly required to provide Earth systems science (ESS) education that integrates student observations of local natural processes related to rapid climate change with geospatial datasets and satellite imagery using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology. Such skills are also valued in various employment sectors of the state where job opportunities requiring Earth science and GIS training are increasing. University of Alaska's EDGE (Experiential Discoveries in Geoscience Education) program has provided training and classroom resources for 3 cohorts of inservice Alaska science and math teachers in GIS and Earth Systems Science (2005-2007). Summer workshops include geologic field experiences, GIS instruction, computer equipment and technical support for groups of Alaska high school (HS) and middle school (MS) science teachers each June and their students in August. Since 2005, EDGE has increased Alaska science and math teachers' Earth science content knowledge and developed their GIS and computer skills. In addition, EDGE has guided teachers using a follow-up, fall online course that provided more extensive ESS knowledge linked with classroom standards and provided course content that was directly transferable into their MS and HS science classrooms. EDGE teachers were mentored by University faculty and technical staff as they guided their own students through semester-scale, science fair style projects using geospatial data that was student- collected. EDGE program assessment indicates that all teachers have improved their ESS knowledge, GIS knowledge, and the use of technology in their classrooms. More than 230 middle school students have learned GIS, from EDGE teachers and 50 EDGE secondary students have conducted original research related to landscape change and its impacts on their own communities. Longer-term EDGE goals include improving student performance on the newly implemented (spring 2008) 10th grade, standards-based, High School Qualifying Exam, on recruiting first-generation college students, and on increasing the number of Earth science majors in the University of Alaska system.

The adverse outcome pathway knowledge base

EPA Science Inventory

The rapid advancement of the Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) framework has been paralleled by the development of tools to store, analyse, and explore AOPs. The AOP Knowledge Base (AOP-KB) project has brought three independently developed platforms (Effectopedia, AOP-Wiki, and AOP-X...

Are online learning modules an effective way to deliver hand trauma management continuing medical education to emergency physicians?

PubMed

Williams, Jason G

2014-01-01

The enormity of modern medical knowledge and the rapidity of change have created increased need for ongoing or continuing medical education (CME) for physicians. Online CME is attractive for its availability at any time and any place, low cost and potentially increased effectiveness compared with traditional face-to-face delivery. To determine whether online CME modules are an effective method for delivering plastic surgery CME to primary care physicians. A needs assessment survey was conducted among all emergency and family physicians in Nova Scotia. Results indicated that this type of program was appealing, and that hand trauma related topics were most desired for CME. 7 Lesson Builder (SoftChalk LLC, www.softchalk.com) was used to construct a multimedia e-learning module that was distributed along with a pretest, post-test and feedback questionnaire. Quantitative (pre- and post-test scores) and qualitative (feedback responses) data were analyzed. The 32 participants who completed the study indicated that it was a positive and enjoyable experience, and that there was a need for more resources like this. Compared with pretest scores, there was a significant gain in knowledge following completion of the module (P=0.001). The present study demonstrated that an e-learning format is attractive for this population and effective in increasing knowledge. This positive outcome will lead to development of additional modules.

Knowledge, attitude and practice regarding dengue fever among the healthy population of highland and lowland communities in central Nepal.

PubMed

Dhimal, Meghnath; Aryal, Krishna Kumar; Dhimal, Mandira Lamichhane; Gautam, Ishan; Singh, Shanker Pratap; Bhusal, Chop Lal; Kuch, Ulrich

2014-01-01

Dengue fever (DF) is the most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral disease in the world. In this decade it has expanded to new countries and from urban to rural areas. Nepal was regarded DF free until 2004. Since then dengue virus (DENV) has rapidly expanded its range even in mountain regions of Nepal, and major outbreaks occurred in 2006 and 2010. However, no data on the local knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of DF in Nepal exist although such information is required for prevention and control measures. We conducted a community based cross-sectional survey in five districts of central Nepal between September 2011 and February 2012. We collected information on the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants and their knowledge, attitude and practice regarding DF using a structured questionnaire. We then statistically compared highland and lowland communities to identify possible causes of observed differences. Out of 589 individuals interviewed, 77% had heard of DF. Only 12% of the sample had good knowledge of DF. Those living in the lowlands were five times more likely to possess good knowledge than highlanders (P<0.001). Despite low knowledge levels, 83% of the people had good attitude and 37% reported good practice. We found a significantly positive correlation among knowledge, attitude and practice (P<0.001). Among the socio-demographic variables, the education level of the participants was an independent predictor of practice level (P<0.05), and education level and interaction between the sex and age group of the participants were independent predictors of attitude level (P<0.05). Despite the rapid expansion of DENV in Nepal, the knowledge of people about DF was very low. Therefore, massive awareness programmes are urgently required to protect the health of people from DF and to limit its further spread in this country.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Regarding Dengue Fever among the Healthy Population of Highland and Lowland Communities in Central Nepal

PubMed Central

Dhimal, Meghnath; Aryal, Krishna Kumar; Dhimal, Mandira Lamichhane; Gautam, Ishan; Singh, Shanker Pratap; Bhusal, Chop Lal; Kuch, Ulrich

2014-01-01

Background Dengue fever (DF) is the most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral disease in the world. In this decade it has expanded to new countries and from urban to rural areas. Nepal was regarded DF free until 2004. Since then dengue virus (DENV) has rapidly expanded its range even in mountain regions of Nepal, and major outbreaks occurred in 2006 and 2010. However, no data on the local knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of DF in Nepal exist although such information is required for prevention and control measures. Methods We conducted a community based cross-sectional survey in five districts of central Nepal between September 2011 and February 2012. We collected information on the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants and their knowledge, attitude and practice regarding DF using a structured questionnaire. We then statistically compared highland and lowland communities to identify possible causes of observed differences. Principal Findings Out of 589 individuals interviewed, 77% had heard of DF. Only 12% of the sample had good knowledge of DF. Those living in the lowlands were five times more likely to possess good knowledge than highlanders (P<0.001). Despite low knowledge levels, 83% of the people had good attitude and 37% reported good practice. We found a significantly positive correlation among knowledge, attitude and practice (P<0.001). Among the socio-demographic variables, the education level of the participants was an independent predictor of practice level (P<0.05), and education level and interaction between the sex and age group of the participants were independent predictors of attitude level (P<0.05). Conclusion Despite the rapid expansion of DENV in Nepal, the knowledge of people about DF was very low. Therefore, massive awareness programmes are urgently required to protect the health of people from DF and to limit its further spread in this country. PMID:25007284

Rapid Assessment and Response Studies of Injection Drug Use: Knowledge Gain, Capacity Building, and Intervention Development in a Multisite Study

PubMed Central

Stimson, Gerry V.; Fitch, Chris; Jarlais, Don Des; Poznyak, Vladimir; Perlis, Theresa; Oppenheimer, Edna; Rhodes, Tim

2006-01-01

Objectives. We evaluated the World Health Organization’s rapid assessment and response (RAR) method of assessing injection drug use and its associated health problems, focusing on knowledge gain, capacity building, and whether RAR leads to the development of interventions reducing the health effects of injection drug use. Methods. Data were derived from RAR studies conducted in Beijing, China; Bogotá, Colombia; Greater Rosario, Argentina; Hanoi, Vietnam; Kharkiv, Ukraine; Minsk, Belarus; Nairobi, Kenya; Penang, Malaysia; St. Petersburg, Russia; and Tehran, Iran. Results. Substantial gains in knowledge and response capacity were reported at all of the study sites. Before RAR initiation, prevention and intervention programs had been absent or inadequate at most of the sites. The RARs resulted in many new or modified interventions; 7 sites reported 24 health-related interventions that were subsequently developed and influenced by the RARs. Conclusions. RARs, which require relatively little external funding, appear to be effective in linking assessment to development of appropriate interventions. The present results add to the evidence that rapid assessment is an important public health tool. PMID:16380578

Sleep Spindle Density Predicts the Effect of Prior Knowledge on Memory Consolidation

PubMed Central

Lambon Ralph, Matthew A.; Kempkes, Marleen; Cousins, James N.; Lewis, Penelope A.

2016-01-01

Information that relates to a prior knowledge schema is remembered better and consolidates more rapidly than information that does not. Another factor that influences memory consolidation is sleep and growing evidence suggests that sleep-related processing is important for integration with existing knowledge. Here, we perform an examination of how sleep-related mechanisms interact with schema-dependent memory advantage. Participants first established a schema over 2 weeks. Next, they encoded new facts, which were either related to the schema or completely unrelated. After a 24 h retention interval, including a night of sleep, which we monitored with polysomnography, participants encoded a second set of facts. Finally, memory for all facts was tested in a functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner. Behaviorally, sleep spindle density predicted an increase of the schema benefit to memory across the retention interval. Higher spindle densities were associated with reduced decay of schema-related memories. Functionally, spindle density predicted increased disengagement of the hippocampus across 24 h for schema-related memories only. Together, these results suggest that sleep spindle activity is associated with the effect of prior knowledge on memory consolidation. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Episodic memories are gradually assimilated into long-term memory and this process is strongly influenced by sleep. The consolidation of new information is also influenced by its relationship to existing knowledge structures, or schemas, but the role of sleep in such schema-related consolidation is unknown. We show that sleep spindle density predicts the extent to which schemas influence the consolidation of related facts. This is the first evidence that sleep is associated with the interaction between prior knowledge and long-term memory formation. PMID:27030764

When Unbiased Probabilistic Learning Is Not Enough: Acquiring a Parametric System of Metrical Phonology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pearl, Lisa S.

2011-01-01

Parametric systems have been proposed as models of how humans represent knowledge about language, motivated in part as a way to explain children's rapid acquisition of linguistic knowledge. Given this, it seems reasonable to examine if children with knowledge of parameters could in fact acquire the adult system from the data available to them.…

[Communication, knowledge and medicine].

PubMed

Espinosa-Alarcón, Patricia A; Palacios-Jiménez, Norma Magdalena

2018-01-01

Knowledge developed by humanity has had profound transcendence concerning its communication and preservation. An example of this are the advances in explanations regarding health and disease, whose mainly printed circulation is rapidly losing its place to digital publications. That is the way it happens with the Revista Médica del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, whose aim is the same: to disseminate new knowledge.

[Rapid diagnosis for infectious diseases: the respective roles of physician and medical technologist].

PubMed

Yamane, N

2000-01-01

The outcome of infectious disease greatly depends on the rapidity of making a definite diagnosis. For this, smooth and tight cooperation between physician and laboratory where medical technologists are working will become to the key. Rapid diagnosis for infectious diseases can contribute on the patient care, however the laboratory has a self-limitation. That is a seesaw phenomenon; rapidity vs accuracy, rapidity vs sensitivity, rapidity vs easygoing, rapidity vs carefulness, etc. From the laboratory aspect, medical technologists should function as the effective access-point in the evidence-based medicine (EBM), and should have a reasonable balance in judging seesaw phenomena, and should be keeping up their knowledge and technical skill.

The Poverty of Constructivism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, Derek Louis

2009-01-01

Constructivism claims to be a postepistemology that replaces "traditional" concepts of knowledge. Supporters of constructivism have argued that progress requires that pre-service teachers be weaned off traditional approaches and that they should adopt constructivist views of knowledge. Constructivism appears to be gaining ground rapidly and should…

Value Creation in the Knowledge-Based Economy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Fang-Chun

2013-01-01

Effective investment strategies help companies form dynamic core organizational capabilities allowing them to adapt and survive in today's rapidly changing knowledge-based economy. This dissertation investigates three valuation issues that challenge managers with respect to developing business-critical investment strategies that can have…

Design of Soil Salinity Policies with Tinamit, a Flexible and Rapid Tool to Couple Stakeholder-Built System Dynamics Models with Physically-Based Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malard, J. J.; Baig, A. I.; Hassanzadeh, E.; Adamowski, J. F.; Tuy, H.; Melgar-Quiñonez, H.

2016-12-01

Model coupling is a crucial step to constructing many environmental models, as it allows for the integration of independently-built models representing different system sub-components to simulate the entire system. Model coupling has been of particular interest in combining socioeconomic System Dynamics (SD) models, whose visual interface facilitates their direct use by stakeholders, with more complex physically-based models of the environmental system. However, model coupling processes are often cumbersome and inflexible and require extensive programming knowledge, limiting their potential for continued use by stakeholders in policy design and analysis after the end of the project. Here, we present Tinamit, a flexible Python-based model-coupling software tool whose easy-to-use API and graphical user interface make the coupling of stakeholder-built SD models with physically-based models rapid, flexible and simple for users with limited to no coding knowledge. The flexibility of the system allows end users to modify the SD model as well as the linking variables between the two models themselves with no need for recoding. We use Tinamit to couple a stakeholder-built socioeconomic model of soil salinization in Pakistan with the physically-based soil salinity model SAHYSMOD. As climate extremes increase in the region, policies to slow or reverse soil salinity buildup are increasing in urgency and must take both socioeconomic and biophysical spheres into account. We use the Tinamit-coupled model to test the impact of integrated policy options (economic and regulatory incentives to farmers) on soil salinity in the region in the face of future climate change scenarios. Use of the Tinamit model allowed for rapid and flexible coupling of the two models, allowing the end user to continue making model structure and policy changes. In addition, the clear interface (in contrast to most model coupling code) makes the final coupled model easily accessible to stakeholders with limited technical background.

The Effect of Start Triage Education on Knowledge and Practice of Emergency Medical Technicians in Disasters.

PubMed

Pouraghaei, Mahboub; Sadegh Tabrizi, Jaafar; Moharamzadeh, Payman; Rajaei Ghafori, Rozbeh; Rahmani, Farzad; Najafi Mirfakhraei, Baharak

2017-06-01

Introduction: Pre-hospital triage is one of the most fundamental concepts in emergency management. Limited human resource changes triage to an inevitable solution in the management of disasters. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of education of simple triage and rapid treatment (START) in the knowledge and practice of Emergency Medical Service (EMS) employees of Eastern Azerbaijan. Methods: This is a pre-and post-intervention study conducted on two hundred and five (205) of employees of EMS sector, in the disaster and emergency management center of Eastern Azerbaijan Province, 2015. The utilized tool is a questionnaire of the knowledge and practice of individuals regarding START triage. The questionnaire was filled by the participants pre- and post-education; thereafter the data were analyzed using SPSS 13 software. Results: The total score of the participants increased from 22.02 (4.49) to 28.54 (3.47). Moreover, the score of sections related to knowledge of the triage was a necessity and the mean score of the section related to the practice increased from 11.47 (2.15) to 13.63 (1.38), and 10.73 (3.57) to 14.93 (2.78), respectively, which were statistically significant. Conclusion: In this study, it was found that holding the educational classes of pre-hospital triage before the disasters is effective in improving the knowledge and practice of employees such as EMS technicians and this resulted to decreased error in performing this process as well as reduced overload in hospitals.

Pitfalls and Prospects for IT Cooperation Between the Republic of Korea and Japan

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-08-01

Mansourov 314 distribution of knowledge become the major sources of added value and social dynamism. Japan is aimed at “becoming the world’s...Subscriptions Mobile Internet In order to facilitate rapid growth in the B2B (B2C) e- commerce market, in addition to the improvements in the information and...central government, and local public agencies to be processed online. As a result, the B2B market size increased from ¥8.62 trillion in 1998 to ¥34.03

State planning of mental health services.

PubMed

Sauber, S R

1976-03-01

Planning is the vital process that links needs to solutions. The interorganizational field of human services constitutes a "turbulent environment," a condition of rapid change, and there needs to be greater receptivity toward comprehensive planning on the part of state departments of mental health. Increased overlap with various welfare and educational service, advances in scientific knowledge, and shifts in general attitudes and social philosophy lead to demands for new and different types of service and require changes in approach and method. Generalized findings of a study of 14 state departments of mental health are presented.

THE CONCEPT OF CONTINUATION EDUCATION IN MEDICINE

PubMed Central

Murphy, Franklin D.

1951-01-01

The rapid increase in quantity and complexity of medical knowledge requires a redefinition of the educational aims of schools of medicine. The four formal years in medical school must be regarded as only the first four years of a “forty-year medical educational experience” and these four years must be devoted in the main to teaching principles of health and disease. There, then, must follow well-planned, realistic programs of continuation education, not in lieu of, but in addition to already established formal programs of postgraduate education. PMID:14801718

HIV rapid testing in the framework of an STI prevention project on a cohort of vulnerable Italians and immigrants.

PubMed

Uccella, Ilaria; Petrelli, Alessio; Vescio, Maria Fenicia; De Carolis, Silvia; Fazioli, Cecilia; Pezzotti, Patrizio; Rezza, Gianni

2017-08-01

Uptake of HIV tests is a challenging issue in vulnerable populations including immigrants, normally using standard diagnostic tools. Objectives of this study were to evaluate the acceptability of HIV rapid test; estimate the percentage of newly HIV diagnoses and evaluate knowledge, attitudes and perception (KAP) about HIV/AIDS and other STIs in a specific set of immigrants and vulnerable population in Rome (Italy). All immigrant and Italian people, aged 16-70 years, attending the infectious disease outpatient clinic of the National Institute for Health, Migration and Poverty (INMP) in Rome (Italy), during the period December 2012 to December 2013 were enrolled. HIV rapid testing was provided for free and patients were asked to fill in a questionnaire evaluating KAP about HIV/STIs. All patients with risky sexual behaviours or with a recent diagnosis of STIs were invited to come back after 3-6 months and a post-counselling questionnaire was offered. Out of the total sample, 99.2% (n = 825) accepted the "rapid test" and 10 new HIV diagnoses were found (1.22%; 95% CI 0.58%-2.22%). Three hundred and eighty-five participants (47%) answered the entry questionnaire and 58 (15%) completed the follow-up. Overall, we found high knowledge about HIV/AIDS; however, lower educational level and immigrant status were associated with poor knowledge about HIV, other STIs and prevention methods. Immigrants have lower perception of sexual risk and higher prejudice than Italians. Our study showed high acceptance of rapid test in this specific vulnerable population and this allowed to identify new HIV diagnoses in unaware people. Socioeconomic inequalities observed in the KAP questionnaire suggest the need for actions to support the reduction of cultural differences in knowledge of HIV/AIDS and for policies aimed at improving access to health services and preventions programmes of marginalized populations.

New space technology advances knowledge of the remote polar regions. [Arctic and Antarctic regions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Macdonald, W. R.

1974-01-01

The application of ERTS-1 imagery is rapidly increasing man's knowledge of polar regions. Products compiled from this imagery at scales of 1:250,000, 1:500,000 and 1:1,000,000 are already providing valuable information to earth scientists working in Antarctica. Significant finds detected by these bench mark products were glaciological changes, advancement in ice fronts, discovery of new geographic features, and the repositioning of nunataks, islands, and ice tongues. Tests conducted in Antarctica have proven the feasibility of tracking Navy navigation satellites to establish ground control for positioning ERTS-1 imagery in remote areas. ERTS imagery coupled with satellite geodesy shows great promise and may prove to be the most practical and cost effective way to meet the small-scale cartographic requirements of the polar science community.

West Antarctic Ice Sheet Initiative. Volume 1: Science and Implementation Plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bindschadler, Robert A. (Editor)

1990-01-01

The Science and Implementation Plan of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Initiative (WAIS) is described. The goal of this initiative is the prediction of the future behavior of this ice sheet and an assessment of its potential to collapse, rapidly raising global sea level. The multidisciplinary nature of WAIS reflects the complexity of the polar ice sheet environment. The project builds upon past and current polar studies in many fields and meshes with future programs of both the U.S. and other countries. Important tasks in each discipline are described and a coordinated schedule by which the majority of these tasks can be accomplished in 5 years is presented. The companion report (Volume 2) contains seven discipline review papers on the state of knowledge of Antarctica and opinions on how that knowledge must be increased to attain the WAIS goal.

Why Does Rapid Naming Predict Chinese Word Reading?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shum, Kathy Kar-man; Au, Terry Kit-fong

2017-01-01

Rapid automatized naming (RAN) robustly predicts early reading abilities across languages, but its underlying mechanism remains unclear. This study found that RAN associated significantly with processing speed but not with phonological awareness or orthographic knowledge in 89 Hong Kong Chinese second-graders. RAN overlaps more with processing…

Strategies for changing negative public attitudes toward organ donation in the People’s Republic of China

PubMed Central

Shumin, Xie; Woo, Stephanie Mu-Lian; Lei, Zhang

2014-01-01

In recent decades, the demand for organ transplantation has risen rapidly worldwide, due to an increased incidence of vital organ failure. However, the scarcity of organs appropriate for transplantation has led to an organ shortage crisis. This article retrospectively reviews strategies to change negative public attitudes toward organ donation in the People’s Republic of China. We strongly believe that efforts to publicize knowledge of organ donation, promote family discussions, train medical staff and students, establish incentive systems, and implement regulatory oversight may combat unfavorable Chinese public opinion toward organ donation and transplantation, thus potentially increasing the organ donation rate in the People’s Republic of China. PMID:24368880

Electronic toolkit for nursing education.

PubMed

Trangenstein, Patricia A

2008-12-01

In an ever-increasing hectic and mobile society, Web-based instructional tools can enhance and supplement student learning and improve communication and collaboration among participants, give rapid feedback on one's progress, and address diverse ways of learning. Web-based formats offer distinct advantages by allowing the learner to view course materials when they choose, from any Internet connection, and as often as they want. The challenge for nurse educators is to assimilate the knowledge and expertise to understand and appropriately use these tools. A variety of Web-based instructional tools are described in this article. As nurse educators increase their awareness of these potential adjuncts they can select appropriate applications that are supported by their institution to construct their own "toolkit."

The impact of science and technology on the civilization.

PubMed

Arber, Werner

2009-01-01

The rapid increase of available scientific knowledge is largely due to the introduction of novel research strategies. The application of these strategies, both in fundamental and in translational scientific research, leads to bursts of technological innovations. In order to fulfill the justified public request for sustainability of technological innovations that contribute to the shaping of the future, increasing attention should be given to science-based technology and policy assessment. These requests are illustrated by benefit/risk evaluations of relevance for the use of genetic engineering as an efficient and effective research strategy. Expected benefits of a responsibly planned introduction of GM crops are outlined as a prospective example for the guiding theme "Biotechnology for sustainability of human society".

An occult aldosterone-producing adenoma initially presenting as hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state.

PubMed

Kuo, Feng-Chih; Hung, Yi-Jen; Hsieh, Chang-Hsun; Hsiao, Fone-Ching

2012-09-01

Aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA), one of the most common causes of primary hyperaldosteronism, is clinically characterized by hypertension, increased sodium retention, increased potassium excretion and altered glucose metabolism. APA can also manifest in the form of hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state (HHS), which is a life-threatening acute diabetic complication. Infection and inadequate fluid replacement are the common precipitating and predisposing factors for the occurrence of HHS. Here, we report a case of occult APA with the initial presentation of HHS, in which an unusually rapid correction of diabetes was observed after correct diagnosis and surgical resection of the APA. To our knowledge, this is the first case with such manifestations and outcome.

Ecoinformatics: supporting ecology as a data-intensive science.

PubMed

Michener, William K; Jones, Matthew B

2012-02-01

Ecology is evolving rapidly and increasingly changing into a more open, accountable, interdisciplinary, collaborative and data-intensive science. Discovering, integrating and analyzing massive amounts of heterogeneous data are central to ecology as researchers address complex questions at scales from the gene to the biosphere. Ecoinformatics offers tools and approaches for managing ecological data and transforming the data into information and knowledge. Here, we review the state-of-the-art and recent advances in ecoinformatics that can benefit ecologists and environmental scientists as they tackle increasingly challenging questions that require voluminous amounts of data across disciplines and scales of space and time. We also highlight the challenges and opportunities that remain. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rapid Health and Needs assessments after disasters: a systematic review

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Publichealth care providers, stakeholders and policy makers request a rapid insight into health status and needs of the affected population after disasters. To our knowledge, there is no standardized rapid assessment tool for European countries. The aim of this article is to describe existing tools used internationally and analyze them for the development of a workable rapid assessment. Methods A review was conducted, including original studies concerning a rapid health and/or needs assessment. The studies used were published between 1980 and 2009. The electronic databasesof Medline, Embase, SciSearch and Psychinfo were used. Results Thirty-three studies were included for this review. The majority of the studies was of US origin and in most cases related to natural disasters, especially concerning the weather. In eighteen studies an assessment was conducted using a structured questionnaire, eleven studies used registries and four used both methods. Questionnaires were primarily used to asses the health needs, while data records were used to assess the health status of disaster victims. Conclusions Methods most commonly used were face to face interviews and data extracted from existing registries. Ideally, a rapid assessment tool is needed which does not add to the burden of disaster victims. In this perspective, the use of existing medical registries in combination with a brief questionnaire in the aftermath of disasters is the most promising. Since there is an increasing need for such a tool this approach needs further examination. PMID:20515478

A Rapid and Revolutionary Response to the Needs of Wounded Warriors

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-10-01

to U.S. Government Agencies Only Appendix C Military Culture Knowledge Pretest CENTER FOR INNOVATION AND RESEARCH ON VETERANS AND...Practice with Servicemembers and Veterans Knowledge Pretest CENTER FOR INNOVATION AND RESEARCH ON VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES (CIR) USC SCHOOL OF...Military Service: Understanding and Intervening Knowledge Pretest CENTER FOR INNOVATION AND RESEARCH ON VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES (CIR) USC SCHOOL

Evolution from Collaborative Learning to Symbiotic E-Learning: Creation of New E-Learning Environment for Knowledge Society

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Songhao, He; Saito, Kenji; Maeda, Takashi; Kubo, Takara

2011-01-01

For people who live in the knowledge society which has rapidly been changing, learning in the widest sense becomes indispensable in all phases of working, living and playing. The construction of an environment, to meet the demands of people who need to acquire new knowledge and skills as the need arises, and enlighten each other regularly, is…

A Comparison of Pre-Service, In-Service and Formation Program for Teachers' Perceptions of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) in English Language Teaching (ELT)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turgut, Yildiz

2017-01-01

In view of the rapid advancement of technology, technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) has been extensively studied. However, research on technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) in teaching English appear to be scarce and addressed either pre-service or in-service teachers, but not their comparison. Additionally, although…

Developing a framework for digital objects in the Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) commons: Report from the Commons Framework Pilots workshop.

PubMed

Jagodnik, Kathleen M; Koplev, Simon; Jenkins, Sherry L; Ohno-Machado, Lucila; Paten, Benedict; Schurer, Stephan C; Dumontier, Michel; Verborgh, Ruben; Bui, Alex; Ping, Peipei; McKenna, Neil J; Madduri, Ravi; Pillai, Ajay; Ma'ayan, Avi

2017-07-01

The volume and diversity of data in biomedical research have been rapidly increasing in recent years. While such data hold significant promise for accelerating discovery, their use entails many challenges including: the need for adequate computational infrastructure, secure processes for data sharing and access, tools that allow researchers to find and integrate diverse datasets, and standardized methods of analysis. These are just some elements of a complex ecosystem that needs to be built to support the rapid accumulation of these data. The NIH Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) initiative aims to facilitate digitally enabled biomedical research. Within the BD2K framework, the Commons initiative is intended to establish a virtual environment that will facilitate the use, interoperability, and discoverability of shared digital objects used for research. The BD2K Commons Framework Pilots Working Group (CFPWG) was established to clarify goals and work on pilot projects that address existing gaps toward realizing the vision of the BD2K Commons. This report reviews highlights from a two-day meeting involving the BD2K CFPWG to provide insights on trends and considerations in advancing Big Data science for biomedical research in the United States. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pattern recognition in volcano seismology - Reducing spectral dimensionality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Unglert, K.; Radic, V.; Jellinek, M.

2015-12-01

Variations in the spectral content of volcano seismicity can relate to changes in volcanic activity. Low-frequency seismic signals often precede or accompany volcanic eruptions. However, they are commonly manually identified in spectra or spectrograms, and their definition in spectral space differs from one volcanic setting to the next. Increasingly long time series of monitoring data at volcano observatories require automated tools to facilitate rapid processing and aid with pattern identification related to impending eruptions. Furthermore, knowledge transfer between volcanic settings is difficult if the methods to identify and analyze the characteristics of seismic signals differ. To address these challenges we evaluate whether a machine learning technique called Self-Organizing Maps (SOMs) can be used to characterize the dominant spectral components of volcano seismicity without the need for any a priori knowledge of different signal classes. This could reduce the dimensions of the spectral space typically analyzed by orders of magnitude, and enable rapid processing and visualization. Preliminary results suggest that the temporal evolution of volcano seismicity at Kilauea Volcano, Hawai`i, can be reduced to as few as 2 spectral components by using a combination of SOMs and cluster analysis. We will further refine our methodology with several datasets from Hawai`i and Alaska, among others, and compare it to other techniques.

Embedding evidence-based practice among nursing undergraduates: Results from a pilot study.

PubMed

André, Beate; Aune, Anne G; Brænd, Jorunn A

2016-05-01

Evidence-based practice is currently one of the most important developments in health care. Research in nursing science is rapidly growing; however, translating the knowledge based on this research into clinical practice is often hampered, and may be dependent on reflective skills. The aim of this study was to see how undergraduate nursing students in nursing should increase their skills and knowledge related to evidence-based practice through participation in clinical research projects. A qualitative approach was used in collecting and analyzing the data. Students participated in a pilot clinical research project and a received guidance related to their bachelor thesis. After the project was completed, all students filled in a questionnaire. The students' motivation to participate in this study was reported to be high, but they reported low knowledge related to evidence-based practice. All students reported that their attitude towards evidence-based practice changed in a positive direction during their participation in the project. Evidence-based practice influenced nursing practices by putting more focus on critical thinking, increasing pride and giving a sense of ownership in the clinical field. The curricula and the pedagogical perspectives in nursing education can influence the attitude towards evidence-based practice and skills among nursing bachelor students. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Development and Evaluation of a Vocational Rehabilitation Training Programme for Rheumatology Occupational Therapists†

PubMed Central

O'Brien, Rachel; Woodbridge, Sarah; Hammond, Alison; Adkin, Julie; Culley, June

2013-01-01

People with inflammatory arthritis rapidly develop work disability, yet there is limited provision of vocational rehabilitation (VR) in rheumatology departments. As part of a randomized, controlled trial, ten occupational therapists (OTs) were surveyed to identify their current VR provision and training needs. As a result, a VR training course for OTs was developed which included both taught and self-directed learning. The course included: employment and health and safety legislation, work assessment and practical application of ergonomic principles at work. Pre-, immediately post- and two months post-training, the ten OTs completed a questionnaire about their VR knowledge and confidence On completion, they reported a significant increase (p < 0.01)in their knowledge and confidence when delivering vocational rehabilitation. They rated the course as very or extremely relevant, although seven recommended more practical sessions. The preference for practical sessions was highlighted, in that the aspects they felt most beneficial were role-playing assessments and sharing ideas through discussion and presentations. In conclusion, the course was considered effective in increasing both knowledge and confidence in using VR as an intervention, but, due to time constraints within the working day, some of the self-directed learning should be incorporated into the training days. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID:23703966

The development and evaluation of a vocational rehabilitation training programme for rheumatology occupational therapists.

PubMed

O'Brien, Rachel; Woodbridge, Sarah; Hammond, Alison; Adkin, Julie; Culley, June

2013-06-01

People with inflammatory arthritis rapidly develop work disability, yet there is limited provision of vocational rehabilitation (VR) in rheumatology departments. As part of a randomized, controlled trial, ten occupational therapists (OTs) were surveyed to identify their current VR provision and training needs. As a result, a VR training course for OTs was developed which included both taught and self-directed learning. The course included: employment and health and safety legislation, work assessment and practical application of ergonomic principles at work. Pre-, immediately post- and two months post-training, the ten OTs completed a questionnaire about their VR knowledge and confidence On completion, they reported a significant increase (p < 0.01)in their knowledge and confidence when delivering vocational rehabilitation. They rated the course as very or extremely relevant, although seven recommended more practical sessions. The preference for practical sessions was highlighted, in that the aspects they felt most beneficial were role-playing assessments and sharing ideas through discussion and presentations. In conclusion, the course was considered effective in increasing both knowledge and confidence in using VR as an intervention, but, due to time constraints within the working day, some of the self-directed learning should be incorporated into the training days. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[Educating health workers is key in congenital syphilis elimination in Colombia].

PubMed

Garcés, Juan Pablo; Rubiano, Luisa Consuelo; Orobio, Yenifer; Castaño, Martha; Benavides, Elizabeth; Cruz, Adriana

2017-09-01

Colombia promotes the diagnosis and treatment of gestational syphilis in a single visit using rapid diagnostic tests to prevent mother-to-child transmission. Additionally, integrated health programs pursue the coordinated prevention of mother-to-child transmission of syphilis/HIV. To identify knowledge gaps among health workers in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of syphilis/HIV and to provide recommendations to support these programs. We conducted a descriptive study based on 306 surveys of health workers in 39 health institutions in the city of Cali. Surveys inquired about planning, management and implementation of services for pregnant women, clinical knowledge of HIV/syphilis rapid diagnostic tests, and prior training. Knowledge deficits in the management of gestational syphilis were detected among the surveyed health workers, including physicians. Rapid tests for syphilis are currently used in clinical laboratories in Cali, however, procedural deficiencies were observed in their use, including quality control assurance. During the two years prior to the survey, training of health workers in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of syphilis/HIV had been limited. Health workers are interested in identifying and treating gestational syphilis in a single event, in using rapid diagnostic tests and in receiving training. Intensive training targeting health workers, policy/decision makers and academic groups is needed to ensure adequate implementation of new strategies for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of syphilis/HIV.

The Impact of Morphological Awareness on Word Reading and Dictation in Chinese Early Adolescent Readers With and Without Dyslexia.

PubMed

Kalindi, Sylvia Chanda; Chung, Kevin Kien Hoa

2018-01-01

This study investigated the role of morphological awareness in understanding Chinese word reading and dictation among Chinese-speaking adolescent readers in Hong Kong as well as the cognitive-linguistic profile of early adolescent readers with dyslexia. Fifty-four readers with dyslexia in Grades 5 and 6 were compared with 54 chronological age-matched (CA) typical readers on the following measures of cognitive-linguistic and literacy skills: morphological awareness, phonological awareness, visual-orthographic knowledge, rapid naming, vocabulary knowledge, verbal short-term memory (STM), Chinese word reading, and dictation (or spelling). The results indicated that early adolescent readers with dyslexia performed less well than the typical readers on all cognitive-linguistic and literacy measures except the phonological measures. Both groups' scores showed substantial correlations between morphological awareness and Chinese word reading and dictation. Visual-orthographic knowledge and rapid naming were also associated with dictation in early adolescent readers with and without dyslexia, respectively. Moderated multiple regression analyses further revealed that morphological awareness and rapid naming explained unique variance in word reading and dictation for the readers with dyslexia and typical readers separately after controlling readers' age and group effect. These results highlight the potential importance of morphological awareness and rapid naming in Chinese word reading and writing in Chinese early adolescents' literacy development and impairment.

Predictors of Knowledge and Image Interpretation Skill Development in Radiology Residents.

PubMed

Ravesloot, Cécile J; van der Schaaf, Marieke F; Kruitwagen, Cas L J J; van der Gijp, Anouk; Rutgers, Dirk R; Haaring, Cees; Ten Cate, Olle; van Schaik, Jan P J

2017-09-01

Purpose To investigate knowledge and image interpretation skill development in residency by studying scores on knowledge and image questions on radiology tests, mediated by the training environment. Materials and Methods Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the ethical review board of the Netherlands Association for Medical Education. Longitudinal test data of 577 of 2884 radiology residents who took semiannual progress tests during 5 years were retrospectively analyzed by using a nonlinear mixed-effects model taking training length as input variable. Tests included nonimage and image questions that assessed knowledge and image interpretation skill. Hypothesized predictors were hospital type (academic or nonacademic), training hospital, enrollment age, sex, and test date. Results Scores showed a curvilinear growth during residency. Image scores increased faster during the first 3 years of residency and reached a higher maximum than knowledge scores (55.8% vs 45.1%). The slope of image score development versus knowledge question scores of 1st-year residents was 16.8% versus 12.4%, respectively. Training hospital environment appeared to be an important predictor in both knowledge and image interpretation skill development (maximum score difference between training hospitals was 23.2%; P < .001). Conclusion Expertise developed rapidly in the initial years of radiology residency and leveled off in the 3rd and 4th training year. The shape of the curve was mainly influenced by the specific training hospital. © RSNA, 2017 Online supplemental material is available for this article.

Rapid assessment of knowledge, attitudes, practices, and risk perception related to the prevention and control of Ebola virus disease in three communities of Sierra Leone.

PubMed

Jiang, Hai; Shi, Guo-Qing; Tu, Wen-Xiao; Zheng, Can-Jun; Lai, Xue-Hui; Li, Xin-Xu; Wei, Qiang; Li, Mei; Deng, Li-Quan; Huo, Xiang; Chen, Ming-Quan; Xu, Feng; Ye, Long-Jie; Bai, Xi-Chen; Chen, Tong-Nian; Yin, Shao-Hua; Samba, Thomas T; Liang, Xiao-Feng

2016-06-06

The recent outbreak of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Sierra Leone has been characterized by the World Health Organization as one of the most challenging EVD outbreaks to date. The first confirmed case in Sierra Leone was a young woman who was admitted to a government hospital in Kenema following a miscarriage on 24 May 2014. On 5 January 2015, intensified training for an EVD response project was initiated at the medical university of Sierra Leone in Jui. To understand the knowledge, attitudes, practices, and perceived risk of EVD among the public, especially after this training, a rapid assessment was conducted from 10 to 16 March 2015. Interviews were conducted with 466 participants based on questionnaires that were distributed from 10 to 16 March 2015 by cluster sampling in three adjacent communities, namely Jui, Grafton, and Kossoh Town, in the Western Area Rural District of Sierra Leone. It was found that knowledge about EVD was comprehensive and high. Positive attitude towards prevention was found to be satisfactory. Nearly all participants knew the reporting phone number 117 and had reported some change in behavior since learning about Ebola. More than half (62 %) of the participants had a history of travelling to urban areas, which increases the risk of infection. The multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that community and occupation were variables associated with perceived risk of EVD. Our study showed that community level social mobilization and community engagement were an effective strategy in the special context.

Knowledge acquisition for temporal abstraction.

PubMed

Stein, A; Musen, M A; Shahar, Y

1996-01-01

Temporal abstraction is the task of detecting relevant patterns in data over time. The knowledge-based temporal-abstraction method uses knowledge about a clinical domain's contexts, external events, and parameters to create meaningful interval-based abstractions from raw time-stamped clinical data. In this paper, we describe the acquisition and maintenance of domain-specific temporal-abstraction knowledge. Using the PROTEGE-II framework, we have designed a graphical tool for acquiring temporal knowledge directly from expert physicians, maintaining the knowledge in a sharable form, and converting the knowledge into a suitable format for use by an appropriate problem-solving method. In initial tests, the tool offered significant gains in our ability to rapidly acquire temporal knowledge and to use that knowledge to perform automated temporal reasoning.

The effectiveness of virtual simulation in improving student nurses' knowledge and performance during patient deterioration: A pre and post test design.

PubMed

Borg Sapiano, Alexis; Sammut, Roberta; Trapani, Josef

2018-03-01

Preparing nursing students to perform competently in complex emergency situations, such as during rapid patient deterioration, is challenging. Students' active engagement in such scenarios cannot be ensured, due to the unexpected nature of such infrequent events. Many students may consequently not experience and integrate the management of patient deterioration into their knowledge and practical competency by the end of their studies, making them unprepared to manage such situations as practicing nurses. This study investigated the effectiveness of virtual simulation in improving performance during rapid patient deterioration. To investigate the effectiveness of virtual simulation in improving student nurses' knowledge and performance during rapid patient deterioration. A pre- and post-test design was used. Nursing students at a university in Malta were invited to participate in a virtual simulation program named FIRST 2 ACTWeb™, using their own computer devices. A total of 166 (response rate=50%) second and third year diploma and degree nursing students participated in the study. The simulation included three scenarios (Cardiac-Shock-Respiratory) portraying deteriorating patients. Performance feedback was provided at the end of each scenario. Students completed pre- and post-scenario knowledge tests and performance during each scenario was recorded automatically on a database. Findings showed a significant improvement in the students' post-scenario knowledge (z=-6.506, p<0.001). Highest mean performance scores were obtained in the last scenario (M=19.7, median: 20.0, s.d. 3.41) indicating a learning effect. Knowledge was not a predictor of students' performance in the scenarios. This study supports virtual simulation as an effective learning tool for pre-registration nursing students in different programs. Simulation improves both knowledge about and performance during patient deterioration. Virtual simulation of rare events should be a key component of undergraduate nurse education, to prepare students to manage complex situations as practicing nurses. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The future of the northeast Atlantic benthic flora in a high CO2 world

PubMed Central

Brodie, Juliet; Williamson, Christopher J; Smale, Dan A; Kamenos, Nicholas A; Mieszkowska, Nova; Santos, Rui; Cunliffe, Michael; Steinke, Michael; Yesson, Christopher; Anderson, Kathryn M; Asnaghi, Valentina; Brownlee, Colin; Burdett, Heidi L; Burrows, Michael T; Collins, Sinead; Donohue, Penelope J C; Harvey, Ben; Foggo, Andrew; Noisette, Fanny; Nunes, Joana; Ragazzola, Federica; Raven, John A; Schmidt, Daniela N; Suggett, David; Teichberg, Mirta; Hall-Spencer, Jason M

2014-01-01

Seaweed and seagrass communities in the northeast Atlantic have been profoundly impacted by humans, and the rate of change is accelerating rapidly due to runaway CO2 emissions and mounting pressures on coastlines associated with human population growth and increased consumption of finite resources. Here, we predict how rapid warming and acidification are likely to affect benthic flora and coastal ecosystems of the northeast Atlantic in this century, based on global evidence from the literature as interpreted by the collective knowledge of the authorship. We predict that warming will kill off kelp forests in the south and that ocean acidification will remove maerl habitat in the north. Seagrasses will proliferate, and associated epiphytes switch from calcified algae to diatoms and filamentous species. Invasive species will thrive in niches liberated by loss of native species and spread via exponential development of artificial marine structures. Combined impacts of seawater warming, ocean acidification, and increased storminess may replace structurally diverse seaweed canopies, with associated calcified and noncalcified flora, with simple habitats dominated by noncalcified, turf-forming seaweeds. PMID:25077027

Marketing information goods and services in medical libraries and information centers

PubMed Central

Ashrafi-rizi, Hasan; Kazempour, Zahra

2012-01-01

Marketing is one of the essential parts of any business corporation in the modern management. One can see the difference between corporations in gaining their goals, considering their marketing methods. Gaining more advantage or acquiring more funds can be of reasons for marketing, but these are not all the reasons. Perhaps the most important reason for marketing is increasing the customer satisfaction. This, in turn, leads to more willingness in payment and using services. Nowadays, due to rapid growth in ICT, changes in budgets, rapid growth in development and use of knowledge, variety of users and their needs, marketing has become an important factor in any library activities. Libraries are now more responsible in this regard, because marketing is now an important tool in improving users’ satisfaction in using library services. Hence, marketing is now very important for libraries to survive in the increasing pressures of competitive conditions of the information market. This article is tapping on issues such as information marketing, principles of marketing, marketing techniques, developing markets, and marketing skills. Some recommendations are also presented for marketing in libraries. PMID:23555112

Marketing information goods and services in medical libraries and information centers.

PubMed

Ashrafi-Rizi, Hasan; Kazempour, Zahra

2012-01-01

Marketing is one of the essential parts of any business corporation in the modern management. One can see the difference between corporations in gaining their goals, considering their marketing methods. Gaining more advantage or acquiring more funds can be of reasons for marketing, but these are not all the reasons. Perhaps the most important reason for marketing is increasing the customer satisfaction. This, in turn, leads to more willingness in payment and using services. Nowadays, due to rapid growth in ICT, changes in budgets, rapid growth in development and use of knowledge, variety of users and their needs, marketing has become an important factor in any library activities. Libraries are now more responsible in this regard, because marketing is now an important tool in improving users' satisfaction in using library services. Hence, marketing is now very important for libraries to survive in the increasing pressures of competitive conditions of the information market. This article is tapping on issues such as information marketing, principles of marketing, marketing techniques, developing markets, and marketing skills. Some recommendations are also presented for marketing in libraries.

The future of the northeast Atlantic benthic flora in a high CO2 world.

PubMed

Brodie, Juliet; Williamson, Christopher J; Smale, Dan A; Kamenos, Nicholas A; Mieszkowska, Nova; Santos, Rui; Cunliffe, Michael; Steinke, Michael; Yesson, Christopher; Anderson, Kathryn M; Asnaghi, Valentina; Brownlee, Colin; Burdett, Heidi L; Burrows, Michael T; Collins, Sinead; Donohue, Penelope J C; Harvey, Ben; Foggo, Andrew; Noisette, Fanny; Nunes, Joana; Ragazzola, Federica; Raven, John A; Schmidt, Daniela N; Suggett, David; Teichberg, Mirta; Hall-Spencer, Jason M

2014-07-01

Seaweed and seagrass communities in the northeast Atlantic have been profoundly impacted by humans, and the rate of change is accelerating rapidly due to runaway CO2 emissions and mounting pressures on coastlines associated with human population growth and increased consumption of finite resources. Here, we predict how rapid warming and acidification are likely to affect benthic flora and coastal ecosystems of the northeast Atlantic in this century, based on global evidence from the literature as interpreted by the collective knowledge of the authorship. We predict that warming will kill off kelp forests in the south and that ocean acidification will remove maerl habitat in the north. Seagrasses will proliferate, and associated epiphytes switch from calcified algae to diatoms and filamentous species. Invasive species will thrive in niches liberated by loss of native species and spread via exponential development of artificial marine structures. Combined impacts of seawater warming, ocean acidification, and increased storminess may replace structurally diverse seaweed canopies, with associated calcified and noncalcified flora, with simple habitats dominated by noncalcified, turf-forming seaweeds.

Current and proposed molecular diagnostics in a genitourinary service line laboratory at a tertiary clinical institution.

PubMed

Udager, Aaron M; Alva, Ajjai; Mehra, Rohit

2014-01-01

The idea that detailed knowledge of molecular oncogenesis will drive diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic clinical decision making in an increasingly multidisciplinary practice of oncologic care has been anticipated for many years. With the recent rapid advancement in our understanding of the molecular underpinnings of genitourinary malignancies, this concept is now starting to take shape in the fields of prostate, kidney, bladder, testicular, and penile cancer. Such breakthroughs necessitate the development of robust clinical-grade assays that can be quickly made available for patients to facilitate diagnosis in challenging cases, risk-stratify patients for subsequent clinical management, select the appropriate targeted therapy from among increasingly diverse and numerous options, and enroll patients in advanced clinical trials. This rapid translation of basic and clinical cancer research requires a streamlined, multidisciplinary approach to clinical assay development, termed here the molecular diagnostics service line laboratory. In this review, we summarize the current state and explore the future of molecular diagnostics in genitourinary oncology to conceptualize a genitourinary service line laboratory at a tertiary clinical institution.

Culture and Ethics in First Nations Educational Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Josiah; Plaice, Evie; Perley, Imelda

2010-01-01

In this paper, we share phenomena experienced by a multi-cultural research team working collaboratively with Wolastoq (Maliseet) First Nations Elders to document rapidly disappearing Wolastoq language, culture, and knowledge. This knowledge will ultimately be stored in databanks for future educational, community, and heritage use. Embedded within…

Reducing the risk of HIV transmission among men who have sex with men: A feasibility study of the motivational interviewing counseling method.

PubMed

Chen, Jia; Li, Xianhong; Xiong, Yang; Fennie, Kristopher P; Wang, Honghong; Williams, Ann Bartley

2016-09-01

HIV prevalence among Chinese men who have sex with men has rapidly increased in recent years. In this randomized, controlled study, we tested the feasibility and efficacy of motivational interviewing to reduce high-risk sexual behaviors among this population in Changsha, China. Eighty men who have sex with men were randomly assigned to either the intervention group, in which participants received a three-session motivational interviewing intervention over 4 weeks, or the control group, in which participants received usual counseling from peer educators. High-risk behavior indicators and HIV knowledge level were evaluated at baseline and 3 months after the intervention. Motivational interviewing significantly improved consistent anal condom use. However, there was no significant change in consistent condom use for oral sex or in the number of sexual partners over time. HIV knowledge scores improved equally in both groups. This study demonstrated that an intervention using motivational interviewing is feasible and results in increased condom use during anal sex for Chinese men who have sex with men. However, further work must be done to increase the use of condoms during oral sexual encounters. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Interprofessional Simulations Promote Knowledge Retention and Enhance Perceptions of Teamwork Skills in a Surgical-Trauma-Burn Intensive Care Unit Setting.

PubMed

George, Katie L; Quatrara, Beth

The current state of health care encompasses highly acute, complex patients, managed with ever-changing technology. The ability to function proficiently in critical care relies on knowledge, technical skills, and interprofessional teamwork. Integration of these factors can improve patient outcomes. Simulation provides "hands-on" practice and allows for the integration of teamwork into knowledge/skill training. However, simulation can require a significant investment of time, effort, and financial resources. The Institute of Medicine recommendations from 2015 include "strengthening the evidence base for interprofessional education (IPE)" and "linking IPE with changes in collaborative behavior." In one surgical-trauma-burn intensive care unit (STBICU), no IPE existed. The highly acute and diverse nature of the patients served by the unit highlights the importance of appropriate training. This is heightened during critical event situations where patients deteriorate rapidly and the team intervenes swiftly. The aims of this study were to (1) evaluate knowledge retention and analyze changes in perceptions of teamwork among nurses and resident physicians in a STBICU setting after completion of an interprofessional critical event simulation and (2) provide insight for future interprofessional simulations (IPSs), including the ideal frequency of such training, associated cost, and potential effect on nursing turnover. A comparison-cohort pilot study was developed to evaluate knowledge retention and analyze changes in perceptions of teamwork. A 1-hour critical event IPS was held for nurses and resident physicians in a STBICU setting. A traumatic brain injury patient with elevated intracranial pressure, rapid deterioration, and cardiac arrest was utilized for the simulation scenario. The simulation required the team to use interventions to reduce elevated intracranial pressure and then perform cardiac resuscitation according to Advanced Cardiac Life Support guidelines. A semistructured debriefing guided by the TENTS tool highlighted important aspects of teamwork. Participants took knowledge and Teamwork Skills Scale (TSS) pretests, posttests, and 1-month posttests. Mean scores were calculated for each time point (pre, post, and 1-month post), and paired t tests were used to evaluate changes. Mean knowledge test and TSS scores both significantly increased after the simulation and remained significantly elevated at 1-month follow-up. Participants recommended retraining intervals of 3 to 6 months. Cost of each simulation was estimated to be $324.44. Analysis of nursing turnover rates did not demonstrate a statistically significant reduction in turnover; however, confounding factors were not controlled for. Significant improvements on both knowledge test and TSS scores demonstrate the effectiveness of the intervention, and retention of the information gained and teamwork skills learned. Participants valued the intervention and recommended to increase the frequency of training. Future studies should develop a framework for "best practice" IPS, analyze the relationship with nursing turnover, and ultimately seek correlations between IPS and improved patient outcomes.

Using Science Data and Models for Space Weather Forecasting - Challenges and Opportunities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hesse, Michael; Pulkkinen, Antti; Zheng, Yihua; Maddox, Marlo; Berrios, David; Taktakishvili, Sandro; Kuznetsova, Masha; Chulaki, Anna; Lee, Hyesook; Mullinix, Rick;

Acute and Perioperative Care of the Burn-Injured Patient

PubMed Central

Bittner, Edward A.; Shank, Erik; Woodson, Lee; Martyn, J.A. Jeevendra

2016-01-01

Care of burn-injured patients requires knowledge of the pathophysiologic changes affecting virtually all organs from the onset of injury until wounds are healed. Massive airway and/or lung edema can occur rapidly and unpredictably after burn and/or inhalation injury. Hemodynamics in the early phase of severe burn injury are characterized by a reduction in cardiac output, increased systemic and pulmonary vascular resistance. Approximately 2–5 days after major burn injury, a hyperdynamic and hypermetabolic state develops. Electrical burns result in morbidity much higher than expected based on burn size alone. Formulae for fluid resuscitation should serve only as guideline; fluids should be titrated to physiologic end points. Burn injury is associated basal and procedural pain requiring higher than normal opioid and sedative doses. Operating room concerns for the burn-injured patient include airway abnormalities, impaired lung function, vascular access, deceptively large and rapid blood loss, hypothermia and altered pharmacology. PMID:25485468

Typhoon Neoguri Approaching Japan

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-07-09

NASA's Terra satellite captured this visible image on July 9 at 02:30 UTC (July 8 at 10:30 p.m. EDT) as Typhoon Neoguri was approaching Kyushu, Japan. The visible image revealed that Neoguri's eye had disappeared and the center has become somewhat elongated as the storm weakened into a tropical storm. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center or JTWC noted that an upper level analysis revealed that Neoguri is now in a more harsh environment as northerly vertical wind shear increased to as much as 30 knots. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Credit: NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Decision Making For Sustainable Futures In A Rapidly Changing Arctic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chabay, I.

2016-12-01

Observing, understanding, and predicting effects of rapid climate change in the Arctic are crucial as the circumpolar region becomes more accessible and demand grows for commercial development and resource extraction. Climate change effects - including changes in ocean ice coverage, Arctic weather patterns, permafrost conditions, and coastal erosion - are a consequence of fossil fuel use outside the Arctic, while at the same time the changes open greater access to the Arctic's rich resources, including oil and gas. This offers new opportunities for livelihoods and development of Arctic communities, but inevitably also introduces substantially increased environmental, social, and economic risks. I will outline the rationale for and the process of our transdisciplinary project in engaging with a wide range of actors in the Arctic and beyond. The purpose of the project is to support informed and effective decision making for sustainable futures that is contextually appropriate through co-design and co-production of knowledge with rights-holders and stakeholders.

A new optical post-equalization based on self-imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guizani, S.; Cheriti, A.; Razzak, M.; Boulslimani, Y.; Hamam, H.

2005-09-01

Driven by the world's growing need for communication bandwidth, progress is constantly being reported in building newer fibers that are capable of handling the rapid increase in traffic. However, building an optical fiber link is a major investment, one that is very expensive to replace. A major impairment that restricts the achievement of higher bit rates with standard single mode fiber is chromatic dispersion. This is particularly problematic for systems operating in the 1550 nm band, where the chromatic dispersion limit decreases rapidly in inverse proportion to the square of the bit rate. For the first time, to the best of our knowledge, this document illustrates a new optical technique to post compensate optically the chromatic dispersion in fiber using temporal Talbot effect in ranges exceeding the 40G bit/s. We propose a new optical post equalization solutions based on the self imaging of Talbot effect.

Effectiveness of Key Knowledge Spreader Identification in Online Communities of Practice: A Simulation Study from Network Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cao, Yu

2017-01-01

With the rapid development of online communities of practice (CoPs), how to identify key knowledge spreader (KKS) in online CoPs has grown up to be a hot issue. In this paper, we construct a network with variable clustering based on Holme-Kim model to represent CoPs, a simple dynamics of knowledge sharing is considered. Kendall's Tau coefficient…

Knowledge Preservation Techniques That Can Facilitate Intergroup Communications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moreman, Douglas; Dyer, John; Coffee, John; Noga, Donald F. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

We have developed tools, social methods and software, for (1) acquiring technical knowledge from engineers and scientists, (2) preserving that knowledge, (3) making the totality of our stored knowledge rapidly searchable. Our motivation has been, mainly, to preserve rare knowledge of senior engineers who are near retirement. Historical value of such knowledge, and also of our tools, has been pointed out to us by historians. We now propose the application these tools to enhancing communication among groups that are working jointly on a project. Of most value will be projects having groups among whom communication is rare and incomplete. We propose that discussions among members of a group be recorded in audio and that both the actual audio and transcriptions of that audio, and optional other pieces be combined into electronic, webpage-like "books". These books can then be searched rapidly by interested people in other groups. At points of particular interest, a searcher can zoom in on the text and even on the original recordings to pick up nuances (e.g. to distinguish a utterance said in seriousness from one in sarcasm). In this matter, not only can potentially valuable technical details be preserved for the future, but communication be enhanced during the life of a joint undertaking.

Rapid assessment procedures in injury control.

PubMed

Klevens, Joanne; Anderson, Mark

2004-03-01

Injuries are among the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. The burden caused by injuries is even greater among the poorer nations and is projected to increase. Very often the lack of technical and financial resources, as well as the urgency of the problem, preclude applying sophisticated surveillance and research methods for generating relevant information to develop effective interventions. In these settings, it is necessary to consider more rapid and less costly methods in applying the public health approach to the problem of injury prevention and control. Rapid Assessment Procedures (RAP), developed within the fields of epidemiology, anthropology and health administration, can provide valid information in a manner that is quicker, simpler, and less costly than standard data collection methods. RAP have been applied widely and successfully to infectious and chronic disease issues, but have not been used extensively, if at all, as tools in injury control. This paper describes Rapid Assessment Procedures that (1) are useful for understanding the scope of the problem and for identifying potential risk factors, (2) can assist practitioners in determining intervention priorities, (3) can provide in-depth knowledge about a specific injury-related problem, and (4) can be used in surveillance systems to monitor outcomes. Finally, the paper describes some of the caveats in using RAP.

A Scale of Lifelong Learning Attitudes of Teachers: The Development of LLLAS

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hursen, Cigdem

2016-01-01

Knowledge, which is the most significant characteristic of today's knowledge society, has been changing and improving very rapidly. Particularly, the developments in science and technology have been influencing social, economical and cultural life; thus professions and descriptions of professions have been continuously renewed. In addition, the…

Expanding CTE Opportunities through Blended Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKinstry, Elizabeth

2012-01-01

The global economy, 21st century skills, knowledge society, college and career readiness, digital and project-based learning are all common terms to educators who are expanding their learning environments beyond the classroom to meet the needs of all students. It is common knowledge that the rapid technological advances of this century have…

Synchronic Distance Education from the Perspective of a Handicapped Person

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karal, Hasan; Cebi, Ayca; Turgut, Yigit Emrah

2011-01-01

Nowadays knowledge and communication technologies are developing rapidly and changing people's lives. With the help of the developing technologies, people can access knowledge independent of time and place and distance education technologies offer handicapped students a range of opportunities in order that they may access a better level of…

Event-Based Plausibility Immediately Influences On-Line Language Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matsuki, Kazunaga; Chow, Tracy; Hare, Mary; Elman, Jeffrey L.; Scheepers, Christoph; McRae, Ken

2011-01-01

In some theories of sentence comprehension, linguistically relevant lexical knowledge, such as selectional restrictions, is privileged in terms of the time-course of its access and influence. We examined whether event knowledge computed by combining multiple concepts can rapidly influence language understanding even in the absence of selectional…

Role of Leadership in Narrowing the Gap between Science and Practice: Improving Treatment Outcomes at the Systems Level.

PubMed

Saeed, Sy Atezaz; Bloch, Richard M; Silver, Stuart

2015-09-01

It's been well documented that health care does not reliably transfer what we know from science into clinical practice. As a result, Americans do not always receive the care suggested by the scientific evidence. Despite the best intentions of a dedicated and skilled healthcare workforce, this can often lead to poor clinical outcomes. As research and technology rapidly advance, this gap between science and practice appears to be widening. There is an increasing public concern about a lack of access to appropriate treatment, pervasiveness of unsafe practices, and wasteful uses of precious health care resources leading to suboptimum treatment outcomes. Leadership has a critical role in creating and sustaining the environment that supports health services for individuals and populations that increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge. Leadership has some responsibility to improve outcomes by insuring effective use of evidence-based treatment guidelines; measurement-based care; knowledge and skills management; care coordination; and information technologies. This paper addresses leadership issues in these components of a system's ability to improve treatment outcomes.

Borderline Personality Disorder in Young People: Are We There Yet?

PubMed

Chanen, Andrew M

2015-08-01

Although borderline personality disorder (BPD) usually has its onset in young people, its diagnosis and treatment is often delayed. The past 2 decades have seen a rapid increase in evidence establishing that BPD can be diagnosed before 18 years of age and that BPD in young people is both continuous with BPD in adults and more notable for its similarities than for any differences. This knowledge has led to the first wave of controlled treatment trials, which have established that early intervention through appropriate BPD diagnosis and treatment leads to clinically meaningful improvements for patients. However, there is still much work to do in terms of treatment development and innovation and overcoming challenges to successful translation of evidence into practice. To advance early intervention for BPD, access to evidence-based treatments needs to improve, the variety of available treatments (including novel pharmacotherapies) needs to increase, treatments need to be matched to individual development and to the phase and stage of disorder, and workforce development strategies need to update knowledge, culture, and practice in relation to BPD in young people. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Metabolic regulation of triacylglycerol accumulation in the green algae: identification of potential targets for engineering to improve oil yield.

PubMed

Goncalves, Elton C; Wilkie, Ann C; Kirst, Matias; Rathinasabapathi, Bala

2016-08-01

The great need for more sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels has increased our research interests in algal biofuels. Microalgal cells, characterized by high photosynthetic efficiency and rapid cell division, are an excellent source of neutral lipids as potential fuel stocks. Various stress factors, especially nutrient-starvation conditions, induce an increased formation of lipid bodies filled with triacylglycerol in these cells. Here we review our knowledge base on glycerolipid synthesis in the green algae with an emphasis on recent studies on carbon flux, redistribution of lipids under nutrient-limiting conditions and its regulation. We discuss the contributions and limitations of classical and novel approaches used to elucidate the algal triacylglycerol biosynthetic pathway and its regulatory network in green algae. Also discussed are gaps in knowledge and suggestions for much needed research both on the biology of triacylglycerol accumulation and possible avenues to engineer improved algal strains. © 2016 The Authors. Plant Biotechnology Journal published by Society for Experimental Biology and The Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A critical analysis of methods for rapid and nondestructive determination of wood density in standing trees

Treesearch

Shan Gao; Xiping Wang; Michael C. Wiemann; Brian K. Brashaw; Robert J. Ross; Lihai Wang

2017-01-01

Key message Field methods for rapid determination of wood density in trees have evolved from increment borer, torsiometer, Pilodyn, and nail withdrawal into sophisticated electronic tools of resistance drilling measurement. A partial resistance drilling approach coupled with knowledge of internal tree density distribution may...

Virtual Knowledge Brokering: Describing the Roles and Strategies Used by Knowledge Brokers in a Pediatric Physiotherapy Virtual Community of Practice.

PubMed

Hurtubise, Karen; Rivard, Lisa; Héguy, Léa; Berbari, Jade; Camden, Chantal

2016-01-01

Knowledge transfer in pediatric rehabilitation is challenging and requires active, multifaceted strategies. The use of knowledge brokers (KBs) is one such strategy noted to promote clinician behavior change. The success of using KBs to transfer knowledge relies on their ability to adapt to ever-changing clinical contexts. In addition, with the rapid growth of online platforms as knowledge transfer forums, KBs must become effective in virtual environments. Although the role of KBs has been studied in various clinical contexts, their emerging role in specific online environments designed to support evidence-based behavior change has not yet been described. Our objective is to describe the roles of, and strategies used by, four KBs involved in a virtual community of practice to guide and inform future online KB interventions. A descriptive design guided this study and a thematic content analysis process was used to analyze online KB postings. The Promoting Action on Research in Health Sciences knowledge transfer framework and online andragogical learning theories assisted in the coding. A thematic map was created illustrating the links between KBs' strategies and emerging roles in the virtual environment. We analyzed 95 posts and identified three roles: 1) context architect: promoting a respectful learning environment, 2) knowledge sharing promoter: building capacity, and 3) linkage creator: connecting research-to-practice. Strategies used by KBs reflected invitational, constructivism, and connectivism approaches, with roles and strategies changing over time. This study increases our understanding of the actions of KBs in virtual contexts to foster uptake of research evidence in pediatric physiotherapy. Our results provide valuable information about the knowledge and skills required by individuals to fulfill this role in virtual environments.

Reduction in malaria prevalence and increase in malaria awareness in endemic districts of Bangladesh.

PubMed

Alam, Mohammad Shafiul; Kabir, Mohammad Moktadir; Hossain, Mohammad Sharif; Naher, Shamsun; Ferdous, Nur E Naznin; Khan, Wasif Ali; Mondal, Dinesh; Karim, Jahirul; Shamsuzzaman, A K M; Ahmed, Be-Nazir; Islam, Akramul; Haque, Rashidul

2016-11-11

Malaria is endemic in 13 districts of Bangladesh. A baseline malaria prevalence survey across the endemic districts of Bangladesh was conducted in 2007, when the prevalence was reported around 39.7 per 1000 population. After two rounds of Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM)-funded intervention by the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) and a BRAC-led NGO consortium, a follow-up survey was conducted across the malaria-endemic districts of Bangladesh to measure the change in prevalence rate and in people's knowledge of malaria. The survey was carried out from August to November 2013 in 70 upazilas (sub-districts) of 13 malaria-endemic districts of Bangladesh, following the same multi-stage cluster sampling design and the same number of households enrolled during the baseline prevalence survey in 2007, to collect 9750 randomly selected blood samples. For on-the-spot diagnosis of malaria, a rapid diagnostic test was used. The household head or eldest person available was interviewed using a pre-coded structured questionnaire to collect data on the knowledge and awareness of malaria in the household. Based on a weighted calculation, the overall malaria prevalence was found to be 1.41 per 1000 population. The proportion of Plasmodium falciparum mono-infection was 77.78% while both Plasmodium vivax mono-infection and mixed infection of the two species were found to be 11.11%. Bandarban had the highest prevalence (6.67 per 1000 population). Knowledge of malaria signs, symptoms and mode of transmission were higher in the follow-up survey (97.26%) than the baseline survey. Use of bed nets for prevention of malaria was found to be high (90.15%) at respondent level. People's knowledge of selected parameters increased significantly during the follow-up survey compared to the baseline survey conducted in 2007. A reduced prevalence rate of malaria and increased level of knowledge were observed in the present malaria prevalence survey in Bangladesh.

Engineering: Defining and differentiating its unique culture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pilotte, Mary K.

The world of work for engineering professionals is changing. At a rapid pace, experienced engineers are exiting the workforce due to retirement of the Baby Boomer generation, while at the same time the problems facing engineers are increasingly complex and frequently global in nature. For firms to protect their knowledge assets, they must ensure that acquired understandings are shared among their engineering work groups. Engineering teaching and learning in the workplace (i.e., knowledge sharing), is a social activity that resides in a social context governed by the professional engineering culture. This quantitative study uses Hofstede's Organizational Cultural Values Model (Hofstede, Neuijen, Ohayv, & Sanders, 1990) to examine dimensions of engineering culture in the workplace, producing a central tendency profile of engineering's cultural practices. Further, it explores through hypotheses if demographic differentiators, including birth generation, gender, race, industry sector of employment, and engineering discipline, play roles in forming engineering cultural practices. Results both corroborate aspects of Hofstede's model and assert new understandings relative to factors influencing dimensions of engineering practice. Outcomes are discussed in terms of their potential impact on industrial knowledge sharing and formation of beneficial engineering cultures.

Kenyan university students' views on AIDS.

PubMed

Sindiga, I; Lukhando, M

1993-11-01

In view of the rapidly increasing number of AIDS cases reported in Kenya since 1984, a survey was conducted among Kenyatta University undergraduate students during October and November 1988 to gauge their knowledge, attitudes and practices with regard to the disease. A random sample of 344 individuals both men and women was interviewed. The results showed that almost everyone had heard about AIDS and the knowledge was spread evenly across gender. Although the students were able to identify the symptoms of a full blown AIDS victim, their knowledge on HIV was vague. Other findings were: that condoms were lowly rated as a strategy for minimizing the risk of contracting AIDS and the majority of the students attempted to reduce the chance of contracting the disease by having one sex partner. However, the students were apathetic about contracting the disease. In the event of becoming victims of AIDS, most of them indicated that they would not merely wait to die; instead they would commit suicide. In view of these findings, there is a case for educating this group on how to respond to the AIDS infection.

Leadership, Literacy, and Translational Expertise in Genomics: Challenges and Opportunities for Social Work.

PubMed

Werner-Lin, Allison; McCoyd, Judith L M; Doyle, Maya H; Gehlert, Sarah J

2016-08-01

The transdisciplinary field of genomics is revolutionizing conceptualizations of health, mental health, family formation, and public policy. Many professions must rapidly acquire genomic expertise to maintain state-of-the-art knowledge in their practice. Calls for social workers to build genomic capacity come regularly, yet social work education has not prepared practitioners to join the genomics workforce in providing socially just, ethically informed care to all clients, particularly those from vulnerable and marginalized groups. The authors suggest a set of action steps for bringing social work skills and practice into the 21st century. They propose that good genomic practice entails bringing social work values, skills, and behaviors to genomics. With education and training, social workers may facilitate socially just dissemination of genomic knowledge and services across practice domains. Increased genomic literacy will support the profession's mission to address disparities in health, health care access, and mortality. © 2016 National Association of Social Workers.

Stimulating cancer screening among Latinas and African-American women. A community case study.

PubMed

Yancey, A K; Walden, L

1994-01-01

Recent studies have attributed underutilization of early cancer detection programs among the disadvantaged to knowledge deficits and myths, lack of belief in cancer susceptibility (denial), and such attitudinal barriers as fear and embarrassment. Video modalities have been demonstrated to be effective in increasing knowledge and promoting health-protective behavior in low-income people of color. Waiting rooms of public health clinic facilities in large urban areas provide a captive audience of predominantly African Americans and Latinos with a preference for obtaining health information from audiovisual media. The development of a culturally sensitive, cost-effective documentary format is described. An experience of rapid acceleration in demand for Pap smears in an underserved Latino community of East Los Angeles following the showing of one of these videos is chronicled as a spontaneous and informal evaluation of this approach to health education/promotion video production.

A protocol for generating a high-quality genome-scale metabolic reconstruction.

PubMed

Thiele, Ines; Palsson, Bernhard Ø

2010-01-01

Network reconstructions are a common denominator in systems biology. Bottom-up metabolic network reconstructions have been developed over the last 10 years. These reconstructions represent structured knowledge bases that abstract pertinent information on the biochemical transformations taking place within specific target organisms. The conversion of a reconstruction into a mathematical format facilitates a myriad of computational biological studies, including evaluation of network content, hypothesis testing and generation, analysis of phenotypic characteristics and metabolic engineering. To date, genome-scale metabolic reconstructions for more than 30 organisms have been published and this number is expected to increase rapidly. However, these reconstructions differ in quality and coverage that may minimize their predictive potential and use as knowledge bases. Here we present a comprehensive protocol describing each step necessary to build a high-quality genome-scale metabolic reconstruction, as well as the common trials and tribulations. Therefore, this protocol provides a helpful manual for all stages of the reconstruction process.

A protocol for generating a high-quality genome-scale metabolic reconstruction

PubMed Central

Thiele, Ines; Palsson, Bernhard Ø.

2011-01-01

Network reconstructions are a common denominator in systems biology. Bottom-up metabolic network reconstructions have developed over the past 10 years. These reconstructions represent structured knowledge-bases that abstract pertinent information on the biochemical transformations taking place within specific target organisms. The conversion of a reconstruction into a mathematical format facilitates myriad computational biological studies including evaluation of network content, hypothesis testing and generation, analysis of phenotypic characteristics, and metabolic engineering. To date, genome-scale metabolic reconstructions for more than 30 organisms have been published and this number is expected to increase rapidly. However, these reconstructions differ in quality and coverage that may minimize their predictive potential and use as knowledge-bases. Here, we present a comprehensive protocol describing each step necessary to build a high-quality genome-scale metabolic reconstruction as well as common trials and tribulations. Therefore, this protocol provides a helpful manual for all stages of the reconstruction process. PMID:20057383

Leadership, Literacy, and Translational Expertise in Genomics: Challenges and Opportunities for Social Work

PubMed Central

Werner-Lin, Allison; McCoyd, Judith L. M.; Doyle, Maya H.; Gehlert, Sarah J.

2016-01-01

The transdisciplinary field of genomics is revolutionizing conceptualizations of health, mental health, family formation, and public policy. Many professions must rapidly acquire genomic expertise to maintain state-of-the-art knowledge in their practice. Calls for social workers to build genomic capacity come regularly, yet social work education has not prepared practitioners to join the genomics workforce in providing socially just, ethically informed care to all clients, particularly those from vulnerable and marginalized groups. The authors suggest a set of action steps for bringing social work skills and practice into the 21st century. They propose that good genomic practice entails bringing social work values, skills, and behaviors to genomics. With education and training, social workers may facilitate socially just dissemination of genomic knowledge and services across practice domains. Increased genomic literacy will support the profession’s mission to address disparities in health, health care access, and mortality. PMID:29206948

Online Teaching Tool Simplifies Faculty Use of Multimedia and Improves Student Interest and Knowledge in Science

PubMed Central

Walsh, John P.; Chih-Yuan Sun, Jerry; Riconscente, Michelle

2011-01-01

Digital technologies can improve student interest and knowledge in science. However, researching the vast number of websites devoted to science education and integrating them into undergraduate curricula is time-consuming. We developed an Adobe ColdFusion– and Adobe Flash–based system for simplifying the construction, use, and delivery of electronic educational materials in science. The Online Multimedia Teaching Tool (OMTT) in Neuroscience was constructed from a ColdFusion-based online interface, which reduced the need for programming skills and the time for curriculum development. The OMTT in Neuroscience was used by faculty to enhance their lectures in existing curricula. Students had unlimited online access to encourage user-centered exploration. We found the OMTT was rapidly adapted by multiple professors, and its use by undergraduate students was consistent with the interpretation that the OMTT improved performance on exams and increased interest in the field of neuroscience. PMID:21885826

Online teaching tool simplifies faculty use of multimedia and improves student interest and knowledge in science.

PubMed

Walsh, John P; Chih-Yuan Sun, Jerry; Riconscente, Michelle

2011-01-01

Digital technologies can improve student interest and knowledge in science. However, researching the vast number of websites devoted to science education and integrating them into undergraduate curricula is time-consuming. We developed an Adobe ColdFusion- and Adobe Flash-based system for simplifying the construction, use, and delivery of electronic educational materials in science. The Online Multimedia Teaching Tool (OMTT) in Neuroscience was constructed from a ColdFusion-based online interface, which reduced the need for programming skills and the time for curriculum development. The OMTT in Neuroscience was used by faculty to enhance their lectures in existing curricula. Students had unlimited online access to encourage user-centered exploration. We found the OMTT was rapidly adapted by multiple professors, and its use by undergraduate students was consistent with the interpretation that the OMTT improved performance on exams and increased interest in the field of neuroscience.

Data warehousing: toward knowledge management.

PubMed

Shams, K; Farishta, M

2001-02-01

With rapid changes taking place in the practice and delivery of health care, decision support systems have assumed an increasingly important role. More and more health care institutions are deploying data warehouse applications as decision support tools for strategic decision making. By making the right information available at the right time to the right decision makers in the right manner, data warehouses empower employees to become knowledge workers with the ability to make the right decisions and solve problems, creating strategic leverage for the organization. Health care management must plan and implement data warehousing strategy using a best practice approach. Through the power of data warehousing, health care management can negotiate bettermanaged care contracts based on the ability to provide accurate data on case mix and resource utilization. Management can also save millions of dollars through the implementation of clinical pathways in better resource utilization and changing physician behavior to best practices based on evidence-based medicine.

The Fast Follower: Coming Up Behind Development Leaders

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-01

DoD faces a shrinking defense industrial base and a more global tech marketplace and competes with the rise of consumer electronics that have short...to others and positions itself to rapidly exploit the newly discovered technical knowledge by quickly applying that knowledge to the unique needs of...technical aware- ness, organized for speed in innovation and has an intimate knowledge of its customer. From its vantage point on the first mover’s

Discovery of Spin-Rate-Dependent Asteroid Thermal Inertia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harris, Alan; Drube, Line

2016-10-01

Knowledge of the surface thermal inertia of an asteroid can provide insight into surface structure: porous material has a lower thermal inertia than rock. Using WISE/NEOWISE data and our new asteroid thermal-inertia estimator we show that the thermal inertia of main-belt asteroids (MBAs) appears to increase with spin period. Similar behavior is found in the case of thermophysically-modeled thermal inertia values of near-Earth objects (NEOs). We interpret our results in terms of rapidly increasing material density and thermal conductivity with depth, and provide evidence that thermal inertia increases by factors of 10 (MBAs) to 20 (NEOs) within a depth of just 10 cm. On the basis of a picture of depth-dependent thermal inertia our results suggest that, in general, thermal inertia values representative of solid rock are reached some tens of centimeters to meters below the surface in the case of MBAs (the median diameter in our dataset = 24 km). In the case of the much smaller (km-sized) NEOs a thinner porous surface layer is indicated, with large pieces of solid rock possibly existing just a meter or less below the surface. These conclusions are consistent with our understanding from in-situ measurements of the surfaces of the Moon, and a few asteroids, and suggest a very general picture of rapidly changing material properties in the topmost regolith layers of asteroids. Our results have important implications for calculations of the Yarkovsky effect, including its perturbation of the orbits of potentially hazardous objects and those of asteroid family members after the break-up event. Evidence of a rapid increase of thermal inertia with depth is also an important result for studies of the ejecta-enhanced momentum transfer of impacting vehicles ("kinetic impactors") in planetary defense.

Strengthening the afferent limb of rapid response systems: an educational intervention using web-based learning for early recognition and responding to deteriorating patients.

PubMed

Liaw, Sok Ying; Wong, Lai Fun; Ang, Sophia Bee Leng; Ho, Jasmine Tze Yin; Siau, Chiang; Ang, Emily Neo Kim

2016-06-01

The timely recognition and response to patients with clinical deteriorations constitute the afferent limb failure of a rapid response system (RRS). This area is a persistent problem in acute healthcare settings worldwide. In this study, we evaluated the effect of an educational programme on improving the nurses' knowledge and performances in recognising and responding to clinical deterioration. The interactive web-based programme addressed three areas: (1) early detection of changes in vital signs; (2) performance of nursing assessment and interventions using airway, breathing, circulation, disability and expose/examine and (3) reporting clinical deterioration using identity, situation, background, assessment and recommendation. Sixty-seven registered nurses participated in the randomised control study. The experimental group underwent a 3 h programme while the control group received no intervention. Pretests and post-tests, a mannequin-based assessment and a multiple-choice knowledge questionnaire were conducted. We evaluated the participants' performances in assessing, managing and reporting the deterioration of a patient using a validated performance tool. A significantly higher number of nurses from the experimental group than the control group monitored respiratory rates (48.2% vs 25%, p<0.05) and pulse rates (74.3% vs 37.5%, p<0.01) in the simulated environment, after the intervention. The post-test mean scores of the experimental group was significantly higher than the control group for knowledge (21.29 vs 18.28, p<0.001), performance in assessing and managing clinical deterioration (25.83 vs 19.50, p<0.001) and reporting clinical deterioration (12.83 vs 10.97, p<0.001). A web-based educational programme developed for hospital nurses to strengthen the afferent limb of the RRS significantly increased their knowledge and performances in assessing, managing and reporting clinical deterioration. 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/

Evolution of social media: review of the role of podcasts in gynaecology.

PubMed

Chen, Zhuoran; Melon, Jerome

2018-04-01

Podcasts are an emerging social media phenomenon in medicine, originating from critical care specialities and now expanding to other domains. Aided by the rapid increase in popularity of social media platforms and the advantage of accessibility, universality and portability, there has been a slow but significant expansion of podcast use in gynaecology. Current literature suggests that there is potential for digital communication to enhance dissemination of information, however there is conflicting evidence on its ability to increase users' knowledge. Emerging interest in urogynaecology presents an opportunity for the subspeciality to tailor podcasts to the needs of its users. In this review, the origins, current evidence and future trends in the use of podcasts in urogynaecology are explored.

Preparing future faculty and professionals for public health careers.

PubMed

Koblinsky, Sally A; Hrapczynski, Katie M; Clark, Jane E

2015-03-01

Recent years have brought rapid growth in schools of public health and an increasing demand for public health practitioners. These trends highlight the need for innovative approaches to prepare doctoral graduates for academic and high-level practice positions. The University of Maryland's School of Public Health developed a "Preparing Future Faculty and Professionals" program to enrich the graduate education and professional development of its doctoral students. We describe the program's key elements, including foundational seminars to enhance students' knowledge and skills related to teaching, research, and service; activities designed to foster career exploration and increase competitiveness in the job market; and independent, faculty-mentored teaching and research experiences. We present a model for replicating the program and share student outcomes of participation.

Guidelines for Design and Test of a Built-In Self Test (BIST) Circuit For Space Radiation Studies of High-Speed IC Technologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carts, M. A.; Marshall, P. W.; Reed, R.; Curie, S.; Randall, B.; LaBel, K.; Gilbert, B.; Daniel, E.

2006-01-01

Serial Bit Error Rate Testing under radiation to characterize single particle induced errors in high-speed IC technologies generally involves specialized test equipment common to the telecommunications industry. As bit rates increase, testing is complicated by the rapidly increasing cost of equipment able to test at-speed. Furthermore as rates extend into the tens of billions of bits per second test equipment ceases to be broadband, a distinct disadvantage for exploring SEE mechanisms in the target technologies. In this presentation the authors detail the testing accomplished in the CREST project and apply the knowledge gained to establish a set of guidelines suitable for designing arbitrarily high speed radiation effects tests.

Structural genomics: keeping up with expanding knowledge of the protein universe.

PubMed

Grabowski, Marek; Joachimiak, Andrzej; Otwinowski, Zbyszek; Minor, Wladek

2007-06-01

Structural characterization of the protein universe is the main mission of Structural Genomics (SG) programs. However, progress in gene sequencing technology, set in motion in the 1990s, has resulted in rapid expansion of protein sequence space--a twelvefold increase in the past seven years. For the SG field, this creates new challenges and necessitates a re-assessment of its strategies. Nevertheless, despite the growth of sequence space, at present nearly half of the content of the Swiss-Prot database and over 40% of Pfam protein families can be structurally modeled based on structures determined so far, with SG projects making an increasingly significant contribution. The SG contribution of new Pfam structures nearly doubled from 27.2% in 2003 to 51.6% in 2006.

Examining the Validity of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) Framework for Preservice Chemistry Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deng, Feng; Chai, Ching Sing; So, Hyo-Jeong; Qian, Yangyi; Chen, Lingling

2017-01-01

While various quantitative measures for assessing teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) have developed rapidly, few studies to date have comprehensively validated the structure of TPACK through various criteria of validity especially for content specific areas. In this paper, we examined how the TPACK survey measure is…

Incremental Knowledge Discovery in Social Media

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tang, Xuning

2013-01-01

In light of the prosperity of online social media, Web users are shifting from data consumers to data producers. To catch the pulse of this rapidly changing world, it is critical to transform online social media data to information and to knowledge. This dissertation centers on the issue of modeling the dynamics of user communities, trending…

Impact of Knowledge Resources Linked to an Electronic Health Record on Frequency of Unnecessary Tests and Treatments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodman, Kenneth; Grad, Roland; Pluye, Pierre; Nowacki, Amy; Hickner, John

2012-01-01

Introduction: Electronic knowledge resources have the potential to rapidly provide answers to clinicians' questions. We sought to determine clinicians' reasons for searching these resources, the rate of finding relevant information, and the perceived clinical impact of the information they retrieved. Methods: We asked general internists, family…

The Difference Engine: Computing, Knowledge, and the Transformation of Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Provenzo, Eugene F.

2011-01-01

Since the 1960s, the rapid evolution of technology has created a new cultural geography--a virtual geography. "The Difference Engine: Computing, Knowledge and the Transformation of Learning" offers a conscious critique of this change and its effects on contemporary culture and education. This engaging text assumes that we are at a critical…

KAM (Knowledge Acquisition Module): A tool to simplify the knowledge acquisition process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gettig, Gary A.

1988-01-01

Analysts, knowledge engineers and information specialists are faced with increasing volumes of time-sensitive data in text form, either as free text or highly structured text records. Rapid access to the relevant data in these sources is essential. However, due to the volume and organization of the contents, and limitations of human memory and association, frequently: (1) important information is not located in time; (2) reams of irrelevant data are searched; and (3) interesting or critical associations are missed due to physical or temporal gaps involved in working with large files. The Knowledge Acquisition Module (KAM) is a microcomputer-based expert system designed to assist knowledge engineers, analysts, and other specialists in extracting useful knowledge from large volumes of digitized text and text-based files. KAM formulates non-explicit, ambiguous, or vague relations, rules, and facts into a manageable and consistent formal code. A library of system rules or heuristics is maintained to control the extraction of rules, relations, assertions, and other patterns from the text. These heuristics can be added, deleted or customized by the user. The user can further control the extraction process with optional topic specifications. This allows the user to cluster extracts based on specific topics. Because KAM formalizes diverse knowledge, it can be used by a variety of expert systems and automated reasoning applications. KAM can also perform important roles in computer-assisted training and skill development. Current research efforts include the applicability of neural networks to aid in the extraction process and the conversion of these extracts into standard formats.

Emerging trends in social media and plastic surgery

PubMed Central

Leland, Hyuma A.; Ho, Adelyn L.; Patel, Ketan M.

2016-01-01

Social media has increasingly changed the landscape of medicine and surgery and is rapidly expanding its influence in most peoples’ lives. The average person spends nearly 2 hours per day using social media, consuming information about everything from family updates to entertainment news to presidential elections. The concentration of consumers on social media platforms has resulted in direct medicine and medical products marketing to consumers. Similarly, social media is increasingly becoming a platform for interaction between physicians and potential patients. Some physicians have taken this opportunity to better educate patients, while allowing patients to learn more about their surgeons online. These tools can increase internet traffic online to bonafide internet sites, as well as bolster marketing for many hospitals, hospital systems, and individual doctors. It can also serve to increase knowledge about procedures and conditions through direct outreach to patients. Social media is a powerful tool which needs to be utilized wisely to avoid pitfalls. PMID:28090511

Emerging trends in social media and plastic surgery.

PubMed

Gould, Daniel J; Leland, Hyuma A; Ho, Adelyn L; Patel, Ketan M

2016-12-01

Social media has increasingly changed the landscape of medicine and surgery and is rapidly expanding its influence in most peoples' lives. The average person spends nearly 2 hours per day using social media, consuming information about everything from family updates to entertainment news to presidential elections. The concentration of consumers on social media platforms has resulted in direct medicine and medical products marketing to consumers. Similarly, social media is increasingly becoming a platform for interaction between physicians and potential patients. Some physicians have taken this opportunity to better educate patients, while allowing patients to learn more about their surgeons online. These tools can increase internet traffic online to bonafide internet sites, as well as bolster marketing for many hospitals, hospital systems, and individual doctors. It can also serve to increase knowledge about procedures and conditions through direct outreach to patients. Social media is a powerful tool which needs to be utilized wisely to avoid pitfalls.

Rapid Prototyping of Computer-Based Presentations Using NEAT, Version 1.1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muldner, Tomasz

NEAT (iNtegrated Environment for Authoring in ToolBook) provides templates and various facilities for the rapid prototyping of computer-based presentations, a capability that is lacking in current authoring systems. NEAT is a specialized authoring system that can be used by authors who have a limited knowledge of computer systems and no…

Information and Communication Technology among Excellent Islamic Education Teachers in Selangor Malaysia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Razak, Khadijah Abdul; Othman, Tengku Norhayati Tengku; Hamzah, Mohd. Isa; Zulkifli, Hafizhah

2014-01-01

The development of technology in the era of the borderless world has grown rapidly in the entire field of human life, including in the field of education. The rapid development in science and technology led to the dissemination of information and knowledge through classroom also changed. Teachers as educators cannot refrain from directly involved…

Integrating genetics and genomics into nursing curricula: you can do it too!

PubMed

Daack-Hirsch, Sandra; Jackson, Barbara; Belchez, Chito A; Elder, Betty; Hurley, Roxanne; Kerr, Peg; Nissen, Mary Kay

2013-12-01

Rapid advances in knowledge and technology related to genomics cross health care disciplines and touch almost every aspect of patient care. The ability to sequence a genome holds the promise that health care can be personalized. Health care professionals are faced with a gap in the ability to use the rapidly expanding technology and knowledge related to genomics in practice. Yet, nurses are key to bridging the gap between genomic discoveries and the human experience of illness. This article presents a case study documenting the experience of five nursing schools/colleges of nursing as they work to integrate genetics and genomics into their curricula. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rapid detection of infectious rotavirus group A using a molecular beacon assay.

PubMed

Bertol, Jéssica Wildgrube; Gatti, Maria Silvia Viccari

2016-08-01

Rapid, sensitive and specific methods are necessary to detect and quantify infectious viruses. Cultivating and detecting enteric viruses in cell culture are difficult, thus impairing the advancement of knowledge regarding virus-induced diarrhea. Rotavirus (RV) detection has been conducted by serological or molecular biology methods, which do not provide information regarding viral infectivity. Molecular beacons (MBs) have demonstrated efficacy for viral detection in cell culture. We propose a MB assay to detect human rotavirus group A (HuRVA) in cell culture. MA104 cells were mock-infected or infected with HuRVA strains (RotaTeq(®) vaccine and K8 strains), and a specific MB for the HuRVA VP6 gene was used for virus detection. Mock-infected cells showed basal fluorescence, while infected cells exhibited increased fluorescence emission. MB hybridization to the viral mRNA target of HuRVA was confirmed. Fluorescence increased according to the increase in the number of infectious viral particles per cell (MOI 0.5-MOI 1). This technique provides quick and efficient HuRVA detection in cell culture without a need for viral culture for several days or many times until cytopathic effects are visualized. This methodology could be applied in the selection of samples for developing RV vaccines. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

NASA/DoD aerospace knowledge diffusion research project. VIII - The role of the information intermediary in the diffusion of aerospace knowledge

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Kennedy, John M.; Barclay, Rebecca O.

1990-01-01

The U.S. aerospace industry is experiencing profound changes created by a combination of domestic actions and circumstances such as airline deregulation. Other changes result from external trends such as emerging foreign competition. These circumstances intensify the need to understand the production, transfer, and utilization of knowledge as a precursor to the rapid diffusion of technology. This article presents a conceptual framework for understanding the diffusion of aerospace knowledge. The framework focuses on the information channels and members of the social system associated with the aerospace knowledge diffusion process, placing particular emphasis on aerospace librarians as information intermediaries.

Willingness of Certified Health Education Specialists to Conduct Rapid HIV Testing: Results From the Promoting Research on Methods in Screening Expertise Study.

PubMed

Santella, Anthony J; Fraser, Jacquie; Prehn, Angela W

2016-01-01

Approximately 16% of people living with HIV are not aware of their infection. Health education specialists, with their training in health program design, implementation, evaluation, and work with vulnerable communities, may have the necessary expertise to conduct rapid HIV testing (RHT). A national, cross-sectional, online survey of Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES) and Master CHES (MCHES) was conducted from April to October 2013, with participants recruited through the National Commission on Health Education Credentialing. We surveyed CHES/MCHES on HIV knowledge and attitudes as well as willingness to conduct RHT. A total of 1,421 CHES/MCHES completed the survey, with a median age of 32 years and median level of 7 years of experience. The majority were White (70.3%), female (91.7%), and heterosexual (93.1%). The majority of respondents had high knowledge of HIV (69.7%), thought that CHES/MCHES should offer RHT (75.2%), and was willing to get trained/certified to conduct RHT (80.3%). Those willing to get trained/certified were more likely to feel comfortable educating clients about HIV prevention methods (p < .001) and planning health promotion programs for people living with HIV (p < .001). Perceived barriers to conducting RHT were related to lack of knowledge of RHT counseling (34.8%) and procedures (25%). CHES/MCHES have the potential to play a significant role in increasing the availability of HIV testing, and the majority of respondents expressed a willingness to become involved. However, training and implementation barriers were identified. Piloting such an approach should be considered to further evaluate the optimum ways in which expanding HIV testing can be achieved. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

Investigating the role of content knowledge, argumentation, and situational features to support genetics literacy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shea, Nicole Anne

Science curriculum is often used as a means to train students as future scientists with less emphasis placed on preparing students to reason about issues they may encounter in their daily lives (Feinstein, Allen, & Jenkins, 2013; Roth & Barton, 2004). The general public is required to think scientifically to some degree throughout their life and often across a variety of issues. From an empirical standpoint, we do not have a robust understanding of what scientific knowledge the public finds useful for reasoning about socio-scientific issues in their everyday lives (Feinstein, 2011). We also know very little about how the situational features of an issue influences reasoning strategy (i.e., the use of knowledge to generate arguments). Rapid advances in science - particularly in genetics - increasingly challenge the public to reason about socio-scientific issues. This raises questions about the public's ability to participate knowledgeably in socio-scientific debates, and to provide informed consent for a variety of novel scientific procedures. This dissertation aims to answer the questions: How do individuals use their genetic content knowledge to reason about authentic issues they may encounter in their daily lives? Individuals' scientific knowledge is a critical aspect of scientific literacy, but what scientific literacy looks like in practice as individuals use their content knowledge to reason about issues comprised of different situational features is still unclear. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore what knowledge is actually used by individuals to generate and support arguments about a variety of socio-scientific issues, and how the features of those issues influences reasoning strategy. Three studies were conducted to answer questions reflecting this purpose. Findings from this dissertation provide important insights into what scientific literacy looks like in practice.

The place of knowledge and evidence in the context of Australian general practice nursing.

PubMed

Mills, Jane; Field, John; Cant, Robyn

2009-01-01

The purpose of the study was to ascertain the place of knowledge and evidence in the context of Australian general practice nursing. General practice nursing is a rapidly developing area of specialized nursing in Australia. The provision of primary care services in Australia rests largely with medical general practitioners who employ nurses in a small business model. A statistical research design was used that included a validated instrument: the developing evidence-based practice questionnaire (Gerrish et al. 2007). A total of 1,800 Victorian practice nurses were surveyed with a return of 590 completed questionnaires, equaling a response rate of 33%. Lack of time to access knowledge for practice was a barrier for participants in this study. In-service education and training opportunities were ranked as the number one source of knowledge for general practice nurses. Experiential learning and interactions with clients, peers, medical practitioners, and specialist nurses were also considered very important sources of knowledge. Research journals were ranked much lower than experiential learning and personal interactions. Participants assessed their own skills at sourcing and translating evidence into practice knowledge as low. Younger general practice nurses were more likely than older nurses to assess themselves as competent at using the library and Internet to locate evidence. The predominantly oral culture of nursing needs to be identified and incorporated into methods for disseminating evidence from research findings in order to increase the knowledge base of Australian general practice nurses. Findings from this study will be significant for policy makers and funders of Australian nursing in general practice. The establishment of a career structure for general practice nurses that includes salaried positions for clinical nurse specialists would assist in the translation of evidence into knowledge for utilization at the point of care.

Using insights from animal behaviour and behavioural ecology to inform marine conservation initiatives

PubMed Central

Brooker, Rohan M.; Feeney, William E.; White, James R.; Manassa, Rachel P.; Johansen, Jacob L.; Dixson, Danielle L.

2017-01-01

The impacts of human activities on the natural world are becoming increasingly apparent, with rapid development and exploitation occurring at the expense of habitat quality and biodiversity. Declines are especially concerning in the oceans, which hold intrinsic value due to their biological uniqueness as well as their substantial sociological and economic importance. Here, we review the literature and investigate whether incorporation of knowledge from the fields of animal behaviour and behavioural ecology may improve the effectiveness of conservation initiatives in marine systems. In particular, we consider (1) how knowledge of larval behaviour and ecology may be used to inform the design of marine protected areas, (2) how protecting species that hold specific ecological niches may be of particular importance for maximizing the preservation of biodiversity, (3) how current harvesting techniques may be inadvertently skewing the behavioural phenotypes of stock populations and whether changes to current practices may lessen this skew and reinforce population persistence, and (4) how understanding the behavioural and physiological responses of species to a changing environment may provide essential insights into areas of particular vulnerability for prioritized conservation attention. The complex nature of conservation programmes inherently results in interdisciplinary responses, and the incorporation of knowledge from the fields of animal behaviour and behavioural ecology may increase our ability to stem the loss of biodiversity in marine environments. PMID:29104297

Using insights from animal behaviour and behavioural ecology to inform marine conservation initiatives.

PubMed

Brooker, Rohan M; Feeney, William E; White, James R; Manassa, Rachel P; Johansen, Jacob L; Dixson, Danielle L

2016-10-01

The impacts of human activities on the natural world are becoming increasingly apparent, with rapid development and exploitation occurring at the expense of habitat quality and biodiversity. Declines are especially concerning in the oceans, which hold intrinsic value due to their biological uniqueness as well as their substantial sociological and economic importance. Here, we review the literature and investigate whether incorporation of knowledge from the fields of animal behaviour and behavioural ecology may improve the effectiveness of conservation initiatives in marine systems. In particular, we consider (1) how knowledge of larval behaviour and ecology may be used to inform the design of marine protected areas, (2) how protecting species that hold specific ecological niches may be of particular importance for maximizing the preservation of biodiversity, (3) how current harvesting techniques may be inadvertently skewing the behavioural phenotypes of stock populations and whether changes to current practices may lessen this skew and reinforce population persistence, and (4) how understanding the behavioural and physiological responses of species to a changing environment may provide essential insights into areas of particular vulnerability for prioritized conservation attention. The complex nature of conservation programmes inherently results in interdisciplinary responses, and the incorporation of knowledge from the fields of animal behaviour and behavioural ecology may increase our ability to stem the loss of biodiversity in marine environments.

The rise of information science: a changing landscape for soil science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roudier, Pierre; Ritchie, Alistair; Hedley, Carolyn; Medyckyj-Scott, David

2015-07-01

The last 15 years have seen the rapid development of a wide range of information technologies. Those developments have been impacting all fields of science, at every step of the scientific method: data collection, data analysis, inference, science communication and outreach. The rate at which data is being generated is increasing exponentially, giving opportunities to improve our understanding of soils. Parallel developments in computing hardware and methods, such as machine learning, open ways to not only harness the '”data deluge”, but also offer a new way to generate knowledge. Finally, emerging data and information delivery protocols are leveraging the outreach power of the World Wide Web to disseminate scientific data and information, and increase their use and understanding outside the boundaries of a given scientific field. However, the nature of this data is mostly new to soil science, and requires adaptation to its diversity and volume. In particular, the integration of the significant amount of legacy soil data collected throughout decades of soil science can be problematic when all necessary metadata is not available. Likewise, knowledge accumulated by our scientific field needs to be acknowledged by - rather than opposed to - numerical methods. While the introduction of this set of emerging technologies is enabling soil science from different points of view, its successful implementation depends on the ability of soil scientists to act as knowledge brokers and support numerical methods.

Robot-assisted surgery in gynecological oncology: current status and controversies on patient benefits, cost and surgeon conditions - a systematic review.

PubMed

Kristensen, Steffen E; Mosgaard, Berit J; Rosendahl, Mikkel; Dalsgaard, Tórur; Bjørn, Signe F; Frøding, Ligita P; Kehlet, Henrik; Høgdall, Claus K; Lajer, Henrik

2017-03-01

Robot-assisted surgery has become more widespread in gynecological oncology. The purpose of this systematic review is to present current knowledge on robot-assisted surgery, and to clarify and discuss controversies that have arisen alongside the development and deployment. A database search in PubMed and EMBASE was performed up until 4 March 2016. The search strategy was developed in collaboration with an information specialist, and by application of the PRISMA guidelines. Human participants and English language were the only restrictive filters applied. Selection was performed by screening of titles and abstracts, and by full text scrutiny. From 2001 to 2016, a total of 76 references were included. Robot-assisted surgery in gynecological oncology has increased, and current knowledge supports that the oncological safety is similar, compared with previous surgical methods. Controversies arise because current knowledge does not clearly document the benefit of robot-assisted surgery, on perioperative outcome compared with the increased costs of the acquisition and application. The rapid development in robot-assisted surgery calls for long-term detailed prospective cohorts or randomized controlled trials. The costs associated with acquisition, application, and maintenance have an unfavorable impact on cost-benefit evaluations, especially when compared with laparoscopy. Future developments in robot-assisted surgery will hopefully lead to competition in the market, which will decrease costs. © 2016 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Rapid prototyping strategy for a surgical data warehouse.

PubMed

Tang, S-T; Huang, Y-F; Hsiao, M-L; Yang, S-H; Young, S-T

2003-01-01

Healthcare processes typically generate an enormous volume of patient information. This information largely represents unexploited knowledge, since current hospital operational systems (e.g., HIS, RIS) are not suitable for knowledge exploitation. Data warehousing provides an attractive method for solving these problems, but the process is very complicated. This study presents a novel strategy for effectively implementing a healthcare data warehouse. This study adopted the rapid prototyping (RP) method, which involves intensive interactions. System developers and users were closely linked throughout the life cycle of the system development. The presence of iterative RP loops meant that the system requirements were increasingly integrated and problems were gradually solved, such that the prototype system evolved into the final operational system. The results were analyzed by monitoring the series of iterative RP loops. First a definite workflow for ensuring data completeness was established, taking a patient-oriented viewpoint when collecting the data. Subsequently the system architecture was determined for data retrieval, storage, and manipulation. This architecture also clarifies the relationships among the novel system and legacy systems. Finally, a graphic user interface for data presentation was implemented. Our results clearly demonstrate the potential for adopting an RP strategy in the successful establishment of a healthcare data warehouse. The strategy can be modified and expanded to provide new services or support new application domains. The design patterns and modular architecture used in the framework will be useful in solving problems in different healthcare domains.

Rapid Design of Knowledge-Based Scoring Potentials for Enrichment of Near-Native Geometries in Protein-Protein Docking.

PubMed

Sasse, Alexander; de Vries, Sjoerd J; Schindler, Christina E M; de Beauchêne, Isaure Chauvot; Zacharias, Martin

2017-01-01

Protein-protein docking protocols aim to predict the structures of protein-protein complexes based on the structure of individual partners. Docking protocols usually include several steps of sampling, clustering, refinement and re-scoring. The scoring step is one of the bottlenecks in the performance of many state-of-the-art protocols. The performance of scoring functions depends on the quality of the generated structures and its coupling to the sampling algorithm. A tool kit, GRADSCOPT (GRid Accelerated Directly SCoring OPTimizing), was designed to allow rapid development and optimization of different knowledge-based scoring potentials for specific objectives in protein-protein docking. Different atomistic and coarse-grained potentials can be created by a grid-accelerated directly scoring dependent Monte-Carlo annealing or by a linear regression optimization. We demonstrate that the scoring functions generated by our approach are similar to or even outperform state-of-the-art scoring functions for predicting near-native solutions. Of additional importance, we find that potentials specifically trained to identify the native bound complex perform rather poorly on identifying acceptable or medium quality (near-native) solutions. In contrast, atomistic long-range contact potentials can increase the average fraction of near-native poses by up to a factor 2.5 in the best scored 1% decoys (compared to existing scoring), emphasizing the need of specific docking potentials for different steps in the docking protocol.

Safe and effective pharmacotherapy in infants and preschool children: importance of formulation aspects

PubMed Central

van Riet-Nales, Diana A; Schobben, Alfred F A M; Vromans, Herman; Egberts, Toine C G; Rademaker, Carin M A

2016-01-01

Safe and effective paediatric pharmacotherapy requires careful evaluation of the type of drug substance, the necessary dose and the age-appropriateness of the formulation. Generally, the younger the child, the more the attention that is required. For decades, there has been a general lack of (authorised) formulations that children are able to and willing to take. Moreover, little was known on the impact of pharmaceutical aspects on the age-appropriateness of a paediatric medicine. As a result of legislative incentives, such knowledge is increasingly becoming available. It has become evident that rapidly dissolving tablets with a diameter of 2 mm (mini-tablets) can be used in preterm neonates and non-rapidly dissolving 2 mm mini-tablets in infants from 6 months of age. In addition, uncoated 4 mm mini-tablets can be used in infants from the age of 1 year. Also, there is some evidence that children prefer mini-tablets over a powder, suspension or syrup. Other novel types of age-appropriate oral formulations such as orodispersible films may further add to the treatment possibilities. This review provides an overview of the current knowledge on oral formulations for infants and preschool children, the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of dosage forms and the age groups by which these can likely be used. PMID:26979250

Neural Activity Associated with Visual Search for Line Drawings on AAC Displays: An Exploration of the Use of fMRI.

PubMed

Wilkinson, Krista M; Dennis, Nancy A; Webb, Christina E; Therrien, Mari; Stradtman, Megan; Farmer, Jacquelyn; Leach, Raevynn; Warrenfeltz, Megan; Zeuner, Courtney

2015-01-01

Visual aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) consists of books or technologies that contain visual symbols to supplement spoken language. A common observation concerning some forms of aided AAC is that message preparation can be frustratingly slow. We explored the uses of fMRI to examine the neural correlates of visual search for line drawings on AAC displays in 18 college students under two experimental conditions. Under one condition, the location of the icons remained stable and participants were able to learn the spatial layout of the display. Under the other condition, constant shuffling of the locations of the icons prevented participants from learning the layout, impeding rapid search. Brain activation was contrasted under these conditions. Rapid search in the stable display was associated with greater activation of cortical and subcortical regions associated with memory, motor learning, and dorsal visual pathways compared to the search in the unpredictable display. Rapid search for line drawings on stable AAC displays involves not just the conceptual knowledge of the symbol meaning but also the integration of motor, memory, and visual-spatial knowledge about the display layout. Further research must study individuals who use AAC, as well as the functional effect of interventions that promote knowledge about array layout.

From open source communications to knowledge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Preece, Alun; Roberts, Colin; Rogers, David; Webberley, Will; Innes, Martin; Braines, Dave

2016-05-01

Rapid processing and exploitation of open source information, including social media sources, in order to shorten decision-making cycles, has emerged as an important issue in intelligence analysis in recent years. Through a series of case studies and natural experiments, focussed primarily upon policing and counter-terrorism scenarios, we have developed an approach to information foraging and framing to inform decision making, drawing upon open source intelligence, in particular Twitter, due to its real-time focus and frequent use as a carrier for links to other media. Our work uses a combination of natural language (NL) and controlled natural language (CNL) processing to support information collection from human sensors, linking and schematising of collected information, and the framing of situational pictures. We illustrate the approach through a series of vignettes, highlighting (1) how relatively lightweight and reusable knowledge models (schemas) can rapidly be developed to add context to collected social media data, (2) how information from open sources can be combined with reports from trusted observers, for corroboration or to identify con icting information; and (3) how the approach supports users operating at or near the tactical edge, to rapidly task information collection and inform decision-making. The approach is supported by bespoke software tools for social media analytics and knowledge management.

The assimilation of Western medicine into a semi-nomadic healthcare system: a case study of the Indigenous Aeta Magbukún, Philippines.

PubMed

Balilla, Vincent S; McHenry, Julia Anwar; McHenry, Mark P; Parkinson, Riva Marris; Banal, Danilo T

2014-09-01

The Aeta Magbukún are a genetically and culturally distinct group of Indigenous people living in an isolated mountain forest in the municipality of Mariveles, in the province of Bataan, Philippines. This research aims to document some healthcare related information of the people, inform future decisions regarding maximising benefits of modern conveniences, and minimise negative consequences on their culture and health. Using an ethnographic approach, data were collated from a community health survey in combination with field notes from three of the co-authors while living with the Aetas. Despite major implications from rapid ecological and cultural changes, traditional ethnomedical systems continue to be revered as an essential healing practice, although they are increasingly used in conjunction with Western medicines and healthcare. At the Aeta village level, the changing socio-political influence among the kagun (traditional healer), the NGOs, and the Municipal Council in terms of healthcare provision is pivotal, as the kagun has chosen to integrate the Western medicine and healthcare services into their traditional healthcare system, without simply rejecting them. In turn, Western-style healthcare interventions have the potential to be carefully managed to integrate traditional Aeta Magbukún socio-political structures, healthcare, and cultural continuity. The cumulative influence of numerous other novel aspects to Aeta life (e.g., permanent housing, a highway through the village, literacy, cash economies, energy-dense foods, communication/entertainment devices, etc.) will place additional pressure on the traditional ethnomedical healthcare system. However, enabling the continuity of access to appropriate healthcare knowledge (both the transfer of knowledge from Western medicine to the Aeta Magbukún, and vice versa) can assist many cultures through the inherent stresses of increasingly rapid acculturation and development.

Event-based Plausibility Immediately Influences On-line Language Comprehension

PubMed Central

Matsuki, Kazunaga; Chow, Tracy; Hare, Mary; Elman, Jeffrey L.; Scheepers, Christoph; McRae, Ken

2011-01-01

In some theories of sentence comprehension, linguistically-relevant lexical knowledge such as selectional restrictions is privileged in terms of the time-course of its access and influence. We examined whether event knowledge computed by combining multiple concepts can rapidly influence language understanding even in the absence of selectional restriction violations. Specifically, we investigated whether instruments can combine with actions to influence comprehension of ensuing patients. Instrument-verb-patient triplets were created in a norming study designed to tap directly into event knowledge. In self-paced reading (Experiment 1), participants were faster to read patient nouns such as hair when they were typical of the instrument-action pair (Donna used the shampoo to wash vs. the hose to wash). Experiment 2 showed that these results were not due to direct instrument-patient relations. Experiment 3 replicated Experiment 1 using eyetracking, with effects of event typicality observed in first fixation and gaze durations on the patient noun. This research demonstrates that conceptual event-based expectations are computed and used rapidly and dynamically during on-line language comprehension. We discuss relationships among plausibility and predictability, as well as their implications. We conclude that selectional restrictions may be best considered as event-based conceptual knowledge, rather than lexical-grammatical knowledge. PMID:21517222

Constructing Advantage in the Knowledge Society: Roles of Universities Reconsidered--The Case of Japan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kitagawa, Fumi

2005-01-01

Based on an analysis of policy contexts in several OECD countries, this article examines the rapidly changing policy environment in Japan exemplified by the 2004 transformation of national universities into "incorporated" entities. The role of universities in the knowledge society is examined in light of the emergence of new research and…

Italians Use Abstract Knowledge about Lexical Stress during Spoken-Word Recognition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sulpizio, Simone; McQueen, James M.

2012-01-01

In two eye-tracking experiments in Italian, we investigated how acoustic information and stored knowledge about lexical stress are used during the recognition of tri-syllabic spoken words. Experiment 1 showed that Italians use acoustic cues to a word's stress pattern rapidly in word recognition, but only for words with antepenultimate stress.…

Examining the Nexus of Science Communication and Science Education: A Content Analysis of Genetics News Articles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shea, Nicole A.

2015-01-01

Access to science information via communications in the media is rapidly becoming a central means for the public to gain knowledge about scientific advancements. However, little is known about what content knowledge is essential for understanding issues presented in news media. Very few empirical studies attempt to bridge science communication and…

Lay Public's Knowledge and Decisions in Response to Symptoms of Acute Myocardial Infarction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cytryn, Kayla N.; Yoskowitz, Nicole A.; Cimino, James J.; Patel, Vimla L.

2009-01-01

Despite public health initiatives targeting rapid action in response to symptoms of myocardial infarction (MI), people continue to delay in going to a hospital when experiencing these symptoms due to lack of recognition as cardiac-related. The objective of this research was to characterize lay individuals' knowledge of symptoms of acute myocardial…

The Major Project in the Field of Education in the Latin American and Caribbean Region. Bulletin 9.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, Santiago (Chile). Regional Office for Education in Latin America and Caribbean.

The speed at which transformations have occurred in levels of knowledge--especially scientific and technical knowledge--obliges countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region to undergo a rapid process of modernization. An educational project of UNESCO was established with this goal in mind. This bulletin presents three articles concerning…

Modern Education in China. Bulletin, 1919, No. 44

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edmunds, Charles K.

1919-01-01

The Chinese conception of life's values is so different from that of western peoples that they have failed to develop modern technique and scientific knowledge. Now that they have come to see the value of these, rapid and fundamental changes are taking place. When modern scientific knowledge is added to the skill which the Chinese already have in…

Physics Teacher Candidates' Opinions on Fiber Optics and New Technologies in This Field

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Çildir, Sema

2016-01-01

Factors such as innovations brought in by the developing technology, also rapidly changing social structures casted various roles to both the student and the teacher. Therefore, it is necessary to associate such knowledge acquired in courses with implications of the knowledge in our real lives and to constantly enrich course contents, namely to…

Education Policy Research and the Global Knowledge Economy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peters, Michael

2002-01-01

The body of literature on the concept of the "knowledge economy" is both recent and rapidly growing, especially in the related fields of economics and management, yet both less recognised and less established in the field of education. It is a concept that has inspired many national governments and world policy institutions such as the OECD and…

Professional Development for Transformational Technology Integration: An Experimental Study of In-Service Teachers' Self-Perceptions of Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tachau, Elena M.

2017-01-01

Professional Development for Transformational Technology Integration: An Experimental Study of In-Service Teachers' Self-Perceptions of Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge Elena M. Tachau Drexel University Chairperson: Brian K. Smith, Ph.D. The rapid advancement of technology tasks K-12 schools with providing professional development…

Global Report on Adult Learning and Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chisholm, Lynne, Ed.; Hasan, Abrar, Ed.

2010-01-01

In the 21st century, the rapid pace and complexity of economic, technological and cultural changes require women and men to adapt and re-adapt throughout their lives--all the more so in the context of globalisation. In this era of the knowledge society--where production structure is shifting towards greater knowledge use and away from reliance on…

Two Viewpoints on the Challenges of ICT in Education: Knowledge-Building Theory vs. a Pragmatist Conception of Learning in Social Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kivinen, Osmo; Piiroinen, Tero; Saikkonen, Loretta

2016-01-01

The paper contrasts two different approaches to the educational challenges of the ubiquitous, rapidly developing information and communication technologies (ICT). The first is the constructivist "knowledge building" theory spearheaded by Carl Bereiter and Marlene Scardamalia and recently further developed by Kai Hakkarainen and Sami…

The Assessment of Self-Directed Learning Readiness in Medical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monroe, Katherine Swint

2014-01-01

The rapid pace of scientific discovery has catalyzed the need for medical students to be able to find and assess new information. The knowledge required for physicians' skillful practice will change of the course of their careers, and, to keep up, they must be able to recognized their deficiencies, search for new knowledge, and critically evaluate…

A Study on the Teachers' Professional Knowledge and Competence in Environmental Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yuan, Kuo-Shu; Wu, Tung-Ju; Chen, Hui-Bing; Li, Yi-Bin

2017-01-01

The rapid development of technology and economy has largely enhanced the quality of life. Nevertheless, various social and environmental problems have emerged. It would be the key solution to develop environmental education in order to have people present the environmental knowledge and the attitudes and value to concern about the environment and…

From University to Regionality? Knowledge Economy and Regional Development--The Case of Sweden

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

From, Jörgen; Olofsson, Anders

2016-01-01

New public management and knowledge economy have become watchwords in the governance of higher education. The university's role has rapidly changed toward regional development. The aim of this article is critically to highlight the basic rationale of this reorganization and to examine what this can mean in a Swedish context. This rationale is…

Rewriting Ice Sheet "Glacier-ology"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bindschadler, R.

2006-12-01

The revolution in glaciology driven by the suite of increasingly sophisticated satellite instruments has been no more extreme than in the area of ice dynamics. Years ago, glaciologists were (probably unwittingly) selective in what properties of mountain glaciers were also applied to ice sheets. This reinforced the view that they responded slowly to their environment. Notions of rapid response driven by the ideas of John Mercer, Bill Budd and Terry Hughes were politely rejected by the centrists of mainstream glaciological thought. How the tables have turned--and by the ice sheets themselves, captured in the act of rapidly changing by modern remote sensors! The saw-toothed record of sea-level change over past glacial-interglacial cycles required the existence of rapid ice loss processes. Satellite based observations, supported by hard-earned field observations have extended the time scale over which ice sheets can suddenly change to ever shorter intervals: from centuries, to decades, to years to even minutes. As changes continue to be observed, the scientific community is forced to consider new or previously ignored processes to explain these observations. The penultimate goal of ice-sheet dynamics is to credibly predict the future of both the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. In this important endeavor, there is no substitute for our ability to observe. Without the extensive data sets provided by remote sensing, numerical models can be neither tested nor improved. The impact of remote sensing on our existing ability to predict the future must be compared to our probable state of knowledge and ability were these data never collected. Among many satellite observed phenomena we would be largely or wholly ignorant of are the recent acceleration of ice throughout much of coastal Greenland; the sudden disintegration of multiple ice shelves along the Antarctic Peninsula; and the dramatic thinning and acceleration of the Amundsen Sea sector of West Antarctica. These observations are driving increased concern about rapidly increasing sea level, a process dominated by ice-sheet dynamics and largely identified, quantified, studied and monitored by satellite sensors.

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

Chen, X; Wang, J; Hu, W

Purpose: The Varian RapidPlan™ is a commercial knowledge-based optimization process which uses a set of clinically used treatment plans to train a model that can predict individualized dose-volume objectives. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of RapidPlan to generate intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) plans for cervical cancer. Methods: Totally 70 IMRT plans for cervical cancer with varying clinical and physiological indications were enrolled in this study. These patients were all previously treated in our institution. There were two prescription levels usually used in our institution: 45Gy/25 fractions and 50.4Gy/28 fractions. 50 of these plans weremore » selected to train the RapidPlan model for predicting dose-volume constraints. After model training, this model was validated with 10 plans from training pool(internal validation) and additional other 20 new plans(external validation). All plans used for the validation were re-optimized with the original beam configuration and the generated priorities from RapidPlan were manually adjusted to ensure that re-optimized DVH located in the range of the model prediction. DVH quantitative analysis was performed to compare the RapidPlan generated and the original manual optimized plans. Results: For all the validation cases, RapidPlan based plans (RapidPlan) showed similar or superior results compared to the manual optimized ones. RapidPlan increased the result of D98% and homogeneity in both two validations. For organs at risk, the RapidPlan decreased mean doses of bladder by 1.25Gy/1.13Gy (internal/external validation) on average, with p=0.12/p<0.01. The mean dose of rectum and bowel were also decreased by an average of 2.64Gy/0.83Gy and 0.66Gy/1.05Gy,with p<0.01/ p<0.01and p=0.04/<0.01 for the internal/external validation, respectively. Conclusion: The RapidPlan model based cervical cancer plans shows ability to systematically improve the IMRT plan quality. It suggests that RapidPlan has great potential to make the treatment planning process more efficient.« less

The Skills Agenda: Issues for Post-16 Providers. FEDA Comments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hughes, Maria; Mager, Caroline

Studies in Great Britain have focused on the rapidly changing economy of the 21st century and the skills that workers will need to contribute to it. The studies have found that the new century will be characterized by the knowledge-driven economy, changes driven by global markets, the rapid movement of finance, and developments in information and…

Hereditary breast and ovarian cancer: successful systematic implementation of a group approach to genetic counselling.

PubMed

Benusiglio, Patrick R; Di Maria, Marina; Dorling, Leila; Jouinot, Anne; Poli, Antoine; Villebasse, Sophie; Le Mentec, Marine; Claret, Béatrice; Boinon, Diane; Caron, Olivier

2017-01-01

The increase in referrals to cancer genetics clinics, partially associated with the "Angelina Jolie effect", presents a challenge to existing services, many are already running at full capacity. More efficient ways to deliver genetic counselling are therefore urgently needed. We now systematically offer group instead of standard individual counselling to patients with suspected Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer. Group sessions last 30 min. The first twenty consist of a presentation by the genetic counsellor, the next ten of a discussion involving a cancer geneticist and a psychologist. A short individual consultation ensues, where personal and family issues are addressed and consent obtained. Blood is drawn afterwards. Satisfaction and knowledge are evaluated. We report data for the Oct-2014-Aug-2015 period. 210 patients attended group counselling, up to eight simultaneously. We always fitted them within a 4-h time frame. Mean satisfaction score was 41/43. Knowledge scores increased from 3.1/6 to 4.9/6 post-counselling (p value < 2.2 × 10 -16 ). Thanks to group counselling, we have withstood increases in referrals without compromising care. The "Angelina Jolie effect" and rapid developments in personalized medicine threaten to overwhelm cancer genetics clinics. In this context, our innovative approach should ensure that all patients have access to approved services.

The Johns Hopkins model of psychological first aid (RAPID-PFA): curriculum development and content validation.

PubMed

Everly, George S; Barnett, Daniel J; Links, Jonathan M

2012-01-01

There appears to be virtual universal endorsement of the need for and value of acute "psychological first aid" (PFA) in the wake of trauma and disasters. In this paper, we describe the development of the curriculum for The Johns Hopkins RAPID-PFA model of psychological first aid. We employed an adaptation of the basic framework for the development of a clinical science as recommended by Millon which entailed: historical review, theoretical development, and content validation. The process of content validation of the RAPID-PFA curriculum entailed the assessment of attitudes (confidence in the application of PFA interventions, preparedness in the application of PFA); knowledge related to the application of immediate mental health interventions; and behavior (the ability to recognize clinical markers in the field as assessed via a videotape recognition exercise). Results of the content validation phase suggest the six-hour RAPID-PFA curriculum, initially based upon structural modeling analysis, can improve confidence in the application of PFA interventions, preparedness in the application of PFA, knowledge related to the application of immediate mental health interventions, and the ability to recognize clinical markers in the field as assessed via a videotape recognition exercise.

Simulating the Composite Propellant Manufacturing Process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williamson, Suzanne; Love, Gregory

2000-01-01

There is a strategic interest in understanding how the propellant manufacturing process contributes to military capabilities outside the United States. The paper will discuss how system dynamics (SD) has been applied to rapidly assess the capabilities and vulnerabilities of a specific composite propellant production complex. These facilities produce a commonly used solid propellant with military applications. The authors will explain how an SD model can be configured to match a specific production facility followed by a series of scenarios designed to analyze operational vulnerabilities. By using the simulation model to rapidly analyze operational risks, the analyst gains a better understanding of production complexities. There are several benefits of developing SD models to simulate chemical production. SD is an effective tool for characterizing complex problems, especially the production process where the cascading effect of outages quickly taxes common understanding. By programming expert knowledge into an SD application, these tools are transformed into a knowledge management resource that facilitates rapid learning without requiring years of experience in production operations. It also permits the analyst to rapidly respond to crisis situations and other time-sensitive missions. Most importantly, the quantitative understanding gained from applying the SD model lends itself to strategic analysis and planning.

Virtual reality simulation: using three-dimensional technology to teach nursing students.

PubMed

Jenson, Carole E; Forsyth, Diane McNally

2012-06-01

The use of computerized technology is rapidly growing in the classroom and in healthcare. An emerging computer technology strategy for nursing education is the use of virtual reality simulation. This computer-based three-dimensional educational tool simulates real-life patient experiences in a risk-free environment, allows for repeated practice sessions, requires clinical decision making, exposes students to diverse patient conditions, provides immediate feedback, and is portable. The purpose of this article was to review the importance of virtual reality simulation as a computerized teaching strategy. In addition, a project to explore readiness of nursing faculty at one major Midwestern university for the use of virtual reality simulation as a computerized teaching strategy is described where faculty thought virtual reality simulation would increase students' knowledge of an intravenous line insertion procedure. Faculty who practiced intravenous catheter insertion via virtual reality simulation expressed a wide range of learning experiences from using virtual reality simulation that is congruent with the literature regarding the barriers to student learning. Innovative teaching strategies, such as virtual reality simulation, address barriers of increasing patient acuity, high student-to-faculty ratio, patient safety concerns from faculty, and student anxiety and can offer rapid feedback to students.

Mental health in the island nations of the Western Pacific: a rapid review of the literature.

PubMed

Hunter, Ernest; Thusanth, Sneha; McCalman, Janya; Gopalkrishnan, Narayan

2015-12-01

The aim of the study was to identify mental-health-relevant literature accessible to policy makers and healthcare workers in the island nations of the Western Pacific. Material collated to support the inaugural Leadership in Mental Health: Island Nations course held in Cairns in May 2015 was used as the basis of a "rapid review". The rapid review considered 303 documents identified by a search carried out using James Cook University's OneSearch, Google Scholar, and the authors' knowledge. Search terms included mental health and the like, and terms with Pacific and current Pacific island country names. Findings were classified by region/country, year of release/publication, mental health issue addressed, peer-reviewed or grey literature, and type of study. Almost half of the findings had been released in the previous five years. However, only 36% were peer-reviewed publications and only 3.6% of the findings were intervention studies. There is limited easily accessible documentation to confidently direct practice or policies regarding which strategies are likely to be effective in responding to the high rates of mental ill-health experienced in the Pacific island nations, or to plan for increases as a consequence of rapid social and demographic changes that are transforming Pacific island societies. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2015.

Rapid Inhibition Profiling in Bacillus subtilis to Identify the Mechanism of Action of New Antimicrobials.

PubMed

Lamsa, Anne; Lopez-Garrido, Javier; Quach, Diana; Riley, Eammon P; Pogliano, Joe; Pogliano, Kit

2016-08-19

Increasing antimicrobial resistance has become a major public health crisis. New antimicrobials with novel mechanisms of action (MOA) are desperately needed. We previously developed a method, bacterial cytological profiling (BCP), which utilizes fluorescence microscopy to rapidly identify the MOA of antimicrobial compounds. BCP is based upon our discovery that cells treated with antibiotics affecting different metabolic pathways generate different cytological signatures, providing quantitative information that can be used to determine a compound's MOA. Here, we describe a system, rapid inhibition profiling (RIP), for creating cytological profiles of new antibiotic targets for which there are currently no chemical inhibitors. RIP consists of the fast, inducible degradation of a target protein followed by BCP. We demonstrate that degrading essential proteins in the major metabolic pathways for DNA replication, transcription, fatty acid biosynthesis, and peptidoglycan biogenesis in Bacillus subtilis rapidly produces cytological profiles closely matching that of antimicrobials targeting the same pathways. Additionally, RIP and antibiotics targeting different steps in fatty acid biosynthesis can be differentiated from each other. We utilize RIP and BCP to show that the antibacterial MOA of four nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory antibiotics differs from that proposed based on in vitro data. RIP is a versatile method that will extend our knowledge of phenotypes associated with inactivating essential bacterial enzymes and thereby allow for screening for molecules that inhibit novel essential targets.

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

Chang, Amy T.Y., E-mail: changty@ha.org.hk; Hung, Albert W.M.; Cheung, Fion W.K.

Purpose: Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is widely used to achieve a highly conformal dose and improve treatment outcome. However, plan quality and planning time are institute and planner dependent, and no standardized tool exists to recognize an optimal plan. RapidPlan, a knowledge-based algorithm, can generate constraints to assist optimization and produce high-quality IMRT plans. This report evaluated the quality and efficiency of using RapidPlan in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) IMRT planning. Methods and Materials: RapidPlan was configured using 79 radical IMRT plans for NPC; 20 consecutive NPC patients indicated for radical radiation therapy between October 2014 and May 2015 weremore » then recruited to assess its performance. The ability of RapidPlan to produce acceptable plans was evaluated. For plans that could not achieve clinical acceptance, manual touch-up was performed. The IMRT plans produced without RapidPlan (manual plans) and with RapidPlan (RP-2 plans, including those with manual touch-up) were compared in terms of dosimetric quality and planning efficiency. Results: RapidPlan by itself could produce clinically acceptable plans for 9 of the 20 patients; manual touch-up increased the number of acceptable plans (RP-2 plans) to 19. The target dose coverage and conformity were very similar. No difference was found in the maximum dose to the brainstem and optic chiasm. RP-2 plans delivered a higher maximum dose to the spinal cord (46.4 Gy vs 43.9 Gy, P=.002) but a lower dose to the parotid (mean dose to right parotid, 37.3 Gy vs 45.4 Gy; left, 34.4 Gy vs 43.1 Gy; P<.001) and the right cochlea (mean dose, 48.6 Gy vs 52.6 Gy; P=.02). The total planning time for RP-2 plans was significantly less than that for manual plans (64 minutes vs 295 minutes, P<.001). Conclusions: This study shows that RapidPlan can significantly improve planning efficiency and produce quality IMRT plans for NPC patients.« less

Paediatric genomics: diagnosing rare disease in children.

PubMed

Wright, Caroline F; FitzPatrick, David R; Firth, Helen V

2018-05-01

The majority of rare diseases affect children, most of whom have an underlying genetic cause for their condition. However, making a molecular diagnosis with current technologies and knowledge is often still a challenge. Paediatric genomics is an immature but rapidly evolving field that tackles this issue by incorporating next-generation sequencing technologies, especially whole-exome sequencing and whole-genome sequencing, into research and clinical workflows. This complex multidisciplinary approach, coupled with the increasing availability of population genetic variation data, has already resulted in an increased discovery rate of causative genes and in improved diagnosis of rare paediatric disease. Importantly, for affected families, a better understanding of the genetic basis of rare disease translates to more accurate prognosis, management, surveillance and genetic advice; stimulates research into new therapies; and enables provision of better support.

Evolutionary Technologies: Fundamentals and Applications to Information/Communication Systems and Manufacturing/Logistics Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gen, Mitsuo; Kawakami, Hiroshi; Tsujimura, Yasuhiro; Handa, Hisashi; Lin, Lin; Okamoto, Azuma

As efficient utilization of computational resources is increasing, evolutionary technology based on the Genetic Algorithm (GA), Genetic Programming (GP), Evolution Strategy (ES) and other Evolutionary Computations (ECs) is making rapid progress, and its social recognition and the need as applied technology are increasing. This is explained by the facts that EC offers higher robustness for knowledge information processing systems, intelligent production and logistics systems, most advanced production scheduling and other various real-world problems compared to the approaches based on conventional theories, and EC ensures flexible applicability and usefulness for any unknown system environment even in a case where accurate mathematical modeling fails in the formulation. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive survey of the current state-of-the-art in the fundamentals and applications of evolutionary technologies.

Structural genomics: keeping up with expanding knowledge of the protein universe

PubMed Central

Grabowski, Marek; Joachimiak, Andrzej; Otwinowski, Zbyszek; Minor, Wladek

2010-01-01

Structural characterization of the protein universe is the main mission of Structural Genomics (SG) programs. However, progress in gene sequencing technology, set in motion in the 1990s, has resulted in rapid expansion of protein sequence space — a twelvefold increase in the past seven years. For the SG field, this creates new challenges and necessitates a reassessment of its strategies. Nevertheless, despite the growth of sequence space, at present nearly half of the content of the Swiss-Prot database and over 40% of Pfam protein families can be structurally modeled based on structures determined so far, with SG projects making an increasingly significant contribution. The SG contribution of new Pfam structures nearly doubled from 27.2% in 2003 to 51.6% in 2006. PMID:17587562

Integrating Web-based technology into distance education for nurses in China: computer and Internet access and attitudes.

PubMed

Cragg, C E Betty; Edwards, Nancy; Yue, Zhao; Xin, Song Li; Hui, Zou Dao

2003-01-01

To increase continuing education accessibility, nurses around the world are turning to Web-based instruction. However, for Internet education to be successful, particularly in developing countries, nurses must have access to computers and the Internet as well as positive attitudes toward this form of learning. As part of a distance education project for nurses of the Tianjin Municipality in China, a survey of nurses was conducted to examine their sources of professional knowledge as well as their computer and Internet access and attitudes. The attitudes of the nurses were generally positive, and there was evidence of rapidly increasing use of and access to computers and the Internet. This article reports the results of that survey and their implications for Web-based teaching of Chinese nurses.

Preparing Future Faculty and Professionals for Public Health Careers

PubMed Central

Hrapczynski, Katie M.; Clark, Jane E.

2015-01-01

Recent years have brought rapid growth in schools of public health and an increasing demand for public health practitioners. These trends highlight the need for innovative approaches to prepare doctoral graduates for academic and high-level practice positions. The University of Maryland’s School of Public Health developed a “Preparing Future Faculty and Professionals” program to enrich the graduate education and professional development of its doctoral students. We describe the program’s key elements, including foundational seminars to enhance students’ knowledge and skills related to teaching, research, and service; activities designed to foster career exploration and increase competitiveness in the job market; and independent, faculty-mentored teaching and research experiences. We present a model for replicating the program and share student outcomes of participation. PMID:25706007

Association of eHealth Literacy With Colorectal Cancer Knowledge and Screening Practice Among Internet Users in Japan

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background In rapidly developing Internet-user societies, eHealth literacy has become important in promoting wellness. Although previous studies have observed that poor health literacy is associated with less knowledge and screening practice of colorectal cancer (CRC), little is known about whether eHealth literacy is associated with these variables. Objective The present study examined associations between eHealth literacy, knowledge of CRC, and CRC screening practices. Methods Data were analyzed for 2970 Japanese adults (men, 49.9%; mean age ± SD, 39.7 ± 10.9 years) who responded to an Internet-based cross-sectional survey. Knowledge of the definition of CRC, its risk factors and screening practice, previous experience of CRC screening, score on the Japanese version of the eHEALS (J-eHEALS), sociodemographic attributes (sex, age, marital status, educational attainment, and household income level), and frequency of Internet usage were obtained. Sociodemographic attributes and frequency of Internet usage were used as control variables in the multiple regression and logistic regression models. Results eHealth literacy was positively associated with CRC knowledge (β = .116, < .001), when the covariables of both eHealth literacy and CRC knowledge were used in the multiple regression model. Moreover, after controlling for sociodemographic factors, which were significantly associated with eHealth literacy and CRC screening practice, an increase of 1 point in the eHEALS score signified that participants were 1.03 times (95% CI = 1.01–1.05) more likely to undergo CRC screening. Conclusions Internet users with high eHealth literacy are more likely to have knowledge and previous screening practice related to CRC compared to those with low eHealth literacy. PMID:23149453

Association of eHealth literacy with colorectal cancer knowledge and screening practice among internet users in Japan.

PubMed

Mitsutake, Seigo; Shibata, Ai; Ishii, Kaori; Oka, Koichiro

2012-11-13

In rapidly developing Internet-user societies, eHealth literacy has become important in promoting wellness. Although previous studies have observed that poor health literacy is associated with less knowledge and screening practice of colorectal cancer (CRC), little is known about whether eHealth literacy is associated with these variables. The present study examined associations between eHealth literacy, knowledge of CRC, and CRC screening practices. Data were analyzed for 2970 Japanese adults (men, 49.9%; mean age±SD, 39.7±10.9 years) who responded to an Internet-based cross-sectional survey. Knowledge of the definition of CRC, its risk factors and screening practice, previous experience of CRC screening, score on the Japanese version of the eHEALS (J-eHEALS), sociodemographic attributes (sex, age, marital status, educational attainment, and household income level), and frequency of Internet usage were obtained. Sociodemographic attributes and frequency of Internet usage were used as control variables in the multiple regression and logistic regression models. eHealth literacy was positively associated with CRC knowledge (β=.116, <.001), when the covariables of both eHealth literacy and CRC knowledge were used in the multiple regression model. Moreover, after controlling for sociodemographic factors, which were significantly associated with eHealth literacy and CRC screening practice, an increase of 1 point in the eHEALS score signified that participants were 1.03 times (95% CI=1.01-1.05) more likely to undergo CRC screening. Internet users with high eHealth literacy are more likely to have knowledge and previous screening practice related to CRC compared to those with low eHealth literacy.

Who Writes the Past? Student Perceptions of Wikipedia Knowledge and Credibility in a World History Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calkins, Susanna; Kelley, Matthew R.

2009-01-01

The authors describe an inquiry-based learning project that required students in a first-year world history course to reflect on and analyze critically the nature of the knowledge found in Wikipedia--the free, open-content, rapidly evolving, internet encyclopedia. Using a rubric, the authors explored students' perceptions of the collaborative and…

Learning Study: Helping Teachers to Use Theory, Develop Professionally, and Produce New Knowledge to Be Shared

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pang, Ming Fai; Ling, Lo Mun

2012-01-01

The lesson study approach is a systematic process for producing professional knowledge about teaching by teachers, and has spread rapidly and extensively in the United States. The learning study approach is essentially a kind of lesson study with an explicit learning theory--the variation theory of learning. In this paper, we argue that having an…

Higher Order Thinking in an Online World: Toward a Theory of Web-Mediated Knowledge Synthesis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeSchryver, Michael

2014-01-01

Background/Context: The rapid pace of technological change, undergirded by near ubiquitous access to the web, is producing a new learning ecology--a new ecology of information, of knowledge, of reading, of teaching, and of thinking. This instant availability of digital resources frees both time and cognitive energy that may be used to facilitate…

The Impact of Simulation on Pediatric Nursing Students' Knowledge, Self-Efficacy, Satisfaction, and Confidence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saied, Hala

2017-01-01

The simulation technology is rapidly expanding and has been used in several nursing programs around the world and in Saudi Arabia too. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of using a simulation based scenarios on the pediatric nursing students' students' knowledge, self-efficacy, satisfaction, and confidence. This study used Bandura's…

Itaukei Indigenous Fijian "Masi" as an Education Framework: Retaining and Adapting Tradition in Epistemology and Pedagogy for a Globalised Culture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Varani-Norton, Eta Emele

2017-01-01

iTaukei (Indigenous Fijians) are experiencing rapid social transformation through urbanisation and globalisation. Indigenous knowledge is being quickly eroded by its conflicts with modern Western knowledge and values. To counter this decay, there is need, in the school curriculum, for teaching methods that can help students achieve, in their own…

The Fundamental Lifestyle of a University Community: A Case Study of Higher Education in a Malaysian Institution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abdullah, Melissa Ng Lee Yen; Mey, See Ching

2012-01-01

This study identified the fundamental lifestyles adopted by a university community in Malaysia. Rapid growth and expansion of higher education in Malaysia is inevitable as the country moves from a production-based economy to one that is innovative and knowledge-based, requiring the development of a highly skilled and knowledgeable workforce.…

Breast cancer risk accumulation starts early – Prevention must also

PubMed Central

Colditz, Graham A; Bohlke, Kari; Berkey, Catherine S.

2014-01-01

Purpose Nearly 1 in 4 breast cancers is diagnosed before the age of 50, and many early-stage premalignant lesions are present but not yet diagnosed. Therefore, we review evidence to support the strategy that breast cancer prevention efforts must begin early in life. Methods Literature review Results Exposures during childhood and adolescence affect a woman’s long-term risk of breast cancer, but have received far less research attention than exposures that occur later in life. Breast tissue undergoes rapid cellular proliferation between menarche and first full-term pregnancy, and risk accumulates rapidly until the terminal differentiation that accompanies first pregnancy. Evidence on childhood diet and growth in height, and adolescent alcohol intake, among other adolescent factors are related to breast cancer risk and risk of premalignant proliferative benign lesions. Conclusion Breast cancer prevention efforts will have the greatest effect when initiated at an early age and continued over a lifetime. Gaps in knowledge are identified and deserve increase attention to inform prevention. PMID:24820413

History, research and practice of forensic anthropology in Thailand.

PubMed

Traithepchanapai, Pongpon; Mahakkanukrauh, Pasuk; Kranioti, Elena F

2016-04-01

Forensic anthropology is an increasingly developing discipline born about a century ago in the United States with the objective to contribute the knowledge of bone biology and physical anthropology to the emerging needs of the court of law. The development of research in biological and forensic anthropology has made rapid progress worldwide in the past few years, however, in most countries--with the exception of the United States--forensic anthropology work is still considered within the duties of the forensic pathologist. This paper attempts to summarise the history and development of forensic anthropology in Thailand by providing information on past and current research and practice that can help forensic practitioners to apply existing methods in forensic cases and mass disasters. It is hoped that the lessons learned from the tsunami catastrophe and the emerging need for positive identification in medicolegal settings will lead to rapid advances in education, training and professional engagement of anthropologists from the forensic departments and the law enforcement agencies in Thailand. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Go in for the kill: How plants deploy effector-triggered immunity to combat pathogens. [Corrected].

PubMed

Wu, Liang; Chen, Huan; Curtis, Chad; Fu, Zheng Qing

2014-01-01

Plant resistance (R) proteins perceive specific pathogen effectors from diverse plant pathogens to initiate defense responses, designated effector-triggered immunity (ETI). Plant R proteins are mostly nucleotide binding-leucine rich repeat (NB-LRR) proteins, which recognize pathogen effectors directly or indirectly through sophisticated mechanisms. Upon activation by effector proteins, R proteins elicit robust defense responses, including a rapid burst of reactive oxygen species (ROS), induced biosynthesis and accumulation of salicylic acid (SA), a rapid programmed cell death (PCD) called hypersensitive response (HR) at the infection sites, and increased expression of pathogenesis-related (PR) genes. Initiation of ETI is correlated with a complex network of defense signaling pathways, resulting in defensive cellular responses and large-scale transcriptional reprogramming events. In this review, we highlight important recent advances on the recognition of effectors, regulation and activation of plant R proteins, dynamic intracellular trafficking of R proteins, induction of cell death, and transcriptional reprogramming associated with ETI. Current knowledge gaps and future research directions are also discussed in this review.

Breast cancer risk accumulation starts early: prevention must also.

PubMed

Colditz, Graham A; Bohlke, Kari; Berkey, Catherine S

2014-06-01

Nearly one in four breast cancers is diagnosed before the age of 50, and many early-stage premalignant lesions are present but not yet diagnosed. Therefore, we review evidence to support the strategy that breast cancer prevention efforts must begin early in life. This study follows the literature review methods and format. Exposures during childhood and adolescence affect a woman's long-term risk of breast cancer, but have received far less research attention than exposures that occur later in life. Breast tissue undergoes rapid cellular proliferation between menarche and first full-term pregnancy, and risk accumulates rapidly until the terminal differentiation that accompanies first pregnancy. Evidence on childhood diet and growth in height, and adolescent alcohol intake, among other adolescent factors is related to breast cancer risk and risk of premalignant proliferative benign lesions. Breast cancer prevention efforts will have the greatest effect when initiated at an early age and continued over a lifetime. Gaps in knowledge are identified and deserve increase attention to inform prevention.

Go in for the kill

PubMed Central

Wu, Liang; Chen, Huan; Curtis, Chad; Fu, Zheng Qing

2014-01-01

Plant resistance (R) proteins perceive specific pathogen effectors from diverse plant pathogens to initiate defense responses, designated effector-triggered immunity (ETI). Plant R proteins are mostly nucleotide binding-leucine rich repeat (NB-LRR) proteins, which recognize pathogen effectors directly or indirectly through sophisticated mechanisms. Upon activation by effector proteins, R proteins elicit robust defense responses, including a rapid burst of reactive oxygen species (ROS), induced biosynthesis and accumulation of salicylic acid (SA), a rapid programmed cell death (PCD) called hypersensitive response (HR) at the infection sites, and increased expression of pathogenesis-related (PR) genes. Initiation of ETI is correlated with a complex network of defense signaling pathways, resulting in defensive cellular responses and large-scale transcriptional reprogramming events. In this review, we highlight important recent advances on the recognition of effectors, regulation and activation of plant R proteins, dynamic intracellular trafficking of R proteins, induction of cell death, and transcriptional reprogramming associated with ETI. Current knowledge gaps and future research directions are also discussed in this review. PMID:25513772

Macrocyclic Prodrugs of a Selective Nonpeptidic Direct Thrombin Inhibitor Display High Permeability, Efficient Bioconversion but Low Bioavailability.

PubMed

Andersson, Vincent; Bergström, Fredrik; Brånalt, Jonas; Grönberg, Gunnar; Gustafsson, David; Karlsson, Staffan; Polla, Magnus; Bergman, Joakim; Kihlberg, Jan

2016-07-28

The only oral direct thrombin inhibitors that have reached the market, ximelagatran and dabigatran etexilat, are double prodrugs with low bioavailability in humans. We have evaluated an alternative strategy: the preparation of a nonpeptidic, polar direct thrombin inhibitor as a single, macrocyclic esterase-cleavable (acyloxy)alkoxy prodrug. Two homologous prodrugs were synthesized and displayed high solubilities and Caco-2 cell permeabilities, suggesting high absorption from the intestine. In addition, they were rapidly and completely converted to the active zwitterionic thrombin inhibitor in human hepatocytes. Unexpectedly, the most promising prodrug displayed only moderately higher oral bioavailability in rat than the polar direct thrombin inhibitor, most likely due to rapid metabolism in the intestine or the intestinal wall. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first in vivo ADME study of macrocyclic (acyloxy)alkoxy prodrugs, and it remains to be established if the modest increase in bioavailability is a general feature of this category of prodrugs or not.

Mussel larvae modify calcifying fluid carbonate chemistry to promote calcification.

PubMed

Ramesh, Kirti; Hu, Marian Y; Thomsen, Jörn; Bleich, Markus; Melzner, Frank

2017-11-22

Understanding mollusk calcification sensitivity to ocean acidification (OA) requires a better knowledge of calcification mechanisms. Especially in rapidly calcifying larval stages, mechanisms of shell formation are largely unexplored-yet these are the most vulnerable life stages. Here we find rapid generation of crystalline shell material in mussel larvae. We find no evidence for intracellular CaCO 3 formation, indicating that mineral formation could be constrained to the calcifying space beneath the shell. Using microelectrodes we show that larvae can increase pH and [CO 3 2- ] beneath the growing shell, leading to a ~1.5-fold elevation in calcium carbonate saturation state (Ω arag ). Larvae exposed to OA exhibit a drop in pH, [CO 3 2- ] and Ω arag at the site of calcification, which correlates with decreased shell growth, and, eventually, shell dissolution. Our findings help explain why bivalve larvae can form shells under moderate acidification scenarios and provide a direct link between ocean carbonate chemistry and larval calcification rate.

If we only knew what we know: principles for knowledge sharing across people, practices, and platforms.

PubMed

Dearing, James W; Greene, Sarah M; Stewart, Walter F; Williams, Andrew E

2011-03-01

The improvement of health outcomes for both individual patients and entire populations requires improvement in the array of structures that support decisions and activities by healthcare practitioners. Yet, many gaps remain in how even sophisticated healthcare organizations manage knowledge. Here we describe the value of a trans-institutional network for identifying and capturing how-to knowledge that contributes to improved outcomes. Organizing and sharing on-the-job experience would concentrate and organize the activities of individual practitioners and subject their rapid cycle improvement testing and refinement to a form of collective intelligence for subsequent diffusion back through the network. We use the existing Cancer Research Network as an example of how a loosely structured consortium of healthcare delivery organizations could create and grow an implementation registry to foster innovation and implementation success by communicating what works, how, and which practitioners are using each innovation. We focus on the principles and parameters that could be used as a basis for infrastructure design. As experiential knowledge from across institutions builds within such a system, the system could ultimately motivate rapid learning and adoption of best practices. Implications for research about healthcare IT, invention, and organizational learning are discussed.

Antisense oligonucleotide technologies in drug discovery.

PubMed

Aboul-Fadl, Tarek

2006-09-01

The principle of antisense oligonucleotide (AS-OD) technologies is based on the specific inhibition of unwanted gene expression by blocking mRNA activity. It has long appeared to be an ideal strategy to leverage new genomic knowledge for drug discovery and development. In recent years, AS-OD technologies have been widely used as potent and promising tools for this purpose. There is a rapid increase in the number of antisense molecules progressing in clinical trials. AS-OD technologies provide a simple and efficient approach for drug discovery and development and are expected to become a reality in the near future. This editorial describes the established and emerging AS-OD technologies in drug discovery.

Taming the Past: Ancient DNA and the Study of Animal Domestication.

PubMed

MacHugh, David E; Larson, Greger; Orlando, Ludovic

2017-02-08

During the last decade, ancient DNA research has been revolutionized by the availability of increasingly powerful DNA sequencing and ancillary genomics technologies, giving rise to the new field of paleogenomics. In this review, we show how our understanding of the genetic basis of animal domestication and the origins and dispersal of livestock and companion animals during the Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic periods is being rapidly transformed through new scientific knowledge generated with paleogenomic methods. These techniques have been particularly informative in revealing high-resolution patterns of artificial and natural selection and evidence for significant admixture between early domestic animal populations and their wild congeners.

Industrial requirements in food safety.

PubMed

Vincent, P M

1990-01-01

The principles of establishing industrial requirements in food safety are described, taking risk potentials all along the food chain into their respective account. Regulations will, in the future, lead to increased autocontrol in production. The rapid changes in food technology require constant adaptation to new problems, to keep the global quality of food at a high level. Regulatory authorities will, in the new European market, concentrate on enforcement of 'essential requirements' while industrialists will follow good manufacturing practices. Open dialogue between the latter, the former and the scientific community is highly desirable since mutual knowledge of the problem will help maintain a high level of food safety, for the benefit of everybody.

INCREASING CULTURALLY COMPETENT NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES FOR ETHNIC MINORITY POPULATIONS: A CALL TO ACTION

PubMed Central

Mindt, Monica Rivera; Byrd, Desiree; Saez, Pedro; Manly, Jennifer

2010-01-01

US demographic and sociopolitical shifts have resulted in a rapidly growing need for culturally competent neuropsychological services. However, clinical neuropsychology as a field has not kept pace with the needs of ethnic minority clients. In this discussion we review: historical precedents and the limits of universalism in neuropsychology; ethical/professional guidelines pertinent to neuropsychological practice with ethnic minority clients; critical cultural considerations in neuropsychology; current disparities germane to practice; and challenges to the provision of services to racial/ethnic minority clients. We provide a call to action for neuropsychologists and related organizations to advance multiculturalism and diversity within the field by increasing multicultural awareness and knowledge, multicultural education and training, multicultural neuropsychological research, and the provision of culturally competent neuropsychological services to racial/ethnic minority clients. Lastly, we discuss strategies for increasing the provision of culturally competent neuropsychological services, and offer several resources to meet these goals. PMID:20373222

Horizontal Gene Transfer of Pectinases from Bacteria Preceded the Diversification of Stick and Leaf Insects

PubMed Central

Shelomi, Matan; Danchin, Etienne G. J.; Heckel, David; Wipfler, Benjamin; Bradler, Sven; Zhou, Xin; Pauchet, Yannick

2016-01-01

Genes acquired by horizontal transfer are increasingly being found in animal genomes. Understanding their origin and evolution requires knowledge about the phylogenetic relationships from both source and recipient organisms. We used RNASeq data and respective assembled transcript libraries to trace the evolutionary history of polygalacturonase (pectinase) genes in stick insects (Phasmatodea). By mapping the distribution of pectinase genes on a Polyneoptera phylogeny, we identified the transfer of pectinase genes from known phasmatodean gut microbes into the genome of an early euphasmatodean ancestor that took place between 60 and 100 million years ago. This transfer preceded the rapid diversification of the suborder, enabling symbiont-free pectinase production that would increase the insects’ digestive efficiency and reduce dependence on microbes. Bacteria-to-insect gene transfer was thought to be uncommon, however the increasing availability of large-scale genomic data may change this prevailing notion. PMID:27210832

A comparison of machine learning techniques for detection of drug target articles.

PubMed

Danger, Roxana; Segura-Bedmar, Isabel; Martínez, Paloma; Rosso, Paolo

2010-12-01

Important progress in treating diseases has been possible thanks to the identification of drug targets. Drug targets are the molecular structures whose abnormal activity, associated to a disease, can be modified by drugs, improving the health of patients. Pharmaceutical industry needs to give priority to their identification and validation in order to reduce the long and costly drug development times. In the last two decades, our knowledge about drugs, their mechanisms of action and drug targets has rapidly increased. Nevertheless, most of this knowledge is hidden in millions of medical articles and textbooks. Extracting knowledge from this large amount of unstructured information is a laborious job, even for human experts. Drug target articles identification, a crucial first step toward the automatic extraction of information from texts, constitutes the aim of this paper. A comparison of several machine learning techniques has been performed in order to obtain a satisfactory classifier for detecting drug target articles using semantic information from biomedical resources such as the Unified Medical Language System. The best result has been achieved by a Fuzzy Lattice Reasoning classifier, which reaches 98% of ROC area measure. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cysteine proteases and wheat (Triticum aestivum L) under drought: A still greatly unexplored association.

PubMed

Botha, Anna-Maria; Kunert, Karl J; Cullis, Christopher A

2017-09-01

Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) provides about 19% of global dietary energy. Environmental stress, such as drought, affects wheat growth causing premature plant senescence and ultimately plant death. A plant response to drought is an increase in protease-mediated proteolysis with rapid degradation of proteins required for metabolic processes. Among the plant proteases that are increased in their activity following stress, cysteine proteases are the best characterized. Very little is known about particular wheat cysteine protease sequences, their expression and also localization. The current knowledge on wheat cysteine proteases belonging to the five clans (CA, CD, CE, CF and CP) is outlined, in particular their expression and possible function under drought. The first successes in establishing an annotated wheat genome database are further highlighted which has allowed more detailed mining of cysteine proteases. We also share our thoughts on future research directions considering the growing availability of genomic resources of this very important food crop. Finally, we also outline future application of developed knowledge in transgenic wheat plants for environmental stress protection and also as senescence markers to monitor wheat growth under environmental stress conditions. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Bedside, classroom and bench: collaborative strategies to generate evidence-based knowledge for nursing practice.

PubMed

Weaver, Charlotte A; Warren, Judith J; Delaney, Connie

2005-12-01

The rise of evidence-base practice (EBP) as a standard for care delivery is rapidly emerging as a global phenomenon that is transcending political, economic and geographic boundaries. Evidence-based nursing (EBN) addresses the growing body of nursing knowledge supported by different levels of evidence for best practices in nursing care. Across all health care, including nursing, we face the challenge of how to most effectively close the gap between what is known and what is practiced. There is extensive literature on the barriers and difficulties of translating research findings into practical application. While the literature refers to this challenge as the "Bench to Bedside" lag, this paper presents three collaborative strategies that aim to minimize this gap. The Bedside strategy proposes to use the data generated from care delivery and captured in the massive data repositories of electronic health record (EHR) systems as empirical evidence that can be analysed to discover and then inform best practice. In the Classroom strategy, we present a description for how evidence-based nursing knowledge is taught in a baccalaureate nursing program. And finally, the Bench strategy describes applied informatics in converting paper-based EBN protocols into the workflow of clinical information systems. Protocols are translated into reference and executable knowledge with the goal of placing the latest scientific knowledge at the fingertips of front line clinicians. In all three strategies, information technology (IT) is presented as the underlying tool that makes this rapid translation of nursing knowledge into practice and education feasible.

Adrenergic Stress Protection of Human iPS Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes by Fast Kv7.1 Recycling

PubMed Central

Piccini, Ilaria; Fehrmann, Edda; Frank, Stefan; Müller, Frank U.; Greber, Boris; Seebohm, Guiscard

2017-01-01

The fight-or-flight response (FFR), a physiological acute stress reaction, involves positive chronotropic and inotropic effects on heart muscle cells mediated through β-adrenoceptor activation. Increased systolic calcium is required to enable stronger heart contractions whereas elevated potassium currents are to limit the duration of the action potentials and prevent arrhythmia. The latter effect is accomplished by an increased functional activity of the Kv7.1 channel encoded by KCNQ1. Current knowledge, however, does not sufficiently explain the full extent of rapid Kv7.1 activation and may hence be incomplete. Using inducible genetic KCNQ1 complementation in KCNQ1-deficient human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs), we here reinvestigate the functional role of Kv7.1 in adapting human CMs to adrenergic stress. Under baseline conditions, Kv7.1 was barely detectable at the plasma membrane of hiPSC-CMs, yet it fully protected these from adrenergic stress-induced beat-to-beat variability of repolarization and torsade des pointes-like arrhythmia. Furthermore, isoprenaline treatment increased field potential durations specifically in KCNQ1-deficient CMs to cause these adverse macroscopic effects. Mechanistically, we find that the protective action by Kv7.1 resides in a rapid translocation of channel proteins from intracellular stores to the plasma membrane, induced by adrenergic signaling. Gene silencing experiments targeting RAB GTPases, mediators of intracellular vesicle trafficking, showed that fast Kv7.1 recycling under acute stress conditions is RAB4A-dependent.Our data reveal a key mechanism underlying the rapid adaptation of human cardiomyocytes to adrenergic stress. These findings moreover aid to the understanding of disease pathology in long QT syndrome and bear important implications for safety pharmacological screening. PMID:28959214

Adrenergic Stress Protection of Human iPS Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes by Fast Kv7.1 Recycling.

PubMed

Piccini, Ilaria; Fehrmann, Edda; Frank, Stefan; Müller, Frank U; Greber, Boris; Seebohm, Guiscard

2017-01-01

The fight-or-flight response (FFR), a physiological acute stress reaction, involves positive chronotropic and inotropic effects on heart muscle cells mediated through β-adrenoceptor activation. Increased systolic calcium is required to enable stronger heart contractions whereas elevated potassium currents are to limit the duration of the action potentials and prevent arrhythmia. The latter effect is accomplished by an increased functional activity of the K v 7.1 channel encoded by KCNQ1 . Current knowledge, however, does not sufficiently explain the full extent of rapid K v 7.1 activation and may hence be incomplete. Using inducible genetic KCNQ1 complementation in KCNQ1 -deficient human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs), we here reinvestigate the functional role of K v 7.1 in adapting human CMs to adrenergic stress. Under baseline conditions, K v 7.1 was barely detectable at the plasma membrane of hiPSC-CMs, yet it fully protected these from adrenergic stress-induced beat-to-beat variability of repolarization and torsade des pointes -like arrhythmia. Furthermore, isoprenaline treatment increased field potential durations specifically in KCNQ1-deficient CMs to cause these adverse macroscopic effects. Mechanistically, we find that the protective action by K v 7.1 resides in a rapid translocation of channel proteins from intracellular stores to the plasma membrane, induced by adrenergic signaling. Gene silencing experiments targeting RAB GTPases, mediators of intracellular vesicle trafficking, showed that fast K v 7.1 recycling under acute stress conditions is RAB4A-dependent.Our data reveal a key mechanism underlying the rapid adaptation of human cardiomyocytes to adrenergic stress. These findings moreover aid to the understanding of disease pathology in long QT syndrome and bear important implications for safety pharmacological screening.

Conceptual short-term memory (CSTM) supports core claims of Christiansen and Chater.

PubMed

Potter, Mary C

2016-01-01

Rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) of words or pictured scenes provides evidence for a large-capacity conceptual short-term memory (CSTM) that momentarily provides rich associated material from long-term memory, permitting rapid chunking (Potter 1993; 2009; 2012). In perception of scenes as well as language comprehension, we make use of knowledge that briefly exceeds the supposed limits of working memory.

Rapid Characterization of Spider Silk Genes via Exon Capture

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-03-28

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: Spider silks are high-performance materials with an array of potential military and civilian applications. As such, there...is persistent demand for the mass production of silks, which requires knowledge of the underlying silk gene sequences. Spidroins ( spider fibroins...2015 1-May-2014 31-Jan-2015 Approved for Public Release; Distribution Unlimited Final Report: Rapid Characterization of Spider Silk Genes via Exon

Knowledge-based IMRT planning for individual liver cancer patients using a novel specific model.

PubMed

Yu, Gang; Li, Yang; Feng, Ziwei; Tao, Cheng; Yu, Zuyi; Li, Baosheng; Li, Dengwang

2018-03-27

The purpose of this work is to benchmark RapidPlan against clinical plans for liver Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatment of patients with special anatomical characteristics, and to investigate the prediction capability of the general model (Model-G) versus our specific model (Model-S). A library consisting of 60 liver cancer patients with IMRT planning was used to set up two models (Model-S, Model-G), using the RapidPlan knowledge-based planning system. Model-S consisted of 30 patients with special anatomical characteristics where the distance from planning target volume (PTV) to the right kidney was less than three centimeters and Model-G was configurated using all 60 patients in this library. Knowledge-based IMRT plans were created for the evaluation group formed of 13 patients similar to those included in Model-S by Model-G, Model-S and manually (M), named RPG-plans, RPS-plans and M-plans, respectively. The differences in the dose-volume histograms (DVHs) were compared, not only between RP-plans and their respective M-plans, but also between RPG-plans and RPS-plans. For all 13 patients, RapidPlan could automatically produce clinically acceptable plans. Comparing RP-plans to M-plans, RP-plans improved V 95% of PTV and had greater dose sparing in the right kidney. For the normal liver, RPG-plans delivered similar doses, while RPS-plans delivered a higher dose than M-plans. With respect to RapidPlan models, RPS-plans had better conformity index (CI) values and delivered lower doses to the right kidney V 20Gy and maximizing point doses to spinal cord, while delivering higher doses to the normal liver. The study shows that RapidPlan can create high-quality plans, and our specific model can improve the CI of PTV, resulting in more sparing of OAR in IMRT for individual liver cancer patients.

Implementing rapid HIV testing in outreach and community settings: results from an advancing HIV prevention demonstration project conducted in seven U.S. cities.

PubMed

Bowles, Kristina E; Clark, Hollie A; Tai, Eric; Sullivan, Patrick S; Song, Binwei; Tsang, Jenny; Dietz, Craig A; Mir, Julita; Mares-DelGrasso, Azul; Calhoun, Cindy; Aguirre, Daisy; Emerson, Cicily; Heffelfinger, James D

2008-01-01

The goals of this project were to assess the feasibility of conducting rapid human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing in outreach and community settings to increase knowledge of HIV serostatus among groups disproportionately affected by HIV and to identify effective nonclinical venues for recruiting people in the targeted populations. Community-based organizations (CBOs) in seven U.S. cities conducted rapid HIV testing in outreach and community settings, including public parks, homeless shelters, and bars. People with reactive preliminary positive test results received confirmatory testing, and people confirmed to be HIV-positive were referred to health-care and prevention services. A total of 23,900 people received rapid HIV testing. Of the 267 people (1.1%) with newly diagnosed HIV infection, 75% received their confirmatory test results and 64% were referred to care. Seventy-six percent were from racial/ethnic minority groups, and 58% identified themselves as men who have sex with men, 72% of whom reported having multiple sex partners in the past year. Venues with the highest proportion of new HIV diagnoses were bathhouses, social service organizations, and needle-exchange programs. The acceptance rate for testing was 60% among sites collecting this information. Findings from this demonstration project indicate that offering rapid HIV testing in outreach and community settings is a feasible approach for reaching members of minority groups and people at high risk for HIV infection. The project identified venues that would be important to target and offered lessons that could be used by other CBOs to design and implement similar programs in the future.

A False Positive Dengue Fever Rapid Diagnostic Test Result in a Case of Acute Parvovirus B19 Infection.

PubMed

Izumida, Toshihide; Sakata, Hidenao; Nakamura, Masahiko; Hayashibara, Yumiko; Inasaki, Noriko; Inahata, Ryo; Hasegawa, Sumiyo; Takizawa, Takenori; Kaya, Hiroyasu

2016-01-01

An outbreak of dengue fever occurred in Japan in August 2014. We herein report the case of a 63-year-old man who presented with a persistent fever in September 2014. Acute parvovirus B19 infection led to a false positive finding of dengue fever on a rapid diagnostic test (Panbio Dengue Duo Cassette(TM)). To the best of our knowledge, there are no previous reports of a false positive result for dengue IgM with the dengue rapid diagnostic test. We believe that epidemiological information on the prevalence of parvovirus B19 is useful for guiding the interpretation of a positive result with the dengue rapid diagnostic test.

Assessing the utility of an institutional publications officer: a pilot assessment.

PubMed

Cobey, Kelly D; Galipeau, James; Shamseer, Larissa; Moher, David

2017-01-01

The scholarly publication landscape is changing rapidly. We investigated whether the introduction of an institutional publications officer might help facilitate better knowledge of publication topics and related resources, and effectively support researchers to publish. In September 2015, a purpose-built survey about researchers' knowledge and perceptions of publication practices was administered at five Ottawa area research institutions. Subsequently, we publicly announced a newly hired publications officer (KDC) who then began conducting outreach at two of the institutions. Specifically, the publications officer gave presentations, held one-to-one consultations, developed electronic newsletter content, and generated and maintained a webpage of resources. In March 2016, we re-surveyed our participants regarding their knowledge and perceptions of publishing. Mean scores to the perception questions, and the percent of correct responses to the knowledge questions, pre and post survey, were computed for each item. The difference between these means or calculated percentages was then examined across the survey measures. 82 participants completed both surveys. Of this group, 29 indicated that they had exposure to the publications officer, while the remaining 53 indicated they did not. Interaction with the publications officer led to improvements in half of the knowledge items (7/14 variables). While improvements in knowledge of publishing were also found among those who reported not to have interacted with the publications officer (9/14), these effects were often smaller in magnitude. Scores for some publication knowledge variables actually decreased between the pre and post survey (3/14). Effects for researchers' perceptions of publishing increased for 5/6 variables in the group that interacted with the publications officer. This pilot provides initial indication that, in a short timeframe, introducing an institutional publications officer may improve knowledge and perceptions surrounding publishing. This study is limited by its modest sample size and temporal relationship between the introduction of the publications officer and changes in knowledge and perceptions. A randomized trial examining the publications officer as an effective intervention is needed.

Assessing the utility of an institutional publications officer: a pilot assessment

PubMed Central

Galipeau, James; Shamseer, Larissa; Moher, David

2017-01-01

Background The scholarly publication landscape is changing rapidly. We investigated whether the introduction of an institutional publications officer might help facilitate better knowledge of publication topics and related resources, and effectively support researchers to publish. Methods In September 2015, a purpose-built survey about researchers’ knowledge and perceptions of publication practices was administered at five Ottawa area research institutions. Subsequently, we publicly announced a newly hired publications officer (KDC) who then began conducting outreach at two of the institutions. Specifically, the publications officer gave presentations, held one-to-one consultations, developed electronic newsletter content, and generated and maintained a webpage of resources. In March 2016, we re-surveyed our participants regarding their knowledge and perceptions of publishing. Mean scores to the perception questions, and the percent of correct responses to the knowledge questions, pre and post survey, were computed for each item. The difference between these means or calculated percentages was then examined across the survey measures. Results 82 participants completed both surveys. Of this group, 29 indicated that they had exposure to the publications officer, while the remaining 53 indicated they did not. Interaction with the publications officer led to improvements in half of the knowledge items (7/14 variables). While improvements in knowledge of publishing were also found among those who reported not to have interacted with the publications officer (9/14), these effects were often smaller in magnitude. Scores for some publication knowledge variables actually decreased between the pre and post survey (3/14). Effects for researchers’ perceptions of publishing increased for 5/6 variables in the group that interacted with the publications officer. Discussion This pilot provides initial indication that, in a short timeframe, introducing an institutional publications officer may improve knowledge and perceptions surrounding publishing. This study is limited by its modest sample size and temporal relationship between the introduction of the publications officer and changes in knowledge and perceptions. A randomized trial examining the publications officer as an effective intervention is needed. PMID:28584700

Enhancing Teacher and Student Engagement and Understanding of Marine Science Through Classroom Citizen Science Projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodale, T. A.

2016-02-01

Overview This paper presentation shares findings from a granted funded project that sought to expand teacher content knowledge and pedagogy within the fields of marine science and coastal resource management through the implementation of classroom citizen science projects. A secondary goal was to increase middle and high school student interest and participation in marine science and natural resources research. Background A local science & engineering fair has seen a rapid decline in secondary student participants in the past four years. Research has demonstrated that when students are a part of a system of knowledge production (citizen science) they become much more aware, involved and conscious of scientific concepts compared to traditional school laboratory and nature of science activities. This project's primary objectives were to: (a) enhance teacher content expertise in marine science, (b) enrich teacher professional learning, (c) support citizen science classroom projects and inspire student activism and marine science engagement. Methods Project goals were addressed through classroom and meaningful outdoor educational experiences that put content knowledge into field based practices. Teachers learned to apply thier expanded content knowlege through classroom citizen science projects that focus on marine resource conservation issues such as fisheries management, water quality, turtle nesting and biodiversity of coastal ecosystems. These projects would eventually become potential topics of citizen science research topics for their students to pursue. Upon completion of their professional development, participants were urged to establish student Marine Science clubs with the goal of mentoring student submissions into the local science fair. Supplemental awards were possible for the students of project participants. Findings Based on project measures participants significantly increased their knowledge and awareness of presented material marine science and coastal resources. 11/14 teacher participants established citizen science clubs that focused on marine related issues. Science fair participation increased by 42% and of those students whose mentor teacher was a project participant 90% stated they would likely pursue a marine science related major in college.

Knowledge Assessment of the Dental Community in Texas on the Role of Human Papilloma Virus in Oropharyngeal Cancer.

PubMed

Rowan, Stephanie D; Hu, Shirley L; Brotzman, Jacob S; Redding, Spencer W; Rankin, K Vendrell; Vigneswaran, Nadarajah

2015-08-01

The epidemiology of oral cancer is changing. From 1988 to 2004, there has been a dramatic increase in Human Papilloma virus (HPV) positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPC) in the U.S. At the same time there have been decreasing rates of OPC associated with the traditional risk factors of smoking and alcohol consumption. The epidemiology of oral cancer is changing. As the epidemiology changes, it is important that the dental community recognize these factors. The goal of this study was to assess the baseline level of knowledge about HPV and OPC within the Texas dental community. Practicing dentists and dental hygienists from Texas dental professional networks and dental students from the three Texas schools of dentistry were recruited to participate in the study. Participants were requested to access and complete a 7-item online survey. To ensure anonymity, a third party practice facilitator or department administrator disseminated the survey link to participants. Of the 457 surveys completed, 100% of respondents reported conducting oral soft tissue examinations at least annually. However, only 73% included the oropharynx in their exam. Less than 50% of dental professionals selected the correct location of the greatest increase in oral cancer incidence during the last 10 years. Less than 30% of each of the groups answered correctly in indicating the age group with the most rapidly increasing incidence of oral cancer. Approximately 40% of all groups indicated that a biopsy from the posterior oropharynx should be tested for HPV. Survey results across Texas dentists, dental hygienists, and Texas dental students demonstrated a lack of knowledge of the changing profile of oral cancer regarding HPV-associated OPC. This aim of this initial phase was to determine the baseline level of knowledge surrounding the risks associated with oropharyngeal cancer in the survey population. Our goal is to utilize these findings to develop educational interventions that will be disseminated throughout the dental community in Texas to improve diagnosis of these devastating cancers.

The embryonic development of the cnidarian Hydractinia echinata.

PubMed

Kraus, Yulia; Flici, Hakima; Hensel, Katrin; Plickert, Günter; Leitz, Thomas; Frank, Uri

2014-01-01

With the rapid increase of the quantity of molecular data, many animals joined the ranks of the so-called 'emerging models' of Evo-Devo. One of the necessary steps in converting an emerging model into an established one is gaining comprehensive knowledge of its normal embryonic development. The marine colonial hydrozoan Hydractinia echinata - an excellent model for research on stem cells, metamorphosis, and allorecognition - has been studied for decades. Yet knowledge of its embryonic development remains fragmentary and incomplete. Here we provide a detailed account of H. echinata embryonic development using in vivo observations, histology, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy. Furthermore, we propose a model describing the cellular basis of the morphogenetic movements occurring during development and also reveal a functional link between canonical Wnt signaling and regional differences in the morphology of the embryo. Hydractinia embryogenesis is an example of the diversity and plasticity of hydrozoan development where multiple routes lead to the same result - the formation of a normal planula larva. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Sediment source fingerprinting as an aid to catchment management: A review of the current state of knowledge and a methodological decision-tree for end-users

USGS Publications Warehouse

Collins, A.L; Pulley, S.; Foster, I.D.L; Gellis, Allen; Porto, P.; Horowitz, A.J.

2017-01-01

The growing awareness of the environmental significance of fine-grained sediment fluxes through catchment systems continues to underscore the need for reliable information on the principal sources of this material. Source estimates are difficult to obtain using traditional monitoring techniques, but sediment source fingerprinting or tracing procedures, have emerged as a potentially valuable alternative. Despite the rapidly increasing numbers of studies reporting the use of sediment source fingerprinting, several key challenges and uncertainties continue to hamper consensus among the international scientific community on key components of the existing methodological procedures. Accordingly, this contribution reviews and presents recent developments for several key aspects of fingerprinting, namely: sediment source classification, catchment source and target sediment sampling, tracer selection, grain size issues, tracer conservatism, source apportionment modelling, and assessment of source predictions using artificial mixtures. Finally, a decision-tree representing the current state of knowledge is presented, to guide end-users in applying the fingerprinting approach.

Volume and Value of Big Healthcare Data.

PubMed

Dinov, Ivo D

Modern scientific inquiries require significant data-driven evidence and trans-disciplinary expertise to extract valuable information and gain actionable knowledge about natural processes. Effective evidence-based decisions require collection, processing and interpretation of vast amounts of complex data. The Moore's and Kryder's laws of exponential increase of computational power and information storage, respectively, dictate the need rapid trans-disciplinary advances, technological innovation and effective mechanisms for managing and interrogating Big Healthcare Data. In this article, we review important aspects of Big Data analytics and discuss important questions like: What are the challenges and opportunities associated with this biomedical, social, and healthcare data avalanche? Are there innovative statistical computing strategies to represent, model, analyze and interpret Big heterogeneous data? We present the foundation of a new compressive big data analytics (CBDA) framework for representation, modeling and inference of large, complex and heterogeneous datasets. Finally, we consider specific directions likely to impact the process of extracting information from Big healthcare data, translating that information to knowledge, and deriving appropriate actions.

Fast, long-term, super-resolution imaging with Hessian structured illumination microscopy.

PubMed

Huang, Xiaoshuai; Fan, Junchao; Li, Liuju; Liu, Haosen; Wu, Runlong; Wu, Yi; Wei, Lisi; Mao, Heng; Lal, Amit; Xi, Peng; Tang, Liqiang; Zhang, Yunfeng; Liu, Yanmei; Tan, Shan; Chen, Liangyi

2018-06-01

To increase the temporal resolution and maximal imaging time of super-resolution (SR) microscopy, we have developed a deconvolution algorithm for structured illumination microscopy based on Hessian matrixes (Hessian-SIM). It uses the continuity of biological structures in multiple dimensions as a priori knowledge to guide image reconstruction and attains artifact-minimized SR images with less than 10% of the photon dose used by conventional SIM while substantially outperforming current algorithms at low signal intensities. Hessian-SIM enables rapid imaging of moving vesicles or loops in the endoplasmic reticulum without motion artifacts and with a spatiotemporal resolution of 88 nm and 188 Hz. Its high sensitivity allows the use of sub-millisecond excitation pulses followed by dark recovery times to reduce photobleaching of fluorescent proteins, enabling hour-long time-lapse SR imaging of actin filaments in live cells. Finally, we observed the structural dynamics of mitochondrial cristae and structures that, to our knowledge, have not been observed previously, such as enlarged fusion pores during vesicle exocytosis.

Volume and Value of Big Healthcare Data

PubMed Central

Dinov, Ivo D.

2016-01-01

Modern scientific inquiries require significant data-driven evidence and trans-disciplinary expertise to extract valuable information and gain actionable knowledge about natural processes. Effective evidence-based decisions require collection, processing and interpretation of vast amounts of complex data. The Moore's and Kryder's laws of exponential increase of computational power and information storage, respectively, dictate the need rapid trans-disciplinary advances, technological innovation and effective mechanisms for managing and interrogating Big Healthcare Data. In this article, we review important aspects of Big Data analytics and discuss important questions like: What are the challenges and opportunities associated with this biomedical, social, and healthcare data avalanche? Are there innovative statistical computing strategies to represent, model, analyze and interpret Big heterogeneous data? We present the foundation of a new compressive big data analytics (CBDA) framework for representation, modeling and inference of large, complex and heterogeneous datasets. Finally, we consider specific directions likely to impact the process of extracting information from Big healthcare data, translating that information to knowledge, and deriving appropriate actions. PMID:26998309

A Primer on Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.

PubMed

Nguyen, Nghia H; Singh, Siddharth

2018-05-01

With the rapid growth of biomedical literature, there is increasing need to make meaningful inferences from a comprehensive and complex body of evidence. Systematic reviews with or without meta-analyses offer an objective and summative approach to synthesize knowledge and critically appraise evidence to inform clinical practice. Systematic reviews also help identify key knowledge gaps for future investigation. In this review, the authors provide a step-by-step approach to conducting a systematic review. These include: (1) formulating a focused and clinically-relevant question; (2) designing a detailed review protocol with explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria; (3) performing a systematic literature search of multiple databases and unpublished data, in consultation with a medical librarian, to identify relevant studies; (4) meticulous data abstraction by at least two sets of investigators independently; (5) assessing risk of bias in individual studies; (6) quantitative synthesis with meta-analysis; and (7) critically and transparently ascertaining quality of evidence. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Dual Degree Programs at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy

PubMed Central

Senft, Sandra L.; Thompson, Chad

2008-01-01

The rapid growth and evolution of the pharmacy profession has created a wide array of opportunities for graduating pharmacists beyond traditional community pharmacy or hospital practice. Management and leadership positions in federal and state healthcare agencies, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, retail pharmacies, academia and managed care organizations increasingly require the pharmaceutical knowledge obtained through a doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) degree combined with financial, organizational, and management skills. In these innovative positions, pharmacists are being called upon to assume responsibilities as executives and administrators in systems providing pharmacist care services to patients. To endow students with knowledge and skills required to perform the duties required in these decision-making positions, the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy has established 3 joint degree programs: the PharmD/Master of Business Administration (PharmD/MBA), PharmD/Master of Public Administration (PharmD/MPA), and PharmD/Master of Science in Economics (PharmD/MS). This paper describes these joint degree programs. PMID:18322574

A strategic approach for prioritizing research and action to prevent suicide.

PubMed

Pringle, Beverly; Colpe, Lisa J; Heinssen, Robert K; Schoenbaum, Michael; Sherrill, Joel T; Claassen, Cynthia A; Pearson, Jane L

2013-01-01

It is time to strategically apply science and accountability to the public health problem of preventable suicide. U.S. suicide rates have remained stable for decades. More than 36,000 individuals now die by suicide each year. A public health-based approach to quickly and substantially reduce suicides requires strategic deployment of existing evidence-based interventions, rapid development of new interventions, and measures to increase accountability for results. The purpose of this Open Forum is to galvanize researchers to further develop and consolidate knowledge needed to guide these actions. As researchers overcome data limitations and methodological challenges, they enable better prioritization of high-risk subgroups for targeted suicide prevention efforts, identification of effective interventions ready for deployment, estimation of the implementation impact of effective interventions in real-world settings, and assessment of time horizons for taking implementation to scale. This new knowledge will permit decision makers to take strategic action to reduce suicide and stakeholders to hold them accountable for results.

How is the brain working?: Research on brain oscillations and connectivities in a new "Take-Off" state.

PubMed

Başar, Erol; Düzgün, Aysel

2016-05-01

The present report is a trial to survey analysis and applications of brain oscillations in cognitive impairment for opening the way to a new take off in research on brain oscillation. Although the number of papers related to brain oscillations rapidly increases, it is important to indicate the common principles governing the functioning of brain oscillations in the brain and body. Research scientists need a global view on the types of analysis, applications and existing oscillations. Further, scientists dealing with brain oscillations must have some knowledge from theoretical physics, system theory, and also general philosophy. The neuroscientists working on brain oscillations can mentally integrate several papers in the present report, and try to discover new avenues to augment knowledge on brain functions. A new take off in the search of brain oscillations indicates the strong need to survey this brunch of neuroscience in a broad panoply of science. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Addressing knowledge gaps in molecular, sero-surveillance and monitoring approaches on Zika epidemics and other arbovirus co-infections: A structured review.

PubMed

Tambo, Ernest; Khayeka-Wandabwa, Christopher; Olalubi, Oluwasogo A; Adedeji, Ahmed A; Ngogang, Jeanne Y; Khater, Emad Im

2017-05-01

Globalization, with consequent increased travel and trade, rapid urbanization and growing weather variation events due to climate change has contributed to the recent unprecedented Zika virus (ZIKV) pandemic. This has emphasized the pressing need for local, national, regional and global community collaborative proactiveness, leadership and financial investment resilience in research and development. This paper addresses the potential knowledge gaps and impact of early detection and monitoring approaches on ZIKV epidemics and related arboviral infections steered towards effective prevention and smart response strategies. We advocate for the development and validation of robust field and point of care diagnostic tools that are more sensitive, specific and cost effective for use in ZIKV epidemics and routine pathophysiology surveillance and monitoring systems as an imperative avenue in understanding Zika-related and other arbovirus trends and apply genomic and proteomic characterisation approaches in guiding annotation efforts in order to design and implement public health burden mitigation and adaptation strategies.

Application of data mining in science and technology management information system based on WebGIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Xiaofang; Xu, Zhiyong; Bao, Shitai; Chen, Feixiang

2009-10-01

With the rapid development of science and technology and the quick increase of information, a great deal of data is accumulated in the management department of science and technology. Usually, many knowledge and rules are contained and concealed in the data. Therefore, how to excavate and use the knowledge fully is very important in the management of science and technology. It will help to examine and approve the project of science and technology more scientifically and make the achievement transformed as the realistic productive forces easier. Therefore, the data mine technology will be researched and applied to the science and technology management information system to find and excavate the knowledge in the paper. According to analyzing the disadvantages of traditional science and technology management information system, the database technology, data mining and web geographic information systems (WebGIS) technology will be introduced to develop and construct the science and technology management information system based on WebGIS. The key problems are researched in detail such as data mining and statistical analysis. What's more, the prototype system is developed and validated based on the project data of National Natural Science Foundation Committee. The spatial data mining is done from the axis of time, space and other factors. Then the variety of knowledge and rules will be excavated by using data mining technology, which helps to provide an effective support for decisionmaking.

EarthCube: Advancing Partnerships, Collaborative Platforms and Knowledge Networks in the Ocean Sciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stephen, Diggs; Lee, Allison

2014-05-01

The National Science Foundation's EarthCube initiative aims to create a community-driven data and knowledge management system that will allow for unprecedented data sharing across the geosciences. More than 2,500 participants through forums, work groups, EarthCube events, and virtual and in-person meetings have participated. The individuals that have engaged represent the core earth-system sciences of solid Earth, Atmosphere, Oceans, and Polar Sciences. EarthCube is a cornerstone of NSF's Cyberinfrastructure for the 21st Century (CIF21) initiative, whose chief objective is to develop a U.S. nationwide, sustainable, and community-based cyberinfrastructure for researchers and educators. Increasingly effective community-driven cyberinfrastructure allows global data discovery and knowledge management and achieves interoperability and data integration across scientific disciplines. There is growing convergence across scientific and technical communities on creating a networked, knowledge management system and scientific data cyberinfrastructure that integrates Earth system and human dimensions data in an open, transparent, and inclusive manner. EarthCube does not intend to replicate these efforts, but build upon them. An agile development process is underway for the development and governance of EarthCube. The agile approach was deliberately selected due to its iterative and incremental nature while promoting adaptive planning and rapid and flexible response. Such iterative deployment across a variety of EarthCube stakeholders encourages transparency, consensus, accountability, and inclusiveness.

First aid skill retention of first responders within the workplace

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Recent literature states that many necessary skills of CPR and first aid are forgotten shortly after certification. The purpose of this study was to determine the skill and knowledge decay in first aid in those who are paid to respond to emergency situations within a workplace. Methods Using a choking victim scenario, the sequence and accuracy of events were observed and recorded in 257 participants paid to act as first responders in large industrial or service industry settings. A multiple choice exam was also written to determine knowledge retention. Results First aid knowledge was higher in those who were trained at a higher level, and did not significantly decline over time. Those who had renewed their certificate one or more times performed better than those who had learned the information only once. During the choking scenario many skills were performed poorly, regardless of days since last training, such as hand placement and abdominal thrusts. Compressions following the victim becoming unconscious also showed classic signs of skill deterioration after 30 days. Conclusions As many skills deteriorate rapidly over the course of the first 90 days, changing frequency of certification is not necessarily the most obvious choice to increase retention of skill and knowledge. Alternatively, methods of regularly "refreshing" a skill should be explored that could be delivered at a high frequency - such as every 90 days. PMID:21303536

Knowledge attainment, perceptions, and professionalism in participants completing the didactic phase of an Army reserve critical care nursing residency program.

PubMed

Wynd, C A; Gotschall, W

2000-04-01

Combat hospitals in today's Army demand nurses with critical care nursing "8A" additional skills identifiers. The intensity of future wars and operations other than war, together with highly technological weapons, forecast a large number of casualties evacuated rapidly from combat with wounds that require skillful and intensive nursing care. Many of the critical care nurses providing future care are positioned in the reserve components and require creative approaches to education and training concentrated into one weekend per month. An Army Reserve critical care nursing residency program was designed in one midwestern combat support hospital. The didactic course, phase I, was evaluated for effectiveness in achieving outcomes of increased knowledge attainment, enhanced perceptions of critical care nursing, and higher degrees of professionalism. Twenty-seven registered nurses completed the course, and 30 nurses from the same hospital served as controls. A repeated-measures analysis examined outcomes before intervention (time 1), at course completion (time 2), and at a 6-month follow-up (time 3). The course was effective at increasing scores on knowledge attainment and perceptions of critical care nursing; however; professionalism scores were initially high and remained so throughout the study. This research extends information about critical care nursing education and evaluates a training mechanism for meeting the unique requirements and time constraints of nurses in the reserve components who need to provide a high level of skill to soldiers in combat.

"It's not smoke. It's not tar. It's not 4000 chemicals. Case closed": Exploring attitudes, beliefs, and perceived social norms of e-cigarette use among adult users.

PubMed

Coleman, Blair N; Johnson, Sarah E; Tessman, Greta K; Tworek, Cindy; Alexander, Jennifer; Dickinson, Denise M; Rath, Jessica; Green, Kerry M

2016-02-01

Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use is rapidly increasing among adults in the U.S. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore consumer perceptions about e-cigarettes, including knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and perceived social norms. A total of 14 focus groups (N=116) were conducted with current adult e-cigarette users in five U.S. cities from March through May, 2014. Focus groups were segmented by age (young adults aged 18-29 and older adults aged 30 and older) as well as by e-cigarette use status (exclusive e-cigarette users and non-exclusive e-cigarette users). Focus group discussions lasted approximately 60-min and were audio-recorded and transcribed; data were analyzed using a phenomenological approach. Participants expressed many positive attitudes towards e-cigarettes and simultaneously reported a lack of information and knowledge about the products. Focus group participants overwhelmingly felt as though the ingredients of e-cigarettes were likely less harmful than conventional cigarettes. Additionally, many described positive reactions from family and friends, especially when e-cigarettes were used in place of conventional cigarettes. Findings from this qualitative study provide insight into consumer knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about e-cigarettes increasing our understanding of why and how they are being used. Such information will help provide insight into the potential public health impact of these emerging products. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Transcriptomics reveals the molecular processes of light-induced rapid darkening of the non-obligate cave dweller Oreolalax rhodostigmatus (Megophryidae, Anura) and their genetic basis of pigmentation strategy.

PubMed

Zhu, Wei; Liu, Lusha; Wang, Xungang; Gao, Xinyu; Jiang, Jianping; Wang, Bin

2018-05-31

Vertebrates use different pigmentation strategies to adapt to various environments. A large amount of research has been done on disclosing the mechanisms of pigmentation strategies in vertebrates either under light, or, living in constant darkness. However, less attention has been paid to non-obligate, darkness dwellers. Red-spotted toothed toads Oreolalax rhodostigmatus (Megophryidae; Anura) from the karst mountainous region of southwestern China are non-obligate cave dwellers. Most tadpoles of the species possess transparent skin as they inhabit the dark karst caves. But remarkably, the transparent tadpoles can darken just within 15 h once exposed to light. Obviously, it is very significant to reveal molecular mechanisms of the unexpected rapid-darkening phenomenon. We compared the transcriptomes of O. rhodostigmatus tadpoles with different durations of light exposure to investigate the cellular processes and potential regulation signals for their light-induced rapid darkening. Genes involved in melanogenesis (i.e. TYR, TYRP1 and DCT) and melanocyte proliferation, as well as their transcriptional factor (MITF), showed light-induced transcription, suggesting a dominating role of morphological color change (MCC) in this process. Transcription of genes related to growth factor, MAPK and PI3K-Akt pathways increased with time of light exposure, suggesting that light could induce significant growth signal, which might facilitate the rapid skin darkening. Most importantly, an in-frame deletion of four residues was identified in O. rhodostigmatus melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R), a critical receptor in MCC. This deletion results in a more negatively charged ligand pocket with three stereo-tandem aspartate residues. Such structural changes likely decrease the constitutive activity of MC1R, but increase its ligands-dependent activity, thus coordinating pigment regression and rapid melanogenesis in the dark and light, respectively. Our study suggested that rapid MCC was responsible for the light-induced rapid darkening of O. rhodostigmatus tadpoles. Genetic mutations of MC1R in them could explain how these non-obligate cave dwellers coordinate pigment regression and robust melanogenesis in darkness and light, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first study that reports the association between pigmentation phenotype adaptation and MC1R mutations in amphibians and/or in non-obligate cave dwellers.

Effects of High Fidelity Simulation on Knowledge Acquisition, Self-Confidence, and Satisfaction with Baccalaureate Nursing Students Using the Solomon-Four Research Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Rachel Mattson

2013-01-01

High Fidelity Simulation is a teaching strategy that is becoming well-entrenched in the world of nursing education and is rapidly expanding due to the challenges and demands of the health care environment. The problem addressed in this study is the conflicting research results regarding the effectiveness of HFS for students' knowledge acquisition…

A Comparison of Student Knowledge and Attitude toward Research: Are Main Campus Students Different from Those in a Hybrid Environment?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buchanan, Rachel L.; Mathews, Deborah A.

2013-01-01

The trend toward the use of distance education in teaching social work students has been rapidly growing over the past two decades. A constant issue of concern is related to student outcomes. This paper reports on a longitudinal quasi-experimental study assessing the differential knowledge and attitude toward research between social work students…

Young People's Management of the Transition from Education to Employment in the Knowledge-Based Sector in Shanghai

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Qi; Lowe, John

2011-01-01

This paper reports on a study of the transition from university to work by students/employees in the complex and rapidly changing socio-economic context of contemporary Shanghai. It aims at understanding how highly educated young people perceive the nature and mode of operation of the newly emerging labour market for knowledge-based jobs, and how…

SunSmart? Skin Cancer Knowledge and Preventive Behaviour in a British Population Representative Sample

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miles, A.; Waller, J.; Hiom, S.; Swanston, D.

2005-01-01

The incidence of skin cancer has risen rapidly in the UK over the last 20 years, prompting public health organizations to try and raise awareness of the dangers of sun exposure and the need to practice sun-safe behaviour. This study aimed to assess baseline levels of sun-safe knowledge and behaviour in a British population-representative sample,…

Mathematical Basis of Knowledge Discovery and Autonomous Intelligent Architectures. Task #2: Rapid Knowledge Fusion in the Scalable Infosphere

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-12-14

66 4.5.1. K now ledge V isualization by V irtual Reality ...interoperability between market participants (players) in a semantic manner are needed; " War avoidance operations such as peace-keeping, peace...and analysis , situation prediction, etc. The current report sums up the obtained results. It is organized in the following way. Section 2 introduces

Education and Technology in the 21st Century Experiences of Adult Online Learners Using Web 2.0

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bryant, Wanda L.

2014-01-01

The emergence of a knowledge-based and technology-driven economy has prompted adults to seek additional knowledge and skills that will enable them to participate effectively in society. The rapid growth and popularity of the internet tools such as Web 2.0 tools have revolutionized adult learning. Through the rich support of Web 2.0 tools, adult…

The HIV epidemic in China: history, response, and challenge.

PubMed

He, Na; Detels, Roger

2005-01-01

The first case of AIDS was reported in 1985 in China, but by the early 21st century, the government estimated that there were 840,000 citizens living with HIV/AIDS. The number is increasing rapidly. The major risk groups are injection drug users (IDUSs; 43%) and former plasma donors (27%), but rates among heterosexual groups are rising rapidly. Sentinel surveillance was initiated in 1986, and now includes IDUs, men-who-have-sex-with-men, sexually transmitted disease clinic attendees, antenatal women, long-distance truck drivers, and sex workers. Although the government was slow to respond to the epidemic in the late 20th century, it has made a vigorous response in the early 21st century. Components of that response include implementation and evaluation of harm reduction programs for IDUs, education to increase knowledge and reduce stigma, treatment and social support for rural and poor HIV/AIDS patients, widespread testing, and increased funding for HIV/AIDS programs. International agencies have been generous in their support of the government initiatives. To successfully combat the epidemic, China needs to develop and train the necessary infrastructure to implement its intervention programs, particularly in the rural areas, to vigorously combat stigma and discrimination, support research especially in the universities and research institutions other than the China Centers for Disease Control, develop a system for efficient exchange of research and program information, and update legislation to reflect the current situation.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 8: The role of the information intermediary in the diffusion of aerospace knowledge

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Kennedy, John M.; Barclay, Rebecca O.

1990-01-01

The United States aerospace industry is experiencing profound changes created by a combination of domestic actions and circumstances such as airline deregulation. Other changes result from external trends such as emerging foreign competition. These circumstances intensify the need to understand the production, transfer, and utilization of knowledge as a precursor to the rapid diffusion of technology. Presented here is a conceptual framework for understanding the diffusion of technology. A conceptual framework is given for understanding the diffusion of aerospace knowledge. The framework focuses on the information channels and members of the social system associated with the aerospace knowledge diffusion process, placing particular emphasis on aerospace librarians as information intermediaries.

Body Growth and Rapid Hematological Development Support Breath Hold of Baby Belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) during Subice Transit.

PubMed

Noren, Shawn R; Poll, Caryn P; Edwards, Matthew S

Body size and oxygen stores in the blood and muscle set breath-hold limits in marine mammals, yet these characteristics are understudied in immature cetaceans. We examined body mass and hematology from birth through adulthood in beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas). At birth, body mass was 8% and 6% of the maximum mass recorded for adult females and males, respectively. Body mass then increased rapidly, approaching an asymptote around 12 yr for females and 18 yr for males. Interestingly, red blood cell counts, hemoglobin content, and hematocrit levels decreased after birth; this neonatal anemia was reversed as levels increased after 2 mo postpartum. Mature levels were obtained at approximately 8, 9, and 11 mo postpartum, respectively. Neonatal mean corpuscular hemoglobin also increased with ontogeny; mature levels were achieved by approximately 13 mo after birth. In contrast, mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration demonstrated a significant but subtle increase throughout ontogeny. Our results indicate that postnatal maturation was required and that maturation occurred far earlier than the age at weaning (i.e., 2-3 yr postpartum). This is atypical of marine mammals, which generally achieve mature hemoglobin levels at weaning. Hematological maturation before maternal independence undoubtedly supports the prolonged breath holds of young belugas transiting under sea ice. This assessment enhances our knowledge of cetacean physiology and provides important inputs for determining age-specific dive capacity, yielding insights into age-specific flexibility to alter underwater behaviors, as will be required for future regime shifts and disturbances.

Monitoring novel psychoactive substances allegedly offered online for sale in Persian and Arabic languages.

PubMed

Corazza, Ornella; Assi, Sulaf; Malekianragheb, Saeideh; Beni, Mitra Naderi; Bigdeli, Imanollah; Aslanpour, Zoe; Schifano, Fabrizio

2014-07-01

Numbers of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) have been rapidly increasing over the past few years, with unprecedented challenges on traditional drug control systems. The web has been involved in the promotion and knowledge dissemination of NPS, which are being presented online as safer/legal alternatives to illicit drugs. The physical, psychological and social harms associated with NPS have been studied so far mainly in Europe and other English speaking countries. The aim of this research is to provide knowledge on the provision of NPS information/purchase opportunities to Middle East customers, whilst monitoring the Internet in Arabic and Farsi. Web analysis/assessments were carried out in both Farsi and Arabic between 2011 and 2013. Sources were scrutinized with the help of different search engines, including Google Arabic and Google Persian, to carry out searches focusing on both NPS retailers' and social network websites. The research identified 45 NPS apparently offered for purchase online. Most of these products were of synthetic origin; a few herbal stimulants were identified as well. The pro drug websites were not here easily identified, being hidden behind other, unrelated, websites. Present results may constitute a public health challenge to be considered at both national and worldwide level. New legislative frameworks should also be encouraged in order to ensure a better response to the current threat posed by rapid emergence of these substances. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ramp Technology and Intelligent Processing in Small Manufacturing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rentz, Richard E.

1992-01-01

To address the issues of excessive inventories and increasing procurement lead times, the Navy is actively pursuing flexible computer integrated manufacturing (FCIM) technologies, integrated by communication networks to respond rapidly to its requirements for parts. The Rapid Acquisition of Manufactured Parts (RAMP) program, initiated in 1986, is an integral part of this effort. The RAMP program's goal is to reduce the current average production lead times experienced by the Navy's inventory control points by a factor of 90 percent. The manufacturing engineering component of the RAMP architecture utilizes an intelligent processing technology built around a knowledge-based shell provided by ICAD, Inc. Rules and data bases in the software simulate an expert manufacturing planner's knowledge of shop processes and equipment. This expert system can use Product Data Exchange using STEP (PDES) data to determine what features the required part has, what material is required to manufacture it, what machines and tools are needed, and how the part should be held (fixtured) for machining, among other factors. The program's rule base then indicates, for example, how to make each feature, in what order to make it, and to which machines on the shop floor the part should be routed for processing. This information becomes part of the shop work order. The process planning function under RAMP greatly reduces the time and effort required to complete a process plan. Since the PDES file that drives the intelligent processing is 100 percent complete and accurate to start with, the potential for costly errors is greatly diminished.

Ramp technology and intelligent processing in small manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rentz, Richard E.

1992-04-01

To address the issues of excessive inventories and increasing procurement lead times, the Navy is actively pursuing flexible computer integrated manufacturing (FCIM) technologies, integrated by communication networks to respond rapidly to its requirements for parts. The Rapid Acquisition of Manufactured Parts (RAMP) program, initiated in 1986, is an integral part of this effort. The RAMP program's goal is to reduce the current average production lead times experienced by the Navy's inventory control points by a factor of 90 percent. The manufacturing engineering component of the RAMP architecture utilizes an intelligent processing technology built around a knowledge-based shell provided by ICAD, Inc. Rules and data bases in the software simulate an expert manufacturing planner's knowledge of shop processes and equipment. This expert system can use Product Data Exchange using STEP (PDES) data to determine what features the required part has, what material is required to manufacture it, what machines and tools are needed, and how the part should be held (fixtured) for machining, among other factors. The program's rule base then indicates, for example, how to make each feature, in what order to make it, and to which machines on the shop floor the part should be routed for processing. This information becomes part of the shop work order. The process planning function under RAMP greatly reduces the time and effort required to complete a process plan. Since the PDES file that drives the intelligent processing is 100 percent complete and accurate to start with, the potential for costly errors is greatly diminished.

RAVE: Rapid Visualization Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klumpar, D. M.; Anderson, Kevin; Simoudis, Avangelos

1994-01-01

Visualization is used in the process of analyzing large, multidimensional data sets. However, the selection and creation of visualizations that are appropriate for the characteristics of a particular data set and the satisfaction of the analyst's goals is difficult. The process consists of three tasks that are performed iteratively: generate, test, and refine. The performance of these tasks requires the utilization of several types of domain knowledge that data analysts do not often have. Existing visualization systems and frameworks do not adequately support the performance of these tasks. In this paper we present the RApid Visualization Environment (RAVE), a knowledge-based system that interfaces with commercial visualization frameworks and assists a data analyst in quickly and easily generating, testing, and refining visualizations. RAVE was used for the visualization of in situ measurement data captured by spacecraft.

Rapidly progressive idiopathic lenticular astigmatism.

PubMed

Tint, Naing L; Jayaswal, Rakesh; Masood, Imran; Maharajan, V Senthil

2007-02-01

A myopic 43-year-old woman with early nuclear sclerotic cataract developed more than 11.0 diopters (D) of astigmatism over a 6-month period. This was found to be lenticular in origin. Phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation was performed, resulting in residual astigmatism of 0.75 D. To our knowledge, this is the first case of rapidly progressive lenticular astigmatism in an otherwise healthy eye with early nuclear sclerotic cataract.

Interim Results of a National Test of the Rapid Assessment of Hospital Procurement Barriers in Donation (RAPiD)

PubMed Central

Traino, H. M.; Alolod, G. P.; Shafer, T.; Siminoff, L. A.

2012-01-01

Organ donation remains a major public health challenge with over 114 000 people on the waitlist in the United States. Among other factors, extant research highlights the need to improve the identification and timely referral of potential donors by hospital health-care providers (HCPs) to organ procurement organizations (OPOs). We implemented a national test of the Rapid Assessment of hospital Procurement barriers in Donation (RAPiD) to identify assets and barriers to the organ donation and patient referral processes; assess hospital–OPO relationships and offer tailored recommendations for improving these processes. Having partnered with seven OPOs, data were collected at 70 hospitals with high donor potential in the form of direct observations and interviews with 2358 HCPs. We found that donation attitudes and knowledge among HCPs were high, but use of standard referral criteria was lacking. Significant differences were found in the donation-related attitudes, knowledge and behaviors of physicians and emergency department staff as compared to other staff in intensive care units with high organ donor potential. Also, while OPO staff were generally viewed positively, they were often perceived as outsiders rather than members of healthcare teams. Recommendations for improving the referral and donation processes are discussed. PMID:22900761

Rapid assessment of insect fauna based on local knowledge: comparing ecological and ethnobiological methods.

PubMed

Lima, Daniele Cristina de Oliveira; Ramos, Marcelo Alves; da Silva, Henrique Costa Hermenegildo; Alves, Angelo Giuseppe Chaves

2016-03-01

The rapid assessment of biodiversity making use of surveys of local knowledge has been successful for different biological taxa. However, there are no reports on the testing of such tools for sampling insect fauna. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of different ethnobiological techniques for rapid sampling of insect fauna. Field research for the conventional survey of insect fauna was conducted on a private farm (9 ° 43'38.95 "S, 37 ° 45'11.97" W) , where there was intensive cultivation of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. (Moench)). The survey of local entomological knowledge was conducted among all the producers of okra living in the rural villages Pereira, Santa Luzia, and Nassau de Souza, within the Jacaré Curituba irrigated settlement scheme. The combined use of the techniques "free list" and projective interviews was analyzed, using two types of visual stimuli: stock photos and an entomological box. During the conventional survey of insect fauna, the species Bemisia tabaci biotype B, Aphis gossypii, Phenacoccus sp., Icerya purchasi and Lagria villosa were the primary pests found in the okra crop. Regarding the survey of insect pests, the results were convergent  in both techniques (conventional sampling and free list). Comparing the interview with visual stimuli (pictures) and specimen witnesses (entomological box) revealed that the latter was more effective. Techniques based on the recording and analysis of local knowledge about insects are effective for quick sampling of pest insects, but ineffective in sampling predator insects. The utilization of collected insects, infested branches, or photos of the symptoms of damage caused by pests in projective interviews is recommended.

"My older clients fall through every crack in the system": geriatrics knowledge of legal professionals.

PubMed

Soones, Tacara; Ahalt, Cyrus; Garrigues, Sarah; Faigman, David; Williams, Brie A

2014-04-01

With the number of older adult arrestees and prisoners increasing rapidly, legal professionals increasingly provide front-line identification and response to age-related health conditions (including cognitive and physical impairments) that may affect legal outcomes, such as the ability to participate in one's defense or stay safe in jail. The goals of this study were to assess the ability of legal professionals to recognize and respond to age-related conditions that could affect legal outcomes and to identify recommendations to address important knowledge gaps. This was a mixed quantitative-qualitative study. Legal professionals (N = 72) in the criminal justice system were surveyed to describe their demographic characteristics, expertise, and prior aging-related training and to inform the qualitative interview guide. Those surveyed included attorneys (district attorneys (25%), public defenders and legal advocates (58%)), judges (6%), and court-affiliated social workers (11%). In-depth qualitative interviews were then conducted with a subset of 10 legal professionals who worked with older adults at least weekly. Results from the surveys and interviews revealed knowledge deficits in four important areas: age-related health, identification of cognitive impairment, assessment of safety risk, and optimization of services upon release from jail. Four recommendations to close these gaps emerged: educate legal professionals about age-related health, train professionals to identify cognitive and sensory impairment, develop checklists to identify those at risk of poor health or safety, and improve knowledge of and access to transitional services for older adults. These findings suggest that geriatrics knowledge gaps of legal professionals exist that may contribute to adverse medical or legal outcomes for older adults involved in the criminal justice system and that partnerships between healthcare and legal professionals are needed to address these challenges. © Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the U.S.A.

A Map-Based Service Supporting Different Types of Geographic Knowledge for the Public

PubMed Central

Zhou, Mengjie; Wang, Rui; Tian, Jing; Ye, Ning; Mai, Shumin

2016-01-01

The internet enables the rapid and easy creation, storage, and transfer of knowledge; however, services that transfer geographic knowledge and facilitate the public understanding of geographic knowledge are still underdeveloped to date. Existing online maps (or atlases) can support limited types of geographic knowledge. In this study, we propose a framework for map-based services to represent and transfer different types of geographic knowledge to the public. A map-based service provides tools to ensure the effective transfer of geographic knowledge. We discuss the types of geographic knowledge that should be represented and transferred to the public, and we propose guidelines and a method to represent various types of knowledge through a map-based service. To facilitate the effective transfer of geographic knowledge, tools such as auxiliary background knowledge and auxiliary map-reading tools are provided through interactions with maps. An experiment conducted to illustrate our idea and to evaluate the usefulness of the map-based service is described; the results demonstrate that the map-based service is useful for transferring different types of geographic knowledge. PMID:27045314

A Map-Based Service Supporting Different Types of Geographic Knowledge for the Public.

PubMed

Zhou, Mengjie; Wang, Rui; Tian, Jing; Ye, Ning; Mai, Shumin

2016-01-01

The internet enables the rapid and easy creation, storage, and transfer of knowledge; however, services that transfer geographic knowledge and facilitate the public understanding of geographic knowledge are still underdeveloped to date. Existing online maps (or atlases) can support limited types of geographic knowledge. In this study, we propose a framework for map-based services to represent and transfer different types of geographic knowledge to the public. A map-based service provides tools to ensure the effective transfer of geographic knowledge. We discuss the types of geographic knowledge that should be represented and transferred to the public, and we propose guidelines and a method to represent various types of knowledge through a map-based service. To facilitate the effective transfer of geographic knowledge, tools such as auxiliary background knowledge and auxiliary map-reading tools are provided through interactions with maps. An experiment conducted to illustrate our idea and to evaluate the usefulness of the map-based service is described; the results demonstrate that the map-based service is useful for transferring different types of geographic knowledge.

People Use their Knowledge of Common Events to Understand Language, and Do So as Quickly as Possible

PubMed Central

McRae, Ken; Matsuki, Kazunaga

2011-01-01

People possess a great deal of knowledge about how the world works, and it is undoubtedly true that adults use this knowledge when understanding and producing language. However, psycholinguistic theories differ regarding whether this extra-linguistic pragmatic knowledge can be activated and used immediately, or only after a delay. The authors present research that investigates whether people immediately use their generalized knowledge of common events when understanding language. This research demonstrates that (i) individual isolated words immediately activate event-based knowledge; (ii) combinations of words in sentences immediately constrain people’s event-based expectations for concepts that are upcoming in language; (iii) syntax modulates people’s expectations for ensuing concepts; and (iv) event-based knowledge can produce expectations for ensuing syntactic structures. It is concluded that theories of sentence comprehension must allow for the rapid dynamic interplay among these sources of information. PMID:22125574

Maximising value from a United Kingdom Biomedical Research Centre: study protocol.

PubMed

Greenhalgh, Trisha; Ovseiko, Pavel V; Fahy, Nick; Shaw, Sara; Kerr, Polly; Rushforth, Alexander D; Channon, Keith M; Kiparoglou, Vasiliki

2017-08-14

Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs) are partnerships between healthcare organisations and universities in England. Their mission is to generate novel treatments, technologies, diagnostics and other interventions that increase the country's international competitiveness, to rapidly translate these innovations into benefits for patients, and to improve efficiency and reduce waste in healthcare. As NIHR Oxford BRC (Oxford BRC) enters its third 5-year funding period, we seek to (1) apply the evidence base on how best to support the various partnerships in this large, multi-stakeholder research system and (2) research how these partnerships play out in a new, ambitious programme of translational research. Organisational case study, informed by the principles of action research. A cross-cutting theme, 'Partnerships for Health, Wealth and Innovation' has been established with multiple sub-themes (drug development, device development, business support and commercialisation, research methodology and statistics, health economics, bioethics, patient and public involvement and engagement, knowledge translation, and education and training) to support individual BRC research themes and generate cross-theme learning. The 'Partnerships' theme will support the BRC's goals by facilitating six types of partnership (with patients and citizens, clinical services, industry, across the NIHR infrastructure, across academic disciplines, and with policymakers and payers) through a range of engagement platforms and activities. We will develop a longitudinal progress narrative centred around exemplar case studies, and apply theoretical models from innovation studies (Triple Helix), sociology of science (Mode 2 knowledge production) and business studies (Value Co-creation). Data sources will be the empirical research studies within individual BRC research themes (who will apply separately for NHS ethics approval), plus documentary analysis and interviews and ethnography with research stakeholders. This study has received ethics clearance through the University of Oxford Central University Research Ethics Committee. We anticipate that this work will add significant value to Oxford BRC. We predict accelerated knowledge translation; closer alignment of the innovation process with patient priorities and the principles of responsible, ethical research; reduction in research waste; new knowledge about the governance and activities of multi-stakeholder research partnerships and the contexts in which they operate; and capacity-building that reflects the future needs of a rapidly-evolving health research system.

Bringing the state into the clinic? Incorporating the rapid diagnostic test for malaria into routine practice in Tanzanian primary healthcare facilities

PubMed Central

Hutchinson, Eleanor; Reyburn, Hugh; Hamlyn, Eleanor; Long, Katie; Meta, Judith; Mbakilwa, Hilda; Chandler, Clare

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT The roles that rapid, point-of-care tests will play in healthcare in low-income settings are likely to expand over the coming years. Yet, very little is known about how they are incorporated into practice, and what it means to use and rely upon them. This paper focuses on the rapid diagnostic test for malaria (mRDT), examining its introduction into low-level public health facilities in Tanzania within an intervention to improve the targeting of costly malaria medication. We interviewed 26 health workers to explore how a participatory training programme, mobile phone messages, posters and leaflets shaped the use and interpretation of the test. Drawing on notions of biopolitics, this paper examines how technologies of the self and mechanisms of surveillance bolstered the role mRDT in clinical decision-making. It shows how the significance of the test interacted with local knowledge, the availability of other medication, and local understandings of good clinical practice. Our findings suggest that in a context in which care is reduced to the provision of medicines, strict adherence to mRDT results may be underpinned by increasing the use of other pharmaceuticals or may leave health workers with patients for whom they are unable to provide care. PMID:26457440

Current selection for lower migratory activity will drive the evolution of residency in a migratory bird population.

PubMed

Pulido, Francisco; Berthold, Peter

2010-04-20

Global warming is impacting biodiversity by altering the distribution, abundance, and phenology of a wide range of animal and plant species. One of the best documented responses to recent climate change is alterations in the migratory behavior of birds, but the mechanisms underlying these phenotypic adjustments are largely unknown. This knowledge is still crucial to predict whether populations of migratory birds will adapt to a rapid increase in temperature. We monitored migratory behavior in a population of blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla) to test for evolutionary responses to recent climate change. Using a common garden experiment in time and captive breeding we demonstrated a genetic reduction in migratory activity and evolutionary change in phenotypic plasticity of migration onset. An artificial selection experiment further revealed that residency will rapidly evolve in completely migratory bird populations if selection for shorter migration distance persists. Our findings suggest that current alterations of the environment are favoring birds wintering closer to the breeding grounds and that populations of migratory birds have strongly responded to these changes in selection. The reduction of migratory activity is probably an important evolutionary process in the adaptation of migratory birds to climate change, because it reduces migration costs and facilitates the rapid adjustment to the shifts in the timing of food availability during reproduction.

Ancient low–molecular-weight organic acids in permafrost fuel rapid carbon dioxide production upon thaw

USGS Publications Warehouse

Drake, Travis W.; Wickland, Kimberly P.; Spencer, Robert G. M.; McKnight, Diane M.; Striegl, Robert G.

2015-01-01

Northern permafrost soils store a vast reservoir of carbon, nearly twice that of the present atmosphere. Current and projected climate warming threatens widespread thaw of these frozen, organic carbon (OC)-rich soils. Upon thaw, mobilized permafrost OC in dissolved and particulate forms can enter streams and rivers, which are important processors of OC and conduits for carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere. Here, we demonstrate that ancient dissolved organic carbon (DOC) leached from 35,800 y B.P. permafrost soils is rapidly mineralized to CO2. During 200-h experiments in a novel high–temporal-resolution bioreactor, DOC concentration decreased by an average of 53%, fueling a more than sevenfold increase in dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentration. Eighty-seven percent of the DOC loss to microbial uptake was derived from the low–molecular-weight (LMW) organic acids acetate and butyrate. To our knowledge, our study is the first to directly quantify high CO2 production rates from permafrost-derived LMW DOC mineralization. The observed DOC loss rates are among the highest reported for permafrost carbon and demonstrate the potential importance of LMW DOC in driving the rapid metabolism of Pleistocene-age permafrost carbon upon thaw and the outgassing of CO2 to the atmosphere by soils and nearby inland waters.

Bringing the state into the clinic? Incorporating the rapid diagnostic test for malaria into routine practice in Tanzanian primary healthcare facilities.

PubMed

Hutchinson, Eleanor; Reyburn, Hugh; Hamlyn, Eleanor; Long, Katie; Meta, Judith; Mbakilwa, Hilda; Chandler, Clare

2017-09-01

The roles that rapid, point-of-care tests will play in healthcare in low-income settings are likely to expand over the coming years. Yet, very little is known about how they are incorporated into practice, and what it means to use and rely upon them. This paper focuses on the rapid diagnostic test for malaria (mRDT), examining its introduction into low-level public health facilities in Tanzania within an intervention to improve the targeting of costly malaria medication. We interviewed 26 health workers to explore how a participatory training programme, mobile phone messages, posters and leaflets shaped the use and interpretation of the test. Drawing on notions of biopolitics, this paper examines how technologies of the self and mechanisms of surveillance bolstered the role mRDT in clinical decision-making. It shows how the significance of the test interacted with local knowledge, the availability of other medication, and local understandings of good clinical practice. Our findings suggest that in a context in which care is reduced to the provision of medicines, strict adherence to mRDT results may be underpinned by increasing the use of other pharmaceuticals or may leave health workers with patients for whom they are unable to provide care.

Ancient low-molecular-weight organic acids in permafrost fuel rapid carbon dioxide production upon thaw.

PubMed

Drake, Travis W; Wickland, Kimberly P; Spencer, Robert G M; McKnight, Diane M; Striegl, Robert G

2015-11-10

Northern permafrost soils store a vast reservoir of carbon, nearly twice that of the present atmosphere. Current and projected climate warming threatens widespread thaw of these frozen, organic carbon (OC)-rich soils. Upon thaw, mobilized permafrost OC in dissolved and particulate forms can enter streams and rivers, which are important processors of OC and conduits for carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere. Here, we demonstrate that ancient dissolved organic carbon (DOC) leached from 35,800 y B.P. permafrost soils is rapidly mineralized to CO2. During 200-h experiments in a novel high-temporal-resolution bioreactor, DOC concentration decreased by an average of 53%, fueling a more than sevenfold increase in dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentration. Eighty-seven percent of the DOC loss to microbial uptake was derived from the low-molecular-weight (LMW) organic acids acetate and butyrate. To our knowledge, our study is the first to directly quantify high CO2 production rates from permafrost-derived LMW DOC mineralization. The observed DOC loss rates are among the highest reported for permafrost carbon and demonstrate the potential importance of LMW DOC in driving the rapid metabolism of Pleistocene-age permafrost carbon upon thaw and the outgassing of CO2 to the atmosphere by soils and nearby inland waters.

Ancient low–molecular-weight organic acids in permafrost fuel rapid carbon dioxide production upon thaw

PubMed Central

Drake, Travis W.; Wickland, Kimberly P.; Spencer, Robert G. M.; McKnight, Diane M.; Striegl, Robert G.

2015-01-01

Northern permafrost soils store a vast reservoir of carbon, nearly twice that of the present atmosphere. Current and projected climate warming threatens widespread thaw of these frozen, organic carbon (OC)-rich soils. Upon thaw, mobilized permafrost OC in dissolved and particulate forms can enter streams and rivers, which are important processors of OC and conduits for carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere. Here, we demonstrate that ancient dissolved organic carbon (DOC) leached from 35,800 y B.P. permafrost soils is rapidly mineralized to CO2. During 200-h experiments in a novel high–temporal-resolution bioreactor, DOC concentration decreased by an average of 53%, fueling a more than sevenfold increase in dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentration. Eighty-seven percent of the DOC loss to microbial uptake was derived from the low–molecular-weight (LMW) organic acids acetate and butyrate. To our knowledge, our study is the first to directly quantify high CO2 production rates from permafrost-derived LMW DOC mineralization. The observed DOC loss rates are among the highest reported for permafrost carbon and demonstrate the potential importance of LMW DOC in driving the rapid metabolism of Pleistocene-age permafrost carbon upon thaw and the outgassing of CO2 to the atmosphere by soils and nearby inland waters. PMID:26504243

A Biphasic Change of Regional Blood Volume in the Frontal Cortex during Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study.

PubMed

Zhang, Zhongxing; Khatami, Ramin

2015-08-01

Current knowledge on hemodynamics in sleep is limited because available techniques do not allow continuous recordings and mainly focus on cerebral blood flow while neglecting other important parameters, such as blood volume (BV) and vasomotor activity. Observational study. Continuous measures of hemodynamics over the left forehead and biceps were performed using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) during nocturnal polysomnography in 16 healthy participants in sleep laboratory. Temporal dynamics and mean values of cerebral and muscular oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO2), deoxygenated hemoglobin (HHb), and BV during different sleep stages were compared. A biphasic change of cerebral BV was observed which contrasted a monotonic increase of muscular BV during non-rapid eye movement sleep. A significant decrement in cerebral HbO2 and BV accompanied by an increase of HHb was recorded at sleep onset (Phase I). Prior to slow wave sleep (SWS) HbO2 and BV turned to increase whereas HHb began to decrease in subsequent Phase II suggested increased brain perfusion during SWS. The cerebral HbO2 slope correlated to BV slope in Phase I and II, but it only correlated to HHb slope in Phase II. The occurrence time of inflection points correlated to SWS latencies. Initial decrease of brain perfusion with decreased blood volume (BV) and oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO2) together with increasing muscular BV fit thermoregulation process at sleep onset. The uncorrelated and correlated slopes of HbO2 and deoxygenated hemoglobin indicate different mechanisms underlying the biphasic hemodynamic process in light sleep and slow wave sleep (SWS). In SWS, changes in vasomotor activity (i.e., increased vasodilatation) may mediate increasing cerebral and muscular BV. © 2015 Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC.

Left prefrontal cortex activation during sentence comprehension covaries with grammatical knowledge in children.

PubMed

Knoll, L J; Obleser, J; Schipke, C S; Friederici, A D; Brauer, J

2012-08-01

Children's language skills develop rapidly with increasing age, and several studies indicate that they use language- and age-specific strategies to understand complex sentences. In the present experiment, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and behavioral measures were used to investigate the acquisition of case-marking cues for sentence interpretation in the developing brain of German preschool children with a mean age of 6 years. Short sentences were presented auditorily, consisting of a transitive verb and two case-marked arguments with canonical subject-initial or non canonical object-initial word order. Overall group results revealed mainly left hemispheric activation in the perisylvian cortex with increased activation in the inferior parietal cortex (IPC), and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) for object-initial compared to subject-initial sentences. However, single-subject analysis suggested two distinct activation patterns within the group which allowed a classification into two subgroups. One subgroup showed the predicted activation increase in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) for the more difficult object-initial compared to subject-initial sentences, while the other group showed the reverse effect. This activation in the left IFG can be taken to reflect the degree to which adult-like sentence processing strategies, necessary to integrate case-marking information, are applied. Additional behavioral data on language development tests show that these two subgroups differ in their grammatical knowledge. Together with these behavioral findings, the results indicate that the use of a particular processing strategy is not dependent on age as such, but rather on the child's individual grammatical knowledge and the ability to use specific language cues for successful sentence comprehension. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Towards transdisciplinarity in Arctic sustainability knowledge co-production: Socially-Oriented Observations as a participatory integrated activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vlasova, Tatiana; Volkov, Sergey

2016-09-01

The paper is an attempt to tie together main biogeophysical and social science projects under the auspice of interdisciplinary sustainability science development. Special attention is put to the necessity of the transdisciplinary knowledge co-production based on activities and problem-solutions approaches. It puts attention to the role of monitoring activities in sustainability interdisciplinary science and transdisciplinary knowledge evolution in the Arctic. Socially focused monitoring named Socially-Oriented Observations creating a transdisciplinary space is viewed as one of sources of learning and transformations towards sustainability making possible to shape rapid changes happening in the Arctic based on sustainability knowledge co-production. Continuous Socially-Oriented Observations integrating scientific, education and monitoring methods enables to define adaptation and transformation pathways in the Arctic - the most rapidly changing region of our planet. Socially-Oriented Observations are based on the existing and developing interdisciplinary scientific approaches emerged within natural science and social science projects, sustainable development and resilience concepts putting principle attention to building sustainable and resilient socio-ecological systems. It is argued that the Arctic sustainability science is a valuable component of the whole and broader system of the Arctic Sustainability knowledge co-produced with the help of transdisciplinary approaches integrating science, local/traditional knowledge, entrepreneurship, education, decision-making. Socially-Oriented Observations are designed to be a transdisciplinary interactive continuous participatory process empowering deliberate choices of people that can shape the changes and enable transformation towards sustainability. Approaches of Socially-Oriented Observations and methods of implementation that have been developed since the IPY 2007/2008 and being practiced in different regions of the Arctic are discussed.

The implementation of a global fund grant in Lesotho: applying a framework on knowledge absorptive capacity.

PubMed

Biesma, Regien; Makoa, Elsie; Mpemi, Regina; Tsekoa, Lineo; Odonkor, Philip; Brugha, Ruairi

2012-02-01

One of the biggest challenges in scaling up health interventions in sub-Saharan Africa for government recipients is to effectively manage the rapid influx of aid from different donors, each with its own requirements and conditions. However, there is little empirical evidence on how governments absorb knowledge from new donors in order to satisfy their requirements. This case study applies Cuellar and Gallivan's (2006) framework on knowledge absorptive capacity (AC) to illustrate how recipient government organisations in Lesotho identified, assimilated and utilised knowledge on how to meet the disbursement and reporting requirements of Lesotho's Round 5 grant from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (Global Fund). In-depth topic guided interviews with 22 respondents and document reviews were conducted between July 2008 and February 2009. Analysis focused on six organisational determinants that affect an organisation's absorptive capacity: prior-related knowledge, combinative capabilities, motivation, organisational structure, cultural match, and communication channels. Absorptive capacity was mostly evident at the level of the Principal Recipient, the Ministry of Finance, who established a new organisational unit to meet the requirements of Global Fund Grants, while the level of AC was less advanced among the Ministry of Health (Sub-Recipient) and district level implementers. Recipient organisations can increase their absorptive capacity, not only through prior knowledge of donor requirements, but also by deliberately changing their organisational form and through combinative capabilities. The study also revealed how vulnerable African governments are to loss of staff capacity. The application of organisational theory to analyse the interactions of donor agencies with public and non-public country stakeholders illustrates the complexity of the environment that aid recipient governments have to manage. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of scientific collaboration in Chinese psychiatry research.

PubMed

Wu, Ying; Jin, Xing

2016-05-26

In recent decades, China has changed profoundly, becoming the country with the world's second-largest economy. The proportion of the Chinese population suffering from mental disorder has grown in parallel with the rapid economic development, as social stresses have increased. The aim of this study is to shed light on the status of collaborations in the Chinese psychiatry field, of which there is currently limited research. We sampled 16,224 publications (2003-2012) from 10 core psychiatry journals from Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and WanFang Database. We used various social network analysis (SNA) methods such as centrality analysis, and Core-Periphery analysis to study collaboration. We also used hierarchical clustering analysis in this study. From 2003-2012, there were increasing collaborations at the level of authors, institutions and regions in the Chinese psychiatry field. Geographically, these collaborations were distributed unevenly. The 100 most prolific authors and institutions and 32 regions were used to construct the collaboration map, from which we detected the core author, institution and region. Collaborative behavior was affected by economic development. We should encourage collaborative behavior in the Chinese psychiatry field, as this facilitates knowledge distribution, resource sharing and information acquisition. Collaboration has also helped the field narrow its current research focus, providing further evidence to inform policymakers to fund research in order to tackle the increase in mental disorder facing modern China.

Using paid mass media to teach the warning signs of stroke: the long and the short of it.

PubMed

Hodgson, Corinne; Lindsay, Patrice; Rubini, Frank

2009-04-01

Stroke is a major cause of morbidity and mortality and rapid treatment is critical to patient outcomes. This paper looks at the effect of paid television advertising campaigns upon the general public's knowledge of the warning signs of stroke and emergency department (ED) stroke presentations. Data for the study includes results of nine random-digit dialing telephone surveys conducted among Ontario adults aged 45 and over. The mean number of ED presentations for all strokes and for transient ischemic attacks (TIA) were obtained from the Registry of the Canadian Stroke Network (RCSN). Polls indicated that long advertising campaigns were associated with significant increases in the public's knowledge of stroke warning signs, while shorter campaigns were associated with much smaller increases. Time (as represented by month) was the single most important factor determining the mean number of ED presentations for total stroke but was not for TIAs. Campaign status (on or off the air) had a strong and significant effect on ED presentations when the advertising campaigns were long; when the advertising campaigns were shortened, there was no campaign effect. Long, intermittent campaigns are effective in increasing the public's awareness of the warning signs of stroke and may have a significant effect on ED presentations for stroke and TIA. Public awareness of stroke warning signs declines during advertising black-outs, so short campaigns are less effective.

The origin of climate changes.

PubMed

Delecluse, P

2008-08-01

Investigation on climate change is coordinated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which has the delicate task of collecting recent knowledge on climate change and the related impacts of the observed changes, and then developing a consensus statement from these findings. The IPCC's last review, published at the end of 2007, summarised major findings on the present climate situation. The observations show a clear increase in the temperature of the Earth's surface and the oceans, a reduction in the land snow cover, and melting of the sea ice and glaciers. Numerical modelling combined with statistical analysis has shown that this warming trend is very likely the signature of increasing emissions of greenhouse gases linked with human activities. Given the continuing social and economic development around the world, the IPCC emission scenarios forecast an increasing greenhouse effect, at least until 2050 according to the most optimistic models. The model ensemble predicts a rising temperature that will reach dangerous levels for the biosphere and ecosystems within this century. Hydrological systems and the potential significant impacts of these systems on the environment are also discussed. Facing this challenging future, societies must take measures to reduce emissions and work on adapting to an inexorably changing environment. Present knowledge is sufficientto start taking action, but a stronger foundation is needed to ensure that pertinent long-term choices are made that will meet the demands of an interactive and rapidly evolving world.

Global geriatric oncology: Achievements and challenges.

PubMed

Soto-Perez-de-Celis, Enrique; de Glas, Nienke A; Hsu, Tina; Kanesvaran, Ravindran; Steer, Christopher; Navarrete-Reyes, Ana Patricia; Battisti, Nicolo Matteo Luca; Chavarri-Guerra, Yanin; O'Donovan, Anita; Avila-Funes, Jose Alberto; Hurria, Arti

2017-09-01

The aging of the population is a global challenge. The number of older adults is rapidly growing, leading to an increase in the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases associated with aging, such as cancer. Worldwide, older adults account for approximately half of all cancer cases, and this proportion is projected to increase globally. Furthermore, the majority of older adults live in less developed regions, where health systems are generally ill-equipped to provide care for complex chronic conditions. Worldwide, there is paucity of geriatric training, and most of the oncology workforce lacks the skills and knowledge to provide comprehensive care for older patients. Various initiatives aimed at providing adequate clinical care for older adults, increasing the geriatric skills and knowledge of healthcare professionals, and developing geriatric oncology research, have been successfully implemented. However, most developments in geriatric oncology have taken place in high-income countries, and there are still large inequalities in the availability of clinical, educational, and research initiatives across different regions of the world. This article provides an overview of geriatric oncology initiatives in Asia, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Latin America, and the United States and Canada. Understanding the achievements and challenges of geriatric oncology around the world, and fostering international collaboration in research and training are essential for improving the care of all older adults with cancer. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Human long intrinsically disordered protein regions are frequent targets of positive selection.

PubMed

Afanasyeva, Arina; Bockwoldt, Mathias; Cooney, Christopher R; Heiland, Ines; Gossmann, Toni I

2018-06-01

Intrinsically disordered regions occur frequently in proteins and are characterized by a lack of a well-defined three-dimensional structure. Although these regions do not show a higher order of structural organization, they are known to be functionally important. Disordered regions are rapidly evolving, largely attributed to relaxed purifying selection and an increased role of genetic drift. It has also been suggested that positive selection might contribute to their rapid diversification. However, for our own species, it is currently unknown whether positive selection has played a role during the evolution of these protein regions. Here, we address this question by investigating the evolutionary pattern of more than 6600 human proteins with intrinsically disordered regions and their ordered counterparts. Our comparative approach with data from more than 90 mammalian genomes uses a priori knowledge of disordered protein regions, and we show that this increases the power to detect positive selection by an order of magnitude. We can confirm that human intrinsically disordered regions evolve more rapidly, not only within humans but also across the entire mammalian phylogeny. They have, however, experienced substantial evolutionary constraint, hinting at their fundamental functional importance. We find compelling evidence that disordered protein regions are frequent targets of positive selection and estimate that the relative rate of adaptive substitutions differs fourfold between disordered and ordered protein regions in humans. Our results suggest that disordered protein regions are important targets of genetic innovation and that the contribution of positive selection in these regions is more pronounced than in other protein parts. © 2018 Afanasyeva et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

Saharan dust nutrients promote Vibrio bloom formation in marine surface waters.

PubMed

Westrich, Jason R; Ebling, Alina M; Landing, William M; Joyner, Jessica L; Kemp, Keri M; Griffin, Dale W; Lipp, Erin K

2016-05-24

Vibrio is a ubiquitous genus of marine bacteria, typically comprising a small fraction of the total microbial community in surface waters, but capable of becoming a dominant taxon in response to poorly characterized factors. Iron (Fe), often restricted by limited bioavailability and low external supply, is an essential micronutrient that can limit Vibrio growth. Vibrio species have robust metabolic capabilities and an array of Fe-acquisition mechanisms, and are able to respond rapidly to nutrient influx, yet Vibrio response to environmental pulses of Fe remains uncharacterized. Here we examined the population growth of Vibrio after natural and simulated pulses of atmospherically transported Saharan dust, an important and episodic source of Fe to tropical marine waters. As a model for opportunistic bacterial heterotrophs, we demonstrated that Vibrio proliferate in response to a broad range of dust-Fe additions at rapid timescales. Within 24 h of exposure, strains of Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio alginolyticus were able to directly use Saharan dust-Fe to support rapid growth. These findings were also confirmed with in situ field studies; arrival of Saharan dust in the Caribbean and subtropical Atlantic coincided with high levels of dissolved Fe, followed by up to a 30-fold increase of culturable Vibrio over background levels within 24 h. The relative abundance of Vibrio increased from ∼1 to ∼20% of the total microbial community. This study, to our knowledge, is the first to describe Vibrio response to Saharan dust nutrients, having implications at the intersection of marine ecology, Fe biogeochemistry, and both human and environmental health.

Standards of Practice: Applying Genetics and Genomics Resources to Oncology
.

PubMed

Kerber, Alice S; Ledbetter, Nancy J

2017-04-01

Knowledge about genetics and genomics and its application to oncology care is rapidly expanding and evolving. As a result, oncology nurses at all levels must develop and maintain their knowledge of genetics and genomics, as well as be aware of resources to guide practice. This article focuses on implementation of the standards described in the updated Genetics/Genomics Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice by the basic practitioner.
.

Electronic health records (EHRs): supporting ASCO's vision of cancer care.

PubMed

Yu, Peter; Artz, David; Warner, Jeremy

2014-01-01

ASCO's vision for cancer care in 2030 is built on the expanding importance of panomics and big data, and envisions enabling better health for patients with cancer by the rapid transformation of systems biology knowledge into cancer care advances. This vision will be heavily dependent on the use of health information technology for computational biology and clinical decision support systems (CDSS). Computational biology will allow us to construct models of cancer biology that encompass the complexity of cancer panomics data and provide us with better understanding of the mechanisms governing cancer behavior. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality promotes CDSS based on clinical practice guidelines, which are knowledge bases that grow too slowly to match the rate of panomic-derived knowledge. CDSS that are based on systems biology models will be more easily adaptable to rapid advancements and translational medicine. We describe the characteristics of health data representation, a model for representing molecular data that supports data extraction and use for panomic-based clinical research, and argue for CDSS that are based on systems biology and are algorithm-based.

Social aspects of urbanization.

PubMed

Weaver, R C

1976-01-01

In slightly less than a century the world has gone from a predominantly rural to a largely urban society. Unlike Western Europe which industrialized slowly with labor-intensive industries, the developing world is industrializing rapidly with capital intensive industries which provide insufficient employment for the millions coming into the cities from the countryside. 2 factors responsible for growth of cities are rural push combined with urban pull, a lack of opportunity in the country combined with hopes and aspirations represented by the city. In addition, large population growth is a factor in both the increase in numbers of city-born dwellers and in the increase of young people leaving the countryside. Problems of health, sanitation, and public welfare are compounded by this rapid population growth. The social implications of these migrations are awesome. Already people are crowding together into cities without sufficient industrial base to provide employment; 1/5 to 1/4 of adult males are unemployed; as many as 4 out of 5 families live in a single room; as many as a 1/3 or more are without water. The tensions and social unrest caused by such conditions are the seedbed for serious political unrest. Resources and knowledge must quickly be brought to bear on the urban problem so that the now-disadvantaged will be able to realize their dream of a better life.

Industry-university collaborations: a necessity for the future.

PubMed

Davies, R M

1996-01-01

The aim of this discussion document is to consider the potential benefits of collaborations between universities and industry. Universities and industry now exist in a harsh and competitive economic climate. Indeed, their very survival depends increasingly on their ability and willingness to adapt to an unprecedented pace of change. There are a number of compelling reasons for universities and industry to undertake collaborative research. The costs of research have escalated. Universities, of necessity, are increasingly seeking financial support from industry as conventional sources of funding have been systematically reduced. Companies can no longer be self sufficient in terms of the science and technology needed for success. The strength of universities is their science base, and industry recognizes that the rapid exploitation of scientific advances is the key to its survival. Both organizations can benefit from collaborative research programmes. Universities are able to make additional staff appointments which add to their intellectual resource and reputation. In addition the purchase of equipment enhances their infrastructure. Industry has the opportunity to recognize the potential relevance and value of funded research and must harness and commercially exploit new knowledge as rapidly as possible. Ultimately such collaboration will give rise to new approaches to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of dental diseases with benefits to all concerned.

Vascular Inward Rectifier K+ Channels as External K+ Sensors in the Control of Cerebral Blood Flow

PubMed Central

LONGDEN, THOMAS A.; NELSON, MARK T.

2015-01-01

For decades it has been known that external potassium (K+) ions are rapid and potent vasodilators that increase cerebral blood flow (CBF). Recent studies have implicated the local release of K+ from astrocytic endfeet—which encase the entirety of the parenchymal vasculature—in the dynamic regulation of local CBF during neurovascular coupling (NVC). It has been proposed that the activation of strong inward rectifier K+ (KIR) channels in the vascular wall by external K+ is a central component of these hyperemic responses; however, a number of significant gaps in our knowledge remain. Here, we explore the concept that vascular KIR channels are the major extracellular K+ sensors in the control of CBF. We propose that K+ is an ideal mediator of NVC, and discuss KIR channels as effectors that produce rapid hyperpolarization and robust vasodilation of cerebral arterioles. We provide evidence that KIR channels, of the KIR2 subtype in particular, are present in both the endothelial and smooth muscle cells of parenchymal arterioles and propose that this dual positioning of KIR2 channels increases the robustness of the vasodilation to external K+, enables the endothelium to be actively engaged in neurovascular coupling, and permits electrical signaling through the endothelial syncytium to promote upstream vasodilation to modulate CBF. PMID:25641345

Vascular inward rectifier K+ channels as external K+ sensors in the control of cerebral blood flow.

PubMed

Longden, Thomas A; Nelson, Mark T

2015-04-01

For decades it has been known that external K(+) ions are rapid and potent vasodilators that increase CBF. Recent studies have implicated the local release of K(+) from astrocytic endfeet-which encase the entirety of the parenchymal vasculature-in the dynamic regulation of local CBF during NVC. It has been proposed that the activation of KIR channels in the vascular wall by external K(+) is a central component of these hyperemic responses; however, a number of significant gaps in our knowledge remain. Here, we explore the concept that vascular KIR channels are the major extracellular K(+) sensors in the control of CBF. We propose that K(+) is an ideal mediator of NVC, and discuss KIR channels as effectors that produce rapid hyperpolarization and robust vasodilation of cerebral arterioles. We provide evidence that KIR channels, of the KIR 2 subtype in particular, are present in both the endothelial and SM cells of parenchymal arterioles and propose that this dual positioning of KIR 2 channels increases the robustness of the vasodilation to external K(+), enables the endothelium to be actively engaged in NVC, and permits electrical signaling through the endothelial syncytium to promote upstream vasodilation to modulate CBF. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Rebirth of Culture in Microbiology through the Example of Culturomics To Study Human Gut Microbiota

PubMed Central

Lagier, Jean-Christophe; Hugon, Perrine; Khelaifia, Saber; Fournier, Pierre-Edouard; La Scola, Bernard

2015-01-01

SUMMARY Bacterial culture was the first method used to describe the human microbiota, but this method is considered outdated by many researchers. Metagenomics studies have since been applied to clinical microbiology; however, a “dark matter” of prokaryotes, which corresponds to a hole in our knowledge and includes minority bacterial populations, is not elucidated by these studies. By replicating the natural environment, environmental microbiologists were the first to reduce the “great plate count anomaly,” which corresponds to the difference between microscopic and culture counts. The revolution in bacterial identification also allowed rapid progress. 16S rRNA bacterial identification allowed the accurate identification of new species. Mass spectrometry allowed the high-throughput identification of rare species and the detection of new species. By using these methods and by increasing the number of culture conditions, culturomics allowed the extension of the known human gut repertoire to levels equivalent to those of pyrosequencing. Finally, taxonogenomics strategies became an emerging method for describing new species, associating the genome sequence of the bacteria systematically. We provide a comprehensive review on these topics, demonstrating that both empirical and hypothesis-driven approaches will enable a rapid increase in the identification of the human prokaryote repertoire. PMID:25567229

Tailoring Systems Engineering for Rapid Acquisition

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-03-27

center’s focus would be the collection of lessons learned and the dissemination of the basic knowledge to the members who are conducting rapid acquisition...dictates that they rarely do lessons learned . Adding in the turnover of personnel and they reported that they make the same mistakes over and over...weapon system program of record designated by the CSAF. This is where the interviewee heard the phrase “when skating on thin ice your best asset is

Co-production of knowledge: recipe for success in land-based climate change adaptation?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coninx, Ingrid; Swart, Rob

2015-04-01

After multiple failures of scientists to trigger policymakers and other relevant actors to take action when communicating research findings, the request for co-production (or co-creation) of knowledge and stakeholder involvement in climate change adaptation efforts has rapidly increased over the past few years. In particular for land-based adaptation, on-the-ground action is often met by societal resistance towards solutions proposed by scientists, by a misfit of potential solutions with the local context, leading to misunderstanding and even rejection of scientific recommendations. A fully integrative co-creation process in which both scientists and practitioners discuss climate vulnerability and possible responses, exploring perspectives and designing adaptation measures based on their own knowledge, is expected to prevent the adaptation deadlock. The apparent conviction that co-creation processes result in successful adaptation, has not yet been unambiguously empirically demonstrated, but has resulted in co-creation being one of basic principles in many new research and policy programmes. But is co-creation that brings knowledge of scientists and practitioners together always the best recipe for success in climate change adaptation? Assessing a number of actual cases, the authors have serious doubts. The paper proposes additional considerations for adaptively managing the environment that should be taken into account in the design of participatory knowledge development in which climate scientists play a role. These include the nature of the problem at stake; the values, interests and perceptions of the actors involved; the methods used to build trust, strengthen alignment and develop reciprocal relationships among scientists and practitioners; and the concreteness of the co-creation output.

[Applications of stable isotope analysis in the trophic ecology studies of cephalopods].

PubMed

Li, Yun-Kai; Gong, Yi; Chen, Xin-Jun

2014-05-01

Cephalopods play an important role in marine food webs, however, knowledge about their complex life history, especially their feeding ecology, remains limited. With the rapidly increasing use of stable isotope analysis (SIA) in ecology, it becomes a powerful tool and complement of traditional methods for investigating the trophic ecology and migration patterns of invertebrates. Here, after summarizing the current methods for trophic ecology investigation of cephalopods, applications of SIA in studying the trophic ecology of cephalopods were reviewed, including the key issues such as standardization of available tissues for SIA analyzing, diet shift and migration patterns of cephalopods, with the aim of advancing its application in the biology of cephalopods in the future.

Pakistan and Water: New Pressures on Global Security and Human Health

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

The Indus River is the major source of water for the more than 180 million people of Pakistan. A rapidly increasing population over the past 60 years has created new pressures on water that was once a plentiful resource for the health and development of the country. Rising tensions between India and Pakistan, which share the Indus flow, may lead to violent confrontation in an already volatile part of the globe. The recent flooding, which affected more than 20 million people, drew attention to poor management of the rivers of Pakistan. Public health has the scientific knowledge and professional capacity to help develop water management practices that could improve population health in Pakistan. PMID:21421956

GDRMS: a system for automatic extraction of the disease-centre relation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Ronggen; Zhang, Yue; Gong, Lejun

2012-01-01

With the rapidly increasing of biomedical literature, the deluge of new articles is leading to information overload. Extracting the available knowledge from the huge amount of biomedical literature has become a major challenge. GDRMS is developed as a tool that extracts the relationship between disease and gene, gene and gene from biomedical literatures using text mining technology. It is a ruled-based system which also provides disease-centre network visualization, constructs the disease-gene database, and represents a gene engine for understanding the function of the gene. The main focus of GDRMS is to provide a valuable opportunity to explore the relationship between disease and gene for the research community about etiology of disease.

Global Warming in the 21st Century: An Alternate Scenario

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, James E.

2000-01-01

Evidence on a broad range of time scales, from Proterozoic to the most recent periods, shows that the Earth's climate responds sensitively to global forcings. In the past few decades the Earth's surface has warmed rapidly, apparently in response to increasing anthropogenic greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The conventional view is that the current global warming rate will continue or accelerate in the 21st century. I will describe an alternate scenario that would slow the rate of global warming and reduce the danger of dramatic climate change. But reliable prediction of future climate change requires improved knowledge of the carbon cycle and global observations that allow interpretation of ongoing climate change.

Big data and ophthalmic research.

PubMed

Clark, Antony; Ng, Jonathon Q; Morlet, Nigel; Semmens, James B

2016-01-01

Large population-based health administrative databases, clinical registries, and data linkage systems are a rapidly expanding resource for health research. Ophthalmic research has benefited from the use of these databases in expanding the breadth of knowledge in areas such as disease surveillance, disease etiology, health services utilization, and health outcomes. Furthermore, the quantity of data available for research has increased exponentially in recent times, particularly as e-health initiatives come online in health systems across the globe. We review some big data concepts, the databases and data linkage systems used in eye research-including their advantages and limitations, the types of studies previously undertaken, and the future direction for big data in eye research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Bridging the gap: simulations meet knowledge bases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

King, Gary W.; Morrison, Clayton T.; Westbrook, David L.; Cohen, Paul R.

2003-09-01

Tapir and Krill are declarative languages for specifying actions and agents, respectively, that can be executed in simulation. As such, they bridge the gap between strictly declarative knowledge bases and strictly executable code. Tapir and Krill components can be combined to produce models of activity which can answer questions about mechanisms and processes using conventional inference methods and simulation. Tapir was used in DARPA's Rapid Knowledge Formation (RKF) project to construct models of military tactics from the Army Field Manual FM3-90. These were then used to build Courses of Actions (COAs) which could be critiqued by declarative reasoning or via Monte Carlo simulation. Tapir and Krill can be read and written by non-knowledge engineers making it an excellent vehicle for Subject Matter Experts to build and critique knowledge bases.

Anesthesiology and competitive strategy.

PubMed

Gross, Wendy L; Gold, Barbara

2009-03-01

Whether we like it or not, medicine is big business. The argument is sometimes made that standard management strategies from the business world do not apply to medicine because the economics and practice of medicine are unique--driven by science and rapid rates of change. But an exploding knowledge base, light-speed technological development, and ever-changing reimbursement schemes are not exclusive to medicine and health care. Some fundamental principles of finance, business management, and strategic development have evolved to deal with problems of rapid change. These principles do apply to modern medicine. The business side of anesthesia practice is off-putting to many clinicians. However, knowledge of the market forces at play can help enhance patient care, improve service, expand opportunities, and extend the perimeter of the discipline. The mission and current market position of anesthesiology practice are considered here.

Online resources in pediatric surgery: the new era of medical information.

PubMed

Raigani, Siavash; Numanoglu, Alp; Schwachter, Marc; Ponsky, Todd A

2014-08-01

Tele-education has the potential to facilitate rapid sharing and dissemination of current research and knowledge among pediatric surgeons around the world. Classically, the exchange of surgical research occurred via national surgical conferences, articles published in peer-reviewed journals, and textbooks. The advent of Web 2.0 and the rapid pace of technologic advancement have allowed knowledge, education, and research to be exchanged online. Virtual symposiums act as online conferences where participants present and debate new research and surgical techniques in real-time web meetings. Resource libraries allow up-to-date information to be archived and viewed at the user's convenience, bypassing the need to wait long periods for paper publications. Tele-education allows pediatric surgeons to connect and share ideas around the world, while saving time and money. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Study on the Coastline Change of Jiaozhou Bay Based on High Resolution Remote Sensing Image

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, H.; Xing, B.; Ni, S.; Wei, P.

2018-05-01

In recent years, with the rapid development of the Jiaozhou Bay area of Qingdao, the influence of human activities on the coastline of Jiaozhou Bay is becoming more and more serious. Based on the high resolution remote sensing image data of 10 periods from 2001 to 2017 in the Jiaozhou Bay area, and combined with the data of on-the-spot survey and expert knowledge, this paper have completed the interpretation and extraction of coastline data of each year, and analyzed the distribution, size, rate of change, and trend of the increase and decrease of the coastal area of Jiaozhou Bay in different time periods, combined with the economic construction and the marine hydrodynamic environment of the region to analyze the reasons for the change of the coastline of Jiaozhou Bay. The results show that the increase and reduction of the coastal area of Jiaozhou Bay was mainly affected by human activities such as sea reclamation and marine aquaculture, resulting in a gradual change in the rate of increase and decrease with human development. For coastal advance part,2001-2013, the average increase rate on the coastal area of Jiaozhou Bay was 2.30 km2/a, showing a trend of rapid growth, 2013-2017 the average increase rate of 0.53 km2/a, and the growth rate slowed down. For coastal retreat part, 2001-2013, the average decrease rate was 2.58 × 10-3 km2/a. 2013-2014, the decrease rate reached a peak value of 1.11 km2/a. 2014-2017, the average decrease rate was 0.14 km2/a. The decrease rate shows a trend of increasing first and then slowing down.

Left cortical specialization for visual letter strings predicts rudimentary knowledge of letter-sound association in preschoolers

PubMed Central

Lochy, Aliette; Van Reybroeck, Marie; Rossion, Bruno

2016-01-01

Reading, one of the most important cultural inventions of human society, critically depends on posterior brain areas of the left hemisphere in proficient adult readers. In children, this left hemispheric cortical specialization for letter strings is typically detected only after approximately 1 y of formal schooling and reading acquisition. Here, we recorded scalp electrophysiological (EEG) brain responses in 5-y-old (n = 40) prereaders presented with letter strings appearing every five items in rapid streams of pseudofonts (6 items per second). Within 2 min of recording only, letter strings evoked a robust specific response over the left occipito-temporal cortex at the predefined frequency of 1.2 Hz (i.e., 6 Hz/5). Interindividual differences in the amplitude of this electrophysiological response are significantly related to letter knowledge, a preschool predictor of later reading ability. These results point to the high potential of this rapidly collected behavior-free measure to assess reading ability in developmental populations. These findings were replicated in a second experiment (n = 26 preschool children), where familiar symbols and line drawings of objects evoked right-lateralized and bilaterally specific responses, respectively, showing the specificity of the early left hemispheric dominance for letter strings. Collectively, these findings indicate that limited knowledge of print in young children, before formal education, is sufficient to develop specialized left lateralized neuronal circuits, thereby pointing to an early onset and rapid impact of left hemispheric reentrant sound mapping on posterior cortical development. PMID:27402739

The Effects of Research & Development Funding on Scientific Productivity: Academic Chemistry, 1990-2009.

PubMed

Rosenbloom, Joshua L; Ginther, Donna K; Juhl, Ted; Heppert, Joseph A

2015-01-01

This article examines the relationship between Research & Development (R&D) funding and the production of knowledge by academic chemists. Using articles published, either raw counts or adjusted for quality, we find a strong, positive causal effect of funding on knowledge production. This effect is similar across subsets of universities, suggesting a relatively efficient allocation of R&D funds. Finally, we document a rapid acceleration in the rate at which chemical knowledge was produced in the late 1990s and early 2000s relative to the financial and human resources devoted to its production.

The Effects of Research & Development Funding on Scientific Productivity: Academic Chemistry, 1990-2009

PubMed Central

Rosenbloom, Joshua L.; Ginther, Donna K.; Juhl, Ted; Heppert, Joseph A.

2015-01-01

This article examines the relationship between Research & Development (R&D) funding and the production of knowledge by academic chemists. Using articles published, either raw counts or adjusted for quality, we find a strong, positive causal effect of funding on knowledge production. This effect is similar across subsets of universities, suggesting a relatively efficient allocation of R&D funds. Finally, we document a rapid acceleration in the rate at which chemical knowledge was produced in the late 1990s and early 2000s relative to the financial and human resources devoted to its production. PMID:26372555

Knowledge-based commodity distribution planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saks, Victor; Johnson, Ivan

1994-01-01

This paper presents an overview of a Decision Support System (DSS) that incorporates Knowledge-Based (KB) and commercial off the shelf (COTS) technology components. The Knowledge-Based Logistics Planning Shell (KBLPS) is a state-of-the-art DSS with an interactive map-oriented graphics user interface and powerful underlying planning algorithms. KBLPS was designed and implemented to support skilled Army logisticians to prepare and evaluate logistics plans rapidly, in order to support corps-level battle scenarios. KBLPS represents a substantial advance in graphical interactive planning tools, with the inclusion of intelligent planning algorithms that provide a powerful adjunct to the planning skills of commodity distribution planners.

Motivation and challenges for use of malaria rapid diagnostic tests among informal providers in Myanmar: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Sudhinaraset, May; Briegleb, Christina; Aung, Moe; Khin, Hnin Su Su; Aung, Tin

2015-02-06

Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for malaria enable proper diagnosis and have been shown to reduce overuse of artemisinin combination therapy. Few studies have evaluated the feasibility and use of RDTs in the private sector in Myanmar. The objectives of the study were to: 1) understand the acceptability of using RDTs in the informal sector in Myanmar; 2) examine motivations for use among informal providers; and, 3) highlight decision-making and knowledge of providers for diagnostic testing and treatment. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 30 informal providers. Purposeful sampling was used to enrol study participants in the Mon and Shan State in Myanmar. All interviews were conducted in Burmese, translated into English, and two researchers coded all interviews using Atlas ti. Major themes identified included: 1) informal provider and outlet characteristics, including demographic and background characteristics; 2) the benefits and challenges of using RDTs according to providers; 3) provider experiences with using RDTs, including motivations for using the RDT; 4) adherence to test results, either positive or negative; and, 5) recommendations from informal providers to promote increased use of RDTs in their communities. This study found that introducing RDTs to informal providers in Myanmar was feasible, resulting in improved provider empowerment and patient-provider relationships. Specific challenges included facility infrastructure to use and dispose RDTs and provider knowledge. This varied across the type of informal provider, with itinerant drug vendors more comfortable and knowledgeable about RDTs compared to general retail sellers and medical drug representatives. This study found informal providers in Myanmar found the introduction of RDTs to be highly acceptable. Providers discussed improvement in service quality including provider empowerment and patient-provider relationships. The study also highlighted a number of challenges that informal providers face which may be used for future development of interventions.

Expert Knowledge-Based Automatic Sleep Stage Determination by Multi-Valued Decision Making Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Bei; Sugi, Takenao; Kawana, Fusae; Wang, Xingyu; Nakamura, Masatoshi

In this study, an expert knowledge-based automatic sleep stage determination system working on a multi-valued decision making method is developed. Visual inspection by a qualified clinician is adopted to obtain the expert knowledge database. The expert knowledge database consists of probability density functions of parameters for various sleep stages. Sleep stages are determined automatically according to the conditional probability. Totally, four subjects were participated. The automatic sleep stage determination results showed close agreements with the visual inspection on sleep stages of awake, REM (rapid eye movement), light sleep and deep sleep. The constructed expert knowledge database reflects the distributions of characteristic parameters which can be adaptive to variable sleep data in hospitals. The developed automatic determination technique based on expert knowledge of visual inspection can be an assistant tool enabling further inspection of sleep disorder cases for clinical practice.

Cyber infrastructure for Fusarium: three integrated platforms supporting strain identification, phylogenetics, comparative genomics and knowledge sharing.

PubMed

Park, Bongsoo; Park, Jongsun; Cheong, Kyeong-Chae; Choi, Jaeyoung; Jung, Kyongyong; Kim, Donghan; Lee, Yong-Hwan; Ward, Todd J; O'Donnell, Kerry; Geiser, David M; Kang, Seogchan

2011-01-01

The fungal genus Fusarium includes many plant and/or animal pathogenic species and produces diverse toxins. Although accurate species identification is critical for managing such threats, it is difficult to identify Fusarium morphologically. Fortunately, extensive molecular phylogenetic studies, founded on well-preserved culture collections, have established a robust foundation for Fusarium classification. Genomes of four Fusarium species have been published with more being currently sequenced. The Cyber infrastructure for Fusarium (CiF; http://www.fusariumdb.org/) was built to support archiving and utilization of rapidly increasing data and knowledge and consists of Fusarium-ID, Fusarium Comparative Genomics Platform (FCGP) and Fusarium Community Platform (FCP). The Fusarium-ID archives phylogenetic marker sequences from most known species along with information associated with characterized isolates and supports strain identification and phylogenetic analyses. The FCGP currently archives five genomes from four species. Besides supporting genome browsing and analysis, the FCGP presents computed characteristics of multiple gene families and functional groups. The Cart/Favorite function allows users to collect sequences from Fusarium-ID and the FCGP and analyze them later using multiple tools without requiring repeated copying-and-pasting of sequences. The FCP is designed to serve as an online community forum for sharing and preserving accumulated experience and knowledge to support future research and education.

BIOZON: a system for unification, management and analysis of heterogeneous biological data.

PubMed

Birkland, Aaron; Yona, Golan

2006-02-15

Integration of heterogeneous data types is a challenging problem, especially in biology, where the number of databases and data types increase rapidly. Amongst the problems that one has to face are integrity, consistency, redundancy, connectivity, expressiveness and updatability. Here we present a system (Biozon) that addresses these problems, and offers biologists a new knowledge resource to navigate through and explore. Biozon unifies multiple biological databases consisting of a variety of data types (such as DNA sequences, proteins, interactions and cellular pathways). It is fundamentally different from previous efforts as it uses a single extensive and tightly connected graph schema wrapped with hierarchical ontology of documents and relations. Beyond warehousing existing data, Biozon computes and stores novel derived data, such as similarity relationships and functional predictions. The integration of similarity data allows propagation of knowledge through inference and fuzzy searches. Sophisticated methods of query that span multiple data types were implemented and first-of-a-kind biological ranking systems were explored and integrated. The Biozon system is an extensive knowledge resource of heterogeneous biological data. Currently, it holds more than 100 million biological documents and 6.5 billion relations between them. The database is accessible through an advanced web interface that supports complex queries, "fuzzy" searches, data materialization and more, online at http://biozon.org.

Trends and Knowledge Gaps in the Study of Nature-Based Participation by Latinos in the United States.

PubMed

Tandon, Pooja S; Kuehne, Lauren M; Olden, Julian D

2018-06-19

Mounting evidence supports health and well-being benefits associated with nature experiences, while also highlighting race- and class-based inequalities in access and exposure. We synthesized the literature on nature contact by Latinos in the United States to assess the state of knowledge and strategically identify research needs to improve outcomes and reduce health disparities for this rapidly growing ethnic group. Our systematic review revealed 108 articles with a notable increase in number of papers over the past 3 decades. We noted that the body of research is focused on certain demographic targets (adults in urban areas) with a relative dearth of knowledge for others (children, seniors, and rural areas). Our analysis also revealed strong compartmentalizing of studies into research “clusters” based on nonoverlapping topics and types of outcomes that are measured. Although one-third of studies explored health outcomes, these studies rarely examined other outcomes or research topics. Moreover, less than 7% of studies reported on interventions. Given the potential for nature contact to enhance health and well-being, there is substantial need for multidisciplinary research that explores interactions between social, cultural, and economic factors, and how those ultimately relate to nature contact and outcomes for Latinos in the United States.

Cyber infrastructure for Fusarium: three integrated platforms supporting strain identification, phylogenetics, comparative genomics and knowledge sharing

PubMed Central

Park, Bongsoo; Park, Jongsun; Cheong, Kyeong-Chae; Choi, Jaeyoung; Jung, Kyongyong; Kim, Donghan; Lee, Yong-Hwan; Ward, Todd J.; O'Donnell, Kerry; Geiser, David M.; Kang, Seogchan

2011-01-01

The fungal genus Fusarium includes many plant and/or animal pathogenic species and produces diverse toxins. Although accurate species identification is critical for managing such threats, it is difficult to identify Fusarium morphologically. Fortunately, extensive molecular phylogenetic studies, founded on well-preserved culture collections, have established a robust foundation for Fusarium classification. Genomes of four Fusarium species have been published with more being currently sequenced. The Cyber infrastructure for Fusarium (CiF; http://www.fusariumdb.org/) was built to support archiving and utilization of rapidly increasing data and knowledge and consists of Fusarium-ID, Fusarium Comparative Genomics Platform (FCGP) and Fusarium Community Platform (FCP). The Fusarium-ID archives phylogenetic marker sequences from most known species along with information associated with characterized isolates and supports strain identification and phylogenetic analyses. The FCGP currently archives five genomes from four species. Besides supporting genome browsing and analysis, the FCGP presents computed characteristics of multiple gene families and functional groups. The Cart/Favorite function allows users to collect sequences from Fusarium-ID and the FCGP and analyze them later using multiple tools without requiring repeated copying-and-pasting of sequences. The FCP is designed to serve as an online community forum for sharing and preserving accumulated experience and knowledge to support future research and education. PMID:21087991

Creating Interactive E-Books through Learning by Design: The Impacts of Guided Peer-Feedback on Students' Learning Achievements and Project Outcomes in Science Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hwang, Gwo-Jen; Tu, Nien-Ting; Wang, Xiao-Ming

2018-01-01

With the rapid progress of technology, the popularity of tablet computers and the development of e-book applications have brought the use of e-books as a learning tool under the spotlight. In the meantime, the aim of school education lies not only in providing students with knowledge but also in encouraging them to construct knowledge actively.…

Global variation in the cost of increasing ecosystem carbon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Larjavaara, Markku; Kanninen, Markku; Gordillo, Harold; Koskinen, Joni; Kukkonen, Markus; Käyhkö, Niina; Larson, Anne M.; Wunder, Sven

2018-01-01

Slowing the reduction, or increasing the accumulation, of organic carbon stored in biomass and soils has been suggested as a potentially rapid and cost-effective method to reduce the rate of atmospheric carbon increase1. The costs of mitigating climate change by increasing ecosystem carbon relative to the baseline or business-as-usual scenario has been quantified in numerous studies, but results have been contradictory, as both methodological issues and substance differences cause variability2. Here we show, based on 77 standardized face-to-face interviews of local experts with the best possible knowledge of local land-use economics and sociopolitical context in ten landscapes around the globe, that the estimated cost of increasing ecosystem carbon varied vastly and was perceived to be 16-27 times cheaper in two Indonesian landscapes dominated by peatlands compared with the average of the eight other landscapes. Hence, if reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) and other land-use mitigation efforts are to be distributed evenly across forested countries, for example, for the sake of international equity, their overall effectiveness would be dramatically lower than for a cost-minimizing distribution.

Accessing diabetes care in rural Uganda: Economic and social resources.

PubMed

Nielsen, Jannie; Bahendeka, Silver K; Bygbjerg, Ib C; Meyrowitsch, Dan W; Whyte, Susan R

2017-07-01

Non-communicable diseases including type 2 diabetes (T2D) are increasing rapidly in most Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries like Uganda. Little attention has been given to how patients with T2D try to achieve treatment when the availability of public health care for their disease is limited, as is the case in most SSA countries. In this paper we focus on the landscape of availability of care and the therapeutic journeys of patients within that landscape. Based on fieldwork in south-western Uganda including 10 case studies, we explore the diabetes treatment options in the area and what it takes to access the available treatment. We analyse the resources patients need to use the available treatment options, and demonstrate that the patients' journeys to access and maintain treatment are facilitated by the knowledge and support of their therapy management groups. Patients access treatment more effectively, if they and their family have money, useful social relations, and knowledge, together with the capacity to communicate with health staff. Patients coming from households with high socio-economic status (SES) are more likely to have all of these resources, while for patients with low or medium SES, lack of economic resources increases the importance of connections within the health system.

Knowledge Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shariq, Syed Z.; Kutler, Paul (Technical Monitor)

1997-01-01

The emergence of rapidly expanding technologies for distribution and dissemination of information and knowledge has brought to focus the opportunities for development of knowledge-based networks, knowledge dissemination and knowledge management technologies and their potential applications for enhancing productivity of knowledge work. The challenging and complex problems of the future can be best addressed by developing the knowledge management as a new discipline based on an integrative synthesis of hard and soft sciences. A knowledge management professional society can provide a framework for catalyzing the development of proposed synthesis as well as serve as a focal point for coordination of professional activities in the strategic areas of education, research and technology development. Preliminary concepts for the development of the knowledge management discipline and the professional society are explored. Within this context of knowledge management discipline and the professional society, potential opportunities for application of information technologies for more effectively delivering or transferring information and knowledge (i.e., resulting from the NASA's Mission to Planet Earth) for the development of policy options in critical areas of national and global importance (i.e., policy decisions in economic and environmental areas) can be explored, particularly for those policy areas where a global collaborative knowledge network is likely to be critical to the acceptance of the policies.

Spatio-Temporal Neural Networks for Vision, Reasoning and Rapid Decision Making

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-08-31

something that is obviously not pattern for long-term knowledge base (LTKB) facts. As a matter possiblc in common neural networks (as units in a...Conferences on Neural Davis, P. (19W0) Application of op~tical chaos to temporal pattern search in a Networks . Piscataway, NJ. [SC] nonlinear optical...Science Institute PROJECT TITLE: Spatio-temporal Neural Networks for Vision, Reasoning and Rapid Decision Making (N00014-93-1-1149) Number of ONR

Effect of chemical admixtures on properties of high-calcium fly ash geopolymer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rattanasak, Ubolluk; Pankhet, Kanokwan; Chindaprasirt, Prinya

2011-06-01

Owing to the high viscosity of sodium silicate solution, fly ash geopolymer has the problems of low workability and rapid setting time. Therefore, the effect of chemical admixtures on the properties of fly ash geopolymer was studied to overcome the rapid set of the geopolymer in this paper. High-calcium fly ash and alkaline solution were used as starting materials to synthesize the geopolymer. Calcium chloride, calcium sulfate, sodium sulfate, and sucrose at dosages of 1wt% and 2wt% of fly ash were selected as admixtures based on concrete knowledge to improve the properties of the geopolymer. The setting time, compressive strength, and degree of reaction were recorded, and the microstructure was examined. The results show that calcium chloride significantly shortens both the initial and final setting times of the geopolymer paste. In addition, sucrose also delays the final setting time significantly. The degrees of reaction of fly ash in the geopolymer paste with the admixtures are all higher than those of the control paste. This contributes to the obvious increases in compressive strength.

Neural Computations Mediating One-Shot Learning in the Human Brain

PubMed Central

Lee, Sang Wan; O’Doherty, John P.; Shimojo, Shinsuke

2015-01-01

Incremental learning, in which new knowledge is acquired gradually through trial and error, can be distinguished from one-shot learning, in which the brain learns rapidly from only a single pairing of a stimulus and a consequence. Very little is known about how the brain transitions between these two fundamentally different forms of learning. Here we test a computational hypothesis that uncertainty about the causal relationship between a stimulus and an outcome induces rapid changes in the rate of learning, which in turn mediates the transition between incremental and one-shot learning. By using a novel behavioral task in combination with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from human volunteers, we found evidence implicating the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and hippocampus in this process. The hippocampus was selectively “switched” on when one-shot learning was predicted to occur, while the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex was found to encode uncertainty about the causal association, exhibiting increased coupling with the hippocampus for high-learning rates, suggesting this region may act as a “switch,” turning on and off one-shot learning as required. PMID:25919291

Rapid, low-cost fluorescent assay of β-lactamase-derived antibiotic resistance and related antibiotic susceptibility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erdem, S. Sibel; Khan, Shazia; Palanisami, Akilan; Hasan, Tayyaba

2014-10-01

Antibiotic resistance (AR) is increasingly prevalent in low and middle income countries (LMICs), but the extent of the problem is poorly understood. This lack of knowledge is a critical deficiency, leaving local health authorities essentially blind to AR outbreaks and crippling their ability to provide effective treatment guidelines. The crux of the problem is the lack of microbiology laboratory capacity available in LMICs. To address this unmet need, we demonstrate a rapid and simple test of β-lactamase resistance (the most common form of AR) that uses a modified β-lactam structure decorated with two fluorophores quenched due to their close proximity. When the β-lactam core is cleaved by β-lactamase, the fluorophores dequench, allowing assay speeds of 20 min to be obtained with a simple, streamlined protocol. Furthermore, by testing in competition with antibiotics, the β-lactamase-associated antibiotic susceptibility can also be extracted. This assay can be easily implemented into standard lab work flows to provide near real-time information of β-lactamase resistance, both for epidemiological purposes as well as individualized patient care.

Urchin-like gold nanoparticle-based immunochromatographic strip test for rapid detection of fumonisin B1 in grains.

PubMed

Ren, Wenjie; Huang, Zhibing; Xu, Yang; Li, Yanping; Ji, Yanwei; Su, Baowei

2015-09-01

An immunochromatographic strip (ICS) using urchin-like gold nanoparticles (UGNs) for sensitive detection of fumonisin B1 (FB1) was developed to meet the requirement for rapidly monitoring FB1 in grain samples. The sensitivity of the ICS was 5.0 ng/mL, which represents a fourfold increase in sensitivity over conventional strip preparation using colloidal gold as the antibody-labeled probe. Analysis of FB1 in grain samples showed that data obtained from the strip tests were in a good agreement with those obtained from HPLC and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). This qualitative test did not require any specialized equipment, and the detection time was less than 5 min, which is suitable for on-site testing of FB1 in grain samples. Overall, to our knowledge, this is the first report of using a UGN as the antibody-labeled probe for sensitive detection of FB1 in grains using an ICS. Graphical Abstract Preparation of ICS using conventional colloidal gold and urchin-like gold nanoparticle, respectively.

Neural computations mediating one-shot learning in the human brain.

PubMed

Lee, Sang Wan; O'Doherty, John P; Shimojo, Shinsuke

2015-04-01

Incremental learning, in which new knowledge is acquired gradually through trial and error, can be distinguished from one-shot learning, in which the brain learns rapidly from only a single pairing of a stimulus and a consequence. Very little is known about how the brain transitions between these two fundamentally different forms of learning. Here we test a computational hypothesis that uncertainty about the causal relationship between a stimulus and an outcome induces rapid changes in the rate of learning, which in turn mediates the transition between incremental and one-shot learning. By using a novel behavioral task in combination with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from human volunteers, we found evidence implicating the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and hippocampus in this process. The hippocampus was selectively "switched" on when one-shot learning was predicted to occur, while the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex was found to encode uncertainty about the causal association, exhibiting increased coupling with the hippocampus for high-learning rates, suggesting this region may act as a "switch," turning on and off one-shot learning as required.

Two Major Medicinal Honeys Have Different Mechanisms of Bactericidal Activity

PubMed Central

Kwakman, Paulus H. S.; te Velde, Anje A.; de Boer, Leonie; Vandenbroucke-Grauls, Christina M. J. E.; Zaat, Sebastian A. J.

2011-01-01

Honey is increasingly valued for its antibacterial activity, but knowledge regarding the mechanism of action is still incomplete. We assessed the bactericidal activity and mechanism of action of Revamil® source (RS) honey and manuka honey, the sources of two major medical-grade honeys. RS honey killed Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa within 2 hours, whereas manuka honey had such rapid activity only against B. subtilis. After 24 hours of incubation, both honeys killed all tested bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, but manuka honey retained activity up to higher dilutions than RS honey. Bee defensin-1 and H2O2 were the major factors involved in rapid bactericidal activity of RS honey. These factors were absent in manuka honey, but this honey contained 44-fold higher concentrations of methylglyoxal than RS honey. Methylglyoxal was a major bactericidal factor in manuka honey, but after neutralization of this compound manuka honey retained bactericidal activity due to several unknown factors. RS and manuka honey have highly distinct compositions of bactericidal factors, resulting in large differences in bactericidal activity. PMID:21394213

Toward Routine Automatic Pathway Discovery from On-line Scientific Text Abstracts.

PubMed

Ng; Wong

1999-01-01

We are entering a new era of research where the latest scientific discoveries are often first reported online and are readily accessible by scientists worldwide. This rapid electronic dissemination of research breakthroughs has greatly accelerated the current pace in genomics and proteomics research. The race to the discovery of a gene or a drug has now become increasingly dependent on how quickly a scientist can scan through voluminous amount of information available online to construct the relevant picture (such as protein-protein interaction pathways) as it takes shape amongst the rapidly expanding pool of globally accessible biological data (e.g. GENBANK) and scientific literature (e.g. MEDLINE). We describe a prototype system for automatic pathway discovery from on-line text abstracts, combining technologies that (1) retrieve research abstracts from online sources, (2) extract relevant information from the free texts, and (3) present the extracted information graphically and intuitively. Our work demonstrates that this framework allows us to routinely scan online scientific literature for automatic discovery of knowledge, giving modern scientists the necessary competitive edge in managing the information explosion in this electronic age.

Review of key concepts in magnetic resonance physics.

PubMed

Moore, Michael M; Chung, Taylor

2017-05-01

MR physics can be a challenging subject for practicing pediatric radiologists. Although many excellent texts provide very comprehensive reviews of the field of MR physics at various levels of understanding, the authors of this paper explain several key concepts in MR physics that are germane to clinical practice in a non-rigorous but practical fashion. With the basic understanding of these key concepts, practicing pediatric radiologists can build on their knowledge of current clinical MR techniques and future advances in MR applications. Given the challenges of both the increased need for rapid imaging in non-sedated children and the rapid physiological cardiovascular and respiratory motion in pediatric patients, many advances in complex MR techniques are being applied to imaging these children. The key concepts are as follows: (1) structure of a pulse sequence, (2) k-space, (3) "trade-off triangle" and (4) fat suppression. This review is the first of five manuscripts in a minisymposium on pediatric MR. The authors' goal for this review is to aid in understanding the MR techniques described in the subsequent manuscripts on brain imaging and body imaging in this minisymposium.

Public Health

EPA Science Inventory

Earth observations can be used to address human health concerns in many ways: projecting occurrence of disease or disease outbreaks; rapid detection and tracking of events; construction of risk maps; targeting interventions; and enhancing knowledge of human health-environment int...

Outcomes of a National Environmental Edutainment Program in High Schools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lappe, M. D.

2012-12-01

We present results of the first longitudinal evaluation of a nation-wide environmental edutainment program. There has recently been rapid growth in curricula on the environment and climate change, yet few reach large and diverse audiences, and fewer still are evaluated. These results are from high schools participating in the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) program. ACE is a 3 year-old program that has reached 1.2 million students with an edutainment presentation incorporating music, multi-media, animation, and documentary footage (www.acespace.org). A projected 850 schools across 23 states will see the presentation this year; 6% of schools (3 classes each) are randomly selected to be evaluated. The data described here were collected in Fall 2011 from 1,270 students in 21 schools; the full evaluation will be complete in May 2012. The sample is ethnically and socio-economically diverse — 29% are white, and 46% receive free/reduced lunches (a proxy for socio-economic status). Outcome measures included a test of climate knowledge and intentions to take (and to ask others to take) climate-related actions. The analyses examined direct effects of the ACE program on climate knowledge and intentions, as well as the moderating effects of student gender and age on learning. Before the ACE presentation, boys had significantly higher knowledge scores than girls (54% vs. 48% correct, respectively, p < .001). Afterward, boys and girls both had significantly higher knowledge scores (64% and 63% correct, respectively) and no longer differed from each other in this respect. Before the presentation, girls expressed significantly greater intentions to take climate-related actions than did boys. Afterward, intentions increased significantly in both groups, but the gap between girls and boys remained. The gap-closing pattern was somewhat different for the moderating variable of age. Before the presentation, knowledge and intentions were significantly higher among older students (11th- and 12th-graders) than among younger students (9th- and 10th-graders). Afterward, knowledge and intentions increased significantly in both groups, but the gap between them remained for knowledge and closed for intentions. These promising early results demonstrate how a single well-designed edutaiment presentation can appeal broadly to students and advance environmental education on a large scale.

A Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Boot Camp improves trainee confidence.

PubMed

Allan, Catherine K; Tannous, Paul; DeWitt, Elizabeth; Farias, Michael; Mansfield, Laura; Ronai, Christina; Schidlow, David; Sanders, Stephen P; Lock, James E; Newburger, Jane W; Brown, David W

2016-12-01

Introduction New paediatric cardiology trainees are required to rapidly assimilate knowledge and gain clinical skills to which they have limited or no exposure during residency. The Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Boot Camp (PCBC) at Boston Children's Hospital was designed to provide incoming fellows with an intensive exposure to congenital cardiac pathology and a broad overview of major areas of paediatric cardiology practice. The PCBC curriculum was designed by core faculty in cardiac pathology, echocardiography, electrophysiology, interventional cardiology, exercise physiology, and cardiac intensive care. Individual faculty contributed learning objectives, which were refined by fellowship directors and used to build a programme of didactics, hands-on/simulation-based activities, and self-guided learning opportunities. A total of 16 incoming fellows participated in the 4-week boot camp, with no concurrent clinical responsibilities, over 2 years. On the basis of pre- and post-PCBC surveys, 80% of trainees strongly agreed that they felt more prepared for clinical responsibilities, and a similar percentage felt that PCBC should be offered to future incoming fellows. Fellows showed significant increase in their confidence in all specific knowledge and skills related to the learning objectives. Fellows rated hands-on learning experiences and simulation-based exercises most highly. We describe a novel 4-week-long boot camp designed to expose incoming paediatric cardiology fellows to the broad spectrum of knowledge and skills required for the practice of paediatric cardiology. The experience increased trainee confidence and sense of preparedness to begin fellowship-related responsibilities. Given that highly interactive activities were rated most highly, boot camps in paediatric cardiology should strongly emphasise these elements.

Clinical and Public Health Considerations in Urine Drug Testing to Identify and Treat Substance Use.

PubMed

Barthwell, Andrea G

2016-05-11

To expand appropriate use of substance use testing, practitioners must increase their knowledge of the appropriate methodology, scope, and frequency. Yet, there is a current lack of accepted guidelines on clinical testing to identify and treat substance use. This article (1) conveys the importance of substance use testing as a clinical and public health response to trends of prescription drug abuse and increased access to medical and commercialized marijuana; (2) summarizes central features of the rapidly evolving science and the practice of patient-centered substance use testing in a clinical setting; and (3) provides recommendations that balance costs and benefits and serve as a starting point for appropriate testing to prevent, identify, and treat substance use disorders. The author conducted a search of peer-reviewed and government-supported articles and books in electronic databases and used her own knowledge and clinical experience. The author makes recommendations for determining the methodology, scope, and frequency of testing in each stage of care based on clinical considerations and methodological factors. Conclusion/Importance: Integrating sensible substance use testing broadly into clinical health care to identify substance use, diagnose substance use disorders, and guide patients into treatment can improve health outcomes and reduce the costs of substance use and addiction. No single testing regimen is suitable for all clinical scenarios; rather, a multitude of options, as discussed herein, can be adapted to meet a patient's unique needs. Ultimately, the practitioner must combine patient-specific information with knowledge of test technologies, capabilities, limitations, and costs.

Indigenous Knowledge and Science Unite to Reveal Spatial and Temporal Dimensions of Distributional Shift in Wildlife of Conservation Concern

PubMed Central

Service, Christina N.; Adams, Megan S.; Artelle, Kyle A.; Paquet, Paul; Grant, Laura V.; Darimont, Chris T.

2014-01-01

Range shifts among wildlife can occur rapidly and impose cascading ecological, economic, and cultural consequences. However, occurrence data used to define distributional limits derived from scientific approaches are often outdated for wide ranging and elusive species, especially in remote environments. Accordingly, our aim was to amalgamate indigenous and western scientific evidence of grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) records and detail a potential range shift on the central coast of British Columbia, Canada. In addition, we test the hypothesis that data from each method yield similar results, as well as illustrate the complementary nature of this coupled approach. Combining information from traditional and local ecological knowledge (TEK/LEK) interviews with remote camera, genetic, and hunting data revealed that grizzly bears are now present on 10 islands outside their current management boundary. LEK interview data suggested this expansion has accelerated over the last 10 years. Both approaches provided complementary details and primarily affirmed one another: all islands with scientific evidence for occupation had consistent TEK/LEK evidence. Moreover, our complementary methods approach enabled a more spatially and temporally detailed account than either method would have afforded alone. In many cases, knowledge already held by local indigenous people could provide timely and inexpensive data about changing ecological processes. However, verifying the accuracy of scientific and experiential knowledge by pairing sources at the same spatial scale allows for increased confidence and detail. A similarly coupled approach may be useful across taxa in many regions. PMID:25054635

The future of interventional and neurointerventional radiology: learning lessons from the past.

PubMed

Maingard, Julian; Kok, Hong Kuan; Ranatunga, Dinesh; Brooks, Duncan Mark; Chandra, Ronil V; Lee, Michael J; Asadi, Hamed

2017-12-01

The rapid progression of medical imaging technology and the ability to leverage knowledge from non-invasive imaging means that Interventional Radiologists (IRs) and Interventional Neuroradiologists are optimally placed to incorporate minimally invasive interventional paradigms into clinical management to advance patient care. There is ample opportunity to radically change the management options for patients with a variety of diseases through the use of minimally invasive interventional procedures. However, this will need to be accompanied by an increased clinical role of IRs to become active partners in the clinical management of patients. Unfortunately, the development of IR clinical presence has lagged behind and is reflected by declining rates of IR involvement in certain areas of practice such as vascular interventions. Current and future IRs must be willing to take on clinical responsibilities; reviewing patients in clinic to determine suitability for a procedure and potential contraindications, rounding on hospital inpatients and be willing to manage procedure related complications, which are all important parts of a successful IR practice. Increasing our clinical presence has several advantages over the procedure-driven model including enhanced patient knowledge and informed consent for IR procedures, improved rapport with patients and other clinical colleagues through active participation and engagement in patient care, visibility as a means to facilitate referrals and consistency of follow-up with opportunities for further learning. Many of the solutions to these problems are already in progress and the use of IR as a "hired gun" or "technician" is a concept that should be relegated to the past, and replaced with recognition of IRs as clinicians and partners in delivering modern high quality multidisciplinary team-based patient care. The following article will review the history of IR, the challenges facing this rapidly evolving profession and discuss recent developments occurring globally that are essential in maintaining expertise, securing future growth and improving patient outcomes in the modern multidisciplinary practice of medicine.

Building beef cow nutritional programs with the 1996 NRC beef cattle requirements model.

PubMed

Lardy, G P; Adams, D C; Klopfenstein, T J; Patterson, H H

2004-01-01

Designing a sound cow-calf nutritional program requires knowledge of nutrient requirements, diet quality, and intake. Effectively using the NRC (1996) beef cattle requirements model (1996NRC) also requires knowledge of dietary degradable intake protein (DIP) and microbial efficiency. Objectives of this paper are to 1) describe a framework in which 1996NRC-applicable data can be generated, 2) describe seasonal changes in nutrients on native range, 3) use the 1996NRC to predict nutrient balance for cattle grazing these forages, and 4) make recommendations for using the 1996NRC for forage-fed cattle. Extrusa samples were collected over 2 yr on native upland range and subirrigated meadow in the Nebraska Sandhills. Samples were analyzed for CP, in vitro OM digestibility (IVOMD), and DIP. Regression equations to predict nutrients were developed from these data. The 1996NRC was used to predict nutrient balances based on the dietary nutrient analyses. Recommendations for model users were also developed. On subirrigated meadow, CP and IVOMD increased rapidly during March and April. On native range, CP and IVOMD increased from April through June but decreased rapidly from August through September. Degradable intake protein (DM basis) followed trends similar to CP for both native range and subirrigated meadow. Predicted nutrient balances for spring- and summer-calving cows agreed with reported values in the literature, provided that IVOMD values were converted to DE before use in the model (1.07 x IVOMD - 8.13). When the IVOMD-to-DE conversion was not used, the model gave unrealistically high NE(m) balances. To effectively use the 1996NRC to estimate protein requirements, users should focus on three key estimates: DIP, microbial efficiency, and TDN intake. Consequently, efforts should be focused on adequately describing seasonal changes in forage nutrient content. In order to increase use of the 1996NRC, research is needed in the following areas: 1) cost-effective and accurate commercial laboratory procedures to estimate DIP, 2) reliable estimates or indicators of microbial efficiency for various forage types and qualities, 3) improved estimates of dietary TDN for forage-based diets, 4) validation work to improve estimates of DIP and MP requirements, and 5) incorporation of nitrogen recycling estimates.

Optimal phase estimation with arbitrary a priori knowledge

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

Demkowicz-Dobrzanski, Rafal

2011-06-15

The optimal-phase estimation strategy is derived when partial a priori knowledge on the estimated phase is available. The solution is found with the help of the most famous result from the entanglement theory: the positive partial transpose criterion. The structure of the optimal measurements, estimators, and the optimal probe states is analyzed. This Rapid Communication provides a unified framework bridging the gap in the literature on the subject which until now dealt almost exclusively with two extreme cases: almost perfect knowledge (local approach based on Fisher information) and no a priori knowledge (global approach based on covariant measurements). Special attentionmore » is paid to a natural a priori probability distribution arising from a diffusion process.« less

Inadequacy the Health System in Serbia and Corrupt Institutions

PubMed Central

Dickov, Veselin

2012-01-01

Rapid changes in the health system require a new trained professionals who fully understand the processes of health and organizational problems and have the knowledge and skills that enable them to manage health care services. Health services to their largely rests on a system of solidarity and “socialism”, and only partly on market principle, and more than in other sectors of the economy requires individuals who are able to bridge that gap. Realize savings in the system that one side is not profitable, on the other hand is able to swallow a huge media arts is that simply needs to learn–just relying on common sense and intuition that no longer helps. The increase in costs. Advances in medicine and technology, and discovery of new drugs, namely, the almost daily increase the costs of diagnosis and treatment. Advances in medicine prolongs life expectancy by increasing the number of patients, especially those with chronic diseases, the biggest consumer of drugs and frequent guests hospital. PMID:23678330

HIPAA for physicians in the information age.

PubMed

Kavoussi, Shaheen C; Huang, John J; Tsai, James C; Kempton, James E

2014-08-01

The increased prominence of electronic health records, email, mobile devices, and social media has transformed the health care environment by providing both physicians and patients with opportunities for rapid communication and knowledge exchange. However, these technological advances require increased attention to patient privacy under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Instant access to large amounts of electronic protected health information (PHI) merits the highest standard of network security and HIPAA training for all staff members. Physicians are responsible for protecting PHI stored on portable devices. Personal, residential, and public wireless connections are not certified with HIPAA-compliant Business Associate Agreements and are unsuitablefor PHI. A professional and privacy-oriented approach to electronic communication, online activity, and social media is imperative to maintaining public trust in physician integrity. As new technologies are integrated into health care practice, the assurance of privacy will encourage patients to continue to seek medical care.

Changes in cellular distribution regulate SKD1 ATPase activity in response to a sudden increase in environmental salinity in halophyte ice plant

PubMed Central

Jou, Yingtzy; Chiang, Chih-Pin; Yen, Hungchen Emilie

2013-01-01

Halophyte Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L. (ice plant) rapidly responds to sudden increases in salinity in its environment by activating specific salt-tolerant mechanisms. One major strategy is to regulate a series of ion transporters and proton pumps to maintain cellular Na+/K+ homeostasis. Plant SKD1 (suppressor of K+ transport growth defect 1) proteins accumulate in cells actively engaged in the secretory processes, and play a critical role in intracellular protein trafficking. Ice plant SKD1 redistributes from the cytosol to the plasma membrane hours after salt stressed. In combination with present knowledge of this protein, we suggest that stress facilitates SKD1 movement to the plasma membrane where ADP/ATP exchange occurs, and functions in the regulation of membrane components such as ion transporters to avoid ion toxicity. PMID:24390077

Displacement and HIV: Factors Influencing Antiretroviral Therapy Use by Ethnic Shan Migrants in Northern Thailand

PubMed Central

Murray, Jordan K.; DiStefano, Anthony S.; Yang, Joshua S.; Wood, Michele M.

2016-01-01

Migrant populations face increased HIV vulnerabilities, including limited access to antiretroviral therapy (ART). Civil conflict in Myanmar has displaced thousands of people from the minority Shan ethnic group into northern Thailand, where they bear a disproportionate HIV burden. To identify barriers and facilitators of ART use in this population, we conducted a rapid ethnographic assessment and case study with a clinical sample of Shan migrants receiving treatment for HIV in a district hospital in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Thai nurses providing their care, and health care administrators (n = 23). Barriers included fears of arrest and deportation, communication difficulties, perceived social marginalization, limited HIV knowledge, and lack of finances. Facilitating factors included hospital-based migrant registration services and community outreach efforts involving support group mobilization, referral practices, and radio broadcasts. These findings provided a contextualized account to inform policies, community interventions, and nursing practice to increase treatment access for minority migrant groups. PMID:27188762

Elderly people's interaction with advanced technology.

PubMed

Blažun, Helena; Vošner, Janez; Kokol, Peter; Saranto, Kaija; Rissanen, Sari

2014-01-01

Aging of population is an inevitable process by which the number of elderly people is increasing. Rapid development of information and communication technology (ICT) is changing basic needs of elderly people; therefore society should ensure opportunities for elderly to learn and use ICT in a way to manage their daily life activities and in this way enable them participation in the information and knowledge society. The purpose of the study was to find out whether elderly are acquainted with the advanced technology and to what extent they use it or they desire to use it. Within the single point study we interviewed 100 randomly selected elderly people from different geographical regions in Slovenia. Results showed the differences in the use of advanced technology by Slovenian regions; therefore in the future activities should be focused on organizing promotional and demonstrational activities including ICT courses to increase elderly's motivation for ICT interaction.

Real-time divergent evolution in plants driven by pollinators

PubMed Central

Gervasi, Daniel D. L.; Schiestl, Florian P

2017-01-01

Pollinator-driven diversification is thought to be a major source of floral variation in plants. Our knowledge of this process is, however, limited to indirect assessments of evolutionary changes. Here, we employ experimental evolution with fast cycling Brassica rapa plants to demonstrate adaptive evolution driven by different pollinators. Our study shows pollinator-driven divergent selection as well as divergent evolution in plant traits. Plants pollinated by bumblebees evolved taller size and more fragrant flowers with increased ultraviolet reflection. Bumblebees preferred bumblebee-pollinated plants over hoverfly-pollinated plants at the end of the experiment, showing that plants had adapted to the bumblebees' preferences. Plants with hoverfly pollination became shorter, had reduced emission of some floral volatiles, but increased fitness through augmented autonomous self-pollination. Our study demonstrates that changes in pollinator communities can have rapid consequences on the evolution of plant traits and mating system. PMID:28291771

Peptic ulcer disease.

PubMed

Lanas, Angel; Chan, Francis K L

2017-08-05

The rapidly declining prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection and widespread use of potent anti-secretory drugs means peptic ulcer disease has become substantially less prevalent than it was two decades ago. Management has, however, become more challenging than ever because of the threat of increasing antimicrobial resistance worldwide and widespread use of complex anti-thrombotic therapy in the ageing population. Peptic ulcers not associated with H pylori infection or the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are now also imposing substantial diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. This Seminar aims to provide a balanced overview of the latest advances in the pathogenetic mechanisms of peptic ulcers, guidelines on therapies targeting H pylori infection, approaches to treatment of peptic ulcer complications associated with anti-inflammatory analgesics and anti-thrombotic agents, and the unmet needs in terms of our knowledge and management of this increasingly challenging condition. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recent advances in the molecular genetics of epilepsy.

PubMed

Hildebrand, Michael S; Dahl, Hans-Henrik M; Damiano, John Anthony; Smith, Richard J H; Scheffer, Ingrid E; Berkovic, Samuel F

2013-05-01

Recent advances in molecular genetics have translated into the increasing utilisation of genetic testing in the routine clinical practice of neurologists. There has been a steady, incremental increase in understanding the genetic variation associated with epilepsies. Genetic testing in the epilepsies is not yet widely practiced, but the advent of new screening technologies promises to exponentially expand both knowledge and clinical utility. To maximise the value of this new genetic insight we need to rapidly extrapolate genetic findings to inform patients of their diagnosis, prognosis, recurrence risk and the clinical management options available for their specific genetic condition. Comprehensive, highly specific and sensitive genetic test results improve the management of patients by neurologists and clinical geneticists. Here we discuss the latest developments in clinical genetic testing for epilepsy and describe new molecular genetics platforms that will transform both genetic screening and novel gene discovery.

[Unexpected cutaneous purpura in an infant].

PubMed

Luo, Yang-Yang; Wei, Zhu; Zeng, Ying-Hong; Zhou, Bin; Tang, Jian-Ping

2016-11-01

A two-month-old boy visited the hospital due to unexpected cutaneous purpura and thrombocytopenia for 2 days. The physical examination revealed a purple mass on the back. The soft tissue color Doppler ultrasound showed rich blood signals in the tissue, and the results of bone marrow puncture indicated an increased number of megakaryocytes. After the treatment with hormone and gamma globulin, the platelet count rapidly increased and maintained at a normal level. Meanwhile, the boy was given oral administration of propranolol. He was followed up for 4 months and the volume of the mass on the back was reduced significantly. He had a definite diagnosis of hemangioma and immune thrombocytopenia. As for the patients with hemangioma complicated by thrombocytopenia, knowledge of Kasabach-Merritt syndrome should be enhanced and there should be a clarification of the association between thrombocytopenia and hemangioma. There should also be an alertness for thrombocytopenia of other causes.

A look into the Medical and Veterinary Entomology crystal ball.

PubMed

Dantas-Torres, F; Cameron, M M; Colwell, D D; Otranto, D

2014-08-01

Medical and Veterinary Entomology (MVE) represents a leading periodical in its field and covers many aspects of the biology and control of insects, ticks, mites and other arthropods of medical and veterinary importance. Since the first issue of the journal, researchers working in both developed and developing countries have published in MVE, with direct impact on current knowledge in the field. An increasing number of articles dealing with the epidemiology and transmission of vector-borne pathogens have been published in MVE, reflecting rapid changes in vector distribution, pathogen transmission and host-arthropod interactions. This article represents a gaze into the crystal ball in which we identify areas of increasing interest, discuss the main changes that have occurred in the epidemiology of parasitic arthropods since the first issue of MVE, and predict the principal scientific topics that might arise in the next 25 years for scientists working in medical and veterinary entomology. © 2014 The Royal Entomological Society.

Radiology Architecture Project Primer.

PubMed

Sze, Raymond W; Hogan, Laurie; Teshima, Satoshi; Davidson, Scott

2017-12-19

The rapid pace of technologic advancement and increasing expectations for patient- and family-friendly environments make it common for radiology leaders to be involved in imaging remodel and construction projects. Most radiologists and business directors lack formal training in architectural and construction processes but are expected to play significant and often leading roles in all phases of an imaging construction project. Avoidable mistakes can result in significant increased costs and scheduling delays; knowledgeable participation and communication can result in a final product that enhances staff workflow and morale and improves patient care and experience. This article presents practical guidelines for preparing for and leading a new imaging architectural and construction project. We share principles derived from the radiology and nonradiology literature and our own experience over the past decade completely remodeling a large pediatric radiology department and building a full-service outpatient imaging center. Copyright © 2017 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Teaching history-taking: where are we?

PubMed Central

Nardone, D. A.; Reuler, J. B.; Girard, D. E.

1980-01-01

Knowledge in history-taking has increased rapidly over the last twenty years. Currently the principles to be taught include "conduct," "content," and "diagnostic reasoning." However, inattentiveness of medical schools, reluctance of busy faculty to be involved, and increasing enrollments have resulted in difficulties in teaching these skills. Studies have shown a beneficial short-term effect of teaching these materials on interview performance but it is unknown whether this effect is long-lasting. The methods for instruction include the bedside and videotape models utilizing the concept of the fifteen-minute interview technique, programmed instruction, patient instructors, and direct student feedback. Future research should focus on identifying strategies in diagnostic reasoning, developing graduated competency criteria for trainees at different levels of their education, refining methods to evaluate large numbers of students, measuring outcomes of effective training such as compliance, and comparing costs and effectiveness of various methods. In addition, there remains the need to establish an association of course directors. PMID:7405275

A schema-based model of situation awareness: Implications for measuring situation awareness

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fracker, Martin L.

1988-01-01

Measures of pilot situation awareness (SA) are needed in order to know whether new concepts in display design help pilots keep track of rapidly changing tactical situations. In order to measure SA, a theory of situation assessment is needed. Such a theory is summarized, encompassing both a definition of SA and a model of situation assessment. SA is defined as the pilot's knowledge about a zone of interest at a given level of abstraction. Pilots develop this knowledge by sampling data from the environment and matching the sampled data to knowledge structures stored in long-term memory. Matched knowledge structures then provide the pilot's assessment of the situation and serve to guide his attention. A number of cognitive biases that result from the knowledge matching process are discussed, as are implications for partial report measures of situation awareness.

Sleep facilitates learning a new linguistic rule

PubMed Central

Batterink, Laura J.; Oudiette, Delphine; Reber, Paul J.; Paller, Ken A.

2014-01-01

Natural languages contain countless regularities. Extraction of these patterns is an essential component of language acquisition. Here we examined the hypothesis that memory processing during sleep contributes to this learning. We exposed participants to a hidden linguistic rule by presenting a large number of two-word phrases, each including a noun preceded by one of four novel words that functioned as an article (e.g., gi rhino). These novel words (ul, gi, ro and ne) were presented as obeying an explicit rule: two words signified that the noun referent was relatively near, and two that it was relatively far. Undisclosed to participants was the fact that the novel articles also predicted noun animacy, with two of the articles preceding animate referents and the other two preceding inanimate referents. Rule acquisition was tested implicitly using a task in which participants responded to each phrase according to whether the noun was animate or inanimate. Learning of the hidden rule was evident in slower responses to phrases that violated the rule. Responses were delayed regardless of whether rule-knowledge was consciously accessible. Brain potentials provided additional confirmation of implicit and explicit rule-knowledge. An afternoon nap was interposed between two 20-min learning sessions. Participants who obtained greater amounts of both slow-wave and rapid-eye-movement sleep showed increased sensitivity to the hidden linguistic rule in the second session. We conclude that during sleep, reactivation of linguistic information linked with the rule was instrumental for stabilizing learning. The combination of slow-wave and rapid-eye-movement sleep may synergistically facilitate the abstraction of complex patterns in linguistic input. PMID:25447376

Animal behaviour shapes the ecological effects of ocean acidification and warming: moving from individual to community-level responses.

PubMed

Nagelkerken, Ivan; Munday, Philip L

2016-03-01

Biological communities are shaped by complex interactions between organisms and their environment as well as interactions with other species. Humans are rapidly changing the marine environment through increasing greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in ocean warming and acidification. The first response by animals to environmental change is predominantly through modification of their behaviour, which in turn affects species interactions and ecological processes. Yet, many climate change studies ignore animal behaviour. Furthermore, our current knowledge of how global change alters animal behaviour is mostly restricted to single species, life phases and stressors, leading to an incomplete view of how coinciding climate stressors can affect the ecological interactions that structure biological communities. Here, we first review studies on the effects of warming and acidification on the behaviour of marine animals. We demonstrate how pervasive the effects of global change are on a wide range of critical behaviours that determine the persistence of species and their success in ecological communities. We then evaluate several approaches to studying the ecological effects of warming and acidification, and identify knowledge gaps that need to be filled, to better understand how global change will affect marine populations and communities through altered animal behaviours. Our review provides a synthesis of the far-reaching consequences that behavioural changes could have for marine ecosystems in a rapidly changing environment. Without considering the pervasive effects of climate change on animal behaviour we will limit our ability to forecast the impacts of ocean change and provide insights that can aid management strategies. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Basic Instincts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simpson, Liz

2003-01-01

Two kinds of knowing are the slow, rational, analytic kind that comes from deliberate reasoning and the rapid, seemingly effortless, emotionally based intuitive kind. Intuition is an information processing style that can be extremely helpful as an adjunct to logical knowledge. (Author/JOW)

Cognitive Attributes, Attention, and Self-Efficacy of Adequate and Inadequate Responders in a Fourth Grade Reading Intervention

PubMed Central

Cho, Eunsoo; Roberts, Garrett J.; Capin, Philip; Roberts, Greg; Miciak, Jeremy; Vaughn, Sharon

2015-01-01

We examined cognitive attributes, attention, and self-efficacy of fourth grade struggling readers who were identified as adequate responders (n = 27), inadequate responders with comprehension only deficits (n = 46), and inadequate responders with comprehension and word reading deficits (n = 52) after receiving a multicomponent reading intervention. We also included typical readers (n = 40). These four groups were compared on measures of nonverbal reasoning, working memory, verbal knowledge, listening comprehension, phonological awareness, and rapid naming as well as on teacher ratings of attention problems and self-reported self-efficacy. The two inadequate responder groups demonstrated difficulties primarily with verbal knowledge and listening comprehension compared to typical readers and adequate responders. Phonological awareness and rapid naming differentiated the two inadequate responder groups. In addition, both inadequate responder groups showed more attention problems and low self-efficacy compared to typical readers. PMID:26997755

A brief history of vaccines: smallpox to the present.

PubMed

Hsu, Jennifer L

2013-01-01

Modern vaccine history began in the late 18th century with the discovery of smallpox immunization by Edward Jenner. This pivotal step led to substantial progress in prevention of infectious diseases with inactivated vaccines for multiple infectious diseases, including typhoid, plague and cholera. Each advance produced significant decreases in infection-associated morbidity and mortality, thus shaping our modem cultures. As knowledge of microbiology and immunology grew through the 20th century, techniques were developed for cell culture of viruses. This allowed for rapid advances in prevention of polio, varicella, influenza and others. Finally, recent research has led to development of alternative vaccine strategies through use of vectored antigens, pathogen subunits (purified proteins or polysaccharides) or genetically engineered antigens. As the science of vaccinology continues to rapidly evolve, knowledge of the past creates added emphasis on the importance of developing safe and effective strategies for infectious disease prevention in the 21st century.

A Subacute Care Intervention for Short-Stay Breast Cancer Surgery Self-Test Kit: Rapid Diagnosis of Urogenital Infections in Military Women

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-10-01

Stay Breast Cancer Surgery Self -Test Kit: Rapid Diagnosis of Urogenital Infections in Military Women PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Gwen K. Wyatt, R.N...the home and phone contacts) consisting of individual physical and psychological support, self -care, and education; and the control group, who receive...intervention and control group perceptions on the dimensions of physical functioning, anxiety status, quality of life, and self -care knowledge. C. Compare the

The Physician's Workstation: Recording a Physical Examination Using a Controlled Vocabulary

PubMed Central

Cimino, James J.; Barnett, G. Octo

1987-01-01

A system has been developed which runs on MS-DOS personal computers and serves as an experimental model of a physician's workstation. The program provides an interface to a controlled vocabulary which allows rapid selection of appropriate terms and modifiers for entry of clinical information. Because it captures patient descriptions, it has the ability to serve as an intermediary between the physician and computer-based medical knowledge resources. At present, the vocabulary permits rapid, reliable representation of cardiac physical examination findings.