48 CFR 9.403 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

...— Affiliates. Business concerns, organizations, or individuals are affiliates of each other if, directly or... management or ownership, identity of interests among family members, shared facilities and equipment, common.... Contractor means any individual or other legal entity that— (1) Directly or indirectly (e.g., through an...

Human milk sharing practices in the U.S.

PubMed

Palmquist, Aunchalee E L; Doehler, Kirsten

2016-04-01

The primary objective of this study is to describe human milk sharing practices in the U.S. Specifically, we examine milk sharing social networks, donor compensation, the prevalence of anonymous milk sharing interactions, recipients' concerns about specific milk sharing risks, and lay screening behaviors. Data on human milk sharing practices were collected via an online survey September 2013-March 2014. Chi-square analyses were used to test the association between risk perception and screening practices. A total of 867 (661 donors, 206 recipients) respondents were included in the analyses. Most (96.1%) reported sharing milk face-to-face. Only 10% of respondents reported giving or receiving milk through a non-profit human milk bank, respectively. There were no reports of anonymous purchases of human milk. A small proportion of recipients (4.0%) reported that their infant had a serious medical condition. Screening of prospective donors was common (90.7%) but varied with social relationship and familiarity. Likewise, concern about specific milk sharing risks was varied, and risk perception was significantly associated (P-values = 0.01 or less) with donor screening for all risk variables except diet. Understanding lay perceptions of milk sharing risk and risk reduction strategies that parents are using is an essential first step in developing public health interventions and clinical practices that promote infant safety. © 2015 The Authors. Maternal & Child Nutrition published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Communication pitfalls of traditional history and physical write-up documentation

PubMed Central

Brown, Jeffrey L

2017-01-01

Background An unofficial standardized “write-up” outline is commonly used for documenting history and physical examinations, giving oral presentations, and teaching clinical skills. Despite general acceptance, there is an apparent discrepancy between the way clinical encounters are conducted and how they are documented. Methods Fifteen medical school websites were randomly selected from search-engine generated lists. One example of a history and physical write-up from each of six sites, one teaching outline from each of nine additional sites, and recommendations for documentation made in two commonly used textbooks were compared for similarities and differences. Results Except for minor variations in documenting background information, all sampled materials utilized the same standardized format. When the examiners’ early perceptions of the patients’ degree of illness or level of distress were described, they were categorized as “general appearance” within the physical findings. Contrary to clinical practice, none of the examples or recommendations documented these early perceptions before chief concerns and history were presented. Discussion An examiner’s initial perceptions of a patient’s affect, degree of illness, and level of distress can influence the content of the history, triage decisions, and prioritization of likely diagnoses. When chief concerns and history are shared without benefit of this information, erroneous assumptions and miscommunications can result. Conclusion This survey confirms common use of a standardized outline for documenting, communicating, and teaching history-taking and physical examination protocol. The present outline shares early observations out of clinical sequence and may provide inadequate context for accurate interpretation of chief concerns and history. Corrective actions include modifying the documentation sequence to conform to clinical practice and teaching contextual methodology for sharing patient information. PMID:28096709

Where the Cloud Meets the Commons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ipri, Tom

2011-01-01

Changes presented by cloud computing--shared computing services, applications, and storage available to end users via the Internet--have the potential to seriously alter how libraries provide services, not only remotely, but also within the physical library, specifically concerning challenges facing the typical desktop computing experience.…

Biomedical Data Sharing and Reuse: Attitudes and Practices of Clinical and Scientific Research Staff.

PubMed

Federer, Lisa M; Lu, Ya-Ling; Joubert, Douglas J; Welsh, Judith; Brandys, Barbara

2015-01-01

Significant efforts are underway within the biomedical research community to encourage sharing and reuse of research data in order to enhance research reproducibility and enable scientific discovery. While some technological challenges do exist, many of the barriers to sharing and reuse are social in nature, arising from researchers' concerns about and attitudes toward sharing their data. In addition, clinical and basic science researchers face their own unique sets of challenges to sharing data within their communities. This study investigates these differences in experiences with and perceptions about sharing data, as well as barriers to sharing among clinical and basic science researchers. Clinical and basic science researchers in the Intramural Research Program at the National Institutes of Health were surveyed about their attitudes toward and experiences with sharing and reusing research data. Of 190 respondents to the survey, the 135 respondents who identified themselves as clinical or basic science researchers were included in this analysis. Odds ratio and Fisher's exact tests were the primary methods to examine potential relationships between variables. Worst-case scenario sensitivity tests were conducted when necessary. While most respondents considered data sharing and reuse important to their work, they generally rated their expertise as low. Sharing data directly with other researchers was common, but most respondents did not have experience with uploading data to a repository. A number of significant differences exist between the attitudes and practices of clinical and basic science researchers, including their motivations for sharing, their reasons for not sharing, and the amount of work required to prepare their data. Even within the scope of biomedical research, addressing the unique concerns of diverse research communities is important to encouraging researchers to share and reuse data. Efforts at promoting data sharing and reuse should be aimed at solving not only technological problems, but also addressing researchers' concerns about sharing their data. Given the varied practices of individual researchers and research communities, standardizing data practices like data citation and repository upload could make sharing and reuse easier.

Whose data set is it anyway? Sharing raw data from randomized trials.

PubMed

Vickers, Andrew J

2006-05-16

Sharing of raw research data is common in many areas of medical research, genomics being perhaps the most well-known example. In the clinical trial community investigators routinely refuse to share raw data from a randomized trial without giving a reason. Data sharing benefits numerous research-related activities: reproducing analyses; testing secondary hypotheses; developing and evaluating novel statistical methods; teaching; aiding design of future trials; meta-analysis; and, possibly, preventing error, fraud and selective reporting. Clinical trialists, however, sometimes appear overly concerned with being scooped and with misrepresentation of their work. Both possibilities can be avoided with simple measures such as inclusion of the original trialists as co-authors on any publication resulting from data sharing. Moreover, if we treat any data set as belonging to the patients who comprise it, rather than the investigators, such concerns fall away. Technological developments, particularly the Internet, have made data sharing generally a trivial logistical problem. Data sharing should come to be seen as an inherent part of conducting a randomized trial, similar to the way in which we consider ethical review and publication of study results. Journals and funding bodies should insist that trialists make raw data available, for example, by publishing data on the Web. If the clinical trial community continues to fail with respect to data sharing, we will only strengthen the public perception that we do clinical trials to benefit ourselves, not our patients.

Shared decision-making in epilepsy management.

PubMed

Pickrell, W O; Elwyn, G; Smith, P E M

2015-06-01

Policy makers, clinicians, and patients increasingly recognize the need for greater patient involvement in clinical decision-making. Shared decision-making helps address these concerns by providing a framework for clinicians and patients to make decisions together using the best evidence. Shared decision-making is applicable to situations where several acceptable options exist (clinical equipoise). Such situations occur commonly in epilepsy, for example, in decisions regarding the choice of medication, treatment in pregnancy, and medication withdrawal. A talk model is a way of implementing shared decision-making during consultations, and decision aids are useful tools to assist in the process. Although there is limited evidence available for shared decision-making in epilepsy, there are several benefits of shared decision-making in general including improved decision quality, more informed choices, and better treatment concordance. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Parallel Frames and Policy Narratives in Music Education and Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freer, Patrick K.

2012-01-01

The relationship between music education and physical education has often been portrayed as a competition for financial resources, student enrollment, instructional time, and community support. This article instead explores commonalities between the two disciplines, including their histories, curricular debates, shared concerns, mutual challenges,…

Internationalizing Career Counseling: Emptying Our Cups and Learning from Each Other

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartung, Paul J.

2005-01-01

The symposium International Perspectives on Career Development included a plenary session that addressed career counseling in a world of limited resources. Panelists representing diverse areas of the world shared their perspectives on career counseling in their countries and the specific problems they faced. They identified common concerns and…

Reflections of a Higher Education Leadership Coach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nardick, Daryl

2017-01-01

This article shares the insights the author has gained in coaching higher education leaders--department chairs, deans, vice presidents, and faculty--and their teams. It focuses on the attributes of higher education leadership and how the coaching process impacts these attributes; examines common areas of concern that surface during coaching, such…

Changing Course: Reflections of Second-Career Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Darrell

2011-01-01

This study examined the phenomenon of second-career teachers. The participants in this study shared their reflections concerning the motivating factors and common experiences associated with leaving established professions in order to pursue careers in teaching. The study also inquired into the process involved in professional preparation as well…

Creating and Implementing a Faculty Interest Group for Historically Underrepresented Faculty

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Follins, Lourdes D.; Paler, Lisa K.; Nanin, Jose E.

2015-01-01

This article describes the creation and implementation of a faculty interest group for historically underrepresented faculty at a large, urban community college in the Northeast. Faculty interest groups provide opportunities for faculty across disciplines to meet to explore common interests and share concerns and best practices. The faculty…

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

Lindsey, Nicholas C.

The growth of additive manufacturing as a disruptive technology poses nuclear proliferation concerns worthy of serious consideration. Additive manufacturing began in the early 1980s with technological advances in polymer manipulation, computer capabilities, and computer-aided design (CAD) modeling. It was originally limited to rapid prototyping; however, it eventually developed into a complete means of production that has slowly penetrated the consumer market. Today, additive manufacturing machines can produce complex and unique items in a vast array of materials including plastics, metals, and ceramics. These capabilities have democratized the manufacturing industry, allowing almost anyone to produce items as simple as cup holdersmore » or as complex as jet fuel nozzles. Additive manufacturing, or three-dimensional (3D) printing as it is commonly called, relies on CAD files created or shared by individuals with additive manufacturing machines to produce a 3D object from a digital model. This sharing of files means that a 3D object can be scanned or rendered as a CAD model in one country, and then downloaded and printed in another country, allowing items to be shared globally without physically crossing borders. The sharing of CAD files online has been a challenging task for the export controls regime to manage over the years, and additive manufacturing could make these transfers more common. In this sense, additive manufacturing is a disruptive technology not only within the manufacturing industry but also within the nuclear nonproliferation world. This paper provides an overview of additive manufacturing concerns of proliferation.« less

77 FR 1778 - U.S.-EU High Level Working Group on Jobs and Growth

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-11

... Commission President Barroso, and European Council President Von Rompuy directed the Transatlantic Economic... measures to increase U.S.-EU trade and investment to support mutually beneficial job creation, economic... development of rules and principles on global issues of common concern and also for the achievement of shared...

Retaining the Learning Disabled Adult. A Handbook for Adult Basic Education Instructors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawkins, Diane, Comp.

This handbook is designed to address teachers' most common concerns about learning disabilities (LDs) and teaching adults with LDs. Section 1 defines LDs by describing traits that adults with LDs share. Section 2 focuses on identification of students with LDs. LD characteristics are divided into eight categories: academics, speech/language, motor…

[The Tallinn Charter: health systems for health and wealth].

PubMed

Piotrowicz, Maria; Cianciara, Dorota; Wysocki, Mirosław J

2009-01-01

The article presents main issues of Tallinn Charter (2008) that concerns functioning health systems, theirs influence on health and wealth of society. Health systems are diverse, but share common set of functions. Theirs effective performance contribute, not only to improving health, but also to participation in labour market and socioeconomical development of country.

Is Fatigue a Common Crohn's Disease Symptom? What Can Be Done about It?

MedlinePlus

... to fatigue — either directly or by interfering with sleep. Seek psychological therapy. Consider talking to a doctor or a counselor about ways to manage fatigue and other psychological factors that can impact fatigue, ... foods and get adequate sleep. Be sure to share your concerns about fatigue ...

Undue influence of weight and shape: is it distinct from body dissatisfaction and concern about weight and shape?

PubMed

Wade, T D; Zhu, G; Martin, N G

2011-04-01

Three cognitive constructs are risk factors for eating disorders: undue influence of weight and shape, concern about weight and shape, and body dissatisfaction (BD). Undue influence, a diagnostic criterion for eating disorders, is postulated to be closely associated with self-esteem whereas BD is postulated to be closely associated with body mass index (BMI). We understand less about the relationships with concern about weight and shape. The aim of the current investigation was examine the degree of overlap across these five phenotypes in terms of latent genetic and environmental risk factors in order to draw some conclusions about the similarities and differences across the three cognitive variables. A sample of female Australian twins (n=1056, including 348 complete pairs), mean age 35 years (S.D.=2.11, range 28-40), completed a semi-structured interview about eating pathology and self-report questionnaires. An independent pathways model was used to investigate the overlap of genetic and environmental risk factors for the five phenotypes. In terms of variance that was not shared with other phenotypes, self-esteem emerged as being separate, with 100% of its variance unshared with the other phenotypes, followed by undue influence (51%) and then concern (34%), BD (28%) and BMI (32%). In terms of shared genetic risk, undue influence and concern were more closely related than BD, whereas BMI and BD were found to share common sources of risk. With respect to environmental risk factors, concern, BMI and BD were more closely related to each other than to undue influence.

The Policies and Practice of Preschoolers' Outdoor Play: A Chinese Perspective on Greeting the Millennium

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hu, Bi Ying; Kong, Zhaowei; Roberts, Sherron Killingsworth

2014-01-01

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) scholars and health professionals worldwide share a common concern about the decline in children's physical development and activity due to lack of access to good quality outdoor environments. Early childhood education and care facilities across the world have been affected by trends that are limiting…

Joint Solutions to Substance Abuse: Public Sector Employee Assistance Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

State and Local Government Labor-Management Committee, Washington, DC.

This short booklet is a joint expression by public sector labor and management that recognizes that neither side has all the answers to the problems of employee substance abuse and that both share a common concern for a successful outcome. The booklet summarizes the dimension of substance abuse in today's workplace; and it tries to encourage…

The Decomposition of Shared Environmental Influences on Externalizing Syndromes in the Swedish Population: A Multivariate Study.

PubMed

Ohlsson, Henrik; Kendler, Kenneth S; Lichtenstein, Paul; Sundquist, Jan; Sundquist, Kristina

2017-08-01

Using information from Swedish population registries, we attempt to decompose the shared environment (C) into four subcomponents: close family, family, household, and community. Among pairs differing in their genetic and geographical/household relationships, we examine three externalizing syndromes: drug abuse (DA), criminal behavior (CB), and alcohol use disorders (AUD). The best-fitting common pathway model suggested that total estimates for C were higher for DA (21% for males and 18% for females) than for AUD (16% and 14%) and CB (17% and 10%). Concerning syndrome-specific influences in males, close family effects were stronger for CB and AUD, while community effects were stronger for DA. The two C components in between community experiences and close family experiences (family and household) were estimated to almost entirely derive from the common latent factor. In females, among the four components of C, the community experiences were just slightly above zero, while the C components referred to as the household effect were almost zero. The total close family experiences were similar and most important across syndromes were also divided into common and specific components. For all syndromes, for both males and females, the effects of additive genetic factors were 2-4 times the size of the total effect of the shared environment. Applying standard methods to novel relationships, we expand our understanding of how the shared environment contributes to individual differences in three externalizing syndromes.

The Development and Status of Earth Science Education: A Comparison of Three Case Studies: Israel, England and Wales and the United States of America. Part II.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Orion, Nir; King, Chris; Krockover, Gerald H.; Adams, Paul E.

1999-01-01

Explores the development and status of earth-science education in the United States. Compares the U.S. case with those of Israel, England, and Wales. Discusses the need to share common concerns and visions between cultures and communities. Contains 45 references. (Author/WRM)

The Cognitive Domain. Contributions of Behavioral Science to Instructional Technology. Number Two. A Resource Book for Media Specialists.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Special Media Institutes.

The five papers which comprise this volume share a common interest in the relationship of the problems of instructional technology to the insights of the behavioral sciences. The first chapter is concerned with the applications of present knowledge and empirical methodology to the solution of particular behavioral problems, an activity that…

Creating a data resource: what will it take to build a medical information commons?

PubMed

Deverka, Patricia A; Majumder, Mary A; Villanueva, Angela G; Anderson, Margaret; Bakker, Annette C; Bardill, Jessica; Boerwinkle, Eric; Bubela, Tania; Evans, Barbara J; Garrison, Nanibaa' A; Gibbs, Richard A; Gentleman, Robert; Glazer, David; Goldstein, Melissa M; Greely, Hank; Harris, Crane; Knoppers, Bartha M; Koenig, Barbara A; Kohane, Isaac S; La Rosa, Salvatore; Mattison, John; O'Donnell, Christopher J; Rai, Arti K; Rehm, Heidi L; Rodriguez, Laura L; Shelton, Robert; Simoncelli, Tania; Terry, Sharon F; Watson, Michael S; Wilbanks, John; Cook-Deegan, Robert; McGuire, Amy L

2017-09-22

National and international public-private partnerships, consortia, and government initiatives are underway to collect and share genomic, personal, and healthcare data on a massive scale. Ideally, these efforts will contribute to the creation of a medical information commons (MIC), a comprehensive data resource that is widely available for both research and clinical uses. Stakeholder participation is essential in clarifying goals, deepening understanding of areas of complexity, and addressing long-standing policy concerns such as privacy and security and data ownership. This article describes eight core principles proposed by a diverse group of expert stakeholders to guide the formation of a successful, sustainable MIC. These principles promote formation of an ethically sound, inclusive, participant-centric MIC and provide a framework for advancing the policy response to data-sharing opportunities and challenges.

A Click Chemistry-Based Proteomic Approach Reveals that 1,2,4-Trioxolane and Artemisinin Antimalarials Share a Common Protein Alkylation Profile.

PubMed

Ismail, Hanafy M; Barton, Victoria E; Panchana, Matthew; Charoensutthivarakul, Sitthivut; Biagini, Giancarlo A; Ward, Stephen A; O'Neill, Paul M

2016-05-23

In spite of the recent increase in endoperoxide antimalarials under development, it remains unclear if all these chemotypes share a common mechanism of action. This is important since it will influence cross-resistance risks between the different classes. Here we investigate this proposition using novel clickable 1,2,4-trioxolane activity based protein-profiling probes (ABPPs). ABPPs with potent antimalarial activity were able to alkylate protein target(s) within the asexual erythrocytic stage of Plasmodium falciparum (3D7). Importantly, comparison of the alkylation fingerprint with that generated from an artemisinin ABPP equivalent confirms a highly conserved alkylation profile, with both endoperoxide classes targeting proteins in the glycolytic, hemoglobin degradation, antioxidant defence, protein synthesis and protein stress pathways, essential biological processes for plasmodial survival. The alkylation signatures of the two chemotypes show significant overlap (ca. 90 %) both qualitatively and semi-quantitatively, suggesting a common mechanism of action that raises concerns about potential cross-resistance liabilities.

Scalable Architecture for Federated Translational Inquiries Network (SAFTINet) Technology Infrastructure for a Distributed Data Network

PubMed Central

Schilling, Lisa M.; Kwan, Bethany M.; Drolshagen, Charles T.; Hosokawa, Patrick W.; Brandt, Elias; Pace, Wilson D.; Uhrich, Christopher; Kamerick, Michael; Bunting, Aidan; Payne, Philip R.O.; Stephens, William E.; George, Joseph M.; Vance, Mark; Giacomini, Kelli; Braddy, Jason; Green, Mika K.; Kahn, Michael G.

2013-01-01

Introduction: Distributed Data Networks (DDNs) offer infrastructure solutions for sharing electronic health data from across disparate data sources to support comparative effectiveness research. Data sharing mechanisms must address technical and governance concerns stemming from network security and data disclosure laws and best practices, such as HIPAA. Methods: The Scalable Architecture for Federated Translational Inquiries Network (SAFTINet) deploys TRIAD grid technology, a common data model, detailed technical documentation, and custom software for data harmonization to facilitate data sharing in collaboration with stakeholders in the care of safety net populations. Data sharing partners host TRIAD grid nodes containing harmonized clinical data within their internal or hosted network environments. Authorized users can use a central web-based query system to request analytic data sets. Discussion: SAFTINet DDN infrastructure achieved a number of data sharing objectives, including scalable and sustainable systems for ensuring harmonized data structures and terminologies and secure distributed queries. Initial implementation challenges were resolved through iterative discussions, development and implementation of technical documentation, governance, and technology solutions. PMID:25848567

Scalable Architecture for Federated Translational Inquiries Network (SAFTINet) Technology Infrastructure for a Distributed Data Network.

PubMed

Schilling, Lisa M; Kwan, Bethany M; Drolshagen, Charles T; Hosokawa, Patrick W; Brandt, Elias; Pace, Wilson D; Uhrich, Christopher; Kamerick, Michael; Bunting, Aidan; Payne, Philip R O; Stephens, William E; George, Joseph M; Vance, Mark; Giacomini, Kelli; Braddy, Jason; Green, Mika K; Kahn, Michael G

2013-01-01

Distributed Data Networks (DDNs) offer infrastructure solutions for sharing electronic health data from across disparate data sources to support comparative effectiveness research. Data sharing mechanisms must address technical and governance concerns stemming from network security and data disclosure laws and best practices, such as HIPAA. The Scalable Architecture for Federated Translational Inquiries Network (SAFTINet) deploys TRIAD grid technology, a common data model, detailed technical documentation, and custom software for data harmonization to facilitate data sharing in collaboration with stakeholders in the care of safety net populations. Data sharing partners host TRIAD grid nodes containing harmonized clinical data within their internal or hosted network environments. Authorized users can use a central web-based query system to request analytic data sets. SAFTINet DDN infrastructure achieved a number of data sharing objectives, including scalable and sustainable systems for ensuring harmonized data structures and terminologies and secure distributed queries. Initial implementation challenges were resolved through iterative discussions, development and implementation of technical documentation, governance, and technology solutions.

Genomic research and wide data sharing: views of prospective participants.

PubMed

Trinidad, Susan Brown; Fullerton, Stephanie M; Bares, Julie M; Jarvik, Gail P; Larson, Eric B; Burke, Wylie

2010-08-01

Sharing study data within the research community generates tension between two important goods: promoting scientific goals and protecting the privacy interests of study participants. This study was designed to explore the perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes of research participants and possible future participants regarding genome-wide association studies and repository-based research. Focus group sessions with (1) current research participants, (2) surrogate decision-makers, and (3) three age-defined cohorts (18-34 years, 35-50, >50). Participants expressed a variety of opinions about the acceptability of wide sharing of genetic and phenotypic information for research purposes through large, publicly accessible data repositories. Most believed that making de-identified study data available to the research community is a social good that should be pursued. Privacy and confidentiality concerns were common, although they would not necessarily preclude participation. Many participants voiced reservations about sharing data with for-profit organizations. Trust is central in participants' views regarding data sharing. Further research is needed to develop governance models that enact the values of stewardship.

Polycystic ovary syndrome and metabolic syndrome: the worrisome twosome?

PubMed

Shah, D; Rasool, S

2016-01-01

By virtue of insulin resistance being the common etiology for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and metabolic syndrome, the cardiometabolic risks of these two syndromes are shared. The usual concerns of a PCOS patient are cosmetic or reproductive. However, there are more serious concerns past the reproductive age. Early treatment of insulin resistance, hypertension and hyperlipidemia reduces the long-term risk. This review highlights the unhealthy association of metabolic syndrome with PCOS and emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis, patient education and long-term follow-up beyond the reproductive age into menopause to prevent the long-term serious co-morbidities.

National pilot audit of intermediate care.

PubMed

Hutchinson, Tom; Young, John; Forsyth, Duncan

2011-04-01

The National Service Framework for Older People resulted in the widespread introduction of intermediate care (IC) services. However, although these services have shared common aims, there has been considerable diversity in their staffing, organisation and delivery. Concerns have been raised regarding the clinical governance of IC with a paucity of data to evaluate the effectiveness, quality and safety of these services. This paper presents the results of a national pilot audit of IC services focusing particularly on clinical governance issues. The results confirm these concerns and provide support for a larger scale national audit of IC services to monitor and improve care quality.

Guia para Padres: Acceso a los Grupos de Padres (Accessing Parent Groups: A Parent's Guide).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Interstate Research Associates, McLean, VA.

This guide, in Spanish, notes the value of parent groups for parents of children with disabilities, as they offer parents a place and a means to share information, give and receive emotional support, and work as a team to address common concerns. Typical activities of a parent group are listed, and ways of identifying parent groups that exist…

Bridging the Gap 10 Years Later: A Tool and Technique to Analyze and Evaluate Advanced Academic Curricular Units

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beasley, Jennifer G.; Briggs, Christine; Pennington, Leighann

2017-01-01

The need for a shared vision concerning exemplary curricula for academically advanced learners must be a priority in the field of education. With the advent of the Common Core State Standards adoption in many states, a new conversation has been ignited over meeting the needs of students with gifts and talents for whom the "standard"…

Reverse audience effects on helping in cooperatively breeding marmoset monkeys.

PubMed

Brügger, R K; Kappeler-Schmalzriedt, T; Burkart, J M

2018-03-01

Cooperatively breeding common marmosets show substantial variation in the amount of help they provide. Pay-to-stay and social prestige models of helping attribute this variation to audience effects, i.e. that individuals help more if group members can witness their interactions with immatures, whereas models of kin selection, group augmentation or those stressing the need to gain parenting experience do not predict any audience effects. We quantified the readiness of adult marmosets to share food in the presence or absence of other group members. Contrary to both predictions, we found a reverse audience effect on food-sharing behaviour: marmosets would systematically share more food with immatures when no audience was present. Thus, helping in common marmosets, at least in related family groups, does not support the pay-to-stay or the social prestige model, and helpers do not take advantage of the opportunity to engage in reputation management. Rather, the results appear to reflect a genuine concern for the immatures' well-being, which seems particularly strong when solely responsible for the immatures. © 2018 The Author(s).

Do Online Privacy Concerns Predict Selfie Behavior among Adolescents, Young Adults and Adults?

PubMed Central

Dhir, Amandeep; Torsheim, Torbjørn; Pallesen, Ståle; Andreassen, Cecilie S.

2017-01-01

Selfies, or self-portraits, are often taken and shared on social media for online self-presentation reasons, which are considered essential for the psychosocial development and well-being of people in today’s culture. Despite the growing popularity and widespread sharing of selfies in the online space, little is known about how privacy concerns moderate selfie behavior. In addition to this, it is also not known whether privacy concerns across age and gender groups influence selfie behavior. To address this timely issue, a survey assessing common selfie behaviors, that is, frequency of taking (individual and group selfies), editing (cropping and filtering), and posting selfies online, and social media privacy concerns (over personal data being accessed and misused by third parties) was conducted. The web-survey was administered to 3,763 Norwegian social media users, ranging from 13 to 50 years, with a preponderance of women (n = 2,509, 66.7%). The present study investigated the impact of privacy concerns on selfie behaviors across gender and age groups (adolescent, young adult, and adult) by use of the structural equation modeling approach. The results suggest that young adults have greater privacy concerns compared to adolescents and adults. Females have greater privacy concerns than males. Greater privacy concerns among female social media users were linked to lower engagement in selfie behavior, but privacy concerns did not influence selfie behavior in the case of male adolescents and young adults. Overall, privacy concerns were more consistently and inversely related to selfie behavior (taking and posting) among females than males. The study results have theoretical as well as practical implications for both researchers and policy makers. PMID:28588530

Do Online Privacy Concerns Predict Selfie Behavior among Adolescents, Young Adults and Adults?

PubMed

Dhir, Amandeep; Torsheim, Torbjørn; Pallesen, Ståle; Andreassen, Cecilie S

2017-01-01

Selfies, or self-portraits, are often taken and shared on social media for online self-presentation reasons, which are considered essential for the psychosocial development and well-being of people in today's culture. Despite the growing popularity and widespread sharing of selfies in the online space, little is known about how privacy concerns moderate selfie behavior. In addition to this, it is also not known whether privacy concerns across age and gender groups influence selfie behavior. To address this timely issue, a survey assessing common selfie behaviors, that is, frequency of taking (individual and group selfies), editing (cropping and filtering), and posting selfies online, and social media privacy concerns (over personal data being accessed and misused by third parties) was conducted. The web-survey was administered to 3,763 Norwegian social media users, ranging from 13 to 50 years, with a preponderance of women ( n = 2,509, 66.7%). The present study investigated the impact of privacy concerns on selfie behaviors across gender and age groups (adolescent, young adult, and adult) by use of the structural equation modeling approach. The results suggest that young adults have greater privacy concerns compared to adolescents and adults. Females have greater privacy concerns than males. Greater privacy concerns among female social media users were linked to lower engagement in selfie behavior, but privacy concerns did not influence selfie behavior in the case of male adolescents and young adults. Overall, privacy concerns were more consistently and inversely related to selfie behavior (taking and posting) among females than males. The study results have theoretical as well as practical implications for both researchers and policy makers.

Lead, Arsenic, and Manganese Metal Mixture Exposures: Focus on Biomarkers of Effect.

PubMed

Andrade, V M; Mateus, M L; Batoréu, M C; Aschner, M; Marreilha dos Santos, A P

2015-07-01

The increasing exposure of human populations to excessive levels of metals continues to represent a matter of public health concern. Several biomarkers have been studied and proposed for the detection of adverse health effects induced by lead (Pb), arsenic (As), and manganese (Mn); however, these studies have relied on exposures to each single metal, which fails to replicate real-life exposure scenarios. These three metals are commonly detected in different environmental, occupational, and food contexts and they share common neurotoxic effects, which are progressive and once clinically apparent may be irreversible. Thus, chronic exposure to low levels of a mixture of these metals may represent an additive risk of toxicity. Building upon their shared mechanisms of toxicity, such as oxidative stress, interference with neurotransmitters, and effects on the hematopoietic system, we address putative biomarkers, which may assist in assessing the onset of neurological diseases associated with exposure to this metal mixture.

A Thomistic appraisal of human enhancement technologies.

PubMed

Eberl, Jason T

2014-08-01

Debate concerning human enhancement often revolves around the question of whether there is a common "nature" that all human beings share and which is unwarrantedly violated by enhancing one's capabilities beyond the "species-typical" norm. I explicate Thomas Aquinas's influential theory of human nature, noting certain key traits commonly shared among human beings that define each as a "person" who possesses inviolable moral status. Understanding the specific qualities that define the nature of human persons, which includes self-conscious awareness, capacity for intellective thought, and volitional autonomy, informs the ethical assessment of various forms of enhancement. Some forms of cognitive and physical enhancement may be desirable from the perspective of what constitutes the "flourishing" of human persons in our fundamental nature; while other forms of enhancement, such as emotive or so-called "moral" enhancement, run the risk of detracting from human flourishing when evaluated from the virtue-theoretic perspective Aquinas promotes.

Lead, arsenic and manganese metal mixture exposures: focus on biomarkers of effect

PubMed Central

Andrade, VL; Mateus, ML; Batoréu, MC; Aschner, M; Marreilha dos Santos, AP

2015-01-01

Summary The increasing exposure of human populations to excessive levels of metals continues to represent a matter of public health concern. Several biomarkers have been studied and proposed for the detection of adverse health effects induced by lead (Pb), arsenic (As) and manganese (Mn); however, these studies have relied on exposures to each single metal, which fails to replicate real-life exposure scenarios. These 3 metals are commonly detected in different environmental, occupational and food contexts and they share common neurotoxic effects, which are progressive and once clinically apparent may be irreversible. Thus, chronic exposure to low levels of a mixture of these metals represents an additive risk of toxicity. Building upon their shared mechanisms of toxicity, such as oxidative stress, interference with neurotransmitters and effects on hematopoietic system, we address putative biomarkers, which may be assist in assessing onset of neurological diseases associated with exposure to this metal mixture. PMID:25693681

Prevalence and correlates of antibiotic sharing in the Philippines: antibiotic misconceptions and community-level access to non-medical sources of antibiotics.

PubMed

Barber, Daniel A; Casquejo, Efren; Ybañez, Purita L; Pinote, Magdaleno T; Casquejo, Luz; Pinote, Lucia S; Estorgio, Magdalena; Young, April M

2017-05-01

To identify sociodemographic, knowledge and attitudinal correlates to antibiotic sharing among a community-based sample of adults (age 18 and older) in a low-income setting of the Philippines and to explore community-level data on informal antibiotic distribution in roadside stands (i.e., sari-sari stands). Participants (n = 307) completed self-administered surveys. Correlates to antibiotic sharing were assessed using logistic regression with Firth's bias-adjusted estimates. Study staff also visited 106 roadside stands and collected data on availability and characteristics of antibiotics in the stands. 78% had shared antibiotics in their lifetime, most often with family members. In multivariable analysis, agreement with the belief that it is safe to prematurely stop an antibiotic course (OR: 2.8, CI: 1.3-5.8) and concerns about antibiotic side effects (OR: 2.1, CI: 1.1-4.4) were significantly associated with increased odds of reported antibiotic sharing. Antibiotic sharing was not associated with sociodemographic characteristics or antibiotic knowledge. Antibiotics were widely available in 60% of sampled sari-sari stands, in which 59% of antibiotics were missing expiration dates. Amoxicillin and cephalexin were the most commonly available antibiotics for sale at the stands (60% and 21%, respectively). Antibiotic sharing was common and was associated with misconceptions about proper antibiotic use. Antibiotics were widely available in sari-sari stands, and usually without expiration information. This study suggests that multipronged and locally tailored approaches to curbing informal antibiotic access are needed in the Philippines and similar Southeast-Asian countries. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Accounting for female space sharing in St. Kilda Soay sheep (Ovis aries) results in little change in heritability estimates.

PubMed

Regan, C E; Pilkington, J G; Bérénos, C; Pemberton, J M; Smiseth, P T; Wilson, A J

2017-01-01

When estimating heritability in free-living populations, it is common practice to account for common environment effects, because of their potential to generate phenotypic covariance among relatives thereby biasing heritability estimates. In quantitative genetic studies of natural populations, however, philopatry, which results in relatives being clustered in space, is rarely accounted for. The two studies that have been carried out so far suggest absolute declines in heritability estimates of up to 43% when accounting for space sharing by relatives. However, due to methodological limitations these estimates may not be representative. We used data from the St. Kilda Soay sheep population to estimate heritabilities with and without accounting for space sharing for five traits for which there is evidence for additive genetic variance (birthweight, birth date, lamb August weight, and female post-mortem jaw and metacarpal length). We accounted for space sharing by related females by separately incorporating spatial autocorrelation, and a home range similarity matrix. Although these terms accounted for up to 18% of the variance in these traits, heritability estimates were only reduced by up to 7%. Our results suggest that the bias caused by not accounting for space sharing may be lower than previously thought. This suggests that philopatry does not inevitably lead to a large bias if space sharing by relatives is not accounted for. We hope our work stimulates researchers to model shared space when relatives in their study population share space, as doing so will enable us to better understand when bias may be of particular concern. © 2016 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2016 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

A Five State Salary Survey of Postsecondary Vocational Technical Educators in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming. A Descriptive Study of Reflective Criteria for Remuneration of Educational Personnel.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahl, John E.; Rutledge, Roger A.

This study was designed to seek a solution to a common concern of postsecondary vocational technical institutions in five states, namely, the remuneration of educational personnel. The five states included in the survey had similar characteristics and conditions, and shared the problems of competition for capable staff and the availability of…

A twin study of body dysmorphic concerns.

PubMed

Monzani, B; Rijsdijk, F; Anson, M; Iervolino, A C; Cherkas, L; Spector, T; Mataix-Cols, D

2012-09-01

Dysmorphic concern refers to an excessive preoccupation with a perceived or slight defect in physical appearance. It lies on a continuum of severity from no or minimal concerns to severe concerns over one's appearance. The present study examined the heritability of dysmorphic concerns in a large sample of twins. Twins from the St Thomas UK twin registry completed a valid and reliable self-report measure of dysmorphic concerns, which also includes questions about perceived body odour and malfunction. Twin modelling methods (female twins only, n=3544) were employed to decompose the variance in the liability to dysmorphic concerns into additive genetic, shared and non-shared environmental factors. Model-fitting analyses showed that genetic factors accounted for approximately 44% [95% confidence intervals (CI) 36-50%] of the variance in dysmorphic concerns, with non-shared environmental factors and measurement error accounting for the remaining variance (56%; 95% CI 50-63%). Shared environmental factors were negligible. The results remained unchanged when excluding individuals reporting an objective medical condition/injury accounting for their concern in physical appearance. Over-concern with a perceived or slight defect in physical appearance is a heritable trait, with non-shared environmental factors also playing an important role in its causation. The results are relevant for various psychiatric disorders characterized by excessive concerns in body appearance, odour or function, including but not limited to body dysmorphic disorder.

Environmental health collaboration: United States and Russia.

PubMed

Rubin, C H; Jones, R L; Revich, B; Avaliani, S L; Gurvich, E

2003-08-01

Developed nations share similar challenges to human health from commercial and agricultural chemicals that are released into the environment. Although Russia and the United States are historically distinct and unique, both countries are geographically large and economically dependent on emission-producing surface transportation. This paper describes U.S.-Russian collaborative activities that grew from a 1995 conference in Moscow that brought together environmental health investigators from both countries to discuss common concerns about the human health impact of environmental pollutants. Lead, pesticides, volatile organic compounds, and mercury were identified as contaminants of greatest concern. Collaborative studies were initiated that included collecting blood and hair samples and splitting samples for analyses in both countries, and introducing and sharing new portable blood and environmental sample analyses instruments. The findings demonstrated that hair analysis was not a good predictor of BLL and that Russian children in the first city sampled had a mean BLL of 7.7 microg/dl. Although higher than the U.S. mean, this level was below the 10.0 microg/dl CDC level of concern. This manuscript summarizes additional study results and describes their impacts on Russian policy. On-going collaborative environmental investigations are described.

Identifying the factors affecting bike-sharing usage and degree of satisfaction in Ningbo, China

PubMed Central

Guo, Yanyong; Zhou, Jibiao; Wu, Yao; Li, Zhibin

2017-01-01

The boom in bike-sharing is receiving growing attention as societies become more aware of the importance of active non-motorized traffic modes. However, the low usage of this transport mode in China raises concerns. The primary objective of this study is to explore factors affecting bike-sharing usage and satisfaction degree of bike-sharing among the bike-sharing user population in China. Data were collected by a questionnaire survey in Ningbo. A bivariate ordered probit (BOP) model was developed to examine simultaneously those factors associated with both bike-sharing usage and satisfaction degree of bike-sharing among users. Marginal effects for contributory factors were calculated to quantify their impacts on the outcomes. The results showed that the BOP model can account for commonly shared unobserved characteristics within usage and satisfaction of bike-sharing. The BOP model results showed that the usage of bike-sharing was affected by gender, household bicycle/e-bike ownership, trip model, travel time, bike-sharing stations location, and users’ perception of bike-sharing. The satisfaction degree of bike-sharing was affected by household income, bike-sharing stations location, and users’ perception of bike-sharing. It is also found that bike-sharing usage and satisfaction degree are strongly correlated and positive in direction. The results can enhance our comprehension of the factors that affect usage and satisfaction degree of bike-sharing. Based on the results, some suggestions regarding planning, engineering, and public advocacy were discussed to increase the usage of bike-sharing in Ningbo, China. PMID:28934321

Report of the Geriatrics-Hospice and Palliative Medicine Work Group: American Geriatrics Society and American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine leadership collaboration.

PubMed

2012-03-01

Although the fields of hospice and palliative medicine and geriatrics have developed from separate origins, they share much in common. They share concerns for optimizing care of older adults with advanced illness. They both seek to address the common problem of care fragmentation for those with chronic illness. Both subspecialties see the patient and their loved ones as a unit requiring thoughtful, integrated care, rather than seeing the patient as a cluster of organ systems and conditions. The fields also share many core principles, including an emphasis on interdisciplinary care and care coordination. As increasing emphasis is placed on the medical home, chronic and advanced illness care, and systems changes to decrease care fragmentation, geriatrics and hospice and palliative medicine stand to benefit by blending efforts and common interests to improve care for patients and their loved ones. In 2009, a collaborative effort was begun involving the leadership of the American Geriatrics Society, the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, and the John A. Hartford Foundation. The goal of the collaboration was to convene leaders in geriatrics and hospice and palliative medicine to identify areas of potential synergy between the two subspecialties and to design a plan for exploring and developing these areas of common interest. This article describes the progress of the collaborative effort to date. © 2012, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2012, The American Geriatrics Society.

Hidden concerns of sharing research data by low/middle-income country scientists.

PubMed

Bezuidenhout, Louise; Chakauya, Ereck

2018-01-01

There has considerable interest in bringing low/middle-income countries (LMIC) scientists into discussions on Open Data - both as contributors and users. The establishment of in situ data sharing practices within LMIC research institutions is vital for the development of an Open Data landscape in the Global South. Nonetheless, many LMICs have significant challenges - resource provision, research support and extra-laboratory infrastructures. These low-resourced environments shape data sharing activities, but are rarely examined within Open Data discourse. In particular, little attention is given to how these research environments shape scientists' perceptions of data sharing (dis)incentives. This paper expands on these issues of incentivizing data sharing, using data from a quantitative survey disseminated to life scientists in 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This interrogated not only perceptions of data sharing amongst LMIC scientists, but also how these are connected to the research environments and daily challenges experienced by them. The paper offers a series of analysis around commonly cited (dis)incentives such as data sharing as a means of improving research visibility; sharing and funding; and online connectivity. It identifies key areas that the Open Data community need to consider if true openness in research is to be established in the Global South.

Contexts as Shared Commitments

PubMed Central

García-Carpintero, Manuel

2015-01-01

Contemporary semantics assumes two influential notions of context: one coming from Kaplan (1989), on which contexts are sets of predetermined parameters, and another originating in Stalnaker (1978), on which contexts are sets of propositions that are “common ground.” The latter is deservedly more popular, given its flexibility in accounting for context-dependent aspects of language beyond manifest indexicals, such as epistemic modals, predicates of taste, and so on and so forth; in fact, properly dealing with demonstratives (perhaps ultimately all indexicals) requires that further flexibility. Even if we acknowledge Lewis (1980)'s point that, in a sense, Kaplanian contexts already include common ground contexts, it is better to be clear and explicit about what contexts constitutively are. Now, Stalnaker (1978, 2002, 2014) defines context-as-common-ground as a set of propositions, but recent work shows that this is not an accurate conception. The paper explains why, and provides an alternative. The main reason is that several phenomena (presuppositional treatments of pejoratives and predicates of taste, forces other than assertion) require that the common ground includes non-doxastic attitudes such as appraisals, emotions, etc. Hence the common ground should not be taken to include merely contents (propositions), but those together with attitudes concerning them: shared commitments, as I will defend. PMID:26733087

Holding Back, Intimacy, and Psychological and Relationship Outcomes Among Couples Coping With Prostate Cancer

PubMed Central

Manne, Sharon L.; Zaider, Talia; Lee, David; Kissane, David; Kashy, Deborah; Heckman, Carolyn; Virtue, Shannon Myers

2016-01-01

The present study evaluated intimacy as a mechanism for the effects of holding back sharing concerns about cancer on couples’ psychological distress, well-being, and marital satisfaction using the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM), and evaluated 2 possible moderators of these associations: the number of patient and spouse cancer concerns. We had 139 men treated for localized prostate cancer in the past year and their spouses complete surveys about holding back sharing cancer concerns, intimacy, distress, and relationship satisfaction, as well as patient and spouse cancer concerns. APIM-indicated that the association between holding back sharing concerns, and patient and spouse distress, well-being, and relationship satisfaction could be partially accounted for by their influence on patient and spouse perceptions of relationship intimacy. The number of cancer concerns did not moderate the mediational model. Holding back has strong associations with both partners’ well-being and distress. Holding back sharing concerns was particularly detrimental for couples’ intimacy and relationship satisfaction. PMID:26192132

A reconfigurable common spare for co-located direct television broadcasting satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roederer, A.; Fromm, H.-H.; Berretta, G.

1984-10-01

Spare spacecraft are needed to assure continuous operation in broadcasting services provided with the aid of satellites. The present investigation is concerned with the employment of a common spare approach in which two or three countries share one or several spare spacecraft that can support or temporarily replace any of the prime satellites. Such common spares would have to be reconfigurable to adapt their antenna coverage and polarization, as well as their operating frequencies and possibly their RF output power, to the corresponding parameters assigned to the country to be served. The considered concept is discussed, taking into account questions related to system and transponder, a repointable antenna with a few feed horns, a fixed antenna (apart from fine pointing) with more feeds, and a reconfigurable broadcast payload for a common spare. A common spare for France, Germany, and Italy is considered along with a common spare for the United Kingdom and Spain.

The concept of shared mental models in healthcare collaboration.

PubMed

McComb, Sara; Simpson, Vicki

2014-07-01

To report an analysis of the concept of shared mental models in health care. Shared mental models have been described as facilitators of effective teamwork. The complexity and criticality of the current healthcare system requires shared mental models to enhance safe and effective patient/client care. Yet, the current concept definition in the healthcare literature is vague and, therefore, difficult to apply consistently in research and practice. Concept analysis. Literature for this concept analysis was retrieved from several databases, including CINAHL, PubMed and MEDLINE (EBSCO Interface), for the years 1997-2013. Walker and Avant's approach to concept analysis was employed and, following Paley's guidance, embedded in extant theory from the team literature. Although teamwork and collaboration are discussed frequently in healthcare literature, the concept of shared mental models in that context is not as commonly found but is increasing in appearance. Our concept analysis defines shared mental models as individually held knowledge structures that help team members function collaboratively in their environments and are comprised of the attributes of content, similarity, accuracy and dynamics. This theoretically grounded concept analysis provides a foundation for a middle-range descriptive theory of shared mental models in nursing and health care. Further research concerning the impact of shared mental models in the healthcare setting can result in development and refinement of shared mental models to support effective teamwork and collaboration. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Pathogen and rodenticide exposure in American badgers (Taxidea taxus) in California.

PubMed

Quinn, Jessica H; Girard, Yvette A; Gilardi, Kirsten; Hernandez, Yvette; Poppenga, Robert; Chomel, Bruno B; Foley, Janet E; Johnson, Christine K

2012-04-01

Urban and agricultural land use may increase the risk of disease transmission among wildlife, domestic animals, and humans as we share ever-shrinking and fragmented habitat. American badgers (Taxidae taxus), a species of special concern in California, USA, live in proximity to urban development and often share habitat with livestock and small peridomestic mammals. As such, they may be susceptible to pathogens commonly transmitted at this interface and to anticoagulant rodenticides used to control nuisance wildlife on agricultural lands. We evaluated free-ranging badgers in California for exposure to pathogens and anticoagulant rodenticides that pose a risk to wildlife, domestic animals, or public health. We found serologic evidence of badger exposure to Francisella tularensis, Toxoplasma gondii, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, canine distemper virus, and three Bartonella species: B. henselae, B. clarridgeiae, and B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii. Badger tissues contained anticoagulant rodenticides brodifacoum and bromadiolone, commonly used to control periurban rodent pests. These data provide a preliminary investigation of pathogen and toxicant exposure in the wild badger population.

Recognition in context: Implications for trade mark law.

PubMed

Humphreys, Michael S; McFarlane, Kimberley A; Burt, Jennifer S; Kelly, Sarah J; Weatherall, Kimberlee G; Burrell, Robert G

2017-10-01

Context effects in recognition have played a major role in evaluating theories of recognition. Understanding how context impacts recognition is also important for making sound trade mark law. Consumers attempting to discriminate between the brand they are looking for and a look-alike product often have to differentiate products which share a great deal of common context: positioning on the supermarket shelf, the type of store, aspects of the packaging, or brand claims. Trade mark and related laws aim to protect brands and reduce consumer confusion, but courts assessing allegations of trade mark infringement often lack careful empirical evidence concerning the impact of brand and context similarity, and, in the absence of such evidence, make assumptions about how consumers respond to brands that downplay the importance of context and focus on the similarity of registered marks. The experiments reported in this paper aimed to test certain common assumptions in trade mark law, providing evidence that shared context can cause mistakes even where brand similarity is low.

Specific electrophysiological components disentangle affective sharing and empathic concern in psychopathy.

PubMed

Decety, Jean; Lewis, Kimberly L; Cowell, Jason M

2015-07-01

Empathic impairment is one of the hallmarks of psychopathy, a personality dimension associated with poverty in affective reactions, lack of attachment to others, and a callous disregard for the feelings, rights, and welfare of others. Neuroscience research on the relation between empathy and psychopathy has predominately focused on the affective sharing and cognitive components of empathy in forensic populations, and much less on empathic concern. The current study used high-density electroencephalography in a community sample to examine the spatiotemporal neurodynamic responses when viewing people in physical distress under two subjective contexts: one evoking affective sharing, the other, empathic concern. Results indicate that early automatic (175-275 ms) and later controlled responses (LPP 400-1,000 ms) were differentially modulated by engagement in affective sharing or empathic concern. Importantly, the late event-related potentials (ERP) component was significantly impacted by dispositional empathy and psychopathy, but the early component was not. Individual differences in dispositional empathic concern directly predicted gamma coherence (25-40 Hz), whereas psychopathy was inversely modulatory. Interestingly, significant suppression in the mu/alpha band (8-13 Hz) when perceiving others in distress was positively associated with higher trait psychopathy, which argues against the assumption that sensorimotor resonance underpins empathy. Greater scores on trait psychopathy were inversely related to subjective ratings of both empathic concern and affective sharing. Overall, the study demonstrates that neural markers of affective sharing and empathic concern to the same cues of another's distress can be distinguished at an electrophysiological level, and that psychopathy alters later time-locked differentiations and spectral coherence associated with empathic concern. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

Specific electrophysiological components disentangle affective sharing and empathic concern in psychopathy

PubMed Central

Lewis, Kimberly L.; Cowell, Jason M.

2015-01-01

Empathic impairment is one of the hallmarks of psychopathy, a personality dimension associated with poverty in affective reactions, lack of attachment to others, and a callous disregard for the feelings, rights, and welfare of others. Neuroscience research on the relation between empathy and psychopathy has predominately focused on the affective sharing and cognitive components of empathy in forensic populations, and much less on empathic concern. The current study used high-density electroencephalography in a community sample to examine the spatiotemporal neurodynamic responses when viewing people in physical distress under two subjective contexts: one evoking affective sharing, the other, empathic concern. Results indicate that early automatic (175–275 ms) and later controlled responses (LPP 400–1,000 ms) were differentially modulated by engagement in affective sharing or empathic concern. Importantly, the late event-related potentials (ERP) component was significantly impacted by dispositional empathy and psychopathy, but the early component was not. Individual differences in dispositional empathic concern directly predicted gamma coherence (25–40 Hz), whereas psychopathy was inversely modulatory. Interestingly, significant suppression in the mu/alpha band (8–13 Hz) when perceiving others in distress was positively associated with higher trait psychopathy, which argues against the assumption that sensorimotor resonance underpins empathy. Greater scores on trait psychopathy were inversely related to subjective ratings of both empathic concern and affective sharing. Overall, the study demonstrates that neural markers of affective sharing and empathic concern to the same cues of another's distress can be distinguished at an electrophysiological level, and that psychopathy alters later time-locked differentiations and spectral coherence associated with empathic concern. PMID:25948868

Culture and Moral Distress: What's the Connection and Why Does It Matter?

PubMed

Berlinger, Nancy; Berlinger, Annalise

2017-06-01

Culture is learned behavior shared among members of a group and from generation to generation within that group. In health care work, references to "culture" may also function as code for ethical uncertainty or moral distress concerning patients, families, or populations. This paper analyzes how culture can be a factor in patient-care situations that produce moral distress. It discusses three common, problematic situations in which assumptions about culture may mask more complex problems concerning family dynamics, structural barriers to health care access, or implicit bias. We offer sets of practical recommendations to encourage learning, critical thinking, and professional reflection among students, clinicians, and clinical educators. © 2017 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.

Elephantiasis, elastin, and chronic wound healing: 19th century and contemporary viewpoints relevant to hypotheses concerning lymphedema, leprosy, erysipelas, and psoriasis--review and reflections.

PubMed

Ryan, T J

2009-03-01

Both wound healing and lymphedema have fibrosis of the skin in common. They also share destruction of elastin by elastases from neutrophils as a significant feature. These are not new observations, and the writings of Unna and Kaposi are recalled. The contemporary observations on elastin by Gerli and his team are discussed in the light of these much earlier opinions.

A common ground in clinical discussion groups: Intersubjective resonance and implicit operational theories.

PubMed

Bernardi, Ricardo

2017-10-01

Clinical discussion groups based on the Three-Level Model for Observing Patient Transformations (3-LM) enable us to reflect on the clinical common ground shared by psychoanalysts who have different theoretical frameworks. The very existence of this common ground is controversial. While analysts such as Wallerstein support it, others, like Green, think it is just a myth. In their 2005 controversy Wallerstein and Green proposed an observation procedure that might clarify this matter. This procedure bears great similarity to the one used by clinical discussion groups that apply the 3-LM. The study of numerous theoretically heterogeneous groups that use this model shows that communication is possible in crucial areas. We may thus conclude that a partial and dynamic common ground exists. At a phenomenological level, certain fragments of material produce a shared resonance that enriches clinical understanding for the whole group. Communication is also possible with regard to the conceptualization of patient changes, although some controversial issues persist at this level. Finally, at the level of theoretical explanations, divergences concerning abstract theories do not prevent a fertile interaction among 'in vivo' personal implicit theories. The latter give rise to the actual operational frameworks underlying participants' approach to clinical problems. Copyright © 2017 Institute of Psychoanalysis.

Multi-Stakeholder Decision Aid for Improved Prioritization of the Public Health Impact of Climate Sensitive Infectious Diseases

PubMed Central

Hongoh, Valerie; Michel, Pascal; Gosselin, Pierre; Samoura, Karim; Ravel, André; Campagna, Céline; Cissé, Hassane Djibrilla; Waaub, Jean-Philippe

2016-01-01

The effects of climate change on infectious diseases are an important global health concern and necessitate decisions for allocation of resources. Economic tools have been used previously; however, how prioritization results might differ when done using broader considerations identified by local stakeholders has yet to be assessed. A multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach was used to assess multi-stakeholder expressed concerns around disease prioritization via focus groups held in Quebec and Burkina Faso. Stakeholders weighted criteria and comparisons were made across study sites. A pilot disease prioritization was done to examine effects on disease rankings. A majority of identified criteria were common to both sites. The effect of context specific criteria and weights resulted in similar yet distinct prioritizations of diseases. The presence of consistent criteria between sites suggests that common concerns exist for prioritization; however, context-specific adjustments reveal much regarding resource availability, capacity and concerns that should be considered as this impacts disease ranking. Participatory decision aid approaches facilitate rich knowledge exchange and problem structuring. Furthermore, given multiple actors in low- and middle-income countries settings, multi-actor collaborations across non-governmental organizations, local government and community are important. Formal mechanisms such as MCDA provide means to foster consensus, shared awareness and collaboration. PMID:27077875

Comparing human papillomavirus vaccine concerns on Twitter: a cross-sectional study of users in Australia, Canada and the UK

PubMed Central

Shapiro, Gilla K; Surian, Didi; Dunn, Adam G; Perry, Ryan; Kelaher, Margaret

2017-01-01

Objective Opposition to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is common on social media and has the potential to impact vaccine coverage. This study aims to conduct an international comparison of the proportions of tweets about HPV vaccines that express concerns, the types of concerns expressed and the social connections among users posting about HPV vaccines in Australia, Canada and the UK. Design Using a cross-sectional design, an international comparison of English language tweets about HPV vaccines and social connections among Twitter users posting about HPV vaccines between January 2014 and April 2016 was conducted. The Health Belief Model, one of the most widely used theories in health psychology, was used as the basis for coding the types of HPV vaccine concerns expressed on Twitter. Setting The content of tweets and the social connections between users who posted tweets about HPV vaccines from Australia, Canada and the UK. Population 16 789 Twitter users who posted 43 852 tweets about HPV vaccines. Main outcome measures The proportions of tweets expressing concern, the type of concern expressed and the proportions of local and international social connections between users. Results Tweets expressing concerns about HPV vaccines made up 14.9% of tweets in Canada, 19.4% in Australia and 22.6% in the UK. The types of concerns expressed were similar across the three countries, with concerns related to ‘perceived barriers’ being the most common. Users expressing concerns about HPV vaccines in each of the three countries had a relatively high proportion of international followers also expressing concerns. Conclusions The proportions and types of HPV vaccine concerns expressed on Twitter were similar across the three countries. Twitter users who mostly expressed concerns about HPV vaccines were better connected to international users who shared their concerns compared with users who did not express concerns about HPV vaccines. PMID:28982821

Comparing human papillomavirus vaccine concerns on Twitter: a cross-sectional study of users in Australia, Canada and the UK.

PubMed

Shapiro, Gilla K; Surian, Didi; Dunn, Adam G; Perry, Ryan; Kelaher, Margaret

2017-10-05

Opposition to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is common on social media and has the potential to impact vaccine coverage. This study aims to conduct an international comparison of the proportions of tweets about HPV vaccines that express concerns, the types of concerns expressed and the social connections among users posting about HPV vaccines in Australia, Canada and the UK. Using a cross-sectional design, an international comparison of English language tweets about HPV vaccines and social connections among Twitter users posting about HPV vaccines between January 2014 and April 2016 was conducted. The Health Belief Model, one of the most widely used theories in health psychology, was used as the basis for coding the types of HPV vaccine concerns expressed on Twitter. The content of tweets and the social connections between users who posted tweets about HPV vaccines from Australia, Canada and the UK. 16 789 Twitter users who posted 43 852 tweets about HPV vaccines. The proportions of tweets expressing concern, the type of concern expressed and the proportions of local and international social connections between users. Tweets expressing concerns about HPV vaccines made up 14.9% of tweets in Canada, 19.4% in Australia and 22.6% in the UK. The types of concerns expressed were similar across the three countries, with concerns related to 'perceived barriers' being the most common. Users expressing concerns about HPV vaccines in each of the three countries had a relatively high proportion of international followers also expressing concerns. The proportions and types of HPV vaccine concerns expressed on Twitter were similar across the three countries. Twitter users who mostly expressed concerns about HPV vaccines were better connected to international users who shared their concerns compared with users who did not express concerns about HPV vaccines. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Cross-industry Performance Modeling: Toward Cooperative Analysis

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

Reece, Wendy Jane; Blackman, Harold Stabler

One of the current unsolved problems in human factors is the difficulty in acquiring information from lessons learned and data collected among human performance analysts in different domains. There are several common concerns and generally accepted issues of importance for human factors, psychology and industry analysts of performance and safety. Among these are the need to incorporate lessons learned in design, to carefully consider implementation of new designs and automation, and the need to reduce human performance-based contributions to risk. In spite of shared concerns, there are several roadblocks to widespread sharing of data and lessons learned from operating experiencemore » and simulation, including the fact that very few publicly accessible data bases exist (Gertman & Blackman, 1994, and Kirwan, 1997). There is a need to draw together analysts and analytic methodologies to comprise a centralized source of data with sufficient detail to be meaningful while ensuring source anonymity. We propose that a generic source of performance data and a multi-domain data store may provide the first steps toward cooperative performance modeling and analysis across industries.« less

Cross-Industry Performance Modeling: Toward Cooperative Analysis

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

H. S. Blackman; W. J. Reece

One of the current unsolved problems in human factors is the difficulty in acquiring information from lessons learned and data collected among human performance analysts in different domains. There are several common concerns and generally accepted issues of importance for human factors, psychology and industry analysts of performance and safety. Among these are the need to incorporate lessons learned in design, to carefully consider implementation of new designs and automation, and the need to reduce human performance-based contributions to risk. In spite of shared concerns, there are several road blocks to widespread sharing of data and lessons learned from operatingmore » experience and simulation, including the fact that very few publicly accessible data bases exist(Gertman & Blackman, 1994, and Kirwan, 1997). There is a need to draw together analysts and analytic methodologies to comprise a centralized source of data with sufficient detail to be meaningful while ensuring source anonymity. We propose that a generic source of performance data and a multi-domain data store may provide the first steps toward cooperative performance modeling and analysis across industries.« less

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Depressive Symptoms in Chinese Adolescents

PubMed Central

Chen, Jie; Li, Xinying; Natsuaki, Misaki N.; Leve, Leslie D.; Harold, Gordon T.

2016-01-01

Adolescent depression is common and has become a major public health concern in China, yet little research has examined the etiology of depression in Chinese adolescents. In the present study, genetic and environmental influences on Chinese adolescent depressive symptoms were investigated in 1181 twin pairs residing in Beijing, China (ages 11 to 19 years). Child- and parent-versions of the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) were used to measure adolescents’ depressive symptoms. For self-reports, genetic factors, shared environmental factors, and non-shared environmental factors accounted for 50%, 5%, and 45% of the variation in depressive symptoms, respectively; for parent-reports, genetic factors, shared environmental factors, and non-shared environmental factors accounted for 51%, 18%, and 31% of the variation, respectively. These estimates are generally consistent with previous findings in Western adolescents, supporting the cross-cultural generalizability of etiological model of adolescent depression. Neither qualitative nor quantitative sex differences were found in the etiological model. Future studies are needed to investigate how genes and environments work together (gene-environment interaction, gene-environment correlation) to influence depression in Chinese adolescents. PMID:24311200

Genetic and environmental influences on depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents.

PubMed

Chen, Jie; Li, Xinying; Natsuaki, Misaki N; Leve, Leslie D; Harold, Gordon T

2014-01-01

Adolescent depression is common and has become a major public health concern in China, yet little research has examined the etiology of depression in Chinese adolescents. In the present study, genetic and environmental influences on Chinese adolescent depressive symptoms were investigated in 1,181 twin pairs residing in Beijing, China (ages 11-19 years). Child- and parent-versions of the children's depression inventory were used to measure adolescents' depressive symptoms. For self-reports, genetic factors, shared environmental factors, and non-shared environmental factors accounted for 50, 5, and 45 % of the variation in depressive symptoms, respectively; for parent-reports, genetic factors, shared environmental factors, and non-shared environmental factors accounted for 51, 18, and 31 % of the variation, respectively. These estimates are generally consistent with previous findings in Western adolescents, supporting the cross-cultural generalizability of etiological model of adolescent depression. Neither qualitative nor quantitative sex differences were found in the etiological model. Future studies are needed to investigate how genes and environments work together (gene-environment interaction, gene-environment correlation) to influence depression in Chinese adolescents.

Contracting Officer's Technical Representatives

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brisbin, Steve

1997-01-01

The Breakout Session is a traditional conference instrument used by the NASA Occupational Health Program (OHP) as a method to convene people with common interests. Typically these sessions provide discussion of current topics of high priority and currency and allow multiple views and opinions to be shared and evaluated by all participants. Since the Contracting Officer's Technical Representatives (COTRs) occupy the technical focus of support contract management, this particular group, attended by 20 representatives, addressed issues and topics at the forefront of operational concerns.

Controversies about a common etiology for eating and mood disorders

PubMed Central

Rossetti, Clara; Halfon, Olivier; Boutrel, Benjamin

2014-01-01

Obesity and depression represent a growing health concern worldwide. For many years, basic science and medicine have considered obesity as a metabolic illness, while depression was classified a psychiatric disorder. Despite accumulating evidence suggesting that obesity and depression may share commonalities, the causal link between eating and mood disorders remains to be fully understood. This etiology is highly complex, consisting of multiple environmental and genetic risk factors that interact with each other. In this review, we sought to summarize the preclinical and clinical evidence supporting a common etiology for eating and mood disorders, with a particular emphasis on signaling pathways involved in the maintenance of energy balance and mood stability, among which orexigenic and anorexigenic neuropeptides, metabolic factors, stress responsive hormones, cytokines, and neurotrophic factors. PMID:25386150

Prion Diseases: Update on Mad Cow Disease, Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, and the Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies.

PubMed

Janka, Jacqueline; Maldarelli, Frank

2004-08-01

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are a group of progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disorders that share a common spongiform histopathology. TSEs may be transmitted in a sporadic, familial, iatrogenic, or zoonotic fashion. The putative infectious agent of TSE, the prion, represents a novel paradigm of infectious disease with disease transmission in the absence of nucleic acid. Several small but spectacular epidemics of TSEs in man have prompted widespread public health and food safety concerns. Although TSEs affect a comparatively small number of individuals, prion research has revealed fascinating insights of direct relevance to common illnesses. This paper reviews recent advances that have shed new light on the nature of prions and TSEs.

Q methodology: a new way of assessing employee satisfaction.

PubMed

Chinnis, A S; Summers, D E; Doerr, C; Paulson, D J; Davis, S M

2001-05-01

As yet another nursing shortage faces the country, the issue of the satisfaction of nurses again becomes of critical concern to nursing managers in the interest of staff retention. The authors describe the use of the statistical technique Q methodology to assess the needs of nurses and other medical staff at a level one, tertiary care emergency department in the United States. Using the Q method, the authors were able to identify different, unique viewpoints concerning employee needs among the study population, as well as commonly shared views. This level of detail, not obtainable using more traditional statistical techniques, can aid in the design of more effective strategies aimed at fulfilling the needs of an organization's staff to increase their satisfaction.

Gencrypt: one-way cryptographic hashes to detect overlapping individuals across samples

PubMed Central

Turchin, Michael C.; Hirschhorn, Joel N.

2012-01-01

Summary: Meta-analysis across genome-wide association studies is a common approach for discovering genetic associations. However, in some meta-analysis efforts, individual-level data cannot be broadly shared by study investigators due to privacy and Institutional Review Board concerns. In such cases, researchers cannot confirm that each study represents a unique group of people, leading to potentially inflated test statistics and false positives. To resolve this problem, we created a software tool, Gencrypt, which utilizes a security protocol known as one-way cryptographic hashes to allow overlapping participants to be identified without sharing individual-level data. Availability: Gencrypt is freely available under the GNU general public license v3 at http://www.broadinstitute.org/software/gencrypt/ Contact: joelh@broadinstitute.org Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:22302573

Privacy policies for health social networking sites.

PubMed

Li, Jingquan

2013-01-01

Health social networking sites (HSNS), virtual communities where users connect with each other around common problems and share relevant health data, have been increasingly adopted by medical professionals and patients. The growing use of HSNS like Sermo and PatientsLikeMe has prompted public concerns about the risks that such online data-sharing platforms pose to the privacy and security of personal health data. This paper articulates a set of privacy risks introduced by social networking in health care and presents a practical example that demonstrates how the risks might be intrinsic to some HSNS. The aim of this study is to identify and sketch the policy implications of using HSNS and how policy makers and stakeholders should elaborate upon them to protect the privacy of online health data.

Method of recommending items to a user based on user interest

DOEpatents

Bollen, John; Van De Sompel, Herbert

2013-11-05

Although recording of usage data is common in scholarly information services, its exploitation for the creation of value-added services remains limited due to concerns regarding, among others, user privacy, data validity, and the lack of accepted standards for the representation, sharing and aggregation of usage data. A technical, standards-based architecture for sharing usage information is presented. In this architecture, OpenURL-compliant linking servers aggregate usage information of a specific user community as it navigates the distributed information environment that it has access to. This usage information is made OAI-PMH harvestable so that usage information exposed by many linking servers can be aggregated to facilitate the creation of value-added services with a reach beyond that of a single community or a single information service.

Usage based indicators to assess the impact of scholarly works: architecture and method

DOEpatents

Bollen, Johan [Santa Fe, NM; Van De Sompel, Herbert [Santa Fe, NM

2012-03-13

Although recording of usage data is common in scholarly information services, its exploitation for the creation of value-added services remains limited due to concerns regarding, among others, user privacy, data validity, and the lack of accepted standards for the representation, sharing and aggregation of usage data. A technical, standards-based architecture for sharing usage information is presented. In this architecture, OpenURL-compliant linking servers aggregate usage information of a specific user community as it navigates the distributed information environment that it has access to. This usage information is made OAI-PMH harvestable so that usage information exposed by many linking servers can be aggregated to facilitate the creation of value-added services with a reach beyond that of a single community or a single information service.

Privacy policies for health social networking sites

PubMed Central

Li, Jingquan

2013-01-01

Health social networking sites (HSNS), virtual communities where users connect with each other around common problems and share relevant health data, have been increasingly adopted by medical professionals and patients. The growing use of HSNS like Sermo and PatientsLikeMe has prompted public concerns about the risks that such online data-sharing platforms pose to the privacy and security of personal health data. This paper articulates a set of privacy risks introduced by social networking in health care and presents a practical example that demonstrates how the risks might be intrinsic to some HSNS. The aim of this study is to identify and sketch the policy implications of using HSNS and how policy makers and stakeholders should elaborate upon them to protect the privacy of online health data. PMID:23599228

Data governance and data sharing agreements for community-wide health information exchange: lessons from the beacon communities.

PubMed

Allen, Claudia; Des Jardins, Terrisca R; Heider, Arvela; Lyman, Kristin A; McWilliams, Lee; Rein, Alison L; Schachter, Abigail A; Singh, Ranjit; Sorondo, Barbara; Topper, Joan; Turske, Scott A

2014-01-01

Unprecedented efforts are underway across the United States to electronically capture and exchange health information to improve health care and population health, and reduce costs. This increased collection and sharing of electronic patient data raises several governance issues, including privacy, security, liability, and market competition. Those engaged in such efforts have had to develop data sharing agreements (DSAs) among entities involved in information exchange, many of whom are "nontraditional" health care entities and/or new partners. This paper shares lessons learned based on the experiences of six federally funded communities participating in the Beacon Community Cooperative Agreement Program, and offers guidance for navigating data governance issues and developing DSAs to facilitate community-wide health information exchange. While all entities involved in electronic data sharing must address governance issues and create DSAs accordingly, until recently little formal guidance existed for doing so - particularly for community-based initiatives. Despite this lack of guidance, together the Beacon Communities' experiences highlight promising strategies for navigating complex governance issues, which may be useful to other entities or communities initiating information exchange efforts to support delivery system transformation. For the past three years, AcademyHealth has provided technical assistance to most of the 17 Beacon Communities, 6 of whom contributed to this collaborative writing effort. Though these communities varied widely in terms of their demographics, resources, and Beacon-driven priorities, common themes emerged as they described their approaches to data governance and DSA development. The 6 Beacon Communities confirmed that DSAs are necessary to satisfy legal and market-based concerns, and they identified several specific issues, many of which have been noted by others involved in network data sharing initiatives. More importantly, these communities identified several promising approaches to timely and effective DSA development, including: stakeholder engagement; identification and effective communication of value; adoption of a parsimonious approach; attention to market-based concerns; flexibility in adapting and expanding existing agreements and partnerships; and anticipation of required time and investment.

MedBlock: Efficient and Secure Medical Data Sharing Via Blockchain.

PubMed

Fan, Kai; Wang, Shangyang; Ren, Yanhui; Li, Hui; Yang, Yintang

2018-06-21

With the development of electronic information technology, electronic medical records (EMRs) have been a common way to store the patients' data in hospitals. They are stored in different hospitals' databases, even for the same patient. Therefore, it is difficult to construct a summarized EMR for one patient from multiple hospital databases due to the security and privacy concerns. Meanwhile, current EMRs systems lack a standard data management and sharing policy, making it difficult for pharmaceutical scientists to develop precise medicines based on data obtained under different policies. To solve the above problems, we proposed a blockchain-based information management system, MedBlock, to handle patients' information. In this scheme, the distributed ledger of MedBlock allows the efficient EMRs access and EMRs retrieval. The improved consensus mechanism achieves consensus of EMRs without large energy consumption and network congestion. In addition, MedBlock also exhibits high information security combining the customized access control protocols and symmetric cryptography. MedBlock can play an important role in the sensitive medical information sharing.

Parental hesitation in immunizing children in Utah.

PubMed

Luthy, Karlen E; Beckstrand, Renea L; Callister, Lynn Clark

2010-01-01

To determine why parents in a Utah community hesitated in immunizing their children. Cross-sectional descriptive study. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 86 parents of under-immunized children in the county health department and local pediatric and family practice offices. Participants were asked to complete an immunization hesitancy survey including questions regarding why parents hesitated to immunize their children, parental concerns regarding immunizations, and what advice they would give to a friend or family member who had concerns about childhood vaccines. Parents could also write in any other comment, concern, or suggestion they had regarding childhood immunizations. 2 major themes were identified: concerns regarding immunization safety and lack of perceived need. The most commonly reported concerns regarding immunization safety included autism, immune system overload, and other adverse reactions. Many parents did not recognize the need for childhood immunizations, especially multiple immunizations given simultaneously on a strict timeline. The manner in which immunization information is shared with hesitant parents can be particularly important. There is a need for health care providers to assess and increase parental knowledge regarding immunizations.

[Movement disorders is psychiatric diseases].

PubMed

Hidasi, Zoltan; Salacz, Pal; Csibri, Eva

2014-12-01

Movement disorders are common in psychiatry. The movement disorder can either be the symptom of a psychiatric disorder, can share a common aetiological factor with it, or can be the consequence of psychopharmacological therapy. Most common features include tic, stereotypy, compulsion, akathisia, dyskinesias, tremor, hypokinesia and disturbances of posture and gait. We discuss characteristics and clinical importance of these features. Movement disorders are frequently present in mood disorders, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, catatonia, Tourette-disorder and psychogenic movement disorder, leading to differential-diagnostic and therapeutical difficulties in everyday practice. Movement disorders due to psychopharmacotherapy can be classified as early-onset, late-onset and tardive. Frequent psychiatric comorbidity is found in primary movement disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, Wilson's disease, Huntington's disease, diffuse Lewy-body disorder. Complex neuropsychiatric approach is effective concerning overlapping clinical features and spectrums of disorders in terms of movement disorders and psychiatric diseases.

‘Saying it without words’: a qualitative study of oncology staff's experiences with speaking up about safety concerns

PubMed Central

Schwappach, D L B; Gehring, K

2014-01-01

Objectives To explore the experiences of oncology staff with communicating safety concerns and to examine situational factors and motivations surrounding the decision whether and how to speak up using semistructured interviews. Setting 7 oncology departments of six hospitals in Switzerland. Participants Diverse sample of 32 experienced oncology healthcare professionals. Results Nurses and doctors commonly experience situations which raise their concerns and require questioning, clarifying and correcting. Participants often used non-verbal communication to signal safety concerns. Speaking-up behaviour was strongly related to a clinical safety issue. Most episodes of ‘silence’ were connected to hygiene, isolation and invasive procedures. In contrast, there seemed to exist a strong culture to communicate questions, doubts and concerns relating to medication. Nearly all interviewees were concerned with ‘how’ to say it and in particular those of lower hierarchical status reflected on deliberate ‘voicing tactics’. Conclusions Our results indicate a widely accepted culture to discuss any concerns relating to medication safety while other issues are more difficult to voice. Clinicians devote considerable efforts to evaluate the situation and sensitively decide whether and how to speak up. Our results can serve as a starting point to develop a shared understanding of risks and appropriate communication of safety concerns among staff in oncology. PMID:24838725

Clarifying perspectives: Ethics case reflection sessions in childhood cancer care.

PubMed

Bartholdson, Cecilia; Lützén, Kim; Blomgren, Klas; Pergert, Pernilla

2016-06-01

Childhood cancer care involves many ethical concerns. Deciding on treatment levels and providing care that infringes on the child's growing autonomy are known ethical concerns that involve the whole professional team around the child's care. The purpose of this study was to explore healthcare professionals' experiences of participating in ethics case reflection sessions in childhood cancer care. Data collection by observations, individual interviews, and individual encounters. Data analysis were conducted following grounded theory methodology. Healthcare professionals working at a publicly funded children's hospital in Sweden participated in ethics case reflection sessions in which ethical issues concerning clinical cases were reflected on. The children's and their parents' integrity was preserved through measures taken to protect patient identity during ethics case reflection sessions. The study was approved by a regional ethical review board. Consolidating care by clarifying perspectives emerged. Consolidating care entails striving for common care goals and creating a shared view of care and the ethical concern in the specific case. The inter-professional perspectives on the ethical aspects of care are clarified by the participants' articulated views on the case. Different approaches for deliberating ethics are used during the sessions including raising values and making sense, leading to unifying interactions. The findings indicate that ethical concerns could be eased by implementing ethics case reflection sessions. Conflicting perspectives can be turned into unifying interactions in the healthcare professional team with the common aim to achieve good pediatric care. Ethics case reflection sessions is valuable as it permits the discussion of values in healthcare-related issues in childhood cancer care. Clarifying perspectives, on the ethical concerns, enables healthcare professionals to reflect on the most reasonable and ethically defensible care for the child. A consolidated care approach would be valuable for both the child and the healthcare professionals because of the common care goals. © The Author(s) 2015.

Specifying Software Behavior for Requirements and Design

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-01

e.g., Behavior Hiding is comprised of the Function Driver and Shared Services modules. Blacked-out modules, which are concerned with mechanisms for...and Shared Services modules. “The Func- tion Driver Module consists of a set of modules called Func- tion Drivers; each Function Driver is the sole...system environment. Functions that capture the rules determining these output values specify that behavior. The Shared Services module concerns aspects of

77 FR 38344 - Medallion Financial Corp.; Notice of Application

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-27

... increasing the maximum number of shares of Applicant's common stock (``Common Stock'') available for issuance... Amended Director Plan. Under the Amended Director Plan, a maximum of 200,000 shares of Applicant's Common... shares of Applicant's Common Stock that may be issued to any one Eligible Director. The Amended Director...

WhatsApp in Stroke Systems: Current Use and Regulatory Concerns.

PubMed

Calleja-Castillo, Juan M; Gonzalez-Calderon, Gina

2018-01-01

Smartphone use is extremely common. Applications such as WhatsApp have billions of users and physicians are no exception. Stroke Medicine is a field where instant communication among fairly large groups is essential. In developing countries, economic limitations preclude the possibility of acquiring proper communication platforms. Thus, WhatsApp has been used as an organizational tool, for sharing clinical data, and for real time guidance of clinical care decisions. It has evolved into a cheap, accessible tool for telemedicine. Nevertheless, regulatory and privacy issues must be addressed. Some countries have implemented legislation to address this issue, while others lag behind. In this article, we present an overview on the different roles WhatsApp has acquired as a clinical tool in stroke systems and the potential privacy concerns of its use.

WhatsApp in Stroke Systems: Current Use and Regulatory Concerns

PubMed Central

Calleja-Castillo, Juan M.; Gonzalez-Calderon, Gina

2018-01-01

Smartphone use is extremely common. Applications such as WhatsApp have billions of users and physicians are no exception. Stroke Medicine is a field where instant communication among fairly large groups is essential. In developing countries, economic limitations preclude the possibility of acquiring proper communication platforms. Thus, WhatsApp has been used as an organizational tool, for sharing clinical data, and for real time guidance of clinical care decisions. It has evolved into a cheap, accessible tool for telemedicine. Nevertheless, regulatory and privacy issues must be addressed. Some countries have implemented legislation to address this issue, while others lag behind. In this article, we present an overview on the different roles WhatsApp has acquired as a clinical tool in stroke systems and the potential privacy concerns of its use. PMID:29904369

Informed Consent for Whole Genome Sequencing: A Qualitative Analysis of Participant Expectations and Perceptions of Risks, Benefits, and Harms

PubMed Central

Tabor, Holly K.; Stock, Jacquie; Brazg., Tracy; McMillin, Margaret J.; Dent., Karin M.; Yu, Joon-Ho; Shendure, Jay; Bamshad, Michael J.

2012-01-01

Scientific evidence on the extent to which ethical concerns about privacy, confidentiality, and return of results for whole genome sequencing (WGS) are effectively conveyed by informed consent (IC) is lacking. The aim of this study was to learn, via qualitative interviews, about participant expectations and perceptions of risks, benefits, and harms of WGS. Participants in two families with Miller syndrome consented for WGS were interviewed about their experiences of the IC process and their perceptions of risks, benefits, and harms of WGS. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed for common themes. IC documents are included in the supplementary materials. Participants expressed minimal concerns about privacy and confidentiality with regard to both their participation and sharing of their WGS data in restricted access databases. Participants expressed strong preferences about how results should be returned, requesting both flexibility of the results return process and options for the types of results to be returned. Participant concerns about risks to privacy and confidentiality from broad sharing of WGS data are likely to be strongly influenced by social and medical context. In these families with a rare Mendelian syndrome, the perceived benefits of participation strongly trumped concerns about risks. Individual preferences, for results return, even within a family, varied widely. This underscores the need to develop a framework for results return that allows explicitly for participant preferences and enables modifications to preferences over time. Web-based tools that facilitate participant management of their individual research results could accommodate such a framework. PMID:22532433

Achieving visibility? Use of non-verbal communication in interactions between patients and pharmacists who do not share a common language.

PubMed

Stevenson, Fiona

2014-06-01

Despite the seemingly insatiable interest in healthcare professional-patient communication, less attention has been paid to the use of non-verbal communication in medical consultations. This article considers pharmacists' and patients' use of non-verbal communication to interact directly in consultations in which they do not share a common language. In total, 12 video-recorded, interpreted pharmacy consultations concerned with a newly prescribed medication or a change in medication were analysed in detail. The analysis focused on instances of direct communication initiated by either the patient or the pharmacist, despite the presence of a multilingual pharmacy assistant acting as an interpreter. Direct communication was shown to occur through (i) the demonstration of a medical device, (ii) the indication of relevant body parts and (iii) the use of limited English. These connections worked to make patients and pharmacists visible to each other and thus to maintain a sense of mutual involvement in consultations within which patients and pharmacists could enact professionally and socially appropriate roles. In a multicultural society this work is important in understanding the dynamics involved in consultations in situations in which language is not shared and thus in considering the development of future research and policy. © 2014 The Author. Sociology of Health & Illness published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation for SHIL (SHIL).

Can We Identify Parents Who Do Not Verbally Share Concerns for Their Children's Development?

PubMed

Eremita, Matthew; Semancik, Eileen; Lerer, Trudy; Dworkin, Paul H

2017-04-01

We aimed to identify characteristics of parents who do not voice developmental concerns when prompted by their children's nurse and/or primary care provider (PCP), despite reporting concerns on parent-completed questionnaires. We reviewed 376 medical records of children seen for a 9-month well-child visit in an urban pediatric clinic between September 2011 and December 2012 for sociodemographic variables hypothesized to affect parents' sharing of developmental concerns: the child's birth order and gender; parents' education level, employment, relationship status, and primary language; and family size and racial/ethnic background. The target population was parents who reported concerns on the Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS), a routinely administered, parent-completed screening questionnaire. We subdivided parents who reported concerns on the PEDS (N = 86) based on whether they voiced developmental concerns when prompted by their children's nurse and/or PCP. Two-sided Fisher's exact tests and logistic regression evaluated the relationship between sociodemographic variables and parents' voicing of developmental concerns. Only parent education approached significance, as parents with less than a high school education (

Revitalization of the Shared Commons: Education for Sustainability and Marginalized Cultures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glasson, George E.

2010-01-01

Education for sustainability provides a vision for revitalizing the environmental commons while preserving cultural traditions and human rights. What happens if the environmental commons is shared by two politically disparate and conflicting cultures? As in many shared common lands, what happens if one culture is dominant and represents a more…

SHARING EDUCATIONAL SERVICES.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Catskill Area Project in Small School Design, Oneonta, NY.

SHARED SERVICES, A COOPERATIVE SCHOOL RESOURCE PROGRAM, IS DEFINED IN DETAIL. INCLUDED IS A DISCUSSION OF THEIR NEED, ADVANTAGES, GROWTH, DESIGN, AND OPERATION. SPECIFIC PROCEDURES FOR OBTAINING STATE AID IN SHARED SERVICES, EFFECTS OF SHARED SERVICES ON THE SCHOOL, AND HINTS CONCERNING SHARED SERVICES ARE DESCRIBED. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SMALL…

Safety-Related Concerns of Parents for Children with Disabilities and Chronic Conditions.

PubMed

Olsen, Lise L; Kruse, Sami; Miller, Anton R; Brussoni, Mariana

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to explore the safety-related concerns of parents of children with a variety of disabilities and chronic conditions. We sought to examine concerns common to parents as they related to their children's delayed development, behavioral difficulties, and chronic conditions. A qualitative approach guided by grounded theory was used. Participants included parents of children between 1 and 5 years with a disability or chronic condition who resided in British Columbia, Canada. Data were collected using in-depth in-person interviews and analysis conducted using constant comparative methods. Three themes were identified that reflected parental safety concerns. These included concerns about: (1) Child's level of understanding about danger; (2) Child interactions with physical environment (concerns about child movement, concerns about ingestions); (3) Child interactions with social environment. Difficult-to-manage behaviors and cognitive limitations exacerbated parents' safety concerns. Parents were found to share safety concerns about movement and ingestions across a range of types of child health conditions. For themes of child movement and child ingestions, findings supported the utility of a noncategorical approach for the design of injury prevention strategies for these types of concerns. Parent concerns about child lack of understanding about risk and social safety concerns were linked to a smaller number of conditions and supported a more tailored approach. Flexible approaches may be needed that can offer both generic and specific information and to meet the needs of parents and clinicians.

Shared Understandings: Environmental Perspectives of Kenyan Community Members and Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quigely, Cassie F.; Dogbey, James; Che, S. Megan; Hallo, Jeffrey

2015-01-01

Environmental issues are a shared human concern as communities in all nations and geographic regions are grappling with environmental degradation. Despite this concern, there are multiple different viewpoints on the current state of environmental issues and how to understand these problems. Understanding how different communities conceive of the…

New Developments of the Shared Concern Method.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pikas, Anatol

2002-01-01

Reviews and describes new developments in the Shared Concern method (SCm), a tool for tackling group bullying amongst teenagers by individual talks. The psychological mechanisms of healing in the bully group and what hinders the bully therapist in eliciting them have become better clarified. The most important recent advancement of the SCm…

The geographic and demographic scope of shared sanitation: an analysis of national survey data from low- and middle-income countries.

PubMed

Heijnen, Marieke; Rosa, Ghislaine; Fuller, James; Eisenberg, Joseph N S; Clasen, Thomas

2014-11-01

A large and growing proportion of the world's population rely on shared sanitation facilities that have historically been excluded from international targets due to concerns about acceptability, hygiene and access. In connection with a proposed change in such policy, we undertook this study to describe the prevalence and scope of households that report relying on shared sanitation and to characterise them in terms of selected socio-economic and demographic covariates. We extracted data from the most recent national household surveys of 84 low- and middle-income countries from Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. We describe the prevalence of shared sanitation and explore associations between specified covariates and reliance on shared sanitation using log-binomial regression. While household reliance on any type of shared sanitation is relatively rare in Europe (2.5%) and the Eastern Mediterranean (7.7%), it is not uncommon in the Americas (14.2%), Western Pacific (16.4%) and South-East Asia (31.3%), and it is most prevalent in Africa (44.6%) where many shared facilities do not meet the definition of 'improved' even if they were not shared (17.7%). Overall, shared sanitation is more common in urban (28.6%) than in rural settings (25.9%), even after adjusting for wealth. While results vary geographically, people who rely on shared sanitation tend to be poorer, reside in urban areas and live in households with more young children and headed by people with no formal education. Data from 21 countries suggest that most sharing is with neighbours and other acquaintances (82.0%) rather than the public. The determinants of shared sanitation identified from these data suggest potential confounders that may explain the apparent increased health risk from sharing and should be considered in any policy recommendation. Both geographic and demographic heterogeneity indicate the need for further research to support a change in policies. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Evidence for a genetic overlap between body dysmorphic concerns and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in an adult female community twin sample.

PubMed

Monzani, Benedetta; Rijsdijk, Fruhling; Iervolino, Alessandra C; Anson, Martin; Cherkas, Lynn; Mataix-Cols, David

2012-06-01

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is thought to be etiologically related to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) but the available evidence is incomplete. The current study examined the genetic and environmental sources of covariance between body dysmorphic and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in a community sample of adult twins. A total of 2,148 female twins (1,074 pairs) completed valid and reliable measures of body dysmorphic concerns and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The data were analyzed using bivariate twin modeling methods and the statistical programme Mx. In the best-fitting model, the covariation between body dysmorphic and obsessive-compulsive traits was largely accounted for by genetic influences common to both phenotypes (64%; 95% CI: 0.50-0.80). This genetic overlap was even higher when specific obsessive-compulsive symptom dimensions were considered, with up to 82% of the phenotypic correlation between the obsessing and symmetry/ordering symptom dimensions and dysmorphic concerns being attributable to common genetic factors. Unique environmental factors, although influencing these traits individually, did not substantially contribute to their covariation. The results remained unchanged when excluding individuals reporting an objective medical condition/injury accounting for their concern in physical appearance. The association between body dysmorphic concerns and obsessive-compulsive symptoms is largely explained by shared genetic factors. Environmental risk factors were largely unique to each phenotype. These results support current recommendations to group BDD together with OCD in the same DSM-5 chapter, although comparison with other phenotypes such as somatoform disorders and social phobia is needed. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[Sharing bacterial microbiota between owners and their pets (dogs, cats)].

PubMed

Wipler, Jan; Čermáková, Zuzana; Hanzálek, Tomáš; Horáková, Hana; Žemličková, Helena

2017-06-01

The microbiological aspect of a relationship between pets (dogs/cats) and their owners is mainly concerned with the incidence of shared bacterial species, in particular potential pathogens. Given the great popularity of sharing homes with pets (dogs/cats) in the Czech Republic, there is an increased possibility of communication between microbiota of the two macroorganisms (pet and owner). The aim of the study was to determine the biodiversity of shared bacteria and possibility of exchange of genes of resistance to antimicrobial agents between potential pathogens based on the close relationship between pets and humans. A total of 103 samples were collected from 20 pairs (20 owners, 16 dogs and 4 cats). All owners completed a questionnaire with their pets' veterinarians. In owners, swabs were collected from the nasal mucosa, armpit and interdigital spaces of the foot. In pets, swabs were obtained from the external auditory meatus and nasal mucosa. In individuals with skin lesions, samples were also collected from the affected areas. Bacterial species were identified by culture and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization - time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. In shared species, susceptibility to antibiotics was tested by the disk diffusion method. Statistical methods were used to correlate the closeness of relationship with the number of shared bacterial species and to correlate previous antimicrobial therapy with shared resistance of the common bacteria. Analysis of the questionnaires showed that 65 % of owners who participated in the study kept more pets at home than only the tested one. In the previous year, 5 % of pets and 5 % of owners received antimicrobial therapy. As many as 45 % of dogs or cats slept in their owners' beds and 80 % rested on a sofa together with their owners. Also, 45 % owners had their faces licked by pets. Eighty percent of pets were fed with several types of food (dry food and cooked food). Further, 70 % of pets lived permanently with their owners in the same household. A total of 76 bacterial species of 33 genera were identified. The most frequently isolated species (29 samples) was S. intermedius. Seventeen bacterial species occurring in both humans and animals were found and identified. At least one bacterial species was shared by 11 pairs and two shared species were found in two pairs. The shared species were S. intermedius, E. coli, E. faecalis, A. lwoffii, P. putida and S. aureus. Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested in the shared species. Common antimicrobial resistance was found in four pairs. In one pair, shared E. faecalis showed identical resistance to co-trimoxazole; in another pair, S. intermedius was resistant to gentamycin, erythromycin, clindamycin and co-trimoxazole. The third resistant bacterial species was E. coli; in one pair, it showed borderline resistance to colistin; in the second case, it was fully resistant to this antimicrobial agent. The other pairs with shared bacteria did not show any common resistance. The study results showed that there was an association between closeness of the human-pet relationship and the prevalence of shared bacterial species. Pairs with a close relationship were 37.5 % more likely to share bacteria than pairs with a less close relationship. The study suggests that antimicrobial therapy in at least one pair member may increase the risk of shared bacterial resistance.

What imitation tells us about social cognition: a rapprochement between developmental psychology and cognitive neuroscience.

PubMed Central

Meltzoff, Andrew N; Decety, Jean

2003-01-01

Both developmental and neurophysiological research suggest a common coding between perceived and generated actions. This shared representational network is innately wired in humans. We review psychological evidence concerning the imitative behaviour of newborn human infants. We suggest that the mechanisms involved in infant imitation provide the foundation for understanding that others are 'like me' and underlie the development of theory of mind and empathy for others. We also analyse functional neuroimaging studies that explore the neurophysiological substrate of imitation in adults. We marshal evidence that imitation recruits not only shared neural representations between the self and the other but also cortical regions in the parietal cortex that are crucial for distinguishing between the perspective of self and other. Imitation is doubly revealing: it is used by infants to learn about adults, and by scientists to understand the organization and functioning of the brain. PMID:12689375

Sharpen your science communication skills at a Fall Meeting workshop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adams, Mary Catherine

2012-10-01

Are you eager to share your research and want to help reporters get it right? Do you yearn to enter the climate science debate but are wary of saying the wrong thing? AGU is offering two separate communications skill-building events on Sunday, 2 December 2012, for Fall Meeting attendees wishing to sharpen their communications skills. For scientists interested in talking about climate science, AGU and the Union of Concerned Scientists, an organization that combines scientific research with citizen action to create practical solutions for a healthy environment and a safer world, will offer the Communicating Climate Science Workshop on Sunday morning. A panel of experienced communicators will share their success stories and offer advice on how to avoid common missteps. Then, in an interactive workshop setting, attendees will practice identifying and effectively responding to misinformation about climate science in front of a variety of audiences.

Biological Discourses on Human Races and Scientific Racism in Brazil (1832-1911).

PubMed

Arteaga, Juanma Sánchez

2017-05-01

This paper analyzes biological and scientific discourses about the racial composition of the Brazilian population, between 1832 and 1911. The first of these dates represents Darwin's first arrival in the South-American country during his voyage on H.M.S. Beagle. The study ends in 1911, with the celebration of the First universal Races congress in London, where the Brazilian physical anthropologist J.B. Lacerda predicted the complete extinction of black Brazilians by the year 2012. Contemporary European and North-American racial theories had a profound influence in Brazilian scientific debates on race and miscegenation. These debates also reflected a wider political and cultural concern, shared by most Brazilian scholars, about the future of the Nation. With few known exceptions, Brazilian evolutionists, medical doctors, physical anthropologists, and naturalists, considered that the racial composition of the population was a handicap to the commonly shared nationalistic goal of creating a modern and progressive Brazilian Republic.

Data Governance and Data Sharing Agreements for Community-Wide Health Information Exchange: Lessons from the Beacon Communities

PubMed Central

Allen, Claudia; Des Jardins, Terrisca R.; Heider, Arvela; Lyman, Kristin A.; McWilliams, Lee; Rein, Alison L.; Schachter, Abigail A.; Singh, Ranjit; Sorondo, Barbara; Topper, Joan; Turske, Scott A.

2014-01-01

Purpose: Unprecedented efforts are underway across the United States to electronically capture and exchange health information to improve health care and population health, and reduce costs. This increased collection and sharing of electronic patient data raises several governance issues, including privacy, security, liability, and market competition. Those engaged in such efforts have had to develop data sharing agreements (DSAs) among entities involved in information exchange, many of whom are “nontraditional” health care entities and/or new partners. This paper shares lessons learned based on the experiences of six federally funded communities participating in the Beacon Community Cooperative Agreement Program, and offers guidance for navigating data governance issues and developing DSAs to facilitate community-wide health information exchange. Innovation: While all entities involved in electronic data sharing must address governance issues and create DSAs accordingly, until recently little formal guidance existed for doing so – particularly for community-based initiatives. Despite this lack of guidance, together the Beacon Communities’ experiences highlight promising strategies for navigating complex governance issues, which may be useful to other entities or communities initiating information exchange efforts to support delivery system transformation. Credibility: For the past three years, AcademyHealth has provided technical assistance to most of the 17 Beacon Communities, 6 of whom contributed to this collaborative writing effort. Though these communities varied widely in terms of their demographics, resources, and Beacon-driven priorities, common themes emerged as they described their approaches to data governance and DSA development. Conclusions: The 6 Beacon Communities confirmed that DSAs are necessary to satisfy legal and market-based concerns, and they identified several specific issues, many of which have been noted by others involved in network data sharing initiatives. More importantly, these communities identified several promising approaches to timely and effective DSA development, including: stakeholder engagement; identification and effective communication of value; adoption of a parsimonious approach; attention to market-based concerns; flexibility in adapting and expanding existing agreements and partnerships; and anticipation of required time and investment. PMID:25848589

Towards a global cancer knowledge network: dissecting the current international cancer genomic sequencing landscape.

PubMed

Vis, D J; Lewin, J; Liao, R G; Mao, M; Andre, F; Ward, R L; Calvo, F; Teh, B T; Camargo, A A; Knoppers, B M; Sawyers, C L; Wessels, L F A; Lawler, M; Siu, L L; Voest, E

2017-05-01

While next generation sequencing has enhanced our understanding of the biological basis of malignancy, current knowledge on global practices for sequencing cancer samples is limited. To address this deficiency, we developed a survey to provide a snapshot of current sequencing activities globally, identify barriers to data sharing and use this information to develop sustainable solutions for the cancer research community. A multi-item survey was conducted assessing demographics, clinical data collection, genomic platforms, privacy/ethics concerns, funding sources and data sharing barriers for sequencing initiatives globally. Additionally, respondents were asked as to provide the primary intent of their initiative (clinical diagnostic, research or combination). Of 107 initiatives invited to participate, 59 responded (response rate = 55%). Whole exome sequencing (P = 0.03) and whole genome sequencing (P = 0.01) were utilized less frequently in clinical diagnostic than in research initiatives. Procedures to identify cancer-specific variants were heterogeneous, with bioinformatics pipelines employing different mutation calling/variant annotation algorithms. Measurement of treatment efficacy varied amongst initiatives, with time on treatment (57%) and RECIST (53%) being the most common; however, other parameters were also employed. Whilst 72% of initiatives indicated data sharing, its scope varied, with a number of restrictions in place (e.g. transfer of raw data). The largest perceived barriers to data harmonization were the lack of financial support (P < 0.01) and bioinformatics concerns (e.g. lack of interoperability) (P = 0.02). Capturing clinical data was more likely to be perceived as a barrier to data sharing by larger initiatives than by smaller initiatives (P = 0.01). These results identify the main barriers, as perceived by the cancer sequencing community, to effective sharing of cancer genomic and clinical data. They highlight the need for greater harmonization of technical, ethical and data capture processes in cancer sample sequencing worldwide, in order to support effective and responsible data sharing for the benefit of patients. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology.

Sexting among singles in the USA: prevalence of sending, receiving, and sharing sexual messages and images.

PubMed

Garcia, Justin R; Gesselman, Amanda N; Siliman, Shadia A; Perry, Brea L; Coe, Kathryn; Fisher, Helen E

2016-07-29

Background: The transmission of sexual images and messages via mobile phone or other electronic media (sexting) has been associated with a variety of mostly negative social and behavioural consequences. Research on sexting has focussed on youth, with limited data across demographics and with little known about the sharing of private sexual images and messages with third parties. Methods: The present study examines sexting attitudes and behaviours, including sending, receiving, and sharing of sexual messages and images, across gender, age, and sexual orientation. A total of 5805 single adults were included in the study (2830 women; 2975 men), ranging in age from 21 to 75+ years. Results: Overall, 21% of participants reported sending and 28% reported receiving sexually explicit text messages; both sending and receiving 'sexts' was most common among younger respondents. Although 73.2% of participants reported discomfort with unauthorised sharing of sexts beyond the intended recipient, of those who had received sext images, 22.9% reported sharing them with others (on average with 3.17 friends). Participants also reported concern about the potential consequences of sexting on their social lives, careers, and psychosocial wellbeing. Conclusion: Views on the impact of sexting on reputation suggest a contemporary struggle to reconcile digital eroticism with real-world consequences. These findings suggest a need for future research into negotiations of sexting motivations, risks, and rewards.

Interaction and common ground in dementia: Communication across linguistic and cultural diversity in a residential dementia care setting.

PubMed

Strandroos, Lisa; Antelius, Eleonor

2017-09-01

Previous research concerning bilingual people with a dementia disease has mainly focused on the importance of sharing a spoken language with caregivers. While acknowledging this, this article addresses the multidimensional character of communication and interaction. As using spoken language is made difficult as a consequence of the dementia disease, this multidimensionality becomes particularly important. The article is based on a qualitative analysis of ethnographic fieldwork at a dementia care facility. It presents ethnographic examples of different communicative forms, with particular focus on bilingual interactions. Interaction is understood as a collective and collaborative activity. The text finds that a shared spoken language is advantageous, but is not the only source of, nor a guarantee for, creating common ground and understanding. Communicative resources other than spoken language are for example body language, embodiment, artefacts and time. Furthermore, forms of communication are not static but develop, change and are created over time. Ability to communicate is thus not something that one has or has not, but is situationally and collaboratively created. To facilitate this, time and familiarity are central resources, and the results indicate the importance of continuity in interpersonal relations.

Putting the Focus Back on the Patient: How Privacy Concerns Affect Personal Health Information Sharing Intentions

PubMed Central

Sanders, G Lawrence

2017-01-01

Background Health care providers are driven by greater participation and systemic cost savings irrespective of benefits to individual patients derived from sharing Personal Health Information (PHI). Protecting PHI is a critical issue in the sharing of health care information systems; yet, there is very little literature examining the topic of sharing PHI electronically. A good overview of the regulatory, privacy, and societal barriers to sharing PHI can be found in the 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act. Objective This study investigated the factors that influence individuals’ intentions to share their PHI electronically with health care providers, creating an understanding of how we can represent a patient’s interests more accurately in sharing settings, instead of treating patients like predetermined subjects. Unlike privacy concern and trust, patient activation is a stable trait that is not subject to change in the short term and, thus, is a useful factor in predicting sharing behavior. We apply the extended privacy model in the health information sharing context and adapt this model to include patient activation and issue involvement to predict individuals’ intentions. Methods This was a survey-based study with 1600+ participants using the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) data to validate a model through various statistical techniques. The research method included an assessment of both the measurement and structural models with post hoc analysis. Results We find that privacy concern has the most influence on individuals’ intentions to share. Patient activation, issue involvement, and patient-physician relationship are significant predictors of sharing intention. We contribute to theory by introducing patient activation and issue involvement as proxies for personal interest factors in the health care context. Conclusions Overall, this study found that although patients are open to sharing their PHI, they still have concerns over the privacy of their PHI during the sharing process. It is paramount to address this factor to increase information flow and identify how patients can assure that their privacy is protected. The outcome of this study is a set of recommendations for motivating the sharing of PHI. The goal of this research is to increase the health profile of the patients by integrating the testing and diagnoses of various doctors across health care providers and, thus, bring patients closer to the physicians. PMID:28903895

Examining Thematic Similarity, Difference, and Membership in Three Online Mental Health Communities from Reddit: A Text Mining and Visualization Approach.

PubMed

Park, Albert; Conway, Mike; Chen, Annie T

2018-01-01

Social media, including online health communities, have become popular platforms for individuals to discuss health challenges and exchange social support with others. These platforms can provide support for individuals who are concerned about social stigma and discrimination associated with their illness. Although mental health conditions can share similar symptoms and even co-occur, the extent to which discussion topics in online mental health communities are similar, different, or overlapping is unknown. Discovering the topical similarities and differences could potentially inform the design of related mental health communities and patient education programs. This study employs text mining, qualitative analysis, and visualization techniques to compare discussion topics in publicly accessible online mental health communities for three conditions: Anxiety, Depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. First, online discussion content for the three conditions was collected from three Reddit communities (r/Anxiety, r/Depression, and r/PTSD). Second, content was pre-processed, and then clustered using the k -means algorithm to identify themes that were commonly discussed by members. Third, we qualitatively examined the common themes to better understand them, as well as their similarities and differences. Fourth, we employed multiple visualization techniques to form a deeper understanding of the relationships among the identified themes for the three mental health conditions. The three mental health communities shared four themes: sharing of positive emotion, gratitude for receiving emotional support, and sleep- and work-related issues. Depression clusters tended to focus on self-expressed contextual aspects of depression, whereas the Anxiety Disorders and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder clusters addressed more treatment- and medication-related issues. Visualizations showed that discussion topics from the Anxiety Disorders and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder subreddits shared more similarities to one another than to the depression subreddit. We observed that the members of the three communities shared several overlapping concerns (i.e., sleep- and work-related problems) and discussion patterns (i.e., sharing of positive emotion and showing gratitude for receiving emotional support). We also highlighted that the discussions from the r/Anxiety and r/PTSD communities were more similar to one another than to discussions from the r/Depression community. The r/Anxiety and r/PTSD subreddit members are more likely to be individuals whose experiences with a condition are long-term, and who are interested in treatments and medications. The r/Depression subreddit members may be a comparatively diffuse group, many of whom are dealing with transient issues that cause depressed mood. The findings from this study could be used to inform the design of online mental health communities and patient education programs for these conditions. Moreover, we suggest that researchers employ multiple methods to fully understand the subtle differences when comparing similar discussions from online health communities.

Health is global: proposals for a UK Government-wide strategy.

PubMed

Donaldson, Liam; Banatvala, Nicholas

2007-03-10

Global health enables the harmonisation of international and domestic-health concerns-its outlook is much wider than a development or foreign-assistance perspective alone. Engaging globally in health requires the creation of relevant and effective partnerships to implement solutions for shared or common problems. To build on the UK's achievements and leadership in global health, the central government Department of Health is now leading the development of a UK Government-wide global strategy. This paper describes the rationale and process for developing the new UK Government-wide strategy for global health and highlights some of the issues that must be discussed.

Common challenges for ecological modelling: synthesis of facilitated discussions held at the symposia organized for the 2009 conference of the International Society for Ecological Modelling in Quebec City, Canada, (October 6-9, 2009)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Larocque, Guy R.; Mailly, D.; Yue, T.-X.; Anand, M.; Peng, C.; Kazanci, C.; Etterson, M.; Goethals, P.; Jorgensen, S.E.; Schramski, J.R.; McIntire, E.J.B.; Marceau, D.J.; Chen, B.; Chen, G.Q.; Yang, Z.F.; Novotna, B.; Luckai, N.; Bhatti, Jagtar S.; Liu, J.; Munson, A.; Gordon, Andrew M.; Ascough, J.C.

2011-01-01

The eleven symposia organized for the 2009 conference of the International Society for Ecological Modelling (ISEM 2009) held in Quebec City, Canada, October 6–9, 2009, included facilitated discussion sessions following formal presentations. Each symposium focused on a specific subject, and all the subjects could be classified into three broad categories: theoretical development, population dynamics and ecosystem processes. Following discussions with the symposia organizers, which indicated that they all shared similar issues and concerns, the facilitated discussions were task-oriented around four basic questions: (1) key challenges in the research area, (2) generating and sharing new ideas, (3) improving collaboration and networking, and (4) increasing visibility to decision-makers, partners and clients. Common challenges that emerged from the symposia included the need for improved communication and collaboration among different academic disciplines, further progress in both theoretical and practical modelling approaches, and accentuation of technology transfer. Regarding the generation and sharing of new ideas, the main issue that emerged was the type of positive interactions that should be encouraged among potential collaborators. The usefulness of the Internet, particularly for the sharing of open-source software and conducting discussion forums, was highlighted for improving collaboration and networking. Several communication tools are available today, and it is important for modellers to use them more intensively. Visibility can be increased by publishing professional newsletters, maintaining informal contacts with the public, organizing educational sessions in primary and secondary schools, and developing simplified analytical frameworks and pilot studies. Specific issues raised in each symposium are also discussed.

Attitudes towards personal and shared space during the flight.

PubMed

Ahmadpour, N; Kühne, M; Robert, J-M; Vink, P

2016-07-25

Aircraft passenger comfort experience was previously defined based on its underlying thematic components representing passengers' perception of the environmental elements and their link to their concerns. This paper aims to 1) identify aircraft passengers' attitudes towards their personal and shared space in the cabin environment during the flight which are linked to their comfort experience and 2) highlight passenger concerns associated with those attitudes. A sample involving 16 participants was conducted, collecting full accounts of their real-time flight experiences onboard commercial aircrafts, using questionnaires. Four types of attitudes were identified in reaction to participants' personal and shared space during the flight. Those were described as adjust, avoid, approach, and shield. Passengers' concerns associated with those attitudes were respectively: control, privacy, connectedness and tolerance. It is concluded that passenger comfort can be improved once the identified concerns and attitudes are addressed in the design of the aircraft seat and interior. Design recommendations are provided accordingly.

77 FR 75207 - The Adams Express Company and Petroleum & Resources Corporation; Notice of Application

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-19

... the Fund's long-term total return (in relation to market price and net asset value per common share... fixed percentage of the market price of such Fund's common shares at a particular point in time, or a..., dealer, bank or other person (``financial intermediary'') holds common shares issued by a Fund in nominee...

76 FR 59458 - Stone Harbor Emerging Markets Income Fund, et al.; Notice of Application

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-26

... market price and its net asset value per common share (``NAV'')) and the relationship between such Fund's... the market price of such Fund's common shares at a particular point in time or a fixed monthly... person (``financial intermediary'') holds common shares issued by the Fund in nominee name, or otherwise...

77 FR 26052 - Invesco Total Property Market Income Fund, et al.; Notice of Application

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-02

... price of such Fund's common shares at a particular point in time, or a fixed percentage of NAV at a... broker, dealer, bank or other person (``financial intermediary'') holds common shares issued by a Fund in... outstanding common shares as frequently as monthly in any one taxable year, and as frequently as distributions...

The divided communities of shared concerns: mapping the intellectual structure of e-Health research in social science journals.

PubMed

Jiang, L Crystal; Wang, Zhen-Zhen; Peng, Tai-Quan; Zhu, Jonathan J H

2015-01-01

Social scientific approach has become an important approach in e-Health studies over the past decade. However, there has been little systematical examination of what aspects of e-Health social scientists have studied and how relevant and informative knowledge has been produced and diffused by this line of inquiry. This study performed a systematic review of the body of e-Health literature in mainstream social science journals over the past decade by testing the applicability of a 5A categorization (i.e., access, availability, appropriateness, acceptability, and applicability), proposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as a framework for understanding social scientific research in e-Health. This study used a quantitative, bottom-up approach to review the e-Health literature in social sciences published from 2000 to 2009. A total of 3005 e-Health studies identified from two social sciences databases (i.e., Social Sciences Citation Index and Arts & Humanities Citation Index) were analyzed with text topic modeling and structural analysis of co-word network, co-citation network, and scientific food web. There have been dramatic increases in the scale of e-Health studies in social sciences over the past decade in terms of the numbers of publications, journal outlets and participating disciplines. The results empirically confirm the presence of the 5A clusters in e-Health research, with the cluster of applicability as the dominant research area and the cluster of availability as the major knowledge producer for other clusters. The network analysis also reveals that the five distinctive clusters share much more in common in research concerns than what e-Health scholars appear to recognize. It is time to explicate and, more importantly, tap into the shared concerns cutting across the seemingly divided scholarly communities. In particular, more synergy exercises are needed to promote adherence of the field. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adolescent and Young Women's Contraceptive Decision-Making Processes: Choosing "The Best Method for Her".

PubMed

Melo, Juliana; Peters, Marissa; Teal, Stephanie; Guiahi, Maryam

2015-08-01

To evaluate influences on adolescent and young women's contraceptive decision-making processes. We conducted 21 individual interviews with women who presented to an adolescent-focused Title X family planning clinic seeking a new contraceptive method. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview guide, audio-taped and transcribed. Three researchers independently coded the transcripts using grounded theory; codes were organized into overarching themes and discrepancies were resolved. After identification of themes, we organized the conceptual framework of the decision-making process using the transtheoretical model of behavior change in which participants move through 4 stages: (1) contemplation, (2) preparation, (3) action, and (4) maintenance. When contemplating contraception, most of our participants were highly motivated to avoid pregnancy. During preparation, participants gathered information related to their contraceptive concerns. Participants cited peers as primary informants and healthcare providers as experts in the field. Participants integrated information received with their personal concerns about contraception initiation; the most common concerns were effectiveness, method duration, convenience, and side effects. When participants acted on choosing a contraceptive method they described how it fit their individual needs. They considered their contraceptive experiences unique and not necessarily applicable to others. During maintenance, they acted as informants for other peers, but most commonly expressed that each individual must choose "the best method for her." When adolescent and young women select a contraceptive method they balance the benefits and risks of available methods portrayed by peers and provider in the context of their personal concerns. Peer influence appeared to be greatest when participants shared contraceptive concerns and goals. Copyright © 2015 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Bridge Back to the Future: Public Health Ethics, Bioethics, and Environmental Ethics.

PubMed

Lee, Lisa M

2017-09-01

Contemporary biomedical ethics and environmental ethics share a common ancestry in Aldo Leopold's and Van Rensselaer Potter's initial broad visions of a connected biosphere. Over the past five decades, the two fields have become strangers. Public health ethics, a new subfield of bioethics, emerged from the belly of contemporary biomedical ethics and has evolved over the past 25 years. It has moved from its traditional concern with the tension between individual autonomy and community health to a wider focus on social justice and solidarity. Public health has a broad focus that includes individual, community, and environmental health. Public health ethics attends to these broad commitments reflected in the increasing concern with the connectedness of health of individuals to the health of populations, to the health of animals, to the health of the environment; it is well situated to reconnect all three "fields" of ethics to promote a healthier planet.

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are ecological disrupting compounds (EcoDC)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Richmond, Erinn; Grace, Michael; Kelly, John R.; Reisinger, Andrew; Rosi, Emma J.; Walters, David M.

2017-01-01

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are ubiquitous in freshwater ecosystems worldwide and are recognized as contaminants of concern. Currently, contaminants of concern are classified for their persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity (PBT criteria). PPCPs are not classified as persistent organic pollutants (POPs), although some PPCPs share characteristics similar to POPs. For example, PPCPs are known to be pseudopersistent due to constant discharge into the environment, often at low concentrations. At commonly reported environmental concentrations, PPCPs are rarely toxic, but the ability of these compounds to disrupt ecological processes and functions in freshwater ecosystems is often overlooked. Herein we briefly summarize recent studies highlighting the potential ecological effects of PPCPs, including effects on key ecological processes (e.g. primary productivity and community respiration), and we propose that appropriate screening for harmful effects of PPCPs in surface waters should be expanded to include Ecologically Disrupting Compounds (EcoDC) in addition to the established PBT criteria.

Putting the Focus Back on the Patient: How Privacy Concerns Affect Personal Health Information Sharing Intentions.

PubMed

Abdelhamid, Mohamed; Gaia, Joana; Sanders, G Lawrence

2017-09-13

Health care providers are driven by greater participation and systemic cost savings irrespective of benefits to individual patients derived from sharing Personal Health Information (PHI). Protecting PHI is a critical issue in the sharing of health care information systems; yet, there is very little literature examining the topic of sharing PHI electronically. A good overview of the regulatory, privacy, and societal barriers to sharing PHI can be found in the 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act. This study investigated the factors that influence individuals' intentions to share their PHI electronically with health care providers, creating an understanding of how we can represent a patient's interests more accurately in sharing settings, instead of treating patients like predetermined subjects. Unlike privacy concern and trust, patient activation is a stable trait that is not subject to change in the short term and, thus, is a useful factor in predicting sharing behavior. We apply the extended privacy model in the health information sharing context and adapt this model to include patient activation and issue involvement to predict individuals' intentions. This was a survey-based study with 1600+ participants using the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) data to validate a model through various statistical techniques. The research method included an assessment of both the measurement and structural models with post hoc analysis. We find that privacy concern has the most influence on individuals' intentions to share. Patient activation, issue involvement, and patient-physician relationship are significant predictors of sharing intention. We contribute to theory by introducing patient activation and issue involvement as proxies for personal interest factors in the health care context. Overall, this study found that although patients are open to sharing their PHI, they still have concerns over the privacy of their PHI during the sharing process. It is paramount to address this factor to increase information flow and identify how patients can assure that their privacy is protected. The outcome of this study is a set of recommendations for motivating the sharing of PHI. The goal of this research is to increase the health profile of the patients by integrating the testing and diagnoses of various doctors across health care providers and, thus, bring patients closer to the physicians. ©Mohamed Abdelhamid, Joana Gaia, G Lawrence Sanders. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 13.09.2017.

Human Non-persons, Feticide, and the Erosion of Dignity

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Feticide, the practice of terminating the life of an otherwise viable fetus in utero, has become an increasingly common practice in obstetric centres around the globe, a concomitant of antenatal screening technologies. This paper examines this expanding practice in light of the concept of human dignity. Although it is assumed from the outset that even viable human fetuses are not persons and as such do not enjoy full membership in the moral community, it is argued that the fact that these are nevertheless human fetuses affords them prima facie moral status. Thus even those who accept a liberal position with regard to therapeutic abortion, should be concerned about these more recent developments. Indeed, how we treat viable human fetuses has implications for our prospective treatment of other human non-persons and could undermine the common human dignity we all share. PMID:21212811

Predictors of parental concerns about child weight in parents of healthy-weight and overweight 2-6 year olds.

PubMed

Gomes, Ana Isabel; Barros, Luisa; Pereira, Ana Isabel

2017-01-01

Parental awareness and concerns about a child's weight can promote healthy food parenting behaviors. Understanding the factors that influence parent's concerns about childhood (over)weight may help professionals define more effective strategies when working with families. This study aimed to assess parental concerns about their young child's weight and to identify contributors of parental concerns about weight in parents of healthy-weight and overweight children, considered separately. Data collection was performed using a cross-sectional design. Parents of 339 children aged from 2 to 6 years completed a Children's Eating Habits Questionnaire and rated their perceptions of and concerns about their child's weight and diet quality. Children's body mass index was assessed and two samples were defined according to the child's nutritional status: healthy-weight (N = 230) and overweight (N = 109) children. Binomial logistic regression was used to predict parental concerns about the child's weight in each sample. Parental concerns about the child's weight were moderate in both groups. For healthy-weight children, parental concerns about the child's weight were significantly predicted by the parents' perception of the child's weight, concerns about the child's diet and the child's healthy food intake. In the overweight children group, parents' perception of the child's weight, concerns about the child's diet and perception of the child's diet quality predicted parental concerns, with the child's gender and recall of physician's warnings about the child's overweight condition as marginal predictors. Our results show that concerns about the child's weight in these two groups of parents share some common determinants but also differ regarding other factors, thus suggesting the need to consider these differences when working with parents of young children with different weight status. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Game Theoretic Framework for Analyzing Re-Identification Risk

PubMed Central

Wan, Zhiyu; Vorobeychik, Yevgeniy; Xia, Weiyi; Clayton, Ellen Wright; Kantarcioglu, Murat; Ganta, Ranjit; Heatherly, Raymond; Malin, Bradley A.

2015-01-01

Given the potential wealth of insights in personal data the big databases can provide, many organizations aim to share data while protecting privacy by sharing de-identified data, but are concerned because various demonstrations show such data can be re-identified. Yet these investigations focus on how attacks can be perpetrated, not the likelihood they will be realized. This paper introduces a game theoretic framework that enables a publisher to balance re-identification risk with the value of sharing data, leveraging a natural assumption that a recipient only attempts re-identification if its potential gains outweigh the costs. We apply the framework to a real case study, where the value of the data to the publisher is the actual grant funding dollar amounts from a national sponsor and the re-identification gain of the recipient is the fine paid to a regulator for violation of federal privacy rules. There are three notable findings: 1) it is possible to achieve zero risk, in that the recipient never gains from re-identification, while sharing almost as much data as the optimal solution that allows for a small amount of risk; 2) the zero-risk solution enables sharing much more data than a commonly invoked de-identification policy of the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); and 3) a sensitivity analysis demonstrates these findings are robust to order-of-magnitude changes in player losses and gains. In combination, these findings provide support that such a framework can enable pragmatic policy decisions about de-identified data sharing. PMID:25807380

Using Social Media to Discover Public Values, Interests, and Perceptions about Cattle Grazing on Park Lands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barry, Sheila J.

2014-02-01

In the western United States, livestock grazing often co-exists with recreation, cultural resource management and biodiversity protection on federal and state protected rangelands as well as on many local government open space areas. While the value of livestock grazing for managing rangeland vegetation to reduce fire fuel loads and improve wildlife habitat is increasingly recognized by resource management professionals, public concerns, and conflict between recreationist and livestock have led to reductions in public land grazing. Traditional public input methods yield a constrained picture of people's attitudes toward cows and public land grazing. Public meetings, hearings, and surveys, the most commonly used mechanisms for public land managers to solicit public opinion, tend to foster participation of organized special interests or, in the case of surveys, focus on a specific topic. General public input is limited. This study explored the use of personal photography in social media to gain insight into public perceptions of livestock grazing in public spaces. Key findings of this study include that many recreationist in grazed San Francisco Bay Area parks shared views, interests, and concerns about cows and grazing on the photo-sharing website, FlickrTM that seldom show up at a public meeting or in surveys. Results suggest that social media analysis can help develop a more nuanced understanding of public viewpoints useful in making decisions and creating outreach and education programs for public grazing lands. This study demonstrates that using such media can be useful in gaining an understanding of public concerns about natural resource management.

The Shared Superintendency: The Iowa Experience.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Decker, Robert H.; Talbot, Adrian P.

1990-01-01

Based on interviews with almost the entire population of shared superintendents in Iowa, this article discusses the pros and cons of shared superintendencies. Problems arose concerning logistics, decreased administrator visibility, loss of personal control, keeping district policies separate, and favoritism charges. Participants experienced high…

Revitalization of the shared commons: education for sustainability and marginalized cultures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glasson, George E.

2010-06-01

Education for sustainability provides a vision for revitalizing the environmental commons while preserving cultural traditions and human rights. What happens if the environmental commons is shared by two politically disparate and conflicting cultures? As in many shared common lands, what happens if one culture is dominant and represents a more affluent society with more resources and educational opportunities? In the case of the Tal and Alkaher study (Cult Stud Sci Edu, 2009), asymmetric power differences between the dominant Israeli society and the minority Arab population yielded different environmental narratives and perceptions of students involved in learning about a mediated conflict in national park land. Similarly, marginalized indigenous cultures in Malawi, Africa share common lands with the dominant European landowners but have distinctly different environmental narratives. Although indigenous ways of living with nature contribute to the sustainability of the environment and culture, African funds of knowledge are conspicuously absent from the Eurocentric school science curriculum. In contrast, examples of experiential learning and recent curriculum development efforts in sustainability science in Malawi are inclusive of indigenous knowledge and practices and are essential for revitalizing the shared commons.

12 CFR 221.116 - Bank loans to replenish working capital used to purchase mutual fund shares.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... purchase mutual fund shares. 221.116 Section 221.116 Banks and Banking FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM (CONTINUED... Bank loans to replenish working capital used to purchase mutual fund shares. (a) In a situation considered by the Board of Governors, a business concern (X) proposed to purchase mutual fund shares, from...

12 CFR 221.116 - Bank loans to replenish working capital used to purchase mutual fund shares.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... purchase mutual fund shares. 221.116 Section 221.116 Banks and Banking FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM (CONTINUED... Bank loans to replenish working capital used to purchase mutual fund shares. (a) In a situation considered by the Board of Governors, a business concern (X) proposed to purchase mutual fund shares, from...

Supporting shared decision making beyond consumer-prescriber interactions: Initial development of the CommonGround fidelity scale

PubMed Central

Fukui, Sadaaki; Salyers, Michelle P.; Rapp, Charlie; Goscha, Rick; Young, Leslie; Mabry, Ally

2015-01-01

Shared decision-making has become a central tenet of recovery-oriented, person-centered mental health care, yet the practice is not always transferred to the routine psychiatric visit. Supporting the practice at the system level, beyond the interactions of consumers and medication prescribers, is needed for successful adoption of shared decision-making. CommonGround is a systemic approach, intended to be part of a larger integration of shared decision-making tools and practices at the system level. We discuss the organizational components that CommonGround uses to facilitate shared decision-making, and we present a fidelity scale to assess how well the system is being implemented. PMID:28090194

Trust, confidentiality, and the acceptability of sharing HIV-related patient data: lessons learned from a mixed methods study about Health Information Exchanges.

PubMed

Maiorana, Andre; Steward, Wayne T; Koester, Kimberly A; Pearson, Charles; Shade, Starley B; Chakravarty, Deepalika; Myers, Janet J

2012-04-19

Concerns about the confidentiality of personal health information have been identified as a potential obstacle to implementation of Health Information Exchanges (HIEs). Considering the stigma and confidentiality issues historically associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease, we examine how trust-in technology, processes, and people-influenced the acceptability of data sharing among stakeholders prior to implementation of six HIEs intended to improve HIV care in parts of the United States. Our analyses identify the kinds of concerns expressed by stakeholders about electronic data sharing and focus on the factors that ultimately facilitated acceptability of the new exchanges. We conducted 549 surveys with patients and 66 semi-structured interviews with providers and other stakeholders prior to implementation of the HIEs to assess concerns about confidentiality in the electronic sharing of patient data. The patient quantitative data were analyzed using SAS 9.2 to yield sample descriptive statistics. The analysis of the qualitative interviews with providers and other stakeholders followed an open-coding process, and convergent and divergent perspectives emerging from those data were examined within and across the HIEs. We found widespread acceptability for electronic sharing of HIV-related patient data through HIEs. This acceptability appeared to be driven by growing comfort with information technologies, confidence in the security protocols utilized to protect data, trust in the providers and institutions who use the technologies, belief in the benefits to the patients, and awareness that electronic exchange represents an enhancement of data sharing already taking place by other means. HIE acceptability depended both on preexisting trust among patients, providers, and institutions and on building consensus and trust in the HIEs as part of preparation for implementation. The process of HIE development also resulted in forging shared vision among institutions. Patients and providers are willing to accept the electronic sharing of HIV patient data to improve care for a disease historically seen as highly stigmatized. Acceptability depends on the effort expended to understand and address potential concerns related to data sharing and confidentiality, and on the trust established among stakeholders in terms of the nature of the systems and how they will be used.

Bigorexia: bodybuilding and muscle dysmorphia.

PubMed

Mosley, Philip E

2009-05-01

Muscle dysmorphia is an emerging condition that primarily affects male bodybuilders. Such individuals obsess about being inadequately muscular. Compulsions include spending hours in the gym, squandering excessive amounts of money on ineffectual sports supplements, abnormal eating patterns or even substance abuse. In this essay, I illustrate the features of muscle dysmorphia by employing the first-person account of a male bodybuilder afflicted by this condition. I briefly outline the history of bodybuilding and examine whether the growth of this sport is linked to a growing concern with body image amongst males. I suggest that muscle dysmorphia may be a new expression of a common pathology shared with the eating disorders.

The religious foundations of health care: a conceptual approach.

PubMed Central

Sevensky, R L

1983-01-01

The relationship of religion and health is often misunderstood owing to a tendency to concentrate on the medical model and to ignore the wider context of heath care. A conceptual--as opposed to a historical--examination of this context reveals nine central religious ideas or categories which provide an ethical foundation and heritage for medical practice and health care delivery. These include doctrines of creation; dominion or stewardship; freedom and responsibility; human dignity or sanctity of life; love or compassion; covenant; justice; vocation; and finitude. A discussion of the complementarity of religion and medicine is necessary and should proceed from these shared values and common concerns. PMID:6620322

Participation in a mobile health intervention trial to improve retention in HIV care: does gender matter?

PubMed Central

van der Kop, Mia L; Muhula, Samuel; Ekström, Anna M; Jongbloed, Kate; Smillie, Kirsten; Abunah, Bonface; Kinagwi, Koki; Kyomuhangi, Lennie B; Gelmon, Lawrence; Ojakaa, David I; Lester, Richard T; Awiti, Patricia O

2017-01-01

Background To be consistent with the United Nations’ sustainable development goals on gender equality, mobile health (mHealth) programmes should aim to use communications technology to promote the empowerment of women. We conducted a pre-trial analysis of data from the WelTel Retain study on retention in HIV care to assess gender-based differences in phone access, phone sharing and concerns about receiving text messages from a healthcare provider. Methods Between April 2013–June 2015, HIV-positive adults were screened for trial participation at two clinics in urban slums in Nairobi, Kenya. Proportions of men and women excluded from the trial due to phone-related criteria were compared using a chi-square test. Gender-based differences in phone sharing patterns and concerns among trial participants were similarly compared. Results Of 1068 individuals screened, there was no difference in the proportion of men (n = 39/378, 10.3%) and women (n = 71/690, 10.3%) excluded because of phone-related criteria (p-value = 0.989). Among those who shared their phone, women (n = 52/108, 48.1%) were more likely than men (n = 6/60, 10.0%) to share with other non-household and household members (p <0.001). Few participants had concerns about receiving text messages from their healthcare provider; those with concerns were all women (n = 6/700). Discussion In this study, men and women were equally able to participate in a trial of an mHealth intervention. Equitable access in these urban slums may indicate the ‘gender digital divide’ is narrowing in some settings; however, gender-specific phone sharing patterns and concerns regarding privacy must be fully considered in the development and scale-up of mHealth programmes. PMID:27080746

Participation in a mobile health intervention trial to improve retention in HIV care: does gender matter?

PubMed

van der Kop, Mia L; Muhula, Samuel; Ekström, Anna M; Jongbloed, Kate; Smillie, Kirsten; Abunah, Bonface; Kinagwi, Koki; Kyomuhangi, Lennie B; Gelmon, Lawrence; Ojakaa, David I; Lester, Richard T; Awiti, Patricia O

2017-02-01

Background To be consistent with the United Nations' sustainable development goals on gender equality, mobile health (mHealth) programmes should aim to use communications technology to promote the empowerment of women. We conducted a pre-trial analysis of data from the WelTel Retain study on retention in HIV care to assess gender-based differences in phone access, phone sharing and concerns about receiving text messages from a healthcare provider. Methods Between April 2013-June 2015, HIV-positive adults were screened for trial participation at two clinics in urban slums in Nairobi, Kenya. Proportions of men and women excluded from the trial due to phone-related criteria were compared using a chi-square test. Gender-based differences in phone sharing patterns and concerns among trial participants were similarly compared. Results Of 1068 individuals screened, there was no difference in the proportion of men ( n = 39/378, 10.3%) and women ( n = 71/690, 10.3%) excluded because of phone-related criteria ( p-value = 0.989). Among those who shared their phone, women ( n = 52/108, 48.1%) were more likely than men ( n = 6/60, 10.0%) to share with other non-household and household members ( p < 0.001). Few participants had concerns about receiving text messages from their healthcare provider; those with concerns were all women ( n = 6/700). Discussion In this study, men and women were equally able to participate in a trial of an mHealth intervention. Equitable access in these urban slums may indicate the 'gender digital divide' is narrowing in some settings; however, gender-specific phone sharing patterns and concerns regarding privacy must be fully considered in the development and scale-up of mHealth programmes.

Examining age-related shared variance between face cognition, vision, and self-reported physical health: a test of the common cause hypothesis for social cognition

PubMed Central

Olderbak, Sally; Hildebrandt, Andrea; Wilhelm, Oliver

2015-01-01

The shared decline in cognitive abilities, sensory functions (e.g., vision and hearing), and physical health with increasing age is well documented with some research attributing this shared age-related decline to a single common cause (e.g., aging brain). We evaluate the extent to which the common cause hypothesis predicts associations between vision and physical health with social cognition abilities specifically face perception and face memory. Based on a sample of 443 adults (17–88 years old), we test a series of structural equation models, including Multiple Indicator Multiple Cause (MIMIC) models, and estimate the extent to which vision and self-reported physical health are related to face perception and face memory through a common factor, before and after controlling for their fluid cognitive component and the linear effects of age. Results suggest significant shared variance amongst these constructs, with a common factor explaining some, but not all, of the shared age-related variance. Also, we found that the relations of face perception, but not face memory, with vision and physical health could be completely explained by fluid cognition. Overall, results suggest that a single common cause explains most, but not all age-related shared variance with domain specific aging mechanisms evident. PMID:26321998

Using canine osteosarcoma as a model to assess efficacy of novel therapies: can old dogs teach us new tricks?

PubMed

Rodriguez, Carlos O

2014-01-01

Since its domestication more than 10,000 years ago, the dog has been the animal that most intimately shares our work and homelife. Interestingly, the dog also shares many of our diseases including cancer such as osteosarcoma. Like the human, osteosarcoma is the most common bone malignancy of the dog and death from pulmonary metastasis is the most common outcome. The incidence of this spontaneous bone neoplasm occurs ten times more frequently that it does so in children with about 8,000-10,000 cases estimated to occur in dogs in the USA. Because there is no "standard of care" in veterinary medicine, the dog can also serve us by being a model for this disease in children. Although the most common therapy for the dog with osteosarcoma is amputation followed by chemotherapy, not all owners choose this route. Consequently, novel therapeutic interventions can be attempted in the dog with or without chemotherapy that could not be done in humans with osteosarcoma due to ethical concerns. This chapter will focus on the novel therapies in the dog that have been reported or are in veterinary clinical trials at the author's institution. It is hoped that collaboration between veterinary oncologists and pediatric oncologists will lead to the development of novel therapies for (micro- or macro-) metastatic osteosarcoma that improve survival and might ultimately lead to a cure in both species.

Presentation and outcome of clinical poor performance in one health district over a 5-year period: 2002-2007.

PubMed

Cox, Stephen J; Holden, John D

2009-05-01

The detection, assessment, and management of primary care poor performance raise difficult issues for all those involved. Guidance has largely focused on managing the most serious cases where patient safety is severely compromised. The management of primary care poor performance has become an increasingly important part of primary care trust (PCT) work, but its modes of presentation and prevalence are not well known. To report the prevalence, presentation modes, and management of primary care poor performance cases presenting to one PCT over a 5-year period. A retrospective review of primary care poor performance cases in one district. St Helens PCT administered 35 practices with 130 GPs on the performers list, caring for 190 110 patients in North West England, UK. Cases presenting during 2002-2007 were initially reviewed by the chair of the PCT clinical executive committee. Anonymised data were then jointly reviewed by the assessor and another experienced GP advisor. There were 102 individual presentations (20 per year or one every 2-3 weeks) where clinician performance raised significant cause for concern occurred over the 5-year period. These concerns related to 37 individual clinicians, a range of 1-14 per clinician (mean 2.7). Whistleblowing by professional colleagues on 43 occasions was the most common presentation, of which 26 were from GPs about GPs. Patient complaints (18) were the second most common presentation. Twenty-seven clinicians were GPs, of whom the General Medical Council (GMC) were notified or involved in 13 cases. Clinicians were supported locally, and remedying was exclusively locally managed in 14 cases, and shared with an external organisation (such as the GMC or deanery) in another 12. Professional whistleblowing and patient complaints were the most common sources of presentation. Effective PCT teams are needed to manage clinicians whose performance gives cause for concern. Sufficient resources and both formal and informal ways of reporting concerns are essential.

Participation in Genetic Research: Amazon's Mechanical Turk Workforce in the United States and India.

PubMed

Groth, Susan W; Dozier, Ann; Demment, Margaret; Li, Dongmei; Fernandez, I Diana; Chang, Jack; Dye, Timothy

2016-01-01

Genomic research has innumerable benefits. However, if people are unwilling to participate in genomic research, application of knowledge will be limited. This study examined the likelihood of respondents from a high- and a low- to middle-income country to participate in genetic research. Cross-sectional data were collected using Amazon's Mechanical Turk workforce to ascertain attitudes toward participation in genetic research. Registered country of residence was either the US (n = 505) or India (n = 505). Multiple logistic regression models were used to assess adjusted effects of demographic characteristics, health, social status, beliefs and concerns on 4 genetic research outcomes. Participants from India who believed chance and powerful others influenced their health were more likely to participate in genetic research (OR = 1.0, 95% CI 1.0-1.1) and to agree with sharing of DNA data (OR = 1.1, 95% CI 1.1-1.2). US participants were more likely to be concerned about protection of family history, which they indicated would affect participation (OR = 3.6, 95% CI 2.1-6.0). Commonalities for the likelihood of participation were beliefs that genetic research could help find new treatments (India OR = 2.3, 95% CI 1.0-5.4; US OR = 4.7, 95% CI 2.0-11.2) and descendants would benefit (India OR = 2.6, 95% CI 1.2-5.5; US OR = 3.0, 95% CI 1.3-7.1). Concurrence of beliefs on benefits and concerns about genetic research suggest they may be common across countries. Consideration of commonalities may be important to increase global participation in genetic research. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Participation in Genetic Research: Amazon's Mechanical Turk Workforce in the United States and India Weigh In

PubMed Central

Groth, Susan W; Dozier, Ann; Demment, Margaret; Li, Dongmei; Fernandez, I Diana; Chang, Jack; Dye, Timothy

2016-01-01

Background Genomic research has innumerable benefits. However, if people are unwilling to participate in genomic research application of knowledge will be limited. This study examined the likelihood of respondents from a high and a low-middle income country to participate in genetic research. Methods Cross-sectional data were collected using Amazon's Mechanical Turk workforce to ascertain attitudes toward participation in genetic research. Registered country of residence was either the US (n = 505) or India (n = 505). Multiple logistic regression models were used to assess adjusted effects of demographic characteristics, health, social status, beliefs and concerns on four genetic research outcomes. Results India participants who believed chance and powerful others influenced their health were more likely to participate in genetic research (OR = 1.0: 95% CI [1.0, 1.1]) and to agree with sharing of DNA data (OR = 1.1: 95% CI [1.1, 1.2]). US participants were more likely to be concerned about protection of family history, which they indicated would affect participation (OR = 3.6: 95% CIs [2.1, 6.0]). Commonalities for likelihood of participation were beliefs that genetic research could help find new treatments (India OR = 2.3: 95% CIs [1.0, 5.4]: US OR = 4.7: 95% CI [2.0, 11.2]) and descendants would benefit (India OR = 2.6: 95% CIs [1.2, 5.5]: US OR = 3.0: 95% CIs [1.3, 7.1]). Conclusions Concurrence of beliefs on benefits and concerns about genetic research suggest they may be common across countries. Consideration of commonalities may be important to increase global participation in genetic research. PMID:27811475

Building the Synergy between Public Sector and Research Data Infrastructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Craglia, Massimo; Friis-Christensen, Anders; Ostländer, Nicole; Perego, Andrea

2014-05-01

INSPIRE is a European Directive aiming to establish a EU-wide spatial data infrastructure to give cross-border access to information that can be used to support EU environmental policies, as well as other policies and activities having an impact on the environment. In order to ensure cross-border interoperability of data infrastructures operated by EU Member States, INSPIRE sets out a framework based on common specifications for metadata, data, network services, data and service sharing, monitoring and reporting. The implementation of INSPIRE has reached important milestones: the INSPIRE Geoportal was launched in 2011 providing a single access point for the discovery of INSPIRE data and services across EU Member States (currently, about 300K), while all the technical specifications for the interoperability of data across the 34 INSPIRE themes were adopted at the end of 2013. During this period a number of EU and international initiatives has been launched, concerning cross-domain interoperability and (Linked) Open Data. In particular, the EU Open Data Portal, launched in December 2012, made provisions to access government and scientific data from EU institutions and bodies, and the EU ISA Programme (Interoperability Solutions for European Public Administrations) promotes cross-sector interoperability by sharing and re-using EU-wide and national standards and components. Moreover, the Research Data Alliance (RDA), an initiative jointly funded by the European Commission, the US National Science Foundation and the Australian Research Council, was launched in March 2013 to promote scientific data sharing and interoperability. The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC), besides being the technical coordinator of the implementation of INSPIRE, is also actively involved in the initiatives promoting cross-sector re-use in INSPIRE, and sustainable approaches to address the evolution of technologies - in particular, how to support Linked Data in INSPIRE and the use of global persistent identifiers. It is evident that government and scientific data infrastructures are currently facing a number of issues that have already been addressed in INSPIRE. Sharing experiences and competencies will avoid re-inventing the wheel, and help promoting the cross-domain adoption of consistent solutions. Actually, one of the lessons learnt from INSPIRE and the initiatives in which JRC is involved, is that government and research data are not two separate worlds. Government data are commonly used as a basis to create scientific data, and vice-versa. Consequently, it is fundamental to adopt a consistent approach to address interoperability and data management issues shared by both government and scientific data. The presentation illustrates some of the lessons learnt during the implementation of INSPIRE and in work on data and service interoperability coordinated with European and international initiatives. We describe a number of critical interoperability issues and barriers affecting both scientific and government data, concerning, e.g., data terminologies, quality and licensing, and propose how these problems could be effectively addressed by a closer collaboration of the government and scientific communities, and the sharing of experiences and practices.

Gut bacteria are rarely shared by co-hospitalized premature infants, regardless of necrotizing enterocolitis development

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

Raveh-Sadka, Tali; Thomas, Brian C.; Singh, Andrea

Premature infants are highly vulnerable to aberrant gastrointestinal tract colonization, a process that may lead to diseases like necrotizing enterocolitis. Thus, spread of potential pathogens among hospitalized infants is of great concern. Here, we reconstructed hundreds of high-quality genomes of microorganisms that colonized co-hospitalized premature infants, assessed their metabolic potential, and tracked them over time to evaluate bacterial strain dispersal among infants. We compared microbial communities in infants who did and did not develop necrotizing enterocolitis. Surprisingly, while potentially pathogenic bacteria of the same species colonized many infants, our genome-resolved analysis revealed that strains colonizing each baby were typically distinct.more » In particular, no strain was common to all infants who developed necrotizing enterocolitis. The paucity of shared gut colonizers suggests the existence of significant barriers to the spread of bacteria among infants. Furthermore, we demonstrate that strain-resolved comprehensive community analysis can be accomplished on potentially medically relevant time scales.« less

Gut bacteria are rarely shared by co-hospitalized premature infants, regardless of necrotizing enterocolitis development

DOE PAGES

Raveh-Sadka, Tali; Thomas, Brian C.; Singh, Andrea; ...

2015-03-03

Premature infants are highly vulnerable to aberrant gastrointestinal tract colonization, a process that may lead to diseases like necrotizing enterocolitis. Thus, spread of potential pathogens among hospitalized infants is of great concern. Here, we reconstructed hundreds of high-quality genomes of microorganisms that colonized co-hospitalized premature infants, assessed their metabolic potential, and tracked them over time to evaluate bacterial strain dispersal among infants. We compared microbial communities in infants who did and did not develop necrotizing enterocolitis. Surprisingly, while potentially pathogenic bacteria of the same species colonized many infants, our genome-resolved analysis revealed that strains colonizing each baby were typically distinct.more » In particular, no strain was common to all infants who developed necrotizing enterocolitis. The paucity of shared gut colonizers suggests the existence of significant barriers to the spread of bacteria among infants. Furthermore, we demonstrate that strain-resolved comprehensive community analysis can be accomplished on potentially medically relevant time scales.« less

Gut bacteria are rarely shared by co-hospitalized premature infants, regardless of necrotizing enterocolitis development

PubMed Central

Raveh-Sadka, Tali; Thomas, Brian C; Singh, Andrea; Firek, Brian; Brooks, Brandon; Castelle, Cindy J; Sharon, Itai; Baker, Robyn; Good, Misty; Morowitz, Michael J; Banfield, Jillian F

2015-01-01

Premature infants are highly vulnerable to aberrant gastrointestinal tract colonization, a process that may lead to diseases like necrotizing enterocolitis. Thus, spread of potential pathogens among hospitalized infants is of great concern. Here, we reconstructed hundreds of high-quality genomes of microorganisms that colonized co-hospitalized premature infants, assessed their metabolic potential, and tracked them over time to evaluate bacterial strain dispersal among infants. We compared microbial communities in infants who did and did not develop necrotizing enterocolitis. Surprisingly, while potentially pathogenic bacteria of the same species colonized many infants, our genome-resolved analysis revealed that strains colonizing each baby were typically distinct. In particular, no strain was common to all infants who developed necrotizing enterocolitis. The paucity of shared gut colonizers suggests the existence of significant barriers to the spread of bacteria among infants. Importantly, we demonstrate that strain-resolved comprehensive community analysis can be accomplished on potentially medically relevant time scales. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.05477.001 PMID:25735037

Trends in Institutional Financing. Practitioner Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brinkman, Paul

Data concerning higher education revenues during fiscal years 1973-1980 were collected. Four institutional perspectives were examined: market shares, sources of revenue, fund balances, and unit revenues. Six consumer-investor dimensions were also covered: the shares from federal, state, and local governments; private donor's share; the school's…

Data Management in Astrobiology: Challenges and Opportunities for an Interdisciplinary Community

PubMed Central

Suomela, Todd; Malone, Jim

2014-01-01

Abstract Data management and sharing are growing concerns for scientists and funding organizations throughout the world. Funding organizations are implementing requirements for data management plans, while scientists are establishing new infrastructures for data sharing. One of the difficulties is sharing data among a diverse set of research disciplines. Astrobiology is a unique community of researchers, containing over 110 different disciplines. The current study reports the results of a survey of data management practices among scientists involved in the astrobiology community and the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) in particular. The survey was administered over a 2-month period in the first half of 2013. Fifteen percent of the NAI community responded (n=114), and additional (n=80) responses were collected from members of an astrobiology Listserv. The results of the survey show that the astrobiology community shares many of the same concerns for data sharing as other groups. The benefits of data sharing are acknowledged by many respondents, but barriers to data sharing remain, including lack of acknowledgement, citation, time, and institutional rewards. Overcoming technical, institutional, and social barriers to data sharing will be a challenge into the future. Key Words: Data management—Data sharing—Data preservation. Astrobiology 14, 451–461. PMID:24840364

"They Can't Find Anything Wrong with Him, Yet": Mothers' experiences of parenting an infant with a prenatally diagnosed copy number variant (CNV).

PubMed

Werner-Lin, Allison; Walser, Sarah; Barg, Frances K; Bernhardt, Barbara A

2017-02-01

Chromosome microarray (CMA) testing is used widely in prenatal settings. Some copy number variants (CNVs) detected using CMA are associated with variable or uncertain phenotype and/or possible neurocognitive involvement. Little is known about parenting an infant following such findings. Researchers conducted interviews with 23 mothers of infants diagnosed prenatally with a potentially pathogenic CNV to elicit perspectives on the child's development and disclosure of results to others. Interviews were audiotaped and analyzed for common themes. Most respondents reported their infants were developing typically. The majority expressed concern about their child's future development given the CNV. They reassured themselves their child was unaffected by: comparing him/her to siblings, scrutinizing the child's appearance and behavior, or following provider reassurances. Even without developmental and neurological concerns, some remained acutely observant of their child's neurocognitive development, leading to enrollment in early intervention or ongoing medical assessments. Mothers who were unconcerned stated they would likely attribute atypical behavior or developmental to the CNV. All interviewees shared the result with pediatricians, relatives, or friends, and many shared across groups. Most shared information with pregnant friends considering prenatal testing, but withheld partial or full information from family members due to stigma, lack of understanding, inability to explain the CNV, or presumptions that the child was unaffected. Research must address the long-term consequences of returning uncertain results for parent-child bonding and costs of ongoing assessment and early intervention for typically developing children. Follow up appointments will permit providers to screen for anxiety and assuage worry in the absence of symptoms. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Medical teleconference about thoracic surgery using free Internet software.

PubMed

Obuchi, Toshiro; Shiono, Hiroyuki; Shimada, Junichi; Kaga, Kichizo; Kurihara, Masatoshi; Iwasaki, Akinori

2011-11-01

Surgical teleconferences using advanced academic networks are becoming common; however, reports regarding Internet teleconferencing using free software packages such as Skype, USTREAM, and Dropbox are very rare. Teleconferences concerning mainly surgical techniques were held five times between Fukuoka University Hospital and other institutions from April to September 2010. These teleconferences used Skype and USTREAM as videophones to establish communication. Both PowerPoint presentations and surgical videos were made. These presentation files were previously sent to all stations via mail, e-mail, or Dropbox, and shared. A slide-show was simultaneously performed following the presenter's cue in each station. All teleconferences were successfully completed, even though there were minor instances of the Skype link being broken for unknown reasons during the telecommunication. Internet surgical teleconferences using ordinary software are therefore considered to be sufficiently feasible. This method will become more convenient and common as the Internet environments advance.

75 FR 75725 - Survey of Information Sharing Practices With Affiliates

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-06

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Office of Thrift Supervision Survey of Information Sharing Practices... comments concerning the following information collection. Title of Proposal: Survey of Information Sharing...'') Public Law 108-159, 117 Stat. 1952. The OTS will gather information by means of a Survey to be completed...

12 CFR 700.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... that the facts that caused the deficient share-asset ratio no longer exist; and (ii) The likelihood of further depreciation of the share-asset ratio is not probable; and (iii) The return of the share-asset ratio to its normal limits within a reasonable time for the credit union concerned is probable; and (iv...

District Consolidation: Rivals Coming Together

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mart, Dan

2011-01-01

District consolidation is a highly emotional process. One key to success is sticking to the facts. In Iowa, school districts facing financial difficulties or enrollment concerns do not have to move directly to consolidation. In many cases, districts begin by developing sharing agreements. These sharing agreements may start with simple sharing of…

NUL Legislative Research: General Revenue Sharing: Pygmy or Behemoth?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Maudine Rice

1976-01-01

Asserts that concern with revenue sharing "is justified on the grounds that general revenue sharing may ultimately replace existing categorical programs, those programs specifically targeted for special groups." Concludes that the potential legal influence of this program may be used to promote effective civil rights enforcement. (Author/JM)

Grouping and binding in visual short-term memory.

PubMed

Quinlan, Philip T; Cohen, Dale J

2012-09-01

Findings of 2 experiments are reported that challenge the current understanding of visual short-term memory (VSTM). In both experiments, a single study display, containing 6 colored shapes, was presented briefly and then probed with a single colored shape. At stake is how VSTM retains a record of different objects that share common features: In the 1st experiment, 2 study items sometimes shared a common feature (either a shape or a color). The data revealed a color sharing effect, in which memory was much better for items that shared a common color than for items that did not. The 2nd experiment showed that the size of the color sharing effect depended on whether a single pair of items shared a common color or whether 2 pairs of items were so defined-memory for all items improved when 2 color groups were presented. In explaining performance, an account is advanced in which items compete for a fixed number of slots, but then memory recall for any given stored item is prone to error. A critical assumption is that items that share a common color are stored together in a slot as a chunk. The evidence provides further support for the idea that principles of perceptual organization may determine the manner in which items are stored in VSTM. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

Military Health System: Sustained Senior Leadership Needed to Fully Develop Plans for Achieving Cost Savings

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-02-26

left its existing structure in place, approving instead a shared - services directorate to consolidate common MHS functions (e.g., shared information...has seven main goals: (1) consolidate functions ( shared services ) common to DoD, (2) deliver more-integrated health care in areas with more than one

Gifting and sharing cigarettes in a rural Chinese village: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Rich, Zachary C; Hu, Mi; Xiao, Shuiyuan

2014-11-01

Quantitative measurement of the prevalence of cigarette sharing and gifting in a town in rural China and evaluation of the impact of these practices on individual smoking habits and family expenditures. An interview-based cross-sectional study of 105 households in rural Hunan, China tabulated household cigarette gifting and expenditures. Individual smoking and cigarette sharing activities were also recorded among 198 household members aged >15 years who were resident for at least 6 months. With regard to sharing cigarettes, 92% of men and 19% of women reported being offered a cigarette within the past week. Among previous and current smokers who had attempted to quit smoking, 90% reported that their friends had tried to dissuade them from quitting by tempting them with cigarettes. Concerning gifting cigarettes, 74% of households reported sending packaged cigarettes as gifts during the Chinese New Year Festival at an average expense of 2.8% of household annual income. Although households received an average of 12.4% of their annual cigarette consumption in the form of gifts during the Chinese New Year Festival, no association was found between the amount of cigarettes received by a household and the annual cigarette consumption for that household. Both gifting and sharing cigarettes are common in rural China. Gifting of cigarettes during the New Year Festival is a significant expenditure affecting both smoking and non-smoking households and may be an opportunity for additional mass media marketing. Among current and former smokers, sharing cigarettes in China is a major impediment to smoking cessation. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

49 CFR Appendix A to Part 211 - Statement of Agency Policy Concerning Waivers Related to Shared Use of Trackage or Rights-of-Way...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... rail crossing at grade, a shared method of train control, or shared highway-rail grade crossings. 4... waiver petitions, a Petition for Approval of Shared Use will be reviewed by the Safety Board. A non.... You should explain the nature of such simultaneous joint use, the system of train control, the...

Vibrio chromosomes share common history.

PubMed

Kirkup, Benjamin C; Chang, LeeAnn; Chang, Sarah; Gevers, Dirk; Polz, Martin F

2010-05-10

While most gamma proteobacteria have a single circular chromosome, Vibrionales have two circular chromosomes. Horizontal gene transfer is common among Vibrios, and in light of this genetic mobility, it is an open question to what extent the two chromosomes themselves share a common history since their formation. Single copy genes from each chromosome (142 genes from chromosome I and 42 genes from chromosome II) were identified from 19 sequenced Vibrionales genomes and their phylogenetic comparison suggests consistent phylogenies for each chromosome. Additionally, study of the gene organization and phylogeny of the respective origins of replication confirmed the shared history. Thus, while elements within the chromosomes may have experienced significant genetic mobility, the backbones share a common history. This allows conclusions based on multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) for one chromosome to be applied equally to both chromosomes.

To share or not to share: a randomized trial of consent for data sharing in genome research.

PubMed

McGuire, Amy L; Oliver, Jill M; Slashinski, Melody J; Graves, Jennifer L; Wang, Tao; Kelly, P Adam; Fisher, William; Lau, Ching C; Goss, John; Okcu, Mehmet; Treadwell-Deering, Diane; Goldman, Alica M; Noebels, Jeffrey L; Hilsenbeck, Susan G

2011-11-01

Despite growing concerns toward maintaining participants' privacy, individual investigators collecting tissue and other biological specimens for genomic analysis are encouraged to obtain informed consent for broad data sharing. Our purpose was to assess the effect on research enrollment and data sharing decisions of three different consent types (traditional, binary, or tiered) with varying levels of control and choices regarding data sharing. A single-blinded, randomized controlled trial was conducted with 323 eligible adult participants being recruited into one of six genome studies at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, between January 2008 and August 2009. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three experimental consent documents (traditional, n = 110; binary, n = 103; and tiered, n = 110). Debriefing in follow-up visits provided participants a detailed review of all consent types and the chance to change data sharing choices or decline genome study participation. Before debriefing, 83.9% of participants chose public data release. After debriefing, 53.1% chose public data release, 33.1% chose restricted (controlled access database) release, and 13.7% opted out of data sharing. Only one participant declined genome study participation due to data sharing concerns. Our findings indicate that most participants are willing to publicly release their genomic data; however, a significant portion prefers restricted release. These results suggest discordance between existing data sharing policies and participants' judgments and desires.

Surveying hospital network structure in New York State: how are they structured?

PubMed

Nauenberg, E; Brewer, C S

2000-01-01

We determine the most common network structures in New York state. The taxonomy employed uses three structural dimensions: integration, complexity, and risk-sharing between organizations. Based on a survey conducted in 1996, the most common type of network (26.4 percent) had medium levels of integration, medium or high levels of complexity, and some risk-sharing. Also common were networks with low levels of integration, low levels of complexity, and no risk-sharing (22.1 percent).

Beyond demarcation: Care ethics as an interdisciplinary field of inquiry.

PubMed

Leget, Carlo; van Nistelrooij, Inge; Visse, Merel

2017-01-01

For many years the body of literature known as 'care ethics' or 'ethics of care' has been discussed as regards its status and nature. There is much confusion and little structured discussion. The paper of Klaver et al. (2014) was written as a discussion article to which we respond. We aim to contribute to the ongoing discussion about the status and nature of care ethics. Responding to 'Demarcation of the ethics of care as a discipline' by Klaver et al. (2014) and 'Three versions of an ethics of care' by Edwards (2009), we identified shared concerns and formulated criticisms of both texts in order to develop an alternative view. Participants and research context: This paper has been written from the academic context of a master in care ethics an policy. Ethical considerations: We have tried to be fair and respectful to the authors discussed. Both Klaver et al. (2014) and Edwards (2009) raise important concerns about the question if care ethics can be considered an academic discipline, and to what extend it can be seen as a moral theory. Despite shared concerns, their arguments fail to convince us in all respects. We propose to conceive care ethics as an interdisciplinary field of inquiry, incorporating a dialectical relation between empirical research and theoretical reflection. Departing from the notion of caring as a practice of contributing to a life-sustaining web, we argue that care ethics can only profit from a loosely organized academic profile that allows for flexibility and critical attitude that brings us close to the good emerging in specific practices. This asks for ways of searching for a common focus and interest that is inherently democratic and dialogical and thus beyond demarcation.

Next generation terminology infrastructure to support interprofessional care planning.

PubMed

Collins, Sarah; Klinkenberg-Ramirez, Stephanie; Tsivkin, Kira; Mar, Perry L; Iskhakova, Dina; Nandigam, Hari; Samal, Lipika; Rocha, Roberto A

2017-11-01

Develop a prototype of an interprofessional terminology and information model infrastructure that can enable care planning applications to facilitate patient-centered care, learn care plan linkages and associations, provide decision support, and enable automated, prospective analytics. The study steps included a 3 step approach: (1) Process model and clinical scenario development, and (2) Requirements analysis, and (3) Development and validation of information and terminology models. Components of the terminology model include: Health Concerns, Goals, Decisions, Interventions, Assessments, and Evaluations. A terminology infrastructure should: (A) Include discrete care plan concepts; (B) Include sets of profession-specific concerns, decisions, and interventions; (C) Communicate rationales, anticipatory guidance, and guidelines that inform decisions among the care team; (D) Define semantic linkages across clinical events and professions; (E) Define sets of shared patient goals and sub-goals, including patient stated goals; (F) Capture evaluation toward achievement of goals. These requirements were mapped to AHRQ Care Coordination Measures Framework. This study used a constrained set of clinician-validated clinical scenarios. Terminology models for goals and decisions are unavailable in SNOMED CT, limiting the ability to evaluate these aspects of the proposed infrastructure. Defining and linking subsets of care planning concepts appears to be feasible, but also essential to model interprofessional care planning for common co-occurring conditions and chronic diseases. We recommend the creation of goal dynamics and decision concepts in SNOMED CT to further enable the necessary models. Systems with flexible terminology management infrastructure may enable intelligent decision support to identify conflicting and aligned concerns, goals, decisions, and interventions in shared care plans, ultimately decreasing documentation effort and cognitive burden for clinicians and patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

77 FR 75655 - Notice of Availability of Draft Director's Order #77-10 Concerning National Park Service Policies...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-21

... accordance with the National Parks Omnibus Management Act of 1998 (16 U.S.C. 5935(d)) that authorizes the....). This Order clarifies National Park Service Management Policies 2006 4.2.4, defines NPS benefits sharing, lists fundamental benefits-sharing principles, describes basic benefits- sharing procedures, addresses...

The growth and gaps of genetic data sharing policies in the United States

PubMed Central

Arias, Jalayne J.; Pham-Kanter, Genevieve; Campbell, Eric G.

2014-01-01

The 1996 Bermuda Principles launched a new era in data sharing, reflecting a growing belief that the rapid public dissemination of research data was crucial to scientific progress in genetics. A historical review of data sharing policies in the field of genetics and genomics reflects changing scientific norms and evolving views of genomic data, particularly related to human subjects’ protections and privacy concerns. The 2013 NIH Draft Genomic Data Sharing (GDS) Policy incorporates the most significant protections and guidelines to date. The GDS Policy, however, will face difficult challenges ahead as geneticists seek to balance the very real concerns of research participants and the scientific norms that propel research forward. This article provides a novel evaluation of genetic and GDS policies’ treatment of human subjects’ protections. The article examines not only the policies, but also some of the most pertinent scientific, legal, and regulatory developments that occurred alongside data sharing policies. This historical perspective highlights the challenges that future data sharing policies, including the recently disseminated NIH GDS Draft Policy, will encounter. PMID:27774180

Access to Essential Medicines in Pakistan: Policy and Health Systems Research Concerns

PubMed Central

Zaidi, Shehla; Bigdeli, Maryam; Aleem, Noureen; Rashidian, Arash

2013-01-01

Introduction Inadequate access to essential medicines is a common issue within developing countries. Policy response is constrained, amongst other factors, by a dearth of in-depth country level evidence. We share here i) gaps related to access to essential medicine in Pakistan; and ii) prioritization of emerging policy and research concerns. Methods An exploratory research was carried out using a health systems perspective and applying the WHO Framework for Equitable Access to Essential Medicine. Methods involved key informant interviews with policy makers, providers, industry, NGOs, experts and development partners, review of published and grey literature, and consultative prioritization in stakeholder’s Roundtable. Findings A synthesis of evidence found major gaps in essential medicine access in Pakistan driven by weaknesses in the health care system as well as weak pharmaceutical regulation. 7 major policy concerns and 11 emerging research concerns were identified through consultative Roundtable. These related to weaknesses in medicine registration and quality assurance systems, unclear and counterproductive pricing policies, irrational prescribing and sub-optimal drug availability. Available research, both locally and globally, fails to target most of the identified policy concerns, tending to concentrate on irrational prescriptions. It overlooks trans-disciplinary areas of policy effectiveness surveillance, consumer behavior, operational pilots and pricing interventions review. Conclusion Experience from Pakistan shows that policy concerns related to essential medicine access need integrated responses across various components of the health systems, are poorly addressed by existing evidence, and require an expanded health systems research agenda. PMID:23717442

Trust, confidentiality, and the acceptability of sharing HIV-related patient data: lessons learned from a mixed methods study about Health Information Exchanges

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Concerns about the confidentiality of personal health information have been identified as a potential obstacle to implementation of Health Information Exchanges (HIEs). Considering the stigma and confidentiality issues historically associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease, we examine how trust—in technology, processes, and people—influenced the acceptability of data sharing among stakeholders prior to implementation of six HIEs intended to improve HIV care in parts of the United States. Our analyses identify the kinds of concerns expressed by stakeholders about electronic data sharing and focus on the factors that ultimately facilitated acceptability of the new exchanges. Methods We conducted 549 surveys with patients and 66 semi-structured interviews with providers and other stakeholders prior to implementation of the HIEs to assess concerns about confidentiality in the electronic sharing of patient data. The patient quantitative data were analyzed using SAS 9.2 to yield sample descriptive statistics. The analysis of the qualitative interviews with providers and other stakeholders followed an open-coding process, and convergent and divergent perspectives emerging from those data were examined within and across the HIEs. Results We found widespread acceptability for electronic sharing of HIV-related patient data through HIEs. This acceptability appeared to be driven by growing comfort with information technologies, confidence in the security protocols utilized to protect data, trust in the providers and institutions who use the technologies, belief in the benefits to the patients, and awareness that electronic exchange represents an enhancement of data sharing already taking place by other means. HIE acceptability depended both on preexisting trust among patients, providers, and institutions and on building consensus and trust in the HIEs as part of preparation for implementation. The process of HIE development also resulted in forging shared vision among institutions. Conclusions Patients and providers are willing to accept the electronic sharing of HIV patient data to improve care for a disease historically seen as highly stigmatized. Acceptability depends on the effort expended to understand and address potential concerns related to data sharing and confidentiality, and on the trust established among stakeholders in terms of the nature of the systems and how they will be used. PMID:22515736

Anonymity Versus Privacy: Selective Information Sharing in Online Cancer Communities

PubMed Central

Vermeulen, Ivar E; Beekers, Nienke

2014-01-01

Background Active sharing in online cancer communities benefits patients. However, many patients refrain from sharing health information online due to privacy concerns. Existing research on privacy emphasizes data security and confidentiality, largely focusing on electronic medical records. Patient preferences around information sharing in online communities remain poorly understood. Consistent with the privacy calculus perspective adopted from e-commerce research, we suggest that patients approach online information sharing instrumentally, weighing privacy costs against participation benefits when deciding whether to share certain information. Consequently, we argue that patients prefer sharing clinical information over daily life and identity information that potentially compromises anonymity. Furthermore, we explore whether patients’ prior experiences, age, health, and gender affect perceived privacy costs and thus willingness to share information. Objective The goal of the present study is to document patient preferences for sharing information within online health platforms. Methods A total of 115 cancer patients reported sharing intentions for 15 different types of information, demographics, health status, prior privacy experiences, expected community utility, and privacy concerns. Results Factor analysis on the 15 information types revealed 3 factors coinciding with 3 proposed information categories: clinical, daily life, and identity information. A within-subject ANOVA showed a strong preference for sharing clinical information compared to daily life and identity information (F 1,114=135.59, P=.001, η2=.93). Also, adverse online privacy experiences, age, and health status negatively affected information-sharing intentions. Female patients shared information less willingly. Conclusions Respondents’ information-sharing intentions depend on dispositional and situational factors. Patients share medical details more willingly than daily life or identity information. The results suggest the need to focus on anonymity rather than privacy in online communities. PMID:24828114

Anonymity versus privacy: selective information sharing in online cancer communities.

PubMed

Frost, Jeana; Vermeulen, Ivar E; Beekers, Nienke

2014-05-14

Active sharing in online cancer communities benefits patients. However, many patients refrain from sharing health information online due to privacy concerns. Existing research on privacy emphasizes data security and confidentiality, largely focusing on electronic medical records. Patient preferences around information sharing in online communities remain poorly understood. Consistent with the privacy calculus perspective adopted from e-commerce research, we suggest that patients approach online information sharing instrumentally, weighing privacy costs against participation benefits when deciding whether to share certain information. Consequently, we argue that patients prefer sharing clinical information over daily life and identity information that potentially compromises anonymity. Furthermore, we explore whether patients' prior experiences, age, health, and gender affect perceived privacy costs and thus willingness to share information. The goal of the present study is to document patient preferences for sharing information within online health platforms. A total of 115 cancer patients reported sharing intentions for 15 different types of information, demographics, health status, prior privacy experiences, expected community utility, and privacy concerns. Factor analysis on the 15 information types revealed 3 factors coinciding with 3 proposed information categories: clinical, daily life, and identity information. A within-subject ANOVA showed a strong preference for sharing clinical information compared to daily life and identity information (F1,114=135.59, P=.001, η(2)=.93). Also, adverse online privacy experiences, age, and health status negatively affected information-sharing intentions. Female patients shared information less willingly. Respondents' information-sharing intentions depend on dispositional and situational factors. Patients share medical details more willingly than daily life or identity information. The results suggest the need to focus on anonymity rather than privacy in online communities.

49 CFR Appendix A to Part 211 - Statement of Agency Policy Concerning Waivers Related to Shared Use of Trackage or Rights-of-Way...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... not designed to be used in situations where there is a reasonable likelihood of a collision with much... rail crossing at grade, a shared method of train control, or shared highway-rail grade crossings. 4... waiver petitions, a Petition for Approval of Shared Use will be reviewed by the Safety Board. A non...

UK publicly funded Clinical Trials Units supported a controlled access approach to share individual participant data but highlighted concerns

PubMed Central

Hopkins, Carolyn; Sydes, Matthew; Murray, Gordon; Woolfall, Kerry; Clarke, Mike; Williamson, Paula; Tudur Smith, Catrin

2016-01-01

Objectives Evaluate current data sharing activities of UK publicly funded Clinical Trial Units (CTUs) and identify good practices and barriers. Study Design and Setting Web-based survey of Directors of 45 UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC)–registered CTUs. Results Twenty-three (51%) CTUs responded: Five (22%) of these had an established data sharing policy and eight (35%) specifically requested consent to use patient data beyond the scope of the original trial. Fifteen (65%) CTUs had received requests for data, and seven (30%) had made external requests for data in the previous 12 months. CTUs supported the need for increased data sharing activities although concerns were raised about patient identification, misuse of data, and financial burden. Custodianship of clinical trial data and requirements for a CTU to align its policy to their parent institutes were also raised. No CTUs supported the use of an open access model for data sharing. Conclusion There is support within the publicly funded UKCRC-registered CTUs for data sharing, but many perceived barriers remain. CTUs are currently using a variety of approaches and procedures for sharing data. This survey has informed further work, including development of guidance for publicly funded CTUs, to promote good practice and facilitate data sharing. PMID:26169841

When Autistic Behavior Suggests a Disease Other than Classic Autism.

PubMed

Simms, Mark D

2017-02-01

Most neurodevelopmental disorders are defined by their clinical symptoms and many disorders share common features. Recently there has been an increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, although concerns have been raised about the accuracy of the reported prevalence rates. This article reviews the essential features of autism spectrum disorder and describes other conditions that may include similar symptoms that may be misdiagnosed as autism spectrum disorder (primary communication disorders, anxiety disorders, attachment disorders, intellectual disability, vision and hearing impairment, and normal variations). An approach to differential diagnosis is discussed with particular attention to evaluation of young children. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Value of Vintage Observatories and Historic Telescopes in Communicating Astronomy with the Public

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bell, T. E.

2010-10-01

The Antique Telescope Society convened a thematic workshop, The Vintage Observatory: Thriving in the 21st Century, on 2-4 May 2008. The workshop's purpose was to bring together those charged with the care of observatories and telescopes built before World War II, to examine common issues and share practical solutions, specifically in preparation for the International Year of Astronomy in 2009. Although much of the workshop concerned issues of preservation and restoration, several sessions focused on the uses of historical artefacts as a means for public education and outreach on astronomy and the history of astronomy, including discussion of the unique opportunities vintage observatories and telescopes offer in intriguing the public about astronomy.

From painkiller to empathy killer: acetaminophen (paracetamol) reduces empathy for pain

PubMed Central

Crocker, Jennifer; Way, Baldwin M.

2016-01-01

Simulation theories of empathy hypothesize that empathizing with others’ pain shares some common psychological computations with the processing of one’s own pain. Support for this perspective has largely relied on functional neuroimaging evidence of an overlap between activations during the experience of physical pain and empathy for other people’s pain. Here, we extend the functional overlap perspective to the neurochemical level and test whether a common physical painkiller, acetaminophen (paracetamol), can reduce empathy for another’s pain. In two double-blind placebo-controlled experiments, participants rated perceived pain, personal distress and empathic concern in response to reading scenarios about another's physical or social pain, witnessing ostracism in the lab, or visualizing another study participant receiving painful noise blasts. As hypothesized, acetaminophen reduced empathy in response to others’ pain. Acetaminophen also reduced the unpleasantness of noise blasts delivered to the participant, which mediated acetaminophen's effects on empathy. Together, these findings suggest that the physical painkiller acetaminophen reduces empathy for pain and provide a new perspective on the neurochemical bases of empathy. Because empathy regulates prosocial and antisocial behavior, these drug-induced reductions in empathy raise concerns about the broader social side effects of acetaminophen, which is taken by almost a quarter of adults in the United States each week. PMID:27217114

Bioethics for clinicians: 28. Protestant bioethics

PubMed Central

Pauls, Merril; Hutchinson, Roger C.

2002-01-01

“PROTESTANT” IS A TERM APPLIED TO MANY DIFFERENT Christian denominations, with a wide range of beliefs, who trace their common origin to the Reformation of the 16th century. Protestant ideas have profoundly influenced modern bioethics, and most Protestants would see mainstream bioethics as compatible with their personal beliefs. This makes it difficult to define a uniquely Protestant approach to bioethics. In this article we provide an overview of common Protestant beliefs and highlight concepts that have emerged from Protestant denominations that are particularly relevant to bioethics. These include the sovereignty of God, the value of autonomy and the idea of medicine as a calling as well as a profession. Most Canadian physicians will find that they share certain values and beliefs with the majority of their Protestant patients. Physicians should be particularly sensitive to their Protestant patients' beliefs when dealing with end-of-life issues, concerns about consent and refusal of care, and beginning-of-life issues such as abortion, genetic testing and the use of assisted reproductive technologies. Physicians should also recognize that members of certain Protestant groups and denominations may have unique wishes concerning treatment. Understanding how to elicit these wishes and respond appropriately will allow physicians to enhance patient care and minimize conflict. PMID:11868645

Motivations, concerns and preferences of personal genome sequencing research participants: Baseline findings from the HealthSeq project

PubMed Central

Sanderson, Saskia C; Linderman, Michael D; Suckiel, Sabrina A; Diaz, George A; Zinberg, Randi E; Ferryman, Kadija; Wasserstein, Melissa; Kasarskis, Andrew; Schadt, Eric E

2016-01-01

Whole exome/genome sequencing (WES/WGS) is increasingly offered to ostensibly healthy individuals. Understanding the motivations and concerns of research participants seeking out personal WGS and their preferences regarding return-of-results and data sharing will help optimize protocols for WES/WGS. Baseline interviews including both qualitative and quantitative components were conducted with research participants (n=35) in the HealthSeq project, a longitudinal cohort study of individuals receiving personal WGS results. Data sharing preferences were recorded during informed consent. In the qualitative interview component, the dominant motivations that emerged were obtaining personal disease risk information, satisfying curiosity, contributing to research, self-exploration and interest in ancestry, and the dominant concern was the potential psychological impact of the results. In the quantitative component, 57% endorsed concerns about privacy. Most wanted to receive all personal WGS results (94%) and their raw data (89%); a third (37%) consented to having their data shared to the Database of Genotypes and Phenotypes (dbGaP). Early adopters of personal WGS in the HealthSeq project express a variety of health- and non-health-related motivations. Almost all want all available findings, while also expressing concerns about the psychological impact and privacy of their results. PMID:26036856

Compassion and Vigilance: Investigators' Strategies To Manage Ethical Concerns in Palliative and End-of-Life Research

PubMed Central

Cartwright, Juliana C.; Nelson, Christine A.; Knafl, Kathleen

2012-01-01

Abstract Background Ethical concerns were identified as a potential barrier to advancing palliative and end-of-life science at the 2004 National Institutes of Health State of the Science Meeting. However, data are lacking about the nature of ethical concerns and strategies for balancing the need to advance science with human subjects protections. Methods A qualitative case-study design was used to follow 43 end-of-life studies from proposal development through the review process and implementation. Investigators participated in semi-structured telephone interviews and provided document data regarding their experiences with grant and IRB reviews. Using constant comparative analysis within and across cases, the investigators identified commonly encountered and unique concerns and strategies for managing these concerns. Findings Investigator strategies fell into two broad categories: 1) Recruitment and consent strategies related to subject identification and enrollment; and 2) Protocol-related strategies related to the process of data collection. These strategies shared the overarching meta-themes of compassion, as evidenced by a heightened sensitivity to the needs of the population, coupled with vigilance, as evidenced by close attention to the possible effects of study participation on the participants' well-being, clinical care, and the needs of research staff. Conclusions Ethical concerns have led to the development of compassionate and vigilant strategies designed to balance the potential for risk of harm with the need to advance the science of palliative and end-of-life care. These strategies can be used by investigators to address ethical concerns and minimize barriers to the development of palliative and end-of-life care science. PMID:22731516

Compassion and vigilance: investigators' strategies to manage ethical concerns in palliative and end-of-life research.

PubMed

Hickman, Susan E; Cartwright, Juliana C; Nelson, Christine A; Knafl, Kathleen

2012-08-01

Ethical concerns were identified as a potential barrier to advancing palliative and end-of-life science at the 2004 National Institutes of Health State of the Science Meeting. However, data are lacking about the nature of ethical concerns and strategies for balancing the need to advance science with human subjects protections. A qualitative case-study design was used to follow 43 end-of-life studies from proposal development through the review process and implementation. Investigators participated in semi-structured telephone interviews and provided document data regarding their experiences with grant and IRB reviews. Using constant comparative analysis within and across cases, the investigators identified commonly encountered and unique concerns and strategies for managing these concerns. Investigator strategies fell into two broad categories: 1) Recruitment and consent strategies related to subject identification and enrollment; and 2) Protocol-related strategies related to the process of data collection. These strategies shared the overarching meta-themes of compassion, as evidenced by a heightened sensitivity to the needs of the population, coupled with vigilance, as evidenced by close attention to the possible effects of study participation on the participants' well-being, clinical care, and the needs of research staff. Ethical concerns have led to the development of compassionate and vigilant strategies designed to balance the potential for risk of harm with the need to advance the science of palliative and end-of-life care. These strategies can be used by investigators to address ethical concerns and minimize barriers to the development of palliative and end-of-life care science.

Adaptive cultural transmission biases in children and nonhuman primates.

PubMed

Price, Elizabeth E; Wood, Lara A; Whiten, Andrew

2017-08-01

Comparative and evolutionary developmental analyses seek to discover the similarities and differences between humans and non-human species that might illuminate both the evolutionary foundations of our nature that we share with other animals, and the distinctive characteristics that make human development unique. As our closest animal relatives, with whom we last shared common ancestry, non-human primates have been particularly important in this endeavour. Such studies have focused on social learning, traditions, and culture, and have discovered much about the 'how' of social learning, concerned with key underlying processes such as imitation and emulation. One of the core discoveries is that the adaptive adjustment of social learning options to different contexts is not unique to human, therefore multiple new strands of research have begun to focus on more subtle questions about when, from whom, and why such learning occurs. Here we review illustrative studies on both human infants and young children and on non-human primates to identify the similarities shared more broadly across the primate order, and the apparent specialisms that distinguish human development. Adaptive biases in social learning discussed include those modulated by task comprehension, experience, conformity to majorities, and the age, skill, proficiency and familiarity of potential alternative cultural models. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Knowledge Sharing among University Students Facilitated with a Creative Commons Licensing Mechanism: A Case Study in a Programming Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Chen-Chung; Lin, Chia-Ching; Chang, Chun-Yi; Chao, Po-Yao

2014-01-01

Creative Commons (CC) mechanism has been suggested as a potential means to foster a reliable environment for online knowledge sharing activity. This study investigates the role of the CC mechanism in supporting knowledge sharing among a group of university students studying programming from the perspectives of social cognitive and social capital…

Sharing Rare Attitudes Attracts.

PubMed

Alves, Hans

2018-04-01

People like others who share their attitudes. Online dating platforms as well as other social media platforms regularly rely on the social bonding power of their users' shared attitudes. However, little is known about moderating variables. In the present work, I argue that sharing rare compared with sharing common attitudes should evoke stronger interpersonal attraction among people. In five studies, I tested this prediction for the case of shared interests from different domains. I found converging evidence that people's rare compared with their common interests are especially potent to elicit interpersonal attraction. I discuss the current framework's theoretical implications for impression formation and impression management as well as its practical implications for improving online dating services.

Pilot Project on Women and Science. A report on women scientists at the University of New Mexico and Los Alamos National Laboratory

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

Salvaggio, R.

In the fall of 1991, through the coordinating efforts of the University of New Mexico and Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Pilot Project on Women and Science was initiated as a year-long study of women scientists at both the university and the laboratory. Its purpose was to gather information directly from women scientists in an attempt to analyze and make recommendations concerning the professional and cultural environment for women in the sciences. This report is an initial attempt to understand the ways in which women scientists view themselves, their profession, and the scientific culture they inhabit. By recording what thesemore » women say about their backgrounds and educational experiences, their current positions, the difficult negotiations many have made between their personal and professional lives, and their relative positions inside and outside the scientific community, the report calls attention both to the individual perspectives offered by these women and to the common concerns they share.« less

Cooperative measures to mitigate Asia-Pacific maritime conflicts.

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

Chai, Wen-Chung

2003-05-01

The economies of East Asia are predominantly export based and, therefore, place special emphasis on the security of the sea lines of communication (SLOCs). Due to economic globalization, the United States shares these concerns. Cooperative measures by the concerned parties could reduce the potential for disruption by maritime conflicts. Primary threats against the SLOCs are disputes over the resources under the seas, disputes over some small island groups, disputes between particular parties (China-Taiwan and North-South Korea), or illegal activities like smuggling, piracy, or terrorism. This paper provides an overview on these threats, issue by issue, to identify common elements andmore » needed cooperation. Cooperation on other topics such as search and rescue, fisheries protection, and oil spill response may help support improved relations to prevent maritime conflicts. Many technologies can help support maritime cooperation, including improved communications links, tracking and emergency beacon devices, and satellite imaging. Appropriate technical and political means are suggested for each threat to the SLOCs.« less

The effectiveness of strong afterglow phosphor powder in the detection of fingermarks.

PubMed

Liu, Li; Zhang, Zhongliang; Zhang, Limei; Zhai, Yuchun

2009-01-10

There are numerous types of fluorescent fingermark powders or reagents used with the visualization of latent fingermarks deposited on multicolored substrate surfaces that can present a contrast problem if developed with regular fingermark powders. The developed fingermarks can show bright fluorescence upon exposure to laser, ultraviolet light and other light sources. These kinds of methods share a common concern, where surfaces and other substrates may fluoresce also. To overcome this concern, we have developed a phosphor powder which offers a strong afterglow effect which aid in the establishment of better fingermark detection. With the advent of a phosphor powder no special devices are required and the results obtained from fresh or a few days aged latent fingermarks left on: non-porous; semi-porous and also on some porous surfaces have been good. The strong afterglow effect offered by phosphor powder is also applicable for cyanoacrylate fumed fingermarks. Lift off and photography procedures of the developed fingermarks are incorporated in this paper.

Shelter strategies, humanitarian praxis and critical urban theory in post-crisis reconstruction.

PubMed

Fan, Lilianne

2012-07-01

The paper seeks to link contemporary thinking on urban shelter in the humanitarian sector to debates in the field of 'critical urban theory'. It argues that current humanitarian thinking on urban shelter shares many common concerns with critical urban theory, but that these concerns are rarely translated effectively into humanitarian practice. It attributes this disconnect not only to weaknesses in implementation capacity, but also to the need to reorient humanitarian action to address more definitively questions of power and justice. Humanitarian actors need to step back from product-delivery approaches and find ways of integrating into their analytical, planning, implementation and monitoring tools questions about access, exclusion and the historically specific ways in which these aspects converge in particular urban spaces. By doing so, the humanitarian community would benefit from a more explicit, systematic and sustained engagement with the catalytic theoretical resources that critical urban theory has to offer. © 2012 The Author(s). Journal compilation © Overseas Development Institute, 2012.

Children's Perspectives on Everyday Experiences of Shared Residence: Time, Emotions and Agency Dilemmas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haugen, Gry Mette D.

2010-01-01

Shared residence is often presented as an arrangement that is in the best interests of the child following the divorce of its parents. Based on in-depth interviews with Norwegian children who have experienced shared residence, this article seeks to explore some dilemmas concerning time, agency and the children's emotions. Three characteristics of…

Dissemination Strategies and Devices, Part Four, Final Report for Phase I, Rural Shared Services.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Northern Montana Coll., Havre.

Part Four of a four-part report, designed to identify, synthesize, and evaluate shared services research and development efforts throughout the nation, presents a model to disseminate information concerning shared services information to rural educators. The discussion does not prescribe a "best-fit" model but presents several with an expanded…

Gay and Bisexual Men’s Perceptions of the Donation and Use of Human Biological Samples for Research: A Qualitative Study

PubMed Central

Patterson, Chris

2015-01-01

Human biological samples (biosamples) are increasingly important in diagnosing, treating and measuring the prevalence of illnesses. For the gay and bisexual population, biosample research is particularly important for measuring the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). By determining people’s understandings of, and attitudes towards, the donation and use of biosamples, researchers can design studies to maximise acceptability and participation. In this study we examine gay and bisexual men’s attitudes towards donating biosamples for HIV research. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 46 gay and bisexual men aged between 18 and 63 recruited in commercial gay scene venues in two Scottish cities. Interview transcripts were analysed thematically using the framework approach. Most men interviewed seemed to have given little prior consideration to the issues. Participants were largely supportive of donating tissue for medical research purposes, and often favourable towards samples being stored, reused and shared. Support was often conditional, with common concerns related to: informed consent; the protection of anonymity and confidentiality; the right to withdraw from research; and ownership of samples. Many participants were in favour of the storage and reuse of samples, but expressed concerns related to data security and potential misuse of samples, particularly by commercial organisations. The sensitivity of tissue collection varied between tissue types and collection contexts. Blood, urine, semen and bowel tissue were commonly identified as sensitive, and donating saliva and as unlikely to cause discomfort. To our knowledge, this is the first in-depth study of gay and bisexual men’s attitudes towards donating biosamples for HIV research. While most men in this study were supportive of donating tissue for research, some clear areas of concern were identified. We suggest that these minority concerns should be accounted for to develop inclusive, evidence-informed research protocols that balance collective benefits with individual concerns. PMID:26053741

Gay and Bisexual Men's Perceptions of the Donation and Use of Human Biological Samples for Research: A Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Patterson, Chris; McDaid, Lisa M; Hilton, Shona

2015-01-01

Human biological samples (biosamples) are increasingly important in diagnosing, treating and measuring the prevalence of illnesses. For the gay and bisexual population, biosample research is particularly important for measuring the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). By determining people's understandings of, and attitudes towards, the donation and use of biosamples, researchers can design studies to maximise acceptability and participation. In this study we examine gay and bisexual men's attitudes towards donating biosamples for HIV research. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 46 gay and bisexual men aged between 18 and 63 recruited in commercial gay scene venues in two Scottish cities. Interview transcripts were analysed thematically using the framework approach. Most men interviewed seemed to have given little prior consideration to the issues. Participants were largely supportive of donating tissue for medical research purposes, and often favourable towards samples being stored, reused and shared. Support was often conditional, with common concerns related to: informed consent; the protection of anonymity and confidentiality; the right to withdraw from research; and ownership of samples. Many participants were in favour of the storage and reuse of samples, but expressed concerns related to data security and potential misuse of samples, particularly by commercial organisations. The sensitivity of tissue collection varied between tissue types and collection contexts. Blood, urine, semen and bowel tissue were commonly identified as sensitive, and donating saliva and as unlikely to cause discomfort. To our knowledge, this is the first in-depth study of gay and bisexual men's attitudes towards donating biosamples for HIV research. While most men in this study were supportive of donating tissue for research, some clear areas of concern were identified. We suggest that these minority concerns should be accounted for to develop inclusive, evidence-informed research protocols that balance collective benefits with individual concerns.

Human Research Program Human Health Countermeasures Element Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Risk Standing Review Panel (SRP)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Norfleet, William; Harris, Bernard

2009-01-01

The Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Risk Standing Review Panel (SRP) was favorably impressed by the operational risk management approach taken by the Human Research Program (HRP) Integrated Research Plan (IRP) to address the stated life sciences issues. The life sciences community at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) seems to be focused on operational risk management. This approach is more likely to provide risk managers with the information they need at the time they need it. Concerning the information provided to the SRP by the EVA Physiology, Systems, and Performance Project (EPSP), it is obvious that a great deal of productive activity is under way. Evaluation of this information was hampered by the fact that it often was not organized in a fashion that reflects the "Gaps and Tasks" approach of the overall Human Health Countermeasures (HHC) effort, and that a substantial proportion of the briefing concerned subjects that, while interesting, are not part of the HHC Element (e.g., the pressurized rover presentation). Additionally, no information was provided on several of the tasks or how they related to work underway or already accomplished. This situation left the SRP having to guess at the efforts and relationship to other elements, and made it hard to easily map the EVA Project efforts currently underway, and the data collected thus far, to the gaps and tasks in the IRP. It seems that integration of the EPSP project into the HHC Element could be improved. Along these lines, we were concerned that our SRP was split off from the other participating SRPs at an early stage in the overall agenda for the meeting. In reality, the concerns of EPSP and other projects share much common ground. For example, the commonality of the concerns of the EVA and exercise physiology groups is obvious, both in terms of what reduced exercise capacity can do to EVA capability, and how the exercise performed during an EVA could contribute to an overall exercise countermeasure prescription.

78 FR 75677 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-12

... concerning the Commercial Property and Casualty Insurers Submission for Federal Share Compensation... with ``PRA Comments--Commercial Property and Casualty Insurers Submission for Federal Share...-0200. Title: Terrorism Risk Insurance Program--Commercial Property and Casualty Insurers Submission for...

Habitat connectivity and resident shared predators determine the impact of invasive bullfrogs on native frogs in farm ponds.

PubMed

Atobe, Takashi; Osada, Yutaka; Takeda, Hayato; Kuroe, Misako; Miyashita, Tadashi

2014-07-07

Habitat connectivity is considered to have an important role on the persistence of populations in the face of habitat fragmentation, in particular, for species with conservation concern. However, it can also impose indirect negative effects on native species through the spread of invasive species. Here, we investigated direct and indirect effects of habitat connectivity on populations of invasive bullfrogs and native wrinkled frogs and how these effects are modified by the presence of common carp, a resident shared predator, in a farm pond system in Japan. The distribution pattern analysis using a hierarchical Bayesian modelling indicated that bullfrogs had negative effects on wrinkled frogs, and that these negative effects were enhanced with increasing habitat connectivity owing to the metapopulation structure of bullfrogs. The analysis also suggested that common carp mitigated these impacts, presumably owing to a top-down trophic cascade through preferential predation on bullfrog tadpoles. These presumed interspecific interactions were supported by evidence from laboratory experiments, i.e. predation by carp was more intense on bullfrog tadpoles than on wrinkled frog tadpoles owing to the difference in refuge use. Our results indicate that metacommunity perspectives could provide useful insights for establishing effective management strategies of invasive species living in patchy habitats. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Tragedy of the Commons Fisheries Management Simulation Game

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prothero, W. A.

2011-12-01

The goal of the "Fishing Game" is that students will understand some of the issues that occur when multiple stakeholders share, and profit from, common and finite resources. Garrett Hardin described this as "The Tragedy of the Commons." The global fisheries provide a timely example of the over-exploitation of a shared resource. The forests, our water supplies, and atmosphere are other examples of "commons" that we must manage effectively. The "Fishing Game" is loosely based on the "Fishbanks Game" of Dennis Meadows. The student plays against two virtual fishing companies in an effort to make as much money as possible, while exploring the management issues that arise when trying to sustain the fish population for future profits. The player selects each of four realistic management scenarios. These are 1) free for all, 2) limited fishing season, 3) marine reserves, and 4) catch shares. For each scenario the student makes decisions about how many ships to build and how many to send to each of two fishing areas. A simple population model works in the background to determine the catch and number of new fish that are added to the population through birth each year. The student sets the management parameters for each of the scenarios. A modeling tool is used to determine the optimum parameters for each management scenario. The player will quickly find that a single aggressive player whose profit motive trumps concern over the sustainability of the population will almost always win under all scenarios except the 4'th. When the season is limited, everybody fishes harder. With marine reserves, catches will drop, but the population will not disappear completely. Only catch shares sustain the population while providing reasonable long term profit for the fishing companies. For each management scenario, the player is asked a pre and a post play thought question. After all scenarios are played, the student can edit the post versions of the thought questions, plus several added questions about his/her ideas and experience with the game. The game results and answers to the questions are then automatically emailed to the instructor, or printed for hand-in. The teacher can also monitor student progress with an online tool. The game provides an effective way to start students thinking about how science and policy intersect and how human nature and the profit motive affect management strategies. Important issues that are not addressed by the game are destruction of fisheries habitat, by-catch, and international law.

Health Concerns for Gay and Lesbian Teens

MedlinePlus

... Text Size Email Print Share Health Concerns for Gay and Lesbian Teens Page Content Article Body Sexual activity Most teens, whether they are gay, lesbian, bisexual , or straight, are not sexually active. ...

Integrating cultural community psychology: activity settings and the shared meanings of intersubjectivity.

PubMed

O'Donnell, Clifford R; Tharp, Roland G

2012-03-01

Cultural and community psychology share a common emphasis on context, yet their leading journals rarely cite each other's articles. Greater integration of the concepts of culture and community within and across their disciplines would enrich and facilitate the viability of cultural community psychology. The contextual theory of activity settings is proposed as one means to integrate the concepts of culture and community in cultural community psychology. Through shared activities, participants develop common experiences that affect their psychological being, including their cognitions, emotions, and behavioral development. The psychological result of these experiences is intersubjectivity. Culture is defined as the shared meanings that people develop through their common historic, linguistic, social, economic, and political experiences. The shared meanings of culture arise through the intersubjectivity developed in activity settings. Cultural community psychology presents formidable epistemological challenges, but overcoming these challenges could contribute to the transformation and advancement of community psychology.

Sharing psychological skills in the general practice setting.

PubMed

Weinman, J; Medlik, L

1985-09-01

Three broad areas of work are described in this paper. The first is concerned with the nature of psychological processes within the general practice consultation and the indications these provide for skill sharing. In the second section there is an account of courses designed to develop skills in the recognition of psychological aspects of illness and in the detection of psychological problems. The third section outlines various courses for developing and improving the consulting and counselling skills of general practitioners. In addition to describing a range of skills developed by ourselves and others, two general themes emerge from this paper. The first concerns the appropriateness of the general practice setting for the sharing of psychological skills and the extent to which the psychologist may be able to complement the skills of the general practitioner. The second theme concerns the importance of helping general practitioners to identify their own learning needs as an essential first step in deciding how to structure courses to meet these needs.

The Non-Problem of the Other Minds: A Neurodevelopmental Perspective on Shared Intentionality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colle, Livia; Becchio, Cristina; Bara, Bruno G.

2008-01-01

In this paper, we combine neurological and developmental evidences in order to differentiate between two levels of sharing: dyadic sharing, virtually present from birth and depending on the activation of shared representation, and triadic sharing, requiring that agents not only share a common representation, but also represent complementary…

75 FR 57310 - American Capital, Ltd.; Notice of Application

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-20

... markets for the common stock, the Fair Market Value will be determined in good faith by the Board, but in.... Under the Plan, a maximum of 750,000 shares of applicant's common stock, in the aggregate, may be issued to Non-employee Directors and options to purchase 93,750 shares of applicant's common stock may be...

Young Children's Understanding of Cultural Common Ground

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liebal, Kristin; Carpenter, Malinda; Tomasello, Michael

2013-01-01

Human social interaction depends on individuals identifying the common ground they have with others, based both on personally shared experiences and on cultural common ground that all members of the group share. We introduced 3- and 5-year-old children to a culturally well-known object and a novel object. An experimenter then entered and asked,…

78 FR 13715 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; The Options Clearing Corporation; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-28

... Change To Provide Clarifying Language To Conform Interpretive Guidance Concerning Options Overlying Fund... providing clarifying language to conform interpretive guidance concerning options on fund shares with...

Information Sharing and Collaboration Business Plan

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-03-30

for information sharing The proposed environment will need a common definition of terms and dictionaries of competing terms where common definitions...a lexicon, a monolingual on-line handbook, and a thesaurus and ontology of abbreviations, acronyms, and terminology. (ISCO 2005, 18

Willingness of older adults to share data and privacy concerns after exposure to unobtrusive in-home monitoring.

PubMed

Boise, Linda; Wild, Katherine; Mattek, Nora; Ruhl, Mary; Dodge, Hiroko H; Kaye, Jeffrey

2013-01-01

Older adult participants in the Intelligent Systems for Assessment of Aging Changes study (ISAAC) carried out by the Oregon Center for Aging and Technology (ORCATECH) were surveyed regarding their attitudes about unobtrusive home monitoring and computer use at baseline and after one year (n=119). The survey was part of a longitudinal study using in-home sensor technology to detect cognitive changes and other health problems. Our primary objective was to measure willingness to share health or activity data with one's doctor or family members and concerns about privacy or security of monitoring over one year of study participation. Differences in attitudes of participants with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) compared to those with normal cognition were also examined. A high proportion (over 72%) of participants reported acceptance of in-home and computer monitoring and willingness to have data shared with their doctor or family members. However, a majority (60%) reported concerns related to privacy or security; these concerns increased after one year of participation. Few differences between participants with MCI and those with normal cognition were identified. Findings suggest that involvement in this unobtrusive in-home monitoring study may have raised awareness about the potential privacy risks of technology. Still, results show high acceptance, stable over time, of sharing information from monitoring systems with family members and doctors. Our findings have important implications for the deployment of technologies among older adults in research studies as well as in the general community.

Simulating the Tragedy of the Commons with the Fishing Game

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prothero, W. A.

2009-12-01

The "Tragedy of the Commons" (Garrett Hardin) exemplifies the challenges and conflicts that occur when a common resource is shared by multiple users whose motive is profit. The global fisheries provide a timely example of the over-exploitation of a shared resource. The "Fishing Game" was inspired by the "Fishbanks Game" of Dennis Meadows. The student plays against two virtual fishing companies in an effort to make as much money as possible, while exploring the management issues that arise when trying to sustain the fish population for future profits. The game is played with four realistic management scenarios. These are 1) free for all, 2) limited fishing season, 3) marine reserves, and 4) catch shares. For each scenario the student makes decisions about how many ships to build and how many to send to each of two fishing areas. A simple population model works in the background to determine the catch and number of new fish that are added to the population through birth each year. The student sets the management parameters for each of the scenarios. Each of the scenarios can be modeled by the student to determine the optimum parameters. The player will quickly find that a single aggressive player whose profit motive trumps concern over the sustainability of the population will almost always win under all scenarios except the 4’th. When the season is limited, everybody fishes harder. With marine reserves, catches will drop, but the population will not disappear completely. Only catch shares sustain the population while providing reasonable long term profit for the fishing companies. For each management scenario, the player is asked a pre and a post thought question asking what issues they think are relevant. After all scenarios are played, the student can edit the post versions of the thought questions, plus several added questions about their experience with the game. The game results and answers to the questions are then automatically emailed to the instructor, or printed for hand-in. The game provides an effective way to start students thinking about how science and policy intersect and how human nature and the profit motive affect management strategies. Important issues that are not addressed by the game are destruction of fisheries habitat, by-catch, and international law.

Exploring the concepts of privacy and the sharing of sensitive health information.

PubMed

Asiri, Eman; Asiri, Hanan; Househ, Mowafa

2014-01-01

People are increasingly sharing their personal information on social networks such as Facebook. Patients, in particular, join online support groups for specific conditions to get support and share their experience with other members of a social media group. Throughout this process, sensitive health information could be shared by group members as a part of this information exchange and privacy concerns can arise as a result. The purpose of this study is to explore various aspects relating to privacy and the sharing of sensitive health information through social media platforms. Our review found that social media such as Facebook already plays a large role in patients' lives as it helps patients to understand their health conditions and gain support from other people who suffer from the same condition. However, there are major concerns for those patients as their privacy and confidentiality can be harmed by improper use of their posted sensitive health information by governments, hospitals or individuals. More importantly, there is an increased need for laws and legislations that protect and empower patients. We recommend that healthcare organizations collaborate with social media software companies and create educational and awareness campaigns on the impacts of sharing sensitive health information through social media.

Defense Health Care: Applying Key Management Practices Should Help Achieve Efficiencies within the Military Health System

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-04-01

5. Realign the TRICARE Management Activity and establish a Joint Military Health Service Directorate to consolidate shared services and common...Directorate to consolidate shared services and common functions Realign TRICARE Management Activity and establish a TRICARE Health Plan Agency to...Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, (2) TRICARE health plan, (3) Health Management Support, and (4) Shared Services division

Interactome Analysis of Microtubule-targeting Agents Reveals Cytotoxicity Bases in Normal Cells.

PubMed

Gutiérrez-Escobar, Andrés Julián; Méndez-Callejas, Gina

2017-12-01

Cancer causes millions of deaths annually and microtubule-targeting agents (MTAs) are the most commonly-used anti-cancer drugs. However, the high toxicity of MTAs on normal cells raises great concern. Due to the non-selectivity of MTA targets, we analyzed the interaction network in a non-cancerous human cell. Subnetworks of fourteen MTAs were reconstructed and the merged network was compared against a randomized network to evaluate the functional richness. We found that 71.4% of the MTA interactome nodes are shared, which affects cellular processes such as apoptosis, cell differentiation, cell cycle control, stress response, and regulation of energy metabolism. Additionally, possible secondary targets were identified as client proteins of interphase microtubules. MTAs affect apoptosis signaling pathways by interacting with client proteins of interphase microtubules, suggesting that their primary targets are non-tumor cells. The paclitaxel and doxorubicin networks share essential topological axes, suggesting synergistic effects. This may explain the exacerbated toxicity observed when paclitaxel and doxorubicin are used in combination for cancer treatment. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Realisation of a joint consumer engagement strategy in the Nepean Blue Mountains region.

PubMed

Blignault, Ilse; Aspinall, Diana; Reay, Lizz; Hyman, Kay

2017-02-15

Ensuring consumer engagement at different levels of the health system - direct care, organisational design and governance and policy - has become a strategic priority. This case study explored, through interviews with six purposively selected 'insiders' and document review, how one Medicare Local (now a Primary Health Network, PHN) and Local Health District worked together with consumers, to establish a common consumer engagement structure and mechanisms to support locally responsive, integrated and consumer-centred services. The two healthcare organisations worked as partners across the health system, sharing ownership and responsibility. Critical success factors included a consumer champion working with other highly motivated consumers concerned with improving the health system, a budget, and ongoing commitment from the Medicare Local or PHN and the Local Health District at executive and board level. Shared boundaries were an enormous advantage. Activities were jointly planned and executed, with consumer participation paramount. Training and mentoring enhanced consumer capacity and confidence. Bringing everyone on board and building on existing structures required time, effort and resources. The initiative produced immediate and lasting benefits, with consumer engagement now embedded in organisational governance and practice.

Weighing the Balance of Science Literacy in Education and Public Policy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buxner, S.; Impey, C.; Johnson, B.

2015-11-01

Science literacy is a concern of educators and policy makers in the United States and all over the world. Science literacy is defined by society and includes important knowledge for individuals that varies with culture and local knowledge systems. The technological societies of the western world have delegated the knowledge that underpins their everyday world to mechanics who know how their cars work, technicians who know how their computers work, and policy wonks who know how their individual choices and actions will affect the environment and their health. The scientific principles that frame and sculpt the technological world are invisible and mysterious to most people. A question for debate is whether or not this is a healthy situation or not, and if not, what to do about it. The panelists shared their prospects and challenges of building science literacy with individuals in the United States and with Tibetan monks. As they discussed their efforts working with these different populations, they shared lessons based on common issues and unique solutions based on local knowledge systems and communities of learners.

Shared-Ride Taxi Computer Control System Requirements Study

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1977-08-01

The technical problem of scheduling and routing shared-ride taxi service is so great that only computers can handle it efficiently. This study is concerned with defining the requirements of such a computer system. The major objective of this study is...

CuseCar--community car-sharing program : car sharing lessons learned.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-08-01

CuseCar of Syracuse launched services in December 2008 with 3 Toyota Prius Hybrids. CuseCar initially, due to : concerns about availability, limited membership to Origination Sponsor Locations, which in turn developed few : members. In 2009 CuseCar o...

Presentation and outcome of clinical poor performance in one health district over a 5-year period: 2002–2007

PubMed Central

Cox, Stephen J; Holden, John D

2009-01-01

Background The detection, assessment, and management of primary care poor performance raise difficult issues for all those involved. Guidance has largely focused on managing the most serious cases where patient safety is severely compromised. The management of primary care poor performance has become an increasingly important part of primary care trust (PCT) work, but its modes of presentation and prevalence are not well known. Aim To report the prevalence, presentation modes, and management of primary care poor performance cases presenting to one PCT over a 5-year period. Design of study A retrospective review of primary care poor performance cases in one district. Setting St Helens PCT administered 35 practices with 130 GPs on the performers list, caring for 190 110 patients in North West England, UK. Method Cases presenting during 2002–2007 were initially reviewed by the chair of the PCT clinical executive committee. Anonymised data were then jointly reviewed by the assessor and another experienced GP advisor. Results There were 102 individual presentations (20 per year or one every 2–3 weeks) where clinician performance raised significant cause for concern occurred over the 5-year period. These concerns related to 37 individual clinicians, a range of 1–14 per clinician (mean 2.7). Whistleblowing by professional colleagues on 43 occasions was the most common presentation, of which 26 were from GPs about GPs. Patient complaints (18) were the second most common presentation. Twenty-seven clinicians were GPs, of whom the General Medical Council (GMC) were notified or involved in 13 cases. Clinicians were supported locally, and remedying was exclusively locally managed in 14 cases, and shared with an external organisation (such as the GMC or deanery) in another 12. Conclusion Professional whistleblowing and patient complaints were the most common sources of presentation. Effective PCT teams are needed to manage clinicians whose performance gives cause for concern. Sufficient resources and both formal and informal ways of reporting concerns are essential. PMID:19401017

Sharing without caring? Respect for moral others compensates for low sympathy in children's sharing.

PubMed

Zuffianò, Antonio; Colasante, Tyler; Peplak, Joanna; Malti, Tina

2015-06-01

We examined links between sharing, respect for moral others, and sympathy in an ethnically diverse sample of 7- and 15-year-olds (N = 146). Sharing was assessed through children's allocation of resources in the dictator game. Children reported their respect towards hypothetical characters performing moral acts. Sympathy was evaluated via caregiver and child reports. Respect and caregiver-reported sympathy interacted in predicting sharing: Higher levels of respect were associated with higher levels of sharing for children with low, but not medium or high, levels of sympathy. The motivational components of other-oriented respect may compensate for low levels of sympathetic concern in the promotion of sharing. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

Patient perception and the barriers to practicing patient-centered communication: A survey and in-depth interview of Chinese patients and physicians.

PubMed

Ting, Xu; Yong, Bao; Yin, Liang; Mi, Tian

2016-03-01

To investigate patient perceptions of patient-centered communication (PCC) in doctor-patient consultations and explore barriers to PCC implementation in China. This study was conducted in public teaching hospital in Guiyang, Guizhou, China. In Phase 1, patient attitudes to PCC were quantitatively assessed in 317 outpatients using modified Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS). In Phase 2, we conducted in-depth interviews with 20 outpatients to explore their views on PCC and expose potential barriers to PCC implementation. Participants communicated "patient-centered" preferences, particularly with regard to their doctors' empathy, communication skills, time and information sharing. Patients were more concerned about doctors exhibiting caring perspective than power sharing. Younger and highly educated patients were more likely to prefer PCC and highly educated patients paid more attention to power sharing. Several factors including inadequate time for PCC resulting from doctors' high patient-load, doctor-patient communication difficulties and excessive treatment due to inappropriate medical payment system affected PCC implementation in China. Patients expressed moderate enthusiasm for PCC in China. They expressed strong preferences concerning physician respect for patient perspective, but less concern for power sharing. Government should improve health care system by implementing PCC in daily healthcare practice to improve patient awareness and preferences. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Recommendations for clinical biomarker specimen preservation and stability assessments.

PubMed

Dakappagari, Naveen; Zhang, Hui; Stephen, Laurie; Amaravadi, Lakshmi; Khan, Masood U

2017-04-01

With the wide use of biomarkers to enable critical drug-development decisions, there is a growing concern from scientific community on the need for a 'standardized process' for ensuring biomarker specimen stability and hence, a strong desire to share best practices on preserving the integrity of biomarker specimens in clinical trials and the design of studies to evaluate analyte stability. By leveraging representative industry experience, we have attempted to provide an overview of critical aspects of biomarker specimen stability commonly encountered during clinical development, including: planning of clinical sample collection procedures, clinical site training, selection of sample preservation buffers, shipping logistics, fit-for-purpose stability assessments in the analytical laboratory and presentation of case studies covering widely utilized biomarker specimen types.

[Doping, sport and addiction--any links?].

PubMed

Foucart, J; Verbanck, P; Lebrun, P

2015-01-01

Sport is widely encouraged as it is beneficial for health. However, high-performance sport is more and more associated to rather suspicious practices; doping is one of the best example. From a physician point of view, the use of doping agents is obviously a major concern because taking such products often induce serious adverse effects on health. The present manuscript aims to inform physicians about the most frequent doping practices. It also points out that intensive sport can generate an "addictive" behavior sharing with "common"addictions a loss of practice control, a lack of interest in other activities and even a sport's practice detrimental to athlete's health. Analysis of the doping issue needs to take this reality into account as some doping products display an established " addictive" effect.

49 CFR Appendix A to Part 211 - Statement of Agency Policy Concerning Waivers Related to Shared Use of Trackage or Rights-of-Way...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... not designed to be used in situations where there is a reasonable likelihood of a collision with much... rail crossing at grade, a shared method of train control, or shared highway-rail grade crossings. 4.... You should explain the nature of such simultaneous joint use, the system of train control, the...

Transatlantic Collaboration: Government Policies, Industry Perspectives

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-01-01

nations would be better able to rationalize, standardize, and increase the interoperability (RSI) of their forces. RSI was seen as a positive outcome for...peacetime, it was hoped that collaboration would also increase NATO burden-sharing. Concern over burden-sharing and RSI led Congress to pass three...to increase RSI and burden-sharing. Protective trade barriers and Buy America provisions make collaborative programs less, rather than more, feasible

Chaotic Dynamics and Application of LCR Oscillators Sharing Common Nonlinearity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeevarekha, A.; Paul Asir, M.; Philominathan, P.

2016-06-01

This paper addresses the problem of sharing common nonlinearity among nonautonomous and autonomous oscillators. By choosing a suitable common nonlinear element with the driving point characteristics capable of bringing out chaotic motion in a combined system, we obtain identical chaotic states. The dynamics of the coupled system is explored through numerical and experimental studies. Employing the concept of common nonlinearity, a simple chaotic communication system is modeled and its performance is verified through Multisim simulation.

Willingness to share personal health record data for care improvement and public health: a survey of experienced personal health record users.

PubMed

Weitzman, Elissa R; Kelemen, Skyler; Kaci, Liljana; Mandl, Kenneth D

2012-05-22

Data stored in personally controlled health records (PCHRs) may hold value for clinicians and public health entities, if patients and their families will share them. We sought to characterize consumer willingness and unwillingness (reticence) to share PCHR data across health topics, and with different stakeholders, to advance understanding of this issue. Cross-sectional 2009 Web survey of repeat PCHR users who were patients over 18 years old or parents of patients, to assess willingness to share their PCHR data with an-out-of-hospital provider to support care, and the state/local public health authority to support monitoring; the odds of reticence to share PCHR information about ten exemplary health topics were estimated using a repeated measures approach. Of 261 respondents (56% response rate), more reported they would share all information with the state/local public health authority (63.3%) than with an out-of-hospital provider (54.1%) (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1, 1.9; p = .005); few would not share any information with these parties (respectively, 7.9% and 5.2%). For public health sharing, reticence was higher for most topics compared to contagious illness (ORs 4.9 to 1.4, all p-values < .05), and reflected concern about anonymity (47.2%), government insensitivity (41.5%), discrimination (24%). For provider sharing, reticence was higher for all topics compared to contagious illness (ORs 6.3 to 1.5, all p-values < .05), and reflected concern for relevance (52%), disclosure to insurance (47.6%) and/or family (20.5%). Pediatric patients and their families are often willing to share electronic health information to support health improvement, but remain cautious. Robust trust models for PCHR sharing are needed.

The Effect of Shared Information on Pilot/Controller Situation Awareness and Re-Route Negotiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Farley, Todd C.; Hansman, R. John; Endsley, Mica R.; Amonlirdviman, Keith; Vigeant-Langlois, Laurence

1998-01-01

The effect of shared information is assessed in terms of pilot/controller negotiation and shared situation awareness. Pilot goals and situation awareness requirements are developed and compared against those of air traffic controllers to identify areas of common and competing interest. A part-task simulator experiment is described which probes pilot/controller interaction in areas where common information has the potential to lead to contention, as identified in the comparative analysis. Preliminary results are presented which suggest that shared information can effect more collaborative interaction between pilots and air traffic controllers.

Shared decision making: empowering the bedside nurse.

PubMed

Slack, Stephanie M; Boguslawski, Jean M; Eickhoff, Rachel M; Klein, Kristi A; Pepin, Teresa M; Schrandt, Kevin; Wise, Carrie A; Zylstra, Jody A

2005-12-01

Shared decision making is a process that has empowered specialty nurses at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, to solve a practice concern. Staff nurses recognized a lack of concise, collated information available that described what nurses need to know when caring for patients receiving chemotherapy. Many aspects of the administration process were knowledge and experience based and not easily retrievable. The Hematology/Oncology/Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Practice Committee identified this as a significant practice issue. Ideas were brainstormed regarding how to make the information available to nursing colleagues. The Chemotherapy Yellow Pages is a resource that was developed to facilitate the rapid retrieval of pertinent information for bedside nurses. The content of this article outlines a'model of shared decision making and the processes used to address and resolve the practice concern.

Interface cloning and sharing: Interaction designs for conserving labor and maintaining state across 24X7 sensor operations teams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganter, John H.; Reeves, Paul C.

2017-05-01

Processing remote sensing data is the epitome of computation, yet real-time collection systems remain human-labor intensive. Operator labor is consumed by both overhead tasks (cost) and value-added production (benefit). In effect, labor is taxed and then lost. When an operator comes on-shift, they typically duplicate setup work that their teammates have already performed many times. "Pass down" of state information can be difficult if security restrictions require total logouts and blank screens - hours or even days of valuable history and context are lost. As work proceeds, duplicative effort is common because it is typically easier for operators to "do it over" rather than share what others have already done. As we begin a major new system version, we are refactoring the user interface to reduce time and motion losses. Working with users, we are developing "click budgets" to streamline interface use. One basic function is shared clipboards to reduce the use of sticky notes and verbal communication of data strings. We illustrate two additional designs to share work: window copying and window sharing. Copying (technically, shallow or deep object cloning) allows any system user to duplicate a window and configuration for themselves or another to use. Sharing allows a window to have multiple users: shareholders with read-write functionality and viewers with read-only. These solutions would allow windows to persist across multiple shifts, with a rotating cast of shareholders and viewers. Windows thus become durable objects of shared effort and persistent state. While these are low-tech functions, the cumulative labor savings in a 24X7 crew position (525,000 minutes/year spread over multiple individuals) would be significant. New design and implementation is never free and these investments typically do not appeal to government acquisition officers with short-term acquisition-cost concerns rather than a long-term O and M (operations and maintenance) perspective. We share some successes in educating some officers, in collaboration with system users, about the human capital involved in operating the systems they are acquiring.

77 FR 69693 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-20

... collection activities at national conferences will use identical methodologies or otherwise share a common element. Similarly, the BEP's scientific studies will use very similar methodologies or share a common... conducting scientific tests. Using those methodologies, the BEP or its contracted specialists will conduct...

Genomic Data Commons | Office of Cancer Genomics

Cancer.gov

The NCI’s Center for Cancer Genomics launches the Genomic Data Commons (GDC), a unified data sharing platform for the cancer research community. The mission of the GDC is to enable data sharing across the entire cancer research community, to ultimately support precision medicine in oncology.

Multidisciplinary teams, and parents, negotiating common ground in shared-care of children with long-term conditions: A mixed methods study

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Limited negotiation around care decisions is believed to undermine collaborative working between parents of children with long-term conditions and professionals, but there is little evidence of how they actually negotiate their respective roles. Using chronic kidney disease as an exemplar this paper reports on a multi-method study of social interaction between multidisciplinary teams and parents as they shared clinical care. Methods Phases 1 and 2: a telephone survey mapping multidisciplinary teams’ parent-educative activities, and qualitative interviews with 112 professionals (Clinical-psychologists, Dietitians, Doctors, Nurses, Play-specialists, Pharmacists, Therapists and Social-workers) exploring their accounts of parent-teaching in the 12 British children’s kidney units. Phase 3: six ethnographic case studies in two units involving observations of professional/parent interactions during shared-care, and individual interviews. We used an analytical framework based on concepts drawn from Communities of Practice and Activity Theory. Results Professionals spoke of the challenge of explaining to each other how they are aware of parents’ understanding of clinical knowledge, and described three patterns of parent-educative activity that were common across MDTs: Engaging parents in shared practice; Knowledge exchange and role negotiation, and Promoting common ground. Over time, professionals had developed a shared repertoire of tools to support their negotiations with parents that helped them accomplish common ground during the practice of shared-care. We observed mutual engagement between professionals and parents where a common understanding of the joint enterprise of clinical caring was negotiated. Conclusions For professionals, making implicit knowledge explicit is important as it can provide them with a language through which to articulate more clearly to each other what is the basis of their intuition-based hunches about parents’ support needs, and may help them to negotiate with parents and accelerate parents’ learning about shared caring. Our methodology and results are potentially transferrable to shared management of other conditions. PMID:23835151

The Geography of Recent Genetic Ancestry across Europe

PubMed Central

Ralph, Peter; Coop, Graham

2013-01-01

The recent genealogical history of human populations is a complex mosaic formed by individual migration, large-scale population movements, and other demographic events. Population genomics datasets can provide a window into this recent history, as rare traces of recent shared genetic ancestry are detectable due to long segments of shared genomic material. We make use of genomic data for 2,257 Europeans (in the Population Reference Sample [POPRES] dataset) to conduct one of the first surveys of recent genealogical ancestry over the past 3,000 years at a continental scale. We detected 1.9 million shared long genomic segments, and used the lengths of these to infer the distribution of shared ancestors across time and geography. We find that a pair of modern Europeans living in neighboring populations share around 2–12 genetic common ancestors from the last 1,500 years, and upwards of 100 genetic ancestors from the previous 1,000 years. These numbers drop off exponentially with geographic distance, but since these genetic ancestors are a tiny fraction of common genealogical ancestors, individuals from opposite ends of Europe are still expected to share millions of common genealogical ancestors over the last 1,000 years. There is also substantial regional variation in the number of shared genetic ancestors. For example, there are especially high numbers of common ancestors shared between many eastern populations that date roughly to the migration period (which includes the Slavic and Hunnic expansions into that region). Some of the lowest levels of common ancestry are seen in the Italian and Iberian peninsulas, which may indicate different effects of historical population expansions in these areas and/or more stably structured populations. Population genomic datasets have considerable power to uncover recent demographic history, and will allow a much fuller picture of the close genealogical kinship of individuals across the world. PMID:23667324

Multidisciplinary teams, and parents, negotiating common ground in shared-care of children with long-term conditions: a mixed methods study.

PubMed

Swallow, Veronica M; Nightingale, Ruth; Williams, Julian; Lambert, Heather; Webb, Nicholas J A; Smith, Trish; Wirz, Lucy; Qizalbash, Leila; Crowther, Laura; Allen, Davina

2013-07-08

Limited negotiation around care decisions is believed to undermine collaborative working between parents of children with long-term conditions and professionals, but there is little evidence of how they actually negotiate their respective roles. Using chronic kidney disease as an exemplar this paper reports on a multi-method study of social interaction between multidisciplinary teams and parents as they shared clinical care. Phases 1 and 2: a telephone survey mapping multidisciplinary teams' parent-educative activities, and qualitative interviews with 112 professionals (Clinical-psychologists, Dietitians, Doctors, Nurses, Play-specialists, Pharmacists, Therapists and Social-workers) exploring their accounts of parent-teaching in the 12 British children's kidney units. Phase 3: six ethnographic case studies in two units involving observations of professional/parent interactions during shared-care, and individual interviews. We used an analytical framework based on concepts drawn from Communities of Practice and Activity Theory. Professionals spoke of the challenge of explaining to each other how they are aware of parents' understanding of clinical knowledge, and described three patterns of parent-educative activity that were common across MDTs: Engaging parents in shared practice; Knowledge exchange and role negotiation, and Promoting common ground. Over time, professionals had developed a shared repertoire of tools to support their negotiations with parents that helped them accomplish common ground during the practice of shared-care. We observed mutual engagement between professionals and parents where a common understanding of the joint enterprise of clinical caring was negotiated. For professionals, making implicit knowledge explicit is important as it can provide them with a language through which to articulate more clearly to each other what is the basis of their intuition-based hunches about parents' support needs, and may help them to negotiate with parents and accelerate parents' learning about shared caring. Our methodology and results are potentially transferrable to shared management of other conditions.

Acceptability of delivery of dietary advice in the dentistry setting to address obesity in pre-school children: a case study of the Common Risk Factor Approach.

PubMed

Henderson, Emily J

2015-07-01

The Common Risk Factor Approach proposes that public health efforts can be improved by multiple agencies working together on a shared risk factor. The present study aimed to assess the acceptability to parents, dental practice staff and commissioners of the delivery of dietary advice in the dentistry setting in order to address obesity. Semi-structured focus groups with dental practice staff and one-to-one interviews with parents of pre-school children and public health commissioners involved in an oral health promotion initiative delivering dietary advice in dental surgeries. Data were analysed using the Framework Approach. General dental practice surgeries and pre-schools in areas of high deprivation in north-east England. Parents (n 4), dental practice staff (n 23) and one commissioner. All participants found acceptable the concept of delivering public health messages in non-conventional settings. Dental practice staff were concerned about the potential for conflicting messages and deprioritisation of oral health advice, and they identified practical barriers to delivery, such as lack of training. Parents were very apprehensive about the potential of such approaches to stigmatise overweight children, including bullying. Uncertainty over the causes of obesity led to confusion about its solutions and the roles of public health and health care. Major concerns about the implementation of the Common Risk Factor Approach were raised by parents and dental practice staff. Specific dietary guidance for both oral health and healthy weight, as well as further research into issues of suitability, feasibility and stigmatisation, are needed.

Determinants of quality of shared sanitation facilities in informal settlements: case study of Kisumu, Kenya.

PubMed

Simiyu, Sheillah; Swilling, Mark; Cairncross, Sandy; Rheingans, Richard

2017-01-11

Shared facilities are not recognised as improved sanitation due to challenges of maintenance as they easily can be avenues for the spread of diseases. Thus there is need to evaluate the quality of shared facilities, especially in informal settlements, where they are commonly used. A shared facility can be equated to a common good whose management depends on the users. If users do not work collectively towards keeping the facility clean, it is likely that the quality may depreciate due to lack of maintenance. This study examined the quality of shared sanitation facilities and used the common pool resource (CPR) management principles to examine the determinants of shared sanitation quality in the informal settlements of Kisumu, Kenya. Using a multiple case study design, the study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods. In both phases, users of shared sanitation facilities were interviewed, while shared sanitation facilities were inspected. Shared sanitation quality was a score which was the dependent variable in a regression analysis. Interviews during the qualitative stage were aimed at understanding management practices of shared sanitation users. Qualitative data was analysed thematically by following the CPR principles. Shared facilities, most of which were dirty, were shared by an average of eight households, and their quality decreased with an increase in the number of households sharing. The effect of numbers on quality is explained by behaviour reflected in the CPR principles, as it was easier to define boundaries of shared facilities when there were fewer users who cooperated towards improving their shared sanitation facility. Other factors, such as defined management systems, cooperation, collective decision making, and social norms, also played a role in influencing the behaviour of users towards keeping shared facilities clean and functional. Apart from hardware factors, quality of shared sanitation is largely due to group behaviour of users. The CPR principles form a crucial lens through which the dynamics of shared sanitation facilities in informal settlements can be understood. Development and policy efforts should incorporate group behaviour as they determine the quality of shared sanitation facilities.

Analysis of shared heritability in common disorders of the brain.

PubMed

Anttila, Verneri; Bulik-Sullivan, Brendan; Finucane, Hilary K; Walters, Raymond K; Bras, Jose; Duncan, Laramie; Escott-Price, Valentina; Falcone, Guido J; Gormley, Padhraig; Malik, Rainer; Patsopoulos, Nikolaos A; Ripke, Stephan; Wei, Zhi; Yu, Dongmei; Lee, Phil H; Turley, Patrick; Grenier-Boley, Benjamin; Chouraki, Vincent; Kamatani, Yoichiro; Berr, Claudine; Letenneur, Luc; Hannequin, Didier; Amouyel, Philippe; Boland, Anne; Deleuze, Jean-François; Duron, Emmanuelle; Vardarajan, Badri N; Reitz, Christiane; Goate, Alison M; Huentelman, Matthew J; Kamboh, M Ilyas; Larson, Eric B; Rogaeva, Ekaterina; St George-Hyslop, Peter; Hakonarson, Hakon; Kukull, Walter A; Farrer, Lindsay A; Barnes, Lisa L; Beach, Thomas G; Demirci, F Yesim; Head, Elizabeth; Hulette, Christine M; Jicha, Gregory A; Kauwe, John S K; Kaye, Jeffrey A; Leverenz, James B; Levey, Allan I; Lieberman, Andrew P; Pankratz, Vernon S; Poon, Wayne W; Quinn, Joseph F; Saykin, Andrew J; Schneider, Lon S; Smith, Amanda G; Sonnen, Joshua A; Stern, Robert A; Van Deerlin, Vivianna M; Van Eldik, Linda J; Harold, Denise; Russo, Giancarlo; Rubinsztein, David C; Bayer, Anthony; Tsolaki, Magda; Proitsi, Petra; Fox, Nick C; Hampel, Harald; Owen, Michael J; Mead, Simon; Passmore, Peter; Morgan, Kevin; Nöthen, Markus M; Rossor, Martin; Lupton, Michelle K; Hoffmann, Per; Kornhuber, Johannes; Lawlor, Brian; McQuillin, Andrew; Al-Chalabi, Ammar; Bis, Joshua C; Ruiz, Agustin; Boada, Mercè; Seshadri, Sudha; Beiser, Alexa; Rice, Kenneth; van der Lee, Sven J; De Jager, Philip L; Geschwind, Daniel H; Riemenschneider, Matthias; Riedel-Heller, Steffi; Rotter, Jerome I; Ransmayr, Gerhard; Hyman, Bradley T; Cruchaga, Carlos; Alegret, Montserrat; Winsvold, Bendik; Palta, Priit; Farh, Kai-How; Cuenca-Leon, Ester; Furlotte, Nicholas; Kurth, Tobias; Ligthart, Lannie; Terwindt, Gisela M; Freilinger, Tobias; Ran, Caroline; Gordon, Scott D; Borck, Guntram; Adams, Hieab H H; Lehtimäki, Terho; Wedenoja, Juho; Buring, Julie E; Schürks, Markus; Hrafnsdottir, Maria; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Penninx, Brenda; Artto, Ville; Kaunisto, Mari; Vepsäläinen, Salli; Martin, Nicholas G; Montgomery, Grant W; Kurki, Mitja I; Hämäläinen, Eija; Huang, Hailiang; Huang, Jie; Sandor, Cynthia; Webber, Caleb; Muller-Myhsok, Bertram; Schreiber, Stefan; Salomaa, Veikko; Loehrer, Elizabeth; Göbel, Hartmut; Macaya, Alfons; Pozo-Rosich, Patricia; Hansen, Thomas; Werge, Thomas; Kaprio, Jaakko; Metspalu, Andres; Kubisch, Christian; Ferrari, Michel D; Belin, Andrea C; van den Maagdenberg, Arn M J M; Zwart, John-Anker; Boomsma, Dorret; Eriksson, Nicholas; Olesen, Jes; Chasman, Daniel I; Nyholt, Dale R; Avbersek, Andreja; Baum, Larry; Berkovic, Samuel; Bradfield, Jonathan; Buono, Russell; Catarino, Claudia B; Cossette, Patrick; De Jonghe, Peter; Depondt, Chantal; Dlugos, Dennis; Ferraro, Thomas N; French, Jacqueline; Hjalgrim, Helle; Jamnadas-Khoda, Jennifer; Kälviäinen, Reetta; Kunz, Wolfram S; Lerche, Holger; Leu, Costin; Lindhout, Dick; Lo, Warren; Lowenstein, Daniel; McCormack, Mark; Møller, Rikke S; Molloy, Anne; Ng, Ping-Wing; Oliver, Karen; Privitera, Michael; Radtke, Rodney; Ruppert, Ann-Kathrin; Sander, Thomas; Schachter, Steven; Schankin, Christoph; Scheffer, Ingrid; Schoch, Susanne; Sisodiya, Sanjay M; Smith, Philip; Sperling, Michael; Striano, Pasquale; Surges, Rainer; Thomas, G Neil; Visscher, Frank; Whelan, Christopher D; Zara, Federico; Heinzen, Erin L; Marson, Anthony; Becker, Felicitas; Stroink, Hans; Zimprich, Fritz; Gasser, Thomas; Gibbs, Raphael; Heutink, Peter; Martinez, Maria; Morris, Huw R; Sharma, Manu; Ryten, Mina; Mok, Kin Y; Pulit, Sara; Bevan, Steve; Holliday, Elizabeth; Attia, John; Battey, Thomas; Boncoraglio, Giorgio; Thijs, Vincent; Chen, Wei-Min; Mitchell, Braxton; Rothwell, Peter; Sharma, Pankaj; Sudlow, Cathie; Vicente, Astrid; Markus, Hugh; Kourkoulis, Christina; Pera, Joana; Raffeld, Miriam; Silliman, Scott; Boraska Perica, Vesna; Thornton, Laura M; Huckins, Laura M; William Rayner, N; Lewis, Cathryn M; Gratacos, Monica; Rybakowski, Filip; Keski-Rahkonen, Anna; Raevuori, Anu; Hudson, James I; Reichborn-Kjennerud, Ted; Monteleone, Palmiero; Karwautz, Andreas; Mannik, Katrin; Baker, Jessica H; O'Toole, Julie K; Trace, Sara E; Davis, Oliver S P; Helder, Sietske G; Ehrlich, Stefan; Herpertz-Dahlmann, Beate; Danner, Unna N; van Elburg, Annemarie A; Clementi, Maurizio; Forzan, Monica; Docampo, Elisa; Lissowska, Jolanta; Hauser, Joanna; Tortorella, Alfonso; Maj, Mario; Gonidakis, Fragiskos; Tziouvas, Konstantinos; Papezova, Hana; Yilmaz, Zeynep; Wagner, Gudrun; Cohen-Woods, Sarah; Herms, Stefan; Julià, Antonio; Rabionet, Raquel; Dick, Danielle M; Ripatti, Samuli; Andreassen, Ole A; Espeseth, Thomas; Lundervold, Astri J; Steen, Vidar M; Pinto, Dalila; Scherer, Stephen W; Aschauer, Harald; Schosser, Alexandra; Alfredsson, Lars; Padyukov, Leonid; Halmi, Katherine A; Mitchell, James; Strober, Michael; Bergen, Andrew W; Kaye, Walter; Szatkiewicz, Jin Peng; Cormand, Bru; Ramos-Quiroga, Josep Antoni; Sánchez-Mora, Cristina; Ribasés, Marta; Casas, Miguel; Hervas, Amaia; Arranz, Maria Jesús; Haavik, Jan; Zayats, Tetyana; Johansson, Stefan; Williams, Nigel; Dempfle, Astrid; Rothenberger, Aribert; Kuntsi, Jonna; Oades, Robert D; Banaschewski, Tobias; Franke, Barbara; Buitelaar, Jan K; Arias Vasquez, Alejandro; Doyle, Alysa E; Reif, Andreas; Lesch, Klaus-Peter; Freitag, Christine; Rivero, Olga; Palmason, Haukur; Romanos, Marcel; Langley, Kate; Rietschel, Marcella; Witt, Stephanie H; Dalsgaard, Soeren; Børglum, Anders D; Waldman, Irwin; Wilmot, Beth; Molly, Nikolas; Bau, Claiton H D; Crosbie, Jennifer; Schachar, Russell; Loo, Sandra K; McGough, James J; Grevet, Eugenio H; Medland, Sarah E; Robinson, Elise; Weiss, Lauren A; Bacchelli, Elena; Bailey, Anthony; Bal, Vanessa; Battaglia, Agatino; Betancur, Catalina; Bolton, Patrick; Cantor, Rita; Celestino-Soper, Patrícia; Dawson, Geraldine; De Rubeis, Silvia; Duque, Frederico; Green, Andrew; Klauck, Sabine M; Leboyer, Marion; Levitt, Pat; Maestrini, Elena; Mane, Shrikant; De-Luca, Daniel Moreno-; Parr, Jeremy; Regan, Regina; Reichenberg, Abraham; Sandin, Sven; Vorstman, Jacob; Wassink, Thomas; Wijsman, Ellen; Cook, Edwin; Santangelo, Susan; Delorme, Richard; Rogé, Bernadette; Magalhaes, Tiago; Arking, Dan; Schulze, Thomas G; Thompson, Robert C; Strohmaier, Jana; Matthews, Keith; Melle, Ingrid; Morris, Derek; Blackwood, Douglas; McIntosh, Andrew; Bergen, Sarah E; Schalling, Martin; Jamain, Stéphane; Maaser, Anna; Fischer, Sascha B; Reinbold, Céline S; Fullerton, Janice M; Guzman-Parra, José; Mayoral, Fermin; Schofield, Peter R; Cichon, Sven; Mühleisen, Thomas W; Degenhardt, Franziska; Schumacher, Johannes; Bauer, Michael; Mitchell, Philip B; Gershon, Elliot S; Rice, John; Potash, James B; Zandi, Peter P; Craddock, Nick; Ferrier, I Nicol; Alda, Martin; Rouleau, Guy A; Turecki, Gustavo; Ophoff, Roel; Pato, Carlos; Anjorin, Adebayo; Stahl, Eli; Leber, Markus; Czerski, Piotr M; Cruceanu, Cristiana; Jones, Ian R; Posthuma, Danielle; Andlauer, Till F M; Forstner, Andreas J; Streit, Fabian; Baune, Bernhard T; Air, Tracy; Sinnamon, Grant; Wray, Naomi R; MacIntyre, Donald J; Porteous, David; Homuth, Georg; Rivera, Margarita; Grove, Jakob; Middeldorp, Christel M; Hickie, Ian; Pergadia, Michele; Mehta, Divya; Smit, Johannes H; Jansen, Rick; de Geus, Eco; Dunn, Erin; Li, Qingqin S; Nauck, Matthias; Schoevers, Robert A; Beekman, Aartjan Tf; Knowles, James A; Viktorin, Alexander; Arnold, Paul; Barr, Cathy L; Bedoya-Berrio, Gabriel; Bienvenu, O Joseph; Brentani, Helena; Burton, Christie; Camarena, Beatriz; Cappi, Carolina; Cath, Danielle; Cavallini, Maria; Cusi, Daniele; Darrow, Sabrina; Denys, Damiaan; Derks, Eske M; Dietrich, Andrea; Fernandez, Thomas; Figee, Martijn; Freimer, Nelson; Gerber, Gloria; Grados, Marco; Greenberg, Erica; Hanna, Gregory L; Hartmann, Andreas; Hirschtritt, Matthew E; Hoekstra, Pieter J; Huang, Alden; Huyser, Chaim; Illmann, Cornelia; Jenike, Michael; Kuperman, Samuel; Leventhal, Bennett; Lochner, Christine; Lyon, Gholson J; Macciardi, Fabio; Madruga-Garrido, Marcos; Malaty, Irene A; Maras, Athanasios; McGrath, Lauren; Miguel, Eurípedes C; Mir, Pablo; Nestadt, Gerald; Nicolini, Humberto; Okun, Michael S; Pakstis, Andrew; Paschou, Peristera; Piacentini, John; Pittenger, Christopher; Plessen, Kerstin; Ramensky, Vasily; Ramos, Eliana M; Reus, Victor; Richter, Margaret A; Riddle, Mark A; Robertson, Mary M; Roessner, Veit; Rosário, Maria; Samuels, Jack F; Sandor, Paul; Stein, Dan J; Tsetsos, Fotis; Van Nieuwerburgh, Filip; Weatherall, Sarah; Wendland, Jens R; Wolanczyk, Tomasz; Worbe, Yulia; Zai, Gwyneth; Goes, Fernando S; McLaughlin, Nicole; Nestadt, Paul S; Grabe, Hans-Jorgen; Depienne, Christel; Konkashbaev, Anuar; Lanzagorta, Nuria; Valencia-Duarte, Ana; Bramon, Elvira; Buccola, Nancy; Cahn, Wiepke; Cairns, Murray; Chong, Siow A; Cohen, David; Crespo-Facorro, Benedicto; Crowley, James; Davidson, Michael; DeLisi, Lynn; Dinan, Timothy; Donohoe, Gary; Drapeau, Elodie; Duan, Jubao; Haan, Lieuwe; Hougaard, David; Karachanak-Yankova, Sena; Khrunin, Andrey; Klovins, Janis; Kučinskas, Vaidutis; Lee Chee Keong, Jimmy; Limborska, Svetlana; Loughland, Carmel; Lönnqvist, Jouko; Maher, Brion; Mattheisen, Manuel; McDonald, Colm; Murphy, Kieran C; Nenadic, Igor; van Os, Jim; Pantelis, Christos; Pato, Michele; Petryshen, Tracey; Quested, Digby; Roussos, Panos; Sanders, Alan R; Schall, Ulrich; Schwab, Sibylle G; Sim, Kang; So, Hon-Cheong; Stögmann, Elisabeth; Subramaniam, Mythily; Toncheva, Draga; Waddington, John; Walters, James; Weiser, Mark; Cheng, Wei; Cloninger, Robert; Curtis, David; Gejman, Pablo V; Henskens, Frans; Mattingsdal, Morten; Oh, Sang-Yun; Scott, Rodney; Webb, Bradley; Breen, Gerome; Churchhouse, Claire; Bulik, Cynthia M; Daly, Mark; Dichgans, Martin; Faraone, Stephen V; Guerreiro, Rita; Holmans, Peter; Kendler, Kenneth S; Koeleman, Bobby; Mathews, Carol A; Price, Alkes; Scharf, Jeremiah; Sklar, Pamela; Williams, Julie; Wood, Nicholas W; Cotsapas, Chris; Palotie, Aarno; Smoller, Jordan W; Sullivan, Patrick; Rosand, Jonathan; Corvin, Aiden; Neale, Benjamin M

2018-06-22

Disorders of the brain can exhibit considerable epidemiological comorbidity and often share symptoms, provoking debate about their etiologic overlap. We quantified the genetic sharing of 25 brain disorders from genome-wide association studies of 265,218 patients and 784,643 control participants and assessed their relationship to 17 phenotypes from 1,191,588 individuals. Psychiatric disorders share common variant risk, whereas neurological disorders appear more distinct from one another and from the psychiatric disorders. We also identified significant sharing between disorders and a number of brain phenotypes, including cognitive measures. Further, we conducted simulations to explore how statistical power, diagnostic misclassification, and phenotypic heterogeneity affect genetic correlations. These results highlight the importance of common genetic variation as a risk factor for brain disorders and the value of heritability-based methods in understanding their etiology. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Exploring information from the topology beneath the Gene Ontology terms to improve semantic similarity measures.

PubMed

Zhang, Shu-Bo; Lai, Jian-Huang

2016-07-15

Measuring the similarity between pairs of biological entities is important in molecular biology. The introduction of Gene Ontology (GO) provides us with a promising approach to quantifying the semantic similarity between two genes or gene products. This kind of similarity measure is closely associated with the GO terms annotated to biological entities under consideration and the structure of the GO graph. However, previous works in this field mainly focused on the upper part of the graph, and seldom concerned about the lower part. In this study, we aim to explore information from the lower part of the GO graph for better semantic similarity. We proposed a framework to quantify the similarity measure beneath a term pair, which takes into account both the information two ancestral terms share and the probability that they co-occur with their common descendants. The effectiveness of our approach was evaluated against seven typical measurements on public platform CESSM, protein-protein interaction and gene expression datasets. Experimental results consistently show that the similarity derived from the lower part contributes to better semantic similarity measure. The promising features of our approach are the following: (1) it provides a mirror model to characterize the information two ancestral terms share with respect to their common descendant; (2) it quantifies the probability that two terms co-occur with their common descendant in an efficient way; and (3) our framework can effectively capture the similarity measure beneath two terms, which can serve as an add-on to improve traditional semantic similarity measure between two GO terms. The algorithm was implemented in Matlab and is freely available from http://ejl.org.cn/bio/GOBeneath/. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A conceptual framework for quality assessment and management of biodiversity data.

PubMed

Veiga, Allan Koch; Saraiva, Antonio Mauro; Chapman, Arthur David; Morris, Paul John; Gendreau, Christian; Schigel, Dmitry; Robertson, Tim James

2017-01-01

The increasing availability of digitized biodiversity data worldwide, provided by an increasing number of institutions and researchers, and the growing use of those data for a variety of purposes have raised concerns related to the "fitness for use" of such data and the impact of data quality (DQ) on the outcomes of analyses, reports, and decisions. A consistent approach to assess and manage data quality is currently critical for biodiversity data users. However, achieving this goal has been particularly challenging because of idiosyncrasies inherent in the concept of quality. DQ assessment and management cannot be performed if we have not clearly established the quality needs from a data user's standpoint. This paper defines a formal conceptual framework to support the biodiversity informatics community allowing for the description of the meaning of "fitness for use" from a data user's perspective in a common and standardized manner. This proposed framework defines nine concepts organized into three classes: DQ Needs, DQ Solutions and DQ Report. The framework is intended to formalize human thinking into well-defined components to make it possible to share and reuse concepts of DQ needs, solutions and reports in a common way among user communities. With this framework, we establish a common ground for the collaborative development of solutions for DQ assessment and management based on data fitness for use principles. To validate the framework, we present a proof of concept based on a case study at the Museum of Comparative Zoology of Harvard University. In future work, we will use the framework to engage the biodiversity informatics community to formalize and share DQ profiles related to DQ needs across the community.

A conceptual framework for quality assessment and management of biodiversity data

PubMed Central

Saraiva, Antonio Mauro; Chapman, Arthur David; Morris, Paul John; Gendreau, Christian; Schigel, Dmitry; Robertson, Tim James

2017-01-01

The increasing availability of digitized biodiversity data worldwide, provided by an increasing number of institutions and researchers, and the growing use of those data for a variety of purposes have raised concerns related to the "fitness for use" of such data and the impact of data quality (DQ) on the outcomes of analyses, reports, and decisions. A consistent approach to assess and manage data quality is currently critical for biodiversity data users. However, achieving this goal has been particularly challenging because of idiosyncrasies inherent in the concept of quality. DQ assessment and management cannot be performed if we have not clearly established the quality needs from a data user’s standpoint. This paper defines a formal conceptual framework to support the biodiversity informatics community allowing for the description of the meaning of "fitness for use" from a data user’s perspective in a common and standardized manner. This proposed framework defines nine concepts organized into three classes: DQ Needs, DQ Solutions and DQ Report. The framework is intended to formalize human thinking into well-defined components to make it possible to share and reuse concepts of DQ needs, solutions and reports in a common way among user communities. With this framework, we establish a common ground for the collaborative development of solutions for DQ assessment and management based on data fitness for use principles. To validate the framework, we present a proof of concept based on a case study at the Museum of Comparative Zoology of Harvard University. In future work, we will use the framework to engage the biodiversity informatics community to formalize and share DQ profiles related to DQ needs across the community. PMID:28658288

Do reading and spelling share a lexicon?

PubMed

Jones, Angela C; Rawson, Katherine A

2016-05-01

In the reading and spelling literature, an ongoing debate concerns whether reading and spelling share a single orthographic lexicon or rely upon independent lexica. Available evidence tends to support a single lexicon account over an independent lexica account, but evidence is mixed and open to alternative explanation. In the current work, we propose another, largely ignored account--separate-but-shared lexica--according to which reading and spelling have separate orthographic lexica, but information can be shared between them. We report three experiments designed to competitively evaluate these three theoretical accounts. In each experiment, participants learned new words via reading training and/or spelling training. The key manipulation concerned the amount of reading versus spelling practice a given item received. Following training, we assessed both response time and accuracy on final outcome measures of reading and spelling. According to the independent lexica account, final performance in one modality will not be influenced by the level of practice in the other modality. According to the single lexicon account, final performance will depend on the overall amount of practice regardless of modality. According to the separate-but-shared account, final performance will be influenced by the level of practice in both modalities but will benefit more from same-modality practice. Results support the separate-but-shared account, indicating that reading and spelling rely upon separate lexica, but information can be shared between them. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sharing privacy-sensitive access to neuroimaging and genetics data: a review and preliminary validation

PubMed Central

Sarwate, Anand D.; Plis, Sergey M.; Turner, Jessica A.; Arbabshirani, Mohammad R.; Calhoun, Vince D.

2014-01-01

The growth of data sharing initiatives for neuroimaging and genomics represents an exciting opportunity to confront the “small N” problem that plagues contemporary neuroimaging studies while further understanding the role genetic markers play in the function of the brain. When it is possible, open data sharing provides the most benefits. However, some data cannot be shared at all due to privacy concerns and/or risk of re-identification. Sharing other data sets is hampered by the proliferation of complex data use agreements (DUAs) which preclude truly automated data mining. These DUAs arise because of concerns about the privacy and confidentiality for subjects; though many do permit direct access to data, they often require a cumbersome approval process that can take months. An alternative approach is to only share data derivatives such as statistical summaries—the challenges here are to reformulate computational methods to quantify the privacy risks associated with sharing the results of those computations. For example, a derived map of gray matter is often as identifiable as a fingerprint. Thus alternative approaches to accessing data are needed. This paper reviews the relevant literature on differential privacy, a framework for measuring and tracking privacy loss in these settings, and demonstrates the feasibility of using this framework to calculate statistics on data distributed at many sites while still providing privacy. PMID:24778614

Sharing privacy-sensitive access to neuroimaging and genetics data: a review and preliminary validation.

PubMed

Sarwate, Anand D; Plis, Sergey M; Turner, Jessica A; Arbabshirani, Mohammad R; Calhoun, Vince D

2014-01-01

The growth of data sharing initiatives for neuroimaging and genomics represents an exciting opportunity to confront the "small N" problem that plagues contemporary neuroimaging studies while further understanding the role genetic markers play in the function of the brain. When it is possible, open data sharing provides the most benefits. However, some data cannot be shared at all due to privacy concerns and/or risk of re-identification. Sharing other data sets is hampered by the proliferation of complex data use agreements (DUAs) which preclude truly automated data mining. These DUAs arise because of concerns about the privacy and confidentiality for subjects; though many do permit direct access to data, they often require a cumbersome approval process that can take months. An alternative approach is to only share data derivatives such as statistical summaries-the challenges here are to reformulate computational methods to quantify the privacy risks associated with sharing the results of those computations. For example, a derived map of gray matter is often as identifiable as a fingerprint. Thus alternative approaches to accessing data are needed. This paper reviews the relevant literature on differential privacy, a framework for measuring and tracking privacy loss in these settings, and demonstrates the feasibility of using this framework to calculate statistics on data distributed at many sites while still providing privacy.

Developing a data sharing community for spinal cord injury research.

PubMed

Callahan, Alison; Anderson, Kim D; Beattie, Michael S; Bixby, John L; Ferguson, Adam R; Fouad, Karim; Jakeman, Lyn B; Nielson, Jessica L; Popovich, Phillip G; Schwab, Jan M; Lemmon, Vance P

2017-09-01

The rapid growth in data sharing presents new opportunities across the spectrum of biomedical research. Global efforts are underway to develop practical guidance for implementation of data sharing and open data resources. These include the recent recommendation of 'FAIR Data Principles', which assert that if data is to have broad scientific value, then digital representations of that data should be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR). The spinal cord injury (SCI) research field has a long history of collaborative initiatives that include sharing of preclinical research models and outcome measures. In addition, new tools and resources are being developed by the SCI research community to enhance opportunities for data sharing and access. With this in mind, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) hosted a workshop on October 5-6, 2016 in Bethesda, MD, in collaboration with the Open Data Commons for Spinal Cord Injury (ODC-SCI) titled "Preclinical SCI Data: Creating a FAIR Share Community". Workshop invitees were nominated by the workshop steering committee (co-chairs: ARF and VPL; members: AC, KDA, MSB, KF, LBJ, PGP, JMS), to bring together junior and senior level experts including preclinical and basic SCI researchers from academia and industry, data science and bioinformatics experts, investigators with expertise in other neurological disease fields, clinical researchers, members of the SCI community, and program staff representing federal and private funding agencies. The workshop and ODC-SCI efforts were sponsored by the International Spinal Research Trust (ISRT), the Rick Hansen Institute, Wings for Life, the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation and NINDS. The number of attendees was limited to ensure active participation and feedback in small groups. The goals were to examine the current landscape for data sharing in SCI research and provide a path to its future. Below are highlights from the workshop, including perspectives on the value of data sharing in SCI research, workshop participant perspectives and concerns, descriptions of existing resources and actionable directions for further engaging the SCI research community in a model that may be applicable to many other areas of neuroscience. This manuscript is intended to share these initial findings with the broader research community, and to provide talking points for continued feedback from the SCI field, as it continues to move forward in the age of data sharing. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

From painkiller to empathy killer: acetaminophen (paracetamol) reduces empathy for pain.

PubMed

Mischkowski, Dominik; Crocker, Jennifer; Way, Baldwin M

2016-09-01

Simulation theories of empathy hypothesize that empathizing with others' pain shares some common psychological computations with the processing of one's own pain. Support for this perspective has largely relied on functional neuroimaging evidence of an overlap between activations during the experience of physical pain and empathy for other people's pain. Here, we extend the functional overlap perspective to the neurochemical level and test whether a common physical painkiller, acetaminophen (paracetamol), can reduce empathy for another's pain. In two double-blind placebo-controlled experiments, participants rated perceived pain, personal distress and empathic concern in response to reading scenarios about another's physical or social pain, witnessing ostracism in the lab, or visualizing another study participant receiving painful noise blasts. As hypothesized, acetaminophen reduced empathy in response to others' pain. Acetaminophen also reduced the unpleasantness of noise blasts delivered to the participant, which mediated acetaminophen's effects on empathy. Together, these findings suggest that the physical painkiller acetaminophen reduces empathy for pain and provide a new perspective on the neurochemical bases of empathy. Because empathy regulates prosocial and antisocial behavior, these drug-induced reductions in empathy raise concerns about the broader social side effects of acetaminophen, which is taken by almost a quarter of adults in the United States each week. © The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Quantifying heterogeneity attributable to polythetic diagnostic criteria: theoretical framework and empirical application.

PubMed

Olbert, Charles M; Gala, Gary J; Tupler, Larry A

2014-05-01

Heterogeneity within psychiatric disorders is both theoretically and practically problematic: For many disorders, it is possible for 2 individuals to share very few or even no symptoms in common yet share the same diagnosis. Polythetic diagnostic criteria have long been recognized to contribute to this heterogeneity, yet no unified theoretical understanding of the coherence of symptom criteria sets currently exists. A general framework for analyzing the logical and mathematical structure, coherence, and diversity of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual diagnostic categories (DSM-5 and DSM-IV-TR) is proposed, drawing from combinatorial mathematics, set theory, and information theory. Theoretical application of this framework to 18 diagnostic categories indicates that in most categories, 2 individuals with the same diagnosis may share no symptoms in common, and that any 2 theoretically possible symptom combinations will share on average less than half their symptoms. Application of this framework to 2 large empirical datasets indicates that patients who meet symptom criteria for major depressive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder tend to share approximately three-fifths of symptoms in common. For both disorders in each of the datasets, pairs of individuals who shared no common symptoms were observed. Any 2 individuals with either diagnosis were unlikely to exhibit identical symptomatology. The theoretical and empirical results stemming from this approach have substantive implications for etiological research into, and measurement of, psychiatric disorders.

Attitudes regarding privacy of genomic information in personalized cancer therapy

PubMed Central

Rogith, Deevakar; Yusuf, Rafeek A; Hovick, Shelley R; Peterson, Susan K; Burton-Chase, Allison M; Li, Yisheng; Meric-Bernstam, Funda; Bernstam, Elmer V

2014-01-01

Objective To evaluate attitudes regarding privacy of genomic data in a sample of patients with breast cancer. Methods Female patients with breast cancer (n=100) completed a questionnaire assessing attitudes regarding concerns about privacy of genomic data. Results Most patients (83%) indicated that genomic data should be protected. However, only 13% had significant concerns regarding privacy of such data. Patients expressed more concern about insurance discrimination than employment discrimination (43% vs 28%, p<0.001). They expressed less concern about research institutions protecting the security of their molecular data than government agencies or drug companies (20% vs 38% vs 44%; p<0.001). Most did not express concern regarding the association of their genomic data with their name and personal identity (49% concerned), billing and insurance information (44% concerned), or clinical data (27% concerned). Significantly fewer patients were concerned about the association with clinical data than other data types (p<0.001). In the absence of direct benefit, patients were more willing to consent to sharing of deidentified than identified data with researchers not involved in their care (76% vs 60%; p<0.001). Most (85%) patients were willing to consent to DNA banking. Discussion While patients are opposed to indiscriminate release of genomic data, privacy does not appear to be their primary concern. Furthermore, we did not find any specific predictors of privacy concerns. Conclusions Patients generally expressed low levels of concern regarding privacy of genomic data, and many expressed willingness to consent to sharing their genomic data with researchers. PMID:24737606

Libre: Freeing Polar Data in an Information Commons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duerr, R. E.; Parsons, M. A.

2010-12-01

As noted in the session description “The polar regions are at the forefront of modern environmental change, currently experiencing the largest and fastest changes in climate and environment”. Wise use of resources, astute management of our environment, improved decision support, and effective international cooperation on natural resource and geopolitical issues require a deeper understanding of, and an ability to predict change and its impact. Understanding and knowledge are built on data and information, yet polar information is scattered, scarce, and sporadic. Rapid change demands rapid data access. We envision a system where investigators quickly expose their data to the world and share them, without restriction, through open protocols on the Internet. A single giant, central archive is not practical for all polar data held around the world. Instead, we seek a collaborative, virtual space, where scientific data and information could be shared ethically and with minimal constraints. Inspired by the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 that established the Antarctic as a global commons to generate greater scientific understanding, the International Council of Science leads the Polar Information Commons (PIC). The PIC, engendered by the International Polar Year (IPY) and work on the IPY data policy, serves as an open, virtual repository for vital scientific data and information. An international network of scientific and data management organizations concerned with the scientific quality, integrity, and stewardship of data is developing the PIC. The PIC utilizes the Science Commons Protocol for Implementing Open Access Data, including establishment of community norms to encourage appropriate contributions to and use of PIC content. Data descriptions (metadata) are not necessarily registered in formal repositories or catalogues. They may simply be exposed to search engines or broadcast through syndication services such as RSS or Atom. The data are labeled or branded as part of the PIC and are, therefore, open for use without restriction. The PIC label also alerts data centers around the world to new polar data. These data centers then assess and acquire important data for formal archiving, curation, and access through national and global data systems. The intent is to enable rapid data access without qualification, while establishing a process for long-term preservation and stewardship of critical data. This paper will review the ethical and legal basis for sharing polar data and information, as well as the technologies being employed to make the PIC a reality.

Applying Triple-Matrix Masking for Privacy Preserving Data Collection and Sharing in HIV Studies.

PubMed

Pei, Qinglin; Chen, Shigang; Xiao, Yao; Wu, Samuel S

2016-01-01

Many HIV research projects are plagued by the high missing rate of selfreported information during data collection. Also, due to the sensitive nature of the HIV research data, privacy protection is always a concern for data sharing in HIV studies. This paper applies a data masking approach, called triple-matrix masking [1], to the context of HIV research for ensuring privacy protection during the process of data collection and data sharing. Using a set of generated HIV patient data, we show step by step how the data are randomly transformed (masked) before leaving the patients' individual data collection device (which ensures that nobody sees the actual data) and how the masked data are further transformed by a masking service provider and a data collector. We demonstrate that the masked data retain statistical utility of the original data, yielding the exactly same inference results in the planned logistic regression on the effect of age on the adherence to antiretroviral therapy and in the Cox proportional hazard model for the age effect on time to viral load suppression. Privacy-preserving data collection method may help resolve the privacy protection issue in HIV research. The individual sensitive data can be completely hidden while the same inference results can still be obtained from the masked data, with the use of common statistical analysis methods.

Fair Shares and Sharing Fairly: A Survey of Public Views on Open Science, Informed Consent and Participatory Research in Biobanking.

PubMed

Joly, Yann; Dalpé, Gratien; So, Derek; Birko, Stanislav

2015-01-01

Biobanks are important resources which enable large-scale genomic research with human samples and data, raising significant ethical concerns about how participants' information is managed and shared. Three previous studies of the Canadian public's opinion about these topics have been conducted. Building on those results, an online survey representing the first study of public perceptions about biobanking spanning all Canadian provinces was conducted. Specifically, this study examined qualitative views about biobank objectives, governance structure, control and ownership of samples and data, benefit sharing, consent practices and data sharing norms, as well as additional questions and ethical concerns expressed by the public. Over half the respondents preferred to give a one-time general consent for the future sharing of their samples among researchers. Most expressed willingness for their data to be shared with the international scientific community rather than used by one or more Canadian institutions. Whereas more respondents indicated a preference for one-time general consent than any other model of consent, they constituted less than half of the total responses, revealing a lack of consensus among survey respondents regarding this question. Respondents identified biobank objectives, governance structure and accountability as the most important information to provide participants. Respondents' concerns about biobanking generally centred around the control and ownership of biological samples and data, especially with respect to potential misuse by insurers, the government and other third parties. Although almost half the respondents suggested that these should be managed by the researchers' institutions, results indicate that the public is interested in being well-informed about these projects and suggest the importance of increased involvement from participants. In conclusion, the study discusses the viability of several proposed models for informed consent, including e-governance, independent trustees and the use of exclusion clauses, in the context of these new findings about the views of the Canadian public.

Fair Shares and Sharing Fairly: A Survey of Public Views on Open Science, Informed Consent and Participatory Research in Biobanking

PubMed Central

Joly, Yann; Dalpé, Gratien; So, Derek; Birko, Stanislav

2015-01-01

Context Biobanks are important resources which enable large-scale genomic research with human samples and data, raising significant ethical concerns about how participants’ information is managed and shared. Three previous studies of the Canadian public’s opinion about these topics have been conducted. Building on those results, an online survey representing the first study of public perceptions about biobanking spanning all Canadian provinces was conducted. Specifically, this study examined qualitative views about biobank objectives, governance structure, control and ownership of samples and data, benefit sharing, consent practices and data sharing norms, as well as additional questions and ethical concerns expressed by the public. Results Over half the respondents preferred to give a one-time general consent for the future sharing of their samples among researchers. Most expressed willingness for their data to be shared with the international scientific community rather than used by one or more Canadian institutions. Whereas more respondents indicated a preference for one-time general consent than any other model of consent, they constituted less than half of the total responses, revealing a lack of consensus among survey respondents regarding this question. Respondents identified biobank objectives, governance structure and accountability as the most important information to provide participants. Respondents’ concerns about biobanking generally centred around the control and ownership of biological samples and data, especially with respect to potential misuse by insurers, the government and other third parties. Although almost half the respondents suggested that these should be managed by the researchers’ institutions, results indicate that the public is interested in being well-informed about these projects and suggest the importance of increased involvement from participants. In conclusion, the study discusses the viability of several proposed models for informed consent, including e-governance, independent trustees and the use of exclusion clauses, in the context of these new findings about the views of the Canadian public. PMID:26154134

Young people's views on sharing health-related stories on the Internet.

PubMed

Yu, Juping; Taverner, Nicki; Madden, Kim

2011-05-01

There is an increasing interest in the use of stories in healthcare practice and education. However, there are few stories from young people concerning health and little is known about their views on sharing such stories on the Internet. The aim of this study was to explore young people's perspectives in this area. A qualitative method was used and a project website was purposely built to facilitate data collection. An online focus group with 13 young people was carried out in an asynchronous format. Participants valued highly the therapeutic effect of storytelling and the use of digital stories to share feelings and experiences with a wide range of audiences, suggesting that well-produced stories could be a useful learning resource. A number of concerns were also raised, including embarrassment, reaction of other people and online safety. Having stories available on the Internet can be beneficial; however, concerns especially about safety associated with Internet use and support for storytellers should be taken into consideration. A better understanding of young people's perceptions can provide valuable insights for future work with this age group on storytelling. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Benefit sharing: an exploration on the contextual discourse of a changing concept

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The concept of benefit sharing has been a topical issue on the international stage for more than two decades, gaining prominence in international law, research ethics and political philosophy. In spite of this prominence, the concept of benefit sharing is not devoid of controversies related to its definition and justification. This article examines the discourses and justifications of benefit sharing concept. Discussion We examine the discourse on benefit sharing within three main spheres; namely: common heritage of humankind, access and use of genetic resources according to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and international clinical research. Benefit sharing has change from a concept that is enshrined in a legally binding regulation in the contexts of common heritage of humankind and CBD to a non-binding regulation in international clinical research. Nonetheless, there are more ethical justifications that accentuate benefit sharing in international clinical research than in the contexts of common heritage of humankind and the CBD. Summary There is a need to develop a legal framework in order to strengthen the advocacy and decisiveness of benefit sharing practice in international health research. Based on this legal framework, research sponsors would be required to provide a minimum set of possible benefits to participants and communities in research. Such legal framework on benefit sharing will encourage research collaboration with local communities; and dispel mistrust between research sponsors and host communities. However, more research is needed—drawing from other international legal frameworks, to understand how such a legal framework on benefit sharing can be successfully formulated in international health research. PMID:24028325

Team Development for High Performance Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schermerhorn, John R., Jr.

1986-01-01

The author examines a team development approach to management that creates shared commitments to performance improvement by focusing the attention of managers on individual workers and their task accomplishments. It uses the "high-performance equation" to help managers confront shared beliefs and concerns about performance and develop realistic…

Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli in common vampire bats Desmodus rotundus and livestock in Peru.

PubMed

Benavides, J A; Shiva, C; Virhuez, M; Tello, C; Appelgren, A; Vendrell, J; Solassol, J; Godreuil, S; Streicker, D G

2018-06-01

Antibiotic resistance mediated by bacterial production of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) is a global threat to public health. ESBL resistance is most commonly hospital-acquired; however, infections acquired outside of hospital settings have raised concerns over the role of livestock and wildlife in the zoonotic spread of ESBL-producing bacteria. Only limited data are available on the circulation of ESBL-producing bacteria in animals. Here, we report ESBL-producing Escherichia coli in wild common vampire bats Desmodus rotundus and livestock near Lima, Peru. Molecular analyses revealed that most of this resistance resulted from the expression of bla CTX-M-15 genes carried by plasmids, which are disseminating worldwide in hospital settings and have also been observed in healthy children of Peru. Multilocus sequence typing showed a diverse pool of E. coli strains carrying this resistance that were not always host species-specific, suggesting sharing of strains between species or infection from a common source. This study shows widespread ESBL resistance in wild and domestic animals, supporting animal communities as a potential source of resistance. Future work is needed to elucidate the role of bats in the dissemination of antibiotic-resistant strains of public health importance and to understand the origin of the observed resistance. © 2018 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Effectiveness of bowl trapping and netting for inventory of a bee community

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grundel, R.; Frohnapple, K.J.; Jean, R.P.; Pavlovic, N.B.

2011-01-01

Concern over the status of bees has increased the need to inventory bee communities and, consequently, has increased the need to understand effectiveness of different bee sampling methods. We sampled bees using bowl traps and netting at 25 northwest Indiana sites ranging from open grasslands to forests. Assemblages of bees captured in bowl traps and by netting were very similar, but this similarity was driven by similar relative abundances of commonly captured species. Less common species were often not shared between collection methods (bowls, netting) and only about half of the species were shared between methods. About one-quarter of species were more often captured by one of the two collection methods. Rapid accumulation of species was aided by sampling at temporal and habitat extremes. In particular, collecting samples early and late in the adult flight season and in open and forest habitats was effective in capturing the most species with the fewest samples. The number of samples estimated necessary to achieve a complete inventory using bowls and netting together was high. For example, ≈72% of species estimated capturable in bowls were captured among the 3,159 bees collected in bowls in this study, but ≈30,000–35,000 additional bees would need to be collected to achieve a 100% complete inventory. For bowl trapping, increasing the number of sampling dates or sampling sites was more effective than adding more bowls per sampling date in completing the inventory with the fewest specimens collected.

In Search of Cost-Effective Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raywid, Mary Anne; Shaheen, Thomas A.

1994-01-01

Examines major cost-effectiveness proposals, describing developments that highlight concerns over making schools cost effective. The article discusses ways to blend the concerns of educational quality, equity, and costs (district consolidations, shared service and facilities arrangements, new accountability strategies, new information systems,…

Ethical Considerations Related to Return of Results from Genomic Medicine Projects: The eMERGE Network (Phase III) Experience

PubMed Central

Fossey, Robyn; Kochan, David; Winkler, Erin; Pacyna, Joel E.; Olson, Janet; Thibodeau, Stephen; Connolly, John J.; Harr, Margaret; Behr, Meckenzie A.; Prows, Cynthia A.; Cobb, Beth; Myers, Melanie F.; Leslie, Nancy D.; Namjou-Khales, Bahram; Milo Rasouly, Hila; Wynn, Julia; Fedotov, Alexander; Chung, Wendy K.; Gharavi, Ali; Williams, Janet L.; Pais, Lynn; Holm, Ingrid; Aufox, Sharon; Smith, Maureen E.; Scrol, Aaron; Leppig, Kathleen; Jarvik, Gail P.; Wiesner, Georgia L.; Li, Rongling; Stroud, Mary; Smoller, Jordan W.; Sharp, Richard R.; Kullo, Iftikhar J.

2018-01-01

We examined the Institutional Review Board (IRB) process at 9 academic institutions in the electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) Network, for proposed electronic health record-based genomic medicine studies, to identify common questions and concerns. Sequencing of 109 disease related genes and genotyping of 14 actionable variants is being performed in ~28,100 participants from the 9 sites. Pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants in actionable genes are being returned to study participants. We examined each site’s research protocols, informed-consent materials, and interactions with IRB staff. Research staff at each site completed questionnaires regarding their IRB interactions. The time to prepare protocols for IRB submission, number of revisions and time to approval ranged from 10–261 days, 0–11, and 11–90 days, respectively. IRB recommendations related to the readability of informed consent materials, specifying the full range of potential risks, providing options for receiving limited results or withdrawal, sharing of information with family members, and establishing the mechanisms to answer participant questions. IRBs reviewing studies that involve the return of results from genomic sequencing have a diverse array of concerns, and anticipating these concerns can help investigators to more effectively engage IRBs. PMID:29301385

Qualitative Data Sharing Practices in Social Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeng, Wei

2017-01-01

Social scientists have been sharing data for a long time. Sharing qualitative data, however, has not become a common practice, despite the context of e-Research, information growth, and funding agencies' mandates on research data archiving and sharing. Since most systematic and comprehensive studies are based on quantitative data practices, little…

Prader–Willi Syndrome: Genetics and Behavior

PubMed Central

Thompson, Travis; Butler, Merlin G.; MacLean, William E.; Joseph, Beth

2016-01-01

Since its inception, the John F. Kennedy Center has attempted to overcome developmental problems, which create restrictive barriers to the participation of individuals with specific disabilities in our broader society. Some of Nicholas Hobbs’s earliest efforts involved developing strategies for preventing children’s emotional and behavior problems, which interfered with their later full participation in society. Other investigators in the Kennedy Center explored ways of reducing dysfunctional repetitive movement problems and self-injury commonly associated with autism and severe mental retardation. We have become concerned about a group of people who have the potential to live largely independently (or semi-independently), to work at meaningful jobs in the community, and to make full use of the same recreational and leisure opportunities as other members of society but who are prevented from doing so because of a life-threatening behavior problem. Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) is a genetic developmental disability characterized by a group of specific behavioral features of which an insatiable appetite is the most striking. PWS is the most commonly known genetic cause of obesity. The eating disorder associated with PWS can be so severe as to be life threatening, including eating to the point of stomach rupture and death. Though a cluster of commonly covarying clinical features are exhibited by people with this syndrome, only the eating disorder is common to all affected individuals. PWS shares behavioral features with other disorders and disabilities, such as obsessive compulsive disorder and autism, but only PWS includes the unique combination of characteristics that distinguish this syndrome. Because eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia nervosa also share features with PWS, any light that could be shed on the causes and treatment of the eating disorder in PWS could potentially have far-reaching implications for other eating disorders as well. In this article, we review the behavioral, cognitive, and other psychological features of PWS and explore their relationships to known genetic mechanisms. PMID:27594721

Scientists and Faith Communities in Dialogue - Finding Common Ground to Care for our Common Home

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jablonski, L. M.

2017-12-01

World-wide, faith communities are a key place for education and outreach to the general adult population. The sacred responsibility to care for the earth, living sustainability and concern for the poor are nearly universal priorities across faith communities. Scientists and people of faith share in common experiences of awe and wonder and ethical roles as citizens. The majority of faith communities have statements on climate changes, environmental justice, and stewardship, and respond with education, action plans and advocacy. People of faith are increasingly seeking science expertise to better understand the science and best solutions to implement. Transformation of point of view often requires heart-felt motivation (domain of religion) as well as knowledge (science). Scientists can participate in alleviating environmental justice by providing data and education to communities. Expert testimony is a critical service. Pope Francis' environmental encyclical Laudato si, engaged diverse scientists in its writing and outreach. Francis invites our continued dialogue with people of faith and goodwill of all societal sectors and fields to achieve an integral ecology that integrates science, economics, and impacts on the poor. For scientists to be most effective in sharing expertise, and building understanding and trust in scientific findings, skill- building is needed in: communication, finding common ground, intercultural competency, working with diverse populations and religious literacy. Educational initiatives bridging scientists and faith-communities will be highlighted including within: the Ecological Society of America, American Assn for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, faith-based & Environmental Justice networks, Nature centers, Higher Education (including Seminary) Initiatives and the Hanley Sustainability Institute, and interfaith religious organizations engaged with scientists. Bridge-building and ongoing partnerships of scientists, EJ-impacted community members and people of faith are critical to addressing climate change and its impacts and countering environmental injustice. Such partnerships can help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals which address both human rights and environmental sustainability.

Monogamy, strongly bonded groups, and the evolution of human social structure.

PubMed

Chapais, Bernard

2013-01-01

Human social evolution has most often been treated in a piecemeal fashion, with studies focusing on the evolution of specific components of human society such as pair-bonding, cooperative hunting, male provisioning, grandmothering, cooperative breeding, food sharing, male competition, male violence, sexual coercion, territoriality, and between-group conflicts. Evolutionary models about any one of those components are usually concerned with two categories of questions, one relating to the origins of the component and the other to its impact on the evolution of human cognition and social life. Remarkably few studies have been concerned with the evolution of the entity that integrates all components, the human social system itself. That social system has as its core feature human social structure, which I define here as the common denominator of all human societies in terms of group composition, mating system, residence patterns, and kinship structures. The paucity of information on the evolution of human social structure poses substantial problems because that information is useful, if not essential, to assess both the origins and impact of any particular aspect of human society. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Using Cognitive Interviews to Assess the Cultural Validity of State and Trait Measures of Mindfulness among Zen Buddhists

PubMed Central

Woodrich, Lisa E.; Tiernan, Kristin A.

2012-01-01

Although Western psychological mindfulness shares many common features with Buddhist mindfulness, subtle differences in the way in which it is practiced and assessed may have important implications. Therefore, the primary goal of this qualitative study was to evaluate the cultural validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) and Toronto Mindfulness Scale (TMS) by using cognitive interviews among a sample of Buddhist clergy and laypersons to assess their perceptions of these two scales. Participants were 14 Zen Buddhists (7 laypersons, 6 Zen priests, and 1 in priest the ordination process) recruited from a monastery in the Pacific Northwestern U.S. Each participant completed a cognitive interview using the FFMQ and TMS. We developed a coding schema to identify and categorize participant responses, and then applied the final coding framework to all 14 interviews. Results revealed perceived concerns and strengths of each scale, as well as concerns regarding content deemed missing from both scales and general issues related to mindfulness self-assessment. These findings suggest that Buddhist and Western psychological conceptualizations of mindfulness may have important differences. PMID:24976872

How Might the Genetics Profession Better Utilize Social Media.

PubMed

Moore, Rebekah A; Matthews, Anne L; Cohen, Leslie

2018-04-01

Social media is a common method of communication in people's personal lives and professional settings. Gallagher et al. (2016) recommended, "it is time for genetic counselors to embrace social media as a means of communicating with patients or other healthcare professionals." Full members of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) in the USA and Canada and genetics patients in Cleveland, OH, were surveyed to determine interest in using social media for patient-provider interactions. Both cohorts indicated that patient privacy and confidentiality would be a concern; however, survey results indicated patients would be interested in using social media to receive general information about genetic counseling and to learn about genetics services. Genetic counselors indicated privacy issues were not concerning if social media were to be used in this capacity. The majority of genetic counselor participants (88.7%) indicated they would welcome national guidelines for patient-provider social media use. Data from this study demonstrated that sharing what to expect at a genetic counseling appointment, defining genetic counseling, and announcing community outreach events are possible ways genetic counselors could utilize social media to communicate with and educate patients.

The informal use of antiretroviral medications for HIV prevention by men who have sex with men in South Florida: initiation, use practices, medications and motivations.

PubMed

Buttram, Mance E

2018-01-23

Limited data suggest that some gay and other men who have sex with men are using antiretroviral medications informally, without a prescription, for HIV prevention. This qualitative study examined this phenomenon among gay and other men who have sex with men in South Florida. Participants initiated informal antiretroviral medication use as a means of protecting each other and because of the confidence in knowledge of antiretroviral medications shared by their friends and sex partners. The most commonly used medications included Truvada and Stribild. Motivations for use included condom avoidance, risk reduction, and fear of recent HIV exposure. Participants described positive and negative sentiments related to informal use, including concerns about informal antiretroviral medications offering sufficient protection against HIV, and limited knowledge about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Because the antiretroviral medications used for PrEP have the potential to prevent HIV infection, future research must consider the informal antiretroviral medication use and related concerns, including adherence, diversion and viral resistance.

Sex: a sensitive issue.

PubMed

1997-01-01

Health care workers and educators may need to improve their skills in discussing sensitive issues in order to elicit and understand what influences people's attitudes toward sex. While the health worker may be bent upon preventing HIV infection, advising on family planning, or teaching youth about sexual relationships, his or her audience may have other priorities. A good counselor/teacher must learn what people's concerns are and discuss sexual health within that context. It can be difficult talking about sex because sex is a private concern and many people are embarrassed discussing it. Even sex partners often find it difficult to talk to each other about sex. Appropriate communication techniques vary depending upon the situation. It depends upon whether one is addressing people on an individual basis or in groups, which people are being addressed, which organization one is representing, and what one's role is. Good communication is a two-way sharing of information. The different stages of life, common beliefs and myths, culture and religion, relationships between men and women, reasons for having sex, and sex practices are discussed.

Patient and partner perspectives on patient-delivered partner screening: acceptability, benefits, and barriers.

PubMed

McBride, Kimberly R; Goldsworthy, Richard C; Fortenberry, J Dennis

2010-10-01

The study examined willingness to engage in patient-delivered partner screening (PDPS) and preferences for expedited partner services (EPS). Forty urban U.S. sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinic patients participated in individual mixed-methods interviews exploring EPS preferences and PDPS willingness. Most participants selected PDPS and PDPT together and uptake varied by patient–partner relationship closeness. For PDPS, several potentially important barriers and benefits were identified. Perceived benefits included improved sexual health for patients and their sexual partner(s) as well as convenience, privacy, and the potential to enhance trust between sexual partners. Perceived barriers included concerns about PDPS processes (e.g., time it would take to receive the result, risk of sample contamination), the accuracy of results, STI stigma and associated blame, lack of trust for a sexual partner, and the packaging/appearance of the screening kit. PDPS affords benefits and may overcome treatment barriers in some situations; however, it shares common PDPT barriers and has its own unique challenges. There are also concerns regarding how the offer of PDPS may interact with PDPT utilization.

SoS Lablet; Perpetually Available and Secure Information Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-11-16

settings, people simply err on the safe side and do a lot less sharing, which explains why all pull -based location sharing applications have failed so...number of data centers is raising concerns about their power consumption. Through an NSF GOALI Bruce Krogh and I have investigated the problem by

Limits on Union-Backed Political Speech: "Ysura v. Pocatello Education Association"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russo, Charles J.

2009-01-01

Free speech concerns associated with collective bargaining become important when unions impose fair-share fees that charge nonmembers for costs associated with the benefits they receive through labor negotiations. When unions collect fair-share fees, those payments often support causes with which nonmembers and dissenting members disagree.…

Raising Concerns about Sharing and Reusing Large-Scale Mathematics Classroom Observation Video Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ing, Marsha; Samkian, Artineh

2018-01-01

There are great opportunities and challenges to sharing large-scale mathematics classroom observation data. This Research Commentary describes the methodological opportunities and challenges and provides a specific example from a mathematics education research project to illustrate how the research questions and framework drove observational…

The Development of Generosity and Moral Cognition across Five Cultures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cowell, Jason M.; Lee, Kang; Malcolm-Smith, Susan; Selcuk, Bilge; Zhou, Xinyue; Decety, Jean

2017-01-01

Morality is an evolved aspect of human nature, yet is heavily influenced by cultural environment. This developmental study adopted an integrative approach by combining measures of socioeconomic status (SES), executive function, affective sharing, empathic concern, theory of mind, and moral judgment in predicting sharing behavior in children (N =…

WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT: Better Guidance Needed to Address Concerns Over New Requirements

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-10-01

collocated at the one-stop), or providing equipment or shared services (for example, teaching a class, or greeting individuals who enter the one-stop...difficult to provide shared services , such as providing initial intake or serving as a greeter, because an individual— even a disabled one—may not...not provide even permissible shared services , instead generally providing rent as their support of the one-stop’s operations. Veterans’ staff have also

Data sharing platforms for de-identified data from human clinical trials.

PubMed

Huser, Vojtech; Shmueli-Blumberg, Dikla

2018-04-01

Data sharing of de-identified individual participant data is being adopted by an increasing number of sponsors of human clinical trials. In addition to standardizing data syntax for shared trial data, semantic integration of various data elements is the focus of several initiatives that define research common data elements. This perspective article, in the first part, compares several data sharing platforms for de-identified clinical research data in terms of their size, policies and supported features. In the second part, we use a case study approach to describe in greater detail one data sharing platform (Data Share from National Institute of Drug Abuse). We present data on the past use of the platform, data formats offered, data de-identification approaches and its use of research common data elements. We conclude with a summary of current and expected future trends that facilitate secondary research use of data from completed human clinical trials.

Influence of Flavors on the Propagation of E-Cigarette–Related Information: Social Media Study

PubMed Central

Zhou, Jiaqi; Zeng, Daniel Dajun; Tsui, Kwok Leung

2018-01-01

Background Modeling the influence of e-cigarette flavors on information propagation could provide quantitative policy decision support concerning smoking initiation and contagion, as well as e-cigarette regulations. Objective The objective of this study was to characterize the influence of flavors on e-cigarette–related information propagation on social media. Methods We collected a comprehensive dataset of e-cigarette–related discussions from public Pages on Facebook. We identified 11 categories of flavors based on commonly used categorizations. Each post’s frequency of being shared served as a proxy measure of information propagation. We evaluated a set of regression models and chose the hurdle negative binomial model to characterize the influence of different flavors and nonflavor control variables on e-cigarette–related information propagation. Results We found that 5 flavors (sweet, dessert & bakery, fruits, herbs & spices, and tobacco) had significantly negative influences on e-cigarette–related information propagation, indicating the users’ tendency not to share posts related to these flavors. We did not find a positive significance of any flavors, which is contradictory to previous research. In addition, we found that a set of nonflavor–related factors were associated with information propagation. Conclusions Mentions of flavors in posts did not enhance the popularity of e-cigarette–related information. Certain flavors could even have reduced the popularity of information, indicating users’ lack of interest in flavors. Promoting e-cigarette–related information with mention of flavors is not an effective marketing approach. This study implies the potential concern of users about flavorings and suggests a need to regulate the use of flavorings in e-cigarettes. PMID:29572202

EDUSEIS Project : an On-Going Education and Adwardness Experiment in Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Virieux, J.; Zollo, A.; Bérenguer, J.; Picq, T.; Bobbio, A.

2002-12-01

Education and awardness on sciences and on natural phenomena is a concern of both researchers teachers with many social issues. A well-defined frame is critical for interaction and collaboration and should be illustrated on key examples. Observing and analysing seismic data is one of these examples because earthquakes with strong implications in our industrial society attract young people and because different area around the world may share observations, informations and activities concerning earthquakes both local if there is any and global if they are strong enough. In order to focus on doing science and on analysing data, one has to reduce efforts for collecting data (if not hiding it) while having them measuring the same physical quantities and in a format readable by different available softwares. We shall illustrate solutions we have developped in an interaction between colleges and laboratories with different specific cultural approaches of European countries. Activities ranging from metrology to interpretation and presentation should improve scientific behaviour of students as well as increase their understanding of the Earth. We shall illustrate through the diversity of European initiatives that we share common objectives. Systematic use of new technologies for collecting numbers (measurements) and for crunching them (interpretation) will retain the attention of the students and will hopefully attrack them to Sciences related to the Earth. In the present on-going process, we shall show the necessity for an European organisation and support inside the more global international interaction. Such initiatives focus on scientific training of people for making more award citizens of our society.

Helping or punishing strangers: neural correlates of altruistic decisions as third-party and of its relation to empathic concern.

PubMed

Hu, Yang; Strang, Sabrina; Weber, Bernd

2015-01-01

Social norms are a cornerstone of human society. When social norms are violated (e.g., fairness) people can either help the victim or punish the violator in order to restore justice. Recent research has shown that empathic concern influences this decision to help or punish. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) we investigated the neural underpinnings of third-party help and punishment and the involvement of empathic concern. Participants saw a person violating a social norm, i.e., proposing unfair offers in a dictator game, at the expense of another person. The participants could then decide to either punish the violator or help the victim. Our results revealed that both third-party helping as well as third-party punishing activated the bilateral striatum, a region strongly related with reward processing, indicating that both altruistic decisions share a common neuronal basis. In addition, also different networks were involved in the two processes compared with control conditions; bilateral striatum and the right lateral prefrontal cortex (lPFC) during helping and bilateral striatum as well as left lPFC and ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) during punishment. Further we found that individual differences in empathic concern influenced whether people prefer to help or to punish. People with high empathic concern helped more frequently, were faster in their decision and showed higher activation in frontoparietal regions during helping compared with punishing. Our findings provide insights into the neuronal basis of human altruistic behavior and social norm enforcement mechanism.

Integrating Engineering into K-6 Curriculum: Developing Talent in the STEM Disciplines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mann, Eric L.; Mann, Rebecca L.; Strutz, Michele L.; Duncan, Daphne; Yoon, So Yoon

2011-01-01

The fields of gifted and engineering education share many common interests, and their students share many common attributes. Infusing and making engineering implicit in the K-6 education programs creates opportunities to develop concepts, skills, and habits of the mind that are valuable in all disciplines while providing opportunities to discover…

Measuring and Sustaining the Impact of Less Commonly Taught Language Collections in a Research Library

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lenkart, Joe; Teper, Thomas H.; Thacker, Mara; Witt, Steven W.

2015-01-01

To evaluate the current state of resource sharing and cooperative collection development, this paper examines the relationship between less commonly taught language collections (LCTL) and ILL services. The study examined multiple years of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's resource-sharing data. This paper provides a historical…

An Integrated Architecture to Support Hastily Formed Network (HFN)

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-12-01

17 1. Creating Awareness of the Situation (intra-organization).............17 2. Sharing Awareness Among Organizations (inter...Convergence - Sharing a Common Goal to Achieve a Common Outcome...................................................................39 b. Interdependency and...Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threat UC Unclassified UCC Unified Command Center UHF Ultra High Frequency VHF Very High Frequency VoIP Voice over

The composition, heating value and renewable share of the energy content of mixed municipal solid waste in Finland.

PubMed

Horttanainen, M; Teirasvuo, N; Kapustina, V; Hupponen, M; Luoranen, M

2013-12-01

For the estimation of greenhouse gas emissions from waste incineration it is essential to know the share of the renewable energy content of the combusted waste. The composition and heating value information is generally available, but the renewable energy share or heating values of different fractions of waste have rarely been determined. In this study, data from Finnish studies concerning the composition and energy content of mixed MSW were collected, new experimental data on the compositions, heating values and renewable share of energy were presented and the results were compared to the estimations concluded from earlier international studies. In the town of Lappeenranta in south-eastern Finland, the share of renewable energy ranged between 25% and 34% in the energy content tests implemented for two sample trucks. The heating values of the waste and fractions of plastic waste were high in the samples compared to the earlier studies in Finland. These high values were caused by good source separation and led to a low share of renewable energy content in the waste. The results showed that in mixed municipal solid waste the renewable share of the energy content can be significantly lower than the general assumptions (50-60%) when the source separation of organic waste, paper and cardboard is carried out successfully. The number of samples was however small for making extensive conclusions on the results concerning the heating values and renewable share of energy and additional research is needed for this purpose. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Designing for Global Data Sharing, Designing for Educational Transformation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, Robin S.; Radcliffe, David; Fosmire, Michael

2016-01-01

This paper provides an example of a global data sharing project with an educational transformation agenda. This agenda shaped both the design of the shared dataset and the experience of sharing the common dataset to support multiple perspective inquiry and enable integrative and critically reflexive research-to-practice dialogue. The shared…

Comparison of consumers’ views on electronic data sharing for healthcare and research

PubMed Central

Joseph, Jill G; Ohno-Machado, Lucila

2015-01-01

New models of healthcare delivery such as accountable care organizations and patient-centered medical homes seek to improve quality, access, and cost. They rely on a robust, secure technology infrastructure provided by health information exchanges (HIEs) and distributed research networks and the willingness of patients to share their data. There are few large, in-depth studies of US consumers’ views on privacy, security, and consent in electronic data sharing for healthcare and research together. Objective This paper addresses this gap, reporting on a survey which asks about California consumers’ views of data sharing for healthcare and research together. Materials and Methods The survey conducted was a representative, random-digit dial telephone survey of 800 Californians, performed in Spanish and English. Results There is a great deal of concern that HIEs will worsen privacy (40.3%) and security (42.5%). Consumers are in favor of electronic data sharing but elements of transparency are important: individual control, who has access, and the purpose for use of data. Respondents were more likely to agree to share deidentified information for research than to share identified information for healthcare (76.2% vs 57.3%, p < .001). Discussion While consumers show willingness to share health information electronically, they value individual control and privacy. Responsiveness to these needs, rather than mere reliance on Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), may improve support of data networks. Conclusion Responsiveness to the public’s concerns regarding their health information is a pre-requisite for patient-centeredness. This is one of the first in-depth studies of attitudes about electronic data sharing that compares attitudes of the same individual towards healthcare and research. PMID:25829461

Engagement studios: students and communities working to address the determinants of health.

PubMed

Bainbridge, Lesley; Grossman, Susan; Dharamsi, Shafik; Porter, Jill; Wood, Victoria

2014-01-01

This article presents an innovative model for interprofessional community-oriented learning. The Engagement Studios model involves a partnership between community organizations and students as equal partners in conversations and activities aimed at addressing issues of common concern as they relate to the social determinants of health. Interprofessional teams of students from health and non-health disciplines work with community partners to identify priority community issues and explore potential solutions. The student teams work with a particular community organization, combining their unique disciplinary perspectives to develop a project proposal, which addresses the community issues that have been jointly identified. Approved proposals receive a small budget to implement the project. In this paper we present the Engagement Studios model and share lessons learned from a pilot of this educational initiative.

Virtual voices: social support and stigma in postnatal mental illness Internet forums.

PubMed

Moore, Donna; Ayers, Susan

2017-06-01

Many women with postnatal mental illness do not get the treatment they need and this is often because stigma prevents disclosure. The purpose of this study was to explore online social support for postnatal mental illness, how women experience stigma and potential disadvantages of using Internet forums. Interviews were conducted with fifteen participants who had suffered postnatal mental illness and had used forums. Systematic thematic analysis identified common themes in relation to social support, stigma and disadvantages of using forums. Most women felt they benefited from visiting forums by developing a shared understanding and discourse about their illness. Findings suggest future research should investigate if women benefit from using online social support provided by forums, if use challenges stigma and further explore potential concerns about using forums.

Participant Experiences of Talking Circles on Type 2 Diabetes in Two Northern Plains American Indian Tribes

PubMed Central

Struthers, Roxanne; Hodge, Felicia Schanche; Geishirt-Cantrell, Betty; De Cora, Lorelei

2011-01-01

The Talking Circle, a culturally appropriate, 12-week educational intervention, was employed on two Northern Plains American Indian reservations to provide information on type 2 diabetes. In a phenomenological study, funded as a minority supplement to the Talking Circle intervention, the authors asked 8 American Indian participants of the Talking Circle to describe their experience of being an American Indian Talking Circle participant. Seven common themes describe the phenomenon of participating in a Talking Circle diabetic intervention. The Talking Circle technique was effective in providing information on type 2 diabetes through culturally appropriate community sharing. Type 2 diabetes is viewed by both outsiders and those involved as a chronic disease of the utmost concern in American Indian communities. PMID:14556421

Health research participants are not receiving research results: a collaborative solution is needed.

PubMed

Long, Christopher R; Stewart, M Kathryn; McElfish, Pearl A

2017-10-02

Health research participants want the results of the studies in which they participate but do not typically receive them. Researchers generally express support for sharing results with participants but, in practice, may be unprepared or unwilling to do so. Many funders call for increased dissemination of research results beyond academic and clinical audiences, but few funders sponsor research to improve result sharing with participants. Although the solution appears straightforward (e.g., funders could incentivize researchers to share results with participants), there are critical gaps in knowledge that suggest the need for a more deliberate approach. For example, what ethical or practical concerns discourage researchers from returning results to participants? What exactly do participants plan to do with the results that they would like to receive? What are the best channels of communication for sharing results with particular participant populations? To address these knowledge gaps, we argue for a collaborative process to develop a research agenda related to result sharing with participants. With support and encouragement by funders, such research should evaluate the effects of different types of results (and results from different types of studies) on participants' behaviors, attitudes, and emotions; it should also examine the researchers' ethical, financial, logistical, methodological, and skill-related concerns and constraints related to sharing results with participants. Over time, collaborative research between researchers and participants can yield an evolving set of evidence-based guidelines for ethical, effective result sharing with participants.

Determining preferences for ecosystem benefits in Great Lakes Areas of Concern from photographs posted to social media.

PubMed

Angradi, Ted R; Launspach, Jonathon J; Debbout, Rick

2018-04-01

Relative valuation of potentially affected ecosystem benefits can increase the legitimacy and social acceptance of ecosystem restoration projects. As an alternative or supplement to traditional methods of deriving beneficiary preference, we downloaded from social media and classified ≈21,000 photographs taken in two Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOC), the St. Louis River and the Milwaukee Estuary. Our motivating presumption was that the act of taking a photograph constitutes some measure of the photographer's individual preference for, or choice of, the depicted subject matter among myriad possible subject matter. Overall, 17% of photos downloaded from the photo-sharing sites Flickr, Instagram, and Panoramio depicted an ecosystem benefit of the AOC. Percent of photographs depicting a benefit and the photographs' subject matter varied between AOCs and among photo-sharing sites. Photos shared on Instagram were less user-gender biased than other photo-sharing sites and depicted active recreation (e.g., trail use) more frequently than passive recreation (e.g., landscape viewing). Local users shared more photos depicting a benefit than non-local users. The spatial distribution of photograph locations varied between photos depicting and not depicting a benefit, and identified areas within AOCs from which few photographs were shared. As a source of beneficiary preference information, we think Instagram has some advantages over the other photo-sharing sites. When combined with other information, spatially-explicit relative valuation derived from aggregate social preference can be translated into information and knowledge useful for Great Lakes restoration decision making.

How strong are passwords used to protect personal health information in clinical trials?

PubMed

El Emam, Khaled; Moreau, Katherine; Jonker, Elizabeth

2011-02-11

Findings and statements about how securely personal health information is managed in clinical research are mixed. The objective of our study was to evaluate the security of practices used to transfer and share sensitive files in clinical trials. Two studies were performed. First, 15 password-protected files that were transmitted by email during regulated Canadian clinical trials were obtained. Commercial password recovery tools were used on these files to try to crack their passwords. Second, interviews with 20 study coordinators were conducted to understand file-sharing practices in clinical trials for files containing personal health information. We were able to crack the passwords for 93% of the files (14/15). Among these, 13 files contained thousands of records with sensitive health information on trial participants. The passwords tended to be relatively weak, using common names of locations, animals, car brands, and obvious numeric sequences. Patient information is commonly shared by email in the context of query resolution. Files containing personal health information are shared by email and, by posting them on shared drives with common passwords, to facilitate collaboration. If files containing sensitive patient information must be transferred by email, mechanisms to encrypt them and to ensure that password strength is high are necessary. More sophisticated collaboration tools are required to allow file sharing without password sharing. We provide recommendations to implement these practices.

How Strong are Passwords Used to Protect Personal Health Information in Clinical Trials?

PubMed Central

Moreau, Katherine; Jonker, Elizabeth

2011-01-01

Background Findings and statements about how securely personal health information is managed in clinical research are mixed. Objective The objective of our study was to evaluate the security of practices used to transfer and share sensitive files in clinical trials. Methods Two studies were performed. First, 15 password-protected files that were transmitted by email during regulated Canadian clinical trials were obtained. Commercial password recovery tools were used on these files to try to crack their passwords. Second, interviews with 20 study coordinators were conducted to understand file-sharing practices in clinical trials for files containing personal health information. Results We were able to crack the passwords for 93% of the files (14/15). Among these, 13 files contained thousands of records with sensitive health information on trial participants. The passwords tended to be relatively weak, using common names of locations, animals, car brands, and obvious numeric sequences. Patient information is commonly shared by email in the context of query resolution. Files containing personal health information are shared by email and, by posting them on shared drives with common passwords, to facilitate collaboration. Conclusion If files containing sensitive patient information must be transferred by email, mechanisms to encrypt them and to ensure that password strength is high are necessary. More sophisticated collaboration tools are required to allow file sharing without password sharing. We provide recommendations to implement these practices. PMID:21317106

Our Communication Heritage: The Genetic Tie That Binds.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osborn, Michael

1979-01-01

Discusses the theme of the 1978 Southern Speech Communication Association Convention, "Many Interests, One Concern," in relation to the shared communication heritage of the divergent professional interests represented. The antiquity of human communication points up the importance of the concern with speech communication and suggests…

Shared Genetics and Couple-Associated Environment Are Major Contributors to the Risk of Both Clinical and Self-Declared Depression.

PubMed

Zeng, Yanni; Navarro, Pau; Xia, Charley; Amador, Carmen; Fernandez-Pujals, Ana M; Thomson, Pippa A; Campbell, Archie; Nagy, Reka; Clarke, Toni-Kim; Hafferty, Jonathan D; Smith, Blair H; Hocking, Lynne J; Padmanabhan, Sandosh; Hayward, Caroline; MacIntyre, Donald J; Porteous, David J; Haley, Chris S; McIntosh, Andrew M

2016-12-01

Both genetic and environmental factors contribute to risk of depression, but estimates of their relative contributions are limited. Commonalities between clinically-assessed major depressive disorder (MDD) and self-declared depression (SDD) are also unclear. Using data from a large Scottish family-based cohort (GS:SFHS, N=19,994), we estimated the genetic and environmental variance components for MDD and SDD. The components representing the genetic effect associated with genome-wide common genetic variants (SNP heritability), the additional pedigree-associated genetic effect and non-genetic effects associated with common environments were estimated in a linear mixed model (LMM). Both MDD and SDD had significant contributions from components representing the effect from common genetic variants, the additional genetic effect associated with the pedigree and the common environmental effect shared by couples. The estimate of correlation between SDD and MDD was high (r=1.00, se=0.20) for common-variant-associated genetic effect and lower for the additional genetic effect from the pedigree (r=0.57, se=0.08) and the couple-shared environmental effect (r=0.53, se=0.22). Both genetics and couple-shared environmental effects were major factors influencing liability to depression. SDD may provide a scalable alternative to MDD in studies seeking to identify common risk variants. Rarer variants and environmental effects may however differ substantially according to different definitions of depression. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Consumer Outcomes After Implementing CommonGround as an Approach to Shared Decision Making.

PubMed

Salyers, Michelle P; Fukui, Sadaaki; Bonfils, Kelsey A; Firmin, Ruth L; Luther, Lauren; Goscha, Rick; Rapp, Charles A; Holter, Mark C

2017-03-01

The authors examined consumer outcomes before and after implementing CommonGround, a computer-based shared decision-making program. Consumers with severe mental illness (N=167) were interviewed prior to implementation and 12 and 18 months later to assess changes in active treatment involvement, symptoms, and recovery-related attitudes. Providers also rated consumers on level of treatment involvement. Most consumers used CommonGround at least once (67%), but few used the program regularly. Mixed-effects regression analyses showed improvement in self-reported symptoms and recovery attitudes. Self-reported treatment involvement did not change; however, for a subset of consumers with the same providers over time (N=83), the providers rated consumers as more active in treatment. This study adds to the growing literature on tools to support shared decision making, showing the potential benefits of CommonGround for improving recovery outcomes. More work is needed to better engage consumers in CommonGround and to test the approach with more rigorous methods.

National Culture in Practice: Its Impact on Knowledge Sharing in Global Virtual Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wei, Kangning

2009-01-01

Issues concerning global virtual collaboration have received considerable attention in both the academic and practical world; however, little research has been conducted on knowledge-sharing activities in global virtual collaboration, which is a key process to achieve collaboration effectiveness. Due to national culture having been seen as one of…

Sharing Information to Promote a Culture of Safety

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodrum, Sarah; Woodward, William; Thompson, Andrew J.

2017-01-01

Much of the research on school shootings emphasizes the need for peers, not school officials, to share information about students of concern. This qualitative case study examined the information school officials had prior to a school shooting, which left two students dead. The data came from school officials' deposition testimony and school…

Women's Language Model: A Proposal.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dumas, Bethany K.

It is possible to think of women's language in terms of the model implied by the following statement. Insofar as native speakers of English are concerned, the language of women in America has four sets of components: those shared with the language of men in America; those shared, in varying proportions, with other women living in patriarchies;…

Student Vulnerability, Agency, and Learning Analytics: An Exploration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prinsloo, Paul; Slade, Sharon

2016-01-01

In light of increasing concerns about surveillance, higher education institutions (HEIs) cannot afford a simple paternalistic approach to student data. Very few HEIs have regulatory frameworks in place and/or share information with students regarding the scope of data that may be collected, analyzed, used, and shared. It is clear from literature…

Functions of Memory Sharing and Mother-Child Reminiscing Behaviors: Individual and Cultural Variations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kulkofsky, Sarah; Wang, Qi; Koh, Jessie Bee Kim

2009-01-01

This study examined maternal beliefs about the functions of memory sharing and the relations between these beliefs and mother-child reminiscing behaviors in a cross-cultural context. Sixty-three European American and 47 Chinese mothers completed an open-ended questionnaire concerning their beliefs about the functions of parent-child memory…

Risks and Uncertainties in Virtual Worlds: An Educators' Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farahmand, Fariborz; Yadav, Aman; Spafford, Eugene H.

2013-01-01

Virtual worlds present tremendous advantages to cyberlearning. For example, in virtual worlds users can socialize with others, build objects and share them, customize parts of the world and hold lectures, do experiments, or share data. However, virtual worlds pose a wide range of security, privacy, and safety concerns. This may lead educators to…

Facilitating Parent Centers: A Sharing of Ideas and Experiences.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heath, Terri; And Others

This handbook describes the development and operation of family enhancement programs in Parent Centers in Wisconsin. Parent Centers, also called Family Centers, provide opportunities for parents to meet each other and to share concerns, ideas and fun. They can be "legitimate" places for parents to find friends for their children and…

Harm Reduction From Below

PubMed Central

Van Schipstal, Inge; Berning, Moritz; Murray, Hayley

2016-01-01

This article focuses on how recreational drug users in the Netherlands and in online communities navigate the risks and reduce the harms they associate with psychoactive drug use. To do so, we examined the protective practices they invent, use, and share with their immediate peers and with larger drug experimenting communities online. The labor involved in protective practices and that which ultimately informs harm reduction from below follows three interrelated trajectories: (1) the handling and sharing of drugs to facilitate hassle-free drug use, (2) creating pleasant and friendly spaces that we highlight under the practices of drug use attunements, and (3) the seeking and sharing of information in practices to spread the good high. We focus not only on users’ concerns but also on how these concerns shape their approach to drugs, what young people do to navigate uncertainties, and how they reach out to and create different sources of knowledge to minimize adversities and to improve highs. Harm reduction from below, we argue, can best be seen in the practices of sharing around drug use and in the caring for the larger community of drug-using peers. PMID:27721525

A CFD Analysis of Hydrogen Leakage During On-Pad Purge in the ORION/ARES I Shared Volume

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ajmani, Kumud; Edwards, Daryl A.

2011-01-01

A common open volume is created by the stacking of the Orion vehicle onto the Ares I Upper Stage. Called the Shared Volume, both vehicles contribute to its gas, fluid, and thermal environment. One of these environments is related to hazardous hydrogen gas. While both vehicles use inert purge gas to mitigate any hazardous gas buildup, there are concerns that hydrogen gas may still accumulate and that the Ares I Hazardous Gas Detection System will not be sufficient for monitoring the integrated volume. This Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis has been performed to examine these topics. Results of the analysis conclude that the Ares I Hazardous Gas Detection System will be able to sample the vent effluent containing the highest hydrogen concentrations. A second conclusion is that hydrogen does not accumulate under the Orion Service Module (SM) avionics ring as diffusion and purge flow mixing sufficiently dilute the hydrogen to safe concentrations. Finally the hydrogen concentrations within the Orion SM engine nozzle may slightly exceed the 1 percent volume fraction when the entire worse case maximum full leak is directed vertically into the engine nozzle.

Sharing knowledge about immunisation (SKAI): An exploration of parents' communication needs to inform development of a clinical communication support intervention.

PubMed

Berry, Nina J; Danchin, Margie; Trevena, Lyndal; Witteman, Holly O; Kinnersley, Paul; Snelling, Tom; Robinson, Penelope; Leask, Julie

2018-01-29

The SKAI (Sharing Knowledge About Immunisation) project aims to develop effective communication tools to support primary health care providers' consultations with parents who may be hesitant about vaccinating their children. This study explored parents' communication needs using a qualitative design. Parents of at least one child less than five years old were recruited from two major cities and a regional town known for high prevalence of vaccine objection. Focus groups of parents who held similar vaccination attitudes and intentions were convened to discuss experiences of vaccination consultations and explore their communication needs, including preferences. Draft written communication support tools were used to stimulate discussion and gauge acceptability of the tools. Important differences in communication needs between group types emerged. The least hesitant parent groups reported feeling reassured upon reading resources designed to address commonly observed concerns about vaccination. As hesitancy of the group members increased, so did their accounts of the volume and detail of information they required. Trust appeared to be related to apparent or perceived transparency. More hesitant groups displayed increased sensitivity and resistance to persuasive language forms. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stem cell banking: between traceability and identifiability

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Stem cell banks are increasingly seen as an essential resource of biological materials for both basic and translational research. Stem cell banks support transnational access to quality-controlled and ethically sourced stem cell lines from different origins and of varying grades. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, advances in regenerative medicine are leading to the development of a bioeconomy, 'a world where biotechnology contributes to a significant share of economic output'. Consequently, stem cell banks are destined to constitute a pillar of the bioeconomy in many countries. While certain ethical and legal concerns are specific to the nature of stem cells, stem cell banking could do well to examine the approaches fostered by tissue banking generally. Indeed, the past decade has seen a move to simplify and harmonize biological tissue and data banking so as to foster international interoperability. In particular, the issues of consent and of traceability illustrate not only commonalities but the opportunity for stem cell banking to appreciate the lessons learned in biobanking generally. This paper analyzes convergence and divergence in issues surrounding policy harmonization, transnational sharing, informed consent, traceability and return of results in the context of stem cell banks. PMID:20923580

The Tension Between Data Sharing and the Protection of Privacy in Genomics Research

PubMed Central

Kaye, Jane

2014-01-01

Next-generation sequencing and global data sharing challenge many of the governance mechanisms currently in place to protect the privacy of research participants. These challenges will make it more difficult to guarantee anonymity for participants, provide information to satisfy the requirements of informed consent, and ensure complete withdrawal from research when requested. To move forward, we need to improve the current governance systems for research so that they are responsive to individual privacy concerns but can also be effective at a global level. We need to develop a system of e-governance that can complement existing governance systems but that places greater reliance on the use of technology to ensure compliance with ethical and legal requirements. These new governance structures must be able to address the concerns of research participants while at the same time ensuring effective data sharing that promotes public trust in genomics research. PMID:22404490

The tension between data sharing and the protection of privacy in genomics research.

PubMed

Kaye, Jane

2012-01-01

Next-generation sequencing and global data sharing challenge many of the governance mechanisms currently in place to protect the privacy of research participants. These challenges will make it more difficult to guarantee anonymity for participants, provide information to satisfy the requirements of informed consent, and ensure complete withdrawal from research when requested. To move forward, we need to improve the current governance systems for research so that they are responsive to individual privacy concerns but can also be effective at a global level. We need to develop a system of e-governance that can complement existing governance systems but that places greater reliance on the use of technology to ensure compliance with ethical and legal requirements. These new governance structures must be able to address the concerns of research participants while at the same time ensuring effective data sharing that promotes public trust in genomics research.

Retributive and restorative justice.

PubMed

Wenzel, Michael; Okimoto, Tyler G; Feather, Norman T; Platow, Michael J

2008-10-01

The emergence of restorative justice as an alternative model to Western, court-based criminal justice may have important implications for the psychology of justice. It is proposed that two different notions of justice affect responses to rule-breaking: restorative and retributive justice. Retributive justice essentially refers to the repair of justice through unilateral imposition of punishment, whereas restorative justice means the repair of justice through reaffirming a shared value-consensus in a bilateral process. Among the symbolic implications of transgressions, concerns about status and power are primarily related to retributive justice and concerns about shared values are primarily related to restorative justice. At the core of these processes, however, lies the parties' construal of their identity relation, specifically whether or not respondents perceive to share an identity with the offender. The specific case of intergroup transgressions is discussed, as are implications for future research on restoring a sense of justice after rule-breaking.

A comparison of time-shared vs. batch development of space software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Forthofer, M.

1977-01-01

In connection with a study regarding the ground support software development for the Space Shuttle, an investigation was conducted concerning the most suitable software development techniques to be employed. A time-sharing 'trial period' was used to determine whether or not time-sharing would be a cost-effective software development technique for the Ground Based Shuttle system. It was found that time-sharing substantially improved job turnaround and programmer access to the computer for the representative group of ground support programmers. Moreover, this improvement resulted in an estimated saving of over fifty programmer days during the trial period.

Moving towards shared decision making in the physician-patient encounter in France: State of the art and future prospects.

PubMed

Moumjid, Nora; Carretier, Julien; Marsico, Giovanna; Blot, François; Durif-Bruckert, Christine; Chauvin, Franck

2017-06-01

In this paper we present the evolution of shared decision making since the mid-nineties in terms of legislation, official statements and guidelines. We outline the goals and declarations of the French Ministry of Health and the French National Authority for Health, for whom informing patients and shared decision-making are central concerns. Finally, we discuss research projects and clinical initiatives in shared decision-making in France and provide a general overview of progress and barriers to progress. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Providing the Tools for Information Sharing: Net-Centric Enterprise Services

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-07-01

The Department of Defense (DoD) is establishing a net-centric environment that increasingly leverages shared services and Service-Oriented...transformational program that delivers a set of shared services as part of the DoD’s common infrastructure to enable networked joint force capabilities, improved interoperability, and increased information sharing across mission area services.

The International Student Safety Debate: Moving beyond Denial

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nyland, C.; Forbes-Mewett, H.; Marginson, S.

2010-01-01

In 2009 international student safety became an issue of immediate concern to Australian international education exporters following a series of demonstrations by Indian students and interventions by concerned foreign governments. With these developments the "industry" became fixated on how best to secure Australia's share of the…

Patient Perceptions About Data Sharing & Privacy: Insights from ActionADE.

PubMed

Small, Serena S; Peddie, David; Ackerley, Christine; Hohl, Corinne M; Balka, Ellen

2017-01-01

Information communication technologies (ICTs) may improve health delivery by enhancing informational continuity of care and enabling secondary use of health data including public health surveillance and research. ICTs also introduce concerns related to privacy. In this paper, we examine and address this tension in the context of the development and implementation of a novel platform that will enable the documentation and communication of patient-specific ADE information, titled ActionADE. We explored privacy concerns qualitatively from the perspective of patients. Our findings will inform a series of recommendations for system design that seek to balance the need to both share and protect personal health information.

Toward shared care for people with cancer: developing the model with patients and GPs.

PubMed

Hall, Susan J; Samuel, Leslie M; Murchie, Peter

2011-10-01

The number of people surviving cancer for extended periods is increasing. Consequently, due to workload and quality issues, there is considerable interest in alternatives to traditional secondary care-led cancer follow-up. To explore the views of potential recipients of shared follow-up of cancer. To conduct a modelling exercise for shared follow-up and to explore the opinions and experiences of both the patients and GPs involved. Semi-structured audio-taped telephone or face-to-face interviews were conducted with 18 patients with a range of cancers currently attending for structured follow-up in secondary care. Six GPs and five patients (four with melanoma and one with stable metastatic colorectal cancer) took part in a shared follow-up modelling exercise. During the modelling exercise, the GPs attended 4 review meetings, which included brief training seminars, and at the conclusion 10 individuals took part in semi-structured audio-taped telephone or face-to-face interviews. Many rural patients, and some urban patients, would appreciate follow-up being available nearer to home with the associated benefits of time saved and easier parking and continuity of care. Patients have concerns related to the level of extra training received by the GP and loss of contact with their consultant. GPs have concerns about gaining and maintaining the clinical skills needed to conduct follow-up, especially if the numbers of patients seen are small. They also have concerns about lack of support from other GPs, and some administrative and organizational issues. Many patients would be willing to have GPs share their cancer follow-up with the caveat that they had received extra training and were appropriately supported by secondary care specialists. Patients attending shared care clinics appreciated a local service and longer appointment times. GPs stress the importance of maintaining their own clinical skills and reliable clinical and administrative support from secondary care.

Could inter-agency working reduce emergency department attendances due to alcohol consumption?

PubMed

Benger, J; Carter, R

2008-06-01

Excess alcohol consumption and associated harms in terms of health, crime and disorder have been highlighted by the government and media, causing considerable public concern. This study quantified the number of patient attendances at an urban adult and children's emergency department (ED) directly attributable to alcohol intoxication, and investigated ways in which the inter-agency sharing of anonymised information could be used to design, implement and monitor interventions to reduce these harms. Intoxicated patients attending either the adult or children's ED were prospectively identified by qualified nursing staff and anonymised data collected by a dedicated researcher. Collaboration and data sharing between health, police, social services, university experts and local authorities was achieved through the establishment of steering and operational groups with agreed objectives and the formation of a shared anonymised database. The proportion of patients attending the ED as a result of alcohol intoxication was 4% in adults and <1% in children. 70% of patients were male, with a mean age of 30 years, and 72% attended between 20.00 and 08.00 h. The most common reason for ED attendance was accident (34%), followed closely by assault (30%). 27% of patients had done most of their drinking at home, 36% in a pub and 16% in a nightclub. Inter-agency collaboration proved highly successful: pooling of anonymised data created a much clearer picture of the extent of the problem and immediately suggested strategies for intervention. The initiative to achieve inter-agency collaboration and data sharing was highly successful, with clear potential for the development and implementation of interventions that will reduce ED attendance due to excess alcohol consumption.

Training for staff who support students.

PubMed

Flynn, Eleanor; Woodward-Kron, Robyn; Hu, Wendy

2016-02-01

Front-line administrative, academic and clinical teaching staff often find themselves providing pastoral and learning support to students, but they are often not trained for this role, and this aspect of their work is under-acknowledged. Staff participating in an action research study at two medical schools identified common concerns about the personal impact of providing student support, and of the need for professional development to carry out this responsibility. This need is magnified in clinical placement settings that are remote from on-campus services. Informed by participatory action research, brief interactive workshops with multimedia training resources were developed, conducted and evaluated at eight health professional student training sites. These workshops were designed to: (1) be delivered in busy clinical placement and university settings; (2) provide a safe and inclusive environment for administrative, academic and clinical teaching staff to share experiences and learn from each other; (3) be publicly accessible; and (4) promote continued development and roll-out of staff training, adapted to each workplace (see http://www.uws.edu.au/meusupport). The workshops were positively evaluated by 97 participants, with both teaching and administrative staff welcoming the opportunity to discuss and share experiences. Staff supporting health professional students have shared, often unmet, needs for support themselves Staff supporting health professional students have shared, often unmet, needs for support themselves. Participatory action research can be a means for producing and maintaining effective training resources as well as the conditions for change in practice. In our workshops, staff particularly valued opportunities for guided discussion using videos of authentic cases to trigger reflection, and to collaboratively formulate student support guidelines, customised to each site. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Securing the data economy: translating privacy and enacting security in the development of DataSHIELD.

PubMed

Murtagh, M J; Demir, I; Jenkings, K N; Wallace, S E; Murtagh, B; Boniol, M; Bota, M; Laflamme, P; Boffetta, P; Ferretti, V; Burton, P R

2012-01-01

Contemporary bioscience is seeing the emergence of a new data economy: with data as its fundamental unit of exchange. While sharing data within this new 'economy' provides many potential advantages, the sharing of individual data raises important social and ethical concerns. We examine ongoing development of one technology, DataSHIELD, which appears to elide privacy concerns about sharing data by enabling shared analysis while not actually sharing any individual-level data. We combine presentation of the development of DataSHIELD with presentation of an ethnographic study of a workshop to test the technology. DataSHIELD produced an application of the norm of privacy that was practical, flexible and operationalizable in researchers' everyday activities, and one which fulfilled the requirements of ethics committees. We demonstrated that an analysis run via DataSHIELD could precisely replicate results produced by a standard analysis where all data are physically pooled and analyzed together. In developing DataSHIELD, the ethical concept of privacy was transformed into an issue of security. Development of DataSHIELD was based on social practices as well as scientific and ethical motivations. Therefore, the 'success' of DataSHIELD would, likewise, be dependent on more than just the mathematics and the security of the technology. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Stepping Up: Burden Sharing by NATO’s Newest Members

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-11-01

heat and does not lead only to a new sense of frustration and futility. This would be the worst outcome for the Alli- ance. But the great merit of...today. While the norms have remained constant, changes in the post-Cold War balance of power have placed ad- ditional stress on burden sharing...its more than 65 years of existence, many directly related to burden sharing concerns.5 Yet, the fall of the Soviet Union placed additional stress on

Stakeholders' views on data sharing in multicenter studies.

PubMed

Mazor, Kathleen M; Richards, Allison; Gallagher, Mia; Arterburn, David E; Raebel, Marsha A; Nowell, W Benjamin; Curtis, Jeffrey R; Paolino, Andrea R; Toh, Sengwee

2017-09-01

To understand stakeholders' views on data sharing in multicenter comparative effectiveness research studies and the value of privacy-protecting methods. Semistructured interviews with five US stakeholder groups. We completed 11 interviews, involving patients (n = 15), researchers (n = 10), Institutional Review Board and regulatory staff (n = 3), multicenter research governance experts (n = 2) and healthcare system leaders (n = 4). Perceptions of the benefits and value of research were the strongest influences toward data sharing; cost and security risks were primary influences against sharing. Privacy-protecting methods that share summary-level data were acknowledged as being appealing, but there were concerns about increased cost and potential loss of research validity. Stakeholders were open to data sharing in multicenter studies that offer value and minimize security risks.

We're not in it for the money-lay people's moral intuitions on commercial use of 'their' biobank.

PubMed

Steinsbekk, Kristin Solum; Ursin, Lars Oystein; Skolbekken, John-Arne; Solberg, Berge

2013-05-01

Great hope has been placed on biobank research as a strategy to improve diagnostics, therapeutics and prevention. It seems to be a common opinion that these goals cannot be reached without the participation of commercial actors. However, commercial use of biobanks is considered morally problematic and the commercialisation of human biological materials is regulated internationally by policy documents, conventions and laws. For instance, the Council of Europe recommends that: "Biological materials should not, as such, give rise to financial gain". Similarly, Norwegian legislation reads: "Commercial exploitation of research participants, human biological material and personal health data in general is prohibited". Both articles represent kinds of common moral intuitions. A problem, however, is that legislative documents are too vague and provide room for ample speculation. Through the use of focus group interviews with Norwegian biobank donors, we have tried to identify lay intuitions and morals regarding the commercial use of biobanks. Our findings indicate that the act of donation and the subsequent uses of the samples belong to two different spheres. While concerns around dignity and commodification were present in the first, injustice and unfairness were our informants' major moral concerns in the latter. Although some opposition towards commercial actors was voiced, these intuitions show that it is possible to render commercial use of biobanks ethically acceptable based on frameworks and regulations which hinder commodification of the human body and promote communal benefit sharing.

What's the Harm in Asking about Suicidal Ideation?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mathias, Charles W.; Furr, Michael; Sheftall, Arielle H.; Hill-Kapturczak, Nathalie; Crum, Paige; Dougherty, Donald M.

2012-01-01

Both researchers and oversight committees share concerns about patient safety in the study-related assessment of suicidality. However, concern about assessing suicidal thoughts can be a barrier to the development of empirical evidence that informs research on how to safely conduct these assessments. A question has been raised if asking about…

Parent Recognition and Responses to Developmental Concerns in Young Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marshall, Jennifer; Coulter, Martha L.; Gorski, Peter A.; Ewing, Aldenise

2016-01-01

This mixed-methods study examined influences, factors, and processes associated with parental recognition and appraisal of developmental concerns among 23 English- and Spanish-speaking parents of young children with signs of developmental or behavioral problems. Participants shared their experiences through in-depth interviews or focus groups and…

Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-03-11

89 and President 1989-1997. One of Iran’s richest men, family owns large share of Iran’s total pistachio . Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses...severely restricted by U.S. sanctions). Exports to U.S.—$102 million (pomegranate juice, caviar, pistachio nuts, carpets, medicines, artwork). Imports

Agronomic, physiological and biochemical evaluations of rice under a water-deficit irrigation system

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The sustainability of conventional flood irrigation management in rice is a concern worldwide considering the uncertain patterns of precipitation and depletion of aquifers used for irrigation. This same concern is shared in USA rice producing areas and, thus, development of rice varieties that can t...

The Evolution of the Shared Services Business Unit.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forst, Leland

2000-01-01

Explains shared services, where common business practices are applied by a staff unit focused entirely on delivering needed services at the highest value and lowest cost to internal customers. Highlights include accountability; examples of pioneering shared services organizations; customer focus transition; relationship management; expertise…

An Examination of the Developmental Propensity Model of Conduct Problems

PubMed Central

Rhee, Soo Hyun; Friedman, Naomi P.; Corley, Robin P.; Hewitt, John K.; Hink, Laura K.; Johnson, Daniel P.; Watts, Ashley K. Smith; Young, Susan E.; Robinson, JoAnn; Waldman, Irwin D.; Zahn-Waxler, Carolyn

2015-01-01

The present study tested specific hypotheses advanced by the developmental propensity model of the etiology of conduct problems in the Colorado Longitudinal Twin Study, a prospective, longitudinal, genetically informative sample. High negative emotionality, low behavioral inhibition, low concern and high disregard for others, and low cognitive ability assessed during toddlerhood (age 14 to 36 months) were examined as predictors of conduct problems in later childhood and adolescence (age 4 to 17 years). Each hypothesized antisocial propensity dimension predicted conduct problems, but some predictions may be context specific or due to method covariance. The most robust predictors were observed disregard for others (i.e., responding to others’ distress with active, negative responses such as anger and hostility), general cognitive ability, and language ability, which were associated with conduct problems reported by parents, teachers, and adolescents, and change in observed negative emotionality (i.e., frustration tolerance), which was associated with conduct problems reported by teachers and adolescents. Furthermore, associations between the most robust early predictors and later conduct problems were influenced by the shared environment rather than genes. We conclude that shared environmental influences that promote disregard for others and detract from cognitive and language development during toddlerhood also predispose individuals to conduct problems in later childhood and adolescence. The identification of those shared environmental influences common to early antisocial propensity and later conduct problems is an important future direction, and additional developmental behavior genetic studies examining the interaction between children’s characteristics and socializing influences on conduct problems are needed. PMID:26653135

Examining the etiological associations among higher-order temperament dimensions

PubMed Central

Allan, Nicholas P.; Mikolajewski, Amy J.; Lonigan, Christopher J.; Hart, Sara A.; Taylor, Jeanette

2014-01-01

A multivariate independent pathway model was used to examine the shared and unique genetic and environmental influences of Positive Affect (PA), Negative Affect (NA), and effortful control (EC) in a sample of 686 twin pairs (M age = 10.07, SD = 1.74). There were common genetic influences and nonshared environmental influences shared across all three temperament dimensions and shared environmental influences in common to NA and EC. There were also significant independent genetic influences unique to PA and NA and significant independent shared environmental influences unique to PA. This study demonstrates that there are genetic and environmental influences that affect the covariance among temperament dimensions as well as unique genetic and environmental influences that influence the dimensions independently. PMID:24729641

Sharing, Privacy and Trust in Our Networked World. A Report to the OCLC Membership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Storey, Tom, Ed.

2007-01-01

The practice of using a social network to establish and enhance relationships based on some common ground--shared interests, related skills, or a common geographic location--is as old as human societies, but social networking has flourished due to the ease of connecting on the Web. This OCLC membership report explores this web of social…

78 FR 60348 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Miami International Securities Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-01

... applicant must: (i) Be a Member in good standing of MIAX; (ii) qualify as an ``accredited investor'' as such... each unit (i) 101,695 shares of MIH common stock and (ii) warrants to purchase 2,182,639 shares of common stock of MIH in exchange for such participant Member's initial cash capital contribution of $508...

The composition, heating value and renewable share of the energy content of mixed municipal solid waste in Finland

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

Horttanainen, M., E-mail: mika.horttanainen@lut.fi; Teirasvuo, N.; Kapustina, V.

Highlights: • New experimental data of mixed MSW properties in a Finnish case region. • The share of renewable energy of mixed MSW. • The results were compared with earlier international studies. • The average share of renewable energy was 30% and the average LHVar 19 MJ/kg. • Well operating source separation decreases the renewable energy content of MSW. - Abstract: For the estimation of greenhouse gas emissions from waste incineration it is essential to know the share of the renewable energy content of the combusted waste. The composition and heating value information is generally available, but the renewable energymore » share or heating values of different fractions of waste have rarely been determined. In this study, data from Finnish studies concerning the composition and energy content of mixed MSW were collected, new experimental data on the compositions, heating values and renewable share of energy were presented and the results were compared to the estimations concluded from earlier international studies. In the town of Lappeenranta in south-eastern Finland, the share of renewable energy ranged between 25% and 34% in the energy content tests implemented for two sample trucks. The heating values of the waste and fractions of plastic waste were high in the samples compared to the earlier studies in Finland. These high values were caused by good source separation and led to a low share of renewable energy content in the waste. The results showed that in mixed municipal solid waste the renewable share of the energy content can be significantly lower than the general assumptions (50–60%) when the source separation of organic waste, paper and cardboard is carried out successfully. The number of samples was however small for making extensive conclusions on the results concerning the heating values and renewable share of energy and additional research is needed for this purpose.« less

2006 Net Centric Operations Conference - Facilitating Net Centric Operations and Warfare

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-03-16

22, 2005 • White Paper, “Facilitating Shared Services in the DoD,” Feb 12, 2006 • White Paper, “ Shared Services : Performance Accountability and Risk...who demand a culture of information sharing and improved organizational effectiveness.” 12 Facilitating Shared Services : Task “What should be the...distinct programs.” 13 Facilitating Shared Services : Focus Areas • Governance and Control Policy • Common Information Standards and Technical

Perspectives on Open Science and scientific data sharing:an interdisciplinary workshop.

PubMed

Destro Bisol, Giovanni; Anagnostou, Paolo; Capocasa, Marco; Bencivelli, Silvia; Cerroni, Andrea; Contreras, Jorge; Enke, Neela; Fantini, Bernardino; Greco, Pietro; Heeney, Catherine; Luzi, Daniela; Manghi, Paolo; Mascalzoni, Deborah; Molloy, Jennifer; Parenti, Fabio; Wicherts, Jelte; Boulton, Geoffrey

2014-01-01

Looking at Open Science and Open Data from a broad perspective. This is the idea behind "Scientific data sharing: an interdisciplinary workshop", an initiative designed to foster dialogue between scholars from different scientific domains which was organized by the Istituto Italiano di Antropologia in Anagni, Italy, 2-4 September 2013.We here report summaries of the presentations and discussions at the meeting. They deal with four sets of issues: (i) setting a common framework, a general discussion of open data principles, values and opportunities; (ii) insights into scientific practices, a view of the way in which the open data movement is developing in a variety of scientific domains (biology, psychology, epidemiology and archaeology); (iii) a case study of human genomics, which was a trail-blazer in data sharing, and which encapsulates the tension that can occur between large-scale data sharing and one of the boundaries of openness, the protection of individual data; (iv) open science and the public, based on a round table discussion about the public communication of science and the societal implications of open science. There were three proposals for the planning of further interdisciplinary initiatives on open science. Firstly, there is a need to integrate top-down initiatives by governments, institutions and journals with bottom-up approaches from the scientific community. Secondly, more should be done to popularize the societal benefits of open science, not only in providing the evidence needed by citizens to draw their own conclusions on scientific issues that are of concern to them, but also explaining the direct benefits of data sharing in areas such as the control of infectious disease. Finally, introducing arguments from social sciences and humanities in the educational dissemination of open data may help students become more profoundly engaged with Open Science and look at science from a broader perspective.

The ethics of human reproductive cloning: when world views collide.

PubMed

Cohen, Cynthia B

2004-01-01

Two camps in bioethics with seemingly opposing world views have staked out conflicting positions regarding the ethics of human reproductive cloning. These camps do not appear to share common concepts or ways of reasoning through which to exchange views and come to a meeting of minds about uses of this technology. Yet analysis of their respective approaches to several issues surrounding reproductive cloning, such as where the ethical limits of individual reproductive choice lie, whether the use of this technology would violate human dignity, whether it would create risks to the resulting fetuses and children that would make its use intolerable, and whether it would challenge certain core social values, reveals that they are not wholly opposed to one another. Indeed, it displays that they hold certain beliefs, values, and concerns in common. Moreover, it indicates that the different world views that they each presuppose, while flawed in certain respects, do not collide in every respect, but can be reconciled in significant ways that provide fertile ground for agreement about several issues related to human reproductive cloning.

Transboundary EIA: Iberian experiences

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

Albergaria, Rita; Fidelis, Teresa

2006-10-15

The 1314 km border shared by Portugal and Spain is simultaneously a conflict generator, due to joint access to common resources such as water, and a motive for transboundary cooperation in terms of development projects based on common concerns. Transboundary cooperation associated with Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) has been encouraged through the enactment of the Espoo Convention (1997). The European Union has adopted a Directive (97/11/CE Directive) under which taking transboundary impacts into consideration during EIA processes has become mandatory for member states. As a consequence, Portugal and Spain have approved related provisions. This paper aims to critically analyse themore » legal and procedural features of bilateral cooperation through the comparison of two case studies related to water management projects (the Sela and Alqueva dams). The paper highlights procedural weaknesses and puts forward a 'Good Practice Model' for cooperation under transboundary EIA processes. The model focuses on the ways in which EIA-based bilateral cooperation should proceed through the specification of phases and procedures for collaboration between Portugal and Spain in the identification and evaluation of transboundary impacts, as well in the public participation procedures.« less

Exploring the Supervisor Role as a Facilitator of Knowledge Sharing in Teams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacNeil, Christina Mary

2004-01-01

This paper explores the themes and implications, concerning the role of the supervisor as a facilitator of knowledge sharing in teams. After describing the strategic context for devolving human resource responsibilities to line managers, the paper defines and discusses the line manager/supervisor role. The barriers to learning in the workplace are…

Personal Information Sharing Behaviors of College Students via the Internet and Online Social Networks: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flinn, Michael Bradley

2009-01-01

With privacy concerns growing on a daily basis, it is important to understand how college students guard their personally identifiable information. Despite the students' perceived readiness and several studies on the topic, it is not fully understood what personally identifiable information college students are sharing via online social networks…

The Interactions among Information Technology Organizational Learning, Project Learning, and Project Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKay, Donald S., II

2012-01-01

Knowledge gained from completed information technology (IT) projects was not often shared with emerging project teams. Learning lessons from other project teams was not pursued because people lack time, do not see value in learning, fear a potentially painful process, and had concerns that sharing knowledge will hurt their career. Leaders could…

77 FR 51602 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Exchange, Inc.; Order Granting Approval of a Proposed Rule...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-24

... minimum share price for a sustained period, and for at least 30 of the most recent 60 trading days, prior... address concerns that the potential for manipulation of the security to meet the minimum price... successfully used to meet the Exchange's minimum share price requirements. In addition, the Commission believes...

Discerning the Shared Beliefs of Teachers in a Secondary School Mathematics Department

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beswick, Kim

2016-01-01

This study examined the shared beliefs among mathematics teachers in one secondary school in the United Kingdom across the first term of a school year and almost 4 years subsequently. Leximancer software was used to analyse the language used as teachers responded to questions concerning their beliefs about mathematics, mathematics teaching,…

Characterizing Impacts of Online Professional Development on Teachers' Beliefs and Perspectives about Teaching Statistics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Hollylynne S.; Lovett, Jennifer N.; Mojica, Gemma M.

2017-01-01

With online learning becoming a more viable option for teachers to develop their expertise, our report shares one such effort focused on improving the teaching of statistics. We share design principles and learning opportunities, as well as discuss specific impacts evident in classroom teachers' course activity concerning changes to their beliefs…

Patient informed governance of distributed research networks: results and discussion from six patient focus groups.

PubMed

Mamo, Laura A; Browe, Dennis K; Logan, Holly C; Kim, Katherine K

2013-01-01

Understanding how to govern emerging distributed research networks is essential to their success. Distributed research networks aggregate patient medical data from many institutions leaving data within the local provider security system. While much is known about patients' views on secondary medical research, little is known about their views on governance of research networks. We conducted six focus groups with patients from three medical centers across the U.S. to understand their perspectives on privacy, consent, and ethical concerns of sharing their data as part of research networks. Participants positively endorsed sharing their health data with these networks believing that doing so could advance healthcare knowledge. However, patients expressed several concerns regarding security and broader ethical issues such as commercialism, public benefit, and social responsibility. We suggest that network governance guidelines move beyond strict technical requirements and address wider socio-ethical concerns by fully including patients in governance processes.

Age differences in genetic and environmental influences on weight and shape concerns.

PubMed

Klump, Kelly L; Burt, S Alexandra; Spanos, Alexia; McGue, Matt; Iacono, William G; Wade, Tracey D

2010-12-01

Previous research has shown important developmental shifts ingenetic and environmental influences for disordered eating. However, little research has examined age differences for weight/shape concerns, two key components of eating disorders. The goal of this study was to investigate these age differences in preadolescent, adolescent, young adult, and mid-adult twins. Participants included 2,618 female twins (ages of 10-41 years) from three large twin registries. Shape and weight concerns were assessed with the Eating Disorders Examination Questionnaire. Genetic influences were modest in preadolescent twins, but significant from early-adolescence through middle adulthood. Shared environmental factors showed the opposite pattern, with the largest shared environmental contributions occurring in the youngest age group. Nonshared environmental effects remained relatively constant across age. Findings highlight the importance of age differences in genetic and environmental influences. Possible mechanisms include gene x environment interactions and biological changes associated with key developmental stages. © 2009 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Patient Informed Governance of Distributed Research Networks: Results and Discussion from Six Patient Focus Groups

PubMed Central

Mamo, Laura A.; Browe, Dennis K.; Logan, Holly C.; Kim, Katherine K.

2013-01-01

Understanding how to govern emerging distributed research networks is essential to their success. Distributed research networks aggregate patient medical data from many institutions leaving data within the local provider security system. While much is known about patients’ views on secondary medical research, little is known about their views on governance of research networks. We conducted six focus groups with patients from three medical centers across the U.S. to understand their perspectives on privacy, consent, and ethical concerns of sharing their data as part of research networks. Participants positively endorsed sharing their health data with these networks believing that doing so could advance healthcare knowledge. However, patients expressed several concerns regarding security and broader ethical issues such as commercialism, public benefit, and social responsibility. We suggest that network governance guidelines move beyond strict technical requirements and address wider socio-ethical concerns by fully including patients in governance processes. PMID:24551383

Plants as models for the study of human pathogenesis.

PubMed

Guttman, David S

2004-05-01

There are many common disease mechanisms used by bacterial pathogens of plants and humans. They use common means of attachment, secretion and genetic regulation. They share many virulence factors, such as extracellular polysaccharides and some type III secreted effectors. Plant and human innate immune systems also share many similarities. Many of these shared bacterial virulence mechanisms are homologous, but even more appear to have independently converged on a common function. This combination of homologous and analogous systems reveals conserved and critical steps in the disease process. Given these similarities, and the many experimental advantages of plant biology, including ease of replication, stringent genetic and reproductive control, and high throughput with low cost, it is proposed that plants would make excellent models for the study of human pathogenesis.

How Jordan and Saudi Arabia are avoiding a tragedy of the commons over shared groundwater

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Müller, Marc F.; Müller-Itten, Michèle C.; Gorelick, Steven M.

2017-07-01

Transboundary aquifers are ubiquitous and strategically important to global food and water security. Yet these shared resources are being depleted at an alarming rate. Focusing on the Disi aquifer, a key nonrenewable source of groundwater shared by Jordan and Saudi Arabia, this study develops a two-stage game that evaluates optimal transboundary strategies of common-pool resource exploitation under various assumptions. The analysis relies on estimates of agricultural water use from satellite imagery, which were obtained using three independent remote sensing approaches. Drawdown response to pumping is simulated using a 2-D regional aquifer model. Jordan and Saudi Arabia developed a buffer-zone strategy with a prescribed minimum distance between each country's pumping centers. We show that by limiting the marginal impact of pumping decisions on the other country's pumping costs, this strategy will likely avoid an impeding tragedy of the commons for at least 60 years. Our analysis underscores the role played by distance between wells and disparities in groundwater exploitation costs on common-pool overdraft. In effect, if pumping centers are distant enough, a shared aquifer no longer behaves as a common-pool resource and a tragedy of the commons can be avoided. The 2015 Disi aquifer pumping agreement between Jordan and Saudi Arabia, which in practice relies on a joint technical commission to enforce exclusion zones, is the first agreement of this type between sovereign countries and has a promising potential to avoid conflicts or resolve potential transboundary groundwater disputes over comparable aquifer systems elsewhere.

Heritability of the Number of Teeth in Middle-Aged and Older Danish Twins.

PubMed

Kurushima, Y; Silventoinen, K; Dokkedal, U; Skytthe, A; Mucci, L A; Christensen, K; Hjelmborg, J V B

2017-12-01

Tooth loss is a common health concern in older adults. We aimed to estimate the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors to the variation in the number of teeth in middle-aged and older populations using a population-based cohort of Danish twins. The study included 5,269 Danish middle-aged or older twins who provided data on the number of teeth at baseline by structured interviews. The data were analyzed using univariate liability threshold modeling, stratified by sex and age, to estimate familial risk of tooth loss as well as estimates of heritability. In the whole cohorts, 23% of participants were edentate and 53% had retained 20 or more teeth. A statistical model including additive genetic factors and environmental factors partly shared by co-twins and partly unique to each individual twin gave the best statistical fit for the number of teeth in both age categories as well as in men and women. Overall, additive genetic factors explained 36% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 23% to 49%), common environmental factors 20% (95% CI: 9% to 31%), and unique environmental factors 44% (95% CI: 40% to 48%) of the total variation of the number of teeth. This study indicates that a substantial part of the variation in tooth loss is explained by genetic as well as environmental factors shared by co-twins. Our results implied that family background importantly affects tooth loss in both the middle-aged and the older populations. Family history is thus an important factor to take into account in dental health care.

Ultra-processed family foods in Australia: nutrition claims, health claims and marketing techniques.

PubMed

Pulker, Claire Elizabeth; Scott, Jane Anne; Pollard, Christina Mary

2018-01-01

To objectively evaluate voluntary nutrition and health claims and marketing techniques present on packaging of high-market-share ultra-processed foods (UPF) in Australia for their potential impact on public health. Cross-sectional. Packaging information from five high-market-share food manufacturers and one retailer were obtained from supermarket and manufacturers' websites. Ingredients lists for 215 UPF were examined for presence of added sugar. Packaging information was categorised using a taxonomy of nutrition and health information which included nutrition and health claims and five common food marketing techniques. Compliance of statements and claims with the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code and with Health Star Ratings (HSR) were assessed for all products. Almost all UPF (95 %) contained added sugars described in thirty-four different ways; 55 % of UPF displayed a HSR; 56 % had nutrition claims (18 % were compliant with regulations); 25 % had health claims (79 % were compliant); and 97 % employed common food marketing techniques. Packaging of 47 % of UPF was designed to appeal to children. UPF carried a mean of 1·5 health and nutrition claims (range 0-10) and 2·6 marketing techniques (range 0-5), and 45 % had HSR≤3·0/5·0. Most UPF packaging featured nutrition and health statements or claims despite the high prevalence of added sugars and moderate HSR. The degree of inappropriate or inaccurate statements and claims present is concerning, particularly on packaging designed to appeal to children. Public policies to assist parents to select healthy family foods should address the quality and accuracy of information provided on UPF packaging.

A French network of bipolar expert centres: a model to close the gap between evidence-based medicine and routine practice.

PubMed

Henry, Chantal; Etain, Bruno; Mathieu, Flavie; Raust, Aurélie; Vibert, Jean-Francois; Scott, Jan; Leboyer, Marion

2011-06-01

Bipolar disorders are a major public health concern. Efforts to provide optimal care by general practitioners and psychiatrists are undermined by the complexity of the disorder and difficulties in applying clinical practice guidelines and new research findings to the spectrum of cases seen in day to day practice. A national network of bipolar expert centres was established. Each centre has established strong links to local health services and provides support to clinicians in delivering personalized care plans derived from systematic case assessments undertaken at the centre. A common set of diagnostic and clinical assessment tools has been adopted at eight centres. Evaluations are undertaken by trained assessors and cross-centre reliability is monitored. A web application, e-bipolar© is used to record data in a common computerized medical file. Anonymized data is entered into a shared national database for use in multi-centre audit and research. Instead of offering treatment advice based on clinical practice guidelines recommendations for selected sub-populations of patients (a 'top-down' approach), the French bipolar network offers systematic, comprehensive, longitudinal, and multi-dimensional assessments of cases representative of general bipolar populations. This 'bottom-up' strategy may offer a more efficient and effective way to transfer knowledge and share expertise as the referrer can appreciate the rationale underpinning suggested treatment protocols and more readily apply such principles and approaches to other cases. The network also builds an infrastructure for clinical cohort and comparative-effectiveness research on more representative patient populations. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fuzzy-rule-based Adaptive Resource Control for Information Sharing in P2P Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Zhengping; Wu, Hao

With more and more peer-to-peer (P2P) technologies available for online collaboration and information sharing, people can launch more and more collaborative work in online social networks with friends, colleagues, and even strangers. Without face-to-face interactions, the question of who can be trusted and then share information with becomes a big concern of a user in these online social networks. This paper introduces an adaptive control service using fuzzy logic in preference definition for P2P information sharing control, and designs a novel decision-making mechanism using formal fuzzy rules and reasoning mechanisms adjusting P2P information sharing status following individual users' preferences. Applications of this adaptive control service into different information sharing environments show that this service can provide a convenient and accurate P2P information sharing control for individual users in P2P networks.

Privacy Technology to Support Data Sharing for Comparative Effectiveness Research: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

PubMed Central

Jiang, Xiaoqian; Sarwate, Anand D.; Ohno-Machado, Lucila

2013-01-01

Objective Effective data sharing is critical for comparative effectiveness research (CER), but there are significant concerns about inappropriate disclosure of patient data. These concerns have spurred the development of new technologies for privacy preserving data sharing and data mining. Our goal is to review existing and emerging techniques that may be appropriate for data sharing related to CER. Material and methods We adapted a systematic review methodology to comprehensively search the research literature. We searched 7 databases and applied three stages of filtering based on titles, abstracts, and full text to identify those works most relevant to CER. Results Based on agreement and using the arbitrage of a third party expert, we selected 97 articles for meta-analysis. Our findings are organized along major types of data sharing in CER applications (i.e., institution-to-institution, institution-hosted, and public release). We made recommendations based on specific scenarios. Limitation We limited the scope of our study to methods that demonstrated practical impact, eliminating many theoretical studies of privacy that have been surveyed elsewhere. We further limited our study to data sharing for data tables, rather than complex genomic, set-valued, time series, text, image, or network data. Conclusion State-of-the-art privacy preserving technologies can guide the development of practical tools that will scale up the CER studies of the future. However, many challenges remain in this fast moving field in terms of practical evaluations as well as applications to a wider range of data types. PMID:23774511

Refugees in and out North Africa: a study of the Choucha refugee camp in Tunisia.

PubMed

Dourgnon, Paul; Kassar, Hassène

2014-08-01

In recent years, North African (NA) countries ceased to be emigration-only countries and are now on the verge of becoming immigration as well as transit countries for economic migrants and refugees. Contextual as well as structural long-term factors are driving these changes. The ongoing crises in Africa and the Middle East are prompting strong outflows of refugees, which are likely to induce NA countries to share some common public policy and public health concerns with European countries in a near future. This article highlights some aspects of these changes, from the study of the consequences of the 2011 Libyan crisis in Tunisia. It addresses individual trajectories and health concerns of refugees in and out North Africa from a study of the Choucha camp in Tunisia. The camp opened to immigrants from Libya during the 2011 crisis and accommodated the bulk of the refugees flow to Tunisia until July 2012. The study includes a monographic approach and a qualitative survey in the Choucha camp refugees. We describe the crisis history and the health response with a focus on the camp. We then address refugees' trajectories, and health needs and concerns from the interviews we collected in the camp in April 2012. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

A Qualitative Study to Appraise Patients and Family Members Perceptions, Knowledge, and Attitudes towards Venous Thromboembolism Risk.

PubMed

Haxaire, Claudie; Tromeur, Cécile; Couturaud, Francis; Leroyer, Christophe

2015-01-01

This study aimed to examine perception, knowledge and concerns developed by patients and their family as regards venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk. We conducted a qualitative study. Participants were: (1) patients with unprovoked VTE with either factor V Leiden mutation or G20210A prothrombin gene mutation or not; and (2) their first-degree relatives. Interviews took place mostly at Brest University Hospital. Participants produced narratives of the patient's illness, stressing their perception of the disorder, its mechanisms, etiology, circumstances and risk factors. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. On an ongoing basis, central themes were identified and data from narratives were categorized by these themes. A total of ten patients and 25 first-degree relatives were interviewed. Analyses of patient's narratives suggested 4 main themes: (1) concerns about initial symptoms and suspicion of VTE. The longer the duration of the initial phase, the more likely anxiety took place and persisted after diagnosis; (2) underestimation of potential life-threatening episode once being managed in emergency; (3) possible biographical disruption with inability to cope with the event; and (4) secondary prevention attitudes motivated by remains of the episode and favoring general prevention attitudes. Analyses of the first-degree relatives narratives suggested 3 main themes: (1) common interpretation of the VTE episode shared within the family; (2) diverse and sometimes confusing interpretation of the genetic status; and, (3) interpretation of clinical signs linked to VTE transmission within the family. Construction of the risk of VTE is based on patient's initial experience and shared within the family. Collection of narratives illustrates the gap between these perceptions and current medical knowledge. These results support the need to collect the perceptions of the VTE episode and its consequences, as a prerequisite to any health education process.

Influence of Flavors on the Propagation of E-Cigarette-Related Information: Social Media Study.

PubMed

Zhou, Jiaqi; Zhang, Qingpeng; Zeng, Daniel Dajun; Tsui, Kwok Leung

2018-03-23

Modeling the influence of e-cigarette flavors on information propagation could provide quantitative policy decision support concerning smoking initiation and contagion, as well as e-cigarette regulations. The objective of this study was to characterize the influence of flavors on e-cigarette-related information propagation on social media. We collected a comprehensive dataset of e-cigarette-related discussions from public Pages on Facebook. We identified 11 categories of flavors based on commonly used categorizations. Each post's frequency of being shared served as a proxy measure of information propagation. We evaluated a set of regression models and chose the hurdle negative binomial model to characterize the influence of different flavors and nonflavor control variables on e-cigarette-related information propagation. We found that 5 flavors (sweet, dessert & bakery, fruits, herbs & spices, and tobacco) had significantly negative influences on e-cigarette-related information propagation, indicating the users' tendency not to share posts related to these flavors. We did not find a positive significance of any flavors, which is contradictory to previous research. In addition, we found that a set of nonflavor-related factors were associated with information propagation. Mentions of flavors in posts did not enhance the popularity of e-cigarette-related information. Certain flavors could even have reduced the popularity of information, indicating users' lack of interest in flavors. Promoting e-cigarette-related information with mention of flavors is not an effective marketing approach. This study implies the potential concern of users about flavorings and suggests a need to regulate the use of flavorings in e-cigarettes. ©Jiaqi Zhou, Qingpeng Zhang, Daniel Dajun Zeng, Kwok Leung Tsui. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 23.03.2018.

Job Sharing: Is It for You?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schumann, Linda

1994-01-01

A teacher of deaf children describes her experience with job sharing at both the intermediate grade and preschool levels. The important role played by the full-time teacher's aide in providing continuity as well as the importance of communication are emphasized. Guidelines and answers to common questions regarding job sharing are offered. (DB)

26 CFR 25.2512-6 - Valuation of certain life insurance and annuity contracts; valuation of shares in an open-end...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

...) The fair market value of a share in an open-end investment company (commonly known as a “mutual fund... is a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday), the fair market value of the mutual fund share is the last public...

26 CFR 20.2031-8 - Valuation of certain life insurance and annuity contracts; valuation of shares in an open-end...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

...) The fair market value of a share in an open-end investment company (commonly known as a “mutual fund..., or holiday), the fair market value of the mutual fund share is the last public redemption price...

Tetraploid Wheat Landraces in the Mediterranean Basin: Taxonomy, Evolution and Genetic Diversity

PubMed Central

Oliveira, Hugo R.; Campana, Michael G.; Jones, Huw; Hunt, Harriet V.; Leigh, Fiona; Redhouse, David I.; Lister, Diane L.; Jones, Martin K.

2012-01-01

The geographic distribution of genetic diversity and the population structure of tetraploid wheat landraces in the Mediterranean basin has received relatively little attention. This is complicated by the lack of consensus concerning the taxonomy of tetraploid wheats and by unresolved questions regarding the domestication and spread of naked wheats. These knowledge gaps hinder crop diversity conservation efforts and plant breeding programmes. We investigated genetic diversity and population structure in tetraploid wheats (wild emmer, emmer, rivet and durum) using nuclear and chloroplast simple sequence repeats, functional variations and insertion site-based polymorphisms. Emmer and wild emmer constitute a genetically distinct population from durum and rivet, the latter seeming to share a common gene pool. Our population structure and genetic diversity data suggest a dynamic history of introduction and extinction of genotypes in the Mediterranean fields. PMID:22615891

Employee perspectives on the role of supervisors to prevent workplace disability after injuries.

PubMed

Shaw, William S; Robertson, Michelle M; Pransky, Glenn; McLellan, Robert K

2003-09-01

After workplace injuries, supervisors can play an important role in aiding workers, accessing health care services, and providing reasonable accommodation. However, few studies have identified those aspects of supervisor involvement most valued by employees for postinjury recovery and return to work. As part of needs assessment for a supervisory training program, 30 employees from four companies were interviewed about the role of supervisors to prevent workplace disability after injuries. From interview notes, 305 employee statements were extracted for analysis. An affinity mapping process with an expert panel produced 11 common themes: accommodation, communicating with workers, responsiveness, concern for welfare, empathy/support, validation, fairness/respect, follow-up, shared decision-making, coordinating with medical providers, and obtaining coworker support of accommodation. Interpersonal aspects of supervision may be as important as physical work accommodation to facilitate return to work after injury.

Finding Common Ground: Environmental Ethics, Social Justice, and a Sustainable Path for Nature-Based Health Promotion.

PubMed

Jennings, Viniece; Yun, Jessica; Larson, Lincoln

2016-08-25

Decades of research have documented continuous tension between anthropocentric needs and the environment's capacity to accommodate those needs and support basic human welfare. The way in which society perceives, manages, and ultimately utilizes natural resources can be influenced by underlying environmental ethics, or the moral relationship that humans share with the natural world. This discourse often centers on the complex interplay between the tangible and intangible benefits associated with nonhuman nature (e.g., green space), both of which are relevant to public health. When ecosystem degradation is coupled with socio-demographic transitions, additional concerns related to distributional equity and justice can arise. In this commentary, we explore how environmental ethics can inform the connection between the ecosystem services from green space and socially just strategies of health promotion.

Reasoning about beliefs: a human specialization?

PubMed

Povinelli, D J; Giambrone, S

2001-01-01

A recent meta-analysis performed by Wellman, Cross, and Watson clears the air surrounding young children's performance on tests of false belief by showing that it is highly likely that there is some type of conceptual development between 3 and 5 years of age that supports improved task performance. The data concerning the evolutionary origin of these abilities, however, is considerably less clear. Nonetheless, there is some reason to suspect that theory of mind is unique to our species, and that its original function was to provide a more abstract level of describing ancient behavioral patterns (such as deception, reconciliation, and gaze following)-behaviors that humans share in common with many other species. Thus, the initial selective advantage of theory of mind may have been because it increased the flexibility of already-existing behaviors, not because it generated scores of radically new ones.

Ask the experts: the challenges and benefits of flow chemistry to optimize drug development.

PubMed

Anderson, Neal; Gernaey, Krist V; Jamison, Timothy F; Kircher, Manfred; Wiles, Charlotte; Leadbeater, Nicholas E; Sandford, Graham; Richardson, Paul

2012-09-01

Against a backdrop of a struggling economic and regulatory climate, pharmaceutical companies have recently been forced to develop new ways to provide more efficient technology to meet the demands of a competitive drug industry. This issue, coupled with an increase in patent legislation and a rising generics market, makes these themes common issues in the growth of drug development. As a consequence, the importance of process chemistry and scale-up has never been more under the spotlight. Future Medicinal Chemistry wishes to share the thoughts and opinions of a variety of experts from this field, discussing issues concerning the use of flow chemistry to optimize drug development, the potential regulatory and environmental challenges faced with this, and whether the academic and industrial sectors could benefit from a more harmonized system relevant to process chemistry.

Finding Common Ground: Environmental Ethics, Social Justice, and a Sustainable Path for Nature-Based Health Promotion

PubMed Central

Jennings, Viniece; Yun, Jessica; Larson, Lincoln

2016-01-01

Decades of research have documented continuous tension between anthropocentric needs and the environment’s capacity to accommodate those needs and support basic human welfare. The way in which society perceives, manages, and ultimately utilizes natural resources can be influenced by underlying environmental ethics, or the moral relationship that humans share with the natural world. This discourse often centers on the complex interplay between the tangible and intangible benefits associated with nonhuman nature (e.g., green space), both of which are relevant to public health. When ecosystem degradation is coupled with socio-demographic transitions, additional concerns related to distributional equity and justice can arise. In this commentary, we explore how environmental ethics can inform the connection between the ecosystem services from green space and socially just strategies of health promotion. PMID:27571114

26 CFR 1.356-2 - Receipt of additional consideration not in connection with an exchange.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... shares of the stock of Corporation Y plus $100 cash without requiring the surrender of any shares of its... stock of Corporation Y to A and 30 shares of such stock plus $100 cash to B without requiring the.... Individuals A and B each own 50 of the 100 outstanding shares of common stock of Corporation X. Corporation X...

The Great American Divide: The Military-Civilian Gap

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-14

for the common defense … do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America .”1 Such are the words to... and “provide for the common defense ” that enshrine the idea of shared sacrifice among all the American people in protecting and defending the ...United States. For much of the United States’ history, this idea of shared sacrifice in the

Fair Share or Freeride: Burden Sharing in Post-Cold War NATO

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-05-23

military facilities in Europe. 56 Carl Elk, NATO Common Funds Burdensharing: Background and Current Issues (Washington DC: Congressional Research...Defense Minister Franz Joseph Jung replied, “our contribution is excellent.”114 Germany was clearly proud of its contribution to NATO operations, but...Monsanto, Portugal: NATO Joint Analysis Lessons Learned Centre (JALLC), 2011. Elk, Carl . NATO Common Funds Burdensharing: Background and Current

Overcoming Student Disengagement and Anxiety in Theory, Methods, and Statistics Courses by Building a Community of Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Macheski, Ginger E.; Buhrmann, Jan; Lowney, Kathleen S.; Bush, Melanie E. L.

2008-01-01

Participants in the 2007 American Sociological Association teaching workshop, "Innovative Teaching Practices for Difficult Subjects," shared concerns about teaching statistics, research methods, and theory. Strategies for addressing these concerns center on building a community of learners by creating three processes throughout the course: 1) an…

Massachusetts School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists' Experiences with and Perceptions of Educator Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corcoran, Molly A.

2017-01-01

Educator evaluation is of significant interest and concern for all members of the national school community. School-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs), share these sentiments with their classroom counterparts. Frequently included in such evaluation systems, it is of concern to the SLP community that research documenting how school-based…

From Entrepreneurship to Activism: Teacher Autobiography, Peace and Social Justice in Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharra, Steve

2005-01-01

This article argues that while social entrepreneurship shares concerns similar to those of social justice activism, the corporate and business ethos in the idea of entrepreneurship is not suited to the social concerns that teachers and other educators deal with in their everyday lives. The article points out characteristics of social…

Deadly Lessons: School Shooters Tell Why. Sun-Times Exclusive Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chicago Sun-Times, IL.

This document represents a compilation of newspaper articles analyzing information shared by the Secret Service concerning 37 school shootings. The findings are presented to educate parents and teachers concerning what has been learned about violent students. It was determined that there is no profile of a typical youth who kills. The shooter is…

Electronic Health Records: VAs Efforts Raise Concerns about Interoperability Goals and Measures, Duplication with DOD, and Future Plans

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-07-13

ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS VA’s Efforts Raise Concerns about Interoperability Goals and Measures, Duplication with DOD...Agencies, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate July 13, 2016 ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS VA’s Efforts Raise Concerns about Interoperability Goals...initiatives with the Department of Defense (DOD) that were intended to advance the ability of the two departments to share electronic health records , the

Cross-disease Meta-analysis of Genome-wide Association Studies for Systemic Sclerosis and Rheumatoid Arthritis Reveals IRF4 as a New Common Susceptibility Locus

PubMed Central

López-Isac, Elena; Martín, Jose-Ezequiel; Assassi, Shervin; Simeón, Carmen P; Carreira, Patricia; Ortego-Centeno, Norberto; Freire, Mayka; Beltrán, Emma; Narváez, Javier; Alegre-Sancho, Juan J; Fernández-Gutiérrez, Benjamín; Balsa, Alejandro; Ortiz, Ana M; González-Gay, Miguel A; Beretta, Lorenzo; Santaniello, Alessandro; Bellocchi, Chiara; Lunardi, Claudio; Moroncini, Gianluca; Gabrielli, Armando; Witte, Torsten; Hunzelmann, Nicolas; Distler, Jörg HW; Riekemasten, Gabriella; van der Helm-van Mil, Annete H; de Vries-Bouwstra, Jeska; Magro-Checa, Cesar; Voskuyl, Alexandre E; Vonk, Madelon C; Molberg, Øyvind; Merriman, Tony; Hesselstrand, Roger; Nordin, Annika; Padyukov, Leonid; Herrick, Ariane; Eyre, Steve; Koeleman, Bobby PC; Denton, Christopher P; Fonseca, Carmen; Radstake, Timothy RDJ; Worthington, Jane; Mayes, Maureen D; Martín, Javier

2017-01-01

Objectives Systemic sclerosis (SSc) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are autoimmune diseases that share clinical and immunological characteristics. To date, several shared SSc-RA loci have been identified independently. In this study, we aimed to systematically search for new common SSc-RA loci through an inter-disease meta-GWAS strategy. Methods We performed a meta-analysis combining GWAS datasets of SSc and RA using a strategy that allowed identification of loci with both same-direction and opposing-direction allelic effects. The top single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were followed-up in independent SSc and RA case-control cohorts. This allowed us to increase the sample size to a total of 8,830 SSc patients, 16,870 RA patients and 43,393 controls. Results The cross-disease meta-analysis of the GWAS datasets identified several loci with nominal association signals (P-value < 5 × 10-6), which also showed evidence of association in the disease-specific GWAS scan. These loci included several genomic regions not previously reported as shared loci, besides risk factors associated with both diseases in previous studies. The follow-up of the putatively new SSc-RA loci identified IRF4 as a shared risk factor for these two diseases (Pcombined = 3.29 × 10-12). In addition, the analysis of the biological relevance of the known SSc-RA shared loci pointed to the type I interferon and the interleukin 12 signaling pathways as the main common etiopathogenic factors. Conclusions Our study has identified a novel shared locus, IRF4, for SSc and RA and highlighted the usefulness of cross-disease GWAS meta-analysis in the identification of common risk loci. PMID:27111665

The role of the anion in the toxicity of imidazolium ionic liquids.

PubMed

Biczak, Robert; Pawłowska, Barbara; Bałczewski, Piotr; Rychter, Piotr

2014-06-15

From the environmental protection point of view, the growing interest of ionic liquids in various industrial branches has raised concerns for the toxicity assessment of these compounds. The paper discusses the effect of salts containing the shared 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium [EMIM] cation as coupled with five different anions: bromide [Br], nitrate [NO3], p-toluenesulfonate (tosylate) [Ts], dimethylphosphate [dMP] and methanesulfonate [MS] on the growth and development of higher land plants - spring barley and common radish. The experiment was done according to the ISO Standard 11269-2:1995 and the OECD/OCDE Guide 208/2006. As the indications of phytotoxicity, the percentage of sprouts and the level of dry and fresh plant mass were used; in addition, the visual assessment of any signs of damage to the examined plant species, such as growth inhibition and chlorotic changes, was also made. Results of our study has proved the negative impact of ILs on the tested plants and the toxic effect of imidazolium salts was dependent primarily on the applied ionic liquids concentration. The common radish revealed the higher tolerance to the imidazolium as compared to spring barley. The anion type of ionic liquid was crucial for the toxicity against common radish. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Research, Issues, and Practices. Proceedings of the Annual Curriculum and Instruction Research Symposium (4th, Vermillion, South Dakota, April 26, 1996).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

South Dakota Univ., Vermillion. School of Education.

The goals of the Curriculum and Instruction Research Symposium are to promote the professional sharing of current education issues, provide a forum for dialogue concerning relevant educational topics, and share faculty research interests. The 10 papers presented at the 1996 conference are: (1) "Appreciative Listening: The Forgotten Art"…

Empowering Oncology Nurses to Lead Change Through a Shared Governance Project.

PubMed

Gordon, Jeanine N

2016-11-01

Nurses at the bed- or chairside are knowledgeable about clinical and operational concerns that need improvement and, consequently, are in the best position to generate and evaluate practical options and potential solutions to improve efficacy and care processes. Implementation of a shared governance model is effective in engaging staff nurses to make meaningful and sustainable change in patient care processes.

A Comparison of Helping, Sharing, Comforting, Honesty, and Civic Awareness for Home Care, Day Care, and Preschool Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Austin, Ann M. Berghout; And Others

In a study designed to determine whether experience in day care or preschool affects children's knowledge and enactment of prosocial behaviors, 59 children in day care, preschool, and home care were pre- and post-tested concerning: (1) their understanding of helping, sharing, comforting, honesty, and civic awareness; (2) their definitions of…

Assessing the Policy Environment for School Corporation Collaboration, Cooperation, and Consolidation in Indiana. Education Policy Brief. Volume 5, Number 5, Summer 2007

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Plucker, Jonathan A.; Spradlin, Terry E.; Magaro, Marshall M.; Chien, Rosanne W.; Zapf, Jason

2007-01-01

This Education Policy Brief examines the research regarding the efforts occurring in the United States to consolidate school corporations or form cooperative agreements for shared services. The brief also examines those policy levers which are contributing to the elevated discussion concerning consolidation and shared services in Indiana. Based…

75 FR 8774 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Amex LLC; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change Amending...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-25

... limits were introduced as a means of forestalling the potential manipulation of an equity's price by... significantly reduced concerns of market manipulation or disruption in the underlying markets. Shares in these... values on a per-share basis, the option strike prices result in being equal to \\1/ 100\\th of the...

Understanding criminal behavior: Empathic impairment in criminal offenders.

PubMed

Mariano, Melania; Pino, Maria Chiara; Peretti, Sara; Valenti, Marco; Mazza, Monica

2017-08-01

Criminal offenders (CO) are characterized by antisocial and impulsive lifestyles and reduced empathy competence. According to Zaki and Ochsner, empathy is a process that can be divided into three components: mentalizing, emotional sharing and prosocial concern. The aim of our study was to evaluate these competences in 74 criminal subjects compared to 65 controls. The CO group demonstrated a lower ability in measures of mentalizing and sharing, especially in recognizing the mental and emotional states of other people by observing their eyes and sharing other people's emotions. Conversely, CO subjects showed better abilities in prosocial concern measures, such as judging and predicting the emotions and behavior of other people, but they were not able to evaluate the gravity of violations of social rules as well as the control group. In addition, logistic regression results show that the higher the deficits in the mentalizing component are, the higher the probability of committing a crime against another person. Taken together, our results suggest that criminal subjects are able to judge and recognize other people's behavior as right or wrong in a social context, but they are not able to recognize and share the suffering of other people.

Removing Hair Safely

MedlinePlus

... For Consumers Home For Consumers Consumer Updates Removing Hair Safely Share Tweet Linkedin Pin it More sharing ... related to common methods of hair removal. Laser Hair Removal In this method, a laser destroys hair ...

From Results to Action - Implementing an Indoor Air Quality Pilot Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collier, A. M.; Ware, G. E.; Iwasaki, P. G.; Billingsley, L. R.; Main, D.; Hannigan, M.; Pfotenhauer, D.

2016-12-01

One of the key differences between community-based participatory research (CBPR) and more conventional scientific research is the expectation that a project does not end with finalized results, but rather with taking action based on those results. Using an indoor air quality pilot project as an example, we will discuss how the consideration of potential actions and applications for the project findings should be integrated into planning throughout the life of a project. We will also share general reflections on effective CBPR from the perspective of both science and community partners on the project. In 2015, Taking Neighborhood Health to Heart (TNH2H), a community-based organization in Northeast Denver, researchers from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and AGU's Thriving Earth Exchange partnered to conduct a pilot project investigating indoor air quality in a Denver community. This partnership formed in response to community concerns about potential environmental contamination from dry cleaning operations, specifically through spills of the compound perchloroethylene. The exploration of the presence of radon, another indoor air quality concern common across the state of Colorado, was also added to the project. Using an iterative process, the team designed a sampling plan, selected a target location, and recruited homes and residents to participate in the pilot project. Radon and perchloroethylene data were then collected in 15 homes. Following data collection, results were first shared with project participants, after which de-identified data were shared with the members of TNH2H. Together TNH2H and researchers then developed strategies for public dissemination of the project findings. While we did not find levels of percholorethylene above the `action level' in any of the participating homes; however, we did find more frequent occurrences of radon levels above the `action level' than we had anticipated. For example, 80% of the homes in our study had radon levels requiring remediation while the reported average percentage for the Denver County is only 40% of homes. These results are currently driving our partnership to pursue actions that will lower residents' exposure to radon and improve public health in the TNH2H communities.

Resisting Prescribed Opioids: A Qualitative Study of Decision Making in Patients Taking Opioids for Chronic Noncancer Pain.

PubMed

Paterson, Charlotte; Ledgerwood, Kay; Arnold, Carolyn; Hogg, Malcolm; Xue, Charlie; Zheng, Zhen

2016-04-01

Opioids are increasingly prescribed for chronic noncancer pain across the developed world. Clinical guidelines for management of these patients focus on over-use. However, research into other types of long-term medication indicates that many patients minimize drug use whenever possible. To identify the varying influences on patients' decisions about their use of prescribed opioids and explore whether concepts of resistance and minimization of intake apply to these patients. A multiprofessional team performed a qualitative interview study using the constant-comparative method. Patient's decision making was explored in depth and with a thematic analysis utilizing a published "Model of medicine-taking." A purposive sample of 20 participants drawn from two pain clinics in Melbourne, Australia. The sample was biased toward patients interested in nonmedication pain management options. Patients' needs to obtain relief from severe pain, maintain function, and minimize side effects could lead to under-use as well as over-use of prescribed opioids. In keeping with the published Model of medicine-taking, resistance to taking opioids was a common and important influence on behavior. In the face of severe chronic pain, many participants used a variety of strategies to evaluate, avoid, reduce, self-regulate, and replace opioids. Furthermore, participants perceived a resistance to opioids within the system and among some healthcare professionals. This sometimes adversely affected their adherence. Both patients and doctors exhibit aspects of resistance to the use of prescribed opioids for chronic noncancer pain, suggesting that this shared concern could be the basis of a productive therapeutic alliance to improve communication and shared decision making. Clinical guidelines for opioids use for chronic noncancer pain focus on over-use. Our qualitative interview study found that many patients resisted and minimized the use of opioids. Using a published "Model of medicine-taking," we identified various influences on patient decision making. Both patients and doctors had concerns about using opioids for chronic noncancer pain. These could be the basis of a productive therapeutic alliance to improve communication and shared decision making. © 2015 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The Immune System’s Role in the Biology of Autism

PubMed Central

Goines, Paula; Van de Water, Judy

2010-01-01

PURPOSE OF REVIEW The following is a review of the most recent research concerning the potential role of immune system dysfunction in autism. This body of literature has expanded dramatically over the past few years as researchers continue to identify immune anomalies in individuals with autism. RECENT FINDINGS The most exciting of these recent findings is the discovery of autoantibodies targeting brain proteins in both children with autism and their mothers. In particular, circulating maternal autoantibodies directed towards fetal brain proteins are highly specific for autism. This finding has great potential as a biomarker for disease risk, and may provide an avenue for future therapeutics and prevention. Additionally, data concerning the cellular immune system in children with autism suggest there may be a defect in signaling pathways that are shared by the immune and central nervous systems. While studies to explore this hypothesis are ongoing, there is great interest in the commonalities between the neural and immune systems and their extensive interactions. SUMMARY In summary, there is exciting research regarding the role of the immune system in autism spectrum disorders that may have profound implications for diagnosis and treatment of this devastating disease. PMID:20160651

Epidemic processes in complex networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pastor-Satorras, Romualdo; Castellano, Claudio; Van Mieghem, Piet; Vespignani, Alessandro

2015-07-01

In recent years the research community has accumulated overwhelming evidence for the emergence of complex and heterogeneous connectivity patterns in a wide range of biological and sociotechnical systems. The complex properties of real-world networks have a profound impact on the behavior of equilibrium and nonequilibrium phenomena occurring in various systems, and the study of epidemic spreading is central to our understanding of the unfolding of dynamical processes in complex networks. The theoretical analysis of epidemic spreading in heterogeneous networks requires the development of novel analytical frameworks, and it has produced results of conceptual and practical relevance. A coherent and comprehensive review of the vast research activity concerning epidemic processes is presented, detailing the successful theoretical approaches as well as making their limits and assumptions clear. Physicists, mathematicians, epidemiologists, computer, and social scientists share a common interest in studying epidemic spreading and rely on similar models for the description of the diffusion of pathogens, knowledge, and innovation. For this reason, while focusing on the main results and the paradigmatic models in infectious disease modeling, the major results concerning generalized social contagion processes are also presented. Finally, the research activity at the forefront in the study of epidemic spreading in coevolving, coupled, and time-varying networks is reported.

Quantum Physics and Mathematical Debates Concerning the Problem of the Ontological Priority between Continuous Quantity and Discrete Quantity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pin, Victor Gómez

In his book about the Categories (that is about the ultimate elements of classification and order), in the chapter concerning the quantity (IV, 20) Aristotle says that this concept recovers two kinds of modalities: the discrete quantity and the continuous quantity and he gives as examples the number for the first one; line, surface, solid, times and space for the second one. The main philosophical problem raised by this text is to determine which of the two modalities of the quantity has the ontological priority over the other (given two concepts A and B, we assume that A has ontological priority over B if every entity that possesses the quality B possesses necessarily the quality A). The problem is magnified by the fact that space, which in some part of Aristotle's Physics is mentioned not only as a category properly speaking but even as the main category whose power can be amazing, is in the evoked text of the Categories's Book reduced to expression of the continuum, and sharing this condition with time. In this matter the controversy is constant through the common history of Science and Philosophy.

Public Lab: Community-Based Approaches to Urban and Environmental Health and Justice.

PubMed

Rey-Mazón, Pablo; Keysar, Hagit; Dosemagen, Shannon; D'Ignazio, Catherine; Blair, Don

2018-06-01

This paper explores three cases of Do-It-Yourself, open-source technologies developed within the diverse array of topics and themes in the communities around the Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science (Public Lab). These cases focus on aerial mapping, water quality monitoring and civic science practices. The techniques discussed have in common the use of accessible, community-built technologies for acquiring data. They are also concerned with embedding collaborative and open source principles into the objects, tools, social formations and data sharing practices that emerge from these inquiries. The focus is on developing processes of collaborative design and experimentation through material engagement with technology and issues of concern. Problem-solving, here, is a tactic, while the strategy is an ongoing engagement with the problem of participation in its technological, social and political dimensions especially considering the increasing centralization and specialization of scientific and technological expertise. The authors also discuss and reflect on the Public Lab's approach to civic science in light of ideas and practices of citizen/civic veillance, or "sousveillance", by emphasizing people before data, and by investigating the new ways of seeing and doing that this shift in perspective might provide.

Applications of Nanomaterials in Food Packaging.

PubMed

Bumbudsanpharoke, Nattinee; Choi, Jungwook; Ko, Seonghyuk

2015-09-01

Nanomaterials have drawn great interest in recent years due to their extraordinary properties that make them advantageous in food packaging applications. Specifically, nanoparticles can impart significant barrier properties, as well as mechanical, optical, catalytic, and antimicrobial properties into packaging. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and nanoclay account for the majority of the nano-enabled food packaging on the market, while others, such as nano-zinc oxide (ZnO) and titanium, share less of the current market. In current food packaging, these nanomaterials are primarily used to impart antimicrobial function and to improve barrier properties, thereby extending the shelf life and freshness of packaged food. On the other hand, there is growing concern about the migration of nanomaterials from food contact materials to foodstuffs and its associated potential risks. Indeed, insufficient data about environmental and human safety assessments of migration and exposure of nanomaterials are hindering their market growth. To overcome this barrier, the public believes that legislation from government agencies is critical. This review provides an overview of the characteristics and functions of major nanomaterials that are commonly applied to food packaging, including available and near- future products. Migration research, safety issues, and public concerns are also discussed.

Protecting Privacy Using k-Anonymity

PubMed Central

El Emam, Khaled; Dankar, Fida Kamal

2008-01-01

Objective There is increasing pressure to share health information and even make it publicly available. However, such disclosures of personal health information raise serious privacy concerns. To alleviate such concerns, it is possible to anonymize the data before disclosure. One popular anonymization approach is k-anonymity. There have been no evaluations of the actual re-identification probability of k-anonymized data sets. Design Through a simulation, we evaluated the re-identification risk of k-anonymization and three different improvements on three large data sets. Measurement Re-identification probability is measured under two different re-identification scenarios. Information loss is measured by the commonly used discernability metric. Results For one of the re-identification scenarios, k-Anonymity consistently over-anonymizes data sets, with this over-anonymization being most pronounced with small sampling fractions. Over-anonymization results in excessive distortions to the data (i.e., high information loss), making the data less useful for subsequent analysis. We found that a hypothesis testing approach provided the best control over re-identification risk and reduces the extent of information loss compared to baseline k-anonymity. Conclusion Guidelines are provided on when to use the hypothesis testing approach instead of baseline k-anonymity. PMID:18579830

Semantic similarity measurement between gene ontology terms based on exclusively inherited shared information.

PubMed

Zhang, Shu-Bo; Lai, Jian-Huang

2015-03-01

Quantifying the semantic similarities between pairs of terms in the Gene Ontology (GO) structure can help to explore the functional relationships between biological entities. A common approach to this problem is to measure the information they have in common based on the information content of their common ancestors. However, many studies have their limitations in measuring the information two GO terms share. This study presented a new measurement, exclusively inherited shared information (EISI) that captured the information shared by two terms based on an intuitive observation on the multiple inheritance relationships among the terms in the GO graph. EISI was derived from the information content of the exclusively inherited common ancestors (EICAs), which were screened from the common ancestors according to the attribute of their direct children. The effectiveness of EISI was evaluated against some state-of-the-art measurements on both artificial and real datasets, it produced more relevant results with experts' scores on the artificial dataset, and supported the prior knowledge of gene function in pathways on the Saccharomyces genome database (SGD). The promising features of EISI are the following: (1) it provides a more effective way to characterize the semantic relationship between two GO terms by taking into account multiple common ancestors related, and (2) can quickly detect all EICAs with time complexity of O(n), which is much more efficient than other methods based on disjunctive common ancestors. It is a promising alternative to multiple inheritance based methods for practical applications on large-scale dataset. The algorithm EISI was implemented in Matlab and is freely available from http://treaton.evai.pl/EISI/. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Ethics of Sharing Plastic Surgery Videos on Social Media: Systematic Literature Review, Ethical Analysis, and Proposed Guidelines.

PubMed

Dorfman, Robert G; Vaca, Elbert E; Fine, Neil A; Schierle, Clark F

2017-10-01

Recent videos shared by plastic surgeons on social media applications such as Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube, among others, have blurred the line between entertainment and patient care. This has left many in the plastic surgery community calling for the development of more structured oversight and guidance regarding video sharing on social media. To date, no official guidelines exist for plastic surgeons to follow. Little is known about the ethical implications of social media use by plastic surgeons, especially with regard to video sharing. A systematic review of the literature on social media use in plastic surgery was performed on October 31, 2016, with an emphasis on ethics and professionalism. An ethical analysis was conducted using the four principles of medical ethics. The initial search yielded 87 articles. Thirty-four articles were included for analyses that were found to be relevant to the use of social media in plastic surgery. No peer-reviewed articles were found that mentioned Snapchat or addressed the ethical implications of sharing live videos of plastic surgery on social media. Using the four principles of medical ethics, it was determined that significant ethical concerns exist with broadcasting these videos. This analysis fills an important gap in the plastic surgery literature by addressing the ethical issues concerning live surgery broadcasts on social media. Plastic surgeons may use the guidelines proposed here to avoid potential pitfalls.

A systematic literature review of individuals' perspectives on broad consent and data sharing in the United States.

PubMed

Garrison, Nanibaa' A; Sathe, Nila A; Antommaria, Armand H Matheny; Holm, Ingrid A; Sanderson, Saskia C; Smith, Maureen E; McPheeters, Melissa L; Clayton, Ellen W

2016-07-01

In 2011, an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposed that de-identified human data and specimens be included in biobanks only if patients provide consent. The National Institutes of Health Genomic Data Sharing policy went into effect in 2015, requiring broad consent from almost all research participants. We conducted a systematic literature review of attitudes toward biobanking, broad consent, and data sharing. Bibliographic databases included MEDLINE, Web of Science, EthxWeb, and GenETHX. Study screening was conducted using DistillerSR. The final 48 studies included surveys (n = 23), focus groups (n = 8), mixed methods (n = 14), interviews (n = 1), and consent form analyses (n = 2). Study quality was characterized as good (n = 19), fair (n = 27), and poor (n = 2). Although many participants objected, broad consent was often preferred over tiered or study-specific consent, particularly when broad consent was the only option, samples were de-identified, logistics of biobanks were communicated, and privacy was addressed. Willingness for data to be shared was high, but it was lower among individuals from under-represented minorities, individuals with privacy and confidentiality concerns, and when pharmaceutical companies had access to data. Additional research is needed to understand factors affecting willingness to give broad consent for biobank research and data sharing in order to address concerns to enhance acceptability.Genet Med 18 7, 663-671.

Health Information Technology, Patient Safety, and Professional Nursing Care Documentation in Acute Care Settings.

PubMed

Lavin, Mary Ann; Harper, Ellen; Barr, Nancy

2015-04-14

The electronic health record (EHR) is a documentation tool that yields data useful in enhancing patient safety, evaluating care quality, maximizing efficiency, and measuring staffing needs. Although nurses applaud the EHR, they also indicate dissatisfaction with its design and cumbersome electronic processes. This article describes the views of nurses shared by members of the Nursing Practice Committee of the Missouri Nurses Association; it encourages nurses to share their EHR concerns with Information Technology (IT) staff and vendors and to take their place at the table when nursing-related IT decisions are made. In this article, we describe the experiential-reflective reasoning and action model used to understand staff nurses' perspectives, share committee reflections and recommendations for improving both documentation and documentation technology, and conclude by encouraging nurses to develop their documentation and informatics skills. Nursing issues include medication safety, documentation and standards of practice, and EHR efficiency. IT concerns include interoperability, vendors, innovation, nursing voice, education, and collaboration.

Participation in a mentored quality-improvement program for insulin pen safety: Opportunity to augment internal evaluation and share with peers.

PubMed

Rosenberg, Amy F

2016-10-01

UF Health's participation in a mentored quality-improvement impact program for health professionals as part of an ASHP initiative-"Strategies for Ensuring the Safe Use of Insulin Pens in the Hospital"-is described. ASHP invited hospitals to participate in its initiative at a time when UF Health was evaluating the risks and benefits of insulin pen use due to external reports of safety concerns and making a commitment to continue insulin pen use and optimize safeguards. Improvement opportunities in insulin pen best practices and staff education on insulin pen preparation and injection technique were identified and implemented. The storage of insulin pens for patients with contact isolation precautions was identified as a problem in certain patient care areas, and a practical solution was devised. Other process improvements included implementation of barcode medication administration, with scanning of insulin pens designated for specific patients to avoid inadvertent and intentional sharing of pens among multiple patients. Mentored calls with teams at other hospitals conducted as part of the program provided the opportunity to share experiences and solutions to improve insulin pen use. Participating with a knowledgeable mentor and other hospital teams struggling with the same issues and concerns related to safe insulin pen use facilitated problem solving. Discussing challenges and sharing ideas for solutions to safety concerns with other hospitals identified new process enhancements, which have the potential to improve the safety of insulin pen use at UF Health. Copyright © 2016 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

A Spatial Data Infrastructure to Share Earth and Space Science Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nativi, S.; Mazzetti, P.; Bigagli, L.; Cuomo, V.

2006-05-01

Spatial Data Infrastructure:SDI (also known as Geospatial Data Infrastructure) is fundamentally a mechanism to facilitate the sharing and exchange of geospatial data. SDI is a scheme necessary for the effective collection, management, access, delivery and utilization of geospatial data; it is important for: objective decision making and sound land based policy, support economic development and encourage socially and environmentally sustainable development. As far as data model and semantics are concerned, a valuable and effective SDI should be able to cross the boundaries between the Geographic Information System/Science (GIS) and Earth and Space Science (ESS) communities. Hence, SDI should be able to discover, access and share information and data produced and managed by both GIS and ESS communities, in an integrated way. In other terms, SDI must be built on a conceptual and technological framework which abstracts the nature and structure of shared dataset: feature-based data or Imagery, Gridded and Coverage Data (IGCD). ISO TC211 and the Open Geospatial Consortium provided important artifacts to build up this framework. In particular, the OGC Web Services (OWS) initiatives and several Interoperability Experiment (e.g. the GALEON IE) are extremely useful for this purpose. We present a SDI solution which is able to manage both GIS and ESS datasets. It is based on OWS and other well-accepted or promising technologies, such as: UNIDATA netCDF and CDM, ncML and ncML-GML. Moreover, it uses a specific technology to implement a distributed and federated system of catalogues: the GI-Cat. This technology performs data model mediation and protocol adaptation tasks. It is used to work out a metadata clearinghouse service, implementing a common (federal) catalogue model which is based on the ISO 19115 core metadata for geo-dataset. Nevertheless, other well- accepted or standard catalogue data models can be easily implemented as common view (e.g. OGC CS-W, the next coming INSPIRE discovery metadata model, etc.). The proposed solution has been conceived and developed for building up the "Lucan SDI". This is the SDI of the Italian Basilicata Region. It aims to connect the following data providers and users: the National River Basin Authority of Basilicata, the Regional Environmental Agency, the Land Management & Cadastre Regional Authorities, the Prefecture, the Regional Civil Protection Centers, the National Research Council Institutes in Basilicata, the Academia, several SMEs.

The Common Sense of Small Nuclear Arsenals

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-01

affairs. That pattern is continuing and, therefore, is worth examining. In this article I use structural theory to explain what I call “the com­ mon...deterrence and dis­ suasion and then explain small nuclear arsenals in terms of structural theory , relying most heavily on the effects of socialization...deterrence are particularly useful. Dissuasion and general deterrence share many common elements. Both are rooted in deterrence theory and share an

Sphere of Knowledge Implications for Policy Embedded GIS/Informatics Collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Branch, B. D.

2009-05-01

A Sphere of Knowledge (SK) is hereby defined as a pseudo-ontology, which may render interdisciplinary research as norm for all disciplines in order deal with global environment and economy concerns. Citizenry literate data sharing and informatics may be feasible only in shared knowledge experiences that an interdisciplinary workforce can provide. Governmental data use, as a workforce concern is more complex. Large data repositories, in databases or data warehouses may constantly centralize and re-distribute data. Centralized data archives require standards as well. These standards must serve multiple users, including investigators recording or generating the data and investigators accessing the data, and must guide developers and maintainers of the databases' (Gardner, et al, 2003, p. 2). Hence, Gardner, et al. (2003) indicated the importance of standards in data sharing. Thus, critical to open data use is a standard means of access and distributions and agreements. Executive Order 12906, a federal mandate has an overall policy influence that all data should be free and accessible. In addition, one of the underlying principles is that scientists and non-scientists should not be forced to learn complex details of the data product naming and schema, other people's naming vocabularies, schemes and syntax decisions and myriad details of differing web site interfaces' (Fox, McGuinness, Raskin and Sinha, 2008, p. 1). If such is true, then the use of such data as an actual job skill or activity needs to be measured and addressed by all institutions of learning. Moreover, any economy suffering from job loss may reconstitute new jobs in a data driven economy. Policy development and implementation should reflect such complexities' (Gardner, et al, 2003, p. 2). SK may be too broad for any one disciplinary to address effectively as a next generation concern. For example, informatics and the use of geographical information systems may require skills sets that are not germane solely to computer science, geography, or information technology, but in a collective manner. The demand for deep integration of scientific data within and between disciplines is also growing, as larger and broader science questions are becoming more common. Concurrent with the growing demand for next generation information technology for science is a growth in semantic technologies' (McGuinness, Fox, and Brodaric, 2008, p. 1). Hence, paradigms of spatial thinking are in geography which inherent in geographical information systems. However, such connections may not be taught as connected, correlated or intertwined ontologisms or concepts that transfers to work force considerations because each may not be perceived as a fundamental job skill.

Application of a Socio-Ecological Model to Mother-Infant Bed-Sharing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salm Ward, Trina C.; Doering, Jennifer J.

2014-01-01

Mother-infant bed-sharing has been associated with an increased risk of sleep-related infant deaths, and thus, health messaging has aimed to discourage this behavior. Despite this messaging, bed-sharing remains a common practice in the United States, especially among minority families. Moreover, rates of accidental suffocation and strangulation in…

Boeing’s Integrated Defense Systems Restructuring: Significant and Preventable Cost Impacts to Army Aviation Programs

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-03-18

IDS, the treatment and handling of Boeing World Headquarters (BWHQ) costs, common or shared systems costs, Shared Services Group costs, fringe...these expenses.15 One such example is the addition of the Shared Services Group (SSG) expense to the Mesa and Philadelphia accounting ledgers. Under

Pharmacist prescribing: A scoping review about the views and experiences of patients and the public.

PubMed

Famiyeh, Ida-Maisie; McCarthy, Lisa

Policy-makers and health professionals' views about pharmacist prescribing have been well studied, but less is known about the views of the public and patients. To describe from existing literature the views and experiences of patients as well as the views of the public about pharmacist prescribing. Sources: Medline, EMBASE, and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts from inception to November 2015; reference lists of included studies. English-language studies describing the views and experiences of patients and the views of the public about pharmacist prescribing. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts and one reviewer charted data. The University of British Columbia Patient Experience Framework was used to categorize and synthesize findings about patients' experience. Views were described using a descriptive thematic synthesis approach. Out of 2377 unique records, 35 articles were reviewed in full for eligibility. Three studies were excluded because participants were not patients or the public, eight studies were not about prescribing, and four studies were abstracts. Two articles were identified from the bibliographies of included studies. In total, twenty-two studies met inclusion criteria. Fourteen studies were quantitative (63.6%), six were qualitative (27.3%) and two were mixed design (9.1%) studies. Four studies (18.2%) were conducted in Canada (Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia), one (4.5%) in Australia, one (4.5%) in the United States (Washington) and the remaining in the United Kingdom (n = 16, 72.7%). The most commonly explored dimensions of patient experiences were access, interpersonal communication, and patient-reported impacts of care. Patients reported high satisfaction with appointment times, communication with the pharmacist prescriber and the services received. The public supported pharmacist prescribing in limited situations (chronic conditions, minor ailments, repeat medications). The public were concerned about privacy during consultations but patients were less so. Both patients and the public shared concerns regarding lack of adequate resources to ensure safe prescribing by pharmacists (e.g., lack of pharmacists' access to medical records, lack of additional staff support to fulfill prescribing responsibilities). Patients' experiences with pharmacist prescribing were generally positive. There were shared concerns between patients and the public about pharmacist prescribing. Opportunities for further research include strategies for building public experience with pharmacist prescribing and methods for addressing concerns identified by patients and the public. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A national-scale authentication infrastructure.

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

Butler, R.; Engert, D.; Foster, I.

2000-12-01

Today, individuals and institutions in science and industry are increasingly forming virtual organizations to pool resources and tackle a common goal. Participants in virtual organizations commonly need to share resources such as data archives, computer cycles, and networks - resources usually available only with restrictions based on the requested resource's nature and the user's identity. Thus, any sharing mechanism must have the ability to authenticate the user's identity and determine if the user is authorized to request the resource. Virtual organizations tend to be fluid, however, so authentication mechanisms must be flexible and lightweight, allowing administrators to quickly establish andmore » change resource-sharing arrangements. However, because virtual organizations complement rather than replace existing institutions, sharing mechanisms cannot change local policies and must allow individual institutions to maintain control over their own resources. Our group has created and deployed an authentication and authorization infrastructure that meets these requirements: the Grid Security Infrastructure. GSI offers secure single sign-ons and preserves site control over access policies and local security. It provides its own versions of common applications, such as FTP and remote login, and a programming interface for creating secure applications.« less

From Efficacy Research to Large-Scale Impact on Undernutrition: The Role of Organizational Cultures12

PubMed Central

Pelletier, David; Pelto, Gretel

2013-01-01

Undernutrition in low-income countries is receiving unprecedented attention at global and national levels due to the convergence of many forces, including strong evidence concerning its magnitude, consequences, and potential solutions and effective advocacy by many organizations. The translation of this attention into large-scale reductions in undernutrition at the country level requires the alignment and support of many organizations in the development and implementation of a coherent policy agenda for nutrition, including the strengthening of operational and strategic capacities and a supportive research agenda. However, many countries experience difficulties achieving such alignment. This article uses the concept of organizational culture to better understand some of the reasons for these difficulties. This concept is applied to the constellation of organizations that make up the “National Nutrition Network” in a given country and some of the individual organizations within that network, including academic institutions that conduct research on undernutrition. We illustrate this concept through a case study involving a middle-income country. We conclude that efforts to align organizations in support of coherent nutrition agendas should do the following: 1) make intentional and sustained efforts to foster common understanding, shared learning, and socialization of new members and other elements of a shared culture among partners; 2) seek a way to frame problems and solutions in a fashion that enables individual organizations to secure some of their particular interests by joining the effort; and 3) not only advocate on the importance of nutrition but also insist that high-level officials hold organizations accountable for aligning in support of common-interest solutions (through some elements of a common culture) that can be effective and appropriate in the national context. We further conclude that a culture change is needed within academic departments if the discipline of nutrition is to play a central role in translating the findings from efficacy trials into large-scale reductions in undernutrition. PMID:24228200

From efficacy research to large-scale impact on undernutrition: the role of organizational cultures.

PubMed

Pelletier, David; Pelto, Gretel

2013-11-01

Undernutrition in low-income countries is receiving unprecedented attention at global and national levels due to the convergence of many forces, including strong evidence concerning its magnitude, consequences, and potential solutions and effective advocacy by many organizations. The translation of this attention into large-scale reductions in undernutrition at the country level requires the alignment and support of many organizations in the development and implementation of a coherent policy agenda for nutrition, including the strengthening of operational and strategic capacities and a supportive research agenda. However, many countries experience difficulties achieving such alignment. This article uses the concept of organizational culture to better understand some of the reasons for these difficulties. This concept is applied to the constellation of organizations that make up the "National Nutrition Network" in a given country and some of the individual organizations within that network, including academic institutions that conduct research on undernutrition. We illustrate this concept through a case study involving a middle-income country. We conclude that efforts to align organizations in support of coherent nutrition agendas should do the following: 1) make intentional and sustained efforts to foster common understanding, shared learning, and socialization of new members and other elements of a shared culture among partners; 2) seek a way to frame problems and solutions in a fashion that enables individual organizations to secure some of their particular interests by joining the effort; and 3) not only advocate on the importance of nutrition but also insist that high-level officials hold organizations accountable for aligning in support of common-interest solutions (through some elements of a common culture) that can be effective and appropriate in the national context. We further conclude that a culture change is needed within academic departments if the discipline of nutrition is to play a central role in translating the findings from efficacy trials into large-scale reductions in undernutrition.

Addressing Common Concerns about Online Student Ratings of Instruction: A Research-Informed Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winer, Laura; DiGenova, Lina; Costopoulos, Andre

2016-01-01

Concerns over the usefulness and validity of student ratings of instruction (SRI) have continued to grow with online processes. This paper presents seven common and persistent concerns identified and tested during the development and implementation of a revised SRI policy at a Canadian research-intensive university. These concerns include bias due…

Cloud Computing for Geosciences--GeoCloud for standardized geospatial service platforms (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nebert, D. D.; Huang, Q.; Yang, C.

2013-12-01

The 21st century geoscience faces challenges of Big Data, spike computing requirements (e.g., when natural disaster happens), and sharing resources through cyberinfrastructure across different organizations (Yang et al., 2011). With flexibility and cost-efficiency of computing resources a primary concern, cloud computing emerges as a promising solution to provide core capabilities to address these challenges. Many governmental and federal agencies are adopting cloud technologies to cut costs and to make federal IT operations more efficient (Huang et al., 2010). However, it is still difficult for geoscientists to take advantage of the benefits of cloud computing to facilitate the scientific research and discoveries. This presentation reports using GeoCloud to illustrate the process and strategies used in building a common platform for geoscience communities to enable the sharing, integration of geospatial data, information and knowledge across different domains. GeoCloud is an annual incubator project coordinated by the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) in collaboration with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and the Department of Health and Human Services. It is designed as a staging environment to test and document the deployment of a common GeoCloud community platform that can be implemented by multiple agencies. With these standardized virtual geospatial servers, a variety of government geospatial applications can be quickly migrated to the cloud. In order to achieve this objective, multiple projects are nominated each year by federal agencies as existing public-facing geospatial data services. From the initial candidate projects, a set of common operating system and software requirements was identified as the baseline for platform as a service (PaaS) packages. Based on these developed common platform packages, each project deploys and monitors its web application, develops best practices, and documents cost and performance information. This paper presents the background, architectural design, and activities of GeoCloud in support of the Geospatial Platform Initiative. System security strategies and approval processes for migrating federal geospatial data, information, and applications into cloud, and cost estimation for cloud operations are covered. Finally, some lessons learned from the GeoCloud project are discussed as reference for geoscientists to consider in the adoption of cloud computing.

The eSGID Process: How to Improve Teaching and Learning in Online Graduate Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Neal-Hixson, Kelly; Long, Jenny; Bock, Marjorie

2017-01-01

Small Group Instructional Diagnosis (SGID) is a feedback process to collect midterm feedback from students. The process uses small focus group student interviews to identify strengths of the course, areas of concern, and suggestions to address concerns. The purpose of this paper is to shares experiences using on online format of Small Group…

77 FR 42768 - Leadership Meeting on Maternal, Fetal, and Infant Opioid Exposure and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-20

... are: (1) To share research findings concerning the NAS epidemic and its costs; (2) to begin a national... concerning the risks and benefits of opioids to developing fetuses and the likelihood of neonatal abstinence... prevention opportunities among practitioners and regulators. Members of the public who wish to attend the...

Environmental Studies. The Construction of an 'A' Level Syllabus.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carson, S. McB.

In response to the increasing social concern for the quality of the environment and its conservation, and the need to ensure that all pupils in their final years of schooling be brought to share that concern, teachers in Hertfordshire, England, have constructed an 'A' level curriculum or syllabus of environmental studies for the sixth form. Based…

What Are Some Common Signs of Pregnancy?

MedlinePlus

... pregnancy? Share Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print What are some common signs of pregnancy? The primary sign ... always mean a woman is pregnant. Menstrual irregularities are common and can have a variety of causes, ...

Exploring the scope of practice and training of obstetricians and gynaecologists in England, Italy and Belgium: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Risso-Gill, Isabelle; Kiasuwa, Regine; Baeten, Rita; Caldarelli, Ilenia; Mitro, Silva; Merriel, Abi; Amadio, Giulia; McKee, Martin; Legido-Quigley, Helena

2014-09-01

This study explores the scope of practice of Obstetrics and Gynaecology specialists in Italy, Belgium and England, in light of the growth of professional and patient mobility within the EU which has raised concerns about a lack of standardisation of medical speciality practice and training. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 29 obstetricians and gynaecologists from England, Belgium and Italy, exploring training and scope of practice, following a common topic guide. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and coded following a common coding framework in the language of the country concerned. Completed coding frames, written summaries and key quotes were then translated into English and were cross-analysed among the researchers to identify emerging themes and comparative findings. Although medical and specialty qualifications in each country are mutually recognised, there were great differences in training regimes, with different emphases on theory versus practice and recognition of different subspecialties. However all countries shared concerns about the impact of the European Working Time Directive on trainees' skills development. Reflecting differences in models of care, the scope of practice of OBGYN varied among countries, with pronounced differences between the public and private sector within countries. Technological advances and the growth of co-morbidities resulting from ageing populations have created new opportunities and greater links with other specialties. In turn new ethical concerns around abortion and fertility have also arisen, with stark cultural differences between the countries. Variations exist in the training and scope of practice of OBGYN specialists among these three countries, which could have significant implications for the expectations of patients seeking care and specialists practising in other EU countries. Changes within the specialty and advances in technology are creating new opportunities and challenges, although these may widen existing differences. Harmonisation of the training and scope of practice of OBGYN within Europe remains a distant goal. Further research on the scope of practice of medical professionals would better inform future policies on professional mobility. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Planetary Protection: Two Relevant Terrestrial Examples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chyba, C.

2002-09-01

Concerns about potential pathogens in returned samples from Mars ("Mars Sample Return: Issues and Recommendations", National Research Council, 1997) or planetary satellites ("Evaluating the Biological Potential in Samples Returned from Planetary Satellites and Small Solar System Bodies", National Research Council, 1998) focus on two potential types of pathogenesis, toxic and infectious. The National Research Council reports cited above state that the chances of extraterrestrial organisms proving either toxic or infectious to humans are extremely low, but cannot be entirely ruled out. Here I discuss recently discovered terrestrial examples relevant to each possibility, in order to make these concerns concrete. The first example concerns the production of hepatotoxins (toxins affecting the liver) and neurotoxins by cyanobacteria in glacial lakes on alpine pastures in Switzerland. In this example, mat-forming benthic cyanobacteria are implicated in a hundred cattle poisonings that have been reported from alpine pasteurs in southeastern Switzerland over the past twenty-five years (e.g. K. Mez et al, Hydrobiologia 368, 1-15 (1998)). It is unlikely that these cyanobacteria evolved the toxins in response to dairy cows; rather the susceptibility of cattle to these toxins seems simply to be an unfortunate coincidence of a toxin working across a large evolutionary distance. The second example concerns the recent demonstration that the decimation of shallow-water Caribbean elkhorn coral is due to infection by a common fecal enterobacterium associated with the human gut (K. L. Patterson et al., PNAS 99, 8725-8730 (2002)). The bacterium, Serratia marcenscens, is also a free-living microbe in water and soil, as well as an opportunistic pathogen in a variety of animal species. The distance between humans and corals emphasizes the possibility that certain organisms may prove pathogenic across a wide evolutionary divide. Of course, in neither of these cases are the evolutionary distances crossed as large as those that would likely exist between any martian organisms and human beings. The possibility that life on the two worlds might share a common ancestor suggests that these distances may not be altogether incomparable, but this remains speculation pending further exploration. This work is supported in part by the NASA Exobiology Program and a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

Perceived Benefits, Harms, and Views About How to Share Data Responsibly: A Qualitative Study of Experiences With and Attitudes Toward Data Sharing Among Research Staff and Community Representatives in Thailand.

PubMed

Cheah, Phaik Yeong; Tangseefa, Decha; Somsaman, Aimatcha; Chunsuttiwat, Tri; Nosten, François; Day, Nicholas P J; Bull, Susan; Parker, Michael

2015-07-01

The Thailand Major Overseas Programme coordinates large multi-center studies in tropical medicine and generates vast amounts of data. As the data sharing movement gains momentum, we wanted to understand attitudes and experiences of relevant stakeholders about what constitutes good data sharing practice. We conducted 15 interviews and three focus groups discussions involving 25 participants and found that they generally saw data sharing as something positive. Data sharing was viewed as a means to contribute to scientific progress and lead to better quality analysis, better use of resources, greater accountability, and more outputs. However, there were also important reservations including potential harms to research participants, their communities, and the researchers themselves. Given these concerns, several areas for discussion were identified: data standardization, appropriate consent models, and governance. © The Author(s) 2015.

Brief Report: Medication Sharing Is Rare Among African HIV-1 Serodiscordant Couples Enrolled in an Efficacy Trial of Oral Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV-1 Prevention.

PubMed

Thomson, Kerry A; Haberer, Jessica E; Marzinke, Mark A; Mujugira, Andrew; Hendrix, Craig W; Celum, Connie; Ndase, Patrick; Ronald, Allan; Bangsberg, David R; Baeten, Jared M

2017-06-01

Sharing of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medications is a concern for PrEP implementation. For HIV-1 serodiscordant couples, sharing may undermine the HIV-1 prevention benefit and also cause antiretroviral resistance if taken by HIV-1 infected partners. Within a PrEP efficacy trial among HIV-1 serodiscordant couples, we assessed the occurrence of PrEP sharing by self-report and plasma tenofovir concentrations in HIV-1 infected partners. PrEP sharing was self-reported at <0.01% of visits, and 0%-1.6% of randomly selected and 0% of purposively selected specimens from HIV-1 infected participants had detectable tenofovir concentrations (median: 66.5 ng/mL, range: 1.3-292 ng/mL). PrEP sharing within HIV-1 serodiscordant couples was extremely rare.

Attitudes of research participants and the general public towards genomic data sharing: a systematic literature review.

PubMed

Shabani, Mahsa; Bezuidenhout, Louise; Borry, Pascal

2014-11-01

Introducing data sharing practices into the genomic research arena has challenged the current mechanisms established to protect rights of individuals and triggered policy considerations. To inform such policy deliberations, soliciting public and research participants' attitudes with respect to genomic data sharing is a necessity. The main electronic databases were searched in order to retrieve empirical studies, investigating the attitudes of research participants and the public towards genomic data sharing through public databases. In the 15 included studies, participants' attitudes towards genomic data sharing revealed the influence of a constellation of interrelated factors, including the personal perceptions of controllability and sensitivity of data, potential risks and benefits of data sharing at individual and social level and also governance level considerations. This analysis indicates that future policy responses and recruitment practices should be attentive to a wide variety of concerns in order to promote both responsible and progressive research.

Identification of genetic loci shared between schizophrenia and the Big Five personality traits.

PubMed

Smeland, Olav B; Wang, Yunpeng; Lo, Min-Tzu; Li, Wen; Frei, Oleksandr; Witoelar, Aree; Tesli, Martin; Hinds, David A; Tung, Joyce Y; Djurovic, Srdjan; Chen, Chi-Hua; Dale, Anders M; Andreassen, Ole A

2017-05-22

Schizophrenia is associated with differences in personality traits, and recent studies suggest that personality traits and schizophrenia share a genetic basis. Here we aimed to identify specific genetic loci shared between schizophrenia and the Big Five personality traits using a Bayesian statistical framework. Using summary statistics from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on personality traits in the 23andMe cohort (n = 59,225) and schizophrenia in the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium cohort (n = 82,315), we evaluated overlap in common genetic variants. The Big Five personality traits neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness were measured using a web implementation of the Big Five Inventory. Applying the conditional false discovery rate approach, we increased discovery of genetic loci and identified two loci shared between neuroticism and schizophrenia and six loci shared between openness and schizophrenia. The study provides new insights into the relationship between personality traits and schizophrenia by highlighting genetic loci involved in their common genetic etiology.

This presentation will discuss how PLOS ONE collaborates with many different scientific communities to help create, share, and preserve the scholarly works produced by their researchers with emphasis on current common difficulties faced by communities, practical solutions, and a broader view of the importance of open data and reproducibility.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kroffe, K.

2017-12-01

The mission of the Public Library of Science is to accelerate progress in science and medicine by leading a transformation in research communication. Researchers' ability to share their work without restriction is essential, but critical to sharing is open data, transparency in peer review, and an open approach to science assessment. In this session, we will discuss how PLOS ONE collaborates with many different scientific communities to help create, share, and preserve the scholarly works produced by their researchers with emphasis on current common difficulties faced by communities, practical solutions, and a broader view of the importance of open data and reproducibility.

Are We Asking the Right Questions? An Analysis of Research on the Effect of Teachers' Questioning on Children's Language during Shared Book Reading with Young Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walsh, Rosalind L.; Hodge, Kerry A.

2018-01-01

A review of 20 experimental, shared book reading (SBR) interventions using questioning strategies with preschool children was conducted. The studies were analyzed in terms of their quality, focus, and the questioning strategies employed. Although there were few methodological concerns about the studies conducted, treatment fidelity and…

49 CFR Appendix A to Part 211 - Statement of Agency Policy Concerning Waivers Related to Shared Use of Trackage or Rights-of-Way...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

....” 49 U.S.C. 20103(d). Waiver petitions are reviewed by FRA's Railroad Safety Board (the “Safety Board... that the facts are different from those presented or have changed substantially, FRA may revise its... safety issues involved in each specific shared use operation and a voice in shaping the safety...

49 CFR Appendix A to Part 211 - Statement of Agency Policy Concerning Waivers Related to Shared Use of Trackage or Rights-of-Way...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

....” 49 U.S.C. 20103(d). Waiver petitions are reviewed by FRA's Railroad Safety Board (the “Safety Board... that the facts are different from those presented or have changed substantially, FRA may revise its... safety issues involved in each specific shared use operation and a voice in shaping the safety...

Promoting Mother-Infant Book Sharing and Infant Attention and Language Development in an Impoverished South African Population: A Pilot Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Peter J.; Vally, Zahir; Cooper, Hallam; Radford, Theo; Sharples, Arthur; Tomlinson, Mark; Murray, Lynne

2014-01-01

The low rates of child literacy in South Africa are cause for considerable concern. Research from the developed world shows that parental sharing of picture books with infants and young children is beneficial for child language and cognitive development, as well as literacy skills. We conducted a pilot study to examine whether such benefits might…

Exploring the Lack of Interoperability of Databases within Department of Homeland Security Interagency Environment Concerning Maritime Port Security

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-01

37 Figure 8 New Information Sharing Model from United States Intelligence Community Information Sharing...PRIDE while the Coast Guard has MISSLE and the newly constructed WATCHKEEPER. All these databases contain intelligence on incoming vessels...decisions making. Experts rely heavily on future projections as hallmarks of skilled performance." (Endsley et al. 2006) The SA model above

Fault-tolerant arithmetic via time-shared TMR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swartzlander, Earl E.

1999-11-01

Fault tolerance is increasingly important as society has come to depend on computers for more and more aspects of daily life. The current concern about the Y2K problems indicates just how much we depend on accurate computers. This paper describes work on time- shared TMR, a technique which is used to provide arithmetic operations that produce correct results in spite of circuit faults.

Inadvertent Exposure to Pornography on the Internet: Implications of Peer-to-Peer File-Sharing Networks for Child Development and Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenfield, P.M.

2004-01-01

This essay comprises testimony to the Congressional Committee on Government Reform. The Committee's concern was the possibility of exposure to pornography when children and teens participate in peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, which are extremely popular in these age groups. A review of the relevant literature led to three major conclusions:…

Health Care Sharing Ministries and Their Exemption From the Individual Mandate of the Affordable Care Act.

PubMed

Galarneau, Charlene

2015-06-01

The U.S. 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) exempts members of health care sharing ministries (HCSMs) from the individual mandate to have minimum essential insurance coverage. Little is generally known about these religious organizations and even less critical attention has been brought to bear on them and their ACA exemption. Both deserve close scrutiny due to the exemption's less than clear legislative justification, their potential influence on the ACA's policy and ethical success, and their salience to current religious liberty debates surrounding the expansion of religious exemptions from ACA responsibilities for both individuals and corporations. Analyzing documents of the United States' three largest health care sharing ministries and related material, I examine these organizations and their ACA exemption with particular consideration of their ethical dimensions. Here a thick description of the nature and workings of health care sharing ministries precedes a similar account of the ACA exemption. From these empirical analyses, five ethical and policy concerns emerge: (1) the charity versus insurance status of these ministries; (2) the conflation of two ACA religious exemptions; (3) the tension between the values of religious liberty and of justice; (4) the potential undermining of ACA policy goals; and (5) the questionable compliance of health care sharing ministries with ACA exemption requirements.  An accurate and informed understanding of HCSMs is required for policymakers and others to justify the ACA exemption of health care sharing ministry members. A sufficient justification would address at least the five ethical and policy concerns raised here.

The Petal Project: An innovation in sexual healthcare and education for Kenyan schoolgirl.

PubMed

Parker, Karen M

2018-01-01

In the western province of Nyanza in Kenya, girls and women face an issue all too common in the developing world-little or no access to affordable means to effectively managing their menstrual flow. As a result, many stay at home or drop out of school because they are teased and embarrassed. Some approach men for money to buy pads and are forced, in return, to engage in transactional sex. The girls may not be able to return to school at all due to pregnancy. The story literally and figuratively continues to cycle, keeping girls in positions of dependency and poverty. In May 2011, two visiting nursing faculty conducting health clinics with students, were approached by a young male school volunteer who shared his observations and unease with what he saw happening. Concerns shared that day spawned an initiative known as the Petal Project, which has yielded thousands of starter kits hand-sewn and delivered to girls in Kenya. The Petal Project has grown in popularity and participation on their college campus and in neighboring communities. Since its inception, this initiative has expanded to include over six countries and has positively impacted the lives of hundreds of givers and receivers. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Space Biology Meets Astrobiology: Critical Synergies and Concerns

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boston, Penelope J.; Kirven-Brooks, Melissa

2016-01-01

The broad fields of space biology and astrobiology share much in common in terms of science questions, approaches, and goals. However, historical circumstances and funding agency practices have frequently resulted in a wide separation between the two related areas. Is this a good thing? We believe that it is not, and that much is to be gained in each field from sharing ideas, resources, and perhaps projects between investigators traditionally working in one discipline or the other. Some of the strengths that the Space Biology community offers include sophistication and experience in flying experiments on space missions. In turn, Astrobiology has focused heavily on ground-based and field research. Challenging physical and chemical conditions experienced in space and on other planets partially overlap, and much can be gleaned from the body of work of each community along these topical lines. A combination of these areas of expertise and experience could result in major advances to all involved. When possible, avoiding having to reinvent methods or approaches already used by a sister community can result in greater efficiencies of resource use. We will discuss some case studies where we believe there are significant overlaps including adaptation to a variety of environmental stresses, extremophiles as potential flight organisms, microfluidics as applied to planetary environment simulations, and others.

Field testing of tele-operation versus shared and traded control for military assets: an evaluation involving real-time embedded simulation and soldier assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Metcalfe, Jason S.; Alban, Jillyn; Cosenzo, Keryl; Johnson, Tony; Capstick, Erin

2010-04-01

Those applying autonomous technologies to military systems strive to enhance human-robot and robot-robot performance. Beyond performance, the military must be concerned with local area security. Characterized as "secure mobility", military systems must enable safe and effective terrain traversal concurrent with maintenance of situational awareness (SA). One approach to interleaving these objectives is supervisory control, with popular options being shared and traded control. Yet, with the scale and expense of military assets, common technical issues such as transition time and safeguarding become critical; especially as they interact with Soldier capabilities. Study is required to enable selection of control methods that optimize Soldier-system performance while safeguarding both individually. The current report describes a study utilizing experimental military vehicles and simulation systems enabling teleoperation and supervisory control. Automated triggering of SA demands was interspersed with a set of challenging driving maneuvers in a 'teleoperation-like' context to examine the influence of supervisory control on Soldier-system performance. Results indicated that direct application of supervisory control, while beneficial under particular demands, requires continued development to be perceived by Soldiers as useful. Future efforts should more tightly couple the information exchanged between the Soldier and system to overcome current challenges not addressed by standard control methods.

A Qualitative Study to Explore the Views and Attitudes towards Prenatal Testing in Adults Who Have Muenke Syndrome and their Partners.

PubMed

Phipps, Julie; Skirton, Heather

2017-10-01

Muenke syndrome constitutes the most common syndromic form of craniosynostosis, occurring in 1 in 30,000 live births. The phenotype is variable, ranging from no clinical findings to complex presentation. Facilitating reproductive decision making for couples at genetic risk of having a child with Muenke syndrome is an important aspect of genetic counselling. Prenatal genetic testing for Muenke syndrome is accurate; however the value of testing is uncertain with a variable phenotype. The purpose of this study was to explore attitudes towards prenatal testing in couples where one partner had tested positive for the Muenke mutation. We used a qualitative approach based on thematic analysis and collected data using individual semi-structured interviews with eight parents. Five key themes were: The Muenke journey; Impact and knowledge of diagnosis; Knowledge and attitude to prenatal testing; Stigma and sharing of information; and Information retention. Knowledge of Muenke syndrome and prenatal testing was poor. Genetic information was provided when treatment of their affected child was their paramount concern. Couples reported not sharing genetic information with family due to fear of stigmatisation. Couples cannot make reproductive decisions if lacking appropriate understanding of the choices: timely genetic counselling regarding prenatal testing is needed when relevant to them.

Common menstrual concerns of adolescents

PubMed Central

Sacks, Diane

1998-01-01

Symptoms associated with menstruation are among the most common concerns of adolescent women. However, the factual information that adolescent women need is not always available to them. Physicians can do much to correct the myths and misinformation that the teenager may have concerning her menstrual cycle. This paper addresses clinical office concerns about normal menstruation, dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea and dysfunctional uterine bleeding. PMID:20401253

Something Old, Something New: MBA Program Evaluation Using Shift-Share Analysis and Google Trends

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Sarah M.; Rodriguez, A. E.

2014-01-01

Shift-share analysis is a decomposition technique that is commonly used to measure attributes of regional change. In this method, regional change is decomposed into its relevant functional and competitive parts. This paper introduces traditional shift-share method and its extensions with examples of its applicability and usefulness for program…

A Case for Data Commons

PubMed Central

Grossman, Robert L.; Heath, Allison; Murphy, Mark; Patterson, Maria; Wells, Walt

2017-01-01

Data commons collocate data, storage, and computing infrastructure with core services and commonly used tools and applications for managing, analyzing, and sharing data to create an interoperable resource for the research community. An architecture for data commons is described, as well as some lessons learned from operating several large-scale data commons. PMID:29033693

Challenges and Facilitators to Promoting a Healthy Food Environment and Communicating Effectively with Parents to Improve Food Behaviors of School Children.

PubMed

Luesse, Hiershenee B; Paul, Rachel; Gray, Heewon L; Koch, Pamela; Contento, Isobel; Marsick, Victoria

2018-02-14

Background Childhood obesity is a major public health concern and families play an important role. Improving strategies to reach parents and directing tailored nutrition education to them is needed. Purpose To investigate the challenges and facilitators to promoting a healthy environment at home and to identify communication preferences to inform intervention strategies for effectively reaching low-income urban minority families. Procedure Semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted with four groups involving 16 low-income urban parents (94% female; 88% Hispanic/Latino, 12% African American) of elementary school children. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed applying Social Cognitive Theory and using in-vivo coding. Main Findings The most common barriers to parents providing healthy foods to their children were accommodating child preferences and familial opposition. Parents showed intentionality to engage in healthy behaviors, and often shared procedural knowledge for reaching health goals. The analyses of desired communication channels yielded major preferences: tailored information, information provided through multiple mediums, appropriate duration/frequency of messages, and presented from a voice of authority. Conclusion and Implication While parents expressed desires to be healthy, the home food environment presented substantial challenges. Multi-media supports such as workshops, flyers, and text messaging may be useful to facilitate the sharing of information to minimize the tensions between intentionality and reaching desired goals to be healthy. Some parents thought that information received through text messaging could be easily shared and would act as a voice of authority to support child behavior change.

An examination of the developmental propensity model of conduct problems.

PubMed

Rhee, Soo Hyun; Friedman, Naomi P; Corley, Robin P; Hewitt, John K; Hink, Laura K; Johnson, Daniel P; Smith Watts, Ashley K; Young, Susan E; Robinson, JoAnn; Waldman, Irwin D; Zahn-Waxler, Carolyn

2016-05-01

The present study tested specific hypotheses advanced by the developmental propensity model of the etiology of conduct problems in the Colorado Longitudinal Twin Study, a prospective, longitudinal, genetically informative sample. High negative emotionality, low behavioral inhibition, low concern and high disregard for others, and low cognitive ability assessed during toddlerhood (age 14 to 36 months) were examined as predictors of conduct problems in later childhood and adolescence (age 4 to 17 years). Each hypothesized antisocial propensity dimension predicted conduct problems, but some predictions may be context specific or due to method covariance. The most robust predictors were observed disregard for others (i.e., responding to others' distress with active, negative responses such as anger and hostility), general cognitive ability, and language ability, which were associated with conduct problems reported by parents, teachers, and adolescents, and change in observed negative emotionality (i.e., frustration tolerance), which was associated with conduct problems reported by teachers and adolescents. Furthermore, associations between the most robust early predictors and later conduct problems were influenced by the shared environment rather than genes. We conclude that shared environmental influences that promote disregard for others and detract from cognitive and language development during toddlerhood also predispose individuals to conduct problems in later childhood and adolescence. The identification of those shared environmental influences common to early antisocial propensity and later conduct problems is an important future direction, and additional developmental behavior genetic studies examining the interaction between children's characteristics and socializing influences on conduct problems are needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Current challenges to overcome in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus and associated neurological disorders.

PubMed

Khan, Nazir M; Ahmad, Ausaf; Tiwari, Rajesh K; Kamal, Mohammad A; Mushtaq, Gohar; Ashraf, Ghulam M

2014-01-01

The increasing worldwide prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and associated neurological disorders (NDs), such as Alzheimer disease and Parkinson's disease, have raised concerns about increasing health care and financial burden. Due to the overwhelming growth rate of T2DM and its strong association with NDs, there is an ever-growing and an urgent need to improve the diagnosis and management of the disease. Major hurdles in the management of T2DM comprise of striving for glycemic targets, polypharmacy, patient adherence and clinical inertia. The challenges occurring in the treatment of T2DM are mainly attributed to the complex heterogeneous nature of the disease and its close association with a wide variety of neurological, metabolic and cardiovascular disorders. To overcome these challenges, authors propose to focus on the treatment strategies that employ shared pathogenesis and common molecular denominators involved in the aetiology of T2DM and associated NDs. Impaired insulin signalling (as a result of perturbed redox status), insulin resistance and mitochondrial dysfunction are key molecular events that may lead to the pathogenesis of T2DM and associated NDs. However, effective management of these therapeutic strategies requires holistic experimental evidence from animal as well as clinical human studies. Therefore, a shift in the treatment paradigm from single point glycemic control to shared pathogenesis control would be an ideal approach to combat the alarming progression of diabetes and associated NDs. Therapeutic interventions focused on shared molecular pathogenesis, along with effective glycemic control, may provide protection from associated NDs.

What Are Some Common Complications During Labor and Delivery?

MedlinePlus

... complications? Share Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print What are some common complications during labor and delivery? Each ... as necessary. Some of the more common complications are: 1 , 2 Labor that does not progress. Sometimes ...

Involving Research Stakeholders in Developing Policy on Sharing Public Health Research Data in Kenya

PubMed Central

Jao, Irene; Kombe, Francis; Mwalukore, Salim; Bull, Susan; Parker, Michael; Kamuya, Dorcas; Molyneux, Sassy

2015-01-01

Increased global sharing of public health research data has potential to advance scientific progress but may present challenges to the interests of research stakeholders, particularly in low-to-middle income countries. Policies for data sharing should be responsive to public views, but there is little evidence of the systematic study of these from low-income countries. This qualitative study explored views on fair data-sharing processes among 60 stakeholders in Kenya with varying research experience, using a deliberative approach. Stakeholders’ attitudes were informed by perceptions of benefit and concerns for research data sharing, including risks of stigmatization, loss of privacy, and undermining scientific careers and validity, reported in detail elsewhere. In this article, we discuss institutional trust-building processes seen as central to perceptions of fairness in sharing research data in this setting, including forms of community involvement, individual prior awareness and agreement to data sharing, independence and accountability of governance mechanisms, and operating under a national framework. PMID:26297748

Surgeons' Perspectives of Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy.

PubMed

Bellavance, Emily; Peppercorn, Jeffrey; Kronsberg, Shari; Greenup, Rachel; Keune, Jason; Lynch, Julie; Collyar, Deborah; Magder, Laurence; Tilburt, Jon; Hlubocky, Fay; Yao, Katharine

2016-09-01

Contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) is commonly performed for the treatment of breast cancer, despite its limited oncologic benefit. Little is known about surgeons' perceptions of performing CPM. We hypothesized that a proportion of surgeons would report discomfort with performing CPM, particularly when there is discordance between patients' perceived benefit from CPM and the expected oncologic benefit. A survey was sent to members of the American Society of Breast Surgeons seeking self-reports of surgeons' practice patterns, perceptions, and comfort levels with CPM. Of the 2436 members surveyed, 601 responded (response rate = 24.7 %). The median age of respondents was 52 years, and 59 % of responders were women. The majority (58 %) reported that 80 % of their practice was devoted to the treatment of breast disease. Fifty-seven percent (n = 326) of respondents reported discomfort with performing CPM at some point in their practice. While most surgeons (95 %) were comfortable with CPM on a patient with a deleterious BRCA mutation, only 34 % were comfortable performing CPM on an average-risk patient. The most common reasons reported for surgeon discomfort with CPM were a concern for overtreatment, an unfavorable risk/benefit ratio, and inadequate patient understanding of the anticipated risks and benefits of CPM. Despite the increasing use of CPM for the treatment of breast cancer, many surgeons report discomfort with CPM. Concerns with performing CPM predominantly focus on ambiguities surrounding the oncologic benefit and relative risk of this procedure. Further research is needed to define optimal shared decision-making practices in this area.

Membership Eligibility and Performance Measures for PESP

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

PESP members represent diverse segments of the pesticide-user community. They often share common pesticide challenges. PESP membership is divided into four groups of members who share pesticide interests, e.g., community IPM and sustainable agriculture.

Making a personal connection in the medical interview.

PubMed

Sessions, Donald G

2009-01-01

The medical interview is an access point for contacting patients at the core of their being. Patients with concernfull medical problems initially and unreflectively grasp these conflicted situations directly in terms of their meaning for the self. The situation and the self can become fused transparently. Physicians can facilitate patients awareness of their core self which is separate from their medical issue, by creating an opportunity for patients to experience the core of being that they mutually share. In the medical interview the possibility of making a personal connection with the patient is already present in the context of the presupposed shared history of a caring relationship between patients and physicians. The physician's gift of presence, of riveted attention and silence as the patient describes her concerns, can create an opening for awareness of their mutual involvement in a common web of concerns at a profound level. Being attuned initially can be reinforced by attending to perceptual domains. The hearing that listens and the seeing that can result in vision can allow for inspiration. Touching with gentleness is a primal mode of knowing and understanding. Words themselves can have great salutary power. Who has not wondered at the "tingle" that occurs during the reading of a powerful poem? What if you do make a personal connection with patients? What if you don't? Even though there is little scientific evidence or statistics to ground the assertion that there is value in a profound relationship I maintain that it is a way to follow the path you have chosen. It is the distinction between a job and a calling. It also lightens the burden we carry in our continual conflict with the increasing pressure of technology, third parties, and the other which is 'other.' Making a personal connection with patients is not about the "trickle down" of humanity from physicians to patients. Personal connection is inspiring to physicians and patients and enlightening and empowering. Imagine yourself connecting daily with patients at a meaningful level to get their health concerns handled and then another and then another. Doing otherwise creates tiredness and burnout. Connection even for a brief moment produces the powerful enchantment of presence for patients and physicians.

Consumer Opinions of Health Information Exchange, e-Prescribing, and Personal Health Records.

PubMed

Cochran, Gary L; Lander, Lina; Morien, Marsha; Lomelin, Daniel E; Brittin, Jeri; Reker, Celeste; Klepser, Donald G

2015-01-01

Consumer satisfaction is a crucial component of health information technology (HIT) utilization, as high satisfaction is expected to increase HIT utilization among providers and to allow consumers to become full participants in their own healthcare management. The primary objective of this pilot study was to identify consumer perspectives on health information technologies including health information exchange (HIE), e-prescribing (e-Rx), and personal health records (PHRs). Eight focus groups were conducted in seven towns and cities across Nebraska in 2013. Each group consisted of 10-12 participants. Discussions were organized topically in the following categories: HIE, e-Rx, and PHR. The qualitative analysis consisted of immersion and crystallization to develop a coding scheme that included both preconceived and emergent themes. Common themes across focus groups were identified and compiled for each discussion category. The study had 67 participants, of which 18 (27 percent) were male. Focus group findings revealed both perceived barriers and benefits to the adoption of HIT. Common HIT concerns expressed across focus groups included privacy and security of medical information, decreases in quality of care, inconsistent provider participation, and the potential cost of implementation. Positive expectations regarding HIT included better accuracy and completeness of information, and improved communication and coordination between healthcare providers. Improvements in patient care were expected as a result of easy physician access to consolidated information across providers as well as the speed of sharing and availability of information in an emergency. In addition, participants were optimistic about patient empowerment and convenient access to and control of personal health data. Consumer concerns focused on privacy and security of the health information, as well as the cost of implementing the technologies and the possibility of an unintended negative impact on the quality of care. While negative perceptions present barriers for potential patient acceptance, benefits such as speed and convenience, patient oversight of health data, and safety improvements may counterbalance these concerns.

Consumer Opinions of Health Information Exchange, e-Prescribing, and Personal Health Records

PubMed Central

Cochran, Gary L.; Lander, Lina; Morien, Marsha; Lomelin, Daniel E.; Brittin, Jeri; Reker, Celeste; Klepser, Donald G.

2015-01-01

Background Consumer satisfaction is a crucial component of health information technology (HIT) utilization, as high satisfaction is expected to increase HIT utilization among providers and to allow consumers to become full participants in their own healthcare management. Objective The primary objective of this pilot study was to identify consumer perspectives on health information technologies including health information exchange (HIE), e-prescribing (e-Rx), and personal health records (PHRs). Methods Eight focus groups were conducted in seven towns and cities across Nebraska in 2013. Each group consisted of 10–12 participants. Discussions were organized topically in the following categories: HIE, e-Rx, and PHR. The qualitative analysis consisted of immersion and crystallization to develop a coding scheme that included both preconceived and emergent themes. Common themes across focus groups were identified and compiled for each discussion category. Results The study had 67 participants, of which 18 (27 percent) were male. Focus group findings revealed both perceived barriers and benefits to the adoption of HIT. Common HIT concerns expressed across focus groups included privacy and security of medical information, decreases in quality of care, inconsistent provider participation, and the potential cost of implementation. Positive expectations regarding HIT included better accuracy and completeness of information, and improved communication and coordination between healthcare providers. Improvements in patient care were expected as a result of easy physician access to consolidated information across providers as well as the speed of sharing and availability of information in an emergency. In addition, participants were optimistic about patient empowerment and convenient access to and control of personal health data. Conclusion Consumer concerns focused on privacy and security of the health information, as well as the cost of implementing the technologies and the possibility of an unintended negative impact on the quality of care. While negative perceptions present barriers for potential patient acceptance, benefits such as speed and convenience, patient oversight of health data, and safety improvements may counterbalance these concerns. PMID:26604874

Therapeutic approaches against common structural features of toxic oligomers shared by multiple amyloidogenic proteins.

PubMed

Guerrero-Muñoz, Marcos J; Castillo-Carranza, Diana L; Kayed, Rakez

2014-04-15

Impaired proteostasis is one of the main features of all amyloid diseases, which are associated with the formation of insoluble aggregates from amyloidogenic proteins. The aggregation process can be caused by overproduction or poor clearance of these proteins. However, numerous reports suggest that amyloid oligomers are the most toxic species, rather than insoluble fibrillar material, in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Prion diseases, among others. Although the exact protein that aggregates varies between amyloid disorders, they all share common structural features that can be used as therapeutic targets. In this review, we focus on therapeutic approaches against shared features of toxic oligomeric structures and future directions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Environmental effects of solar-thermal power systems. Systematic status of the Mojave ground squirrel, Spermophilus mohavensis (subgenus Xerospermophilus)

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

Hafner, D.J.; Yates, T.L.

1982-06-01

The Mojave ground squirrel, Spermophilus mohavensis, is listed as a rare species by The California Fish and Game Commission. Its well-being has emerged as an environmental concern associated with deployment of solar thermal power systems in western parts of the Motave Desert. The more common round-tailed ground squirrel, Spermophilus tereticaudus, also occurs in the Mojave Desert, and this species closely resembles S. mohavensis. The systematic status of the sibling species was investigated using allozymic and chromosomal data. Karyotypically, the two species differ in diploid number while they share a level of genic similarity reported for other mammalian semispecies. Hybridization wasmore » detected only at a single disturbed site, while allelic introgression was confined to an estimated 60 km reach. The two taxa are retained as full biological species.« less

Mind body therapies in rehabilitation of patients with rheumatic diseases.

PubMed

Del Rosso, Angela; Maddali-Bongi, Susanna

2016-02-01

Mind body therapies (MBT) share a global approach involving both mental and physical dimensions, and focus on relationship between brain, mind, body and behavior and their effects on health and disease. MBT include concentration based therapies and movement based therapies, comprising traditional Oriental practices and somatic techniques. The greatest part of rheumatic diseases have a chronic course, leading to progressive damages at musculoskeletal system and causing physical problems, psychological and social concerns. Thus, rheumatic patients need to be treated with a multidisciplinary approach integrating pharmacological therapies and rehabilitation techniques, that not should only aim to reduce the progression of damages at musculoskeletal system. Thus, MBT, using an overall approach, could be useful in taking care of the overall health of the patients with chronic rheumatic diseases. This review will deal with different MBT and with their effects in the most common chronic rheumatic diseases (Rheumatoid Arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Fibromyalgia Syndrome). Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Changing environments or shifting paradigms? Strategic decision making toward water protection in Helsinki, 1850-2000.

PubMed

Laakkonen, Simo; Laurila, Sari

2007-04-01

The study examines the history of strategic decision-making concerning water protection in Helsinki, 1850-2000. We identified five major strategic decisions that occurred during the study period. The results indicate that strategic decision-making evolves in long-term policy cycles that last on average 20-30 years. New policy cycles are caused by paradigm shifts. Paradigms are shared and predominant ways of understanding reality that help when groups must act to solve common and complex environmental problems. However the internal structure and external dynamics of paradigms are contradictory. Although paradigms serve initially as means to redefine problems and find creative solutions, as time goes by each paradigm seems to become also a barrier that restricts the introduction of new ways of thinking and acting. The power of paradigms lies in the fact that they can be defined as scientific but also social, political, or cultural agreements depending on the context.

Discursive psychology and feminism.

PubMed

Weatherall, Ann

2012-09-01

This appraisal highlights the productive engagement between feminism and discursive psychology (DP). It discusses some of the confluence and tensions between DP and feminism. The two share critical perspectives on science and psychology, a concern with prejudice, and have ideas in common about the constructed nature of social categories, such as gender. One difficulty arises from the relativism associated with the post-structural theoretical underpinnings of DP, which can be understood as politically paralyzing. Another problem comes from an endorsement of a conversation analytic mentality, where identity categories such as gender can only be legitimately used in an analysis when participants' orient to their relevance. The high-profile debates and literature in DP shows it has made a notable contribution to social psychology and its influence can also be found in other areas. A particular influence of DP highlighted in the present appraisal is on gender and language research. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

Microgravity

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-01-22

One concern about human adaptation to space is how returning from the microgravity of orbit to Earth can affect an astronaut's ability to fly safely. There are monitors and infrared video cameras to measure eye movements without having to affect the crew member. A computer screen provides moving images which the eye tracks while the brain determines what it is seeing. A video camera records movement of the subject's eyes. Researchers can then correlate perception and response. Test subjects perceive different images when a moving object is covered by a mask that is visible or invisible (above). Early results challenge the accepted theory that smooth pursuit -- the fluid eye movement that humans and primates have -- does not involve the higher brain. NASA results show that: Eye movement can predict human perceptual performance, smooth pursuit and saccadic (quick or ballistic) movement share some signal pathways, and common factors can make both smooth pursuit and visual perception produce errors in motor responses.

How should a speech recognizer work?

PubMed

Scharenborg, Odette; Norris, Dennis; Bosch, Louis; McQueen, James M

2005-11-12

Although researchers studying human speech recognition (HSR) and automatic speech recognition (ASR) share a common interest in how information processing systems (human or machine) recognize spoken language, there is little communication between the two disciplines. We suggest that this lack of communication follows largely from the fact that research in these related fields has focused on the mechanics of how speech can be recognized. In Marr's (1982) terms, emphasis has been on the algorithmic and implementational levels rather than on the computational level. In this article, we provide a computational-level analysis of the task of speech recognition, which reveals the close parallels between research concerned with HSR and ASR. We illustrate this relation by presenting a new computational model of human spoken-word recognition, built using techniques from the field of ASR that, in contrast to current existing models of HSR, recognizes words from real speech input. 2005 Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Reflections: The Value of Patient Support Groups.

PubMed

Hu, Amanda

2017-04-01

A patient support group is defined as "a group of people with common experiences and concerns who provide emotional and moral support for one another." Support groups fulfill many functions: educating patients/family, sharing the illness experience, providing strength to its members, raising public awareness, and fundraising. Some research has shown an improvement in quality of life of patients with head and neck cancer who have participated in support groups. A wide variety of support groups are available for otolaryngology patients, ranging from head and neck oncology to tinnitus and spasmodic dysphonia. Some support groups are face-to-face, while others use social media and the Internet. Surprisingly, engagement in patient support groups is low-about 10%. Some barriers to accessing support groups are awareness, time constraints, and confrontation of negative aspects of the disease. As otolaryngologists, we can help our patients access support groups so that they can benefit from these resources.

Performance Enhancements Under Dual-task Conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kramer, A. F.; Wickens, C. D.; Donchin, E.

1984-01-01

Research on dual-task performance has been concerned with delineating the antecedent conditions which lead to dual-task decrements. Capacity models of attention, which propose that a hypothetical resource structure underlies performance, have been employed as predictive devices. These models predict that tasks which require different processing resources can be more successfully time shared than tasks which require common resources. The conditions under which such dual-task integrality can be fostered were assessed in a study in which three factors likely to influence the integrality between tasks were manipulated: inter-task redundancy, the physical proximity of tasks and the task relevant objects. Twelve subjects participated in three experimental sessions in which they performed both single and dual-tasks. The primary task was a pursuit step tracking task. The secondary tasks required the discrimination between different intensities or different spatial positions of a stimulus. The results are discussed in terms of a model of dual-task integrality.

Phytomonas serpens: immunological similarities with the human trypanosomatid pathogens.

PubMed

Santos, André L S; d'Avila-Levy, Claudia M; Elias, Camila G R; Vermelho, Alane B; Branquinha, Marta H

2007-07-01

The present review provides an overview of recent discoveries concerning the immunological similarities between Phytomonas serpens, a tomato parasite, and human trypanosomatid pathogens, with special emphasis on peptidases. Leishmania spp. and Trypanosoma cruzi express peptidases that are well-known virulence factors, named leishmanolysin and cruzipain. P. serpens synthesizes two distinct classes of proteolytic enzymes, metallo- and cysteine-type peptidases, that share common epitopes with leishmanolysin and cruzipain, respectively. The leishmanolysin-like and cruzipain-like molecules from P. serpens participate in several biological processes including cellular growth and adhesion to the salivary glands of Oncopeltus fasciatus, a phytophagous insect experimental model. Since previous reports demonstrated that immunization of mice with P. serpens induced a partial protective immune response against T. cruzi, this plant trypanosomatid may be a suitable candidate for vaccine studies. Moreover, comparative approaches in the Trypanosomatidae family may be useful to understand kinetoplastid biology, biochemistry and evolution.

[Atopy and interleukin-4 receptor].

PubMed

Izuhara, K

1999-06-01

Both IL-4 and IL-13 induce IgE synthesis in B cells by binding to their functional receptors on target cells. These receptors are considered to be composed of heterodimers and both share the IL-4R alpha chain (IL-4R alpha) as a component. Atopy is an inherited tendency, underlying asthma, rhinitis and eczema, and generating high nonspecific IgE and/or high specific IgE against common antigens. Based on findings concerning the molecular mechanism of the signal transduction of IL-4 and IL-13, IL-4R alpha was considered a gene that gave rise to atopy. One polymorphism in the IL-4R alpha gene, Ile50Val, has been correlated with atopy by both genetic and functional assessment. The strategy used in these studies should lead to identification of other genes involved in atopy. Furthermore, these studies should be useful for gene diagnosis of atopy and development of new therapies for atopy in the future.

Universal Principles of Depicting Oneself across the Centuries: From Renaissance Self-Portraits to Selfie-Photographs.

PubMed

Carbon, Claus-Christian

2017-01-01

Selfie-photography is generally thought of as a cultural mass phenomenon of the early 21st century, inseparably related to the development and triumph of the smartphone with integrated camera. Western culture, however, has been highly familiar with self-depictions since the Renaissance days. Putting the contemporary selfie into this historic context covering more than five centuries of cultural development from Dürer's (1500) famous "Self-Portrait at 28" (also known as "Selbstbildnis im Pelzrock") to today's Instagram galleries allows for identifying central parallels concerning the technical and social antecedents as well as common underlying psychological factors and shared properties of different kinds of self-depiction. The article provides an overview of the types of contemporary photographic selfies and compares them with painted self-portraits. Finally, this historic perspective leads us to the insight that self-portraits as well as selfies are both referring to nothing less than the "conditio humana."

The complementary niches of anthropocentric and biocentric conservationists.

PubMed

Hunter, Malcolm L; Redford, Kent H; Lindenmayer, David B

2014-06-01

A divergence of values has become apparent in recent debates between conservationists who focus on ecosystem services that can improve human well-being and those who focus on avoiding the extinction of species. These divergent points of view fall along a continuum from anthropocentric to biocentric values, but most conservationists are relatively closer to each other than to the ends of the spectrum. We have some concerns with both positions but emphasize that conservation for both people and all other species will be most effective if conservationists focus on articulating the values they all share, being respectful of divergent values, and collaborating on common interests. The conservation arena is large enough to accommodate many people and organizations whose diverse values lead them to different niches that can, with good will and foresight, be far more complementary than competitive. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

Achieving Healthy School Siting and Planning Policies: Understanding Shared Concerns of Environmental Planners, Public Health Professionals, and Educators

PubMed Central

Cohen, Alison

2013-01-01

Policy decisions regarding the quality of the physical school environment—both, school siting and school facility planning policies—are often considered through the lens of environmental planning, public health, or education policy, but rarely through all three. Environmental planners consider environmental justice issues on a local level and/or consider the regional impact of a school. Public health professionals focus on toxic exposures and populations particularly vulnerable to negative health outcomes. Educators and education policymakers emphasize investing in human capital of both students and staff. By understanding these respective angles and combining these efforts around the common goals of achieving adequacy and excellence, we can work towards a regulatory system for school facilities that recognizes children as a uniquely vulnerable population and seeks to create healthier school environments in which children can learn and adults can work. PMID:20359991

Defense system shortcuts and limits of scope.

PubMed

Rewald, E; Francischetti, M M

2000-10-01

Defense, as a key factor of life, shares the biological tendencies of simplicity and energy saving. We propose that, like the mind, defense tends to rely on shortcuts via immune memes. Also, response repetition may induce the formation of virtual 'modules' [toolkits] to simplify and perfect performance. Engaged modules may expand by proliferating or by capturing immune components from the 'dormant' and even perhaps from active ones. With regard to recovery and/or survival, complexity of the integrated defense system (IDS) (1) requires to be inside of what we call the 'functional window'. In contrast to the physiological and common disease repair, energy is squandered when IDS perceives real danger. Our concern is the uncertain transition to conditions that do not fit into the IDS routine and, even worse, that are outside the functional window where the system is lacking. Copyright 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.

Broad Consent For Research With Biological Samples: Workshop Conclusions

PubMed Central

Grady, Christine; Eckstein, Lisa; Berkman, Ben; Brock, Dan; Cook-Deegan, Robert; Fullerton, Stephanie M.; Greely, Hank; Hansson, Mats G.; Hull, Sara; Kim, Scott; Lo, Bernie; Pentz, Rebecca; Rodriguez, Laura; Weil, Carol; Wilfond, Benjamin S.; Wendler, David

2016-01-01

Different types of consent are used to obtain human biospecimens for future research. This variation has resulted in confusion regarding what research is permitted, inadvertent constraints on future research, and research proceeding without consent. The NIH Clinical Center’s Department of Bioethics held a workshop to consider the ethical acceptability of addressing these concerns by using broad consent for future research on stored biospecimens. Multiple bioethics scholars, who have written on these issues, discussed the reasons for consent, the range of consent strategies, gaps in our understanding, and concluded with a proposal for broad initial consent coupled with oversight and, when feasible, ongoing provision of information to donors. The manuscript describes areas of agreement as well as areas that need more research and dialogue. Given recent proposed changes to the Common Rule, and new guidance regarding storing and sharing data and samples, this is an important and timely topic. PMID:26305750

Sexting behaviors among young Hispanic women: incidence and association with other high-risk sexual behaviors.

PubMed

Ferguson, Christopher J

2011-09-01

Several legal cases in the United States in which adolescents were charged with child pornography distribution after sharing nude photographs of themselves with romantic partners or others have highlighted the issue of sexting behaviors among youth. Although policy makers, mental health workers, educators and parents have all expressed concern regarding the potential harm of sexting behaviors, little to no research has examined this phenomenon empirically. The current study presents some preliminary data on the incidence of sexting behavior and associated high risk sexual behaviors in a sample of 207 predominantly Hispanic young women age 16-25. Approximately 20% of young women reported engaging in sexting behavior. Sexting behaviors were not associated with most other high-risk sexual behaviors, but were slightly more common in women who found sex to be highly pleasurable or who displayed histrionic personality traits.

Multigene analysis of lophophorate and chaetognath phylogenetic relationships.

PubMed

Helmkampf, Martin; Bruchhaus, Iris; Hausdorf, Bernhard

2008-01-01

Maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses of seven concatenated fragments of nuclear-encoded housekeeping genes indicate that Lophotrochozoa is monophyletic, i.e., the lophophorate groups Bryozoa, Brachiopoda and Phoronida are more closely related to molluscs and annelids than to Deuterostomia or Ecdysozoa. Lophophorates themselves, however, form a polyphyletic assemblage. The hypotheses that they are monophyletic and more closely allied to Deuterostomia than to Protostomia can be ruled out with both the approximately unbiased test and the expected likelihood weights test. The existence of Phoronozoa, a putative clade including Brachiopoda and Phoronida, has also been rejected. According to our analyses, phoronids instead share a more recent common ancestor with bryozoans than with brachiopods. Platyhelminthes is the sister group of Lophotrochozoa. Together these two constitute Spiralia. Although Chaetognatha appears as the sister group of Priapulida within Ecdysozoa in our analyses, alternative hypothesis concerning chaetognath relationships could not be rejected.

Understanding Visible Perception

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

One concern about human adaptation to space is how returning from the microgravity of orbit to Earth can affect an astronaut's ability to fly safely. There are monitors and infrared video cameras to measure eye movements without having to affect the crew member. A computer screen provides moving images which the eye tracks while the brain determines what it is seeing. A video camera records movement of the subject's eyes. Researchers can then correlate perception and response. Test subjects perceive different images when a moving object is covered by a mask that is visible or invisible (above). Early results challenge the accepted theory that smooth pursuit -- the fluid eye movement that humans and primates have -- does not involve the higher brain. NASA results show that: Eye movement can predict human perceptual performance, smooth pursuit and saccadic (quick or ballistic) movement share some signal pathways, and common factors can make both smooth pursuit and visual perception produce errors in motor responses.

Photographic Holography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benton, Stephen A.

1983-10-01

During this Symposium, we will be discussing technology in the service of a central human need: the need for an interesting life. This need embraces entertainment, as well as education, enlightenment, and adaptation to the sweeping changes in which our technology is itself imbedded. And while our theme centers on optics, that is only one of the many media technologies that are overlapping more widely in order to meet changing social needs. This Symposium has sprung from a sense of shared curiosities and concerns with those technologies, and grown to a gradual recognition of a substantial underlying domain of common professional interests. We are grateful that the SPIE has been able to respond to Chris Outwater's proposal, and to offer a forum for this experiment in drawing together an unorthodox range of interests within a technical context. We hope that the program will help illuminate a fascinating intersection of technical competences and human needs.

Targeted marketing and public health.

PubMed

Grier, Sonya A; Kumanyika, Shiriki

2010-01-01

Targeted marketing techniques, which identify consumers who share common needs or characteristics and position products or services to appeal to and reach these consumers, are now the core of all marketing and facilitate its effectiveness. However, targeted marketing, particularly of products with proven or potential adverse effects (e.g., tobacco, alcohol, entertainment violence, or unhealthful foods) to consumer segments defined as vulnerable raises complex concerns for public health. It is critical that practitioners, academics, and policy makers in marketing, public health, and other fields recognize and understand targeted marketing as a specific contextual influence on the health of children and adolescents and, for different reasons, ethnic minority populations and other populations who may benefit from public health protections. For beneficial products, such understanding can foster more socially productive targeting. For potentially harmful products, understanding the nature and scope of targeted marketing influences will support identification and implementation of corrective policies.

Ontology matters: a commentary on contribution to cultural historical activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Jenny

2017-10-01

This commentary promotes discussion on the imaginary provided by Sanaz Farhangi in her article entitled, Contribution to activity: a lens for understanding students' potential and agency in physics education. The commentary is concerned with aligning ontological assumptions in research accounts of learning and development with transformative aims. A broad definition of ontology as the theory of existence is preferred. Sociocultural approaches share relational ontology as a common foundation. I agree with scholars elaborating Vygotsky's Transformative Activist Stance that a relational ontology does not imply activism. However, I argue that relational ontology provides a necessary and sufficient theoretical grounding for intentional transformation. I draw upon positioning theory to elaborate the moral aspects of language use and to illustrate that a theory of being as relational already eliminates the transcendental position. I draw on Farhangi's article to further the discussion on the necessity and sufficiency of relational ontology and associated grammars in accounting for activism.

Unmasking quality: exploring meanings of health by doing art.

PubMed

Kelly, Moira; Rivas, Carol; Foell, Jens; Llewellyn-Dunn, Janet; England, Diana; Cocciadiferro, Anna; Hull, Sally

2015-02-27

Quality in healthcare has many potential meanings and interpretations. The case has been made for conceptualisations of quality that place more emphasis on describing quality and less on measuring it through structured, vertically oriented metrics. Through discussion of an interdisciplinary community arts project we explore and challenge the dominant reductionist meanings of quality in healthcare. The model for structured participatory arts workshops such as ours is 'art as conversation'. In creating textile art works, women involved in the sewing workshops engaged at a personal level, developing confidence through sharing ideas, experiences and humour. Group discussions built on the self-assurance gained from doing craft work together and talking in a relaxed way with a common purpose, exploring the health themes which were the focus of the art. For example, working on a textile about vitamin D created a framework which stimulated the emergence of a common discourse about different cultural practices around 'going out in the sun'. These conversations have value as 'bridging work', between the culture of medicine, with its current emphasis on lifestyle change to prevent illness, and patients' life worlds. Such bridges allow for innovation and flexibility to reflect local public health needs and community concerns. They also enable us to view care from a horizontally oriented perspective, so that the interface in which social worlds and the biomedical model meet and interpenetrate is made visible. Through this interdisciplinary art project involving academics, health professionals and the local community we have become more sensitised to conceptualising one aspect of health care quality as ensuring a 'space for the story' in health care encounters. This space gives precedence to the patient narratives, but acknowledges the importance of enabling clinicians to have time to share stories about care.

The leadership team: complementary strengths or conflicting agendas?

PubMed

Miles, Stephen A; Watkins, Michael D

2007-04-01

Senior leadership teams whose members play complementary roles have been chronicled as far back as Homer's account of the Trojan War: Although King Agamemnon commanded the Greek army, Achilles, Odysseus, and Nestor each played a distinct role in defeating Troy. Today, complementary-leadership structures are common and, in some cases, even institutionalized. Think of a CEO concerned mainly with external issues and a COO who focuses internally. The authors describe four kinds of complementarity: task, expertise, cognitive, and role. The two top executives at the software company Adobe Systems, for example, represent the second kind. As CEO, Bruce Chizen draws on his sales and marketing knowledge, while COO Shantanu Narayen adds his engineering and product development expertise. Roberto Goizueta, formerly the CEO of Coca-Cola, and Douglas Ivester, his COO (who later became CEO), were famous examples of the fourth type: Goizueta, the diplomat, maintained good relations with external stakeholders; Ivester, the warrior, drove the company to defeat the competition. Bringing together two or more people with complementary strengths can compensate for the natural limitations of each. But with the benefits comes the risk of confusion, disagreement about priorities, and turf battles. Leadership succession also presents substantial challenges, especially when a COO or president who has worked in a complementary fashion with the CEO moves into the top role. An organization's board of directors and CEO can manage the risks by fostering a shared vision, common incentives, communication, and trust. They can also ensure smooth succession processes in various ways, such as brokering a gradual transfer of responsibilities or allowing the CEO and the COO to share duties as long as they maintain the logic of complementarity.

Canonical Commonality Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leister, K. Dawn

Commonality analysis is a method of partitioning variance that has advantages over more traditional "OVA" methods. Commonality analysis indicates the amount of explanatory power that is "unique" to a given predictor variable and the amount of explanatory power that is "common" to or shared with at least one predictor…

42 CFR 447.45 - Timely claims payment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... common physical location; (2) The practitioners share common waiting areas, examining rooms, treatment... common physical location other than the direct furnishing of professional health care services by the... the use of the common physical location or related support services, on a basis related to amounts...

An Underlying Common Factor, Influenced by Genetics and Unique Environment, Explains the Covariation Between Major Depressive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Burnout: A Swedish Twin Study.

PubMed

Mather, Lisa; Blom, Victoria; Bergström, Gunnar; Svedberg, Pia

2016-12-01

Depression and anxiety are highly comorbid due to shared genetic risk factors, but less is known about whether burnout shares these risk factors. We aimed to examine whether the covariation between major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and burnout is explained by common genetic and/or environmental factors. This cross-sectional study included 25,378 Swedish twins responding to a survey in 2005-2006. Structural equation models were used to analyze whether the trait variances and covariances were due to additive genetics, non-additive genetics, shared environment, and unique environment. Univariate analyses tested sex limitation models and multivariate analysis tested Cholesky, independent pathway, and common pathway models. The phenotypic correlations were 0.71 (0.69-0.74) between MDD and GAD, 0.58 (0.56-0.60) between MDD and burnout, and 0.53 (0.50-0.56) between GAD and burnout. Heritabilities were 45% for MDD, 49% for GAD, and 38% for burnout; no statistically significant sex differences were found. A common pathway model was chosen as the final model. The common factor was influenced by genetics (58%) and unique environment (42%), and explained 77% of the variation in MDD, 69% in GAD, and 44% in burnout. GAD and burnout had additive genetic factors unique to the phenotypes (11% each), while MDD did not. Unique environment explained 23% of the variability in MDD, 20% in GAD, and 45% in burnout. In conclusion, the covariation was explained by an underlying common factor, largely influenced by genetics. Burnout was to a large degree influenced by unique environmental factors not shared with MDD and GAD.

Deciding together? Best interests and shared decision-making in paediatric intensive care.

PubMed

Birchley, Giles

2014-09-01

In the western healthcare, shared decision making has become the orthodox approach to making healthcare choices as a way of promoting patient autonomy. Despite the fact that the autonomy paradigm is poorly suited to paediatric decision making, such an approach is enshrined in English common law. When reaching moral decisions, for instance when it is unclear whether treatment or non-treatment will serve a child's best interests, shared decision making is particularly questionable because agreement does not ensure moral validity. With reference to current common law and focusing on intensive care practice, this paper investigates what claims shared decision making may have to legitimacy in a paediatric intensive care setting. Drawing on key texts, I suggest these identify advantages to parents and clinicians but not to the child who is the subject of the decision. Without evidence that shared decision making increases the quality of the decision that is being made, it appears that a focus on the shared nature of a decision does not cohere with the principle that the best interests of the child should remain paramount. In the face of significant pressures toward the displacement of the child's interests in a shared decision, advantages of a shared decision to decisional quality require elucidation. Although a number of arguments of this nature may have potential, should no such advantages be demonstrable we have cause to revise our commitment to either shared decision making or the paramountcy of the child in these circumstances.

Promises and pitfalls of data sharing in qualitative research

PubMed Central

Tsai, Alexander C.; Kohrt, Brandon A.; Matthews, Lynn T.; Betancourt, Theresa S.; Lee, Jooyoung K.; Papachristos, Andrew V.; Weiser, Sheri D.; Dworkin, Shari L.

2017-01-01

The movement for research transparency has gained irresistible momentum over the past decade. Although qualitative research is rarely published in the high-impact journals that have adopted, or are most likely to adopt, data sharing policies, qualitative researchers who publish work in these and similar venues will likely encounter questions about data sharing within the next few years. The fundamental ways in which qualitative and quantitative data differ should be considered when assessing the extent to which qualitative and mixed methods researchers should be expected to adhere to data sharing policies developed with quantitative studies in mind. We outline several of the most critical concerns below, while also suggesting possible modifications that may help to reduce the probability of unintended adverse consequences and to ensure that the sharing of qualitative data is consistent with ethical standards in research. PMID:27535900

48 CFR 3052.209-76 - Prohibition on Federal Protective Service guard services contracts with business concerns owned...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

..., child, or other family member, or person with whom the individual shares his or her household, will be... following types of roles or interests with respect to the business concern: (i) Director or officer... policies. (3) Generally, the existence of one or more of the roles or interests set forth in paragraph (c...

48 CFR 3052.209-76 - Prohibition on Federal Protective Service guard services contracts with business concerns owned...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

..., child, or other family member, or person with whom the individual shares his or her household, will be... following types of roles or interests with respect to the business concern: (i) Director or officer... policies. (3) Generally, the existence of one or more of the roles or interests set forth in paragraph (c...

48 CFR 3052.209-76 - Prohibition on Federal Protective Service guard services contracts with business concerns owned...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... other family member, or person with whom the individual shares his or her household, will be imputed to... following types of roles or interests with respect to the business concern: (i) Director or officer... policies. (3) Generally, the existence of one or more of the roles or interests set forth in paragraph (c...

45 CFR 286.95 - What, if any, are the special rules concerning counting work for two-parent families?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... counting work for two-parent families? 286.95 Section 286.95 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public....95 What, if any, are the special rules concerning counting work for two-parent families? Parents in a two-parent family may share the number of hours required to be considered as engaged in work. ...

The Materials Commons: A Collaboration Platform and Information Repository for the Global Materials Community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puchala, Brian; Tarcea, Glenn; Marquis, Emmanuelle. A.; Hedstrom, Margaret; Jagadish, H. V.; Allison, John E.

2016-08-01

Accelerating the pace of materials discovery and development requires new approaches and means of collaborating and sharing information. To address this need, we are developing the Materials Commons, a collaboration platform and information repository for use by the structural materials community. The Materials Commons has been designed to be a continuous, seamless part of the scientific workflow process. Researchers upload the results of experiments and computations as they are performed, automatically where possible, along with the provenance information describing the experimental and computational processes. The Materials Commons website provides an easy-to-use interface for uploading and downloading data and data provenance, as well as for searching and sharing data. This paper provides an overview of the Materials Commons. Concepts are also outlined for integrating the Materials Commons with the broader Materials Information Infrastructure that is evolving to support the Materials Genome Initiative.

LASP Time Series Server (LaTiS): Overcoming Data Access Barriers via a Common Data Model in the Middle Tier (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindholm, D. M.; Wilson, A.

2010-12-01

The Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado has developed an Open Source, OPeNDAP compliant, Java Servlet based, RESTful web service to serve time series data. In addition to handling OPeNDAP style requests and returning standard responses, existing modules for alternate output formats can be reused or customized. It is also simple to reuse or customize modules to directly read various native data sources and even to perform some processing on the server. The server is built around a common data model based on the Unidata Common Data Model (CDM) which merges the NetCDF, HDF, and OPeNDAP data models. The server framework features a modular architecture that supports pluggable Readers, Writers, and Filters via the common interface to the data, enabling a workflow that reads data from their native form, performs some processing on the server, and presents the results to the client in its preferred form. The service is currently being used operationally to serve time series data for the LASP Interactive Solar Irradiance Data Center (LISIRD, http://lasp.colorado.edu/lisird/) and as part of the Time Series Data Server (TSDS, http://tsds.net/). I will present the data model and how it enables reading, writing, and processing concerns to be separated into loosely coupled components. I will also share thoughts for evolving beyond the time series abstraction and providing a general purpose data service that can be orchestrated into larger workflows.

You Tube: An International Medium for Sharing Videos about Hookah Smoking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seitz, Christopher M.; Milroy, Jeffrey J.; Orsini, Muhsin Michael; Wyrick, David L.; Herring, Jeremy; Koech, Mike

2011-01-01

The hookah pipe is an ancient tool for smoking tobacco and is a growing public health concern at the global level. YouTube is a website that allows its members to post videos for people to watch and to share comments about the videos in an online forum. The purpose of the study was to investigate the types of videos about hookah on YouTube, their…

Deliberation favours social efficiency by making people disregard their relative shares: evidence from USA and India

PubMed Central

Corgnet, Brice; Espín, Antonio M.; Hernán-González, Roberto

2017-01-01

Groups make decisions on both the production and the distribution of resources. These decisions typically involve a tension between increasing the total level of group resources (i.e. social efficiency) and distributing these resources among group members (i.e. individuals' relative shares). This is the case because the redistribution process may destroy part of the resources, thus resulting in socially inefficient allocations. Here we apply a dual-process approach to understand the cognitive underpinnings of this fundamental tension. We conducted a set of experiments to examine the extent to which different allocation decisions respond to intuition or deliberation. In a newly developed approach, we assess intuition and deliberation at both the trait level (using the Cognitive Reflection Test, henceforth CRT) and the state level (through the experimental manipulation of response times). To test for robustness, experiments were conducted in two countries: the USA and India. Despite absolute-level differences across countries, in both locations we show that: (i) time pressure and low CRT scores are associated with individuals' concerns for their relative shares and (ii) time delay and high CRT scores are associated with individuals' concerns for social efficiency. These findings demonstrate that deliberation favours social efficiency by overriding individuals' intuitive tendency to focus on relative shares. PMID:28386421

Perspectives of adolescents on decision making about participation in a biobank study: a pilot study.

PubMed

Grootens-Wiegers, Petronella; Visser, Eline G; van Rossum, Annemarie M C; van Waardhuizen, Claudia N; de Wildt, Saskia N; Sweep, Boudewijn; van den Broek, Jos M; de Vries, Martine C

2017-01-01

To be able to truly involve adolescents in decision making about clinical research participation, we need more insight in the perspective of adolescents themselves. To this end, adolescents in an ongoing biobank study were consulted to test a tentative decision assessment tool. The perspectives of adolescents (n=8) concerning participation in decision making for research participation were explored in interviews with a tentative tool, which covered six topics: information material usage, understanding, disease perceptions, anxiety, decision-making process and role sharing. All adolescents unequivocally expressed the desire to be involved in decision making, but also wanted advice from their parents. The extent of the preferred role of adolescent versus parents varied between individuals. In decision making, adolescents relied on parents for information. More than half hardly used the information material. Adolescents in our study preferred a shared decision-making process. The extent of sharing varied between individuals. The decision assessment tool was a fruitful starting point to discuss adolescents' perspectives and may aid in tailoring the situation to the individual to achieve optimal participation practices. Consulting adolescents about their preferences concerning decision making using the tool will facilitate tailoring of the shared decision-making process and optimising the developing autonomy of minors.

Supporting Common Ground Development in the Operation Room through Information Display Systems

PubMed Central

Feng, Yuanyuan; Mentis, Helena M.

2016-01-01

Effective information sharing is crucial for clinical team coordination. Most information display systems have been designed to replace verbal communication. However, information may not be available for capture before a communication event and information needs often become clear and evident through an evolving discourse. Thus, to build tools to support clinical team in situ information sharing, we need a better understanding of how evolving information needs are identified and satisfied. In this study, we used sequential analysis techniques to explore the ways communication and information sharing events between an attending surgeon and a resident change throughout a laparoscopic surgery. We demonstrate how common ground is developed and maintained, and how information needs change through the efforts of grounding. From our findings, we suggest that the design for information display systems could encourage communication and support the articulation work that is necessary to accomplish the information sharing. PMID:28269936

Supporting Common Ground Development in the Operation Room through Information Display Systems.

PubMed

Feng, Yuanyuan; Mentis, Helena M

2016-01-01

Effective information sharing is crucial for clinical team coordination. Most information display systems have been designed to replace verbal communication. However, information may not be available for capture before a communication event and information needs often become clear and evident through an evolving discourse. Thus, to build tools to support clinical team in situ information sharing, we need a better understanding of how evolving information needs are identified and satisfied. In this study, we used sequential analysis techniques to explore the ways communication and information sharing events between an attending surgeon and a resident change throughout a laparoscopic surgery. We demonstrate how common ground is developed and maintained, and how information needs change through the efforts of grounding. From our findings, we suggest that the design for information display systems could encourage communication and support the articulation work that is necessary to accomplish the information sharing.

Ethical Concerns of and Risk Mitigation Strategies for Crowdsourcing Contests and Innovation Challenges: Scoping Review.

PubMed

Tucker, Joseph D; Pan, Stephen W; Mathews, Allison; Stein, Gabriella; Bayus, Barry; Rennie, Stuart

2018-03-09

Crowdsourcing contests (also called innovation challenges, innovation contests, and inducement prize contests) can be used to solicit multisectoral feedback on health programs and design public health campaigns. They consist of organizing a steering committee, soliciting contributions, engaging the community, judging contributions, recognizing a subset of contributors, and sharing with the community. This scoping review describes crowdsourcing contests by stage, examines ethical problems at each stage, and proposes potential ways of mitigating risk. Our analysis was anchored in the specific example of a crowdsourcing contest that our team organized to solicit videos promoting condom use in China. The purpose of this contest was to create compelling 1-min videos to promote condom use. We used a scoping review to examine the existing ethical literature on crowdsourcing to help identify and frame ethical concerns at each stage. Crowdsourcing has a group of individuals solve a problem and then share the solution with the public. Crowdsourcing contests provide an opportunity for community engagement at each stage: organizing, soliciting, promoting, judging, recognizing, and sharing. Crowdsourcing poses several ethical concerns: organizing-potential for excluding community voices; soliciting-potential for overly narrow participation; promoting-potential for divulging confidential information; judging-potential for biased evaluation; recognizing-potential for insufficient recognition of the finalist; and sharing-potential for the solution to not be implemented or widely disseminated. Crowdsourcing contests can be effective and engaging public health tools but also introduce potential ethical problems. We present methods for the responsible conduct of crowdsourcing contests. ©Joseph D Tucker, Stephen W Pan, Allison Mathews, Gabriella Stein, Barry Bayus, Stuart Rennie. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 09.03.2018.

A tale of two cultures: specialists and generalists sharing the load.

PubMed

Manca, Donna P; Breault, Lorraine; Wishart, Paul

2011-05-01

To understand what contributes to good collaborative physician working relationships through identifying the factors that affect working relationships between generalist physicians and specialists. Qualitative study using in-depth interviews. University and community hospital inpatient family practice settings in Edmonton, Alta. Eleven physicians from various specialties who graduated between 1977 and 2001. A grounded-theory approach, including constant comparison and creation of memorandums, helped to conceptualize the main concern and generated a framework for how the main concern was being resolved. A semistructured interview guide was developed and individual, in-depth interviews were audiotaped. Purposeful and theoretical sampling techniques were used. Three researchers participated in the analysis. The findings suggested that when generalist physicians perceived that work had been imposed on them by specialists without negotiation, they felt overwhelmed by the workload. Differing priorities determined whether physicians were left holding the bag or sharing the load. In a system that valued technology and specialized knowledge and skills, the specialists were better able to control resources, set boundaries, and influence learners. This precipitated a culture of protecting valuable specialty resources, increasing physician isolation, and generalists feeling that they were left holding the bag. In order to reverse this cycle, it was important for physicians to develop good working relationships based on accessibility to needed expertise and tests, with negotiated agreements on how to share resources; mutual empowerment, including negotiation of roles and responsibilities to develop flexible relationships with a clear understanding of roles; and concern for fairness by sharing the load. Medical systems that value technology and focused interests might lead to someone being left holding the bag, contributing to generalists feeling overwhelmed and isolated within the system. A comprehensive system that values relationships might help to resolve issues created through perceived inequities in workload, disempowerment, and lack of understanding of roles.

Photoshopping the selfie: Self photo editing and photo investment are associated with body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls.

PubMed

McLean, Siân A; Paxton, Susan J; Wertheim, Eleanor H; Masters, Jennifer

2015-12-01

Social media engagement by adolescent girls is high. Despite its appeal, there are potential negative consequences for body dissatisfaction and disordered eating from social media use. This study aimed to examine, in a cross-sectional design, the relationship between social media use in general, and social media activities related to taking "selfies" and sharing specifically, with overvaluation of shape and weight, body dissatisfaction, and dietary restraint. Participants were 101 grade seven girls (M(age)  = 13.1, SD = 0.3), who completed self-report questionnaires of social media use and body-related and eating concerns measures. Results showed that girls who regularly shared self-images on social media, relative to those who did not, reported significantly higher overvaluation of shape and weight, body dissatisfaction, dietary restraint, and internalization of the thin ideal. In addition, among girls who shared photos of themselves on social media, higher engagement in manipulation of and investment in these photos, but not higher media exposure, were associated with greater body-related and eating concerns, including after accounting for media use and internalization of the thin ideal. Although cross-sectional, these findings suggest the importance of social media activities for body-related and eating concerns as well as potential avenues for targeted social-media-based intervention. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Public and Biobank Participant Attitudes toward Genetic Research Participation and Data Sharing

PubMed Central

Lemke, A.A.; Wolf, W.A.; Hebert-Beirne, J.; Smith, M.E.

2010-01-01

Research assessing attitudes toward consent processes for high-throughput genomic-wide technologies and widespread sharing of data is limited. In order to develop a better understanding of stakeholder views toward these issues, this cross-sectional study assessed public and biorepository participant attitudes toward research participation and sharing of genetic research data. Forty-nine individuals participated in 6 focus groups; 28 in 3 public focus groups and 21 in 3 NUgene biorepository participant focus groups. In the public focus groups, 75% of participants were women, 75% had some college education or more, 46% were African-American and 29% were Hispanic. In the NUgene focus groups, 67% of participants were women, 95% had some college education or more, and the majority (76%) of participants was Caucasian. Five major themes were identified in the focus group data: (a) a wide spectrum of understanding of genetic research; (b) pros and cons of participation in genetic research; (c) influence of credibility and trust of the research institution; (d) concerns about sharing genetic research data and need for transparency in the Policy for Sharing of Data in National Institutes of Health-Supported or Conducted Genome-Wide Association Studies; (e) a need for more information and education about genetic research. In order to increase public understanding and address potential concerns about genetic research, future efforts should be aimed at involving the public in genetic research policy development and in identifying or developing appropriate educational strategies to meet the public's needs. PMID:20805700

Resolving the Problem of Aligning Communities of Interest, Data Format Differences, Orthogonal Sensor Views, Intermittency, and Security - DoD Homeland Security Command and Control Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-06-01

provisioning, maintaining and guaranteeing service levels for the shared services ? Although these shared, distributed services lie well within the... shared services that interact with a common object definition for transporting alerts. The system is built on top of a rapid SOA application

Innovation and Cultural Change Task Group Report

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-05-01

authoritative information sources…common analytic methods… Chief Administrative Officer and Shared Services Problem • Core functions are not well...in a crippling fashion Solution • Chief administrative officer • Shared services (market principles, not primarily consolidation) QDR • Under...Additional Governance Reforms” DoD is said to be considering: – Migrating toward a shared services model for support functions… Defense Business Board

12 CFR 225.143 - Policy statement on nonvoting equity investments by bank holding companies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... investor, and revert to voting shares when transferred to a third party. (e) Review by the Board. This... acquisition of preferred stock or nonvoting common shares of the acquiree. Because of the evident interest in... more than 5 per cent of the voting shares of a bank without the Board's prior approval. (12 U.S.C. 1842...

"It's Mine!" Does Sharing with Siblings at Age 3 Predict Sharing with Siblings, Friends, and Unfamiliar Peers at Age 6?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Naomi; Ensor, Rosie; Marks, Alex; Jacobs, Lorna; Hughes, Claire

2014-01-01

Research Findings: Studies of children's prosocial behavior typically focus on prosocial acts with a specific partner (e.g., a friend, peer, or sibling), and comparisons of prosociality in different contexts are rare. To address this gap, the current study examined predictive links among children's spontaneous sharing (a common and important form…

Perception of Climate Risk among Rural Farmers in Vietnam: Consistency within Households and with the Empirical Record.

PubMed

Cullen, Alison C; Anderson, C Leigh

2017-03-01

Rural farmers in Vietnamese communes perceive climate risk and potential impacts on livelihood within a complex context that may influence individual and household decisions. In a primary survey of 1,145 residents of the Thach Ha district of Ha Tinh province, we gathered data regarding perception about stability in climate, potential risks to livelihood, demographic characteristics, orientation toward risk, and interest in expanding economic activity. Temporal analysis of meteorological and economic indicator data forms an empirical basis for comparison with human perception. We ask the basic question: Are rural farmers' perceptions of climate consistent with the historical record and reproducible within households? We find that respondents do perceive climate anomalies, with some anchoring on recent extreme events as revealed by climate observational data, and further that spouses disproportionately share perceptions relative to randomly simulated pairings. To put climate-related risk perception in a larger context, we examine patterns across a range of risks to livelihood faced by farmers (livestock disease, pests, markets, health), using dimension reduction techniques. We find that our respondents distinguish among potential causes of low economic productivity, with substantial emphasis on climate-related impacts. They do not express uniform concern across risks, but rather average patterns reveal common modes and distinguish climate concern. Still, among those expressing concern about climate-related risks to livelihood we do not find an association with expressed intention to pursue changes in economic activity as a risk management response. © 2016 Society for Risk Analysis.

Techniques to evaluate the importance of common cause degradation on reliability and safety of nuclear weapons.

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

Darby, John L.

2011-05-01

As the nuclear weapon stockpile ages, there is increased concern about common degradation ultimately leading to common cause failure of multiple weapons that could significantly impact reliability or safety. Current acceptable limits for the reliability and safety of a weapon are based on upper limits on the probability of failure of an individual item, assuming that failures among items are independent. We expanded the current acceptable limits to apply to situations with common cause failure. Then, we developed a simple screening process to quickly assess the importance of observed common degradation for both reliability and safety to determine if furthermore » action is necessary. The screening process conservatively assumes that common degradation is common cause failure. For a population with between 100 and 5000 items we applied the screening process and conclude the following. In general, for a reliability requirement specified in the Military Characteristics (MCs) for a specific weapon system, common degradation is of concern if more than 100(1-x)% of the weapons are susceptible to common degradation, where x is the required reliability expressed as a fraction. Common degradation is of concern for the safety of a weapon subsystem if more than 0.1% of the population is susceptible to common degradation. Common degradation is of concern for the safety of a weapon component or overall weapon system if two or more components/weapons in the population are susceptible to degradation. Finally, we developed a technique for detailed evaluation of common degradation leading to common cause failure for situations that are determined to be of concern using the screening process. The detailed evaluation requires that best estimates of common cause and independent failure probabilities be produced. Using these techniques, observed common degradation can be evaluated for effects on reliability and safety.« less

Origins and implications of the relationship between warming and cumulative carbon emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raupach, M. R.; Davis, S. J.; Peters, G. P.; Andrew, R. M.; Canadell, J.; Le Quere, C.

2014-12-01

A near-linear relationship between warming (T) and cumulative carbon emissions (Q) is a robust finding from numerous studies. This finding opens biophysical questions concerning (1) its theoretical basis, (2) the treatment of non-CO2 forcings, and (3) uncertainty specifications. Beyond these biophysical issues, a profound global policy question is raised: (4) how can a quota on cumulative emissions be shared? Here, an integrated survey of all four issues is attempted. (1) Proportionality between T and Q is an emergent property of a linear carbon-climate system forced by exponentially increasing CO2 emissions. This idealisation broadly explains past but not future near-proportionality between T and Q: in future, the roles of non-CO2 forcings and carbon-climate nonlinearities become important, and trajectory dependence becomes stronger. (2) The warming effects of short-lived non-CO2 forcers depend on instantaneous rather than cumulative fluxes. However, inertia in emissions trajectories reinstates some of the benefits of a cumulative emissions approach, with residual trajectory dependence comparable to that for CO2. (3) Uncertainties arise from several sources: climate projections, carbon-climate feedbacks, and residual trajectory dependencies in CO2 and other emissions. All of these can in principle be combined into a probability distribution P(T|Q) for the warming T from given cumulative CO2 emissions Q. Present knowledge of P(T|Q) allows quantification of the tradeoff between mitigation ambition and climate risk. (4) Cumulative emissions consistent with a given warming target and climate risk are a finite common resource that will inevitably be shared, creating a tragedy-of-the-commons dilemma. Sharing options range from "inertia" (present distribution of emissions is maintained) to "equity" (cumulative emissions are distributed equally per-capita). Both extreme options lead to emissions distributions that are unrealisable in practice, but a blend of the two extremes may be realisable. This perspective provides a means for nations to compare the global consequences of their own proposed emissions quotas if others were to act in a consistent way, a critical step towards achieving consensus.

Cognitive content specificity in anxiety and depressive disorder symptoms: a twin study of cross-sectional associations with anxiety sensitivity dimensions across development.

PubMed

Brown, H M; Waszczuk, M A; Zavos, H M S; Trzaskowski, M; Gregory, A M; Eley, T C

2014-12-01

The classification of anxiety and depressive disorders has long been debated and has important clinical implications. The present study combined a genetically sensitive design and multiple time points to investigate cognitive content specificity in anxiety and depressive disorder symptoms across anxiety sensitivity dimensions, a cognitive distortion implicated in both disorders. Phenotypic and genetic correlations between anxiety sensitivity dimensions, anxiety and depressive disorder symptoms were examined at five waves of data collection within childhood, adolescence and early adulthood in two representative twin studies (n pairs = 300 and 1372). The physical concerns dimension of anxiety sensitivity (fear of bodily symptoms) was significantly associated with anxiety but not depression at all waves. Genetic influences on physical concerns overlapped substantially more with anxiety than depression. Conversely, mental concerns (worry regarding cognitive control) were phenotypically more strongly associated with depression than anxiety. Social concerns (fear of publicly observable symptoms of anxiety) were associated with both anxiety and depression in adolescence. Genetic influences on mental and social concerns were shared to a similar extent with both anxiety and depression. Phenotypic patterns of cognitive specificity and broader genetic associations between anxiety sensitivity dimensions, anxiety and depressive disorder symptoms were similar at all waves. Both disorder-specific and shared cognitive concerns were identified, suggesting it is appropriate to classify anxiety and depression as distinct but related disorders and confirming the clinical perspective that cognitive therapy is most likely to benefit by targeting cognitive concerns relating specifically to the individual's presenting symptoms across development.

A comparative analysis of moral principles and behavioral norms in eight ethical codes relevant to health sciences librarianship, medical informatics, and the health professions.

PubMed

Byrd, Gary D; Winkelstein, Peter

2014-10-01

Based on the authors' shared interest in the interprofessional challenges surrounding health information management, this study explores the degree to which librarians, informatics professionals, and core health professionals in medicine, nursing, and public health share common ethical behavior norms grounded in moral principles. Using the "Principlism" framework from a widely cited textbook of biomedical ethics, the authors analyze the statements in the ethical codes for associations of librarians (Medical Library Association [MLA], American Library Association, and Special Libraries Association), informatics professionals (American Medical Informatics Association [AMIA] and American Health Information Management Association), and core health professionals (American Medical Association, American Nurses Association, and American Public Health Association). This analysis focuses on whether and how the statements in these eight codes specify core moral norms (Autonomy, Beneficence, Non-Maleficence, and Justice), core behavioral norms (Veracity, Privacy, Confidentiality, and Fidelity), and other norms that are empirically derived from the code statements. These eight ethical codes share a large number of common behavioral norms based most frequently on the principle of Beneficence, then on Autonomy and Justice, but rarely on Non-Maleficence. The MLA and AMIA codes share the largest number of common behavioral norms, and these two associations also share many norms with the other six associations. The shared core of behavioral norms among these professions, all grounded in core moral principles, point to many opportunities for building effective interprofessional communication and collaboration regarding the development, management, and use of health information resources and technologies.

Shared molecular networks in orofacial and neural tube development.

PubMed

Kousa, Youssef A; Mansour, Tamer A; Seada, Haitham; Matoo, Samaneh; Schutte, Brian C

2017-01-30

Single genetic variants can affect multiple tissues during development. Thus it is possible that disruption of shared gene regulatory networks might underlie syndromic presentations. In this study, we explore this idea through examination of two critical developmental programs that control orofacial and neural tube development and identify shared regulatory factors and networks. Identification of these networks has the potential to yield additional candidate genes for poorly understood developmental disorders and assist in modeling and perhaps managing risk factors to prevent morbidly and mortality. We reviewed the literature to identify genes common between orofacial and neural tube defects and development. We then conducted a bioinformatic analysis to identify shared molecular targets and pathways in the development of these tissues. Finally, we examine publicly available RNA-Seq data to identify which of these genes are expressed in both tissues during development. We identify common regulatory factors in orofacial and neural tube development. Pathway enrichment analysis shows that folate, cancer and hedgehog signaling pathways are shared in neural tube and orofacial development. Developing neural tissues differentially express mouse exencephaly and cleft palate genes, whereas developing orofacial tissues were enriched for both clefting and neural tube defect genes. These data suggest that key developmental factors and pathways are shared between orofacial and neural tube defects. We conclude that it might be most beneficial to focus on common regulatory factors and pathways to better understand pathology and develop preventative measures for these birth defects. Birth Defects Research 109:169-179, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A comparative analysis of moral principles and behavioral norms in eight ethical codes relevant to health sciences librarianship, medical informatics, and the health professions

PubMed Central

Byrd, Gary D.; Winkelstein, Peter

2014-01-01

Objective: Based on the authors' shared interest in the interprofessional challenges surrounding health information management, this study explores the degree to which librarians, informatics professionals, and core health professionals in medicine, nursing, and public health share common ethical behavior norms grounded in moral principles. Methods: Using the “Principlism” framework from a widely cited textbook of biomedical ethics, the authors analyze the statements in the ethical codes for associations of librarians (Medical Library Association [MLA], American Library Association, and Special Libraries Association), informatics professionals (American Medical Informatics Association [AMIA] and American Health Information Management Association), and core health professionals (American Medical Association, American Nurses Association, and American Public Health Association). This analysis focuses on whether and how the statements in these eight codes specify core moral norms (Autonomy, Beneficence, Non-Maleficence, and Justice), core behavioral norms (Veracity, Privacy, Confidentiality, and Fidelity), and other norms that are empirically derived from the code statements. Results: These eight ethical codes share a large number of common behavioral norms based most frequently on the principle of Beneficence, then on Autonomy and Justice, but rarely on Non-Maleficence. The MLA and AMIA codes share the largest number of common behavioral norms, and these two associations also share many norms with the other six associations. Implications: The shared core of behavioral norms among these professions, all grounded in core moral principles, point to many opportunities for building effective interprofessional communication and collaboration regarding the development, management, and use of health information resources and technologies. PMID:25349543

The nature of international health security.

PubMed

Chiu, Ya-Wen; Weng, Yi-Hao; Su, Yi-Yuan; Huang, Ching-Yi; Chang, Ya-Chen; Kuo, Ken N

2009-01-01

Health issues occasionally intersect security issues. Health security has been viewed as an essential part of human security. Policymakers and health professionals, however, do not share a common definition of health security. This article aims to characterize the notions of health security in order to clarify what constitutes the nexus of health and security. The concept of health security has evolved over time so that it encompasses many entities. Analyzing the health reports of four multilateral organizations (the United Nations, World Health Organization, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and the European Union) produced eight categories of most significant relevance to contemporary health security, allowing comparison of the definitions. The four categories are: emerging diseases; global infectious disease; deliberate release of chemical and biological materials; violence, conflict, and humanitarian emergencies. Two other categories of common concern are natural disasters and environmental change, as well as chemical and radioactive accidents. The final two categories, food insecurity and poverty, are discussed less frequently. Nevertheless, food security is emerging as an increasingly important issue in public health. Health security is the first line of defence against health emergencies. As globalization brings more complexities, dealing with the increased scale and extent of health security will require greater international effort and political support.

GEOSS: Addressing Big Data Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nativi, S.; Craglia, M.; Ochiai, O.

2014-12-01

In the sector of Earth Observation, the explosion of data is due to many factors including: new satellite constellations, the increased capabilities of sensor technologies, social media, crowdsourcing, and the need for multidisciplinary and collaborative research to face Global Changes. In this area, there are many expectations and concerns about Big Data. Vendors have attempted to use this term for their commercial purposes. It is necessary to understand whether Big Data is a radical shift or an incremental change for the existing digital infrastructures. This presentation tries to explore and discuss the impact of Big Data challenges and new capabilities on the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) and particularly on its common digital infrastructure called GCI. GEOSS is a global and flexible network of content providers allowing decision makers to access an extraordinary range of data and information at their desk. The impact of the Big Data dimensionalities (commonly known as 'V' axes: volume, variety, velocity, veracity, visualization) on GEOSS is discussed. The main solutions and experimentation developed by GEOSS along these axes are introduced and analyzed. GEOSS is a pioneering framework for global and multidisciplinary data sharing in the Earth Observation realm; its experience on Big Data is valuable for the many lessons learned.

Online self-help forums on cannabis: A content assessment.

PubMed

Greiner, Christian; Chatton, Anne; Khazaal, Yasser

2017-10-01

To investigate online self-help forums related to cannabis users who were searching for help on the Internet. We analyzed the content of 717 postings by 328 users in three online forums in terms of fields of interest and self-help mechanisms. Only English-language forums that were free of charge and without registration were investigated. The main self-help mechanisms were disclosure and symptoms, with relatively few posts concerning legal issues and social perceptions. The forums differed significantly in all fields of interest and self-help mechanisms except for social network and financial and vocational issues. Highly involved users more commonly posted on topics related to diagnosis, etiology/research, and provision of information and less commonly on those related to gratitude. Correlation analysis showed a moderate negative correlation between emotional support and illness-related aspects and between emotional support and exchange of information. Cannabis forums share similarities with other mental health forums. Posts differ according to user involvement and the specific orientation of the forum. The Internet offers a viable source of self-help and social support for cannabis users, which has potential clinical implications in terms of referring clients to specific forums. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Introducing curriculum innovations in science: Identifying teachers' transformations and the design of related teacher education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pint, Roser

2005-01-01

This paper introduces the four research papers in this paper set, which all derive from a European research project, STTIS (Science Teacher Training in an Information Society). The central concern of the project was to study curriculum innovations in science, and to investigate ways in which teachers transform these innovations when putting them into practice. This work led to the construction of appropriate teacher training materials for use when an innovation is being introduced. The paper describes the mutual research strategy agreed upon by the STTIS partners. Both to avoid repetition and to underline the understanding that the partners share about the issues involved in curriculum innovation and related teacher education, the main theoretical background and the review of literature relevant to all four papers is to be found here. Themes and conclusions common to all the papers are highlighted. The paper also outlines the common features of the approach the STTIS partners took toward the construction of teacher training materials. These materials build in concrete results from the research, in forms that provoke discussion and reflection aimed at making teachers more aware of their ideas and behavior, with a view to effecting lasting change.