Topical antibiotics and neurosurgery: Have we forgotten to study it?

PubMed Central

Alves, Raphael Vicente; Godoy, Roberto

2010-01-01

Background: For neurosurgery, the last decades have been a time of incredible improvement in areas such as imaging, microscopy, endoscopy, stereotactic guidance, navigation, radiosurgery and endovascular techniques. However, the efficacy of topical antibiotic prophylaxis in neurological operations remains to be established by neurosurgeons. Methods: The authors did an historical review of the literature regarding the utilization of topical antibiotic prophylaxis in neurological operations. The Pub Med database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine / National Institutes of Health was utilized as the primary source of the literature. The authors performed the search by using the following Mesh terms: “neurosurgery” or “neurosurgical procedures” and “administration, topical” and “antibiotic prophylaxis”; “neurosurgery” or “neurosurgical procedures” and “administration, topical” and “antibacterial agents.” Results: In the last 70 years, we have poorly studied the use of topical antibiotics in neurosurgery. All the papers reported were Class III evidence. Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, there is no publication that provided Class I or II evidence about topical antibiotic prophylaxis in neurosurgery. PMID:20882106

Helping pregnant teenagers.

PubMed Central

Bluestein, D; Starling, M E

1994-01-01

Teenagers who are pregnant face many difficult issues, and counseling by physicians can be an important source of help. We suggest guidelines for this counseling, beginning with a review of the scope and consequences of adolescent pregnancy. Communication strategies should be aimed at building rapport with techniques such as maintaining confidentiality, avoiding judgmental stances, and gearing communication to cognitive maturity. Techniques for exploring family relationships are useful because these relationships are key influences on subsequent decisions and behaviors. We discuss topics related to abortion and childbearing, such as safety, facilitation of balanced decision making, the use of prenatal care, and the formulation of long-term plans. Physicians who can effectively discuss these topics can help pregnant teenagers make informed decisions and improve their prospects for the future. PMID:7941531

The future of meat: a qualitative analysis of cultured meat media coverage.

PubMed

Goodwin, J N; Shoulders, C W

2013-11-01

This study sought to explore the informational themes and information sources cited by the media to cover stories of cultured meat in both the United States and the European Union. The results indicated that cultured meat news articles in both the United States and the European Union commonly discuss cultured meat in terms of benefits, history, process, time, livestock production problems, and skepticism. Additionally, the information sources commonly cited in the articles included cultured meat researchers, sources from academia, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), New Harvest, Winston Churchill, restaurant owners/chefs, and sources from the opposing countries (e.g. US use some EU sources and vice versa). The implications of this study will allow meat scientists to understand how the media is influencing consumers' perceptions about the topic, and also allow them to strategize how to shape future communication about cultured meat. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Monitoring item and source information: evidence for a negative generation effect in source memory.

PubMed

Jurica, P J; Shimamura, A P

1999-07-01

Item memory and source memory were assessed in a task that simulated a social conversation. Participants generated answers to questions or read statements presented by one of three sources (faces on a computer screen). Positive generation effects were observed for item memory. That is, participants remembered topics of conversation better if they were asked questions about the topics than if they simply read statements about topics. However, a negative generation effect occurred for source memory. That is, remembering the source of some information was disrupted if participants were required to answer questions pertaining to that information. These findings support the notion that item and source memory are mediated, as least in part, by different processes during encoding.

Tarjetas v.1.2015.7.23

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

Burchard, Ross L.; Pierson, Kathleen P.; Trumbo, Derek

Tarjetas is used to generate requirements from source documents. These source documents are in a hierarchical XML format that have been produced from PDF documents processed through the “Reframe” software package. The software includes the ability to create Topics and associate text Snippets with those topics. Requirements are then generated and text Snippets with their associated Topics are referenced to the requirement. The software maintains traceability from the requirement ultimately to the source document that produced the snippet

Google Search Queries About Neurosurgical Topics: Are They a Suitable Guide for Neurosurgeons?

PubMed

Lawson McLean, Anna C; Lawson McLean, Aaron; Kalff, Rolf; Walter, Jan

2016-06-01

Google is the most popular search engine, with about 100 billion searches per month. Google Trends is an integrated tool that allows users to obtain Google's search popularity statistics from the last decade. Our aim was to evaluate whether Google Trends is a useful tool to assess the public's interest in specific neurosurgical topics. We evaluated Google Trends statistics for the neurosurgical search topic areas "hydrocephalus," "spinal stenosis," "concussion," "vestibular schwannoma," and "cerebral arteriovenous malformation." We compared these with bibliometric data from PubMed and epidemiologic data from the German Federal Monitoring Agency. In addition, we assessed Google users' search behavior for the search terms "glioblastoma" and "meningioma." Over the last 10 years, there has been an increasing interest in the topic "concussion" from Internet users in general and scientists. "Spinal stenosis," "concussion," and "vestibular schwannoma" are topics that are of special interest in high-income countries (eg, Germany), whereas "hydrocephalus" is a popular topic in low- and middle-income countries. The Google-defined top searches within these topic areas revealed more detail about people's interests (eg, "normal pressure hydrocephalus" or "football concussion" ranked among the most popular search queries within the corresponding topics). There was a similar volume of queries for "glioblastoma" and "meningioma." Google Trends is a useful source to elicit information about general trends in peoples' health interests and the role of different diseases across the world. The Internet presence of neurosurgical units and surgeons can be guided by online users' interests to achieve high-quality, professional-endorsed patient education. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Improving the patient-clinician and parent-clinician partnership in atopic dermatitis management.

PubMed

Mancini, Anthony J; Paller, Amy S; Simpson, Eric L; Ellis, Charles N; Eichenfield, Lawrence F

2012-09-01

Long-term adherence to carefully developed, individualized strategies is necessary for the optimum treatment outcomes in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD). However, the parents of children with AD frequently lack sufficient information about the disease and its treatment, hold incorrect and sometimes harmful beliefs about these issues, and too often do not follow through consistently with the treatment plan. The health care provider is the primary source of such education, so an effective provider relationship is fundamental to adherence. In addition to the provision of correct information and the correction of misinformation, clinicians must be aware of and must address barriers to adherence with AD therapy, especially parent anxiety about the safety of topical medications (corticosteroids and topical calcineurin inhibitors). Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Testicular Cancer on the Web-an Appropriate Source of Patient Information in Concordance with the European Association of Urology Guidelines?

PubMed

Paffenholz, Pia; Salem, Johannes; Borgmann, Hendrik; Nestler, Tim; Pfister, David; Ruf, Christian; Tsaur, Igor; Haferkamp, Axel; Heidenreich, Axel

2017-08-04

Despite the continuous growth of the internet, little is known about the quality of online information on testicular cancer, the most common solid malignancy in young men. In our study, we analysed the quality, readability and popularity of the most popular websites on testicular cancer. Therefore, we performed a web search for the term "testicular cancer" using www.google.com . Fifty-one websites were evaluated for HONcode quality certification, Alexa Popularity Rank and readability levels. Furthermore, the websites' content on eight major topics of the current European Association of Urology Guidelines on testicular cancer was assessed. Fourteen (28%) had a HONcode quality certificate and the mean Alexa Popularity Rank of all 51 websites was 54,040 (interquartile range 6648-282,797). Websites were difficult to read requiring 9 years of US school education to properly understand the information. The websites mentioned 80% of the guideline topics on average, revealing "prognosis" (59%) and "follow-up" (57%) as underrepresented subtopics. Furthermore, 12% of all topics were displayed incorrectly, particularly due to wrong information concerning "aetiology" (42%). Sixty percent of the topics were mentioned in an incomplete fashion, with less than half of the websites displaying complete information on "staging" (47%), "diagnostic evaluation" (49%) or "disease management" (45%). In general, online health information concerning testicular cancer is mentioned correctly on most websites. However, improvement regarding readability and completeness of the given information is needed. Nevertheless, highly selected websites on testicular cancer can serve as an appropriate source of patient information.

National occupational health research priorities, agenda and strategy of Japan: invited report in NORA symposium 2001, USA.

PubMed

Araki, Shunichi; Tachi, Masatomo

2003-01-01

An invited report on national occupational health research priorities, agenda and strategy of Japan was delivered in the NORA (National Occupational Research Agenda) Symposium 2001, USA. The third NORA Symposium was held by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Washington DC on June 27, 2001. The national conference in Japan entitled "Conference on Occupational Health Research Strategies in the 21st Century" was organized by the Japanese Ministry of Labour (Currently, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) in the years 1998-2001, and the national occupational health research agenda and strategy for the next decade in Japan was identified. A total of 50 Conference members, i.e., representatives from various fields of occupational health in Japan, ranked 58 comprehensive research topics, yielding short-term (5-year) and long-term (6-10 year) priority research topics. Overall (10-year) priority research topics were calculated by combining the short-term and long-term priority scores. Together with the ranking by 145 extramural occupational health specialists, it was identified that work stress (i.e., one of the 58 research topics) was the first overall priority research topic for the next 10 years in Japan. Three other topics, i.e., elderly workers, women workers and maternity protection, and mental health and quality of work and life, were the second group of priority topics; and hazard and risk assessment and biological effect index were the third priority group. Based on the scores for the short-term and long-term priority research topics, all 58 research topics were classified into three key research areas with 18 key research issues (National Occupational Health Research Agenda, NOHRA). Finally, eight implementation measures of national strategy for the Japanese Government to promote occupational health research were introduced.

Is Privately Funded Research on the Rise in Ocean Science?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spring, M.; Cooksey, S. W.; Orcutt, J. A.; Ramberg, S. E.; Jankowski, J. E.; Mengelt, C.

2014-12-01

While federal funding for oceanography is leveling off or declining, private sector funding from industry and philanthropy appears to be on the rise. The Ocean Studies Board of the National Research Council is discussing these changes in the ocean science funding landscape. In 2014 the Board convened experts to better understand the long term public and private funding trends for the ocean sciences and the implications of such trends for the ocean science enterprise and the nation. Specific topics of discussion included: (1) the current scope of philanthropic and industry funding for the ocean sciences; (2) the long-term trends in the funding balance between federal and other sources of funding; (3) the priorities and goals for private funders; and (4) the characteristics of various modes of engagement for private funders. Although public funding remains the dominant source of research funding, it is unclear how far or fast that balance might shift in the future nor what a shifting balance may mean. There has been no comprehensive assessment of the magnitude and impact of privately-funded science, particularly the ocean sciences, as public funding sources decline. Nevertheless, the existing data can shed some light on these questions. We will present available data on long-term trends in federal and other sources of funding for science (focusing on ocean science) and report on preliminary findings from a panel discussion with key private foundations and industry funders.

Towards sustainable and renewable systems for electrochemical energy storage.

PubMed

Tarascon, Jean-Marie

2008-01-01

Renewable energy sources and electric automotive transportation are popular topics in our belated energy-conscious society, placing electrochemical energy management as one of the major technological developments for this new century. Besides efficiency, any new storage technologies will have to provide advantages in terms of cost and environmental footprint and thus rely on sustainable materials that can be processed at low temperature. To meet such challenges future devices will require inspiration from living organisms and rely on either bio-inspired or biomimetic approaches.

Orbital Debris Quarterly News. Volume 13; No. 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liou, J.-C. (Editor); Shoots, Debi (Editor)

2009-01-01

Topics discussed include: new debris from a decommissioned satellite with a nuclear power source; debris from the destruction of the Fengyun-1C meteorological satellite; quantitative analysis of the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle 'Jules Verne' reentry event; microsatellite impact tests; solar cycle 24 predictions and other long-term projections and geosynchronus (GEO) environment for the Orbital Debris Engineering Model (ORDEM2008). Abstracts from the NASA Orbital Debris Program Office, examining satellite reentry risk assessments and statistical issues for uncontrolled reentry hazards, are also included.

Visualization of Documents and Concepts in Neuroinformatics with the 3D-SE Viewer

PubMed Central

Naud, Antoine; Usui, Shiro; Ueda, Naonori; Taniguchi, Tatsuki

2007-01-01

A new interactive visualization tool is proposed for mining text data from various fields of neuroscience. Applications to several text datasets are presented to demonstrate the capability of the proposed interactive tool to visualize complex relationships between pairs of lexical entities (with some semantic contents) such as terms, keywords, posters, or papers' abstracts. Implemented as a Java applet, this tool is based on the spherical embedding (SE) algorithm, which was designed for the visualization of bipartite graphs. Items such as words and documents are linked on the basis of occurrence relationships, which can be represented in a bipartite graph. These items are visualized by embedding the vertices of the bipartite graph on spheres in a three-dimensional (3-D) space. The main advantage of the proposed visualization tool is that 3-D layouts can convey more information than planar or linear displays of items or graphs. Different kinds of information extracted from texts, such as keywords, indexing terms, or topics are visualized, allowing interactive browsing of various fields of research featured by keywords, topics, or research teams. A typical use of the 3D-SE viewer is quick browsing of topics displayed on a sphere, then selecting one or several item(s) displays links to related terms on another sphere representing, e.g., documents or abstracts, and provides direct online access to the document source in a database, such as the Visiome Platform or the SfN Annual Meeting. Developed as a Java applet, it operates as a tool on top of existing resources. PMID:18974802

Visualization of Documents and Concepts in Neuroinformatics with the 3D-SE Viewer.

PubMed

Naud, Antoine; Usui, Shiro; Ueda, Naonori; Taniguchi, Tatsuki

2007-01-01

A new interactive visualization tool is proposed for mining text data from various fields of neuroscience. Applications to several text datasets are presented to demonstrate the capability of the proposed interactive tool to visualize complex relationships between pairs of lexical entities (with some semantic contents) such as terms, keywords, posters, or papers' abstracts. Implemented as a Java applet, this tool is based on the spherical embedding (SE) algorithm, which was designed for the visualization of bipartite graphs. Items such as words and documents are linked on the basis of occurrence relationships, which can be represented in a bipartite graph. These items are visualized by embedding the vertices of the bipartite graph on spheres in a three-dimensional (3-D) space. The main advantage of the proposed visualization tool is that 3-D layouts can convey more information than planar or linear displays of items or graphs. Different kinds of information extracted from texts, such as keywords, indexing terms, or topics are visualized, allowing interactive browsing of various fields of research featured by keywords, topics, or research teams. A typical use of the 3D-SE viewer is quick browsing of topics displayed on a sphere, then selecting one or several item(s) displays links to related terms on another sphere representing, e.g., documents or abstracts, and provides direct online access to the document source in a database, such as the Visiome Platform or the SfN Annual Meeting. Developed as a Java applet, it operates as a tool on top of existing resources.

A systematic review of the evidence for topical use of ginger.

PubMed

Ding, Mingshuang; Leach, Matthew J; Bradley, Helen

2013-01-01

The use of ginger as a topical intervention is widely advocated in the popular media. However, there has been no attempt to date to synthesize the evidence for topically administered ginger. To systematically review and synthesize the best available evidence of effectiveness for topical ginger in any condition. CAM on PubMed, CINAHL, Google Scholar, MEDLINE, National Library of Australia, The Cochrane Library, TRIP, pertinent texts, and bibliographies of relevant papers. Data sources were systematically searched for studies investigating the clinical effectiveness of topical ginger, in any form and for any condition, regardless of study design. Studies were limited to those published between 1980 and 2010, and published in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, or Taiwanese. Data were extracted by two authors, independently, using standardized templates. Four studies met the inclusion criteria, including three randomized controlled trials and one non-randomized controlled trial. All studies differed in terms of study population, outcome measures, comparative interventions, and dose and form of ginger used, and thus, were not amenable to meta-analysis. Findings from all trials favored usage of ginger for most outcomes. However, the small sample sizes and inadequate methodological reporting indicate a high risk of bias and the need for caution when interpreting these results. Few studies have investigated the effectiveness of topically administered ginger for any condition. Until the findings of these studies are corroborated by more robust research, and the safety of ginger is adequately established, clinicians should remain cautious about using topical ginger in clinical practice. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The sustainability of healthcare innovations: a concept analysis.

PubMed

Fleiszer, Andrea R; Semenic, Sonia E; Ritchie, Judith A; Richer, Marie-Claire; Denis, Jean-Louis

2015-07-01

To report on an analysis of the concept of the sustainability of healthcare innovations. While there have been significant empirical, theoretical and practical contributions made towards the development and implementation of healthcare innovations, there has been less attention paid to their sustainability. Yet many desired healthcare innovations are not sustained over the long term. There is a need to increase clarity around the concept of innovation sustainability to guide the advancement of knowledge on this topic. Concept analysis. We included literature reviews, theoretical and empirical articles, books and grey literature obtained through database searching (ABI/INFORM, Academic Search Complete, Business Source Complete, CINAHL, Embase, MEDLINE and Web of Science) from 1996-May 2014, reference harvesting and citation searching. We examined sources according to terms and definitions, characteristics, preconditions, outcomes and boundaries to evaluate the maturity of the concept. This concept is partially mature. Healthcare innovation sustainability remains a multi-dimensional, multi-factorial notion that is used inconsistently or ambiguously and takes on different meanings at different times in different contexts. We propose a broad conceptualization that consists of three characteristics: benefits, routinization or institutionalization, and development. We also suggest that sustained innovations are influenced by a variety of preconditions or factors, which are innovation-, context-, leadership- and process-related. Further conceptual development is essential to continue advancing our understanding of the sustainability of healthcare innovations, especially in nursing where this topic remains largely unexplored. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Multi-topic assignment for exploratory navigation of consumer health information in NetWellness using formal concept analysis.

PubMed

Cui, Licong; Xu, Rong; Luo, Zhihui; Wentz, Susan; Scarberry, Kyle; Zhang, Guo-Qiang

2014-08-03

Finding quality consumer health information online can effectively bring important public health benefits to the general population. It can empower people with timely and current knowledge for managing their health and promoting wellbeing. Despite a popular belief that search engines such as Google can solve all information access problems, recent studies show that using search engines and simple search terms is not sufficient. Our objective is to provide an approach to organizing consumer health information for navigational exploration, complementing keyword-based direct search. Multi-topic assignment to health information, such as online questions, is a fundamental step for navigational exploration. We introduce a new multi-topic assignment method combining semantic annotation using UMLS concepts (CUIs) and Formal Concept Analysis (FCA). Each question was tagged with CUIs identified by MetaMap. The CUIs were filtered with term-frequency and a new term-strength index to construct a CUI-question context. The CUI-question context and a topic-subject context were used for multi-topic assignment, resulting in a topic-question context. The topic-question context was then directly used for constructing a prototype navigational exploration interface. Experimental evaluation was performed on the task of automatic multi-topic assignment of 99 predefined topics for about 60,000 consumer health questions from NetWellness. Using example-based metrics, suitable for multi-topic assignment problems, our method achieved a precision of 0.849, recall of 0.774, and F₁ measure of 0.782, using a reference standard of 278 questions with manually assigned topics. Compared to NetWellness' original topic assignment, a 36.5% increase in recall is achieved with virtually no sacrifice in precision. Enhancing the recall of multi-topic assignment without sacrificing precision is a prerequisite for achieving the benefits of navigational exploration. Our new multi-topic assignment method, combining term-strength, FCA, and information retrieval techniques, significantly improved recall and performed well according to example-based metrics.

Multi-topic assignment for exploratory navigation of consumer health information in NetWellness using formal concept analysis

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Finding quality consumer health information online can effectively bring important public health benefits to the general population. It can empower people with timely and current knowledge for managing their health and promoting wellbeing. Despite a popular belief that search engines such as Google can solve all information access problems, recent studies show that using search engines and simple search terms is not sufficient. Our objective is to provide an approach to organizing consumer health information for navigational exploration, complementing keyword-based direct search. Multi-topic assignment to health information, such as online questions, is a fundamental step for navigational exploration. Methods We introduce a new multi-topic assignment method combining semantic annotation using UMLS concepts (CUIs) and Formal Concept Analysis (FCA). Each question was tagged with CUIs identified by MetaMap. The CUIs were filtered with term-frequency and a new term-strength index to construct a CUI-question context. The CUI-question context and a topic-subject context were used for multi-topic assignment, resulting in a topic-question context. The topic-question context was then directly used for constructing a prototype navigational exploration interface. Results Experimental evaluation was performed on the task of automatic multi-topic assignment of 99 predefined topics for about 60,000 consumer health questions from NetWellness. Using example-based metrics, suitable for multi-topic assignment problems, our method achieved a precision of 0.849, recall of 0.774, and F1 measure of 0.782, using a reference standard of 278 questions with manually assigned topics. Compared to NetWellness’ original topic assignment, a 36.5% increase in recall is achieved with virtually no sacrifice in precision. Conclusion Enhancing the recall of multi-topic assignment without sacrificing precision is a prerequisite for achieving the benefits of navigational exploration. Our new multi-topic assignment method, combining term-strength, FCA, and information retrieval techniques, significantly improved recall and performed well according to example-based metrics. PMID:25086916

Sources of sensitization, cross-reactions, and occupational sensitization to topical anaesthetics among general dermatology patients.

PubMed

Jussi, Liippo; Lammintausta, Kaija

2009-03-01

Contact sensitization to local anaesthetics is often from topical medicaments. Occupational sensitization to topical anaesthetics may occur in certain occupations. The aim of the study was to analyse the occurrence of contact sensitization to topical anaesthetics in general dermatology patients. Patch testing with topical anaesthetics was carried out in 620 patients. Possible sources of sensitization and the clinical histories of the patients are analysed. Positive patch test reactions to one or more topical anaesthetics were seen in 25/620 patients. Dibucaine reactions were most common (20/25), and lidocaine sensitization was seen in two patients. Six patients had reactions to ester-type and/or amide-type anaesthetics concurrently. Local preparations for perianal conditions were the most common sensitizers. One patient had developed occupational sensitization to procaine with multiple cross-reactions and with concurrent penicillin sensitization from procaine penicillin. Dibucaine-containing perianal medicaments are the major source of contact sensitization to topical anaesthetics. Although sensitization to multiple anaesthetics can be seen, cross-reactions are possible. Contact sensitization to lidocaine is not common, and possible cross-reactions should be determined when reactions to lidocaine are seen. Occupational procaine sensitization from veterinary medicaments is a risk among animal workers.

Fracture resistance of teeth restored with post-retained restorations: an overview.

PubMed

Al-Omiri, Mahmoud Khaled; Mahmoud, Ahmad Abdelaziz; Rayyan, Mohammad Ramadan; Abu-Hammad, Osama

2010-09-01

Posts have been used efficiently to retain restorations for badly destructed teeth. This article critically analyzes the concerned topics related to the fracture resistance of teeth restored with dowel-retained restorations. A systematic review of PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane, and Scopus databases was completed (from 1960 to 2010). Single or combined key words were used to obtain the most possible comprehensive list of articles. Checking the references of the relevant obtained sources completed the review along with a manual search to locate related articles on the topic. In vivo and ex vivo (laboratory, computer-based finite element, and photoelastic stress analysis studies) investigations related to the topic were included. Many factors have been proposed to influence the fracture resistance of post-restored teeth. Recognizing the significance of these factors on the fracture resistance of teeth would aid in choosing the suitable treatment modality for every individual case. Fracture resistance was improved if tooth structure loss was limited, a ferrule was obtained, a post with similar physical properties to natural dentine was used, and adhesive techniques for post luting and coronal restoration were used. Adhesively luted resin/fiber posts with composite cores appear to be the best currently available option in terms of tooth fracture and biomechanical behaviour. Most guidelines were based mainly on ex vivo studies and to a lesser extent on limited in vivo studies. The lack of long-term controlled randomized clinical studies was the main hindrance to reaching a conclusive and undisputable opinion regarding endodontic posts in terms of tooth fracture and biomechanical behaviour. Copyright 2010 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Exploring the development of novice unqualified graduate teachers' topic-specific PCK in teaching the particulate nature of matter in South Africa's classrooms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pitjeng-Mosabala, Phihlo; Rollnick, Marissa

2018-05-01

This study investigates the development of Topic-Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TSPCK) of 14 novice uncertified graduate science teachers during a Professional Development Intervention (PDI) on teaching particulate nature of matter. TSPCK was defined in terms of five knowledge components: learner prior knowledge, curricular saliency, representations, what is difficult to teach and conceptual teaching strategies. Data sources consisted of validated pre- and post-TSPCK and content knowledge (CK) tests, teacher-constructed Content Representations (CoRes) before and after teaching and, for four teachers, video-recorded lessons, and field notes together with teacher interviews. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the teachers develop TSPCK through the process. The results provide an insight into how initial construction of CoRes enabled the entire group to start thinking about how to teach the topic. For the four case-study teachers, evidence of TSPCK development was observed in their teaching. These teachers showed greater improvement in TSPCK and CK than those who taught only the prerequisite concepts of the topic. The findings show that it is possible for uncertified teachers to develop PCK in the practice context with appropriate PDI. Some improvement in PCK was also observed for the larger group who taught only prerequisite concepts.

Analysis of the Capacity of Google Trends to Measure Interest in Conservation Topics and the Role of Online News.

PubMed

Nghiem, Le T P; Papworth, Sarah K; Lim, Felix K S; Carrasco, Luis R

2016-01-01

With the continuous growth of internet usage, Google Trends has emerged as a source of information to investigate how social trends evolve over time. Knowing how the level of interest in conservation topics--approximated using Google search volume--varies over time can help support targeted conservation science communication. However, the evolution of search volume over time and the mechanisms that drive peaks in searches are poorly understood. We conducted time series analyses on Google search data from 2004 to 2013 to investigate: (i) whether interests in selected conservation topics have declined and (ii) the effect of news reporting and academic publishing on search volume. Although trends were sensitive to the term used as benchmark, we did not find that public interest towards conservation topics such as climate change, ecosystem services, deforestation, orangutan, invasive species and habitat loss was declining. We found, however, a robust downward trend for endangered species and an upward trend for ecosystem services. The quantity of news articles was related to patterns in Google search volume, whereas the number of research articles was not a good predictor but lagged behind Google search volume, indicating the role of news in the transfer of conservation science to the public.

Concluding Remarks II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ziółkowski, Janusz

2003-12-01

The program of the conference was prepared so well (thanks to the organizers) that we got complete and competent reviews in all important fields of high energy cosmic sources. It is not easy to select just a few topics and any choice will be, necessarily, arbitrary. I decided to make brief comments on cosmology, on gamma ray bursts and on X-ray flashes. My personal nomination for the hit of the conference goes this year to the ``Rosetta stone" of gamma ray bursts (term used by Elena Pian): GRB030329 = SN 2003dh.

Integration of Rs/gis for Surface Water Pollution Risk Modeling. Case Study: Al-Abrash Syrian Coastal Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yaghi, Y.; Salim, H.

2017-09-01

Recently the topic of the quality of surface water (rivers - lakes) and the sea is an important topics at different levels. It is known that there are two major groups of pollutants: Point Source Pollution (PSP) and non-point Source pollution (NPSP). Historically most of the surface water pollution protection programs dealing with the first set of pollutants which comes from sewage pipes and factories drainage. With the growing need for current and future water security must stand on the current reality of the coastal rivers basin in terms of freshness and cleanliness and condition of water pollution. This research aims to assign the NPS pollutants that reach Al Abrash River and preparation of databases and producing of risk Pollution map for NPS pollutants in order to put the basin management plan to ensure the reduction of pollutants that reach the river. This research resulted of establishing of Databases of NPSP (Like pesticides and fertilizers) and producing of thematic maps for pollution severity and pollution risk based on the pollution models designed in GIS environment and utilizing from remote sensing data. Preliminary recommendations for managing these pollutants were put.

Defense Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR). Volume 2. Navy Abstracts of Phase 1 Awards 1992

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-01-01

The results of these studies will be used to identify the most promising strategies for minimizing or eliminating the sources of damage. MUDAWAR ...NAVY Topic#: 92-097 DARPA Topic#: 92-145 NOVA MANAGFMENT, INC. MUDAWAR THERMAL SYSTEM, INC. ARMY Topic#: 92-087 NAVY Topic#: 92-136 ARMY Topic#: 92-089...TECHNOLOGIES, INC. MUDAWAR THERMAL SYSTEM. INC. NAVY Topic#: 92-120 NAVY Topic#: 92-137 FOSTER-MILLER, INC. MOUNTAIN OPTECH, INC. MSNW, INC. NAVY Topic#: 92-138

Near-term hybrid vehicle program, phase 1. Appendix B: Design trade-off studies report. Volume 2: Supplement to design trade-off studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

Results of studies leading to the preliminary design of a hybrid passenger vehicle which is projected to have the maximum potential for reducing petroleum consumption in the near term are presented. Heat engine/electric hybrid vehicle tradeoffs, assessment of battery power source, and weight and cost analysis of key components are among the topics covered. Performance of auxiliary equipment, such as power steering, power brakes, air conditioning, lighting and electrical accessories, heating and ventilation is discussed along with the selection of preferred passenger compartment heating procedure for the hybrid vehicle. Waste heat from the engine, thermal energy storage, and an auxiliary burner are among the approaches considered.

Best Practices in Physics-Based Fault Rupture Models for Seismic Hazard Assessment of Nuclear Installations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dalguer, Luis A.; Fukushima, Yoshimitsu; Irikura, Kojiro; Wu, Changjiang

2017-09-01

Inspired by the first workshop on Best Practices in Physics-Based Fault Rupture Models for Seismic Hazard Assessment of Nuclear Installations (BestPSHANI) conducted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on 18-20 November, 2015 in Vienna (http://www-pub.iaea.org/iaeameetings/50896/BestPSHANI), this PAGEOPH topical volume collects several extended articles from this workshop as well as several new contributions. A total of 17 papers have been selected on topics ranging from the seismological aspects of earthquake cycle simulations for source-scaling evaluation, seismic source characterization, source inversion and ground motion modeling (based on finite fault rupture using dynamic, kinematic, stochastic and empirical Green's functions approaches) to the engineering application of simulated ground motion for the analysis of seismic response of structures. These contributions include applications to real earthquakes and description of current practice to assess seismic hazard in terms of nuclear safety in low seismicity areas, as well as proposals for physics-based hazard assessment for critical structures near large earthquakes. Collectively, the papers of this volume highlight the usefulness of physics-based models to evaluate and understand the physical causes of observed and empirical data, as well as to predict ground motion beyond the range of recorded data. Relevant importance is given on the validation and verification of the models by comparing synthetic results with observed data and empirical models.

The legal system. Part 2: it's not just for lawyers.

PubMed

Boylan-Kemp, Jo

This is the second part of the two-part article intended to provide an introduction to the foundation elements of the English legal system. The 'English legal system' is a rather generic term that is often used to refer to the different sources of law and the court system in which the law is practised. Students of law will study the English legal system as a specific topic, but it is as equally important for those who work within a profession that is regulated by the law (as nursing is) to also develop an understanding of the legal boundaries within which such a profession works. This particular article follows on from our earlier consideration of the cornerstones of the legal system and looks at the different sources of law that can be found within the English legal system; focusing particularly on the concepts of common law, equity, and the impact of European sources on domestic law.

A Case of Bilateral Pigment Dispersion Syndrome Following Many Years of Uninterrupted Treatment With Atropine 1% for Bilateral Congenital Cataracts.

PubMed

Gizzi, Corrado; Mohamed-Noriega, Jibran; Murdoch, Ian

2017-10-01

Describe an unusual case of bilateral pigment dispersion syndrome (PDS) following years of uninterrupted treatment with atropine 1% for bilateral congenital cataracts, speculate on potential mechanisms leading to this condition. This is a case report. A 45-year-old white patient on long-term treatment with atropine 1% ointment since his infancy for bilateral congenital cataracts developed PDS with secondary ocular hypertension. The patient showed all the hallmarks of PDS with secondary ocular hypertension. An anterior segment Swept-Source optical coherence tomography was obtained to review the iris profile. The patient showed good pressure response to topical prostaglandin therapy. This is the second case report of PDS in a patient with chronic use of topical atropine. The proposed mechanisms for pigment dispersion are discussed and the possibility raised of dispersion being a potential side effect of the drug.

A Comparison of the Long-Term Learning Effects of Comprehensive and Topic-Specific Practice Set Assignments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fatemi, Darius; Marley, Robert; Marquis, Linda M.

2015-01-01

The authors examined the long-term learning effects of two different practice set assignment approaches on business students' long-term learning: a comprehensive, multiple-period practice set and a topic-specific practice set. Student learning was measured longitudinally across semesters. The authors found evidence that students using a…

Pre-service teachers' perceived value of general pedagogical knowledge for practice: Relations with epistemic beliefs and source beliefs.

PubMed

Merk, Samuel; Rosman, Tom; Rueß, Julia; Syring, Marcus; Schneider, Jürgen

2017-01-01

Pre-service teachers tend to devalue general pedagogical knowledge (GPK) as a valid source for deriving successful teaching practices. The present study investigated beliefs about knowledge sources and epistemic beliefs as predictors for students' perceived value of GPK. Three pre-registered hypotheses were tested. We expected beliefs that GPK originates from scientific sources to entail a devaluation of GPK (Hypothesis 1). Concerning epistemic beliefs, we expected absolute beliefs to positively, and multiplistic beliefs to negatively predict pre-service teachers' perceived practical value of GPK (Hypothesis 2). Finally, we expected relationships between epistemic beliefs and pre-service teachers' perceived practical value of GPK to be confounded by epistemic trustworthiness, perceived topic-specific consistency and topic-specific familiarity (Hypothesis 3). In a study using a split plot design, 365 pre-service teachers were presented with four texts on different educational research topics. For each topic, three text versions were constructed. Even though they were invariant in content, these versions varied in a way that the results were allegedly generated by a practitioner, an expert or by means of a scientific study. Unexpectedly, results showed that research findings allegedly generated by means of a scientific study were associated with a higher perceived value of (topic-specific) GPK for practice (Hypothesis 1). As expected, the perceived value of GPK for practice was predicted by topic-specific multiplism and domain-specific absolutism (Hypothesis 2). These predictive effects were confounded by expertise evaluations of the source and the consistency of prior beliefs with the presented research results (Hypothesis 3). In summary, our results suggest that source beliefs might not be responsible for the devaluation of GPK, but that beliefs on the nature and structure of GPK (i.e., epistemic beliefs) might play an even more important role in this respect. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Pre-service teachers’ perceived value of general pedagogical knowledge for practice: Relations with epistemic beliefs and source beliefs

PubMed Central

Rosman, Tom; Rueß, Julia; Syring, Marcus; Schneider, Jürgen

2017-01-01

Pre-service teachers tend to devalue general pedagogical knowledge (GPK) as a valid source for deriving successful teaching practices. The present study investigated beliefs about knowledge sources and epistemic beliefs as predictors for students’ perceived value of GPK. Three pre-registered hypotheses were tested. We expected beliefs that GPK originates from scientific sources to entail a devaluation of GPK (Hypothesis 1). Concerning epistemic beliefs, we expected absolute beliefs to positively, and multiplistic beliefs to negatively predict pre-service teachers’ perceived practical value of GPK (Hypothesis 2). Finally, we expected relationships between epistemic beliefs and pre-service teachers’ perceived practical value of GPK to be confounded by epistemic trustworthiness, perceived topic-specific consistency and topic-specific familiarity (Hypothesis 3). In a study using a split plot design, 365 pre-service teachers were presented with four texts on different educational research topics. For each topic, three text versions were constructed. Even though they were invariant in content, these versions varied in a way that the results were allegedly generated by a practitioner, an expert or by means of a scientific study. Unexpectedly, results showed that research findings allegedly generated by means of a scientific study were associated with a higher perceived value of (topic-specific) GPK for practice (Hypothesis 1). As expected, the perceived value of GPK for practice was predicted by topic-specific multiplism and domain-specific absolutism (Hypothesis 2). These predictive effects were confounded by expertise evaluations of the source and the consistency of prior beliefs with the presented research results (Hypothesis 3). In summary, our results suggest that source beliefs might not be responsible for the devaluation of GPK, but that beliefs on the nature and structure of GPK (i.e., epistemic beliefs) might play an even more important role in this respect. Implications for research and practice are discussed. PMID:28934358

The Case for Multiple Texts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cummins, Sunday

2017-01-01

Reading just one text on any topic, Cummins argues, isn't enough if we expect students to learn at deep levels about the topic, synthesize various sources of information, and gain the knowledge they need to write and speak seriously about the topic. Reading a second or third text expands a reader's knowledge on any topic or story--and the why…

Agricultural Science Teachers' Barriers, Roles, and Information Source Preferences for Teaching Biotechnology Topics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mowen, Diana L.; Wingenbach, Gary J.; Roberts, T. Grady; Harlin, Julie F.

2007-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine barriers, roles, and information source preferences for teaching agricultural biotechnology topics. Agricultural science teachers were described primarily as 37 year-old males who had taught for 12 years, had bachelor's degrees, and had lived or worked on a farm or ranch. Equipment was perceived as the…

Water pollution: Pesticides in Aquatic environments. (Latest citations from Pollution abstracts). Published Search

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

Not Available

1993-01-01

The bibliography contains citations concerning the physicochemical and biochemical dynamics of pesticides in aquatic environments. The effects of organophosphorus, organochlorine, and arsenical pesticides on marine, surface, and groundwater ecosystems are discussed. Topics include biological fate and transformation of pesticides in waters, sources of release and transport of pesticides, bioaccumulation and metabolism of pesticides by aquatic organisms, ecological concentration and degradability of pesticides in model ecosystems, and marine ecology. Guidelines for pesticide registration and pesticide effluents are also referenced. (Contains a minimum of 205 citations and includes a subject term index and title list.)

Black holes, quasars, and the universe /2nd edition/

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shipman, H. L.

1980-01-01

Topics of astronomy are discussed in terms of black holes, galaxies, quasars, and models of the universe. Black holes are approached through consideration of stellar evolution, white dwarfs, supernovae, neutron stars, pulsars, the event horizon, Cygnus X-1, white holes, and worm holes. Attention is also given to radio waves from high speed electrons, the radiation emitted by quasars, active galaxies, galactic energy sources, and interpretations of the redshift. Finally, the life cycle of the universe is deliberated, along with the cosmic time scale, evidence for the Big Bang, and the future of the universe.

Chemoprevention of Oral Cancer by Topical Application of Black Raspberries on High At-Risk Mucosa

PubMed Central

Warner, Blake M.; Casto, Bruce C.; Knobloch, Thomas J.; Accurso, Brent T.; Weghorst, Christopher M.

2014-01-01

Objective To evaluate the preclinical efficacy of topical administration of freeze-dried black raspberries (BRBs) to inhibit the progression of premalignant oral lesions and modulate biomarkers of cancer development in high at-risk mucosa (HARM). Study Design Hamster cheek pouches (HCPs) were treated with carcinogen for six weeks to initiate a HARM microenvironment. Subsequently, right HCPs were topically administered a BRB suspension in short-term or long-term studies. After 12 weeks, SCC multiplicity, SCC incidence, and cell proliferation rates were evaluated. mRNA expression was measured in short-term treated pouches for selected oral cancer biomarkers. Results SCC multiplicity (−41.3%), tumor incidence (−37.1%), and proliferation rate (−6.9%) were reduced in HCPs receiving BRBs. Topical BRBs correlated with an increase in Rb1 expression in developing oral lesions. Conclusion Topical BRBs inhibit SCC development when targeted to HARM tissues. These results support the translational role of BRBs to prevent oral cancer development in humans. PMID:25457886

Search engine ranking, quality, and content of webpages that are critical vs noncritical of HPV vaccine

PubMed Central

Fu, Linda Y.; Zook, Kathleen; Spoehr-Labutta, Zachary; Hu, Pamela; Joseph, Jill G.

2015-01-01

Purpose Online information can influence attitudes toward vaccination. The aim of the present study is to provide a systematic evaluation of the search engine ranking, quality, and content of webpages that are critical versus noncritical of HPV vaccination. Methods We identified HPV vaccine-related webpages with the Google search engine by entering 20 terms. We then assessed each webpage for critical versus noncritical bias as well as for the following quality indicators: authorship disclosure, source disclosure, attribution of at least one reference, currency, exclusion of testimonial accounts, and readability level less than 9th grade. We also determined webpage comprehensiveness in terms of mention of 14 HPV vaccine relevant topics. Results Twenty searches yielded 116 unique webpages. HPV vaccine-critical webpages comprised roughly a third of the top, top 5 and top 10-ranking webpages. The prevalence of HPV vaccine-critical webpages was higher for queries that included term modifiers in addition to root terms. Compared with noncritical webpages, webpages critical of HPV vaccine overall had a lower quality score than those with a noncritical bias (p<.01) and covered fewer important HPV-related topics (p<.001). Critical webpages required viewers to have higher reading skills, were less likely to include an author byline, and were more likely to include testimonial accounts. They also were more likely to raise unsubstantiated concerns about vaccination. Conclusion Webpages critical of HPV vaccine may be frequently returned and highly ranked by search engine queries despite being of lower quality and less comprehensive than noncritical webpages. PMID:26559742

Social influences on adaptive criterion learning.

PubMed

Cassidy, Brittany S; Dubé, Chad; Gutchess, Angela H

2015-07-01

People adaptively shift decision criteria when given biased feedback encouraging specific types of errors. Given that work on this topic has been conducted in nonsocial contexts, we extended the literature by examining adaptive criterion learning in both social and nonsocial contexts. Specifically, we compared potential differences in criterion shifting given performance feedback from social sources varying in reliability and from a nonsocial source. Participants became lax when given false positive feedback for false alarms, and became conservative when given false positive feedback for misses, replicating prior work. In terms of a social influence on adaptive criterion learning, people became more lax in response style over time if feedback was provided by a nonsocial source or by a social source meant to be perceived as unreliable and low-achieving. In contrast, people adopted a more conservative response style over time if performance feedback came from a high-achieving and reliable source. Awareness that a reliable and high-achieving person had not provided their feedback reduced the tendency to become more conservative, relative to those unaware of the source manipulation. Because teaching and learning often occur in a social context, these findings may have important implications for many scenarios in which people fine-tune their behaviors, given cues from others.

Library Research Guide to Sociology. Illustrated Search Strategy and Sources. ("Library Research Guides" Series, No. 5).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McMillan, Patricia; Kennedy, James R., Jr.

One in a series, this guide takes the college student through the steps involved in a thorough, systematic research of any topic in sociology. Beginning with the basics, the guide covers selecting a topic, locating an authoritative summary of the topic, taking clear notes, and narrowing the topic. Subsequent chapters cover the use of general…

How social media meet patients’ questions: YouTube™ review for mouth sores in children.

PubMed

Di Stasio, D; Romano, A; Paparella, R S; Gentile, C; Serpico, R; Minervini, G; Candotto, V; Laino, L

2018-01-01

Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is one of the most common causes of mouth sores in children so the management of this condition is a matter of great importance. YouTube™ is increasingly being used by patients to obtain health-related information. The aim of this work is to examine the quality of information offered by YouTube™ about mouth sores in children (MSC). Searching the term ‘mouth sores in children’, (MSC) displayed 12.300 results. Of the top 60 videos analyzed, 31 were excluded following exclusion criteria. The major source of upload was from healthcare information channels (HC-41,38%), followed by individual users (HP-25.59%), healthcare professionals (IU-17.24%) and generalist information channels (HC-13.78%); 20.69% of them deal with predisposing factors, and related pathologies, the majority of these propose home remedies (60.72%) rather than topical analgesic drugs (21.43%), antimicrobials (7.14%) and topical steroids (3.57). Most of the videos analyzed were slightly useful (68.97%). Information about mouth sores in children on YouTube™ was poor regardless of the upload source. Analyzing health content on social platforms is a starting point for providing greater quality of health-related information.

Effects of long-term repeated topical fluoride applications and adhesion promoter on shear bond strengths of orthodontic brackets

PubMed Central

Endo, Toshiya; Ishida, Rieko; Komatsuzaki, Akira; Sanpei, Shinya; Tanaka, Satoshi; Sekimoto, Tsuneo

2014-01-01

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of long-term repeated topical application of fluoride before bonding and an adhesion promoter on the bond strength of orthodontic brackets. Materials and Methods: A total of 76 bovine incisors were collected and divided equally into four groups. In group 1, the brackets were bonded without topical fluoride application or adhesion promoter. In group 2, before bonding, the adhesion promoter was applied to nonfluoridated enamel. In group 3, the brackets were bonded without the application of the adhesion promoter to enamel, which had undergone long-term repeated topical fluoride treatments. Teeth in group 4 received the long-term repeated topical applications of fluoride, and the brackets were bonded using the adhesion promoter. All the brackets were bonded using BeautyOrtho Bond self-etching adhesive. The shear bond strength was measured and the bond failure modes were evaluated with the use of the adhesive remnant index (ARI) after debonding. Results: The mean shear bond strength was significantly lower in group 3 than in groups 1, 2, and 4, and there were no significant differences between the groups except for group 3. There were significant differences in the distribution of ARI scores between groups 2 and 3, and between groups 3 and 4. Conclusions: The adhesion promoter can recover the bond strength reduced by the long-term repeated topical applications of fluoride to the prefluoridation level and had a significantly great amount of adhesives left on either fluoridated or nonfluoridated enamel. PMID:25512720

More Databases Searched by a Business Generalist--Part 2: A Veritable Cornucopia of Sources.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meredith, Meri

1986-01-01

This second installment describes databases irregularly searched in the Business Information Center, Cummins Engine Company (Columbus, Indiana). Highlights include typical research topics (happenings among similar manufacturers); government topics (Department of Defense contracts); market and industry topics; corporate intelligence; and personnel,…

Sexual Communication in the Family: Handling a Delicate Topic in the Family Communication Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pawlowski, Donna R.

2006-01-01

Many times, families, and in particular parents, do not discuss important issues of sex with their children. Children learn about sex-related topics from their friends, other family members, or media sources. In such instances, while children at least may be learning about sex, the accuracy of the sources from which they are obtaining information…

Crisaborole Ointment 2%: A Review in Mild to Moderate Atopic Dermatitis.

PubMed

Hoy, Sheridan M

2017-12-01

Crisaborole ointment 2% (Eucrisa™) is a novel, anti-inflammatory inhibitor of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) that is available in the USA for the topical treatment of mild to moderate atopic dermatitis in patients aged ≥ 2 years. In two short-term (28 days), identically designed, multicentre, phase III studies in this patient population, topical therapy with crisaborole ointment 2% reduced disease severity and pruritus severity compared with vehicle, with the effect established early and sustained over the course of treatment. Improvements in the other signs of atopic dermatitis (erythema, exudation, excoriation, induration/papulation, and lichenification) were also seen. Crisaborole ointment 2% was generally well tolerated in the short-term studies, with its favorable safety profile maintained over the longer term (up to 52 weeks) in a multicentre, extension study. Most treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were of mild to moderate severity and considered unrelated to the study medication. Moreover, the incidence of application-site pain following short- and longer-term topical therapy with crisaborole ointment 2% was low. In conclusion, crisaborole ointment 2% is an effective and generally well tolerated new topical option for the management of mild to moderate atopic dermatitis in patients aged ≥ 2 years, with the potential to effectively treat this patient population over the longer term without the safety concerns associated with other current topical anti-inflammatory agents.

Alternative conceptions of introductory geoscience students and a method to decrease them

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kortz, Karen Melissa

College students often leave introductory geoscience courses with alternative conceptions, and these alternative conceptions are a barrier to their grasp of geological conceptions. This dissertation clarifies the problem and suggests pedagogical strategies for correcting it. It is an integration of research on students' conceptions of geoscience topics with the application of that knowledge to the development of materials to change these conceptions to be more scientifically accurate. This research identifies and documents alternative conceptions students have in several key geoscience topics and the consequences of these alternative conception in terms of preventing understanding. After documenting the alternative conceptions, I investigate their sources. In addition, I develop ways in which the alternative conceptions can be addressed in classrooms in terms of non-traditional teaching techniques, and I assess the success of these methods. Chapter 1 addresses alternative conceptions in general introductory geoscience topics. I use known student alternative conceptions to develop a series of interactive materials to help reduce students' alternative conceptions. After their development, I assess the efficacy of these materials, and my research indicates that they are successful in helping students better learn the geoscience concepts. Chapter 2 deals with a particularly difficult topic for students---that of phylogenetic systematics. Students have an intuitive way of categorizing organisms, and this categorization is different from the system used by experts within the field. My investigation indicates the conceptual change required of students to fully understand the topic leads to great difficulties with learning. Drawing upon results of the research in Chapter 1, I developed and assessed interactive materials to help students better understand phylogenetic systematics. Using the insight gained from Chapters 1 and 2, Chapters 3 and 4 further examine students' conceptions in an area critical to understanding geology: rocks and their formation. My research indicates that students view rocks as objects independent from the processes that form and change them. In addition, I document students' alternative conceptions of rocks. Using these alternative conceptions, I look more deeply into the underlying factors that cause the difficulties students have with learning rocks, their formation, and their importance to the geosciences.

Building Acoustics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cowan, James

This chapter summarizes and explains key concepts of building acoustics. These issues include the behavior of sound waves in rooms, the most commonly used rating systems for sound and sound control in buildings, the most common noise sources found in buildings, practical noise control methods for these sources, and the specific topic of office acoustics. Common noise issues for multi-dwelling units can be derived from most of the sections of this chapter. Books can be and have been written on each of these topics, so the purpose of this chapter is to summarize this information and provide appropriate resources for further exploration of each topic.

Community-based organizations in the health sector: A scoping review

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Community-based organizations are important health system stakeholders as they provide numerous, often highly valued programs and services to the members of their community. However, community-based organizations are described using diverse terminology and concepts from across a range of disciplines. To better understand the literature related to community-based organizations in the health sector (i.e., those working in health systems or more broadly to address population or public health issues), we conducted a scoping review by using an iterative process to identify existing literature, conceptually map it, and identify gaps and areas for future inquiry. We searched 18 databases and conducted citation searches using 15 articles to identify relevant literature. All search results were reviewed in duplicate and were included if they addressed the key characteristics of community-based organizations or networks of community-based organizations. We then coded all included articles based on the country focus, type of literature, source of literature, academic discipline, disease sector, terminology used to describe organizations and topics discussed. We identified 186 articles addressing topics related to the key characteristics of community-based organizations and/or networks of community-based organizations. The literature is largely focused on high-income countries and on mental health and addictions, HIV/AIDS or general/unspecified populations. A large number of different terms have been used in the literature to describe community-based organizations and the literature addresses a range of topics about them (mandate, structure, revenue sources and type and skills or skill mix of staff), the involvement of community members in organizations, how organizations contribute to community organizing and development and how they function in networks with each other and with government (e.g., in policy networks). Given the range of terms used to describe community-based organizations, this scoping review can be used to further map their meanings/definitions to develop a more comprehensive typology and understanding of community-based organizations. This information can be used in further investigations about the ways in which community-based organizations can be engaged in health system decision-making and the mechanisms available for facilitating or supporting their engagement. PMID:23171160

Community-based organizations in the health sector: a scoping review.

PubMed

Wilson, Michael G; Lavis, John N; Guta, Adrian

2012-11-21

Community-based organizations are important health system stakeholders as they provide numerous, often highly valued programs and services to the members of their community. However, community-based organizations are described using diverse terminology and concepts from across a range of disciplines. To better understand the literature related to community-based organizations in the health sector (i.e., those working in health systems or more broadly to address population or public health issues), we conducted a scoping review by using an iterative process to identify existing literature, conceptually map it, and identify gaps and areas for future inquiry.We searched 18 databases and conducted citation searches using 15 articles to identify relevant literature. All search results were reviewed in duplicate and were included if they addressed the key characteristics of community-based organizations or networks of community-based organizations. We then coded all included articles based on the country focus, type of literature, source of literature, academic discipline, disease sector, terminology used to describe organizations and topics discussed. We identified 186 articles addressing topics related to the key characteristics of community-based organizations and/or networks of community-based organizations. The literature is largely focused on high-income countries and on mental health and addictions, HIV/AIDS or general/unspecified populations. A large number of different terms have been used in the literature to describe community-based organizations and the literature addresses a range of topics about them (mandate, structure, revenue sources and type and skills or skill mix of staff), the involvement of community members in organizations, how organizations contribute to community organizing and development and how they function in networks with each other and with government (e.g., in policy networks).Given the range of terms used to describe community-based organizations, this scoping review can be used to further map their meanings/definitions to develop a more comprehensive typology and understanding of community-based organizations. This information can be used in further investigations about the ways in which community-based organizations can be engaged in health system decision-making and the mechanisms available for facilitating or supporting their engagement.

Library Research Guide to History. Illustrated Search Strategy and Sources. ("Library Research Guides" Series, No. 4).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frick, Elizabeth

One in a series, this guide takes the college student through the steps involved in a thorough, systematic research of any topic in history. Beginning with the basics, the guide covers selecting a topic, locating an authoritative summary of the topic, taking clear notes, and narrowing the topic. Subsequent chapters cover the use of general guides…

Fostering Topic Knowledge: Essential for Academic Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Proske, Antje; Kapp, Felix

2013-01-01

Several researchers emphasize the role of the writer's topic knowledge for writing. In academic writing topic knowledge is often constructed by studying source texts. One possibility to support that essential phase of the writing process is to provide interactive learning questions which facilitate the construction of an adequate situation…

Hot Topics/New Initiatives | Drinking Water in New England ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

2017-07-06

Information on Drinking Water in New England. Major Topics covered include: Conservation, Private Wells, Preventing Contamination, Drinking Water Sources, Consumer Confidence Reports, and Drinking Water Awards.

Infrared and visible image fusion with spectral graph wavelet transform.

PubMed

Yan, Xiang; Qin, Hanlin; Li, Jia; Zhou, Huixin; Zong, Jing-guo

2015-09-01

Infrared and visible image fusion technique is a popular topic in image analysis because it can integrate complementary information and obtain reliable and accurate description of scenes. Multiscale transform theory as a signal representation method is widely used in image fusion. In this paper, a novel infrared and visible image fusion method is proposed based on spectral graph wavelet transform (SGWT) and bilateral filter. The main novelty of this study is that SGWT is used for image fusion. On the one hand, source images are decomposed by SGWT in its transform domain. The proposed approach not only effectively preserves the details of different source images, but also excellently represents the irregular areas of the source images. On the other hand, a novel weighted average method based on bilateral filter is proposed to fuse low- and high-frequency subbands by taking advantage of spatial consistency of natural images. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms seven recently proposed image fusion methods in terms of both visual effect and objective evaluation metrics.

A Bibliometric Analysis on China Sport Science(2001-2010)Based on CSSCI Literature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xianliang, Lei; Hongying, Yu

The past 30-year history of China Sport Science (CSS for short) is also the rise and development history of the subject of physical education in China. Based on the bibliography source from CSSCI (2001 - 2010), this paper does some research about the journal in terms of their authors and topics, as a review and forecast for this journal.SPSS17.0 and ROST CM are used. The result shows that: there is a decline trend about the quantity of published articles on the journal after 2005.The rate of CSS papers sponsored by fund is far more than that of similar journals; It has a stable high-level authors. What's more, an article published on the journal often has more than one author, they may come from the same agencies or different agencies, and the number is more or less. "sports training", "animal experiments", "sports medicine", "sports economy" and "physical education" are the most hot topics of the journal.

#Healthy Selfies: Exploration of Health Topics on Instagram.

PubMed

Muralidhara, Sachin; Paul, Michael J

2018-06-29

Social media provides a complementary source of information for public health surveillance. The dominate data source for this type of monitoring is the microblogging platform Twitter, which is convenient due to the free availability of public data. Less is known about the utility of other social media platforms, despite their popularity. This work aims to characterize the health topics that are prominently discussed in the image-sharing platform Instagram, as a step toward understanding how this data might be used for public health research. The study uses a topic modeling approach to discover topics in a dataset of 96,426 Instagram posts containing hashtags related to health. We use a polylingual topic model, initially developed for datasets in different natural languages, to model different modalities of data: hashtags, caption words, and image tags automatically extracted using a computer vision tool. We identified 47 health-related topics in the data (kappa=.77), covering ten broad categories: acute illness, alternative medicine, chronic illness and pain, diet, exercise, health care & medicine, mental health, musculoskeletal health and dermatology, sleep, and substance use. The most prevalent topics were related to diet (8,293/96,426; 8.6% of posts) and exercise (7,328/96,426; 7.6% of posts). A large and diverse set of health topics are discussed in Instagram. The extracted image tags were generally too coarse and noisy to be used for identifying posts but were in some cases accurate for identifying images relevant to studying diet and substance use. Instagram shows potential as a source of public health information, though limitations in data collection and metadata availability may limit its use in comparison to platforms like Twitter. ©Sachin Muralidhara, Michael J. Paul. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 29.06.2018.

A Text-Mining Framework for Supporting Systematic Reviews.

PubMed

Li, Dingcheng; Wang, Zhen; Wang, Liwei; Sohn, Sunghwan; Shen, Feichen; Murad, Mohammad Hassan; Liu, Hongfang

2016-11-01

Systematic reviews (SRs) involve the identification, appraisal, and synthesis of all relevant studies for focused questions in a structured reproducible manner. High-quality SRs follow strict procedures and require significant resources and time. We investigated advanced text-mining approaches to reduce the burden associated with abstract screening in SRs and provide high-level information summary. A text-mining SR supporting framework consisting of three self-defined semantics-based ranking metrics was proposed, including keyword relevance, indexed-term relevance and topic relevance. Keyword relevance is based on the user-defined keyword list used in the search strategy. Indexed-term relevance is derived from indexed vocabulary developed by domain experts used for indexing journal articles and books. Topic relevance is defined as the semantic similarity among retrieved abstracts in terms of topics generated by latent Dirichlet allocation, a Bayesian-based model for discovering topics. We tested the proposed framework using three published SRs addressing a variety of topics (Mass Media Interventions, Rectal Cancer and Influenza Vaccine). The results showed that when 91.8%, 85.7%, and 49.3% of the abstract screening labor was saved, the recalls were as high as 100% for the three cases; respectively. Relevant studies identified manually showed strong topic similarity through topic analysis, which supported the inclusion of topic analysis as relevance metric. It was demonstrated that advanced text mining approaches can significantly reduce the abstract screening labor of SRs and provide an informative summary of relevant studies.

Topical carbonic anhydrase inhibitors and visual function in glaucoma and ocular hypertension.

PubMed

Gugleta, Konstantin

2010-06-01

Dorzolamide and brinzolamide are topical carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (CAI) indicated for patients with glaucoma and ocular hypertension. An evidence-based review of clinical trials of dorzolamide and brinzolamide was undertaken to determine an effect of these medications on visual function (primarily visual field) in open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension. Using the keywords 'dorzolamide' and 'brinzolamide', all articles describing trials of these medications reporting on visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and visual field from September 1966 to July 2009 were found in MEDLINE and EMBASE databases. No information from other sources was included in this review. A relatively modest number of trials was identified, where impact of therapy on one or more of the visual function modes was reported. In the studies of less than 1 year duration (3 days to 1 year, 23 studies) in all but three studies treatment with topical CAIs did not influence visual function, in two studies with dorzolamide some improvement in the contrast sensitivity was observed and in one open-label retrospective no-control-group study with dorzolamide visual field indices improved significantly. A different picture was seen in long-term studies, which were designed and powered to detect changes in visual field. One large study (European Glaucoma Prevention Study) with dorzolamide versus placebo failed to detect significant protective effect of the drug on glaucoma occurrence in ocular hypertensives. Several interesting aspects of this study are discussed in detail. The other two long-term studies reported on the superiority of adding dorzolamide over timolol therapy alone, and the superiority of the combination of dorzolamide and timolol over brinzolamide and timolol in terms of improving ocular blood flow (retrobulbar Color Doppler Imaging--CDI parameters) as well as in terms of visual field preservation in glaucoma patients over 4 to 5 years. For the first time one study could demonstrate that an improvement in ocular blood flow in the long run results in preservation of visual field in glaucoma patients. Dorzolamide, combined with the beta-blocker timolol, seems to be superior in this regard to brinzolamide plus timolol.

College Students' Health Information Activities on Facebook: Investigating the Impacts of Health Topic Sensitivity, Information Sources, and Demographics.

PubMed

Syn, Sue Yeon; Kim, Sung Un

2016-07-01

College students tend to lack access to health information. Because social networking sites (SNSs) are popularly adopted by college students, SNSs are considered to be good media channels for college students to obtain health-related information. This study examines the factors that influence college students' health information-seeking and -sharing activities on Facebook. An online survey was distributed to college students between the ages of 18 and 29 to determine intentions pertaining to health information activities according to the factors identified for the study. The factors included both contextual factors (such as health topic sensitivity and health information sources) as well as user factors (such as demographics). Our findings showed that college students are willing to read and post health-related information on Facebook when the health topic is not sensitive. In addition, there are clear differences in preferences between professional sources and personal sources as health information sources. It was found that most user factors, except gender, have no influence on health information activities. The impacts of SNS contexts, awareness of information sources, types of interlocutors, and privacy concerns are further discussed.

Assessing the Scope and Feasibility of First-Year Students' Research Paper Topics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rinto, Erin; Bowles-Terry, Melissa; Santos, Ariel J.

2016-01-01

This study applied a content analysis methodology in two ways to evaluate first-year students' research topics: a rubric to examine proposed topics in terms of scope, development, and the "researchability" of the topic, as well as textual analysis, using ATLAS.ti, to provide an overview of the types of subjects students select for a…

Energy 80 for the 1981-82 School Year. [Student Handbook].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Enterprise for Education, Santa Monica, CA.

Energy 80 is a booklet of energy topics for junior/high/middle school students. The topics are presented in 16 short sections (spreads). Topics include: energy forms; energy rules; solar energy; food energy; origin of fossil fuels; coal; oil and gas production and consumption; nuclear fission; renewable energy sources; history of United States…

Muslim Women through the Centuries: A Unit of Study for Grades 7-12.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aghaie, Kamran Scot

This collection of lessons broadens the scope of students' understanding of historical topics. Traditional historical topics are addressed and new perspectives are offered. Lesser known historical topics also are addressed to help give a more thorough understanding. This teaching unit is based on primary sources taken from documents, artifacts,…

Mining Top K Spread Sources for a Specific Topic and a Given Node.

PubMed

Liu, Weiwei; Deng, Zhi-Hong; Cao, Longbing; Xu, Xiaoran; Liu, He; Gong, Xiuwen

2015-11-01

In social networks, nodes (or users) interested in specific topics are often influenced by others. The influence is usually associated with a set of nodes rather than a single one. An interesting but challenging task for any given topic and node is to find the set of nodes that represents the source or trigger for the topic and thus identify those nodes that have the greatest influence on the given node as the topic spreads. We find that it is an NP-hard problem. This paper proposes an effective framework to deal with this problem. First, the topic propagation is represented as the Bayesian network. We then construct the propagation model by a variant of the voter model. The probability transition matrix (PTM) algorithm is presented to conduct the probability inference with the complexity O(θ(3)log2θ), while θ is the number nodes in the given graph. To evaluate the PTM algorithm, we conduct extensive experiments on real datasets. The experimental results show that the PTM algorithm is both effective and efficient.

Search engines, news wires and digital epidemiology: Presumptions and facts.

PubMed

Kaveh-Yazdy, Fatemeh; Zareh-Bidoki, Ali-Mohammad

2018-07-01

Digital epidemiology tries to identify diseases dynamics and spread behaviors using digital traces collected via search engines logs and social media posts. However, the impacts of news on information-seeking behaviors have been remained unknown. Data employed in this research provided from two sources, (1) Parsijoo search engine query logs of 48 months, and (2) a set of documents of 28 months of Parsijoo's news service. Two classes of topics, i.e. macro-topics and micro-topics were selected to be tracked in query logs and news. Keywords of the macro-topics were automatically generated using web provided resources and exceeded 10k. Keyword set of micro-topics were limited to a numerable list including terms related to diseases and health-related activities. The tests are established in the form of three studies. Study A includes temporal analyses of 7 macro-topics in query logs. Study B considers analyzing seasonality of searching patterns of 9 micro-topics, and Study C assesses the impact of news media coverage on users' health-related information-seeking behaviors. Study A showed that the hourly distribution of various macro-topics followed the changes in social activity level. Conversely, the interestingness of macro-topics did not follow the regulation of topic distributions. Among macro-topics, "Pharmacotherapy" has highest interestingness level and wider time-window of popularity. In Study B, seasonality of a limited number of diseases and health-related activities were analyzed. Trends of infectious diseases, such as flu, mumps and chicken pox were seasonal. Due to seasonality of most of diseases covered in national vaccination plans, the trend belonging to "Immunization and Vaccination" was seasonal, as well. Cancer awareness events caused peaks in search trends of "Cancer" and "Screening" micro-topics in specific days of each year that mimic repeated patterns which may mistakenly be identified as seasonality. In study C, we assessed the co-integration and correlation between news and query trends. Our results demonstrated that micro-topics sparsely covered in news media had lowest level of impressiveness and, subsequently, the lowest impact on users' intents. Our results can reveal public reaction to social events, diseases and prevention procedures. Furthermore, we found that news trends are co-integrated with search queries and are able to reveal health-related events; however, they cannot be used interchangeably. It is recommended that the user-generated contents and news documents are analyzed mutually and interactively. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Descriptive Study of Television News Coverage of Tobacco in the United States: Frequency of Topics, Frames, Exemplars, and Efficacy

PubMed Central

BLAKE, KELLY D.; KAUFMAN, ANNETTE R.; LORENZO, JOSHUA; AUGUSTSON, ERIK M.

2015-01-01

There is a positive correlation between recall of tobacco-related television news and perceived risks of smoking and thoughts about quitting. The authors used Cision US, Inc., to create a sampling frame (N =61,027) of local and national television news coverage of tobacco from October 1, 2008, to September 30, 2009, and to draw a nationally representative sample (N =730) for content analysis. The authors conducted a descriptive study to determine the frequency and proportion of stories containing specified tobacco topics, frames, sources, and action messages, and the valence of the coverage. Valence was generally neutral; 68% of stories took a balanced stance, with 26% having a tenor supportive of tobacco control and 6% opposing tobacco control. The most frequently covered topics included smoking bans (n =195) and cessation (n =156). The least covered topics included hookah (n =1) and menthol (n =0). The majority of coverage lacked quoting any source (n =345); government officials (n =144) were the most quoted sources. Coverage lacked action messages or resources; 29 stories (<4%) included a message about cessation or advocacy, and 8 stories (1%) contained a resource such as a quitline. Television news can be leveraged by health communication professionals to increase awareness of underrepresented topics in tobacco control. PMID:26176379

Using topical benzocaine before lingual frenotomy did not reduce crying and should be discouraged.

PubMed

Ovental, A; Marom, R; Botzer, E; Batscha, N; Dollberg, S

2014-07-01

The US Food and Drug Administration has said that oral preparations containing benzocaine should only be used in infants under strict medical supervision, due to the rare, but potentially fatal, risk of methemoglobinemia. This study aimed to determine the analgesic effect of topical application of benzocaine prior to lingual frenotomy in infants with symptomatic tongue-tie. We hypothesised that the duration of crying immediately following frenotomy with topical benzocaine would be shorter than with no benzocaine. This randomised controlled study compared the length of crying after lingual frenotomy in term infants who did, or did not, receive topical application of benzocaine to the lingual frenulum prior to the procedure. We recruited 21 infants to this study. Crying time was less than one minute in all of the subjects. The average length of crying in the benzocaine group (21.6 ± 13.6 sec) was longer than the length of crying in the control group (13.1 ± 4.0 sec), p = 0.103. Contrary to our hypothesis, infants who were treated with topical benzocaine did not benefit from topical analgesia in terms of crying time. The use of benzocaine for analgesia prior to lingual frenotomy in term infants should therefore be discouraged. ©2014 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Long-term maintenance therapy for vulvar lichen sclerosus: the results of a randomized study comparing topical vitamin E with an emollient.

PubMed

Virgili, Annarosa; Minghetti, Sara; Borghi, Alessandro; Corazza, Monica

2013-04-01

The chronic and relapsing nature of vulvar lichen sclerosus (VLS) represents a challenge for its long-term management after an effective treatment with topical corticosteroids. To compare the effect of topical vitamin E with that of an emollient in reducing the risk of VLS relapse over a 52-week maintenance treatment. 156 patients with VLS were enrolled in a 12-week active treatment phase on topical 0.1% mometasone furoate ointment once daily. Those who achieved disease remission entered a 52-week maintenance phase in which patients were randomized to apply either an emollient or topical vitamin E once daily. 80 patients entered the maintenance phase. At 52 weeks, for the vitamin E maintenance group, the cumulative crude relapse rate was 27.8% and the cumulative modified crude relapse rate was 55.6%. For the emollient maintenance group, the cumulative crude relapse rate was 22.7% and the cumulative modified crude relapse rate was 50.0%. The median time to relapse was 20 weeks for the vitamin E group and 18.7 weeks for the emollient group. Once VLS has been stabilized with topical corticosteroids, long-term treatment with both vitamin E and emollients may be considered in maintain LS remission.

Developing topic-specific search filters for PubMed with click-through data.

PubMed

Li, J; Lu, Z

2013-01-01

Search filters have been developed and demonstrated for better information access to the immense and ever-growing body of publications in the biomedical domain. However, to date the number of filters remains quite limited because the current filter development methods require significant human efforts in manual document review and filter term selection. In this regard, we aim to investigate automatic methods for generating search filters. We present an automated method to develop topic-specific filters on the basis of users' search logs in PubMed. Specifically, for a given topic, we first detect its relevant user queries and then include their corresponding clicked articles to serve as the topic-relevant document set accordingly. Next, we statistically identify informative terms that best represent the topic-relevant document set using a background set composed of topic irrelevant articles. Lastly, the selected representative terms are combined with Boolean operators and evaluated on benchmark datasets to derive the final filter with the best performance. We applied our method to develop filters for four clinical topics: nephrology, diabetes, pregnancy, and depression. For the nephrology filter, our method obtained performance comparable to the state of the art (sensitivity of 91.3%, specificity of 98.7%, precision of 94.6%, and accuracy of 97.2%). Similarly, high-performing results (over 90% in all measures) were obtained for the other three search filters. Based on PubMed click-through data, we successfully developed a high-performance method for generating topic-specific search filters that is significantly more efficient than existing manual methods. All data sets (topic-relevant and irrelevant document sets) used in this study and a demonstration system are publicly available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/CBBresearch/Lu/downloads/CQ_filter/

Developing Topic-Specific Search Filters for PubMed with Click-Through Data

PubMed Central

Li, Jiao; Lu, Zhiyong

2013-01-01

Summary Objectives Search filters have been developed and demonstrated for better information access to the immense and ever-growing body of publications in the biomedical domain. However, to date the number of filters remains quite limited because the current filter development methods require significant human efforts in manual document review and filter term selection. In this regard, we aim to investigate automatic methods for generating search filters. Methods We present an automated method to develop topic-specific filters on the basis of users’ search logs in PubMed. Specifically, for a given topic, we first detect its relevant user queries and then include their corresponding clicked articles to serve as the topic-relevant document set accordingly. Next, we statistically identify informative terms that best represent the topic-relevant document set using a background set composed of topic irrelevant articles. Lastly, the selected representative terms are combined with Boolean operators and evaluated on benchmark datasets to derive the final filter with the best performance. Results We applied our method to develop filters for four clinical topics: nephrology, diabetes, pregnancy, and depression. For the nephrology filter, our method obtained performance comparable to the state of the art (sensitivity of 91.3%, specificity of 98.7%, precision of 94.6%, and accuracy of 97.2%). Similarly, high-performing results (over 90% in all measures) were obtained for the other three search filters. Conclusion Based on PubMed click-through data, we successfully developed a high-performance method for generating topic-specific search filters that is significantly more efficient than existing manual methods. All data sets (topic-relevant and irrelevant document sets) used in this study and a demonstration system are publicly available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/CBBresearch/Lu/downloads/CQ_filter/ PMID:23666447

Annual Review of Asian American Psychology, 2014

PubMed Central

Kim, Su Yeong; Shen, Yishan; Hou, Yang; Tilton, Kelsey E.; Juang, Linda; Wang, Yijie

2015-01-01

This 2014 review of Asian American psychology is the sixth review in the series. It includes 316 articles that met the inclusion criteria established by the past five annual reviews. Featured articles were derived from three sources: 137 were generated via the search term “Asian American” in PyscINFO, 111 were generated via a search for specific Asian American ethnic groups, and 32 were generated via author searches of articles that met the inclusion criteria. The top primary topic was health and health-related behaviors, the most frequently employed study design was cross-sectional, and the most studied Asian American ethnic group was Chinese. This year’s review includes information on the target population of the primary topic, the age range and developmental period of participants, and whether the study design was cross-sectional or longitudinal. It also identifies top authors and journals contributing to the 2014 annual review. These new features reveal that the most common target population of the primary topic was youths; studies most commonly included emerging adults ages 18–25; cross-sectional study design was employed more often than longitudinal design; the top contributor to the 2014 review was Stephen Chen, who authored the highest number of papers included; and the Asian American Journal of Psychology generated the highest number of publications for this review. PMID:26925199

On-Site Pedagogical Content Knowledge Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chan, Kennedy Kam Ho; Yung, Benny Hin Wai

2015-05-01

Experiences and reflection have long been regarded as a foundation for pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) development. However, little is known about how experienced teachers develop their PCK via reflection-in-action during their moment-to-moment classroom instruction. Drawing upon data sources including classroom observations, semi-structured interviews and stimulated recall interviews based on lesson videos, this study examined instances when four experienced teachers were found to invent new instructional strategies/representations on the spot during the lesson (referred to as on-site PCK development) in their first attempts at teaching a new topic. The study documented the moment-to-moment experiences of the teachers, including their reconstructed thought processes associated with these instances of on-site PCK development. An explanatory model of a three-step process comprising a stimulus, an integration process and a response was advanced to account for the on-site PCK development observed among the teachers. Three categories of stimulus that triggered on-site PCK development were identified. Factors influencing the integration process and, hence, the resulting response, included teachers' subject matter knowledge of the new topic, their general pedagogical knowledge and their knowledge of student learning difficulties/prior knowledge related to the new topic. Implications for teacher professional development in terms of how to enhance teachers' on-site PCK development are discussed.

Analysis of the Capacity of Google Trends to Measure Interest in Conservation Topics and the Role of Online News

PubMed Central

Nghiem, Le T. P.; Papworth, Sarah K.; Lim, Felix K. S.; Carrasco, Luis R.

2016-01-01

With the continuous growth of internet usage, Google Trends has emerged as a source of information to investigate how social trends evolve over time. Knowing how the level of interest in conservation topics—approximated using Google search volume—varies over time can help support targeted conservation science communication. However, the evolution of search volume over time and the mechanisms that drive peaks in searches are poorly understood. We conducted time series analyses on Google search data from 2004 to 2013 to investigate: (i) whether interests in selected conservation topics have declined and (ii) the effect of news reporting and academic publishing on search volume. Although trends were sensitive to the term used as benchmark, we did not find that public interest towards conservation topics such as climate change, ecosystem services, deforestation, orangutan, invasive species and habitat loss was declining. We found, however, a robust downward trend for endangered species and an upward trend for ecosystem services. The quantity of news articles was related to patterns in Google search volume, whereas the number of research articles was not a good predictor but lagged behind Google search volume, indicating the role of news in the transfer of conservation science to the public. PMID:27028399

Search Engine Ranking, Quality, and Content of Web Pages That Are Critical Versus Noncritical of Human Papillomavirus Vaccine.

PubMed

Fu, Linda Y; Zook, Kathleen; Spoehr-Labutta, Zachary; Hu, Pamela; Joseph, Jill G

2016-01-01

Online information can influence attitudes toward vaccination. The aim of the present study was to provide a systematic evaluation of the search engine ranking, quality, and content of Web pages that are critical versus noncritical of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. We identified HPV vaccine-related Web pages with the Google search engine by entering 20 terms. We then assessed each Web page for critical versus noncritical bias and for the following quality indicators: authorship disclosure, source disclosure, attribution of at least one reference, currency, exclusion of testimonial accounts, and readability level less than ninth grade. We also determined Web page comprehensiveness in terms of mention of 14 HPV vaccine-relevant topics. Twenty searches yielded 116 unique Web pages. HPV vaccine-critical Web pages comprised roughly a third of the top, top 5- and top 10-ranking Web pages. The prevalence of HPV vaccine-critical Web pages was higher for queries that included term modifiers in addition to root terms. Compared with noncritical Web pages, Web pages critical of HPV vaccine overall had a lower quality score than those with a noncritical bias (p < .01) and covered fewer important HPV-related topics (p < .001). Critical Web pages required viewers to have higher reading skills, were less likely to include an author byline, and were more likely to include testimonial accounts. They also were more likely to raise unsubstantiated concerns about vaccination. Web pages critical of HPV vaccine may be frequently returned and highly ranked by search engine queries despite being of lower quality and less comprehensive than noncritical Web pages. Copyright © 2016 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Recent Advances in Omega-3: Health Benefits, Sources, Products and Bioavailability

PubMed Central

Nichols, Peter D.; McManus, Alexandra; Krail, Kevin; Sinclair, Andrew J.; Miller, Matt

2014-01-01

The joint symposium of The Omega-3 Centre and the Australasian Section American Oil Chemists Society; Recent Advances in Omega-3: Health Benefits, Sources, Products and Bioavailability, was held November 7, 2013 in Newcastle, NSW, Australia. Over 115 attendees received new information on a range of health benefits, aquaculture as a sustainable source of supply, and current and potential new and novel sources of these essential omega-3 long-chain (LC, ≥C20) polyunsaturated fatty acid nutrients (also termed LC omega-3). The theme of “Food versus Fuel” was an inspired way to present a vast array of emerging and ground breaking Omega-3 research that has application across many disciplines. Eleven papers submitted following from the Omega-3 Symposium are published in this Special Issue volume, with topics covered including: an update on the use of the Omega-3 Index (O3I), the effects of dosage and concurrent intake of vitamins/minerals on omega-3 incorporation into red blood cells, the possible use of the O3I as a measure of risk for adiposity, the need for and progress with new land plant sources of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6ω3), the current status of farmed Australian and New Zealand fish, and also supplements, in terms of their LC omega-3 and persistent organic pollutants (POP) content, progress with cheap carbon sources in the culture of DHA-producing single cell organisms, a detailed examination of the lipids of the New Zealand Greenshell mussel, and a pilot investigation of the purification of New Zealand hoki liver oil by short path distillation. The selection of papers in this Special Issue collectively highlights a range of forward looking and also new and including positive scientific outcomes occurring in the omega-3 field. PMID:25255830

Recent advances in omega-3: Health Benefits, Sources, Products and Bioavailability.

PubMed

Nichols, Peter D; McManus, Alexandra; Krail, Kevin; Sinclair, Andrew J; Miller, Matt

2014-09-16

The joint symposium of The Omega-3 Centre and the Australasian Section American Oil Chemists Society; Recent Advances in Omega-3: Health Benefits, Sources, Products and Bioavailability, was held November 7, 2013 in Newcastle, NSW, Australia. Over 115 attendees received new information on a range of health benefits, aquaculture as a sustainable source of supply, and current and potential new and novel sources of these essential omega-3 long-chain (LC, ≥ C20) polyunsaturated fatty acid nutrients (also termed LC omega-3). The theme of "Food versus Fuel" was an inspired way to present a vast array of emerging and ground breaking Omega-3 research that has application across many disciplines. Eleven papers submitted following from the Omega-3 Symposium are published in this Special Issue volume, with topics covered including: an update on the use of the Omega-3 Index (O3I), the effects of dosage and concurrent intake of vitamins/minerals on omega-3 incorporation into red blood cells, the possible use of the O3I as a measure of risk for adiposity, the need for and progress with new land plant sources of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6ω3), the current status of farmed Australian and New Zealand fish, and also supplements, in terms of their LC omega-3 and persistent organic pollutants (POP) content, progress with cheap carbon sources in the culture of DHA-producing single cell organisms, a detailed examination of the lipids of the New Zealand Greenshell mussel, and a pilot investigation of the purification of New Zealand hoki liver oil by short path distillation. The selection of papers in this Special Issue collectively highlights a range of forward looking and also new and including positive scientific outcomes occurring in the omega-3 field.

Prolonged treatment of fair-skinned mice with topical forskolin causes persistent tanning and UV protection.

PubMed

Spry, Malinda L; Vanover, Jillian C; Scott, Timothy; Abona-Ama, Osama; Wakamatsu, Kazumasa; Ito, Shosuke; D'Orazio, John A

2009-04-01

We previously reported that topical application of forskolin to the skin of fair-skinned MC1R-defective mice with epidermal melanocytes resulted in accumulation of eumelanin in the epidermis and was highly protective against UV-mediated cutaneous injury. In this report, we describe the long-term effects of chronic topical forskolin treatment in this animal model. Forskolin-induced eumelanin production persisted through 3 months of daily applications, and forskolin-induced eumelanin remained protective against UV damage as assessed by minimal erythematous dose (MED). No obvious toxic changes were noted in the skin or overall health of animals exposed to prolonged forskolin therapy. Body weights were maintained throughout the course of topical forskolin application. Topical application of forskolin was associated with an increase in the number of melanocytes in the epidermis and thickening of the epidermis due, at least in part, to an accumulation of nucleated keratinocytes. Together, these data suggest in this animal model, short-term topical regular application of forskolin promotes eumelanin induction and that over time, topical forskolin treatment is associated with persistent melanization, epidermal cell accumulation, and skin thickening.

Mental Mechanisms for Topics Identification

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Topics identification (TI) is the process that consists in determining the main themes present in natural language documents. The current TI modeling paradigm aims at acquiring semantic information from statistic properties of large text datasets. We investigate the mental mechanisms responsible for the identification of topics in a single document given existing knowledge. Our main hypothesis is that topics are the result of accumulated neural activation of loosely organized information stored in long-term memory (LTM). We experimentally tested our hypothesis with a computational model that simulates LTM activation. The model assumes activation decay as an unavoidable phenomenon originating from the bioelectric nature of neural systems. Since decay should negatively affect the quality of topics, the model predicts the presence of short-term memory (STM) to keep the focus of attention on a few words, with the expected outcome of restoring quality to a baseline level. Our experiments measured topics quality of over 300 documents with various decay rates and STM capacity. Our results showed that accumulated activation of loosely organized information was an effective mental computational commodity to identify topics. It was furthermore confirmed that rapid decay is detrimental to topics quality but that limited capacity STM restores quality to a baseline level, even exceeding it slightly. PMID:24744775

War and Peace: Deconstructing the Topic of Genocide and Other Crimes against Humanity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hovde, Karen

2011-01-01

This article examines the topic of genocide and other world conflicts as they are addressed by reference works. Topics of human aggression are treated by multidisciplinary research, and an awareness of the multiple angles of approach aids the process of directing students to sources. The article discusses definitions and standard organizational…

Real-time analysis application for identifying bursty local areas related to emergency topics.

PubMed

Sakai, Tatsuhiro; Tamura, Keiichi

2015-01-01

Since social media started getting more attention from users on the Internet, social media has been one of the most important information source in the world. Especially, with the increasing popularity of social media, data posted on social media sites are rapidly becoming collective intelligence, which is a term used to refer to new media that is displacing traditional media. In this paper, we focus on geotagged tweets on the Twitter site. These geotagged tweets are referred to as georeferenced documents because they include not only a short text message, but also the documents' posting time and location. Many researchers have been tackling the development of new data mining techniques for georeferenced documents to identify and analyze emergency topics, such as natural disasters, weather, diseases, and other incidents. In particular, the utilization of geotagged tweets to identify and analyze natural disasters has received much attention from administrative agencies recently because some case studies have achieved compelling results. In this paper, we propose a novel real-time analysis application for identifying bursty local areas related to emergency topics. The aim of our new application is to provide new platforms that can identify and analyze the localities of emergency topics. The proposed application is composed of three core computational intelligence techniques: the Naive Bayes classifier technique, the spatiotemporal clustering technique, and the burst detection technique. Moreover, we have implemented two types of application interface: a Web application interface and an android application interface. To evaluate the proposed application, we have implemented a real-time weather observation system embedded the proposed application. we used actual crawling geotagged tweets posted on the Twitter site. The weather observation system successfully detected bursty local areas related to observed emergency weather topics.

User data dissemination concepts for earth resources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davies, R.; Scott, M.; Mitchell, C.; Torbett, A.

1976-01-01

Domestic data dissemination networks for earth-resources data in the 1985-1995 time frame were evaluated. The following topics were addressed: (1) earth-resources data sources and expected data volumes, (2) future user demand in terms of data volume and timeliness, (3) space-to-space and earth point-to-point transmission link requirements and implementation, (4) preprocessing requirements and implementation, (5) network costs, and (6) technological development to support this implementation. This study was parametric in that the data input (supply) was varied by a factor of about fifteen while the user request (demand) was varied by a factor of about nineteen. Correspondingly, the time from observation to delivery to the user was varied. This parametric evaluation was performed by a computer simulation that was based on network alternatives and resulted in preliminary transmission and preprocessing requirements. The earth-resource data sources considered were: shuttle sorties, synchronous satellites (e.g., SEOS), aircraft, and satellites in polar orbits.

Directional Hearing and Sound Source Localization in Fishes.

PubMed

Sisneros, Joseph A; Rogers, Peter H

2016-01-01

Evidence suggests that the capacity for sound source localization is common to mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, but surprisingly it is not known whether fish locate sound sources in the same manner (e.g., combining binaural and monaural cues) or what computational strategies they use for successful source localization. Directional hearing and sound source localization in fishes continues to be important topics in neuroethology and in the hearing sciences, but the empirical and theoretical work on these topics have been contradictory and obscure for decades. This chapter reviews the previous behavioral work on directional hearing and sound source localization in fishes including the most recent experiments on sound source localization by the plainfin midshipman fish (Porichthys notatus), which has proven to be an exceptional species for fish studies of sound localization. In addition, the theoretical models of directional hearing and sound source localization for fishes are reviewed including a new model that uses a time-averaged intensity approach for source localization that has wide applicability with regard to source type, acoustic environment, and time waveform.

Topic Prominence in Chinese EFL Learners' Interlanguage

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Shaopeng; Yang, Lianrui

2014-01-01

The present study aims to investigate the general characteristics of topicprominent typological interlanguage development of Chinese learners of English in terms of acquiring subject-prominent English structures from a discourse perspective. Topic structures mainly appear in Chinese discourse in the form of topic chains (Wang, 2002; 2004). The…

The legal system. Part 1: it's not just for lawyers.

PubMed

Boylan-Kemp, Jo

This article is the first of two providing an introduction to the foundational elements of the English legal system. The 'English legal system' is a rather generic term that is often used to refer to the different sources of law and the court system in which the law is practiced. Students of law will study the English legal system as a specific topic, but it is as equally important for those who work within a profession that is regulated by the law (as nursing is) to also develop an understanding of the legal boundaries within which such a profession works. Part one, therefore, will consider the matters that form the cornerstone of our legal system, such as the constitution, and it will also explain the specific legal terms and doctrines that influence how our law is made and developed. Part two will then go on to consider the different sources of law that can be found within the English legal system. The aim of these articles is to describe these principles in a way that makes them easily understandable by those who are not involved with practicing law but who instead work within other disciplines, such as nursing.

Integrating new Storage Technologies into EOS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peters, Andreas J.; van der Ster, Dan C.; Rocha, Joaquim; Lensing, Paul

2015-12-01

The EOS[1] storage software was designed to cover CERN disk-only storage use cases in the medium-term trading scalability against latency. To cover and prepare for long-term requirements the CERN IT data and storage services group (DSS) is actively conducting R&D and open source contributions to experiment with a next generation storage software based on CEPH[3] and ethernet enabled disk drives. CEPH provides a scale-out object storage system RADOS and additionally various optional high-level services like S3 gateway, RADOS block devices and a POSIX compliant file system CephFS. The acquisition of CEPH by Redhat underlines the promising role of CEPH as the open source storage platform of the future. CERN IT is running a CEPH service in the context of OpenStack on a moderate scale of 1 PB replicated storage. Building a 100+PB storage system based on CEPH will require software and hardware tuning. It is of capital importance to demonstrate the feasibility and possibly iron out bottlenecks and blocking issues beforehand. The main idea behind this R&D is to leverage and contribute to existing building blocks in the CEPH storage stack and implement a few CERN specific requirements in a thin, customisable storage layer. A second research topic is the integration of ethernet enabled disks. This paper introduces various ongoing open source developments, their status and applicability.

Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine: recent innovations and the transition to translation.

PubMed

Fisher, Matthew B; Mauck, Robert L

2013-02-01

The field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM) has exploded in the last decade. In this Year (or so) in Review, we highlight some of the high impact advances within the field over the past several years. Using the past as our guide and starting with an objective premise, we attempt so to identify recent "hot topics" and transformative publications within the field. Through this process, several key themes emerged: (1) tissue engineering: grafts and materials, (2) regenerative medicine: scaffolds and factors that control endogenous tissue formation, (3) clinical trials, and (4) novel cell sources: induced pluripotent stem cells. Within these focus areas, we summarize the highly impactful articles that emerged from our objective analysis and review additional recent publications to augment and expand upon these key themes. Finally, we discuss where the TERM field may be headed and how to monitor such a broad-based and ever-expanding community.

Enhancing managerial effectiveness in dietetics.

PubMed

Hoover, L W

1983-01-01

Environmental pressures from such sources as economic conditions, the government, third-party payers, and inter-institutional competition create managerial challenges. Although cost-containment has received considerable attention, long-term cost-effectiveness is probably the significant issue. Dietitians must become more cost-conscious and effective in resource management to attain desired performance outcomes. Some of the skills and characteristics essential to managerial effectiveness are a marketing orientation, systems design skill, quantitative operations management techniques, financial expertise, and leadership. These abilities facilitate decision-making and achievement of long-term cost-effectiveness. Curriculum enhancement and continuing education are two strategies for improving managerial competency in the dietetics profession. In dietetics education, study of management topics should be enhanced to provide more advanced coverage of management theories and quantitative models so that managerial performance can be at a higher level of sophistication and competency. To assure the viability of the dietetics profession, the emphasis on management must be more comprehensive and rigorous.

A review of biomedical multiphoton microscopy and its laser sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lefort, Claire

2017-10-01

Multiphoton microscopy (MPM) has been the subject of major development efforts for about 25 years for imaging biological specimens at micron scale and presented as an elegant alternative to classical fluorescence methods such as confocal microscopy. In this topical review, the main interests and technical requirements of MPM are addressed with a focus on the crucial role of excitation source for optimization of multiphoton processes. Then, an overview of the different sources successfully demonstrated in literature for MPM is presented, and their physical parameters are inventoried. A classification of these sources in function with their ability to optimize multiphoton processes is proposed, following a protocol found in literature. Starting from these considerations, a suggestion of a possible identikit of the ideal laser source for MPM concludes this topical review. Dedicated to Martin.

Topical Modulation of the Burn Wound Inflammatory Response to Improve Short and Long Term Outcomes

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-10-01

Duroc pig. We hypothesize that topical p38MAPK inhibition will attenuate the depth of the burn by preventing hair -follicle cell apoptosis, attenuate...Intracellular MAPK Hair -Follicle Apoptosis Local/Dermal Inflammatory Cell Activation SIRS End-Organ Failure Topical MAPK Inhibitors Production of

Learning Spaces in Higher Education: An Under-Researched Topic

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Temple, Paul

2008-01-01

The connections between the design and use of space in higher education, and the production of teaching and learning, and of research, are not well understood. This paper reports on a literature review on these topics, and shows that higher education spaces can be considered in various ways: in terms of campus design, in terms of how space can…

Towards a Simple and Efficient Web Search Framework

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-11-01

any useful information about the various aspects of a topic. For example, for the query “ raspberry pi ”, it covers topics such as “what is raspberry pi ...topics generated by the LDA topic model for query ” raspberry pi ”. One simple explanation is that web texts are too noisy and unfocused for the LDA process...making a rasp- berry pi ”. However, the topics generated based on the 10 top ranked documents do not make much sense to us in terms of their keywords

Automatic recognition of topic-classified relations between prostate cancer and genes using MEDLINE abstracts

PubMed Central

Chun, Hong-Woo; Tsuruoka, Yoshimasa; Kim, Jin-Dong; Shiba, Rie; Nagata, Naoki; Hishiki, Teruyoshi; Tsujii, Jun'ichi

2006-01-01

Background Automatic recognition of relations between a specific disease term and its relevant genes or protein terms is an important practice of bioinformatics. Considering the utility of the results of this approach, we identified prostate cancer and gene terms with the ID tags of public biomedical databases. Moreover, considering that genetics experts will use our results, we classified them based on six topics that can be used to analyze the type of prostate cancers, genes, and their relations. Methods We developed a maximum entropy-based named entity recognizer and a relation recognizer and applied them to a corpus-based approach. We collected prostate cancer-related abstracts from MEDLINE, and constructed an annotated corpus of gene and prostate cancer relations based on six topics by biologists. We used it to train the maximum entropy-based named entity recognizer and relation recognizer. Results Topic-classified relation recognition achieved 92.1% precision for the relation (an increase of 11.0% from that obtained in a baseline experiment). For all topics, the precision was between 67.6 and 88.1%. Conclusion A series of experimental results revealed two important findings: a carefully designed relation recognition system using named entity recognition can improve the performance of relation recognition, and topic-classified relation recognition can be effectively addressed through a corpus-based approach using manual annotation and machine learning techniques. PMID:17134477

Automatic recognition of topic-classified relations between prostate cancer and genes using MEDLINE abstracts.

PubMed

Chun, Hong-Woo; Tsuruoka, Yoshimasa; Kim, Jin-Dong; Shiba, Rie; Nagata, Naoki; Hishiki, Teruyoshi; Tsujii, Jun'ichi

2006-11-24

Automatic recognition of relations between a specific disease term and its relevant genes or protein terms is an important practice of bioinformatics. Considering the utility of the results of this approach, we identified prostate cancer and gene terms with the ID tags of public biomedical databases. Moreover, considering that genetics experts will use our results, we classified them based on six topics that can be used to analyze the type of prostate cancers, genes, and their relations. We developed a maximum entropy-based named entity recognizer and a relation recognizer and applied them to a corpus-based approach. We collected prostate cancer-related abstracts from MEDLINE, and constructed an annotated corpus of gene and prostate cancer relations based on six topics by biologists. We used it to train the maximum entropy-based named entity recognizer and relation recognizer. Topic-classified relation recognition achieved 92.1% precision for the relation (an increase of 11.0% from that obtained in a baseline experiment). For all topics, the precision was between 67.6 and 88.1%. A series of experimental results revealed two important findings: a carefully designed relation recognition system using named entity recognition can improve the performance of relation recognition, and topic-classified relation recognition can be effectively addressed through a corpus-based approach using manual annotation and machine learning techniques.

Meshable: searching PubMed abstracts by utilizing MeSH and MeSH-derived topical terms.

PubMed

Kim, Sun; Yeganova, Lana; Wilbur, W John

2016-10-01

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH(®)) is a controlled vocabulary for indexing and searching biomedical literature. MeSH terms and subheadings are organized in a hierarchical structure and are used to indicate the topics of an article. Biologists can use either MeSH terms as queries or the MeSH interface provided in PubMed(®) for searching PubMed abstracts. However, these are rarely used, and there is no convenient way to link standardized MeSH terms to user queries. Here, we introduce a web interface which allows users to enter queries to find MeSH terms closely related to the queries. Our method relies on co-occurrence of text words and MeSH terms to find keywords that are related to each MeSH term. A query is then matched with the keywords for MeSH terms, and candidate MeSH terms are ranked based on their relatedness to the query. The experimental results show that our method achieves the best performance among several term extraction approaches in terms of topic coherence. Moreover, the interface can be effectively used to find full names of abbreviations and to disambiguate user queries. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/IRET/MESHABLE/ CONTACT: sun.kim@nih.gov Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

Trends in biomedical informatics: automated topic analysis of JAMIA articles

PubMed Central

Wang, Shuang; Jiang, Chao; Jiang, Xiaoqian; Kim, Hyeon-Eui; Sun, Jimeng; Ohno-Machado, Lucila

2015-01-01

Biomedical Informatics is a growing interdisciplinary field in which research topics and citation trends have been evolving rapidly in recent years. To analyze these data in a fast, reproducible manner, automation of certain processes is needed. JAMIA is a “generalist” journal for biomedical informatics. Its articles reflect the wide range of topics in informatics. In this study, we retrieved Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms and citations of JAMIA articles published between 2009 and 2014. We use tensors (i.e., multidimensional arrays) to represent the interaction among topics, time and citations, and applied tensor decomposition to automate the analysis. The trends represented by tensors were then carefully interpreted and the results were compared with previous findings based on manual topic analysis. A list of most cited JAMIA articles, their topics, and publication trends over recent years is presented. The analyses confirmed previous studies and showed that, from 2012 to 2014, the number of articles related to MeSH terms Methods, Organization & Administration, and Algorithms increased significantly both in number of publications and citations. Citation trends varied widely by topic, with Natural Language Processing having a large number of citations in particular years, and Medical Record Systems, Computerized remaining a very popular topic in all years. PMID:26555018

A Course in Polymer Processing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soong, David S.

1985-01-01

A special-topics course in polymer processing has acquired regular course status. Course goals, content (including such new topics as polymer applications in microelectronics), and selected term projects are described. (JN)

Immunomodulation and safety of topical calcineurin inhibitors for the treatment of atopic dermatitis.

PubMed

Hultsch, Thomas; Kapp, Alexander; Spergel, Jonathan

2005-01-01

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic or chronically relapsing inflammatory skin condition that primarily affects children. Topical corticosteroids have been the mainstay of treatment since the late 1950s. While providing excellent short-term efficacy, topical corticosteroid usage is limited by potential adverse effects, including impairment of the function and viability of Langerhans cells/dendritic cells. The recently introduced topical calcineurin inhibitors pimecrolimus cream 1% (Elidel) and tacrolimus ointment 0.03 and 0.1% (Protopic) exhibit a more selective mechanism of action and do not affect Langerhans cells/dendritic cells. For the immune system of young children 'learning' to mount a balanced Th1/Th2 response, this selective effect has particular benefits. In clinical experience, topical calcineurin inhibitors have been shown to be a safe and effective alternative to topical corticosteroids in almost 7 million patients (>5 million on pimecrolimus; >1.7 million on tacrolimus). Topical pimecrolimus is primarily used in children with mild and moderate AD, whereas tacrolimus is used preferentially in more severe cases. None of the topical calcineurin inhibitors have been associated with systemic immunosuppression-related malignancies known to occur following long-term sustained systemic immunosuppression with oral immunosuppressants (e.g., tacrolimus, cyclosporine A, and corticosteroids) in transplant patients. Preclinical and clinical data suggest a greater skin selectivity and larger safety margin for topical pimecrolimus. (c) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel

Nutrition Updates "Carotenoids and Health"

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This symposium covered current topics in carotenoids and health, with special emphasis on healthy aging. The carotenoids covered were beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, and beta-cryptoxanthin. Topics included the best food sources of these carotenoids, the importance of carotenoids as antioxidants an...

Orientation to Municipal Wastewater Treatment. Training Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Office of Water Program Operations (EPA), Cincinnati, OH. National Training and Operational Technology Center.

Introductory-level material on municipal wastewater treatment facilities and processes is presented. Course topics include sources and characteristics of municipal wastewaters; objectives of wastewater treatment; design, operation, and maintenance factors; performance testing; plant staffing; and laboratory considerations. Chapter topics include…

Atopic dermatitis: a review of topical nonsteroid therapy

PubMed Central

Papier, Ariana

2018-01-01

Background Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that affects up to 20% of children and 3% of adults globally. Although topical corticosteroids are considered to be the first-line agents, they can be associated with cutaneous and systemic adverse effects. Since the early 2000s, two new classes of nonsteroid topical therapies, topical calcineurin inhibitors and phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitors, have been introduced and provide a safe treatment alternative. Method We performed a search and review of clinical trials that examined the safety and efficacy of topical calcineurin inhibitors and PDE4 inhibitors. The search was conducted using the PubMed database as well as preselected keywords and filters. This review focuses on the safety and efficacy of each therapy. Results Sixty-nine clinical trials identified in this study have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of topical calcineurin and a single novel PDE4 inhibitor in the treatment of atopic dermatitis. Topical calcineurin inhibitors have been shown to be effective in both achieving lesion clearance as well as reducing relapse when used long-term and proactively. Similarly, in clinical trials the PDE4 inhibitor showed success in lesion clearance and symptom management. All three therapies (pimecrolimus, tacrolimus, crisaborole) are associated with low systemic absorption. No clinical trials to date have shown an increased risk of systemic adverse events or malignancy such as lymphoma. The most commonly reported treatment-related adverse event across all three therapies was application-site discomfort, pain or pruritus. It is important to note that long-term studies are not yet available for the novel PDE4 inhibitor. Discussion Topical calcineurin inhibitors provide a safe and effective alternative to topical corticosteroid use in the treatment of atopic dermatitis. Although the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) black box warning for topical calcineurin inhibitors remains, studies have not shown an increased risk of malignancy. These warnings have caused a decline in use in favor of topical steroids. A novel PDE4 inhibitor has shown efficacy and safety in studies up to one year. Further long-term safety data is needed. PMID:29632548

Atopic dermatitis: a review of topical nonsteroid therapy.

PubMed

Papier, Ariana; Strowd, Lindsay C

2018-01-01

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that affects up to 20% of children and 3% of adults globally. Although topical corticosteroids are considered to be the first-line agents, they can be associated with cutaneous and systemic adverse effects. Since the early 2000s, two new classes of nonsteroid topical therapies, topical calcineurin inhibitors and phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitors, have been introduced and provide a safe treatment alternative. We performed a search and review of clinical trials that examined the safety and efficacy of topical calcineurin inhibitors and PDE4 inhibitors. The search was conducted using the PubMed database as well as preselected keywords and filters. This review focuses on the safety and efficacy of each therapy. Sixty-nine clinical trials identified in this study have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of topical calcineurin and a single novel PDE4 inhibitor in the treatment of atopic dermatitis. Topical calcineurin inhibitors have been shown to be effective in both achieving lesion clearance as well as reducing relapse when used long-term and proactively. Similarly, in clinical trials the PDE4 inhibitor showed success in lesion clearance and symptom management. All three therapies (pimecrolimus, tacrolimus, crisaborole) are associated with low systemic absorption. No clinical trials to date have shown an increased risk of systemic adverse events or malignancy such as lymphoma. The most commonly reported treatment-related adverse event across all three therapies was application-site discomfort, pain or pruritus. It is important to note that long-term studies are not yet available for the novel PDE4 inhibitor. Topical calcineurin inhibitors provide a safe and effective alternative to topical corticosteroid use in the treatment of atopic dermatitis. Although the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) black box warning for topical calcineurin inhibitors remains, studies have not shown an increased risk of malignancy. These warnings have caused a decline in use in favor of topical steroids. A novel PDE4 inhibitor has shown efficacy and safety in studies up to one year. Further long-term safety data is needed.

Exploring supervised and unsupervised methods to detect topics in biomedical text

PubMed Central

Lee, Minsuk; Wang, Weiqing; Yu, Hong

2006-01-01

Background Topic detection is a task that automatically identifies topics (e.g., "biochemistry" and "protein structure") in scientific articles based on information content. Topic detection will benefit many other natural language processing tasks including information retrieval, text summarization and question answering; and is a necessary step towards the building of an information system that provides an efficient way for biologists to seek information from an ocean of literature. Results We have explored the methods of Topic Spotting, a task of text categorization that applies the supervised machine-learning technique naïve Bayes to assign automatically a document into one or more predefined topics; and Topic Clustering, which apply unsupervised hierarchical clustering algorithms to aggregate documents into clusters such that each cluster represents a topic. We have applied our methods to detect topics of more than fifteen thousand of articles that represent over sixteen thousand entries in the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) database. We have explored bag of words as the features. Additionally, we have explored semantic features; namely, the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) that are assigned to the MEDLINE records, and the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) semantic types that correspond to the MeSH terms, in addition to bag of words, to facilitate the tasks of topic detection. Our results indicate that incorporating the MeSH terms and the UMLS semantic types as additional features enhances the performance of topic detection and the naïve Bayes has the highest accuracy, 66.4%, for predicting the topic of an OMIM article as one of the total twenty-five topics. Conclusion Our results indicate that the supervised topic spotting methods outperformed the unsupervised topic clustering; on the other hand, the unsupervised topic clustering methods have the advantages of being robust and applicable in real world settings. PMID:16539745

Genes2WordCloud: a quick way to identify biological themes from gene lists and free text.

PubMed

Baroukh, Caroline; Jenkins, Sherry L; Dannenfelser, Ruth; Ma'ayan, Avi

2011-10-13

Word-clouds recently emerged on the web as a solution for quickly summarizing text by maximizing the display of most relevant terms about a specific topic in the minimum amount of space. As biologists are faced with the daunting amount of new research data commonly presented in textual formats, word-clouds can be used to summarize and represent biological and/or biomedical content for various applications. Genes2WordCloud is a web application that enables users to quickly identify biological themes from gene lists and research relevant text by constructing and displaying word-clouds. It provides users with several different options and ideas for the sources that can be used to generate a word-cloud. Different options for rendering and coloring the word-clouds give users the flexibility to quickly generate customized word-clouds of their choice. Genes2WordCloud is a word-cloud generator and a word-cloud viewer that is based on WordCram implemented using Java, Processing, AJAX, mySQL, and PHP. Text is fetched from several sources and then processed to extract the most relevant terms with their computed weights based on word frequencies. Genes2WordCloud is freely available for use online; it is open source software and is available for installation on any web-site along with supporting documentation at http://www.maayanlab.net/G2W. Genes2WordCloud provides a useful way to summarize and visualize large amounts of textual biological data or to find biological themes from several different sources. The open source availability of the software enables users to implement customized word-clouds on their own web-sites and desktop applications.

Genes2WordCloud: a quick way to identify biological themes from gene lists and free text

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Word-clouds recently emerged on the web as a solution for quickly summarizing text by maximizing the display of most relevant terms about a specific topic in the minimum amount of space. As biologists are faced with the daunting amount of new research data commonly presented in textual formats, word-clouds can be used to summarize and represent biological and/or biomedical content for various applications. Results Genes2WordCloud is a web application that enables users to quickly identify biological themes from gene lists and research relevant text by constructing and displaying word-clouds. It provides users with several different options and ideas for the sources that can be used to generate a word-cloud. Different options for rendering and coloring the word-clouds give users the flexibility to quickly generate customized word-clouds of their choice. Methods Genes2WordCloud is a word-cloud generator and a word-cloud viewer that is based on WordCram implemented using Java, Processing, AJAX, mySQL, and PHP. Text is fetched from several sources and then processed to extract the most relevant terms with their computed weights based on word frequencies. Genes2WordCloud is freely available for use online; it is open source software and is available for installation on any web-site along with supporting documentation at http://www.maayanlab.net/G2W. Conclusions Genes2WordCloud provides a useful way to summarize and visualize large amounts of textual biological data or to find biological themes from several different sources. The open source availability of the software enables users to implement customized word-clouds on their own web-sites and desktop applications. PMID:21995939

A cost-effectiveness analysis of calcipotriol plus betamethasone dipropionate aerosol foam versus gel for the topical treatment of plaque psoriasis.

PubMed

Foley, Peter; Garrett, Sinead; Ryttig, Lasse

2018-01-24

Calcipotriol 50 µg/g and betamethasone 0.5 mg/g dipropionate (Cal/BD) aerosol foam formulation provides greater effectiveness and improved patient preference compared with traditional Cal/BD formulations for the topical treatment of plaque psoriasis. To determine the cost-effectiveness of Cal/BD foam compared with Cal/BD gel from the Australian perspective. A Markov model was developed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of topical Cal/BD foam and gel for the treatment of people with plaque psoriasis. Treatment effectiveness, safety, and utilities were based on a randomized control trial, resource use was informed by expert opinion, and unit costs were obtained from public sources. Outcomes were reported in terms of 1-year costs, quality-adjusted life years, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios. All costs were reported in 2017 Australian Dollars. The model showed that patients using Cal/BD foam had more QALYs and higher costs over 1 year compared with patients using Cal/BD gel, resulting in a cost of $13,609 per QALY gained at 4-weeks. When 4 weeks of Cal/BD foam was compared with 8 weeks of Cal/BD gel treatment, Cal/BD foam was $8 less expensive and resulted in 0.006 more QALYs gained. Sensitivity analyses showed that, compared with Cal/BD ointment, Cal/BD foam was associated with an incremental cost of $15,091 per QALY gained. Cal/BD foam is the most cost-effective Cal/BD formulation for the topical treatment of patients with plaque psoriasis.

Websites on Bladder Cancer: an Appropriate Source of Patient Information?

PubMed

Salem, Johannes; Paffenholz, Pia; Bolenz, Christian; von Brandenstein, Melanie; Cebulla, Angelika; Haferkamp, Axel; Kuru, Timur; Lee, Cheryl T; Pfister, David; Tsaur, Igor; Borgmann, Hendrik; Heidenreich, Axel

2018-01-08

A growing number of patients search for health information online. An early investigation of websites about bladder cancer (BCa) revealed mostly incomplete and particularly inaccurate information. We analyzed the quality, readability, and popularity of the most frequented websites on BCa. An Internet search on www.google.com was performed for the term "bladder cancer." After selecting the most frequented websites for patient information, HONcode quality certification, Alexa popularity rank, and readability scores (according to US grade levels) were investigated. A 36-point checklist was used to assess the content according to the EAU guidelines on BCa, which was categorized into seven topics. The popularity of the 49 websites analyzed was average, with a median Alexa popularity rank of 41,698 (interquartile range [IQR] 7-4,671,246). The readability was rated difficult with 11 years of school education needed to understand the information. Thirteen (27%) websites were HONcode certified. Out of 343 topics (seven EAU guideline topics each on 49 websites), 79% were mentioned on the websites. Of these, 10% contained incorrect information, mostly outdated or biased, and 34% contained incomplete information. Publically provided websites mentioned more topics per website (median [IQR] 7 [5.5-7] vs. 5.5 [3.3-7]; p = 0.022) and showed less incorrect information (median [IQR] 0 [0-1] vs. 1 [0-1]; p = 0.039) than physician-provided websites. Our study revealed mostly correct but partially incomplete information on BCa websites for patients. Physicians and public organizations should strive to keep their website information up-to-date and unbiased to optimize patients' health literacy.

Inverse modeling of the Chernobyl source term using atmospheric concentration and deposition measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evangeliou, Nikolaos; Hamburger, Thomas; Cozic, Anne; Balkanski, Yves; Stohl, Andreas

2017-07-01

This paper describes the results of an inverse modeling study for the determination of the source term of the radionuclides 134Cs, 137Cs and 131I released after the Chernobyl accident. The accident occurred on 26 April 1986 in the Former Soviet Union and released about 1019 Bq of radioactive materials that were transported as far away as the USA and Japan. Thereafter, several attempts to assess the magnitude of the emissions were made that were based on the knowledge of the core inventory and the levels of the spent fuel. More recently, when modeling tools were further developed, inverse modeling techniques were applied to the Chernobyl case for source term quantification. However, because radioactivity is a sensitive topic for the public and attracts a lot of attention, high-quality measurements, which are essential for inverse modeling, were not made available except for a few sparse activity concentration measurements far from the source and far from the main direction of the radioactive fallout. For the first time, we apply Bayesian inversion of the Chernobyl source term using not only activity concentrations but also deposition measurements from the most recent public data set. These observations refer to a data rescue attempt that started more than 10 years ago, with a final goal to provide available measurements to anyone interested. In regards to our inverse modeling results, emissions of 134Cs were estimated to be 80 PBq or 30-50 % higher than what was previously published. From the released amount of 134Cs, about 70 PBq were deposited all over Europe. Similar to 134Cs, emissions of 137Cs were estimated as 86 PBq, on the same order as previously reported results. Finally, 131I emissions of 1365 PBq were found, which are about 10 % less than the prior total releases. The inversion pushes the injection heights of the three radionuclides to higher altitudes (up to about 3 km) than previously assumed (≈ 2.2 km) in order to better match both concentration and deposition observations over Europe. The results of the present inversion were confirmed using an independent Eulerian model, for which deposition patterns were also improved when using the estimated posterior releases. Although the independent model tends to underestimate deposition in countries that are not in the main direction of the plume, it reproduces country levels of deposition very efficiently. The results were also tested for robustness against different setups of the inversion through sensitivity runs. The source term data from this study are publicly available.

How Patterns of Learning About Sexual Information Among Adolescents Are Related to Sexual Behaviors.

PubMed

Bleakley, Amy; Khurana, Atika; Hennessy, Michael; Ellithorpe, Morgan

2018-03-01

Parents, peers and media are informal sources of sexual information for adolescents. Although the content of sexual information communicated by these sources is known to vary, little is known about what adolescents report actually learning from each source. Data from 1,990 U.S.14-17-year-olds who participated in an online survey in 2015 were used to assess learning about four topics (sex, condoms, hormonal birth control and romantic relationships) from three informal sources (parents, peers, and television and movies). Gender and race differences in learning by source and topic were assessed using t tests. Following a factor analysis, learning about all topics was grouped by source, and regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between learning from each source and three outcomes: sexual activity, condom use and hormonal birth control use. Models included interactions between information sources and race and gender. White adolescents reported learning more from parents and less from media than black adolescents. Compared with males, females learned more about hormonal birth control and less about condoms from their parents, and more about relationships from peers and media. Learning from parents and from peers were positively associated with adolescents' sexual activity (unstandardized coefficients, 0.26 and 0.52, respectively). Learning from parents was positively associated with condom use (odds ratio, 1.5). Adolescents' learning about sex from informal sources varies by race and gender. Future research should examine whether sexual health interventions and message development can capitalize on these differences. Copyright © 2018 by the Guttmacher Institute.

The topical treatment of psoriasis.

PubMed

van de Kerkhof, P C M; Vissers, W H P M

2003-01-01

According to the patients, improvement of efficacy, long-term safety and improvement of compliance are needed. The topical treatment has been innovated during the last decade. Most important are the introduction of two new classes of treatments: topical vitamin D(3) analogues and the retinoid tazarotene. To what extent, however, have we achieved developments which are in line with the needs as expressed by the patients? Improved efficacy has been realized by successful combinations of topical treatments. In particular, the combinations of dithranol, vitamin D(3) and tazarotene with a topical corticosteroid proved to be very effective with a reduced profile of side-effects. The efficacy of vitamin D(3) analogues and tazarotene is such that the efficacy of a potent corticosteroid (betamethasone-17-valerate) is approached; calcipotriol even showed an efficacy which is at least as good as this corticosteroid. The long-term safety of new compounds has been evaluated for at least 12 months in large studies. Remarkably for corticosteroids such information is available for only 12 weeks. However, intermittent applications of a topical corticosteroid in combination with another topical treatment provide an effective and safe long-term control of psoriasis. Compliance is a conditio sine qua non for an effective topical treatment. Important progress has been made to increase compliance. Short-contact dithranol has been popularized as an ambulatory treatment which is a highly effective approach as a care instruction programme. Formulations which are better from a cosmetical point of view have been developed for various topical treatments. Reduction of the frequency of applications proved to be possible for most treatments. Once daily applications for corticosteroids, vitamin D(3) analogues and retinoids have been developed, and intermittent applications, a few times per week, are possible for corticosteroids, which proved to be very effective with a reduced profile of side-effects, and are also developed for dithranol. Copyright 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel

VLTI + MIDI Study of the High Mass Protostellar Candidate NGC 3603 IRS 9A

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nürnberger, D. E. A.; Vehoff, S.; Hummel, C. A.; Duschl, W. J.

2010-02-01

The formation and early evolution of high mass stars is among the hottest topics in astrophysics. Interferometric studies of these young stars and their circumstellar environments (envelopes, disks and jets) at near and mid infrared wavelengths are still rare and in terms of data analysis/interpretation very challenging. We here report on observations of the high mass protostellar candidate NGC 3603 IRS 9A which we undertook with VLTI + MIDI in 2005, complemented by near and mid infrared imaging and spectroscopic data. We discuss our results obtained from dedicated modeling efforts, employing both DUSTY and MC3D radiative transfer codes for a selected number of source geometries and surface brightness distributions.

Sourcing While Reading Divergent Expert Accounts: Pathways from Views of Knowing to Written Argumentation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barzilai, Sarit; Tzadok, Eynav; Eshet-Alkalai, Yoram

2015-01-01

Sourcing is vital for knowledge construction from online information sources, yet learners may find it difficult to engage in effective sourcing. Sourcing can be particularly challenging when lay readers encounter conflicting expert accounts of controversial topics, a situation which is increasingly common when learning online. The aim of this…

Mining Twitter to Assess the Public Perception of the “Internet of Things”

PubMed Central

Yoshigoe, Kenji; Hicks, Amanda; Yuan, Jiawei; He, Zhe; Xie, Mengjun; Guo, Yi; Prosperi, Mattia; Salloum, Ramzi; Modave, François

2016-01-01

Social media analysis has shown tremendous potential to understand public's opinion on a wide variety of topics. In this paper, we have mined Twitter to understand the public's perception of the Internet of Things (IoT). We first generated the discussion trends of the IoT from multiple Twitter data sources and validated these trends with Google Trends. We then performed sentiment analysis to gain insights of the public’s attitude towards the IoT. As anticipated, our analysis indicates that the public's perception of the IoT is predominantly positive. Further, through topic modeling, we learned that public tweets discussing the IoT were often focused on business and technology. However, the public has great concerns about privacy and security issues toward the IoT based on the frequent appearance of related terms. Nevertheless, no unexpected perceptions were identified through our analysis. Our analysis was challenged by the limited fraction of tweets relevant to our study. Also, the user demographics of Twitter users may not be strongly representative of the population of the general public. PMID:27391760

Legionella and risk management in hospitals-A bibliographic research methodology for people responsible for built environment and facility management.

PubMed

Leiblein, Thomas W; Tucker, Matthew; Ashall, Mal; Lee, Susanne B; Gollnisch, Carsten; Hofer, Susanne

2016-11-01

An ongoing research project investigates the roles and duties of persons responsible for the built environment with respect to risk management of water systems and Legionella prevention from a facility management's perspective. Our literature review provides an approach for selecting and analysing abstracts of initially 177 journal articles, subjected to certain topic-specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. Different decision strategies of either logic 'yes/no', Boolean operators 'OR' or 'AND' and decisions for single counts or cumulative counts of the identified three principal keywords 'Legionella', 'hospital' and 'water', were completed. A final list of ten principal reference articles from 29 journals was compiled. It suggests that the interconnected perspective of water systems, Legionella and hospitals seems to be underrepresented in the field of the built environment and facility management. The term 'stakeholder', which would refer to decision-makers, was not found more than once. Our result is a useful summary of established sources of information on environmental Legionella research. The results can be helpful for those new to the topic. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Mining Twitter to Assess the Public Perception of the "Internet of Things".

PubMed

Bian, Jiang; Yoshigoe, Kenji; Hicks, Amanda; Yuan, Jiawei; He, Zhe; Xie, Mengjun; Guo, Yi; Prosperi, Mattia; Salloum, Ramzi; Modave, François

2016-01-01

Social media analysis has shown tremendous potential to understand public's opinion on a wide variety of topics. In this paper, we have mined Twitter to understand the public's perception of the Internet of Things (IoT). We first generated the discussion trends of the IoT from multiple Twitter data sources and validated these trends with Google Trends. We then performed sentiment analysis to gain insights of the public's attitude towards the IoT. As anticipated, our analysis indicates that the public's perception of the IoT is predominantly positive. Further, through topic modeling, we learned that public tweets discussing the IoT were often focused on business and technology. However, the public has great concerns about privacy and security issues toward the IoT based on the frequent appearance of related terms. Nevertheless, no unexpected perceptions were identified through our analysis. Our analysis was challenged by the limited fraction of tweets relevant to our study. Also, the user demographics of Twitter users may not be strongly representative of the population of the general public.

A Data-Based Approach to Discovering Multi-Topic Influential Leaders.

PubMed

Tang, Xing; Miao, Qiguang; Yu, Shangshang; Quan, Yining

2016-01-01

Recently, increasing numbers of users have adopted microblogging services as their main information source. However, most of them find themselves drowning in the millions of posts produced by other users every day. To cope with this, identifying a set of the most influential people is paramount. Moreover, finding a set of related influential users to expand the coverage of one particular topic is required in real world scenarios. Most of the existing algorithms in this area focus on topology-related methods such as PageRank. These methods mine link structures to find the expected influential rank of users. However, because they ignore the interaction data, these methods turn out to be less effective in social networks. In reality, a variety of topics exist within the information diffusing through the network. Because they have different interests, users play different roles in the diffusion of information related to different topics. As a result, distinguishing influential leaders according to different topics is also worthy of research. In this paper, we propose a multi-topic influence diffusion model (MTID) based on traces acquired from historic information. We decompose the influential scores of users into two parts: the direct influence determined by information propagation along the link structure and indirect influence that extends beyond the restrictions of direct follower relationships. To model the network from a multi-topical viewpoint, we introduce topic pools, each of which represents a particular topic information source. Then, we extract the topic distributions from the traces of tweets, determining the influence propagation probability and content generation probability. In the network, we adopt multiple ground nodes representing topic pools to connect every user through bidirectional links. Based on this multi-topical view of the network, we further introduce the topic-dependent rank (TD-Rank) algorithm to identify the multi-topic influential users. Our algorithm not only effectively overcomes the shortages of PageRank but also effectively produces a measure of topic-related rank. Extensive experiments on a Weibo dataset show that our model is both effective and robust.

A Data-Based Approach to Discovering Multi-Topic Influential Leaders

PubMed Central

Tang, Xing; Miao, Qiguang; Yu, Shangshang; Quan, Yining

2016-01-01

Recently, increasing numbers of users have adopted microblogging services as their main information source. However, most of them find themselves drowning in the millions of posts produced by other users every day. To cope with this, identifying a set of the most influential people is paramount. Moreover, finding a set of related influential users to expand the coverage of one particular topic is required in real world scenarios. Most of the existing algorithms in this area focus on topology-related methods such as PageRank. These methods mine link structures to find the expected influential rank of users. However, because they ignore the interaction data, these methods turn out to be less effective in social networks. In reality, a variety of topics exist within the information diffusing through the network. Because they have different interests, users play different roles in the diffusion of information related to different topics. As a result, distinguishing influential leaders according to different topics is also worthy of research. In this paper, we propose a multi-topic influence diffusion model (MTID) based on traces acquired from historic information. We decompose the influential scores of users into two parts: the direct influence determined by information propagation along the link structure and indirect influence that extends beyond the restrictions of direct follower relationships. To model the network from a multi-topical viewpoint, we introduce topic pools, each of which represents a particular topic information source. Then, we extract the topic distributions from the traces of tweets, determining the influence propagation probability and content generation probability. In the network, we adopt multiple ground nodes representing topic pools to connect every user through bidirectional links. Based on this multi-topical view of the network, we further introduce the topic-dependent rank (TD-Rank) algorithm to identify the multi-topic influential users. Our algorithm not only effectively overcomes the shortages of PageRank but also effectively produces a measure of topic-related rank. Extensive experiments on a Weibo dataset show that our model is both effective and robust. PMID:27415429

Development of a Mobile Tracer Correlation Techniques for Assessment of Air Emissions from Landfills and Other Area Sources

EPA Science Inventory

Improved understanding of air emissions from large area sources such as landfills, waste water ponds, open-source processing, and agricultural operations is a topic of increasing environmental importance. In many cases, the size of the area source, coupled with spatial-heteroge...

A Cross-Comparative Survey of Information Seeking and Scanning About Drug-Related Sources and Topics Among U.S. and Israeli College Students.

PubMed

Cheng, Ying; Ahn, Jisoo; Lewis, Nehama; Martinez, Lourdes S

2017-08-01

There is an increasing amount of drug-related information that is easily accessible from media and interpersonal sources. Recent research shows significant positive associations between information acquisition and nonmedical drug use intentions among college students. This study examines information about amphetamines and marijuana that was actively searched ("seeking") as well as information that was encountered during routine media use ("scanning"). Data are drawn from a cross-national comparative survey of college students in the United States (N = 734) and in Israel (N = 800). U.S. participants reported seeking and scanning information about marijuana across a broader range of sources than Israeli participants. Among U.S. and Israeli participants, the most frequently searched marijuana-related topics included the benefits of marijuana, negative effects of marijuana use, and political reasons why marijuana should be legal. Participants from both countries reported the benefits of amphetamines, and the negative effects of amphetamine use as the most frequently searched topics about amphetamines. Participants in both countries identified the internet and friends as the most popular sources of drug-related information and noted that physicians, friends, and the internet were the most trusted sources. Implications for research on information seeking and health communication are discussed.

Quality of information sources about mental disorders: a comparison of Wikipedia with centrally controlled web and printed sources.

PubMed

Reavley, N J; Mackinnon, A J; Morgan, A J; Alvarez-Jimenez, M; Hetrick, S E; Killackey, E; Nelson, B; Purcell, R; Yap, M B H; Jorm, A F

2012-08-01

Although mental health information on the internet is often of poor quality, relatively little is known about the quality of websites, such as Wikipedia, that involve participatory information sharing. The aim of this paper was to explore the quality of user-contributed mental health-related information on Wikipedia and compare this with centrally controlled information sources. Content on 10 mental health-related topics was extracted from 14 frequently accessed websites (including Wikipedia) providing information about depression and schizophrenia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, and a psychiatry textbook. The content was rated by experts according to the following criteria: accuracy, up-to-dateness, breadth of coverage, referencing and readability. Ratings varied significantly between resources according to topic. Across all topics, Wikipedia was the most highly rated in all domains except readability. The quality of information on depression and schizophrenia on Wikipedia is generally as good as, or better than, that provided by centrally controlled websites, Encyclopaedia Britannica and a psychiatry textbook.

#nowplaying Madonna: a large-scale evaluation on estimating similarities between music artists and between movies from microblogs.

PubMed

Schedl, Markus

2012-01-01

Different term weighting techniques such as [Formula: see text] or BM25 have been used intensely for manifold text-based information retrieval tasks. Their use for modeling term profiles for named entities and subsequent calculation of similarities between these named entities have been studied to a much smaller extent. The recent trend of microblogging made available massive amounts of information about almost every topic around the world. Therefore, microblogs represent a valuable source for text-based named entity modeling. In this paper, we present a systematic and comprehensive evaluation of different term weighting measures , normalization techniques , query schemes , index term sets , and similarity functions for the task of inferring similarities between named entities, based on data extracted from microblog posts . We analyze several thousand combinations of choices for the above mentioned dimensions, which influence the similarity calculation process, and we investigate in which way they impact the quality of the similarity estimates. Evaluation is performed using three real-world data sets: two collections of microblogs related to music artists and one related to movies. For the music collections, we present results of genre classification experiments using as benchmark genre information from allmusic.com. For the movie collection, we present results of multi-class classification experiments using as benchmark categories from IMDb. We show that microblogs can indeed be exploited to model named entity similarity with remarkable accuracy, provided the correct settings for the analyzed aspects are used. We further compare the results to those obtained when using Web pages as data source.

Trends in biomedical informatics: automated topic analysis of JAMIA articles.

PubMed

Han, Dong; Wang, Shuang; Jiang, Chao; Jiang, Xiaoqian; Kim, Hyeon-Eui; Sun, Jimeng; Ohno-Machado, Lucila

2015-11-01

Biomedical Informatics is a growing interdisciplinary field in which research topics and citation trends have been evolving rapidly in recent years. To analyze these data in a fast, reproducible manner, automation of certain processes is needed. JAMIA is a "generalist" journal for biomedical informatics. Its articles reflect the wide range of topics in informatics. In this study, we retrieved Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms and citations of JAMIA articles published between 2009 and 2014. We use tensors (i.e., multidimensional arrays) to represent the interaction among topics, time and citations, and applied tensor decomposition to automate the analysis. The trends represented by tensors were then carefully interpreted and the results were compared with previous findings based on manual topic analysis. A list of most cited JAMIA articles, their topics, and publication trends over recent years is presented. The analyses confirmed previous studies and showed that, from 2012 to 2014, the number of articles related to MeSH terms Methods, Organization & Administration, and Algorithms increased significantly both in number of publications and citations. Citation trends varied widely by topic, with Natural Language Processing having a large number of citations in particular years, and Medical Record Systems, Computerized remaining a very popular topic in all years. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Safety in the Chemical Laboratory--Safety Education for Chemistry Students: Hazard Control Starting at the Source.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zwaard, A. W.; And Others

1989-01-01

Presents a programed method that inventories and classifies hazards. 8iscusses the following topics: (1) student and hazard source, (2) elimination of the source, (3) adaptation of the source, (4) isolation of the source, (5) adjustment of the surroundings, (6) isolation of man, and (7) personal protective equipment. (MVL)

High Priority Future Research Needs for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Diagnosis and Treatment

PubMed Central

Patel, Kamal; Moorthy, Denish; Chan, Jeffrey A.; Concannon, Thomas W.; Ratichek, Sara J.; Chung, Mei; Balk, Ethan M.

2013-01-01

Study Objectives: To identify and prioritize future research needs (FRN) topics for diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Methods: Twenty-one panel members represented six stake-holder categories: patients and the public, providers; purchasers of health care, payers, policymakers, and principal investigators. Building on a recently completed comparative effectiveness review, stakeholders nominated and discussed potential FRN topics. Stakeholders then nominated their top priority FRN topics based on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Effective Health Care Program Selection Criteria. From these nominations, the highest priority FRN topics were determined and were elaborated upon to include possible study designs to address the topics. Results: Thirty-seven topics were discussed and prioritized. The nine highest priority FRN topics included: cost-effectiveness of management strategies, defining age- and sex-specific criteria for OSA, evaluating routine preoperative screening for OSA, evaluating involvement of a sleep medicine specialist in diagnosis of OSA, evaluating clinical prediction rules, assessing the effect of treating sleep disordered breathing and long-term clinical outcomes, comparing treatments for patients who do not tolerate positive airway pressure, evaluating strategies to improve treatment compliance, and evaluating the association between sleep apnea severity and long-term clinical outcomes. Conclusions: While there are numerous specific research questions with low or insufficient strength of evidence for OSA management, OSA patients, their healthcare providers, and society at large would benefit from refocusing research efforts into the prioritized research questions and away from simple comparisons of short-term outcomes between specific interventions. Citation: Patel K; Moorthy D; Chan JA; Concannon TW. High priority future research needs for obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis and treatment. J Clin Sleep Med 2013;9(4):395-402. PMID:23585757

Stationary Engineering Science Manual--3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steingress, Frederick M.; And Others

This manual provides in-depth coverage of topics related to boiler operations. The assignments contain an objective, descriptive information, reference sources, procedures, and assignments. Sixteen units are provided and address topics such as: (1) steam engineering concepts; (2) boiler fittings; (3) feed-water, steam, and combustion accessories;…

Teaching Difficult Topics with Primary Sources

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Potter, Lee Ann

2011-01-01

"Difficult" or "challenging" topics to teach include racism, violence, genocide, bullying, gangs, abuse (physical, emotional, and substance), slavery, suffering, hatred, terrorism, war, disease, loss, addiction, and more. But by confronting them with students, in the safety of a classroom through thoughtfully constructed lessons (ones that take…

Using grey literature to prepare pharmacy students for an evolving healthcare delivery system.

PubMed

Happe, Laura E; Walker, Desiree'

2013-05-13

To assess the impact of using "grey literature" (information internally produced in print or electronic format by agencies such as hospitals, government, businesses, etc) rather than a textbook in a course on healthcare delivery systems on students' perception of the relevance of healthcare delivery system topics and their ability to identify credible sources of this information. A reading from the grey literature was identified and assigned to the students for each topic in the course. Pre- and post-course survey instruments were used for the assessment. Students reported healthcare delivery systems topics to be moderately relevant to the profession of pharmacy on both the pre- and post-course survey instruments. Students' knowledge of current and credible sources of information on healthcare delivery system topics significantly improved based on self-reports and scores on objective assessments (p<0.05). Assignment of grey literature in a course on healthcare delivery systems can be used to ensure that information in the pharmacy school curriculum is the most current and credible information available.

Solar thermal technical information guide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1985-05-01

This guide is designed to help investigators search for information in the solar thermal technology field. The information ranges from history and technology basics to the latest in research and develoment. It is written to help several audiences, including engineers and scientists who may be unfamiliar with a particular aspect of solar thermal energy, university researchers who are interested in the field, manufacturers needing to learn more about specific topics, and librarians who provide information to their clientele. The guide is divided into ten chapters, with Chapters 1 to 8 providing background on solar thermal energy development (including its history and current status) by topic. Within each topic, an overview is provided with references to relevant publications or information sources. Chapters 9 and 10 contain directories listing research centers and major technical information sources, respectively.

21 CFR 310.530 - Topically applied hormone-containing drug products for over-the-counter (OTC) human use.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 5 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Topically applied hormone-containing drug products... for Specific New Drugs or Devices § 310.530 Topically applied hormone-containing drug products for over-the-counter (OTC) human use. (a) The term “hormone” is used broadly to describe a chemical...

21 CFR 310.530 - Topically applied hormone-containing drug products for over-the-counter (OTC) human use.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 5 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Topically applied hormone-containing drug products... for Specific New Drugs or Devices § 310.530 Topically applied hormone-containing drug products for over-the-counter (OTC) human use. (a) The term “hormone” is used broadly to describe a chemical...

Marketing: A Bibliography of Marketing Reference Sources. The University of Rhode Island University Library.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Masten, Lisa

This annotated bibliography provides a selected list of marketing reference sources for undergraduate and graduate business students interested in marketing and related topics. All sources listed are available in the Reference Department at the University Library at the University of Rhode Island Kingston campus. Most sources, with the exception…

Environmental Scanning: Preliminary Findings of a Survey of CEO Information Seeking Behaviour in Two Canadian Industries.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Auster, Ethel; Choo, Chun Wei

1992-01-01

Reports the preliminary results of a survey of the environmental scanning behavior of 207 chief executive officers (CEOs) in the Canadian publishing and telecommunications industries. Topics addressed include information sources, perceived source accessibility, perceived source quality, and frequency of source use. (16 references) (LRW)

Successful treatment of eosinophilic pustular folliculitis with topical tacrolimus 0.1 percent ointment.

PubMed

Ng, Shanna Shan-Yi; Tay, Yong-Kwang

2012-02-15

Classic eosinophilic pustular folliculitis (EPF), otherwise known as Ofugi disease, is a rare condition commonly treated with topical glucocorticosteroids. If this fails, oral indomethacin is frequently the next line. Because the condition is recurrent, the use of long term steroids may cause side effects such as skin atrophy, hypertrichosis, and dyspigmentation. Topical tacrolimus is an immunosuppressant that is generally used as a steroid-sparing agent in atopic dermatitis. We report a case of classic EPF, which was recurrent over 5 years that had failed topical glucocorticosteroids but was successfully treated with topical tacrolimus 0.1 percent ointment.

Plate Tectonics and Continental Drift: Classroom Ideas.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stout, Prentice K.

1983-01-01

Suggests various classroom studies related to plate tectonics and continental drift, including comments on and sources of resource materials useful in teaching the topics. A complete list of magazine articles on the topics from the Sawyer Marine Resource Collection may be obtained by contacting the author. (JN)

Developmental aspects of the interaction between narcissism, self-esteem and object relations.

PubMed

Dare, C; Holder, A

1981-01-01

This paper reviews the history, within psycho-analysis, of narcissism and shows that it cannot be understood as a unitary concept. This is reflected in much of the extensive literature on the topic. The definition of narcissism solely in terms of the libidinal drive cathexis of the self representation is rejected. Instead, narcissism is defined as the sum of the positively-coloured feeling states attached to the self-representation. By pursuing a developmental investigation of narcissistic and opposing phenomena, the multiple sources which contribute to or detract from the overall level of self-esteem are demonstrated. Such an investigation clarifies the close relationship between the concepts of self-esteem, well-being and narcissism, and differentiating definitions are put forward. The term 'counter-narcissistic' is introduced to denote the negative contributions to self-esteem which detract from the narcissistic input. The interplay between the contributions to the overall quality of self-esteem, deriving on the one hand from somatic and instinctual drive sources, and on the other from object relationships, exemplifies the multiple origins of its qualities at any one time. This interplay is pursued through the sequential developmental phases from infancy to the oedipal level in order to show the complex epigenesis of narcissism, counter-narcissism and self-esteem.

Macroscopic modeling for heat and water vapor transfer in dry snow by homogenization.

PubMed

Calonne, Neige; Geindreau, Christian; Flin, Frédéric

2014-11-26

Dry snow metamorphism, involved in several topics related to cryospheric sciences, is mainly linked to heat and water vapor transfers through snow including sublimation and deposition at the ice-pore interface. In this paper, the macroscopic equivalent modeling of heat and water vapor transfers through a snow layer was derived from the physics at the pore scale using the homogenization of multiple scale expansions. The microscopic phenomena under consideration are heat conduction, vapor diffusion, sublimation, and deposition. The obtained macroscopic equivalent model is described by two coupled transient diffusion equations including a source term arising from phase change at the pore scale. By dimensional analysis, it was shown that the influence of such source terms on the overall transfers can generally not be neglected, except typically under small temperature gradients. The precision and the robustness of the proposed macroscopic modeling were illustrated through 2D numerical simulations. Finally, the effective vapor diffusion tensor arising in the macroscopic modeling was computed on 3D images of snow. The self-consistent formula offers a good estimate of the effective diffusion coefficient with respect to the snow density, within an average relative error of 10%. Our results confirm recent work that the effective vapor diffusion is not enhanced in snow.

[Learning from regional differences: online platform: http://www.versorgungsatlas.de].

PubMed

Mangiapane, S

2014-02-01

In 2011, the Central Research Institute of Ambulatory Health Care in Germany (ZI) published the website http://www.versorgungsatlas.de, a portal that presents research results from regional health services in Germany. The Web portal provides a publicly accessible source of information and a growing number of selected analyses focusing on regional variation in health care. Each topic is presented in terms of interactive maps, tables, and diagrams and is supplemented by a paper that examines the results in detail and provides an explanation of the findings. The portal has been designed to provide a forum on which health service researchers can publish their results derived from various data sources of different institutions in Germany and can comment on results already available on http://www.versorgungsatlas.de. For health policy actors, the discussion of regional differences offers a new, previously unavailable basis for determining the region-specific treatment needs and for providing health-care management with the goal of high-quality care for each resident.

Plasticity, Variability and Age in Second Language Acquisition and Bilingualism

PubMed Central

Birdsong, David

2018-01-01

Much of what is known about the outcome of second language acquisition and bilingualism can be summarized in terms of inter-individual variability, plasticity and age. The present review looks at variability and plasticity with respect to their underlying sources, and at age as a modulating factor in variability and plasticity. In this context we consider critical period effects vs. bilingualism effects, early and late bilingualism, nativelike and non-nativelike L2 attainment, cognitive aging, individual differences in learning, and linguistic dominance in bilingualism. Non-uniformity is an inherent characteristic of both early and late bilingualism. This review shows how plasticity and age connect with biological and experiential sources of variability, and underscores the value of research that reveals and explains variability. In these ways the review suggests how plasticity, variability and age conspire to frame fundamental research issues in L2 acquisition and bilingualism, and provides points of reference for discussion of the present Frontiers in Psychology Research Topic. PMID:29593590

YouTube as a source of information on rhinosinusitis: the good, the bad and the ugly.

PubMed

Biggs, T C; Bird, J H; Harries, P G; Salib, R J

2013-08-01

YouTube is an internet-based repository of user-generated content. This study aimed to determine whether YouTube represented a valid and reliable patient information resource for the lay person on the topic of rhinosinusitis. The study included the first 100 YouTube videos found using the search term 'sinusitis'. Videos were graded on their ability to inform the lay person on the subject of rhinosinusitis. Forty-five per cent of the videos were deemed to provide some useful information. Fifty-five per cent of the videos contained little or no useful facts, 27 per cent of which contained potentially misleading or even dangerous information. Videos uploaded by medical professionals or those from health information websites contained more useful information than those uploaded by independent users. YouTube appears to be an unreliable resource for accurate and up to date medical information relating to rhinosinusitis. However, it may provide some useful information if mechanisms existed to direct lay people to verifiable and credible sources.

Annual review of energy. Volume 5

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

Hollander, J.M.; Simmons, M.K.; Wood, D.O.

1980-01-01

The many continuing efforts around the world to deal with the issues of energy supply, demand, and environmental impact are reviewed. This volume carries reviews of recent developments in solar-photovoltaic technology and inertial-confinement fusion as long-term options. Progress in some important nearer-term energy-supply areas is reviewed by contributions in the fields of battery energy storage and coal clean-up technology. In the area of energy sociology, the interesting and poorly understood topic of public opinion about energy is reviewed. The subject of energy economics is represented by a review of the role of governmental incentives in energy production. Topics related tomore » the environmental aspects of energy technologies include coastal flooding from atmospheric carbon dioxide warming, risks of liquefied natural gas and petroleum gas, and the environmental impacts of renewable energy sources. Continuing the practice of earlier volumes to review the energy perspective of a particular region or country, Volume 5 carries a review of emerging energy technologies in island environments, typified by the case of Hawaii. Finally, the energy problem from the perspective of developing countries is reviewed by two papers, the first on renewable energy resources for developing countries, and the second on the problem of energy for the people of Asia and the Pacific. A separate abstract was prepared for each of the 12 reviews for the Energy Data Base (EDB); all will appear in Energy Abstracts for Policy Analysis (EAPA) and three in Energy Research Abstracts (ERA).« less

78 FR 69097 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-18

... (CRM) system to improve the response to correspondences from individuals seeking information from a... and private sector sources.'' The SalesForce CRM provides a centralized portal to manage frequently... topics. Depending on the topic searched, the CRM queries the database of pre-approved questions and...

Discovering Authorities and Hubs in Different Topological Web Graph Structures.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meghabghab, George

2002-01-01

Discussion of citation analysis on the Web considers Web hyperlinks as a source to analyze citations. Topics include basic graph theory applied to Web pages, including matrices, linear algebra, and Web topology; and hubs and authorities, including a search technique called HITS (Hyperlink Induced Topic Search). (Author/LRW)

Topical Research: Africa.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lynn, Karen

This lesson plan can be used in social studies, language arts, or library research. The instructional objective is for students to select a topic of study relating to Africa, write a thesis statement, collect information from media sources, and develop a conclusion. The teacher may assign the lesson for written or oral evaluation. The teacher…

Application of dynamic topic models to toxicogenomics data.

PubMed

Lee, Mikyung; Liu, Zhichao; Huang, Ruili; Tong, Weida

2016-10-06

All biological processes are inherently dynamic. Biological systems evolve transiently or sustainably according to sequential time points after perturbation by environment insults, drugs and chemicals. Investigating the temporal behavior of molecular events has been an important subject to understand the underlying mechanisms governing the biological system in response to, such as, drug treatment. The intrinsic complexity of time series data requires appropriate computational algorithms for data interpretation. In this study, we propose, for the first time, the application of dynamic topic models (DTM) for analyzing time-series gene expression data. A large time-series toxicogenomics dataset was studied. It contains over 3144 microarrays of gene expression data corresponding to rat livers treated with 131 compounds (most are drugs) at two doses (control and high dose) in a repeated schedule containing four separate time points (4-, 8-, 15- and 29-day). We analyzed, with DTM, the topics (consisting of a set of genes) and their biological interpretations over these four time points. We identified hidden patterns embedded in this time-series gene expression profiles. From the topic distribution for compound-time condition, a number of drugs were successfully clustered by their shared mode-of-action such as PPARɑ agonists and COX inhibitors. The biological meaning underlying each topic was interpreted using diverse sources of information such as functional analysis of the pathways and therapeutic uses of the drugs. Additionally, we found that sample clusters produced by DTM are much more coherent in terms of functional categories when compared to traditional clustering algorithms. We demonstrated that DTM, a text mining technique, can be a powerful computational approach for clustering time-series gene expression profiles with the probabilistic representation of their dynamic features along sequential time frames. The method offers an alternative way for uncovering hidden patterns embedded in time series gene expression profiles to gain enhanced understanding of dynamic behavior of gene regulation in the biological system.

Development and use of a content search strategy for retrieving studies on patients' views and preferences.

PubMed

Selva, Anna; Solà, Ivan; Zhang, Yuan; Pardo-Hernandez, Hector; Haynes, R Brian; Martínez García, Laura; Navarro, Tamara; Schünemann, Holger; Alonso-Coello, Pablo

2017-08-30

Identifying scientific literature addressing patients' views and preferences is complex due to the wide range of studies that can be informative and the poor indexing of this evidence. Given the lack of guidance we developed a search strategy to retrieve this type of evidence. We assembled an initial list of terms from several sources, including the revision of the terms and indexing of topic-related studies and, methods research literature, and other relevant projects and systematic reviews. We used the relative recall approach, evaluating the capacity of the designed search strategy for retrieving studies included in relevant systematic reviews for the topic. We implemented in practice the final version of the search strategy for conducting systematic reviews and guidelines, and calculated search's precision and the number of references needed to read (NNR). We assembled an initial version of the search strategy, which had a relative recall of 87.4% (yield of 132/out of 151 studies). We then added some additional terms from the studies not initially identified, and re-tested this improved version against the studies included in a new set of systematic reviews, reaching a relative recall of 85.8% (151/out of 176 studies, 95% CI 79.9 to 90.2). This final version of the strategy includes two sets of terms related with two domains: "Patient Preferences and Decision Making" and "Health State Utilities Values". When we used the search strategy for the development of systematic reviews and clinical guidelines we obtained low precision values (ranging from 2% to 5%), and the NNR from 20 to 50. This search strategy fills an important research gap in this field. It will help systematic reviewers, clinical guideline developers, and policy-makers to retrieve published research on patients' views and preferences. In turn, this will facilitate the inclusion of this critical aspect when formulating heath care decisions, including recommendations.

Stereotype Threat.

PubMed

Spencer, Steven J; Logel, Christine; Davies, Paul G

2016-01-01

When members of a stigmatized group find themselves in a situation where negative stereotypes provide a possible framework for interpreting their behavior, the risk of being judged in light of those stereotypes can elicit a disruptive state that undermines performance and aspirations in that domain. This situational predicament, termed stereotype threat, continues to be an intensely debated and researched topic in educational, social, and organizational psychology. In this review, we explore the various sources of stereotype threat, the mechanisms underlying stereotype-threat effects (both mediators and moderators), and the consequences of this situational predicament, as well as the means through which society and stigmatized individuals can overcome the insidious effects of stereotype threat. Ultimately, we hope this review alleviates some of the confusion surrounding stereotype threat while also sparking further research and debate.

Google vs. the Library (Part III): Assessing the Quality of Sources Found by Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Georgas, Helen

2015-01-01

This study assesses and compares the quality of sources found by undergraduate students when doing research using both Google and a library (federated) search tool. Thirty undergraduates were asked to find four sources (one book, two articles, and one additional source of their choosing) related to a selected research topic. Students used both…

How digital are the Digital Humanities? An analysis of two scholarly blogging platforms.

PubMed

Puschmann, Cornelius; Bastos, Marco

2015-01-01

In this paper we compare two academic networking platforms, HASTAC and Hypotheses, to show the distinct ways in which they serve specific communities in the Digital Humanities (DH) in different national and disciplinary contexts. After providing background information on both platforms, we apply co-word analysis and topic modeling to show thematic similarities and differences between the two sites, focusing particularly on how they frame DH as a new paradigm in humanities research. We encounter a much higher ratio of posts using humanities-related terms compared to their digital counterparts, suggesting a one-way dependency of digital humanities-related terms on the corresponding unprefixed labels. The results also show that the terms digital archive, digital literacy, and digital pedagogy are relatively independent from the respective unprefixed terms, and that digital publishing, digital libraries, and digital media show considerable cross-pollination between the specialization and the general noun. The topic modeling reproduces these findings and reveals further differences between the two platforms. Our findings also indicate local differences in how the emerging field of DH is conceptualized and show dynamic topical shifts inside these respective contexts.

The potential of Ganoderma lucidum extracts as bioactive ingredients in topical formulations, beyond its nutritional benefits.

PubMed

Taofiq, Oludemi; Heleno, Sandrina A; Calhelha, Ricardo C; Alves, Maria José; Barros, Lillian; González-Paramás, Ana M; Barreiro, Maria F; Ferreira, Isabel C F R

2017-10-01

Ganoderma lucidum was characterized in terms of nutritional value and chemical composition. Thereafter, ethanolic Soxhlet extracts were evaluated for antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antityrosinase, antimicrobial and cytotoxic effects, and further characterized in terms of phenolic acids, polysaccharides and triterpenoids. Finally, the obtained extracts were tested as cosmeceutical ingredients. G. lucidum proved to be a source of macronutrients and important bioactive compounds such as terpenoids, specially triterpenoids, and polysaccharides. In the extracts, ganoderic acids C2, A and H were the most abundant triterpenic acids and protocatechuic, p-hydroxibenzoic and syringic acids the identified phenolics. The developed cosmeceutical formulation preserved the extract bioactivities, presented a light-yellow colour and a pH of 4.6, which is considered appropriate for cosmeceutical's design. Behind the important nutritional/bioactive composition of G. lucidum, a potential towards its valorisation in the field of cosmeceuticals is foreseeable, as deduced from the bioactivities of its ethanolic extract and preservation in the tested formulation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Health marketing information: an assessment of past and future utilization patterns.

PubMed

McSurely, H B; Fullerton, S

1995-01-01

A sample of 108 members of the Academy of Health Services Marketing provided bibliographic citations of 629 sources of information which have been important to them in their jobs. The results indicate that the propensity to rely upon a source is dependent upon the topic of the information sought. The sources under scrutiny were consultants, books, journals, magazines, seminars, conferences, video tapes, and audio tapes. The topics considered included the variables of the marketing mix as well as market planning and marketing research. The discussion provides insight about where seekers of health care marketing knowledge go for specific kinds of information. It also suggests types of media that information-providers should consider for dissemination of their material.

Yurok Vocabulary.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennett, Ruth, Ed.; And Others

An illustrated vocabulary presents approximately 275 Yurok words organized topically from the Indian perspective to demonstrate the relationship between Yurok Indians and their social and natural worlds. English terms arranged alphabetically within each topic have two accompanying Yurok entries--one a Unifon spelling, the other having syllable…

77 FR 60430 - Meeting of the Mobile Sources Technical Review Subcommittee

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-03

... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [FRL-9736-3] Meeting of the Mobile Sources Technical Review... Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92- 463, notice is hereby given that the Mobile Sources Technical Review... Advisory Committee. This is an open meeting. The meeting will include discussion of current topics and...

Evaluation of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in vernal keratoconjunctivitis patients under long-term topical corticosteroid therapy.

PubMed

Cingu, Abdullah Kursat; Cinar, Yasin; Turkcu, Fatih Mehmet; Sahinoglu-Keskek, Nedime; Sahin, Alparslan; Sahin, Muhammed; Yuksel, Harun; Caca, Ihsan

2014-09-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) patients who were under long-term topical corticosteroid therapy. Thirty-six eyes of 36 VKC patients with clear cornea and normal videokeratography and 40 eyes of 40 age- and gender-matched normal children were included in the study. Clinical and demographic characteristics of the patients were noted and detailed ophthalmological examination was performed. Visual acuity (VA), spherical equivalent (SE), axial length (AL) and RNFL thickness measurements were compared between the groups. To correct ocular magnification effect on RNFL, we used Littmann's formula. All VKC patients had history of topical corticosteroid use and the mean duration of the topical corticosteroid use was 23.8 ± 9.09 months. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of intraocular pressure (IOP). VKC group had significantly worse VA, greater SE and AL and thinner mean global, superior and inferior RNFL thickness. There were significant negative correlations between the duration of topical corticosteroid use and the mean global, superior and temporal RNFL thickness in VKC group. After correction of magnification effect, VKC group still had thinner mean global, superior and inferior RNFL thickness, and significant difference between the groups in inferior RNFL thickness did not disappear. Significant RNFL thickness difference between the groups suggests a possible effect of long-term corticosteroid use in VKC patients. Because visual field (VF) analysis in pediatric patients is difficult to perform and IOP may be illusive, RNFL thickness measurements in addition to routine examinations in VKC patients may help clinicians in their practice.

Effects of Short-term Preoperative Topical Ketorolac on Pupil Diameter in Eyes Undergoing Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Capsulotomy.

PubMed

Diakonis, Vasilios F; Kontadakis, Georgios A; Anagnostopoulos, Apostolos G; Yesilirmak, Nilufer; Waren, Daniel P; Cabot, Florence; Yoo, Sonia H; Donaldson, Kendall E

2017-04-01

To assess pupil diameter before and after femtosecond laser-assisted capsulotomy in patients who were pretreated with a short-term topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) (ketorolac) versus those without pretreatment. This prospective, randomized, observational case series included consecutive patients scheduled to undergo cataract extraction using the Catalys femtosecond laser platform (Abbott Medical Optics, Inc., Santa Ana, CA) to perform only capsulotomies. The same protocol for preoperative medical mydriasis was used for all patients, whereas pupil diameter was assessed using a surgical ruler immediately before and 3 minutes after femtosecond laser-assisted capsulotomy. The patients were divided into two groups: one received short-term topical ketorolac preoperatively and the other did not receive NSAID pretreatment (control). A total of 42 eyes of 42 patients (1 eye per patient) were included in the study. Mean pupillary miosis was 0.79 ± 1.08 and 1.57 ± 1.19 mm for the ketorolac and control groups, respectively. There was a statistically significant decrease in pupil diameter for both groups individually (P < .05). There was also a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P < .05) with the induced miosis in the eyes that did not receive topical NSAIDs prior to cataract extraction being twofold greater when compared with the miosis of the eyes that received ketorolac pretreatment. Short-term topical use of ketorolac prior to femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery seems to induce significantly less pupillary miosis in comparison to eyes that did not receive NSAID pretreatment. NSAID use is advised prior to femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery to minimize pupil miosis-related surgical difficulties or complications during cataract extraction. [J Refract Surg. 2017;33(4):230-234.]. Copyright 2017, SLACK Incorporated.

Publication trends of Allergy, Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, and Clinical and Translational Allergy journals: a MeSH term-based bibliometric analysis.

PubMed

Martinho-Dias, Daniel; Sousa-Pinto, Bernardo; Botelho-Souza, Júlio; Soares, António; Delgado, Luís; Fonseca, João Almeida

2018-01-01

We performed a MeSH term-based bibliometric analysis aiming to assess the publication trends of EAACI journals, namely Allergy, Pediatric Allergy and Immunology (PAI) (from 1990 to 2015) and Clinical and Translational Allergy (CTA) (from its inception in 2011 to 2015). We also aimed to discuss the impact of the creation of CTA in the publication topics of Allergy and PAI. We analysed a total of 1973 articles and 23,660 MeSH terms. Most MeSH terms in the three journals fell in the category of "basic immunology and molecular biology" (BIMB). During the studied period, we observed an increase in the proportion of MeSH terms on BIMB, and a decreasing proportion of terms on allergic rhinitis and aeroallergens. The observed changes in Allergy and PAI publication topics hint at a possible impact from CTA creation.

Comparative study of original recover and recover KL in separable non-negative matrix factorization for topic detection in Twitter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prabandari, R. D.; Murfi, H.

2017-07-01

An increasing amount of information on social media such as Twitter requires an efficient way to find the topics so that the information can be well managed. One of an automated method for topic detection is separable non-negative matrix factorization (SNMF). SNMF assumes that each topic has at least one word that does not appear on other topics. This method uses the direct approach and gives polynomial-time complexity, while the previous methods are iterative approaches and have NP-hard complexity. There are three steps of SNMF algorithm, i.e. constructing word co-occurrences, finding anchor words, and recovering topics. In this paper, we examine two topic recover methods, namely original recover that is using algebraic manipulation and recover KL that using probability approach with Kullback-Leibler divergence. Our simulations show that recover KL provides better accuracies in term of topic recall than original recover.

Decreasing Skin Graft Contraction through Topical Wound Bed Preparation with Anti-Inflammatory Agents

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-10-01

AWARD NUMBER: W81XWH-14-2-0153 TITLE: Decreasing Skin Graft Contraction through Topical Wound Bed Preparation with Anti - Inflammatory Agents...Sep 2015 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Decreasing Skin Graft Contraction Through Topical Wound Bed Preparation with Anti - Inflammatory Agents 5a. CONTRACT...applied anti - inflammatory drugs that will reduce recipient site inflammation and skin graft contraction. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Graft contraction, anti

Exploring Sensitive Subjects with Adolescents: Using Media and Technology to Teach about Genocide

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sardone, Nancy B.; Devlin-Scherer, Roberta

2015-01-01

This paper discusses potential strategies and sources for approaching uncomfortable topics and reviews the challenges facing teachers who choose to do so with the topic of genocide as an example. Using a variety of techniques, including graphic organizers, political cartoons, comic books and graphic novels, films, children's and young adult…

EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE AND SCHOOL LEARNING--A BOOK OF READINGS.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

CLARK, DONALD H., ED.; LESSER, GERALD S., ED.

A COLLECTION OF 26 READINGS ON RESEARCH IN EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE AND SCHOOL LEARNING, THIS PAPERBACK BOOK PRESENTS FOUR OR FIVE STUDIES OF DIFFERING TYPES FROM VARIOUS SOURCES ON EACH TOPIC TREATED. THE TOPICS INCLUDE A DEFINITION OF EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE AND PROBLEMS, (2) ANTECEDENTS OF TROUBLE, (3) CASE HISTORIES OF TROUBLED CHILDREN, (4)…

Opinion Integration and Summarization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lu, Yue

2011-01-01

As Web 2.0 applications become increasingly popular, more and more people express their opinions on the Web in various ways in real time. Such wide coverage of topics and abundance of users make the Web an extremely valuable source for mining people's opinions about all kinds of topics. However, since the opinions are usually expressed as…

Problems in Teaching the Topic of Redox Reactions: Actions and Conceptions of Chemistry Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Jong, Onno; And Others

1995-01-01

Presents a case study of problems that can occur when teaching the topic of redox reactions to grade-11 students. Concludes that the teachers' scientific expertise is an important source of difficulties when teaching redox reactions. Discusses implications for improvement of current chemistry classroom practice and content-related teacher…

Moral Choices in Contemporary Society: Source Book.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hellman, Mary, Ed.

One of several supplementary materials for a newspaper course on moral choices in contemporary society, this sourcebook contains program ideas and resources to help civic leaders and educators plan programs based on the course topics. There are four sections. The first section explains how the topics can be used in planning programs, identifies…

Adviser's Manual of Federal Regulations Affecting Foreign Students and Scholars. 1993 Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bedrosian, Alex, Ed.

This manual constitutes a reference source on federal regulations for all those concerned with international educational exchange. This year's edition adds to the usual range of topics with more detailed information on immigrant status and related areas. Thirteen sections treat the following topics: (1) introduction to immigration law; (2) the…

Applying an information literacy rubric to first-year health sciences student research posters.

PubMed

Goodman, Xan; Watts, John; Arenas, Rogelio; Weigel, Rachelle; Terrell, Tony

2018-01-01

This article describes the collection and analysis of annotated bibliographies created by first-year health sciences students to support their final poster projects. The authors examined the students' abilities to select relevant and authoritative sources, summarize the content of those sources, and correctly cite those sources. We collected images of 1,253 posters, of which 120 were sampled for analysis, and scored the posters using a 4-point rubric to evaluate the students' information literacy skills. We found that 52% of students were proficient at selecting relevant sources that directly contributed to the themes, topics, or debates presented in their final poster projects, and 64% of students did well with selecting authoritative peer-reviewed scholarly sources related to their topics. However, 45% of students showed difficulty in correctly applying American Psychological Association (APA) citation style. Our findings demonstrate a need for instructors and librarians to provide strategies for reading and comprehending scholarly articles in addition to properly using APA citation style.

Applying an information literacy rubric to first-year health sciences student research posters*

PubMed Central

Goodman, Xan; Watts, John; Arenas, Rogelio; Weigel, Rachelle; Terrell, Tony

2018-01-01

Objective This article describes the collection and analysis of annotated bibliographies created by first-year health sciences students to support their final poster projects. The authors examined the students’ abilities to select relevant and authoritative sources, summarize the content of those sources, and correctly cite those sources. Methods We collected images of 1,253 posters, of which 120 were sampled for analysis, and scored the posters using a 4-point rubric to evaluate the students’ information literacy skills. Results We found that 52% of students were proficient at selecting relevant sources that directly contributed to the themes, topics, or debates presented in their final poster projects, and 64% of students did well with selecting authoritative peer-reviewed scholarly sources related to their topics. However, 45% of students showed difficulty in correctly applying American Psychological Association (APA) citation style. Conclusion Our findings demonstrate a need for instructors and librarians to provide strategies for reading and comprehending scholarly articles in addition to properly using APA citation style. PMID:29339940

A Comparison of Evaluation Metrics for Biomedical Journals, Articles, and Websites in Terms of Sensitivity to Topic

PubMed Central

Fu, Lawrence D.; Aphinyanaphongs, Yindalon; Wang, Lily; Aliferis, Constantin F.

2011-01-01

Evaluating the biomedical literature and health-related websites for quality are challenging information retrieval tasks. Current commonly used methods include impact factor for journals, PubMed’s clinical query filters and machine learning-based filter models for articles, and PageRank for websites. Previous work has focused on the average performance of these methods without considering the topic, and it is unknown how performance varies for specific topics or focused searches. Clinicians, researchers, and users should be aware when expected performance is not achieved for specific topics. The present work analyzes the behavior of these methods for a variety of topics. Impact factor, clinical query filters, and PageRank vary widely across different topics while a topic-specific impact factor and machine learning-based filter models are more stable. The results demonstrate that a method may perform excellently on average but struggle when used on a number of narrower topics. Topic adjusted metrics and other topic robust methods have an advantage in such situations. Users of traditional topic-sensitive metrics should be aware of their limitations. PMID:21419864

A study of changes in middle school teachers' understanding of selected ideas in science as a function of an in-service program focusing on student preconceptions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shymansky, James A.; Woodworth, George; Norman, Obed; Dunkhase, John; Matthews, Charles; Liu, Chin-Tang

This article examines the impact of a specially designed in-service model on teacher understanding of selected science concepts. The underlying idea of the model is to get teachers to restructure their own understanding of a selected science topic by having them study the structure and evolution of their students' ideas on the same topic. Concepts on topics from the life, earth, and physical sciences served as the content focus and middle school Grades 4-9 served as the context for this study. The in-service experience constituting the main treatment in the study occurred in three distinct phases. In the initial phase, participating teachers interviewed several of their own students to find out what kinds of preconceptions students had about a particular topic. The teachers used concept mapping strategies learned in the in-service to facilitate the interviews. Next the teachers teamed with other teachers with similar topic interests and a science expert to evaluate and explore the scientific merit of the student conceptual frameworks and to develop instructional units, including a summative assessment during a summer workshop. Finally, the student ideas were further evaluated and explored as the teachers taught the topics in their classrooms during the fall term. Concept maps were used to study changes in teacher understanding across the phases of the in-service in a repeated-measures design. Analysis of the maps showed significant growth in the number of valid propositions expressed by teachers between the initial and final mappings in all topic groups. But in half of the groups, this long-term growth was interrupted by a noticeable decline in the number of valid propositions expressed. In addition, analysis of individual teacher maps showed distinctive patterns of initial invalid conceptions being replaced by new invalid conceptions in later mappings. The combination of net growth of valid propositions and the patterns of evolving invalid conceptions is discussed in constructivist terms.

The Impact of Topic Characteristics and Threat on Willingness to Engage with Wikipedia Articles: Insights from Laboratory Experiments

PubMed Central

Yenikent, Seren; Holtz, Peter; Kimmerle, Joachim

2017-01-01

A growing body of research aims to identify the factors that motivate people to make contributions in Wikipedia. We conducted two laboratory experiments to investigate the connections between topic characteristics, perception of threat, and willingness to engage with Wikipedia articles. In Study 1 (N = 83), we examined how topic familiarity, topic controversiality, and mortality salience influenced participants’ willingness to engage with Wikipedia articles. We presented the introduction parts of 20 Wikipedia articles and asked participants to rate each article with respect to familiarity and controversiality. In addition, we experimentally manipulated participants’ level of mortality salience in terms of the amount of threat they experienced when reading the article. Participants also indicated their willingness to engage with a particular article. The results revealed that familiar and controversial topics increased the willingness to engage with Wikipedia articles. Although mortality salience increased accessibility of death-related thoughts, it did not result in any changes in people’s willingness to work with the articles. The aim of Study 2 (N = 90) was to replicate the effects of topic characteristics by following a similar procedure. We additionally manipulated uncertainty salience by assigning participants to three experimental conditions: uncertainty salience, certainty salience, and non-salience. As expected, familiar and controversial topics were of high interest in terms of willingness to contribute. However, the manipulation of uncertainty salience did not yield any significant results despite the emergence of negative emotional states. In sum, we demonstrated that topic characteristics were factors that substantially influenced people’s willingness to engage with Wikipedia articles whereas perceived threat was not. PMID:29163323

The Impact of Topic Characteristics and Threat on Willingness to Engage with Wikipedia Articles: Insights from Laboratory Experiments.

PubMed

Yenikent, Seren; Holtz, Peter; Kimmerle, Joachim

2017-01-01

A growing body of research aims to identify the factors that motivate people to make contributions in Wikipedia. We conducted two laboratory experiments to investigate the connections between topic characteristics, perception of threat, and willingness to engage with Wikipedia articles. In Study 1 ( N = 83), we examined how topic familiarity, topic controversiality, and mortality salience influenced participants' willingness to engage with Wikipedia articles. We presented the introduction parts of 20 Wikipedia articles and asked participants to rate each article with respect to familiarity and controversiality. In addition, we experimentally manipulated participants' level of mortality salience in terms of the amount of threat they experienced when reading the article. Participants also indicated their willingness to engage with a particular article. The results revealed that familiar and controversial topics increased the willingness to engage with Wikipedia articles. Although mortality salience increased accessibility of death-related thoughts, it did not result in any changes in people's willingness to work with the articles. The aim of Study 2 ( N = 90) was to replicate the effects of topic characteristics by following a similar procedure. We additionally manipulated uncertainty salience by assigning participants to three experimental conditions: uncertainty salience, certainty salience, and non-salience. As expected, familiar and controversial topics were of high interest in terms of willingness to contribute. However, the manipulation of uncertainty salience did not yield any significant results despite the emergence of negative emotional states. In sum, we demonstrated that topic characteristics were factors that substantially influenced people's willingness to engage with Wikipedia articles whereas perceived threat was not.

Two Meanings of Algorithmic Mathematics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maurer, Stephen B.

1984-01-01

Two mathematical topics are interpreted from the viewpoints of traditional (performing algorithms) and contemporary (creating algorithms and thinking in terms of them for solving problems and developing theory) algorithmic mathematics. The two topics are Horner's method for evaluating polynomials and Gauss's method for solving systems of linear…

Air Quality and Heart Health: An Emerging Topic for Heart Month

EPA Science Inventory

Air Quality and Heart Health: An Emerging Topic for Heart Month: Ambient air particle pollution increases short- and long-term cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Older-people, those with pre-existing heart disease and lung disease and diabetes are at higher risk. Mechanism...

Using the Internet To Create Primary Source Teaching Packets.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

VanFossen, Phillip J.; Shiveley, James M.

2000-01-01

Describes strategies and guidelines for creating age- and content-appropriate primary source documents using the Internet. Discusses the value of using topic-specific primary source teaching packets, or jackdaws. Provides three Internet generated jackdaws: New Deal/FDR, Home Front during World War II, and the Gilded Age. Addresses fair use issues.…

Children in the UK: Signposts to Statistics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grey, Eleanor

This guide indicates statistical sources in the United Kingdom dealing with children and young people. Regular and occasional sources are listed in a three-column format including the name of the source, a brief description, and the geographic area to which statistics refer. Information is classified under 25 topic headings: abortions; accidents;…

Environmental Information Sources on the Net.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raeder, Aggi

1997-01-01

Discusses environmental information needs of business professionals and provides an annotated list of Web sites serving as information sources. Highlights include "meta sites", government, health, law, engineering, education, organizations, and environmental news, as well as selected environmental "hot topics." (AEF)

Very High-Energy Gamma-Ray Sources.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weekes, Trevor C.

1986-01-01

Discusses topics related to high-energy, gamma-ray astronomy (including cosmic radiation, gamma-ray detectors, high-energy gamma-ray sources, and others). Also considers motivation for the development of this field, the principal results to date, and future prospects. (JN)

Short-term azithromycin treatment promotes cornea allograft survival in the rat.

PubMed

Wacker, Katrin; Denker, Sophy; Hildebrand, Antonia; Eberwein, Philipp; Reinhard, Thomas; Schwartzkopff, Johannes

2013-01-01

Any inflammatory response following corneal transplantation may induce rejection and irreversible graft failure. The purpose of this study is to analyze the anti-inflammatory effect of azithromycin (AZM) following experimental keratoplasty in rats. Corneal transplants were performed between Fisher-donor and Lewis-recipient rats. Recipients were postoperatively treated three times daily with AZM, miglyol, ofloxacin or dexamethasone eye drops. As an additional control, AZM was applied following syngeneic keratoplasty. Furthermore, short-term treatments with AZM for seven days perioperatively or with AZM only three days prior to the transplantation were compared to appropriate controls. All transplants were monitored clinically for opacity, edema, and vascularization. Infiltrating CD45(+), CD4(+), CD8(+), CD25(+), CD161(+) and CD163(+) cells were quantified via immunohistochemistry. AZM significantly promoted corneal graft survival compared with miglyol or ofloxacin treatment. This effect was comparable to topical dexamethasone. No adverse AZM effect was observed. Histology confirmed a significant reduction of infiltrating leukocytes. The short-term application of AZM for three days prior to transplantation or for seven days perioperatively reduced corneal graft rejection significantly compared with the controls. Along with antibiotic properties, topical AZM has a strong anti-inflammatory effect. Following keratoplasty, this effect is comparable to topical dexamethasone without the risk of steroid-induced adverse effects. Short-term treatment with AZM three days prior to the transplantation was sufficient to promote graft survival in the rat keratoplasty model. We therefore suggest further assessing the anti-inflammatory function of topical AZM following keratoplasty in humans.

Topical Application of Tranexamic Acid to Reduce Blood Loss During Complex Combat Related Spine Trauma Surgery

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-10-01

AWARD NUMBER: W81XWH-14-2-0177 TITLE: Topical Application of Tranexamic Acid to Reduce Blood Loss During Complex Combat-Related Spine Trauma...COVERED (From - To) 30 Sep 2014 - 29 Sep 2015 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Topical Application of Tranexamic Acid to Reduce Blood Loss During Complex...application will be submitted shortly and successfully. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Spine; Tranexamic Acid ; Perioperative blood loss; Trauma; Antifibrinolytic

Topical therapy for psoriasis: a promising future. Focus on JAK and phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitors.

PubMed

Rafael, Adilia; Torres, Tiago

2016-01-01

Psoriasis is a common, chronic and disabling skin disorder affecting approximately 2% of the population, associated with significant negative impact on the patient's quality of life. Approximately 80% of those affected with psoriasis have mild-to-moderate forms and are usually treated with topical therapy, whereas phototherapy and systemic therapies are used for those with severe disease. In the past three decades, the major advances in psoriasis therapy have been in systemic agents for the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis, particularly new immunomodulatory and biological molecules, while topical therapies have remained relatively unchanged over the past decades. Indeed, topical corticosteroids and vitamin D3 analogs are still the gold standard of therapy for mild-to-moderate psoriasis. Thus, there is a need to develop new and more effective topical agents in the short and long term, with a better efficacy and safety profile than corticosteroids and vitamin D3 analogs. Over the past five years, investigation into topical therapy has expanded, with exciting new drugs being developed. Preliminary results of these emerging agents that selectively target disease-defining pathogenic pathways seem to be promising, although long-term and large-scale studies assessing safety and efficacy are still lacking. The aim of this article was to review the clinical and research data of some emerging topical agents, focusing on Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription and phosphodiesterase type 4 inhibitors, which are currently being investigated.

A narrative review of medical, chiropractic, and alternative health practices in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea

PubMed Central

Spears, Lolita G.

2005-01-01

Abstract Objective Primary dysmenorrhea and related issues are discussed as they influence the gynecological and social health of females during adolescence, adulthood, and senior maturity. Health practitioners are exposed to multiple approaches towards the management of menstrual pain. Clinical and social viewpoints target the causation, development, diagnosis, manifestation and management of primary dysmenorrhea. This narrative review includes the topic of the doctor-patient relationship in efforts of cultivating effectively communicative health practitioners. Controversial topics related to primary dysmenorrhea and the quality of life for women are addressed. Data Sources A search for literature reviews, case studies, laboratory research, and clinical trials from 1985–2004 was performed using the MEDLINE database. Sources of additional information included textbooks, national organizational literature and contemporary articles. Discussion Menstrual pain is a prevalent experience yet it is socially taboo for conversation; as such, it poses a hindrance to its management. The communication between the doctor and patient is a critical barrier point between establishing a diagnosis and determining an appropriate treatment plan. A multi-disciple treatment plan varies as much as patients themselves vary in personal experiences, needs, and preferences. Conclusions Medicinal prophylactics, physical therapeutics, non-acidic diets, herbal supplements, eastern therapies and the chiropractic manual adjustments of the spine are effective methods for the management of primary dysmenorrhea. The non-invasive management of primary dysmenorrhea includes the chiropractic adjustment with complimentary modalities, and other alternative health care practices. Medicinal prophylactics are invasive and pose a higher risk to long-term chemical exposure, side effects or irreversible conditions. PMID:19674650

Term Dependence: A Basis for Luhn and Zipf Models.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Losee, Robert M.

2001-01-01

Discusses relationships between the frequency-based characteristics of neighboring terms in natural language and the rank or frequency of the terms. Topics include information theory measures, including expected mutual information measure (EMIM); entropy and rank; Luhn's model of term aboutness; Zipf's law; and implications for indexing and…

Green Adsorbents for Wastewaters: A Critical Review

PubMed Central

Kyzas, George Z.; Kostoglou, Margaritis

2014-01-01

One of the most serious environmental problems is the existence of hazardous and toxic pollutants in industrial wastewaters. The major hindrance is the simultaneous existence of many/different types of pollutants as (i) dyes; (ii) heavy metals; (iii) phenols; (iv) pesticides and (v) pharmaceuticals. Adsorption is considered to be one of the most promising techniques for wastewater treatment over the last decades. The economic crisis of the 2000s led researchers to turn their interest in adsorbent materials with lower cost. In this review article, a new term will be introduced, which is called “green adsorption”. Under this term, it is meant the low-cost materials originated from: (i) agricultural sources and by-products (fruits, vegetables, foods); (ii) agricultural residues and wastes; (iii) low-cost sources from which most complex adsorbents will be produced (i.e., activated carbons after pyrolysis of agricultural sources). These “green adsorbents” are expected to be inferior (regarding their adsorption capacity) to the super-adsorbents of previous literature (complex materials as modified chitosans, activated carbons, structurally-complex inorganic composite materials etc.), but their cost-potential makes them competitive. This review is a critical approach to green adsorption, discussing many different (maybe in some occasions doubtful) topics such as: (i) adsorption capacity; (ii) kinetic modeling (given the ultimate target to scale up the batch experimental data to fixed-bed column calculations for designing/optimizing commercial processes) and (iii) critical techno-economical data of green adsorption processes in order to scale-up experiments (from lab to industry) with economic analysis and perspectives of the use of green adsorbents. PMID:28788460

An object-oriented design for automated navigation of semantic networks inside a medical data dictionary.

PubMed

Ruan, W; Bürkle, T; Dudeck, J

2000-01-01

In this paper we present a data dictionary server for the automated navigation of information sources. The underlying knowledge is represented within a medical data dictionary. The mapping between medical terms and information sources is based on a semantic network. The key aspect of implementing the dictionary server is how to represent the semantic network in a way that is easier to navigate and to operate, i.e. how to abstract the semantic network and to represent it in memory for various operations. This paper describes an object-oriented design based on Java that represents the semantic network in terms of a group of objects. A node and its relationships to its neighbors are encapsulated in one object. Based on such a representation model, several operations have been implemented. They comprise the extraction of parts of the semantic network which can be reached from a given node as well as finding all paths between a start node and a predefined destination node. This solution is independent of any given layout of the semantic structure. Therefore the module, called Giessen Data Dictionary Server can act independent of a specific clinical information system. The dictionary server will be used to present clinical information, e.g. treatment guidelines or drug information sources to the clinician in an appropriate working context. The server is invoked from clinical documentation applications which contain an infobutton. Automated navigation will guide the user to all the information relevant to her/his topic, which is currently available inside our closed clinical network.

Long-period noise source inversion in a 3-D heterogeneous Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sager, K.; Ermert, L. A.; Afanasiev, M.; Boehm, C.; Fichtner, A.

2017-12-01

We have implemented a new method for ambient noise source inversion that fully honors finite-frequency wave propagation and 3-D heterogeneous Earth structure.Here, we present results of its first application to the Earth's long-period background signal, the hum, in a period band of around 120 - 300 s. In addition to being a computationally convenient test case, the hum is also the topic of ongoing research in its own right, because different physical mechanisms have been proposed for its excitation. The broad patterns of this model for South and North hemisphere winter are qualitatively consistent with previous long-term studies of the hum sources; however, thanks to methodological improvements, the iterative refinement, and the use of a comparatively extensive dataset, we retrieve a more detailed model in certain locations. In particular, our results support findings that the dominant hum sources are focused along coasts and shelf areas, particularly in the North hemisphere winter, with a possible though not well-constrained contribution of pelagic sources. Additionally, our findings indicate that hum source locations in the ocean, tentatively linked to locally high bathymetry, are important contributors particularly during South hemisphere winter. These results, in conjunction with synthetic recovery tests and observed cross-correlation waveforms, suggest that hum sources are rather narrowly concentrated in space, with length scales on the order of few hundred kilometers. Future work includes the extension of the model to spring and fall season and to shorter periods, as well as its use in full-waveform ambient noise inversion for 3-D Earth structure.

Cloning: What Are Their Attitudes? A Report on the General Attitudes of a Sample of Midwestern Citizens.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balas, Andrea K.; Hariharan, Joya

This study, part of a larger research project, explored the knowledge and attitudes of the general population regarding cloning. Such awareness of the general public's knowledge of important science topics, attitudes toward such topics, and sources from which people retrieve information can help scientific and educational communities develop…

A Topic Analysis of ISECON Conference Proceedings from 1982 through 2014

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Jon; Athey, Susan; Plotnicki, Jon; Barnes, Jay

2016-01-01

The authors note a distinct shift in topics covered in curricula as well as in conference presentations. This research was undertaken to get a better understanding of what these shifts have been, and determine their magnitude over time. Since ISECON has published its conference proceedings in digital format since 1982, this was a logical source of…

Precocious puberty secondary to topical testosterone exposure.

PubMed

Franklin, Sherry Lynn; Geffner, Mitchell E

2003-01-01

We report a case of pronounced virilization, including marked penile and pubic hair growth, accelerated height velocity and skeletal maturation, and increased muscle mass in a 2.67 year-old boy resulting from presumed inadvertent, long-term exposure to a topical testosterone cream being used by his father.

Managment of superficial infantile capillary hemangiomas with topical timolol maleate solution.

PubMed

Rizvi, Syed Ali Raza; Yusuf, Faraz; Sharma, Rajeev; Rizvi, Syed Wajahat Ali

2015-01-01

Capillary hemangioma is the most common benign tumor of eyelids and orbit in children. Recently, a topical beta blocker has been reported as an effective treatment for superficial capillary hemangiomas. We present a case report of two children having large capillary hemangiomas who responded well to topical treatment by 0.5% timolol maleate solution. After 12 months of treatment, the lesion has significantly reduced in size, thickness, and color in both cases. Thus, we conclude that long-term use of topical 0.5% timolol maleate solution is safe and effective in treating superficial capillary hemangiomas.

How Digital Are the Digital Humanities? An Analysis of Two Scholarly Blogging Platforms

PubMed Central

Puschmann, Cornelius; Bastos, Marco

2015-01-01

In this paper we compare two academic networking platforms, HASTAC and Hypotheses, to show the distinct ways in which they serve specific communities in the Digital Humanities (DH) in different national and disciplinary contexts. After providing background information on both platforms, we apply co-word analysis and topic modeling to show thematic similarities and differences between the two sites, focusing particularly on how they frame DH as a new paradigm in humanities research. We encounter a much higher ratio of posts using humanities-related terms compared to their digital counterparts, suggesting a one-way dependency of digital humanities-related terms on the corresponding unprefixed labels. The results also show that the terms digital archive, digital literacy, and digital pedagogy are relatively independent from the respective unprefixed terms, and that digital publishing, digital libraries, and digital media show considerable cross-pollination between the specialization and the general noun. The topic modeling reproduces these findings and reveals further differences between the two platforms. Our findings also indicate local differences in how the emerging field of DH is conceptualized and show dynamic topical shifts inside these respective contexts. PMID:25675441

Mapping patient safety: a large-scale literature review using bibliometric visualisation techniques.

PubMed

Rodrigues, S P; van Eck, N J; Waltman, L; Jansen, F W

2014-03-13

The amount of scientific literature available is often overwhelming, making it difficult for researchers to have a good overview of the literature and to see relations between different developments. Visualisation techniques based on bibliometric data are helpful in obtaining an overview of the literature on complex research topics, and have been applied here to the topic of patient safety (PS). On the basis of title words and citation relations, publications in the period 2000-2010 related to PS were identified in the Scopus bibliographic database. A visualisation of the most frequently cited PS publications was produced based on direct and indirect citation relations between publications. Terms were extracted from titles and abstracts of the publications, and a visualisation of the most important terms was created. The main PS-related topics studied in the literature were identified using a technique for clustering publications and terms. A total of 8480 publications were identified, of which the 1462 most frequently cited ones were included in the visualisation. The publications were clustered into 19 clusters, which were grouped into three categories: (1) magnitude of PS problems (42% of all included publications); (2) PS risk factors (31%) and (3) implementation of solutions (19%). In the visualisation of PS-related terms, five clusters were identified: (1) medication; (2) measuring harm; (3) PS culture; (4) physician; (5) training, education and communication. Both analysis at publication and term level indicate an increasing focus on risk factors. A bibliometric visualisation approach makes it possible to analyse large amounts of literature. This approach is very useful for improving one's understanding of a complex research topic such as PS and for suggesting new research directions or alternative research priorities. For PS research, the approach suggests that more research on implementing PS improvement initiatives might be needed.

Health and human rights in scientific literature: a systematic review over a decade.

PubMed

Mpinga, Emmanuel Kabengele; Verloo, Henk; London, Leslie; Chastonay, Philippe

2011-12-15

Over the past decades, the health and human rights movement has become a public health actor that cannot and should not be ignored when defining public health policies. Little has been published about the scientific contribution of the movement, be it in terms of volume, topics, content, diffusion channels, production, or target sites. This article aims to characterize the scientific production of articles focusing on "health and human rights" and to describe its evolution over a decade. A systematic review of the literature was done. The following databases were considered: Medline, Embase, BDSP, Wholis, Saphir, Rero and Web of Science. The analysis focused on English and French contributions published between January 1, 1999 and December 31, 2008. Nine hundred twenty eight articles, published in 377 different journals, were reviewed. Among these articles, 43.7% had been written by one author and 56.3% by two or more authors. Over the studied decade, the production volume increased threefold. Most frequent developed topics were related to health systems (18.3%), mental health (11.5%), HIV/AIDS (10.3%), reproductive health (9.2%). Emerging topics included: the rights of patients (2.7%), new technologies (2.5%), and handicap (2.5%). Studies were classified according to their design in social analysis (42.7%), reviews of the literature (19.8%), qualitative studies (17.9%), editorials (12.5%), epidemiological studies (6.8%). Most studies were published in public health (34.5%) and biomedical journals (29.0%), while some appeared in social science journals (4.7%). The studies were related to global issues/settings (43.9%) or more specifically to country settings, for example, the United States (9.3%), Great Britain (7.8%), South Africa (3.3%), Australia (3.0%), Canada (2.6%), France (2.3%), and India (1.9%). The authors were mainly from industrialized countries. The publication of articles on health and human rights issues is increasing, and new topics are being addressed. Yet more evidence-based studies might be necessary to scientifically strengthen the domain. Copyright © 2011 Mpinga, Verloo, London, and Chastonay. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Area Source Standards for Prepared Feeds Manufacturing: Commonly Asked Questions and Answers

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This 2011 document answers common questions about the NESHAP for Area Sources for Prepared Feeds Manufacturing. The questions range in topics including applicability, specific requirements, and recordkeeping.

Annotated Bibliography of Law-Related Pollution Prevention Sources.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lynch, Holly; Murphy, Elaine

This annotated bibliography of law-related pollution prevention sources was prepared by the National Pollution Prevention Center for Higher Education. Some topics of the items include waste reduction, hazardous wastes, risk reduction, environmental policy, pollution prevention, environmental protection, environmental leadership, environmental…

Carbon and hydrogen isotope composition and C-14 concentration in methane from sources and from the atmosphere: Implications for a global methane budget

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wahlen, Martin

1994-01-01

The topics covered include the following: biogenic methane studies; forest soil methane uptake; rice field methane sources; atmospheric measurements; stratospheric samples; Antarctica; California; and Germany.

Canadian Reference Sources 1980--A Selection.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryder, Dorothy E.

1981-01-01

Provides a bibliography of 52 reference sources and 24 new editions and supplements, excluding annuals. Topics include science and technology, art, history, university courses, regional information, native languages, museums, law, geography, Canadian culture, dissertations, sports, antiques, botany, and a variety of directories. (CHC)

Guttate Psoriasis Following Streptococcal Vulvovaginitis in a Five-year-old Girl.

PubMed

Hernandez, Melia; Simms-Cendan, Judith; Zendell, Kathleen

2015-10-01

Guttate psoriasis is frequently associated with a preceding pharyngeal or perianal streptococcal infection in children. Despite Group A beta-hemolytic streptococci (GABHS) being the most common cause of specific bacterial vulvovaginitis in prepubertal girls, there are no reports of streptococcal vulvovaginitis triggering guttate psoriasis. A five-year-old girl presented with guttate psoriasis following an episode of Streptococcal pyogenes vulvovaginitis. Following antibiotic treatment and bacterial eradication she developed vulvar psoriasis that resolved with high potency topical steroids. Identification of an antecedent streptoccocal infection can help predict the long term prognosis in children with guttate psoriasis. The vulvovaginal area should be considered as a source of GABHS infection in young girls with guttate psoriasis, and cultures should be considered if symptoms are present. Published by Elsevier Inc.

[Info-pocket-guide as a contribution to the prevention of mental illnesses].

PubMed

Corrieri, Sandro; Conrad, Ines; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G

2012-04-01

To assess how Info-Pocket-Guides (IPG) are judged as an overall concept, with specific consideration for their content and design in terms of a successful contribution to the prevention of mental illnesses. Altogether, eight student focus groups were conducted and differentiated according to sex, age, and educational system. Mainly, the respondents consider the IPGs as an appealing design, as well as a convenient and well-liked source of information. Some amendments regarding the range of topics were suggested. While there were doubts on the direct benefit of IPGs for the affected person, they were considered highly valuable for relatives and friends. For the acceptance of IPGs, an age-appropriate and context-involving mediation was found decisive. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Increasing value and reducing waste in stroke research.

PubMed

Berge, Eivind; Al-Shahi Salman, Rustam; van der Worp, H Bart; Stapf, Christian; Sandercock, Peter; Sprigg, Nikola; Macleod, Malcolm R; Kelly, Peter J; Nederkoorn, Paul J; Ford, Gary A

2017-05-01

Stroke is a major burden to patients and society, and resources spent on stroke research must be used efficiently and produce good value in terms of improvements in human health. However, many instances of poor value from stroke research funding have resulted from the way in which stroke research topics have been chosen and how studies have been designed, conducted, analysed, regulated, managed, disseminated, or reported. A cooperative effort of European stroke researchers aimed to identify sources of inefficiency and waste, recommend approaches to increase value, and highlight examples of best practice in stroke research. Evidence suggests that progress has been made, but there is room for much improvement; researchers, funders, regulators, and other stakeholders in stroke research might consider these recommendations when planning new research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence Diffusion Model in Text-Based Communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsumura, Naohiro; Ohsawa, Yukio; Ishizuka, Mitsuru

Business people, especially marketing researchers, are keen to understand peoples' potential sense of value to create fascinating topics stimulating peoples' interest. In this paper, we aim at finding influential people, comments, and terms contributing the discovery of such topics. For this purpose, we propose an Influence Diffusion Model in text-based communication, where the influence of people, comments, and terms are defined as the degree of text-based relevance of messages. We apply this model to Bulletin Board Service(BBS) on the Internet, and present our discoveries on experimental evaluations.

Topical dissolved oxygen penetrates skin: model and method.

PubMed

Roe, David F; Gibbins, Bruce L; Ladizinsky, Daniel A

2010-03-01

It has been commonly perceived that skin receives its oxygen supply from the internal circulation. However, recent investigations have shown that a significant amount of oxygen may enter skin from the external overlying surface. A method has been developed for measuring the transcutaneous penetration of human skin by oxygen as described herein. This method was used to determine both the depth and magnitude of penetration of skin by topically applied oxygen. An apparatus consisting of human skin samples interposed between a topical oxygen source and a fluid filled chamber that registered changes in dissolved oxygen. Viable human skin samples of variable thicknesses with and without epidermis were used to evaluate the depth and magnitude of oxygen penetration from either topical dissolved oxygen (TDO) or topical gaseous oxygen (TGO) devices. This model effectively demonstrates transcutaneous penetration of topically applied oxygen. Topically applied dissolved oxygen penetrates through >700 microm of human skin. Topically applied oxygen penetrates better though dermis than epidermis, and TDO devices deliver oxygen more effectively than TGO devices. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Risk factors for recurrence of scabies: a retrospective study of scabies patients in a long-term care hospital.

PubMed

Makigami, Kuniko; Ohtaki, Noriko; Ishii, Norihisa; Tamashiro, Tetsuko; Yoshida, Sadao; Yasumura, Seiji

2011-09-01

A considerable number of patients suffer recurrence of scabies. To elucidate risk factors for recurrence of scabies, we compared patients who experienced scabies recurrence and those who suffered scabies only once. We conducted a retrospective review of medical records of all scabies patients in a long-term care hospital for the elderly (300 beds; six wards) for a period of 42 months to determine frequency of scabies onsets, underlying diseases, history of treatment, and demographic data such as age and sex. One hundred and forty-eight patients and five hospital staff members suffered scabies during the 42-month study period. All staff members and 98 patients had no recurrence, while 50 patients experienced at least one recurrence of scabies. The cumulative number of scabies diagnoses was 228. The rates of scabies onset and recurrence were considerably different among wards. The dementia unit showed the highest rate of onset and recurrence. In addition to frequent exposure to infectious sources, problematic behavior, such as lying in other patients beds, might cause the high recurrence rate in dementia units. Higher serum total lymphocyte count and topical use of γ-benzene hexachloride were associated with lower risk of scabies recurrence. Recurrence of scabies is not uncommon among elderly patients in institutional settings. Impaired immunity may be a risk factor for recurrence of scabies. Groups with a high onset rate of scabies pose a high likelihood of recurrence. Problematic behavior of demented patients may increase the risk of recurrence. Use of effective topical treatment may effectively prevent recurrence. © 2011 Japanese Dermatological Association.

Parental knowledge of radiation exposure in medical imaging used in the pediatric emergency department.

PubMed

Hartwig, Hans-David R; Clingenpeel, Joel; Perkins, Amy M; Rose, Whitney; Abdullah-Anyiwo, Joel

2013-06-01

We sought to quantify the knowledge base among parents and legal guardians presenting to our pediatric emergency department regarding radiation exposure during medical imaging and potential risks to children resulting from ionizing radiation. We sought to examine if a child's previous exposure to medical imaging changed caregiver knowledge base and discern caregivers' preference for future education on this topic. A prospective convenience sample survey was performed of caregivers who presented with their child to our tertiary pediatric emergency department. Parents or legal guardians (18-89 years) who accompanied a child (0-17 years) were eligible for inclusion and approached for enrollment. A structured questionnaire was administered by trained interviewers, and a chart review was conducted to ascertain if their child had a history of previous imaging. Sixty percent of caregivers interviewed (n = 205 of 340) did not associate any long-term negative effects with medical imaging. Among participants who did express a perceived risk from medical imaging radiation exposure, only 50% could indicate a known negative effect from exposure. We found no significant association between a child having had documented imaging studies and awareness of long-term negative effects (P = 0.22). Participants preferred to learn more about this topic from an Internet-based resource (50%), informational pamphlet (38%), or via treating physician (33%). Parents and legal guardians are largely unaware that exposure to radiation during medical imaging carries an inherent risk for their child. Health care providers wishing to educate caregivers should utilize reliable Internet sources, educational pamphlets, and direct communication.

Radiological assessment. A textbook on environmental dose analysis

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

Till, J.E.; Meyer, H.R.

1983-09-01

Radiological assessment is the quantitative process of estimating the consequences to humans resulting from the release of radionuclides to the biosphere. It is a multidisciplinary subject requiring the expertise of a number of individuals in order to predict source terms, describe environmental transport, calculate internal and external dose, and extrapolate dose to health effects. Up to this time there has been available no comprehensive book describing, on a uniform and comprehensive level, the techniques and models used in radiological assessment. Radiological Assessment is based on material presented at the 1980 Health Physics Society Summer School held in Seattle, Washington. Themore » material has been expanded and edited to make it comprehensive in scope and useful as a text. Topics covered include (1) source terms for nuclear facilities and Medical and Industrial sites; (2) transport of radionuclides in the atmosphere; (3) transport of radionuclides in surface waters; (4) transport of radionuclides in groundwater; (5) terrestrial and aquatic food chain pathways; (6) reference man; a system for internal dose calculations; (7) internal dosimetry; (8) external dosimetry; (9) models for special-case radionuclides; (10) calculation of health effects in irradiated populations; (11) evaluation of uncertainties in environmental radiological assessment models; (12) regulatory standards for environmental releases of radionuclides; (13) development of computer codes for radiological assessment; and (14) assessment of accidental releases of radionuclides.« less

Enhancing Leadership Quality. TQ Source Tips & Tools: Emerging Strategies to Enhance Educator Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality, 2008

2008-01-01

Teaching Quality (TQ) Source Tips & Tools: Emerging Strategies to Enhance Educator Quality is an online resource developed by the TQ Center. It is designed to help education practitioners tap into strategies and resources they can use to enhance educator quality. This publication is based on the TQ Source Tips & Tools topic area "Enhancing…

Similarity of Introductory Psychology Textbooks: Reality or Illusion?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griggs, Richard A.; Marek, Pam

2001-01-01

Presents a study that reviewed introductory psychology textbooks to examine the perception of extensive similarity. Focuses on six dimensions: (1) chapter topics, organization, and extent of topic coverage; (2) core concepts and key terms; (3) pedagogical aids and data graphs; (4) critical-thinking programs; (5) reference citations; and (6) level…

Topicality and Complexity in the Acquisition of Norwegian Object Shift

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderssen, Merete; Bentzen, Kristine; Rodina, Yulia

2012-01-01

This article investigates the acquisition of object shift in Norwegian child language. We show that object shift is complex derivationally, distributionally, and referentially, and propose a new analysis in terms of IP-internal topicalization. The results of an elicited production study with 27 monolingual Norwegian-speaking children (ages…

A Collection of NIDA Notes: Articles That Address Research on Marijuana.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Inst. on Drug Abuse (DHHS/PHS), Bethesda, MD.

Included in this document are selections of topic-specific articles on marijuana research reprinted from the National Institute on Drug Abuse's (NIDA) research newsletter, NIDA Notes. The collection features articles originally published from 1995 through 2002. Topics include long-term cognitive impairments in heavy marijuana users, evidence that…

Illustrating Enzyme Inhibition Using Gibbs Energy Profiles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bearne, Stephen L.

2012-01-01

Gibbs energy profiles have great utility as teaching and learning tools because they present students with a visual representation of the energy changes that occur during enzyme catalysis. Unfortunately, most textbooks divorce discussions of traditional kinetic topics, such as enzyme inhibition, from discussions of these same topics in terms of…

A comparison of evaluation metrics for biomedical journals, articles, and websites in terms of sensitivity to topic.

PubMed

Fu, Lawrence D; Aphinyanaphongs, Yindalon; Wang, Lily; Aliferis, Constantin F

2011-08-01

Evaluating the biomedical literature and health-related websites for quality are challenging information retrieval tasks. Current commonly used methods include impact factor for journals, PubMed's clinical query filters and machine learning-based filter models for articles, and PageRank for websites. Previous work has focused on the average performance of these methods without considering the topic, and it is unknown how performance varies for specific topics or focused searches. Clinicians, researchers, and users should be aware when expected performance is not achieved for specific topics. The present work analyzes the behavior of these methods for a variety of topics. Impact factor, clinical query filters, and PageRank vary widely across different topics while a topic-specific impact factor and machine learning-based filter models are more stable. The results demonstrate that a method may perform excellently on average but struggle when used on a number of narrower topics. Topic-adjusted metrics and other topic robust methods have an advantage in such situations. Users of traditional topic-sensitive metrics should be aware of their limitations. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Same but Different: The German "Lehrplan" and Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horlacher, Rebekka

2018-01-01

Discussions about the what, the when and the how of teaching and learning in schools deal in German-speaking countries with the term "Lehrplan", while English-speaking countries discuss similar topics with the term "curriculum". Yet, these two terms are not just exchangeable terms in two different languages, but imply also two…

Statistical Sources for Health Science Librarians.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weise, Frieda

This continuing education course syllabus presents information on the collection of vital and health statistics, lists of agencies or organizations involved in statistical collection and/or dissemination, annotated bibliographies of statistical sources, and guidelines for accessing statistical information. Topics covered include: (1) the reporting…

Stanford university medical media and information technologies hosts open source surgical simulation workshop.

PubMed

Cornelius, Craig W; Heinrichs, Leroy; Youngblood, Patricia; Dev, Parvati

2007-01-01

Stanford University Medical Media and Information Technologies's technical workshop "Prototyping of Surgical Simulators using Open Source Simulation Software" was held in August 2006 at Stanford University. The objectives, program, and topics covered are presented in this short report.

Monte Carlo calculation of skyshine'' neutron dose from ALS (Advanced Light Source)

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

Moin-Vasiri, M.

1990-06-01

This report discusses the following topics on skyshine'' neutron dose from ALS: Sources of radiation; ALS modeling for skyshine calculations; MORSE Monte-Carlo; Implementation of MORSE; Results of skyshine calculations from storage ring; and Comparison of MORSE shielding calculations.

Examining Long-Term Global Climate Change on the Web.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huntoon, Jacqueline E.; Ridky, Robert K.

2002-01-01

Describes a web-based, inquiry-oriented activity that enables students to examine long-term global climate change. Supports instruction in other topics such as population growth. (Contains 34 references.) (DDR)

Trends in publication on evidence-based antioxidative herbal medicines in management of diabetic nephropathy.

PubMed

Tabatabaei-Malazy, Ozra; Atlasi, Rasha; Larijani, Bagher; Abdollahi, Mohammad

2015-01-01

Recently, popularity and use of herbal medicine in treatment of diabetes have been increased. Since, oxidative stress is known as the main underlying pathophysiology of diabetes and its complications, the purpose of this bibliometric study is to assess the global scientific production analysis and developing its trend in field of antioxidative hypoglycemic herbal medicines and diabetic nephropathy focusing on the scientific publication numbers, citations, geographical distribution in the world and determining the main journal (source) in the field. Our search terms were "diabetes", "renal", "nephropathy", "herb", "Chinese medicine", "traditional medicine", and "antioxidant" from Scopus database until January 2015 and analysis of the distribution of words in the publication year, main journal (source) in the field, geographical distribution, documents' type and language, subject area, and h-index of citations were crried out. The Scopus analysis tools and VOSviewer software version 1.6.3 have been used for analysis. Within 1166 papers were published until year 2015, 78 studies were related to this topic in human. Increasing trend in number of related researches was shown. Fifty eight percent of the published papers were original articles, and the highest number was produced in 2013 with 21 documents. Top subject areas were medicine with global publication share of 71.8 %, and pharmacology was ranked the second (39.7 %). Iran was the first country with global publication. The total citation of the documents were 2518 times and h-index was 24. The highest cited paper was a review article with 336 citation number, and top source was "Journal of Medicinal Plants". Both of top authors and affiliation were from Iran; "Tehran University of Medical Sciences". Also, top author in the co-authorship mapping and clustering assessment was from Iran. Although, we found an ascending trend of scientific publications in field of antioxidative herbal medicine and diabetic nephropathy with a good position for Iran, the number of publications is insufficient and more researches in this topic is necessary.

State of Research on Giftedness and Gifted Education: A Survey of Empirical Studies Published during 1998-2010 (April)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dai, David Yun; Swanson, Joan Ann; Cheng, Hongyu

2011-01-01

This study surveyed 1,234 empirical studies on giftedness, gifted education, and creativity during 1998-2010 (April), using PsycINFO database and targeted journals as main sources, with respect to main topics these studies focused on, methods they used for investigation, and the conceptual spaces they traversed. Four main research topics emerged…

Topical Guide to Source Readings in Textbooks and Supplementary Materials.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ASIA Society, New York, NY.

This paper provides a topical listing of readings on Asia (mostly by Asians). This compilation was undertaken by the Asia Society Textbook Evaluation Project as a service to teachers and curriculum developers looking for materials on Asia for courses in a wide range of fields. In-depth evaluations of the readings are not made. Among the fifty-six…

Where Do I Start? A School Library Handbook. Second Edition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Linworth, 2012

2012-01-01

If you're new to running a library or looking for a refresher, this book can serve as your first reference source for school library operation, providing overview information on a wealth of topics, lists of resources for more in-depth information, and coverage of current topics such as Web 2.0, fundraising, digital booktalks, and cybersafety.…

Why National Narratives Are Perpetuated: A Literature Review on New Insights from History Textbook Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grever, Maria; van der Vlies, Tina

2017-01-01

National narratives have often served to mobilize the masses for war by providing myths and distorted interpretations of the past, while conversely wars were major sources for producing national narratives. Because national history is very likely to remain a central topic in history education, albeit in ways that differ from how the topic was used…

Wikipedia vs peer-reviewed medical literature for information about the 10 most costly medical conditions.

PubMed

Hasty, Robert T; Garbalosa, Ryan C; Barbato, Vincenzo A; Valdes, Pedro J; Powers, David W; Hernandez, Emmanuel; John, Jones S; Suciu, Gabriel; Qureshi, Farheen; Popa-Radu, Matei; San Jose, Sergio; Drexler, Nathaniel; Patankar, Rohan; Paz, Jose R; King, Christopher W; Gerber, Hilary N; Valladares, Michael G; Somji, Alyaz A

2014-05-01

Since its launch in 2001, Wikipedia has become the most popular general reference site on the Internet and a popular source of health care information. To evaluate the accuracy of this resource, the authors compared Wikipedia articles on the most costly medical conditions with standard, evidence-based, peer-reviewed sources. The top 10 most costly conditions in terms of public and private expenditure in the United States were identified, and a Wikipedia article corresponding to each topic was chosen. In a blinded process, 2 randomly assigned investigators independently reviewed each article and identified all assertions (ie, implication or statement of fact) made in it. The reviewer then conducted a literature search to determine whether each assertion was supported by evidence. The assertions found by each reviewer were compared and analyzed to determine whether assertions made by Wikipedia for these conditions were supported by peer-reviewed sources. For commonly identified assertions, there was statistically significant discordance between 9 of the 10 selected Wikipedia articles (coronary artery disease, lung cancer, major depressive disorder, osteoarthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, back pain, and hyperlipidemia) and their corresponding peer-reviewed sources (P<.05) and for all assertions made by Wikipedia for these medical conditions (P<.05 for all 9). Most Wikipedia articles representing the 10 most costly medical conditions in the United States contain many errors when checked against standard peer-reviewed sources. Caution should be used when using Wikipedia to answer questions regarding patient care.

Topical Treatment of Degenerative Knee Osteoarthritis.

PubMed

Meng, Zengdong; Huang, Rongzhong

2018-01-01

This article reviews topical management strategies for degenerative osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. A search of Pubmed, Embase and the Cochrane library using MeSH terms including "topical," "treatment," "knee" and "osteoarthritis" was carried out. Original research and review articles on the effectiveness and safety, recommendations from international published guidelines and acceptability studies of topical preparations were included. Current topical treatments included for the management of knee OA include topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, capsaicin, salicylates and physical treatments such as hot or cold therapy. Current treatment guidelines recommend topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as an alternative and even first-line therapy for OA management, especially among elderly patients. Guidelines on other topical treatments vary, from recommendations against their use, to in favor as alternative or simultaneous therapy, especially for patients with contraindications to other analgesics. Although often well-tolerated and preferred by many patients, clinical care still lags in the adoption of topical treatments. Aspects of efficacy, safety and patient quality of life data require further research. Copyright © 2018 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

What do letters to the editor publish about randomized controlled trials? A cross-sectional study

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background To identify published letters to the editor (LTE) written in response to randomized controlled trials (RCTs), determine the topics addressed in the letters, and to examine if these topics were affected by the characteristics and results of the RCTs. Methods Comparative cross-sectional study of a representative sample of RCTs from a set of high-impact medical journals (BMJ, Lancet, NEJM, JAMA, and Annals of Internal Medicine). RCTs and their published LTE were searched from these 5 journals in 2007. Data were collected on RCTs and their characteristics (author affiliation, funding source, intervention, and effect on the primary outcome) and the topics addressed in published LTE related to these RCTs. Analysis included chi-square and regression analysis (RCT characteristics) and thematic analysis (LTE topics). Results Of 334 identified RCTs, 175 trials had at least one LTE. Of these, 381 published LTE were identified. Most RCTs, tested drug interventions (68%), were funded by government (54%) or industry (33%), and described an intervention that had a positive impact on the primary outcome (62%). RCT authors were primarily affiliated with an academic centre (78%). Ninety percent of the 623 LTE topics concerned methodological issues regarding the analysis, intervention, and population in the RCT. There was a significant association between funding source and impact on outcomes (p = 0.002) or type of intervention tested (p = 0.001) in these trials. Clinical and “Other” LTE topics were more likely to be published in response to a government funded RCT (p = 0.005 and p = 0.033, respectively); no other comparisons were significant. Conclusions This study showed that most LTE are about methodological topics, but found little evidence to support that these topics are affected by the characteristics or results of the RCTs. The lack of association may be explained by editorial censorship as a small proportion of LTE that are submitted are actually published. PMID:24124753

What do letters to the editor publish about randomized controlled trials? A cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Kastner, Monika; Menon, Anita; Straus, Sharon E; Laupacis, Andreas

2013-10-14

To identify published letters to the editor (LTE) written in response to randomized controlled trials (RCTs), determine the topics addressed in the letters, and to examine if these topics were affected by the characteristics and results of the RCTs. Comparative cross-sectional study of a representative sample of RCTs from a set of high-impact medical journals (BMJ, Lancet, NEJM, JAMA, and Annals of Internal Medicine). RCTs and their published LTE were searched from these 5 journals in 2007. Data were collected on RCTs and their characteristics (author affiliation, funding source, intervention, and effect on the primary outcome) and the topics addressed in published LTE related to these RCTs. Analysis included chi-square and regression analysis (RCT characteristics) and thematic analysis (LTE topics). Of 334 identified RCTs, 175 trials had at least one LTE. Of these, 381 published LTE were identified. Most RCTs, tested drug interventions (68%), were funded by government (54%) or industry (33%), and described an intervention that had a positive impact on the primary outcome (62%). RCT authors were primarily affiliated with an academic centre (78%). Ninety percent of the 623 LTE topics concerned methodological issues regarding the analysis, intervention, and population in the RCT. There was a significant association between funding source and impact on outcomes (p = 0.002) or type of intervention tested (p = 0.001) in these trials. Clinical and "Other" LTE topics were more likely to be published in response to a government funded RCT (p = 0.005 and p = 0.033, respectively); no other comparisons were significant. This study showed that most LTE are about methodological topics, but found little evidence to support that these topics are affected by the characteristics or results of the RCTs. The lack of association may be explained by editorial censorship as a small proportion of LTE that are submitted are actually published.

Short-Term Azithromycin Treatment Promotes Cornea Allograft Survival in the Rat

PubMed Central

Hildebrand, Antonia; Eberwein, Philipp; Reinhard, Thomas; Schwartzkopff, Johannes

2013-01-01

Background Any inflammatory response following corneal transplantation may induce rejection and irreversible graft failure. The purpose of this study is to analyze the anti-inflammatory effect of azithromycin (AZM) following experimental keratoplasty in rats. Methods Corneal transplants were performed between Fisher-donor and Lewis-recipient rats. Recipients were postoperatively treated three times daily with AZM, miglyol, ofloxacin or dexamethasone eye drops. As an additional control, AZM was applied following syngeneic keratoplasty. Furthermore, short-term treatments with AZM for seven days perioperatively or with AZM only three days prior to the transplantation were compared to appropriate controls. All transplants were monitored clinically for opacity, edema, and vascularization. Infiltrating CD45+, CD4+, CD8+, CD25+, CD161+ and CD163+ cells were quantified via immunohistochemistry. Results AZM significantly promoted corneal graft survival compared with miglyol or ofloxacin treatment. This effect was comparable to topical dexamethasone. No adverse AZM effect was observed. Histology confirmed a significant reduction of infiltrating leukocytes. The short-term application of AZM for three days prior to transplantation or for seven days perioperatively reduced corneal graft rejection significantly compared with the controls. Conclusions Along with antibiotic properties, topical AZM has a strong anti-inflammatory effect. Following keratoplasty, this effect is comparable to topical dexamethasone without the risk of steroid-induced adverse effects. Short-term treatment with AZM three days prior to the transplantation was sufficient to promote graft survival in the rat keratoplasty model. We therefore suggest further assessing the anti-inflammatory function of topical AZM following keratoplasty in humans. PMID:24349336

Associations of Topics of Discussion on Twitter With Survey Measures of Attitudes, Knowledge, and Behaviors Related to Zika: Probabilistic Study in the United States

PubMed Central

Winneg, Kenneth; Chan, Man-Pui Sally; Hall Jamieson, Kathleen; Albarracin, Dolores

2018-01-01

Background Recent outbreaks of Zika virus around the world led to increased discussions about this issue on social media platforms such as Twitter. These discussions may provide useful information about attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors of the population regarding issues that are important for public policy. Objective We sought to identify the associations of the topics of discussions on Twitter and survey measures of Zika-related attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors, not solely based upon the volume of such discussions but by analyzing the content of conversations using probabilistic techniques. Methods Using probabilistic topic modeling with US county and week as the unit of analysis, we analyzed the content of Twitter online communications to identify topics related to the reported attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors captured in a national representative survey (N=33,193) of the US adult population over 33 weeks. Results Our analyses revealed topics related to “congress funding for Zika,” “microcephaly,” “Zika-related travel discussions,” “insect repellent,” “blood transfusion technology,” and “Zika in Miami” were associated with our survey measures of attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors observed over the period of the study. Conclusions Our results demonstrated that it is possible to uncover topics of discussions from Twitter communications that are associated with the Zika-related attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors of populations over time. Social media data can be used as a complementary source of information alongside traditional data sources to gauge the patterns of attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors in a population. PMID:29426815

Development of the Vaccine Analytic Unit's research agenda for investigating potential adverse events associated with anthrax vaccine adsorbed.

PubMed

Payne, Daniel C; Franzke, Laura H; Stehr-Green, Paul A; Schwartz, Benjamin; McNeil, Michael M

2007-01-01

In 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention established the Vaccine Analytic Unit (VAU) in collaboration with the Department of Defense (DoD). The focus of this report is to describe the process by which the VAU's anthrax vaccine safety research plan was developed following a comprehensive review of these topics. Public health literature, surveillance data, and clinical sources were reviewed to create a list of adverse events hypothesized to be potentially related to anthrax vaccine adsorbed (AVA). From this list, a consensus process was used to select 11 important research topics. Adverse event background papers were written for each of these topics, addressing predetermined criteria. These were independently reviewed and ranked by a National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) workgroup. The adverse events included in the final priority list will be the subject of observational or other post marketing surveillance studies using the Defense Medical Surveillance System (DMSS) database. A review of various information sources identified over 100 potential adverse events. The review process recommended 11 topics as potentially warranting further study. The NVAC workgroup identified the following adverse event topics for study: arthritis, optic neuritis, and Stevens-Johnson syndrome/Toxic epidermal necrolysis. Two additional topics (systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and multiple, near-concurrent military vaccinations) were added in response to emerging public health and military concerns. The experience described, while specific for establishing the VAU's research agenda for the safety of the current anthrax vaccine, may be useful and adapted for research planning in other areas of public health research. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Oxygenation Status in Chronic Leg Ulcer After Topical Hemoglobin Application May Act as a Surrogate Marker to Find the Best Treatment Strategy and to Avoid Ineffective Conservative Long-term Therapy.

PubMed

Petri, Maximilian; Stoffels, Ingo; Griewank, Klaus; Jose, Jithin; Engels, Peter; Schulz, Andrea; Pötzschke, Harald; Jansen, Philipp; Schadendorf, Dirk; Dissemond, Joachim; Klode, Joachim

2018-02-01

Chronic leg ulcers can be a challenge to treat and long-term therapy a significant cost factor in western public health budgets. Objective wound assessment assays enabling selection of appropriate wound therapy regimes would be desirable. Oxygenation status in ulcer tissue has obtained increased attention as a relevant factor in wound healing. To increase oxygenation in wounds, a topical hemoglobin spray was developed. Although favorable results have been noted, the link between clinical efficacy and the mode of action has not been demonstrated. The aims were to determine if changes in tissue oxygenation can be measured after topical application of hemoglobin on chronic wounds and to evaluate the findings in terms of therapy strategies. Photoacoustic imaging was used to measure the local oxygen saturation (StO 2 ) in leg ulcers before and after hemoglobin spray treatment. Sclerosis of the leg ulcers was histopathologically graded and the change in wound size was documented in a follow-up examination. Measuring 49 patients, an increase in StO 2 after topical hemoglobin application from on average 66.1 to 71 % (p = 0.017) after 20 min was observed. Depending on the increase in StO 2 (>10 % or <10 %) patients were stratified into a Responder and a Non-Responder group. Wound size significantly decreased in the Responder Group (p = 0.001), while no significant difference in the Non-Responder group (p = 0.950) was noted. Our findings suggest that the likelihood of wound healing under conservative therapy can be predicted by measuring changes in StO 2 after topical hemoglobin application. This assay may reduce treatment time and costs by avoiding ineffective conservative long-term therapy. German Clinical Trials Register: DRKS00005993.

Safety of long-term intranasal budesonide delivered via the mucosal atomization device for chronic rhinosinusitis.

PubMed

Manji, Jamil; Singh, Gurkaran; Okpaleke, Christopher; Dadgostar, Anali; Al-Asousi, Fahad; Amanian, Ameen; Macias-Valle, Luis; Finkelstein, Andres; Tacey, Mark; Thamboo, Andrew; Javer, Amin

2017-05-01

Although short-term use (≤2 months) of atomized topical nasal steroids has been shown to be safe and effective, the long-term safety has yet to be demonstrated. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of long-term topical budesonide treatment via the mucosal atomization device (MAD) on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA) and intraocular pressure (IOP). A cross-sectional study of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), with or without nasal polyposis, managed with daily nasal budesonide via MAD was conducted at a tertiary rhinology center. Patients using systemic steroids within 3 months of assessment were excluded. HPAA impact was assessed using the cosyntropin stimulation test for adrenal function and a survey of relevant symptomatology. Patients also underwent tonometry to assess for elevated IOP potentially related to corticosteroid use. A total of 100 CRS patients were recruited with a mean budesonide treatment duration of 23.5 months (range, 6-37 months). Stimulated cortisol response was diminished in 3 patients (3%). No patients with adrenal suppression had relevant symptomatology. IOP was elevated in 6 patients (6%). These findings suggest that there is a risk of adrenal suppression and raised IOP associated with the long-term use of topical nasal budesonide via MAD. Otolaryngologists should consider periodic surveillance for these adverse events in this patient cohort. © 2017 ARS-AAOA, LLC.

Teaching Energy to a General Audience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baski, Alison; Hunnicutt, Sally

2010-02-01

A new, interdisciplinary course entitled ``Energy!'' has been developed by faculty in the physics and chemistry departments to meet the university's science and technology general education requirement. This course now enrolls over 400 students each semester in a single lecture where faculty from both departments co-teach throughout the term. Topics include the fundamentals of energy, fossil fuels, global climate change, nuclear energy, and renewable energy sources. The students represent an impressive range of majors (science, engineering, business, humanities, etc.) and comprise freshmen to seniors. To effectively teach this diverse audience and increase classroom engagement, in-class ``clickers'' are used with guided questions to teach concepts, which are then explicitly reinforced with online LON-CAPAfootnotetextFree open-source distributed learning content management and assessment system (www.lon-capa.org) homework. This online system enables immediate feedback in a structured manner, where students can practice randomized versions of problems for homework, quizzes, and exams. The course is already in high demand after only two semesters, in part because it is particularly relevant to students given the challenging energy and climate issues facing the nation and world. )

Numerical simulation of incoherent optical wave propagation in nonlinear fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernandez, Arnaud; Balac, Stéphane; Mugnier, Alain; Mahé, Fabrice; Texier-Picard, Rozenn; Chartier, Thierry; Pureur, David

2013-11-01

The present work concerns the study of pulsed laser systems containing a fiber amplifier for boosting optical output power. In this paper, this fiber amplification device is included into a MOPFA laser, a master oscillator coupled with fiber amplifier, usually a cladding-pumped high-power amplifier often based on an ytterbium-doped fiber. An experimental study has established that the observed nonlinear effects (such as Kerr effect, four waves mixing, Raman effect) could behave very differently depending on the characteristics of the optical source emitted by the master laser. However, it has not yet been possible to determine from the experimental data if the statistics of the photons is alone responsible for the various nonlinear scenarios observed. Therefore, we have developed a numerical simulation software for solving the generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation with a stochastic source term in order to validate the hypothesis that the coherence properties of the master laser are mainly liable for the behavior of the observed nonlinear effects. Contribution to the Topical Issue "Numelec 2012", Edited by Adel Razek.

Effect of Personal and Situational Variables on Noise Annoyance: with Special Reference to Implications for En Route Noise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fields, James M.

1992-01-01

Over 680 publications from 282 social surveys of residents' reactions to environmental noise have been examined to locate 495 published findings on 26 topics concerning non-noise explanations for residents' reactions to environmental noise. This report (1) tabulates the evidence on the 26 response topics, (2) identifies the 495 findings, and (3) discusses the implications for en route noise assessment. After controlling for noise level, over half of the social survey evidence indicates that noise annoyance is not strongly affected by any of the nine demographic variables examined (age, sex, social status, income, education, homeownership, type of dwelling, length of residence, or receipt of benefits from the noise source), but is positively associated with each of the five attitudinal variables examined (a fear of danger from the noise source, a sensitivity towards noise generally, the belief that the authorities can control the noise, the awareness of non-noise impacts of the source, and the belief that the noise source is not important).

Women in Astronomy: An Essay Review Part 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cox, M.

2008-01-01

Part 1 of this Essay Review (The Antiquarian Astronomer, December 2006, Issue 3, 19-30) reviewed monographs published in the decade to 2006 dealing with the role of women in astronomy and related sciences. Part 2 considers larger, printed reference works and online resources dealing with the same topic. There are a surprising number and variety of both types of material, ranging from the authoritative, accurate and updated sources, to websites developed by a single person with an interest in the topic. Some of the former, which frequently base factual statements on primary sources, can be regarded as definitive; the latter seem to rely only on secondary sources, so should be treated with due diligence. As expected, there is much overlap in the individuals included in these reference works, with well-known names appearing in most of them. However, for lesser-known names, the choice of sources is restricted. In some cases, readers are invited to contribute to the improvement of the material.

Short-Term Memory; An Annotated Bibliography. Supplement 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fisher, Dennis F.

A compilation of 165 references dealing with short term memory, this bibliography supplements "Short-Term Memory: An Annotated Bibliography" (August 1968). The time period covered is predominantly June 1968 to June 1969. Such aspects and topics as psychometrics, motivation, human engineering, vision, auditory perception, verbal and nonverbal…

Toward the Greening of Our Minds: A New Special Topics Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marteel-Parrish, Anne E.

2007-01-01

A new special-topics course on green chemistry would help students to critically evaluate policy decisions in an environmentally conscientious manner. The actively acquired knowledge would allow students to spread the word about green chemistry in the long term to the world, where they would pursue their future goals of life.

Food and Higher Education for Sustainable Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clugston, Richard; Calder, Wynn

2007-01-01

This article argues that food issues are an appropriate, if not necessary, topic for education for sustainable development (ESD) both in terms of teaching and institutional practice. The first section summarises critical topics for a school or university course on food. The second section cites two examples of university efforts--at the University…

Dismissive Reviews: Academe's Memory Hole

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phelps, Richard P.

2012-01-01

In scholarly terms, a "review of the literature" or "literature review" is a summation of the previous research that has been done on a particular topic. With a "dismissive literature review," a researcher assures the public that no one has yet studied a topic or that very little has been done on it. With dismissive…

Money, the Banking System and Monetary Policy in Canada: A Teaching Unit.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curtis, Douglas C. A.; Staunton, Ted, Ed.

One of a series of teaching units designed to introduce secondary school students to the Canadian economy, this handbook contains instructional materials on Canada's monetary system and policy. Material is organized and presented in terms of specific topic readings and illustrative activities. The topics covered in six sections are money, the…

Comparing the Document Representations of Two IR-Systems: CLARIT and TOPIC.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paijmans, Hans

1993-01-01

Compares two information retrieval systems, CLARIT and TOPIC, in terms of assigned versus derived and precoordinate versus postcoordinate indexing. Models of information retrieval systems are discussed, and a test of the systems using a demonstration database of full-text articles from the "Wall Street Journal" is described. (Contains 21…

Extending the Seductive Allure of Neuroscience Explanations Effect to Popular Articles about Educational Topics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Im, Soo-hyun; Varma, Keisha; Varma, Sashank

2017-01-01

Background: The "seductive allure of neuroscience explanations" (SANE) is the finding that people overweight psychological arguments when framed in terms of neuroscience findings. Aim: This study extended this finding to arguments concerning the application of psychological findings to educational topics. Sample Participants (n = 320)…

Common Core: Teaching Optimum Topic Exploration (TOTE)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karge, Belinda Dunnick; Moore, Roxane Kushner

2015-01-01

The Common Core has become a household term and yet many educators do not understand what it means. This article explains the historical perspectives of the Common Core and gives guidance to teachers in application of Teaching Optimum Topic Exploration (TOTE) necessary for full implementation of the Common Core State Standards. An effective…

Comparing Teaching Approaches About Maxwell's Displacement Current

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karam, Ricardo; Coimbra, Debora; Pietrocola, Maurício

2014-08-01

Due to its fundamental role for the consolidation of Maxwell's equations, the displacement current is one of the most important topics of any introductory course on electromagnetism. Moreover, this episode is widely used by historians and philosophers of science as a case study to investigate several issues (e.g. the theory-experiment relationship). Despite the consensus among physics educators concerning the relevance of the topic, there are many possible ways to interpret and justify the need for the displacement current term. With the goal of understanding the didactical transposition of this topic more deeply, we investigate three of its domains: (1) The historical development of Maxwell's reasoning; (2) Different approaches to justify the term insertion in physics textbooks; and (3) Four lectures devoted to introduce the topic in undergraduate level given by four different professors. By reflecting on the differences between these three domains, significant evidence for the knowledge transformation caused by the didactization of this episode is provided. The main purpose of this comparative analysis is to assist physics educators in developing an epistemological surveillance regarding the teaching and learning of the displacement current.

Antimicrobial activity of topical agents against Propionibacterium acnes: an in vitro study of clinical isolates from a hospital in Shanghai, China.

PubMed

Ma, Ying; Zhang, Nanxue; Wu, Shi; Huang, Haihui; Cao, Yanpei

2016-12-01

This study aimed to compare the antimicrobial activities of topical agents against Propionibacterium acnes isolated from patients admitted to a hospital in Shanghai, China. The minimal inhibitory concentrations of the cultured P. acnes were determined in accordance with the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. Susceptibilities to clindamycin and erythromycin were compared in terms of gender, age, disease duration, previous treatment, and disease severity. A total of 69 P. acnes strains were isolated from 98 patients (70.41%). The susceptibility to triple antibiotic ointment (neomycin/bacitracin/polymyxin B) and bacitracin was 100%. The susceptibility to fusidic acid was 92.7%. The resistance rates to neomycin sulfate, erythromycin, and clindamycin were 11.7%, 49.3%, and 33.4%, respectively. The high resistance rate to clindamycin and erythromycin was significantly affected by gender, previous treatment, and disease severity rather than by age and disease duration. Topical antibiotics should not be used separately for long-term therapy to avoid multiresistance. The use of topical antibiotics should be determined by clinicians on the basis of clinical conditions.

Menopause and big data: Word Adjacency Graph modeling of menopause-related ChaCha data.

PubMed

Carpenter, Janet S; Groves, Doyle; Chen, Chen X; Otte, Julie L; Miller, Wendy R

2017-07-01

To detect and visualize salient queries about menopause using Big Data from ChaCha. We used Word Adjacency Graph (WAG) modeling to detect clusters and visualize the range of menopause-related topics and their mutual proximity. The subset of relevant queries was fully modeled. We split each query into token words (ie, meaningful words and phrases) and removed stopwords (ie, not meaningful functional words). The remaining words were considered in sequence to build summary tables of words and two and three-word phrases. Phrases occurring at least 10 times were used to build a network graph model that was iteratively refined by observing and removing clusters of unrelated content. We identified two menopause-related subsets of queries by searching for questions containing menopause and menopause-related terms (eg, climacteric, hot flashes, night sweats, hormone replacement). The first contained 263,363 queries from individuals aged 13 and older and the second contained 5,892 queries from women aged 40 to 62 years. In the first set, we identified 12 topic clusters: 6 relevant to menopause and 6 less relevant. In the second set, we identified 15 topic clusters: 11 relevant to menopause and 4 less relevant. Queries about hormones were pervasive within both WAG models. Many of the queries reflected low literacy levels and/or feelings of embarrassment. We modeled menopause-related queries posed by ChaCha users between 2009 and 2012. ChaCha data may be used on its own or in combination with other Big Data sources to identify patient-driven educational needs and create patient-centered interventions.

Learning From Short Text Streams With Topic Drifts.

PubMed

Li, Peipei; He, Lu; Wang, Haiyan; Hu, Xuegang; Zhang, Yuhong; Li, Lei; Wu, Xindong

2017-09-18

Short text streams such as search snippets and micro blogs have been popular on the Web with the emergence of social media. Unlike traditional normal text streams, these data present the characteristics of short length, weak signal, high volume, high velocity, topic drift, etc. Short text stream classification is hence a very challenging and significant task. However, this challenge has received little attention from the research community. Therefore, a new feature extension approach is proposed for short text stream classification with the help of a large-scale semantic network obtained from a Web corpus. It is built on an incremental ensemble classification model for efficiency. First, more semantic contexts based on the senses of terms in short texts are introduced to make up of the data sparsity using the open semantic network, in which all terms are disambiguated by their semantics to reduce the noise impact. Second, a concept cluster-based topic drifting detection method is proposed to effectively track hidden topic drifts. Finally, extensive studies demonstrate that as compared to several well-known concept drifting detection methods in data stream, our approach can detect topic drifts effectively, and it enables handling short text streams effectively while maintaining the efficiency as compared to several state-of-the-art short text classification approaches.

Lead and Copper Rule Long-Term Revisions

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The goal for the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) Long-Term Revisions is to improve public health protection provided by the by making substantive changes based on topics that were identified in the 2004 National Review.

Exploiting domain information for Word Sense Disambiguation of medical documents.

PubMed

Stevenson, Mark; Agirre, Eneko; Soroa, Aitor

2012-01-01

Current techniques for knowledge-based Word Sense Disambiguation (WSD) of ambiguous biomedical terms rely on relations in the Unified Medical Language System Metathesaurus but do not take into account the domain of the target documents. The authors' goal is to improve these methods by using information about the topic of the document in which the ambiguous term appears. The authors proposed and implemented several methods to extract lists of key terms associated with Medical Subject Heading terms. These key terms are used to represent the document topic in a knowledge-based WSD system. They are applied both alone and in combination with local context. A standard measure of accuracy was calculated over the set of target words in the widely used National Library of Medicine WSD dataset. The authors report a significant improvement when combining those key terms with local context, showing that domain information improves the results of a WSD system based on the Unified Medical Language System Metathesaurus alone. The best results were obtained using key terms obtained by relevance feedback and weighted by inverse document frequency.

Exploiting domain information for Word Sense Disambiguation of medical documents

PubMed Central

Agirre, Eneko; Soroa, Aitor

2011-01-01

Objective Current techniques for knowledge-based Word Sense Disambiguation (WSD) of ambiguous biomedical terms rely on relations in the Unified Medical Language System Metathesaurus but do not take into account the domain of the target documents. The authors' goal is to improve these methods by using information about the topic of the document in which the ambiguous term appears. Design The authors proposed and implemented several methods to extract lists of key terms associated with Medical Subject Heading terms. These key terms are used to represent the document topic in a knowledge-based WSD system. They are applied both alone and in combination with local context. Measurements A standard measure of accuracy was calculated over the set of target words in the widely used National Library of Medicine WSD dataset. Results and discussion The authors report a significant improvement when combining those key terms with local context, showing that domain information improves the results of a WSD system based on the Unified Medical Language System Metathesaurus alone. The best results were obtained using key terms obtained by relevance feedback and weighted by inverse document frequency. PMID:21900701

Psychophysical Evaluation of Three-Dimensional Auditory Displays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wightman, Frederic L.

1996-01-01

This report describes the progress made during the second year of a three-year Cooperative Research Agreement. The CRA proposed a program of applied psychophysical research designed to determine the requirements and limitations of three-dimensional (3-D) auditory display systems. These displays present synthesized stimuli to a pilot or virtual workstation operator that evoke auditory images at predetermined positions in space. The images can be either stationary or moving. In previous years, we completed a number of studies that provided data on listeners' abilities to localize stationary sound sources with 3-D displays. The current focus is on the use of 3-D displays in 'natural' listening conditions, which include listeners'head movements, moving sources, multiple sources and 'echoic' sources. The results of our research on one of these topics, the localization of multiple sources, was reported in the most recent Semi-Annual Progress Report (Appendix A). That same progress report described work on two related topics, the influence of a listener's a-priori knowledge of source characteristics and the discriminability of real and virtual sources. In the period since the last Progress Report we have conducted several new studies to evaluate the effectiveness of a new and simpler method for measuring the HRTF's that are used to synthesize virtual sources and have expanded our studies of multiple sources. The results of this research are described below.

Topic model-based mass spectrometric data analysis in cancer biomarker discovery studies.

PubMed

Wang, Minkun; Tsai, Tsung-Heng; Di Poto, Cristina; Ferrarini, Alessia; Yu, Guoqiang; Ressom, Habtom W

2016-08-18

A fundamental challenge in quantitation of biomolecules for cancer biomarker discovery is owing to the heterogeneous nature of human biospecimens. Although this issue has been a subject of discussion in cancer genomic studies, it has not yet been rigorously investigated in mass spectrometry based proteomic and metabolomic studies. Purification of mass spectometric data is highly desired prior to subsequent analysis, e.g., quantitative comparison of the abundance of biomolecules in biological samples. We investigated topic models to computationally analyze mass spectrometric data considering both integrated peak intensities and scan-level features, i.e., extracted ion chromatograms (EICs). Probabilistic generative models enable flexible representation in data structure and infer sample-specific pure resources. Scan-level modeling helps alleviate information loss during data preprocessing. We evaluated the capability of the proposed models in capturing mixture proportions of contaminants and cancer profiles on LC-MS based serum proteomic and GC-MS based tissue metabolomic datasets acquired from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver cirrhosis as well as synthetic data we generated based on the serum proteomic data. The results we obtained by analysis of the synthetic data demonstrated that both intensity-level and scan-level purification models can accurately infer the mixture proportions and the underlying true cancerous sources with small average error ratios (<7 %) between estimation and ground truth. By applying the topic model-based purification to mass spectrometric data, we found more proteins and metabolites with significant changes between HCC cases and cirrhotic controls. Candidate biomarkers selected after purification yielded biologically meaningful pathway analysis results and improved disease discrimination power in terms of the area under ROC curve compared to the results found prior to purification. We investigated topic model-based inference methods to computationally address the heterogeneity issue in samples analyzed by LC/GC-MS. We observed that incorporation of scan-level features have the potential to lead to more accurate purification results by alleviating the loss in information as a result of integrating peaks. We believe cancer biomarker discovery studies that use mass spectrometric analysis of human biospecimens can greatly benefit from topic model-based purification of the data prior to statistical and pathway analyses.

Chemical Information: Print. Directed Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stone, Catherine C.

This report provides a survey and evaluation of chemical information literature. Contained in this survey are an overview of the chemical literature field, comments on obtaining access to this literature and annotated bibliographies of primary, secondary, and tertiary sources as well as special topics. Primary sources include journals, patents,…

Report on the First APCA Government Affairs Seminar "The Clean Air Act."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beery, Williamina, T.

1973-01-01

A summary of 18 speeches and sessions from the Government Affairs Seminar is given. Topics featured were emission standards for mobile sources, implementation strategies for stationary sources, non-degradation of air quality standards, and technology assessment and the National Environmental Policy Act. (BL)

Open Source Software and the Intellectual Commons.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dorman, David

2002-01-01

Discusses the Open Source Software method of software development and its relationship to control over information content. Topics include digital library resources; reference services; preservation; the legal and economic status of information; technical standards; access to digital data; control of information use; and copyright and patent laws.…

Teaching Challenging Topics with Primary Sources

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Singer, Alan J.

2012-01-01

The most common activity in a social studies classroom should be the analysis of primary sources. Students are intrigued and engaged by edited and unedited documents, written statements, transcribed speeches, photographs, pictures, charts, graphs, cartoons, and even material objects. Ideally, the goal of social studies teachers is to prepare…

Energy Education: Responding to the Nuclear Power Controversy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fry-Miller, Kathleen M.

1982-01-01

Discusses problems associated with the use of nuclear power as a source of energy. Sources of exposure to radiation, the effects of exposure to radiation on children's health, and safe alternatives to nuclear power that can be taught to children are among the topics addressed. (Author/RH)

Psychology: A Student's Guide to Reference Sources.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lachance, Barbara, Comp.

This bibliography lists reference sources which are useful for research in psychology. Contents are selected, emphasizing clinical psychology. Two major sections of the guide, general and specific topics, supplement each other. The general section, arranged by form--dictionaries, handbooks, and encyclopedias--includes works which treat all facets…

Testing Information Sources for Educators. ERIC/TME Report 94.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fabiano, Emily; O'Brien, Nancy

This guide provides annotated lists of books, journals, indexes, and computer-based services and organizations that are sources of test information. The guide directs educators to test information about assessing academic ability, aptitude, achievement, personality, vocational aptitude, and intelligence, as well as specialized topics such as…

Cognitive Illusions as Hindrances to Learning Complex Environmental Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Groves, Fred H.; Pugh, Ava F.

2002-01-01

Describes a study investigating the effects of short-term interventions on preservice elementary teachers' understanding of the topic of ozone depletion and whether complex issues can be dealt with successfully through short-term intervention. Reports that preservice teachers' understanding improved through a short-term intervention using a mix of…

Development and classification of an operational definition of complementary and alternative medicine for the Cochrane Collaboration

PubMed Central

Wieland, L. Susan; Manheimer, Eric; Berman, Brian M.

2011-01-01

Over the past decade the Cochrane Collaboration has been an increasingly important source of information on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies. From 2007 to 2008 the Cochrane CAM Field developed a topics list that allowed us to categorize all 396 Cochrane reviews related to CAM (as of The Cochrane Library, Issue 4, 2009). This topics list is an advance in making Cochrane reviews on CAM topics accessible to the public. In this paper, we discuss challenges in developing the topics list, including developing an operational definition of CAM, deciding which reviews should be included within the CAM Field’s scope, developing the structured list of CAM Field-specific topics, and determining where in the topics list the reviews should be placed. Although aspects of our operational definition of CAM are open to revision, a standardized definition provides us with an objective, reproducible and systematic method for defining and classifying CAM therapies. PMID:21717826

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope: Presentation to the Freedom Museum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leete, Stephen

2017-01-01

The Freedom Museum, located in Manassas, VA, requested a speaker through the NASA Speakers Bureau, on the topic of the Hubble Space Telescope. A public outreach presentation has been prepared. Many of the facts are drawn from a public source, the Wikipedia article on the Hubble Space Telescope. This covers the history of the development of the HST, as well as the initial flaw and its repair, and the subsequent series of servicing missions, for which I was involved in the last three. This has been the topic of numerous books. This has been supplemented mostly by facts known to the author, such as names of individuals who played key roles, but not any technical information. Because the reqeustor asked for a significant part of the talk to address major science findings and discoveries, significant portions of a public presentation on this topic developed by Kenneth Carpenter of GSFC were obtained and incorporated, with credit. I have confirmed that this material is also available through public sources.

SYRIAC: The systematic review information automated collection system a data warehouse for facilitating automated biomedical text classification.

PubMed

Yang, Jianji J; Cohen, Aaron M; Cohen, Aaron; McDonagh, Marian S

2008-11-06

Automatic document classification can be valuable in increasing the efficiency in updating systematic reviews (SR). In order for the machine learning process to work well, it is critical to create and maintain high-quality training datasets consisting of expert SR inclusion/exclusion decisions. This task can be laborious, especially when the number of topics is large and source data format is inconsistent.To approach this problem, we build an automated system to streamline the required steps, from initial notification of update in source annotation files to loading the data warehouse, along with a web interface to monitor the status of each topic. In our current collection of 26 SR topics, we were able to standardize almost all of the relevance judgments and recovered PMIDs for over 80% of all articles. Of those PMIDs, over 99% were correct in a manual random sample study. Our system performs an essential function in creating training and evaluation data sets for SR text mining research.

SYRIAC: The SYstematic Review Information Automated Collection System A Data Warehouse for Facilitating Automated Biomedical Text Classification

PubMed Central

Yang, Jianji J.; Cohen, Aaron M.; McDonagh, Marian S.

2008-01-01

Automatic document classification can be valuable in increasing the efficiency in updating systematic reviews (SR). In order for the machine learning process to work well, it is critical to create and maintain high-quality training datasets consisting of expert SR inclusion/exclusion decisions. This task can be laborious, especially when the number of topics is large and source data format is inconsistent. To approach this problem, we build an automated system to streamline the required steps, from initial notification of update in source annotation files to loading the data warehouse, along with a web interface to monitor the status of each topic. In our current collection of 26 SR topics, we were able to standardize almost all of the relevance judgments and recovered PMIDs for over 80% of all articles. Of those PMIDs, over 99% were correct in a manual random sample study. Our system performs an essential function in creating training and evaluation datasets for SR text mining research. PMID:18999194

Issues in NASA program and project management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoffman, Edward J. (Editor)

1994-01-01

This volume is the eighth in an ongoing series addressing current topics and lessons learned in NASA program and project management. Articles in this volume cover the following topics: (1) power sources for the Galileo and Ulysses Missions; (2) managing requirements; (3) program control of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission; (4) project management method; (5) career development for project managers; and (6) resources for NASA managers.

An Exploration of the Legal and Regulatory Environment of Privacy and Security through Active Research, Guided Study, Blog Creation, and Discussion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peslak, Alan R.

2010-01-01

One of the most important topics for today's information technology professional is the study of legal and regulatory issues as they relate to privacy and security of personal and business data and identification. This manuscript describes the topics and approach taken by the instructors that focuses on independent research of source documents and…

Technology Evaluation for an Advanced Individual Protection System (AIPS)

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-12-01

this analysis are: time of operation, duration of thermal management, power consumed during operation, cooling/heating benefit , time between recharge...BRDEC) TOPICS: o individual power * batteries/engines/fuel cel!s POC: Wes Goodwin (NRDEC) TOPICS: * microclimate cooling e vapor compression cycles e...individual power 2.3 LITERATURE SEARCHES The literature searches began by reviewing Battelle in-house sources for useful reports. This included a

MScanner: a classifier for retrieving Medline citations

PubMed Central

Poulter, Graham L; Rubin, Daniel L; Altman, Russ B; Seoighe, Cathal

2008-01-01

Background Keyword searching through PubMed and other systems is the standard means of retrieving information from Medline. However, ad-hoc retrieval systems do not meet all of the needs of databases that curate information from literature, or of text miners developing a corpus on a topic that has many terms indicative of relevance. Several databases have developed supervised learning methods that operate on a filtered subset of Medline, to classify Medline records so that fewer articles have to be manually reviewed for relevance. A few studies have considered generalisation of Medline classification to operate on the entire Medline database in a non-domain-specific manner, but existing applications lack speed, available implementations, or a means to measure performance in new domains. Results MScanner is an implementation of a Bayesian classifier that provides a simple web interface for submitting a corpus of relevant training examples in the form of PubMed IDs and returning results ranked by decreasing probability of relevance. For maximum speed it uses the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and journal of publication as a concise document representation, and takes roughly 90 seconds to return results against the 16 million records in Medline. The web interface provides interactive exploration of the results, and cross validated performance evaluation on the relevant input against a random subset of Medline. We describe the classifier implementation, cross validate it on three domain-specific topics, and compare its performance to that of an expert PubMed query for a complex topic. In cross validation on the three sample topics against 100,000 random articles, the classifier achieved excellent separation of relevant and irrelevant article score distributions, ROC areas between 0.97 and 0.99, and averaged precision between 0.69 and 0.92. Conclusion MScanner is an effective non-domain-specific classifier that operates on the entire Medline database, and is suited to retrieving topics for which many features may indicate relevance. Its web interface simplifies the task of classifying Medline citations, compared to building a pre-filter and classifier specific to the topic. The data sets and open source code used to obtain the results in this paper are available on-line and as supplementary material, and the web interface may be accessed at . PMID:18284683

Integrating plug-in electric vehicles into the electric power system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Di

This dissertation contributes to our understanding of how plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and plug-in battery-only electric vehicles (EVs)---collectively termed plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs)---could be successfully integrated with the electric power system. The research addresses issues at a diverse range of levels pertaining to light-duty vehicles, which account for the majority of highway vehicle miles traveled, energy consumed by highway travel modes, and carbon dioxide emissions from on-road sources. Specifically, the following topics are investigated: (i) On-board power electronics topologies for bidirectional vehicle-to-grid and grid-to-vehicle power transfer; (ii) The estimation of the electric energy and power consumption by fleets of light-duty PEVs; (iii) An operating framework for the scheduling and dispatch of electric power by PEV aggregators; (iv) The pricing of electricity by PHEV aggregators and how it affects the decision-making process of a cost-conscious PHEV owner; (v) The impacts on distribution systems from PEVs under aggregator control; (vi) The modeling of light-duty PEVs for long-term energy and transportation planning at a national scale.

Present status of numerical modeling of hydrogen negative ion source plasmas and its comparison with experiments: Japanese activities and their collaboration with experimental groups

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hatayama, A.; Nishioka, S.; Nishida, K.; Mattei, S.; Lettry, J.; Miyamoto, K.; Shibata, T.; Onai, M.; Abe, S.; Fujita, S.; Yamada, S.; Fukano, A.

2018-06-01

The present status of kinetic modeling of particle dynamics in hydrogen negative ion (H‑) source plasmas and their comparisons with experiments are reviewed and discussed with some new results. The main focus is placed on the following topics, which are important for the research and development of H‑ sources for intense and high-quality H‑ ion beams: (i) effects of non-equilibrium features of electron energy distribution function on volume and surface H‑ production, (ii) the origin of the spatial non-uniformity in giant multi-cusp arc-discharge H‑ sources, (iii) capacitive to inductive (E to H) mode transition in radio frequency-inductively coupled plasma H‑ sources and (iv) extraction physics of H‑ ions and beam optics, especially the present understanding of the meniscus formation in strongly electronegative plasmas (so-called ion–ion plasmas) and its effect on beam optics. For these topics, mainly Japanese modeling activities, and their domestic and international collaborations with experimental studies, are introduced with some examples showing how models have been improved and to what extent the modeling studies can presently contribute to improving the source performance. Close collaboration between experimental and modeling activities is indispensable for the validation/improvement of the modeling and its contribution to the source design/development.

Classification of health webpages as expert and non expert with a reduced set of cross-language features.

PubMed

Grabar, Natalia; Krivine, Sonia; Jaulent, Marie-Christine

2007-10-11

Making the distinction between expert and non expert health documents can help users to select the information which is more suitable for them, according to whether they are familiar or not with medical terminology. This issue is particularly important for the information retrieval area. In our work we address this purpose through stylistic corpus analysis and the application of machine learning algorithms. Our hypothesis is that this distinction can be performed on the basis of a small number of features and that such features can be language and domain independent. The used features were acquired in source corpus (Russian language, diabetes topic) and then tested on target (French language, pneumology topic) and source corpora. These cross-language features show 90% precision and 93% recall with non expert documents in source language; and 85% precision and 74% recall with expert documents in target language.

Investigative change detection: identifying new topics using lexicon-based search

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hintz, Kenneth J.

2002-08-01

In law enforcement there is much textual data which needs to be searched in order to detect new threats. A new methodology which can be applied to this need is the automatic searching of the contents of documents from known sources to construct a lexicon of words used by that source. When analyzing future documents, the occurrence of words which have not been lexiconized are indicative of the introduction of a new topic into the source's lexicon which should be examined in its context by an analyst. A system analogous to this has been built and used to detect Fads and Categories on web sites. Fad refers to the first appearance of a word not in the lexicon; Category refers to the repeated appearance of a Fad word and the exceeding of some frequency or spatial occurrence metric indicating a permanence to the Category.

Biochemistry for dietetic students: course content and format.

PubMed

Sirota, L H

1984-12-01

This article presents the results of a survey of the 251 undergraduate dietetic programs for course content and level of the biochemistry course most frequently used to satisfy competencies in biochemistry under Plan IV of the ADA in 1979-80. It showed that a common core of information was stressed by all biochemistry instructors, but there was great variability in content and level of material covered and the textbook chosen, depending on whether the biochemistry course was offered to dietetic majors only, in classes with other nonchemistry majors, or in classes with chemistry majors. Variability was also seen in the time allotted for biochemistry--39 to 280 hours (total lecture and required laboratory hours); laboratory requirements--only 71%; and departmental affiliation of the instructor--17 different departments, primarily of chemistry (80%), biology (8%), and home economics (4%). Topics given greatest emphasis were descriptive ones, such as definitions, simple structures, and reactions of intermediary metabolism in general terms. Topics given least emphasis were those involving mechanistic and quantitative biochemistry, such as respiratory quotient (RQ), enzyme kinetics, calculations of energy from fat and carbohydrates, and specific structures of vitamins, ketones, and metabolic intermediates. The lack of communication between biochemistry and nutrition instructors and the great differences in the preparation of dietetic majors in biochemistry are sources of concern.

Cumulative bibliography and index to The Mountain Geologist, 1975 through 1991

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

Schwochow, S.D.

1992-10-01

This cumulative index to The Mountain Geologist covers Volumes 12 (1975) through 28 (1991) and consists of three sections-Author Index, Geographical Index, and Topical Index. The Author Index is an author-alphabetical listing of full bibliographic citations of all authored articles, discussions and replies, road logs, indexes, and dissertation lists. Coauthors are listed alphabetically with a cross-reference to the senior author. Mountain Geologist is cited as the implied author for annual indexes whose compilers were not cited. In the Geographical Index (page 110) are listed the primary regional locations or areas of study of each article - principally basins, plateaus, andmore » mountain ranges. Also included are several regional structural features that exhibit no distinct topographic expression. For articles describing foreign locales, when no specific basins or ranges have been mentioned or can be inferred, the respective country names have been used. The indexing hierarchy consists of first-order headings followed by one or more short bibliographic citations consisting of author and data - for example, Eaton, 1990; Eaton and others, 1990; Kluth and Nelson, 1988; Stone, 1984a, 1984b. After locating the desired indexing term and short citations, refer to the Author Index for the corresponding full bibliographic citations and identify the respective source volume, number, and pages. The Topical Index (page 113) is primarily a formation and structure locator. Many formation names are cross-referenced to their respective group names and appear as second-order headings under those group (first-order) names. Members and informally named stratigraphic units, when described, similarly are cross-referenced to and indexed under respective formation names. The description of a formation or member in a source article may include any or all of the following aspects-stratigraphic position, correlation, age, lithology, internal structures, and depositional history and environments.« less

Media reporting of neuroscience depends on timing, topic and newspaper type.

PubMed

van Atteveldt, Nienke M; van Aalderen-Smeets, Sandra I; Jacobi, Carina; Ruigrok, Nel

2014-01-01

The rapid developments in neuroscientific techniques raise high expectations among the general public and therefore warrant close monitoring of the translation to the media and daily-life applications. The need of empirical research into neuroscience communication is emphasized by its susceptibility to evoke misconceptions and polarized beliefs. As the mass media are the main sources of information about (neuro-)science for a majority of the general public, the objective of the current research is to quantify how critically and accurately newspapers report on neuroscience as a function of the timing of publication (within or outside of periods of heightened media attention to neuroscience, termed "news waves"), the topic of the research (e.g. development, health, law) and the newspaper type (quality, popular, free newspapers). The results show that articles published during neuroscience news waves were less neutral and more optimistic, but not different in accuracy. Furthermore, the overall tone and accuracy of articles depended on the topic; for example, articles on development often had an optimistic tone whereas articles on law were often skeptical or balanced, and articles on health care had highest accuracy. Average accuracy was rather low, but articles in quality newspapers were relatively more accurate than in popular and free newspapers. Our results provide specific recommendations for researchers and science communicators, to improve the translation of neuroscience findings through the media: 1) Caution is warranted during periods of heightened attention (news waves), as reporting tends to be more optimistic; 2) Caution is also warranted not to follow topic-related biases in optimism (e.g., development) or skepticism (e.g., law); 3) Researchers should keep in mind that overall accuracy of reporting is low, and especially articles in popular and free newspapers provide a minimal amount of details. This indicates that researchers themselves may need to be more active in preventing misconceptions to arise.

Media Reporting of Neuroscience Depends on Timing, Topic and Newspaper Type

PubMed Central

van Atteveldt, Nienke M.; van Aalderen-Smeets, Sandra I.; Jacobi, Carina; Ruigrok, Nel

2014-01-01

The rapid developments in neuroscientific techniques raise high expectations among the general public and therefore warrant close monitoring of the translation to the media and daily-life applications. The need of empirical research into neuroscience communication is emphasized by its susceptibility to evoke misconceptions and polarized beliefs. As the mass media are the main sources of information about (neuro-)science for a majority of the general public, the objective of the current research is to quantify how critically and accurately newspapers report on neuroscience as a function of the timing of publication (within or outside of periods of heightened media attention to neuroscience, termed “news waves”), the topic of the research (e.g. development, health, law) and the newspaper type (quality, popular, free newspapers). The results show that articles published during neuroscience news waves were less neutral and more optimistic, but not different in accuracy. Furthermore, the overall tone and accuracy of articles depended on the topic; for example, articles on development often had an optimistic tone whereas articles on law were often skeptical or balanced, and articles on health care had highest accuracy. Average accuracy was rather low, but articles in quality newspapers were relatively more accurate than in popular and free newspapers. Our results provide specific recommendations for researchers and science communicators, to improve the translation of neuroscience findings through the media: 1) Caution is warranted during periods of heightened attention (news waves), as reporting tends to be more optimistic; 2) Caution is also warranted not to follow topic-related biases in optimism (e.g., development) or skepticism (e.g., law); 3) Researchers should keep in mind that overall accuracy of reporting is low, and especially articles in popular and free newspapers provide a minimal amount of details. This indicates that researchers themselves may need to be more active in preventing misconceptions to arise. PMID:25117741

A Social Science Bibliography of Leisure and Recreation Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burdge, Rabel J.; And Others

This bibliography provides an accessible source to social science research in leisure, recreation, and sports. Topical areas covered include: (1) bibliographic sources on leisure and recreation; (2) philosophical issues in leisure; (3) theories of leisure and recreation; (4) methods in leisure and recreation research; (5) evaluation of leisure and…

Student Inquiry in the Research Process, Part 4: Inquiry Research Investigation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Preddy, Leslie B.

2003-01-01

Explains a hands-on, classroom teacher/library media specialist collaborative model for implementing the inquiry approach to the research process into the classroom and school library media center. Topics include the investigation phase; source notes; primary sources; interviews; community resources; storyboards; and peer conferences. (LRW)

A Source Book for Teaching Chemical Oceanography.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loder, Theodore C.; Glibert, Patricia M.

Chemical oceanography or marine chemistry are taught in many colleges and universities. This publication provides sources for instructors of such courses. The first section of this report is a detailed composite outline of a course in chemical oceanography. It includes fundamental topics taught in many chemical oceanography classes. The outline…

Laser Lights or Dim Bulbs? Evaluating Reference Librarians' Use of Electronic Sources.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Welch, Jeanie M.

1999-01-01

Discusses the evaluation of academic library reference librarians' effectiveness in providing services to patrons using electronic sources based on experiences at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Topics include core technical competencies for subject specialists and reference desk service; the Internet; and methods of evaluation.…

Biographical Sources: Architecture, Art, Music, Theatre and Drama. Bibliographic Series No. 16.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahrens, Joan

Sources for biographical information in architecture, art, music, theater, and drama held by the Arkansas University library are listed. Directories, encyclopedias, biographies, bibliographies, and handbooks covering the national and international spectrum are organized by topic, and include some works in French and German. Full bibliographic…

CyberConnect: Use the Internet with Big6[R] Skills To Achieve Standards.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murray, Janet

2003-01-01

Describes the use of Big6 strategies in guiding student research projects as part of a cooperative program between teachers and the school librarian. Topics include information seeking strategies; evaluating information sources; locating information using search engines; analyzing information sources; and achieving information literacy and…

Net carbon uptake by establishing biofuel crops in Central Illinois

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Clean and renewable sources of energy as wind, solar or biofuels comprise a valuable set of options available to deal with the pressing topics of energy security and mitigation of climate change effects. However, the efficiency in energy conversion and the environmental impacts of each new source of...

REVIEW OF INDOOR EMISSION SOURCE MODELS: PART 2. PARAMETER ESTIMATION

EPA Science Inventory

This review consists of two sections. Part I provides an overview of 46 indoor emission source models. Part 2 (this paper) focuses on parameter estimation, a topic that is critical to modelers but has never been systematically discussed. A perfectly valid model may not be a usefu...

Satellites, Remote Sensing, and Classroom Geography for Canadian Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kirman, Joseph M.

1998-01-01

Argues that remote sensing images are a powerful tool for teaching geography. Discusses the use of remote sensing images in the classroom and provides a number of sources for them, some free, many on the World Wide Web. Reviews each source's usefulness for different grade levels and geographic topics. (DSK)

The Internet as a Source of Academic Research Information: Findings of Two Pilot Studies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kibirige, Harry M.; DePalo, Lisa

2000-01-01

Discussion of information available on the Internet focuses on two pilot studies that investigated how academic users perceive search engines and subject-oriented databases as sources of topical information. Highlights include information seeking behavior of academic users; undergraduate users; graduate users; faculty; and implications for…

The persuasive power of emotions: Effects of emotional expressions on attitude formation and change.

PubMed

Van Kleef, Gerben A; van den Berg, Helma; Heerdink, Marc W

2015-07-01

Despite a long-standing interest in the intrapersonal role of affect in persuasion, the interpersonal effects of emotions on persuasion remain poorly understood-how do one person's emotional expressions shape others' attitudes? Drawing on emotions as social information (EASI) theory (Van Kleef, 2009), we hypothesized that people use the emotional expressions of others to inform their own attitudes, but only when they are sufficiently motivated and able to process those expressions. Five experiments support these ideas. Participants reported more positive attitudes about various topics after seeing a source's sad (rather than happy) expressions when topics were negatively framed (e.g., abandoning bobsleighing from the Olympics). Conversely, participants reported more positive attitudes after seeing happy (rather than sad) expressions when topics were positively framed (e.g., introducing kite surfing at the Olympics). This suggests that participants used the source's emotional expressions as information when forming their own attitudes. Supporting this interpretation, effects were mitigated when participants' information processing was undermined by cognitive load or was chronically low. Moreover, a source's anger expressions engendered negative attitude change when directed at the attitude object and positive change when directed at the recipient's attitude. Effects occurred regardless of whether emotional expressions were manipulated through written words, pictures of facial expressions, film clips containing both facial and vocal emotional expressions, or emoticons. The findings support EASI theory and indicate that emotional expressions are a powerful source of social influence. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

On the Evolution of Library and Information Science Doctoral Dissertation Topics in North America (1960-2013)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shu, Fei; Larivière, Vincent; Mongeon, Philippe; Julien, Charles-Antoine; Piper, Andrew

2016-01-01

Since the 1960s, many scholars have questioned the relationship between library science and information science. This paper investigates LIS doctoral dissertations in terms of their topics and interdisciplinarity in the period 1960-2013. Results show that LIS is an interdisciplinary field in which library science and information science are…

Science-Relevant Curiosity Expression and Interest in Science: An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luce, Megan R.; Hsi, Sherry

2015-01-01

In efforts to understand and promote long-term interest in science, much work has focused on measuring students' interest in topics of science, typically with surveys. This approach has challenges, as interest in a topic may not necessarily indicate interest in scientific practices and pursuits. An underexplored and perhaps productive way to…

Contributed review: quantum cascade laser based photoacoustic detection of explosives.

PubMed

Li, J S; Yu, B; Fischer, H; Chen, W; Yalin, A P

2015-03-01

Detecting trace explosives and explosive-related compounds has recently become a topic of utmost importance for increasing public security around the world. A wide variety of detection methods and an even wider range of physical chemistry issues are involved in this very challenging area. Optical sensing methods, in particular mid-infrared spectrometry techniques, have a great potential to become a more desirable tools for the detection of explosives. The small size, simplicity, high output power, long-term reliability make external cavity quantum cascade lasers (EC-QCLs) the promising spectroscopic sources for developing analytical instrumentation. This work reviews the current technical progress in EC-QCL-based photoacoustic spectroscopy for explosives detection. The potential for both close-contact and standoff configurations using this technique is completely presented over the course of approximately the last one decade.

Contributed Review: Quantum cascade laser based photoacoustic detection of explosives

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

Li, J. S., E-mail: jingsong-li@ahu.edu.cn; Yu, B.; Fischer, H.

2015-03-15

Detecting trace explosives and explosive-related compounds has recently become a topic of utmost importance for increasing public security around the world. A wide variety of detection methods and an even wider range of physical chemistry issues are involved in this very challenging area. Optical sensing methods, in particular mid-infrared spectrometry techniques, have a great potential to become a more desirable tools for the detection of explosives. The small size, simplicity, high output power, long-term reliability make external cavity quantum cascade lasers (EC-QCLs) the promising spectroscopic sources for developing analytical instrumentation. This work reviews the current technical progress in EC-QCL-based photoacousticmore » spectroscopy for explosives detection. The potential for both close-contact and standoff configurations using this technique is completely presented over the course of approximately the last one decade.« less

Carbon monoxide toxicity. (Latest citations from the Life Sciences Collection data base). Published Search

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

Not Available

The bibliography contains citations concerning the mechanism and clinical manifestations of carbon monoxide (CO) exposure, including the effects on the liver, cardiovascular, and nervous systems. Topics include studies of the carbon monoxide binding affinity with hemoglobin, measurement of carboxyhemoglobin in humans and various animal species, carbon monoxide levels resulting from tobacco and marijuana smoke, occupational exposure and the NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) biological exposure index, symptomology and percent of blood CO, and intrauterine exposure. Air pollution, tobacco smoking, and occupational exposure are discussed as primary sources of carbon monoxide exposure. The effects of cigarette smoking onmore » fetal development and health are excluded and examined in a separate bibliography. (Contains a minimum of 172 citations and includes a subject term index and title list.)« less

Carbon monoxide toxicity. (Latest citations from the Life Sciences Collection database). NewSearch

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

Not Available

The bibliography contains citations concerning the mechanism and clinical manifestations of carbon monoxide (CO) exposure, including the effects on the liver, cardiovascular, and nervous systems. Topics include studies of the carbon monoxide binding affinity with hemoglobin, measurement of carboxyhemoglobin in humans and various animal species, carbon monoxide levels resulting from tobacco and marijuana smoke, occupational exposure and the NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) biological exposure index, symptomology and percent of blood CO, and intrauterine exposure. Air pollution, tobacco smoking, and occupational exposure are discussed as primary sources of carbon monoxide exposure. The effects of cigarette smoking onmore » fetal development and health are excluded and examined in a separate bibliography. (Contains a minimum of 137 citations and includes a subject term index and title list.)« less

Carbon monoxide toxicity. (Latest citations from the Life Sciences Collection database). Published Search

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

NONE

The bibliography contains citations concerning the mechanism and clinical manifestations of carbon monoxide (CO) exposure, including the effects on the liver, cardiovascular, and nervous systems. Topics include studies of the carbon monoxide binding affinity with hemoglobin, measurement of carboxyhemoglobin in humans and various animal species, carbon monoxide levels resulting from tobacco and marijuana smoke, occupational exposure and the NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) biological exposure index, symptomology and percent of blood CO, and intrauterine exposure. Air pollution, tobacco smoking, and occupational exposure are discussed as primary sources of carbon monoxide exposure. The effects of cigarette smoking onmore » fetal development and health are excluded and examined in a separate bibliography.(Contains 50-250 citations and includes a subject term index and title list.) (Copyright NERAC, Inc. 1995)« less

Carbon monoxide toxicity. (Latest citations from the Life Sciences Collection database). Published Search

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

NONE

The bibliography contains citations concerning the mechanism and clinical manifestations of carbon monoxide (CO) exposure, including the effects on the liver, cardiovascular, and nervous systems. Topics include studies of the carbon monoxide binding affinity with hemoglobin, measurement of carboxyhemoglobin in humans and various animal species, carbon monoxide levels resulting from tobacco and marijuana smoke, occupational exposure and the NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) biological exposure index, symptomology and percent of blood CO, and intrauterine exposure. Air pollution, tobacco smoking, and occupational exposure are discussed as primary sources of carbon monoxide exposure. The effects of cigarette smoking onmore » fetal development and health are excluded and examined in a separate bibliography. (Contains 50-250 citations and includes a subject term index and title list.) (Copyright NERAC, Inc. 1995)« less

Measurement techniques for low emittance tuning and beam dynamics at CESR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Billing, M. G.; Dobbins, J. A.; Forster, M. J.; Kreinick, D. L.; Meller, R. E.; Peterson, D. P.; Ramirez, G. A.; Rendina, M. C.; Rider, N. T.; Sagan, D. C.; Shanks, J.; Sikora, J. P.; Stedinger, M. G.; Strohman, C. R.; Williams, H. A.; Palmer, M. A.; Holtzapple, R. L.; Flanagan, J.

2018-03-01

After operating as a High Energy Physics electron-positron collider, the Cornell Electron-positron Storage Ring (CESR) has been converted to become a dedicated synchrotron light source for the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS). Over the course of several years CESR was adapted for accelerator physics research as a test accelerator, capable of studying topics relevant to future damping rings, colliders and light sources. Initially some specific topics were targeted for accelerator physic research with the storage ring in this mode, labeled CesrTA. These topics included 1) tuning techniques to produce low emittance beams, 2) the study of electron cloud (EC) development in a storage ring and 3) intra-beam scattering effects. The complete conversion of CESR to CesrTA occurred over a several year period, described elsewhere [1–3]. A number of specific instruments were developed for CesrTA. Much of the pre-existing instrumentation was modified to accommodate the scope of these studies and these are described in a companion paper [4]. To complete this research, a number of procedures were developed or modified, often requiring coordinated measurements among different instruments [5]. This paper provides an overview of types of measurements employed for the study of beam dynamics during the operation of CesrTA.

Environmental setting of Maple Creek watershed, Nebraska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fredrick, Brian S.; Linard, Joshua I.; Carpenter, Jennifer L.

2006-01-01

The Maple Creek watershed covers a 955-square-kilometer area in eastern Nebraska, which is a region dominated by agricultural land use. The Maple Creek watershed is one of seven areas currently included in a nationwide study of the sources, transport, and fate of water and chemicals in agricultural watersheds. This study, known as the topical study of 'Agricultural Chemicals: Sources, Transport, and Fate' is part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program being conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey. The Program is designed to describe water-quality conditions and trends based on representative surface- and ground-water resources across the Nation. The objective of the Agricultural Chemicals topical study is to investigate the sources, transport, and fate of selected agricultural chemicals in a variety of agriculturally diverse environmental settings. The Maple Creek watershed was selected for the Agricultural Chemicals topical study because its watershed represents the agricultural setting that characterizes eastern Nebraska. This report describes the environmental setting of the Maple Creek watershed in the context of how agricultural practices, including agricultural chemical applications and irrigation methods, interface with natural settings and hydrologic processes. A description of the environmental setting of a subwatershed within the drainage area of Maple Creek is included to improve the understanding of the variability of hydrologic and chemical cycles at two different scales.

Embedding With Scientists Results In Better Understanding Of How Science Is Really Done, More Human Stories, And More Effective Communication About Controversial Topics.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haines-Stiles, G.

2015-12-01

Until recently much science communication focused on press conferences and results, "Eureka"-moments issued from podiums. Recent documentaries, however, such as PARTICLE FEVER and THE YEAR OF PLUTO go behind the scenes to show long years of effort, and occasional failures, revealing a more honest—and more engaging—picture of how science is actually done. Audiences respond when researchers show a more human face, and candid moments of stress and exhaustion as well as exhilaration make eventual results more meaningful. This presentation will offer evidence that this approach is also effective on contested topics such as climate change, where long-term relationships between journalists and researchers can help structure communications that avoid distracting controversies. A cameraman spends a full week with ornithologist George Divoky on remote Cooper Island, Alaska: the resulting video podcast informs a stage play in London, and George goes on the road with POLAR-PALOOZA across America and internationally, sharing stories about the birds he studies and the polar bears he has to increasingly avoid, as climate change brings them onshore in search of food. POLAR-PALOOZA also introduced Richard Alley and other Arctic and Antarctic scientists to a team of producers and directors, resulting in a 3-part PBS series and museum outreach that is able to present climate change science in an authoritative and apolitical way. That leads, in turn, to leading researchers including video and more visually-dynamic approaches in communicating their work to the public. An upcoming public television series, THE CROWD & THE CLOUD, will devote one program to insights about climate change gained over decades of interaction between producers and scientists. Many mainstream media outlets have cut back on science coverage and released their dedicated "beat" reporters. However a wealth of new channels offer venues for this approach, and falling prices for high quality cameras and editing systems mean production barriers are minimal. Long term relationships between sources and producers rather than one-off exchanges can generate more authentic information, conveyed in more engaging formats, which is essential to better understanding of GMOs, AI, GEC, and other key scientific and social topics.

Euthanasia: an overview and the jewish perspective.

PubMed

Gesundheit, Benjamin; Steinberg, Avraham; Glick, Shimon; Or, Reuven; Jotkovitz, Alan

2006-10-01

End-of-life care poses fundamental ethical problems to clinicians. Defining euthanasia is a difficult and complex task, which causes confusion in its practical clinical application. Over the course of history, abuse of the term has led to medical atrocities. Familiarity with the relevant bioethical issues and the development of practical guidelines might improve clinical performance. To define philosophical concepts, to present historical events, to discuss the relevant attitudes in modern bioethics and law that may be helpful in elaborating practical guidelines for clinicians regarding euthanasia and end-of-life care. Concepts found in the classic sources of Jewish tradition might shed additional light on the issue and help clinicians in their decision-making process. An historical overview defines the concepts of active versus passive euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide and related terms. Positions found in classical Jewish literature are presented and analyzed with their later interpretations. The relevance and application in modern clinical medicine of both the general and Jewish approaches are discussed. The overview of current bioethical concepts demonstrates the variety of approaches in western culture and legal systems. Philosophically and conceptually, there is a crucial distinction between active and passive euthanasia. The legitimacy of active euthanasia has been the subject of major controversy in recent times in various countries and religious traditions. The historical overview and the literature review demonstrate the need to provide clearer definitions of the concepts relating to euthanasia, for in the past the term has led to major confusion and uncontrolled abuse. Bioethical topics should, therefore, be included in medical training and continuing education. There are major debates and controversies regarding the current clinical and legal approaches. We trust that classical Jewish sources might contribute to the establishment of clinical definitions, meaningful approaches and practical guidelines for clinicians.

Associations of Topics of Discussion on Twitter With Survey Measures of Attitudes, Knowledge, and Behaviors Related to Zika: Probabilistic Study in the United States.

PubMed

Farhadloo, Mohsen; Winneg, Kenneth; Chan, Man-Pui Sally; Hall Jamieson, Kathleen; Albarracin, Dolores

2018-02-09

Recent outbreaks of Zika virus around the world led to increased discussions about this issue on social media platforms such as Twitter. These discussions may provide useful information about attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors of the population regarding issues that are important for public policy. We sought to identify the associations of the topics of discussions on Twitter and survey measures of Zika-related attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors, not solely based upon the volume of such discussions but by analyzing the content of conversations using probabilistic techniques. Using probabilistic topic modeling with US county and week as the unit of analysis, we analyzed the content of Twitter online communications to identify topics related to the reported attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors captured in a national representative survey (N=33,193) of the US adult population over 33 weeks. Our analyses revealed topics related to "congress funding for Zika," "microcephaly," "Zika-related travel discussions," "insect repellent," "blood transfusion technology," and "Zika in Miami" were associated with our survey measures of attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors observed over the period of the study. Our results demonstrated that it is possible to uncover topics of discussions from Twitter communications that are associated with the Zika-related attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors of populations over time. Social media data can be used as a complementary source of information alongside traditional data sources to gauge the patterns of attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors in a population. ©Mohsen Farhadloo, Kenneth Winneg, Man-Pui Sally Chan, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Dolores Albarracin. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 09.02.2018.

Mapping patient safety: a large-scale literature review using bibliometric visualisation techniques

PubMed Central

Rodrigues, S P; van Eck, N J; Waltman, L; Jansen, F W

2014-01-01

Background The amount of scientific literature available is often overwhelming, making it difficult for researchers to have a good overview of the literature and to see relations between different developments. Visualisation techniques based on bibliometric data are helpful in obtaining an overview of the literature on complex research topics, and have been applied here to the topic of patient safety (PS). Methods On the basis of title words and citation relations, publications in the period 2000–2010 related to PS were identified in the Scopus bibliographic database. A visualisation of the most frequently cited PS publications was produced based on direct and indirect citation relations between publications. Terms were extracted from titles and abstracts of the publications, and a visualisation of the most important terms was created. The main PS-related topics studied in the literature were identified using a technique for clustering publications and terms. Results A total of 8480 publications were identified, of which the 1462 most frequently cited ones were included in the visualisation. The publications were clustered into 19 clusters, which were grouped into three categories: (1) magnitude of PS problems (42% of all included publications); (2) PS risk factors (31%) and (3) implementation of solutions (19%). In the visualisation of PS-related terms, five clusters were identified: (1) medication; (2) measuring harm; (3) PS culture; (4) physician; (5) training, education and communication. Both analysis at publication and term level indicate an increasing focus on risk factors. Conclusions A bibliometric visualisation approach makes it possible to analyse large amounts of literature. This approach is very useful for improving one's understanding of a complex research topic such as PS and for suggesting new research directions or alternative research priorities. For PS research, the approach suggests that more research on implementing PS improvement initiatives might be needed. PMID:24625640

Comparison of lecture and team-based learning in medical ethics education.

PubMed

Ozgonul, Levent; Alimoglu, Mustafa Kemal

2017-01-01

Medical education literature suggests that ethics education should be learner-centered and problem-based rather than theory-based. Team-based learning is an appropriate method for this suggestion. However, its effectiveness was not investigated enough in medical ethics education. Is team-based learning effective in medical ethics education in terms of knowledge retention, in-class learner engagement, and learner reactions? This was a prospective controlled follow-up study. We changed lecture with team-based learning method to teach four topics in a 2-week medical ethics clerkship, while the remaining topics were taught by lectures. For comparison, we formed team-based learning and lecture groups, in which the students and instructor are the same, but the topics and teaching methodologies are different. We determined in-class learner engagement by direct observation and student satisfaction by feedback forms. Student success for team-based learning and lecture topics in the end-of-clerkship exam and two retention tests performed 1 year and 2 years later were compared. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval for the study was granted by Akdeniz University Board of Ethics on Noninvasive Clinical Human Studies Ethics committee. Short-term knowledge retention did not differ; however, team-based learning was found superior to lecture at long-term retention tests. Student satisfaction was high with team-based learning and in-class engagement was better in team-based learning sessions. Our results on learner engagement and satisfaction with team-based learning were similar to those of previous reports. However, knowledge retention results in our study were contrary to literature. The reason might be the fact that students prepared for the end-of-clerkship pass/fail exam (short term) regardless of the teaching method. But, at long-term retention tests, they did not prepare for the exam and answered the questions just using the knowledge retained in their memories. Our findings suggest that team-based learning is a better alternative to lecture to teach ethics in medical education.

Summary report of working group 5: Beam sources, monitoring and control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conde, Manoel; Zgadzaj, Rafal

2017-03-01

This paper summarizes the topics presented in Working Group 5 at the 17th Advanced Accelerator Concepts Workshop, which was held from 31 July to 5 August 2016 at the Gaylord Hotel and Conference Center, National Harbor, MD, USA. The presentations included a variety of topics covering cathode and RF gun design, new user facilities, beam phase space manipulation, and a range of novel diagnostic techniques.

COGITA network has constructed a glossary of diagnostic reasoning terms.

PubMed

Barais, Marie; Hauswaldt, Johannes; Dinant, Geert-Jan; van de Wiel, Margje; Stolper, C F Erik; Van Royen, Paul

2017-12-01

The role of gut feelings in diagnostic reasoning is recognized by most GPs throughout Europe, and probably throughout the world. Studies on this topic have emerged from different countries but there is the risk that authors will use different terms for similar concepts. The European Expert Group on Cognitive and Interactive Processes in Diagnosis and Management in General Practice, COGITA for short, was founded in 2008 to conduct cross-border research in the area of non-analytical diagnostic reasoning. Academic GPs, PhD students, psychologists, linguists and students meet once a year to share their experiences, exchange results and initiate new studies on the topic. A milestone in their research is this publication of a short glossary of diagnostic reasoning terms relating to the gut feelings research topic. It was constructed by the COGITA group members following a literature review, which aimed to define salient terms used in their publications. They described the terms, cross-reviewed the wording and reached consensus within the group. Two sections were created: (1) a diagnostic reasoning section that describes concepts such as analytical and non-analytical reasoning, clinical mind lines, and intuition, and (2) a research methods section describing concepts such as linguistic validity and saturation. The glossary, including relevant literature, has been published on the website http://www.gutfeelingsingeneralpractice.eu . In the future, the glossary will be modified if necessary and completed by members of the COGITA group. [Box: see text].

Short-Term Therapy with Luliconazole, a Novel Topical Antifungal Imidazole, in Guinea Pig Models of Tinea Corporis and Tinea Pedis

PubMed Central

Nanjoh, Yasuko; Kaneda, Hideo; Yamaguchi, Hideyo; Tsuboi, Ryoji

2012-01-01

Luliconazole is a novel topical antifungal imidazole with broad-spectrum and potent antifungal activity. The drug is under clinical development in the United States for management of dermatophytosis with a short-term treatment regimen. The present study was undertaken to investigate the clinical benefit of short-term therapy with luliconazole cream in guinea pig models of tinea corporis and tinea pedis induced with Trichophyton mentagrophytes. The dose-dependent therapeutic efficacy of topical luliconazole cream (0.02 to 1%), measured by macroscopic improvement of skin lesions and by fungal eradication as determined by a culture assay, was demonstrated using a tinea corporis model. The improvement in skin lesions seen with luliconazole cream was observed even at a concentration of 0.02%, and its efficacy at 0.1% was equal to that of 1% bifonazole cream. The efficacy of short-term therapy with 1% luliconazole cream, which is used for clinical management, was investigated using the tinea corporis model (4- and 8-day treatment regimens) and the tinea pedis model (7- and 14-day treatment regimens). The 1% luliconazole cream completely eradicated the fungus in half or less of the treatment time required for 1% terbinafine cream and 1% bifonazole cream, as determined by a culture assay for both models. These results clearly indicate that 1% luliconazole cream is sufficiently potent for short-term treatment for dermatophytosis compared to existing drugs. Luliconazole is expected to be useful in the clinical management of dermatophytosis. PMID:22391525

Short-term therapy with luliconazole, a novel topical antifungal imidazole, in guinea pig models of tinea corporis and tinea pedis.

PubMed

Koga, Hiroyasu; Nanjoh, Yasuko; Kaneda, Hideo; Yamaguchi, Hideyo; Tsuboi, Ryoji

2012-06-01

Luliconazole is a novel topical antifungal imidazole with broad-spectrum and potent antifungal activity. The drug is under clinical development in the United States for management of dermatophytosis with a short-term treatment regimen. The present study was undertaken to investigate the clinical benefit of short-term therapy with luliconazole cream in guinea pig models of tinea corporis and tinea pedis induced with Trichophyton mentagrophytes. The dose-dependent therapeutic efficacy of topical luliconazole cream (0.02 to 1%), measured by macroscopic improvement of skin lesions and by fungal eradication as determined by a culture assay, was demonstrated using a tinea corporis model. The improvement in skin lesions seen with luliconazole cream was observed even at a concentration of 0.02%, and its efficacy at 0.1% was equal to that of 1% bifonazole cream. The efficacy of short-term therapy with 1% luliconazole cream, which is used for clinical management, was investigated using the tinea corporis model (4- and 8-day treatment regimens) and the tinea pedis model (7- and 14-day treatment regimens). The 1% luliconazole cream completely eradicated the fungus in half or less of the treatment time required for 1% terbinafine cream and 1% bifonazole cream, as determined by a culture assay for both models. These results clearly indicate that 1% luliconazole cream is sufficiently potent for short-term treatment for dermatophytosis compared to existing drugs. Luliconazole is expected to be useful in the clinical management of dermatophytosis.

Workshop on Radio Transients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Croft, Steve; Gaensler, Bryan

2012-04-01

abstract-type="normal">SummaryWe are entering a new era in the study of variable and transient radio sources. This workshop discussed the instruments and the strategies employed to study those sources, how they are identified and classified, how results from different surveys can be compared, and how radio observations tie in with those at other wavelengths. The emphasis was on learning what common ground there is between the plethora of on-going projects, how methods and code can be shared, and how best practices regarding survey strategy could be adopted. The workshop featured the four topics below. Each topic commenced with a fairly brief introductory talk, which then developed into discussion. By way of preparation, participants had been invited to upload and discuss one slide per topic to a wiki ahead of the workshop. 1. Telescopes, instrumentation and survey strategy. New radio facilities and on-going projects (including upgrades) are both studying the variability of the radio sky, and searching for transients. The discussion first centred on the status of those facilities, and on projects with a time-domain focus, both ongoing and planned, before turning to factors driving choices of instrumentation, such as phased array versus single pixel feeds, the field of view, spatial and time resolution, frequency and bandwidth, depth, area, and cadence of the surveys. 2. Detection, pipelines, and classification. The workshop debated (a) the factors that influence decisions to study variability in the (u,v) plane, in images, or in catalogues, (b) whether, and how much, pipeline code could potentially be shared between one project and another, and which software packages are best for different approaches, (c) how data are stored and later accessed, and (d) how transients and variables are defined and classified. 3. Statistics, interpretation, and synthesis. It then discussed how (i) the choice of facility and strategy and (ii) detection and classification schemes influence what is seen (in terms of types of object and rates) by different surveys, (iii) how results from different surveys could be compared, and (iv) how what we know from existing surveys drives choices (i) and (ii), particularly as regards finding new classes of object. 4. Multiwavelength approaches. The workshop concluded by discussing what information is needed from wavelengths other than radio in order to classify transients and variables adequately and predict their rates as a function of topics (1), (2) and (3). It asked what the constraints are on responding to, and issuing triggers for, follow-up observations, and how that might feed back into considerations for designing our telescopes and surveys.

Lead poison prevention: a comparative review of brochures.

PubMed

Endres, Jeannette; Montgomery, Joe; Welch, Patricia

2002-01-01

Although eliminating lead from the environment is the most effective way to prevent lead poisoning, outreach and education also must be addressed. This study reports a consensus summary of lead-poisoning prevention topics and reading levels derived from state brochures. This information may be useful in the evaluation and design of future lead prevention brochures. A point system was used to assess the readability and topic content of 20 brochures from 11 states. Only half of the brochures were written at the targeted grade level. Frequently covered topics were wash hands and face, provide foods that contain good sources of key nutrients, and use damp cleaning methods when dusting and mopping. The findings about topics and reading levels can be used throughout the development of lead-hazard prevention brochures.

Topic Modeling of NASA Space System Problem Reports: Research in Practice

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Layman, Lucas; Nikora, Allen P.; Meek, Joshua; Menzies, Tim

2016-01-01

Problem reports at NASA are similar to bug reports: they capture defects found during test, post-launch operational anomalies, and document the investigation and corrective action of the issue. These artifacts are a rich source of lessons learned for NASA, but are expensive to analyze since problem reports are comprised primarily of natural language text. We apply topic modeling to a corpus of NASA problem reports to extract trends in testing and operational failures. We collected 16,669 problem reports from six NASA space flight missions and applied Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic modeling to the document corpus. We analyze the most popular topics within and across missions, and how popular topics changed over the lifetime of a mission. We find that hardware material and flight software issues are common during the integration and testing phase, while ground station software and equipment issues are more common during the operations phase. We identify a number of challenges in topic modeling for trend analysis: 1) that the process of selecting the topic modeling parameters lacks definitive guidance, 2) defining semantically-meaningful topic labels requires nontrivial effort and domain expertise, 3) topic models derived from the combined corpus of the six missions were biased toward the larger missions, and 4) topics must be semantically distinct as well as cohesive to be useful. Nonetheless,topic modeling can identify problem themes within missions and across mission lifetimes, providing useful feedback to engineers and project managers.

Retrospective Evaluation of Topical Bimatoprost and Iris Pigmentation Change.

PubMed

Zaleski-Larsen, Lisa A; Ruth, Nadine H; Fabi, Sabrina G

2017-12-01

Topical bimatoprost is a topical prostaglandin analog originally used to treat glaucoma and more recently used to cosmetically induce hypertrichosis of the eyelashes. Iris pigmentation change has been noted in the treatment of glaucoma but has not been assessed with the cosmetic periorbital application of bimatoprost. To evaluate for iris pigmentation change with the long-term cosmetic use of topical bimatoprost. A retrospective chart review in a cosmetic dermatology practice of women (N = 50) who consistently purchased topical bimatoprost over an average of 4.59 years was compared with that of age-matched non-bimatoprost patients (N = 50). A blinded evaluator assessed each patient for iris pigmentary change. No iris pigmentation change was noted with the cutaneous application of bimatoprost. The cutaneous application of bimatoprost appears to be safe with minimal risk for iris pigmentation change.

Alcohol harm reduction advertisements: a content analysis of topic, objective, emotional tone, execution and target audience.

PubMed

Dunstone, Kimberley; Brennan, Emily; Slater, Michael D; Dixon, Helen G; Durkin, Sarah J; Pettigrew, Simone; Wakefield, Melanie A

2017-04-11

Public health mass media campaigns may contribute to reducing the health and social burden attributed to alcohol consumption, but little is known about which advertising characteristics have been used, or have been effective, in alcohol harm reduction campaigns to date. As a first step towards encouraging further research to identify the impact of various advertising characteristics, this study aimed to systematically identify and examine the content of alcohol harm reduction advertisements (ads). Ads were identified through an exhaustive internet search of Google, YouTube, Vimeo, and relevant government and health agency websites. Eligible ads were: English language, produced between 2006 and 2014, not primarily focused on drink-driving or alcohol in pregnancy, and not alcohol industry funded. Systematic content analysis of all ads was performed; each ad was double-coded. In total, 110 individual ads from 72 different alcohol harm reduction campaigns were identified, with the main source countries being Australia (40%) and the United Kingdom (26%). The dominant topic for 52% of ads was short-term harms, while 10% addressed long-term harms, 18% addressed underage drinking, 17% communicated a how-to-change message, and 3% advocated for policy change. The behavioural objective of most ads was to motivate audiences to reduce their alcohol consumption (38%) or to behave responsibly and/or not get drunk when drinking (33%). Only 10% of all ads mentioned low-risk drinking guidelines. Eighty-seven percent of ads used a dramatisation execution style and 74% had a negative emotional tone. Ninety percent of ads contained messages or content that appeared to target adults, and 36% specifically targeted young adults. Some message attributes have been employed more frequently than others, suggesting several promising avenues for future audience or population-based research to compare the relative effectiveness of different characteristics of alcohol harm reduction ads. Given most alcohol-attributable harm is due to long-term disease, these findings suggest future campaigns may fill a potentially important gap if they were to focus on long-term harms. There is scope for such long-term harm campaigns to place greater emphasis on encouraging reduced personal consumption of alcohol, potentially through more frequent communication of low-risk drinking guidelines.

Barriers to Retrieving Patient Information from Electronic Health Record Data: Failure Analysis from the TREC Medical Records Track

PubMed Central

Edinger, Tracy; Cohen, Aaron M.; Bedrick, Steven; Ambert, Kyle; Hersh, William

2012-01-01

Objective: Secondary use of electronic health record (EHR) data relies on the ability to retrieve accurate and complete information about desired patient populations. The Text Retrieval Conference (TREC) 2011 Medical Records Track was a challenge evaluation allowing comparison of systems and algorithms to retrieve patients eligible for clinical studies from a corpus of de-identified medical records, grouped by patient visit. Participants retrieved cohorts of patients relevant to 35 different clinical topics, and visits were judged for relevance to each topic. This study identified the most common barriers to identifying specific clinic populations in the test collection. Methods: Using the runs from track participants and judged visits, we analyzed the five non-relevant visits most often retrieved and the five relevant visits most often overlooked. Categories were developed iteratively to group the reasons for incorrect retrieval for each of the 35 topics. Results: Reasons fell into nine categories for non-relevant visits and five categories for relevant visits. Non-relevant visits were most often retrieved because they contained a non-relevant reference to the topic terms. Relevant visits were most often infrequently retrieved because they used a synonym for a topic term. Conclusions: This failure analysis provides insight into areas for future improvement in EHR-based retrieval with techniques such as more widespread and complete use of standardized terminology in retrieval and data entry systems. PMID:23304287

Barriers to retrieving patient information from electronic health record data: failure analysis from the TREC Medical Records Track.

PubMed

Edinger, Tracy; Cohen, Aaron M; Bedrick, Steven; Ambert, Kyle; Hersh, William

2012-01-01

Secondary use of electronic health record (EHR) data relies on the ability to retrieve accurate and complete information about desired patient populations. The Text Retrieval Conference (TREC) 2011 Medical Records Track was a challenge evaluation allowing comparison of systems and algorithms to retrieve patients eligible for clinical studies from a corpus of de-identified medical records, grouped by patient visit. Participants retrieved cohorts of patients relevant to 35 different clinical topics, and visits were judged for relevance to each topic. This study identified the most common barriers to identifying specific clinic populations in the test collection. Using the runs from track participants and judged visits, we analyzed the five non-relevant visits most often retrieved and the five relevant visits most often overlooked. Categories were developed iteratively to group the reasons for incorrect retrieval for each of the 35 topics. Reasons fell into nine categories for non-relevant visits and five categories for relevant visits. Non-relevant visits were most often retrieved because they contained a non-relevant reference to the topic terms. Relevant visits were most often infrequently retrieved because they used a synonym for a topic term. This failure analysis provides insight into areas for future improvement in EHR-based retrieval with techniques such as more widespread and complete use of standardized terminology in retrieval and data entry systems.

Knowledge-Based Topic Model for Unsupervised Object Discovery and Localization.

PubMed

Niu, Zhenxing; Hua, Gang; Wang, Le; Gao, Xinbo

Unsupervised object discovery and localization is to discover some dominant object classes and localize all of object instances from a given image collection without any supervision. Previous work has attempted to tackle this problem with vanilla topic models, such as latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA). However, in those methods no prior knowledge for the given image collection is exploited to facilitate object discovery. On the other hand, the topic models used in those methods suffer from the topic coherence issue-some inferred topics do not have clear meaning, which limits the final performance of object discovery. In this paper, prior knowledge in terms of the so-called must-links are exploited from Web images on the Internet. Furthermore, a novel knowledge-based topic model, called LDA with mixture of Dirichlet trees, is proposed to incorporate the must-links into topic modeling for object discovery. In particular, to better deal with the polysemy phenomenon of visual words, the must-link is re-defined as that one must-link only constrains one or some topic(s) instead of all topics, which leads to significantly improved topic coherence. Moreover, the must-links are built and grouped with respect to specific object classes, thus the must-links in our approach are semantic-specific , which allows to more efficiently exploit discriminative prior knowledge from Web images. Extensive experiments validated the efficiency of our proposed approach on several data sets. It is shown that our method significantly improves topic coherence and outperforms the unsupervised methods for object discovery and localization. In addition, compared with discriminative methods, the naturally existing object classes in the given image collection can be subtly discovered, which makes our approach well suited for realistic applications of unsupervised object discovery.Unsupervised object discovery and localization is to discover some dominant object classes and localize all of object instances from a given image collection without any supervision. Previous work has attempted to tackle this problem with vanilla topic models, such as latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA). However, in those methods no prior knowledge for the given image collection is exploited to facilitate object discovery. On the other hand, the topic models used in those methods suffer from the topic coherence issue-some inferred topics do not have clear meaning, which limits the final performance of object discovery. In this paper, prior knowledge in terms of the so-called must-links are exploited from Web images on the Internet. Furthermore, a novel knowledge-based topic model, called LDA with mixture of Dirichlet trees, is proposed to incorporate the must-links into topic modeling for object discovery. In particular, to better deal with the polysemy phenomenon of visual words, the must-link is re-defined as that one must-link only constrains one or some topic(s) instead of all topics, which leads to significantly improved topic coherence. Moreover, the must-links are built and grouped with respect to specific object classes, thus the must-links in our approach are semantic-specific , which allows to more efficiently exploit discriminative prior knowledge from Web images. Extensive experiments validated the efficiency of our proposed approach on several data sets. It is shown that our method significantly improves topic coherence and outperforms the unsupervised methods for object discovery and localization. In addition, compared with discriminative methods, the naturally existing object classes in the given image collection can be subtly discovered, which makes our approach well suited for realistic applications of unsupervised object discovery.

Library Instruction Workbook. A Self-Directed Course in the Use of the NDSU Library.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hollenhorst, Kathryn A.

This workbook in library skills is designed to acquaint students with the facilities and resources of the North Dakota State University Library. Each chapter includes a brief discussion of the topic and a worksheet. The following topics are covered: (1) library tour; (2) the online catalog; (3) term and subject searches using the online catalog;…

Review of Doctoral Research on Second Language Teaching and Learning in Spain (2008-2010)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Serrano, Raquel; Miralpeix, Imma

2013-01-01

This paper reviews a selection of doctoral theses on language learning and teaching completed in Spain between 2008 and 2010. A total of 16 theses have been identified as representative--in terms of the topics under investigation and the methodology employed--of the doctoral research undertaken in Spain. Current topics include the development of…

Ptosis induced by topical steroid eye drops: Two cases reports.

PubMed

Zhu, Yanan; Sun, Chaohui; Zhang, Xin; Shentu, Xingchao

2017-12-01

Ptosis is a rare complication of periocular steroid use. Studies report that local injections of steroids produce ptosis. We describe the first 2 cases of ptosis because of long-term treatment with topical steroid eye drops. Two cases admitted to our hospital because of ptosis of their right eye after long-term treatment with topical steroid eye drops. Both of them had uncontrolled Posner-Schlossman syndrome. Two cases were diagnosed as steroid-related ptosis. Regulatory anti-inflammation therapy was prescribed for case 1, and after inflammation control, phacoemulsification was done for her. Six months after steroid withdrawal, the levator resection of the right eye was performed. Case 2 refused our advice of steroid reduction and ptosis surgery. After surgery, case 1 retained a symmetrical appearance during a 1-year follow-up. In the surgery, we found thin levator muscles and slack levator palpebrae superioris aponeurosis (LPSA) in the affected eye. Postoperative transmission electron microscopy revealed typical signs of apoptosis in levator muscle cells. We suggest topical application of steroids induces levator muscle apoptosis and LPSA weakness, and results in ptosis. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

Issues in the Development of Long Term Care Gerontology Centers: The Centers Concept. Selected Topics in Long Term Care. Volume 6.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mortenson, Lee E.; Berdes, Celia M.

This document, one in a series developed to provide technical assistance to 22 Long-Term Care Gerontology Centers, describes the current administrative and structural phenomenon of these centers. Precedents useful in assessing both the current climate and actual prospects for development of long term care centers are cited. The first section…

The study of LED light source illumination conditions for ideal algae cultivation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsai, Chun-Chin; Huang, Chien-Fu; Chen, Cin-Fu; Yue, Cheng-Feng

2017-02-01

Utilizing LED light source modules with 3 different RGB colors, the illumination effect of different wavelengths had been investigated on the growth curve of the same kind of micro algae. It was found that the best micro algae culturing status came out with long wavelength light such as red light (650 670 nm). Based on the same condition for a period of 3 weeks , the grown micro algae population density ratio represented by Optical Density (O.D.) ratio is 1?0.4?0.7 corresponding to growth with Red, Green, Blue light sources, respectively. Mixing 3 types and 2 types of LEDs with different parameters, the grown micro algae population densities were compared in terms of O.D. Interestingly enough, different light sources resulted in significant discoloration on micro algae growth, appearing yellow, brown, green, etc. Our experiments results showed such discoloration effect is reversible. Based on the same lighting condition, micro algae growth can be also affected by incubator size, nutrition supply, and temperature variation. In recent years, micro algae related technologies have been international wise a hot topic of energy and environmental protection for research and development institutes, and big energy companies among those developed countries. There will be an economically prosperous future. From this study of LED lighting to ideal algae cultivation, it was found that such built system would be capable of optimizing artificial cultivation system, leading to economic benefits for its continuous development. Since global warming causing weather change, accompanying with reducing energy sources and agriculture growth shortage are all threatening human being survival.

Rural Latino caregivers' beliefs and behaviors around their children's salt consumption.

PubMed

Hoeft, Kristin S; Guerra, Claudia; Gonzalez-Vargas, M Judy; Barker, Judith C

2015-04-01

Prevalence of high blood pressure has been increasing in U.S. children, with implications for long term health consequences. Sodium consumption, a modifiable risk factor for high blood pressure, is above recommended limits and increasing. Very little is known about Latino caregiver beliefs and behaviors around their children's salt consumption. In California's Central Valley, qualitative interviews in Spanish investigated low-income caregivers' views and understandings of their children's dietary salt consumption. Thirty individual interviews and 5 focus groups were conducted (N=61). Interview transcripts were translated and transcribed, coded and thematically analyzed. Seven primary topic areas around children's salt intake and its impact on health were identified: children's favorite foods, children's dietary salt sources, superiority of home-cooked foods, salty and sweet foods, managing salt for health, developing children's tastes, and adding salt added at the table. Parents recognize common sources of sodium such as "junk food" and processed food and made efforts to limit their children's consumption of these foods, but may overlook other significant sodium sources, particularly bread, cheese, prepared soups and sports drinks. Caregivers recognize excess salt as unhealthy for children, but don't believe health problems (like high blood pressure) can occur in young children. Nevertheless, they made efforts to limit how much salt their children consumed through a variety of strategies; school meals were a source of high sodium that they felt were outside of their control. Latino caregivers are concerned about their children's salt intake and attempt to limit consumption, but some common sources of sodium are under-recognized. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Buyer's Guide to Environmental Media: A Directory of Books, Magazines, Films and Information Sources. Energy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerber, Michael, Ed.

This directory is designed to help locate energy and environmental resource materials, print and nonprint. The directory lists private and government information sources and provides an annotated guide to periodical literature. Citations of selected book titles published in 1973 include the topics of air pollution, chemical and biological…

Meeting the Needs of Travel Clientele: Tried and True Strategies That Work.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blessing, Kathy; Whitney, Cherine

This paper describes sources for meeting the information needs of travel clientele. Topics addressed include: (1) U.S. government Web sites; (2) collection development tools, including review journals, online bookstores, travel Web sites, and sources of point-by-point comparisons of guide books; (3) prominent guidebook series and publisher Web…

A Source Book for Taxation: Myths and Realities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hellman, Mary A.

This sourcebook is one of two supplementary materials for a newspaper course about taxes and tax reform. Program ideas and sources of related resources compiled in the sourcebook are designed to help civic and group leaders and educators plan educational community programs based on the course topics. Section one describes ways in which the program…

Taxation: Myths and Realities. A Courses by Newspaper Reader.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Break, George F., Ed.; Wallin, Bruce, Ed.

This reader is one of two supplementary materials for a newspaper course about taxation and tax reform. Five units contain 75 primary-source readings about topics such as tax loopholes, social security financing, income tax reform, the impact of taxes on the economy, and alternatives to the property tax. Sources include government publications,…

Using Alternate Energy Sources. The Illinois Plan for Industrial Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Illinois State Univ., Normal.

This guide, which is one in the "Exploration" series of curriculum guides intended to assist junior high and middle school industrial educators in helping their students explore diverse industrial situations and technologies used in industry, deals with using alternate energy sources. The following topics are covered in the individual lessons:…

[Dreams in ancient Hebrew sources].

PubMed

Kottek, Samuel S

2009-01-01

As in many cultures dreams are, in Hebrew sources, the object of numerous questions where are dreams from? Which is their function? Are they a physical or metaphysical phenomenon? The article analyzes the topic of nature of dreams in the Bible, with a particolar attention devoted to the Joseph's history. Talmudic text are, in particular, rich in references.

Save Our Water Resources.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bromley, Albert W.

The purpose of this booklet, developed as part of Project SOAR (Save Our American Resources), is to give Scout leaders some facts about the world's resources, the sources of water pollution, and how people can help in obtaining solutions. Among the topics discussed are the world's water resources, the water cycle, water quality, sources of water…

Sources of Assistance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wood, Douglas

This module is one of a set of seven prepared in conjunction with the Title I "Project to Train Volunteer Leaders to Conduct Consumer Education Courses." It is designed to be a basic text for use in making a one-hour presentation on sources of consumer assistance. Topics include consumers' alternatives for self-help, functions of the…

State FFA Officers' Confidence and Trustworthiness of Biotechnology Information Sources

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wingenbach, Gary J.; Rutherford, Tracy A.

2007-01-01

Are state FFA officers' awareness levels of agricultural topics reported in mass media superior to those who do not serve in leadership roles? The purpose of this study was to determine elected state FFA officers' awareness of biotechnology, and their confidence and trust of biotechnology information sources. Descriptive survey methods were used…

PIBAS FedSPARQL: a web-based platform for integration and exploration of bioinformatics datasets.

PubMed

Djokic-Petrovic, Marija; Cvjetkovic, Vladimir; Yang, Jeremy; Zivanovic, Marko; Wild, David J

2017-09-20

There are a huge variety of data sources relevant to chemical, biological and pharmacological research, but these data sources are highly siloed and cannot be queried together in a straightforward way. Semantic technologies offer the ability to create links and mappings across datasets and manage them as a single, linked network so that searching can be carried out across datasets, independently of the source. We have developed an application called PIBAS FedSPARQL that uses semantic technologies to allow researchers to carry out such searching across a vast array of data sources. PIBAS FedSPARQL is a web-based query builder and result set visualizer of bioinformatics data. As an advanced feature, our system can detect similar data items identified by different Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs), using a text-mining algorithm based on the processing of named entities to be used in Vector Space Model and Cosine Similarity Measures. According to our knowledge, PIBAS FedSPARQL was unique among the systems that we found in that it allows detecting of similar data items. As a query builder, our system allows researchers to intuitively construct and run Federated SPARQL queries across multiple data sources, including global initiatives, such as Bio2RDF, Chem2Bio2RDF, EMBL-EBI, and one local initiative called CPCTAS, as well as additional user-specified data source. From the input topic, subtopic, template and keyword, a corresponding initial Federated SPARQL query is created and executed. Based on the data obtained, end users have the ability to choose the most appropriate data sources in their area of interest and exploit their Resource Description Framework (RDF) structure, which allows users to select certain properties of data to enhance query results. The developed system is flexible and allows intuitive creation and execution of queries for an extensive range of bioinformatics topics. Also, the novel "similar data items detection" algorithm can be particularly useful for suggesting new data sources and cost optimization for new experiments. PIBAS FedSPARQL can be expanded with new topics, subtopics and templates on demand, rendering information retrieval more robust.

Intelligent topical sentiment analysis for the classification of e-learners and their topics of interest.

PubMed

Ravichandran, M; Kulanthaivel, G; Chellatamilan, T

2015-01-01

Every day, huge numbers of instant tweets (messages) are published on Twitter as it is one of the massive social media for e-learners interactions. The options regarding various interesting topics to be studied are discussed among the learners and teachers through the capture of ideal sources in Twitter. The common sentiment behavior towards these topics is received through the massive number of instant messages about them. In this paper, rather than using the opinion polarity of each message relevant to the topic, authors focus on sentence level opinion classification upon using the unsupervised algorithm named bigram item response theory (BIRT). It differs from the traditional classification and document level classification algorithm. The investigation illustrated in this paper is of threefold which are listed as follows: (1) lexicon based sentiment polarity of tweet messages; (2) the bigram cooccurrence relationship using naïve Bayesian; (3) the bigram item response theory (BIRT) on various topics. It has been proposed that a model using item response theory is constructed for topical classification inference. The performance has been improved remarkably using this bigram item response theory when compared with other supervised algorithms. The experiment has been conducted on a real life dataset containing different set of tweets and topics.

Parental Report of Receipt of Adolescent Preventive Health Counseling Services from Pediatric Providers

PubMed Central

Akers, Aletha Y.; Davis, Esa M.; Foster, Lovie J. Jackson; Morrison, Penelope; Sucato, Gina; Miller, Elizabeth; Lee, MinJae

2015-01-01

Objectives Little is known about prevention-focused counseling health providers deliver to parents of adolescents. This study compared parental report of discussions with their adolescents’ providers about a range of adolescent prevention topics. Methods Between June and November 2009, a questionnaire was provided to parents accompanying adolescents aged 11-18 on outpatient clinic visits. Parents indicated, anonymouslym which of 22 prevention topics they remembered discussing with their adolescent's provider. Hierarchical logistic regression models were used to identify correlates of parental recall. Results Among the 358 participants, 83% reported discussing at least one prevention topic. More parents reported discussing general prevention topics than mental health or high-risk topics (e.g. sex). Adolescent gender, visit type, having a usual source of care, and parental beliefs about their adolescents’ risk behaviors correlated with parental report of discussions about high-risk and mental health topics. Conclusion Most parents recalled discussing one or more topics with their adolescent's health provider. However, parental report of discussions about topics linked to significant adolescent morbidity was low. Practice implications Strategies to improve the frequency, timeliness and appropriateness of counseling services delivered to parents about adolescent preventive health are needed. Strategies that utilize decision support tools or patient education tools may be warranted. PMID:24238626

Identifying biological concepts from a protein-related corpus with a probabilistic topic model

PubMed Central

Zheng, Bin; McLean, David C; Lu, Xinghua

2006-01-01

Background Biomedical literature, e.g., MEDLINE, contains a wealth of knowledge regarding functions of proteins. Major recurring biological concepts within such text corpora represent the domains of this body of knowledge. The goal of this research is to identify the major biological topics/concepts from a corpus of protein-related MEDLINE© titles and abstracts by applying a probabilistic topic model. Results The latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) model was applied to the corpus. Based on the Bayesian model selection, 300 major topics were extracted from the corpus. The majority of identified topics/concepts was found to be semantically coherent and most represented biological objects or concepts. The identified topics/concepts were further mapped to the controlled vocabulary of the Gene Ontology (GO) terms based on mutual information. Conclusion The major and recurring biological concepts within a collection of MEDLINE documents can be extracted by the LDA model. The identified topics/concepts provide parsimonious and semantically-enriched representation of the texts in a semantic space with reduced dimensionality and can be used to index text. PMID:16466569

Topical Adjuncts to Pulsed Dye Laser for Treatment of Port Wine Stains: Review of the Literature.

PubMed

Lipner, Shari R

2018-06-01

Port wine stains (PWS) pose a therapeutic challenge. Pulsed dye laser (PDL) is the treatment of choice; however, treatment is often ineffective and recurrences are common. This article provides a review of topical therapies that have been investigated to improve efficacy of PDL for the treatment of PWS. A literature search was performed through PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and CINAHL, using the search terms "port wine stain," "pulsed dye laser," and "topical." Clinical trials have investigated the topical agents, timolol, imiquimod, and rapamycin (RPM) in combination with PDL for the treatment of PWS. Topical timolol with PDL failed to show improved efficacy compared with PDL alone. Two clinical trials using imiquimod and PDL showed enhanced blanching of PWS compared with controls. Rapamycin and PDL were more effective than controls for facial PWS, but not for nonfacial PWS. Topical imiquimod and RPM have shown some efficacy in treating PWS with PDL, but to date there is no topical adjuvant to PDL that reliably improves results for PWS.

Change of Oral to Topical Corticosteroid Therapy Exacerbated Glucose Tolerance in a Patient with Plaque Psoriasis.

PubMed

Hongo, Yui; Ashida, Kenji; Ohe, Kenji; Enjoji, Munechika; Yamaguchi, Miyuki; Kurata, Tsuyoshi; Emoto, Akiko; Yamanouchi, Hiroko; Takagi, Satoko; Mori, Hitoe; Kawata, Nozomi; Hisata, Yoshio; Sakanishi, Yuta; Izumi, Kenichi; Sugioka, Takashi; Anzai, Keizo

2017-11-13

BACKGROUND Psoriasis is known as the most frequent disease treated by long-term topical steroids. It is also known that patients with thick, chronic plaques require the highest potency topical steroids. However, the treatment is limited to up to four weeks due to risk of systemic absorption. CASE REPORT An 80-year-old man was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 16 years before, and was being administered insulin combined with alpha glucosidase inhibitor. He was diagnosed with plaque psoriasis and his oral steroid treatment was switched to topical steroid treatment due to lack of improvement and poorly controlled blood glucose level. The hypoglycemic events improved after the psoriatic lesions improved. CONCLUSIONS Control of blood glucose level is difficult at the very beginning of topical steroid treatment for psoriasis especially if a patient is receiving insulin treatment. Intense monitoring of blood glucose level during initiation of topical steroid treatment is necessary to prevent unfavorable complications.

Evolving guidelines in the use of topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the treatment of osteoarthritis.

PubMed

Balmaceda, Casilda M

2014-01-21

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are a standard treatment for osteoarthritis (OA), but the use of oral NSAIDs has been linked to an elevated risk for cardiovascular and gastrointestinal adverse events and renal toxicity. Topical NSAIDs are thought to afford efficacy that is comparable to oral formulations while reducing widespread systemic drug exposure, which may provide a benefit in terms of safety and tolerability. As a result, European treatment guidelines have, for many years, recommended the use of topical NSAIDs as a safe and effective treatment option for OA. Following the recent approval of several topical NSAID formulations by the US Food and Drug Administration, US treatment guidelines are increasingly recommending the use of topical NSAIDs as an alternative therapy and, in some cases, as a first-line option for OA. This commentary summarizes OA treatment guidelines that are currently available and discusses their potential evolution with regard to the increased inclusion of topical NSAIDs.

Evolving guidelines in the use of topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the treatment of osteoarthritis

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are a standard treatment for osteoarthritis (OA), but the use of oral NSAIDs has been linked to an elevated risk for cardiovascular and gastrointestinal adverse events and renal toxicity. Topical NSAIDs are thought to afford efficacy that is comparable to oral formulations while reducing widespread systemic drug exposure, which may provide a benefit in terms of safety and tolerability. As a result, European treatment guidelines have, for many years, recommended the use of topical NSAIDs as a safe and effective treatment option for OA. Following the recent approval of several topical NSAID formulations by the US Food and Drug Administration, US treatment guidelines are increasingly recommending the use of topical NSAIDs as an alternative therapy and, in some cases, as a first-line option for OA. This commentary summarizes OA treatment guidelines that are currently available and discusses their potential evolution with regard to the increased inclusion of topical NSAIDs. PMID:24444047

New England Drinking Water Program | US EPA

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

2017-07-06

Information on Drinking Water in New England. Major Topics covered include: Conservation, Private Wells, Preventing Contamination, Drinking Water Sources, Consumer Confidence Reports, and Drinking Water Awards.

Law and politics in outer space: A bibliography.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

White, I. L.; Wilson, C. E.; Vosburgh, J. A.

1972-01-01

The materials are categorized by specific topics and by types of materials. The sources are books, articles, reports, United Nations materials, U.S. Government documents, etc. Books are listed by geographical areas, and articles are divided into what are considered to be the major space topics. Book and article sections are also divided into English and foreign language entries. A bibliographical essay introduces the literature to those unacquainted with law and politics of outer space.

[Medical topics of the Goethe period as reflected in the Goethe Dictionary].

PubMed

Schlaps, Christiane

2010-01-01

This paper deals with some medical topics which were mentioned or discussed by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and can thus be found in the dictionary which lists and explains all the words he used, the Goethe Dictionary. The author makes a case for the use of this primarily literary and linguistic work e. g. as source material for historians of medicine and shows some of its possible uses.

Long-Term English Language Learners' Perceptions of Their Language and Academic Learning Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Won Gyoung; García, Shernaz B.

2014-01-01

Long-term, adolescent English language learners (ELLs) experience persistent academic underachievement in spite of several years of schooling; yet, the research on this topic is scant. To increase our understanding of these students' educational experiences, we explored perceptions of 13 long-term ELLs about their schooling in the context of their…

Fostering Humane Care of Dying Persons in Long-Term Care. Guidebook for Staff Development Instructors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Sarah A.; Daley, Barbara

This guide is intended for staff development instructors responsible for inservice education on the topic of fostering humane care for dying persons in long-term care. The introduction discusses the guide's development based on input from administrators, staff, and families of residents in long-term care facilities and focus group interviews in…

Short-Term Memory Retrievals and Expectation in On-Line Sentence Comprehension: The Effects of Recent Linguistic Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bartek, Brian D.

2011-01-01

Understanding how short-term memory shapes sentence comprehension processes is a long-standing topic in psycholinguistics. This thesis pursues new insights on two facets of short-term memory's role in sentence comprehension: (a) The first four experiments search for, and obtain, concrete evidence that locality effects, or increased integration…

Topics in Bioethics: A Development of Student Perspectives†

PubMed Central

Johnson, Keith A.

2014-01-01

Exposing students to current biotechnological and medical issues is eye-opening for many students in a way that is not always achieved through lecture-based learning. Lecture or investigative teaching styles provide a tremendous knowledge base for the students, but sometimes these teaching styles do not allow the student to fully develop, especially personal attitudes to issues in bioethics. Through online videos, Hollywood movies, guided readings and classroom discussions, students in this course are informed of some bioethical topics, encouraged to learn about other topics, and use this gained knowledge to develop personal positions regarding the value and/or risk of the issues. This course has been well-received by previous students as a favorite in terms of both topics covered and style. PMID:25574290

Parent Refusal of Topical Fluoride for Their Children: Clinical Strategies and Future Research Priorities to Improve Evidence-Based Pediatric Dental Practice.

PubMed

Chi, Donald L

2017-07-01

A growing number of parents are refusing topical fluoride for their children during preventive dental and medical visits. This nascent clinical and public health problem warrants attention from dental professionals and the scientific community. Clinical and community-based strategies are available to improve fluoride-related communications with parents and the public. In terms of future research priorities, there is a need to develop screening tools to identify parents who are likely to refuse topical fluoride and diagnostic instruments to uncover the reasons for topical fluoride refusal. This knowledge will lead to evidence-based strategies that can be widely disseminated into clinical practice. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Topic identification for cross-sectoral quality assurance in stroke and TIA treatment].

PubMed

Meyer, Sven; Willms, Gerald; Broge, Björn; Szecsenyi, Joachim

2016-10-01

The development of cross-sectoral quality assurance programs usually requires extensive topic identification. Illustrated by the complex processes of care for stroke and transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), a method for comprehensive topic identification is presented. The first step involves a thorough literature search in terms of systematic reviews, health technology assessments, guidelines, studies into healthcare delivery and the use of specific instruments. Routine data as well as epidemiologic studies are used to analyze the reality of service provision. In addition, experts are consulted to gain expertise concerning deficits of care, approaches to quality assurance and experience with existing quality assurance programs. Furthermore individual patient experiences are collected to add the patients' perceptions of care. Because of the limitation on the regulatory scope of Book V of the German Social Code, which, in this case, was necessary, another source of information was the legal framework and its impact on rescue chain, acute treatment and rehabilitation. Existent quality management systems, accreditations and quality assurance programs in prevention, acute treatment and rehabilitation have been searched in order to avoid any overlap with existing measures. After identifying a total of 71 quality targets according to deficits of care, recommendations for care and expert opinions in primary and secondary prevention, rescue chain, acute treatment, rehabilitation and supply of assistive equipment and therapies, respectively, the usability of instruments was tested. These instruments included case documentation, patient surveys and routine data. 14 quality targets proved to be reproducible by these instruments and were included in the recommendations for a cross-sectoral quality assurance program for stroke and TIA. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Mosquito control insecticides: a probabilistic ecological risk assessment on drift exposures of naled, dichlorvos (naled metabolite) and permethrin to adult butterflies.

PubMed

Hoang, T C; Rand, G M

2015-01-01

A comprehensive probabilistic terrestrial ecological risk assessment (ERA) was conducted to characterize the potential risk of mosquito control insecticide (i.e., naled, it's metabolite dichlorvos, and permethrin) usage to adult butterflies in south Florida by comparing the probability distributions of environmental exposure concentrations following actual mosquito control applications at labeled rates from ten field monitoring studies with the probability distributions of butterfly species response (effects) data from our laboratory acute toxicity studies. The overlap of these distributions was used as a measure of risk to butterflies. The long-term viability (survival) of adult butterflies, following topical (thorax/wings) exposures was the environmental value we wanted to protect. Laboratory acute toxicity studies (24-h LD50) included topical exposures (thorax and wings) to five adult butterfly species and preparation of species sensitivity distributions (SSDs). The ERA indicated that the assessment endpoint of protection, of at least 90% of the species, 90% of the time (or the 10th percentile from the acute SSDs) from acute naled and permethrin exposures, is most likely not occurring when considering topical exposures to adults. Although the surface areas for adulticide exposures are greater for the wings, exposures to the thorax provide the highest potential for risk (i.e., SSD 10th percentile is lowest) for adult butterflies. Dichlorvos appeared to present no risk. The results of this ERA can be applied to other areas of the world, where these insecticides are used and where butterflies may be exposed. Since there are other sources (e.g., agriculture) of pesticides in the environment, where butterfly exposures will occur, the ERA may under-estimate the potential risks under real-world conditions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Preserving Our Homeland: A Collaboration to Connect Science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge for Mashpee Wampanoag Youth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gutierrez, B.; Fordham, M.; Lopes-Pocknett, R.; Wyman, K.; Stringer, C.; Green, G.; Tobey, Q.; Rassman, J.; Mills, E., Jr.

2014-12-01

Over the past three years, we have developed and implemented a collaborative summer science program for Mashpee Wampanoag youth that engages tribal elders, parents, educators, and local scientists to connect tribal youth with the ecology and geology of their traditional homelands. This collaboration, called Native Youth in Science: Preserving our Homeland (POH), involves the Mashpee Wampanoag Education and Natural Resource Departments, an experienced team of tribal elders and scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey's Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, U.S. Forest Service, and NOAA National Marine Fisheries. The team has developed and implemented a curriculum that stresses the ancestral relationships of Wampanoag people to their land. Through hands-on activities at locations of cultural significance, our efforts focus on presenting topics in environmental science from both western science and Wampanoag perspectives to 5th-8th grade students from the Wampanoag Tribe. Overarching themes focus on local land use history and its impact on traditional food sources such as shellfish and herring. Lessons typically address hydrology, water quality, fish and shellfish biology, botany, and local geology. To present these topics, scientists are paired with Wampanoag Tribe culture keepers to develop lessons that present science topics side-by-side with cultural knowledge. The primary goals of POH are to (a) connect and reinforce science concepts learned in conventional school settings for tribal youth; (b) demonstrate the use of science as a tool for understanding and preserving the ecosystems and homelands of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe; and (c) how indigenous traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and western science complement each other. In the long-term, this program begins to prepare tribal students for more advanced programs supporting their pursuit of higher education.

What is lost when searching only one literature database for articles relevant to injury prevention and safety promotion?

PubMed

Lawrence, D W

2008-12-01

To assess what is lost if only one literature database is searched for articles relevant to injury prevention and safety promotion (IPSP) topics. Serial textword (keyword, free-text) searches using multiple synonym terms for five key IPSP topics (bicycle-related brain injuries, ethanol-impaired driving, house fires, road rage, and suicidal behaviors among adolescents) were conducted in four of the bibliographic databases that are most used by IPSP professionals: EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Web of Science. Through a systematic procedure, an inventory of articles on each topic in each database was conducted to identify the total unduplicated count of all articles on each topic, the number of articles unique to each database, and the articles available if only one database is searched. No single database included all of the relevant articles on any topic, and the database with the broadest coverage differed by topic. A search of only one literature database will return 16.7-81.5% (median 43.4%) of the available articles on any of five key IPSP topics. Each database contributed unique articles to the total bibliography for each topic. A literature search performed in only one database will, on average, lead to a loss of more than half of the available literature on a topic.

Management training in long-term care.

PubMed

Evashwick, Connie

2002-01-01

The education of health care administrators faces its most dramatic change since the inception of the field. Recent discussions at the national level call for major overhaul of curricula and teaching modalities, including moving education to position students for evidence-based practice. This paper presents recommendations for incorporating training about chronic and long-term care into health care management curricula. It asserts that all health care management students should have a basic knowledge of the fundamental policy, operating, and financing principles of long-term care. The majority of people using the health care delivery system today, and increasingly in the future, suffer from chronic conditions. Long-term care services, although less expansive in structure, far outnumber acute care services and health plans. They will grow in the future to meet the portending demand. To maximize job opportunities and to optimize performance in any job, health care administrators need to know about the long-term care delivery system. This paper delineates critical topics pertaining to long-term care, organized according to 11 fundamental management areas in which the field is developing core competencies. The contents were derived from a year-long process of asking stakeholders in the various facets of long-term care what topics they thought were essential for administrators to know. The topics delineated in this document represent the consensus about essential knowledge that all health care administrators should have about long-term care, whether specializing in long-term care or following a more general management career. The education of health care administrators faces its most dramatic change since the inception ofthe field. Recent discussions at the national level call for major overhaul of curricula and teaching modalities, including moving education to position students to perform according to evidence-based practice. It is thus timely to consider content, as well as educational format. This paper presents recommendations for incorporating training about chronic and long-term care into health care administration curricula. It asserts that all health care administration students should have a basic knowledge of the fundamental policy, operating, and financing principles of long-term care.

Otolaryngology Education: Recent Trends in Publication.

PubMed

Cass, Nathan D; Okland, Tyler S; Rodriguez, Kenny; Mann, Scott E

2017-06-01

Objectives (1) Evaluate peer-reviewed publications regarding education in otolaryngology since 2000. (2) Analyze publication trends as compared with overall otolaryngology publications. Study Design Bibliometric analysis. Setting Academic medical center. Subjects and Methods A search for articles regarding education in otolaryngology from 2000 to 2015 was performed with MEDLINE and EMBASE databases, yielding 1220 articles; 362 relevant publications were categorized by topic, subspecialty, subject, article type, and funding source. Impact factors for each journal by year were obtained, and trends of each category over time were analyzed. These were then compared with publication numbers and impact factors for all otolaryngology journals. Results From 2000 to 2015, publications in otolaryngology education increased more rapidly than the field of otolaryngology overall. The most published topics included operative skills training, surgical simulation, and professionalism/career development. Recently there has been a decline in publications related to residency administration and duty hours relative to other topics. Only 12.2% of publications reported a funding source, and only 12.2% of studies were controlled. Conclusion Recent trends in otolaryngology literature reflect an increasing focus on education; however, this work is underfunded and often lacks high-quality evidence.

New England's Drinking Water | Drinking Water in New ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

2017-07-06

Information on Drinking Water in New England. Major Topics covered include: Conservation, Private Wells, Preventing Contamination, Drinking Water Sources, Consumer Confidence Reports, and Drinking Water Awards.

Eigenspace-based fuzzy c-means for sensing trending topics in Twitter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muliawati, T.; Murfi, H.

2017-07-01

As the information and communication technology are developed, the fulfillment of information can be obtained through social media, like Twitter. The enormous number of internet users has triggered fast and large data flow, thus making the manual analysis is difficult or even impossible. An automated methods for data analysis is needed, one of which is the topic detection and tracking. An alternative method other than latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) is a soft clustering approach using Fuzzy C-Means (FCM). FCM meets the assumption that a document may consist of several topics. However, FCM works well in low-dimensional data but fails in high-dimensional data. Therefore, we propose an approach where FCM works on low-dimensional data by reducing the data using singular value decomposition (SVD). Our simulations show that this approach gives better accuracies in term of topic recall than LDA for sensing trending topic in Twitter about an event.

Teaching Regional Perspectives in Canada.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCreath, Peter

1978-01-01

Defines Canadian regionalism in terms of geographical features and their political, social, and economic implications, rather than in terms of political and provincial boundaries. The significance of regionalism is mentioned as an important topic for Canadian studies. Increasing awareness and acceptance of regional perspectives is presented as an…

Volleyball: Special Olympics Sports Skills Instructional Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Special Olympics, Inc., Washington, DC.

One of seven booklets on Special Olympics Sports Skills Instructional Programs, this guide presents an instructional program for volleyball coaches working with mentally retarded persons. The instructional program presents information on the following topics: long term goals; short term objectives; modifications and adaptations of equipment, sport…

Recovered, in recovery or recovering from substance abuse? A question of identity.

PubMed

Doukas, Nick; Cullen, Jim

2009-12-01

There has always been widespread debate on how people with past substance abuse problems choose to identify themselves with regards to their recovery and the terms used to associate with that identity. Most of the disagreement over these terms is rooted on whether recovery is seen as an ongoing process ("recovering" or "in recovery") or a life event that can be mastered ("recovered"). This article discusses these three controversial terms and attempts to make them available as terms that one can use or identify with by presenting different perspectives on the topic of recovery. Some of these perspectives may be unconventional when compared to traditional views of the recovery process, but they are the realities of many individuals who have had a past experience with substance abuse and may be confronted with prejudice when voicing their recovery in a past tense. The article makes comparisons between the DSM IV and the Big Book of AA and discusses identity vs labels and the influence of the medical community on this controversial topic.

Pimecrolimus in atopic dermatitis: Consensus on safety and the need to allow use in infants

PubMed Central

Luger, Thomas; Boguniewicz, Mark; Carr, Warner; Cork, Michael; Deleuran, Mette; Eichenfield, Lawrence; Eigenmann, Philippe; Fölster-Holst, Regina; Gelmetti, Carlo; Gollnick, Harald; Hamelmann, Eckard; Hebert, Adelaide A; Muraro, Antonella; Oranje, Arnold P; Paller, Amy S; Paul, Carle; Puig, Luis; Ring, Johannes; Siegfried, Elaine; Spergel, Jonathan M; Stingl, Georg; Taieb, Alain; Torrelo, Antonio; Werfel, Thomas; Wahn, Ulrich

2015-01-01

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a distressing dermatological disease, which is highly prevalent during infancy, can persist into later life and requires long-term management with anti-inflammatory compounds. The introduction of the topical calcineurin inhibitors (TCIs), tacrolimus and pimecrolimus, more than 10 yr ago was a major breakthrough for the topical anti-inflammatory treatment of AD. Pimecrolimus 1% is approved for second-line use in children (≥2 yr old) and adults with mild-to-moderate AD. The age restriction was emphasized in a boxed warning added by the FDA in January 2006, which also highlights the lack of long-term safety data and the theoretical risk of skin malignancy and lymphoma. Since then, pimecrolimus has been extensively investigated in short- and long-term studies including over 4000 infants (<2 yr old). These studies showed that pimecrolimus effectively treats AD in infants, with sustained improvement with long-term intermittent use. Unlike topical corticosteroids, long-term TCI use does not carry the risks of skin atrophy, impaired epidermal barrier function or enhanced percutaneous absorption, and so is suitable for AD treatment especially in sensitive skin areas. Most importantly, the studies of pimecrolimus in infants provided no evidence for systemic immunosuppression, and a comprehensive body of evidence from clinical studies, post-marketing surveillance and epidemiological investigations does not support potential safety concerns. In conclusion, the authors consider that the labelling restrictions regarding the use of pimecrolimus in infants are no longer justified and recommend that the validity of the boxed warning for TCIs should be reconsidered. PMID:25557211

Proper balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid supplements with topical cyclosporine attenuated contact lens-related dry eye syndrome.

PubMed

Wang, Ling; Chen, Xi; Hao, Jingfang; Yang, Lu

2016-12-01

Essential fatty acids had been applied in the treatment of dry eye syndrome (DES), but the effects of different combinations of fatty acids have not been investigated. 360 long-term contact lens wearers were included in this double-blinded study. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids were combined in different ratios and supplied to the participants that were randomly divided into six groups, and the effects of different essential fatty acids mixture on DES with or without topical cyclosporine were investigated. More than half of long-term contact lens wearers suffered from DES, which were found to be attenuated by oral supplement of properly balanced O3FA and O6FA fatty acid. The topical cyclosporine treatment considerably inhibited the production of cytokines compared to the cyclosporine negative groups, which further relieved DES. Proper balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid combination significantly alleviated contact lens-related DES.

Additional EIPC Study Analysis. Final Report

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

Hadley, Stanton W; Gotham, Douglas J.; Luciani, Ralph L.

Between 2010 and 2012 the Eastern Interconnection Planning Collaborative (EIPC) conducted a major long-term resource and transmission study of the Eastern Interconnection (EI). With guidance from a Stakeholder Steering Committee (SSC) that included representatives from the Eastern Interconnection States Planning Council (EISPC) among others, the project was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 involved a long-term capacity expansion analysis that involved creation of eight major futures plus 72 sensitivities. Three scenarios were selected for more extensive transmission- focused evaluation in Phase 2. Five power flow analyses, nine production cost model runs (including six sensitivities), and three capital cost estimations weremore » developed during this second phase. The results from Phase 1 and 2 provided a wealth of data that could be examined further to address energy-related questions. A list of 14 topics was developed for further analysis. This paper brings together the earlier interim reports of the first 13 topics plus one additional topic into a single final report.« less

Management of Itch in Atopic Dermatitis

PubMed Central

Hong, Judith; Buddenkotte, Joerg; Berger, Timothy G.; Steinhoff, Martin

2013-01-01

Atopic dermatitis is a common, pruritic, inflammatory skin disorder. Chronic, localized, or even generalized pruritus is the diagnostic hallmark of atopic dermatitis, and its management remains a challenge for physicians. The threshold for itch and alloknesis is markedly reduced in these patients, and infections can promote exacerbation and thereby increase the itch. Modern management consists of anti-inflammatory, occasionally antiseptic, as well as antipruritic therapies to address the epidermal barrier as well as immunomodulation or infection. Mild forms of atopic dermatitis may be controlled with topical therapies, but moderate-to-severe forms often require a combination of systemic treatments consisting of antipruritic and immunosuppressive drugs, phototherapy, and topical compounds. In addition, patient education and a therapeutic regimen to help the patient cope with the itch and eczema are important adjuvant strategies for optimized long-term management. This review highlights various topical, systemic, and complementary and alternative therapies, as well as provide a therapeutic ladder for optimized long-term control of itch in atopic dermatitis. PMID:21767767

Bexarotene Topical

MedlinePlus

... talking to your doctor.Bexarotene gel may catch fire. Do not use this medication near a source ... This medication may be prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

State-of-the-art and outlook for biomimetic materials

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

Richman, R.H.; Bond, G.M.; McNaughton, W.P.

1994-11-01

A remarkable diversity of structures and molecular functions has evolved in plants and animals. Many of these natural substances have properties or capabilities that belie their origins in humble, everyday, starting materials. Consequently, there is a growing awareness among scientists and engineers that biological systems can be a valuable source of inspiration for man-made materials. Emphasis in this assessment is on biomimetics; that is, the achievement of unusual materials properties or processes by mimicking novel aspects of biological systems. Five broad areas are selected for detailed investigation: Mimicking of Natural Material Designs; Biomimetic Materials Processing; Artificial Photosynthesis; Biomimetic Molecular Electronics;more » and Biomimetic Catalysis. Each of these topics is examined in terms of current activities and approaches, key aspects, unresolved issues, and implications for the power industry. Finally, the researchers, their organizations, the main thrusts of investigation, achievements, and funding agencies are summarized in tabular form.« less

Caring for Southeast Asian refugee patients in the USA.

PubMed Central

Muecke, M A

1983-01-01

This paper concerns care of refugees from Southeast Asia who speak little English and are relatively unfamiliar with the formal health care system in the United States. It aims to demystify the behaviors of refugee patients and to support health practitioners who are attempting to care for them. Western medicine is discussed in terms of the expectations that refugees tend to hold of it, and of the conflicts with Southeast Asian beliefs and practices which it presents. Despite language differences, health care agents can increase the effectiveness of their communication with persons from Southeast Asia, primarily by allowing for their viewpoints. Topics discussed are: the first encounter with a refugee patient; use of interpreters; obtaining informed consent; "the passive obedient" patient; the "non-compliant" patient; body image; sources of social support for healing; use of medications; traditional self-care practices; and death and depression. PMID:6829826

The Intermediate Neutrino Program

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

Adams, C.; Alonso, J. R.; Ankowski, A. M.

2017-04-03

The US neutrino community gathered at the Workshop on the Intermediate Neutrino Program (WINP) at Brookhaven National Laboratory February 4-6, 2015 to explore opportunities in neutrino physics over the next five to ten years. Scientists from particle, astroparticle and nuclear physics participated in the workshop. The workshop examined promising opportunities for neutrino physics in the intermediate term, including possible new small to mid-scale experiments, US contributions to large experiments, upgrades to existing experiments, R&D plans and theory. The workshop was organized into two sets of parallel working group sessions, divided by physics topics and technology. Physics working groups covered topicsmore » on Sterile Neutrinos, Neutrino Mixing, Neutrino Interactions, Neutrino Properties and Astrophysical Neutrinos. Technology sessions were organized into Theory, Short-Baseline Accelerator Neutrinos, Reactor Neutrinos, Detector R&D and Source, Cyclotron and Meson Decay at Rest sessions.This report summarizes discussion and conclusions from the workshop.« less

Iridium: failures & successes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christensen, CarissaBryce; Beard, Suzette

2001-03-01

This paper will provide an overview of the Iridium business venture in terms of the challenges faced, the successes achieved, and the causes of the ultimate failure of the venture — bankruptcy and system de-orbit. The paper will address technical, business, and policy issues. The intent of the paper is to provide a balanced and accurate overview of the Iridium experience, to aid future decision-making by policy makers, the business community, and technical experts. Key topics will include the history of the program, the objectives and decision-making of Motorola, the market research and analysis conducted, partnering strategies and their impact, consumer equipment availability, and technical issues — target performance, performance achieved, technical accomplishments, and expected and unexpected technical challenges. The paper will use as sources trade media and business articles on the Iridium program, technical papers and conference presentations, Wall Street analyst's reports, and, where possible, interviews with participants and close observers.

Web 2.0 Applications in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhai, Dongsheng; Liu, Chen

Since 2005, the term Web 2.0 has gradually become a hot topic on the Internet. Web 2.0 lets users create web contents as distinct from webmasters or web coders. Web 2.0 has come to our work, our life and even has become an indispensable part of our web-life. Its applications have already been widespread in many fields on the Internet. So far, China has about 137 million netizens [1], therefore its Web 2.0 market is so attractive that many sources of venture capital flow into the Chinese Web 2.0 market and there are also a lot of new Web 2.0 companies in China. However, the development of Web 2.0 in China is accompanied by some problems and obstacles. In this paper, we will mainly discuss Web 2.0 applications in China, with their current problems and future development trends.

Observing the Anthropocene from Space: Challenges and Needs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burrows, John

2016-07-01

The rapid growth of human population since the industrial revolution has been coupled with a much increased standard of living and bountiful production of food. The dominant energy source sustaining this development has been fossil fuel combustion. However this has resulted in pollution which now spans all scales. There have significant impacts on air quality, water quality, stratospheric ozone and climate. The impacts can sudden and large and also slowly accumulate over time in the long term. The first decades of the space age resulted in pioneering efforts to establish adequate measurement capability. This process is continuing to evolve. Over the past two decades there have been a number of efforts to define the contribution and needs for a space segment which can separate anthropogenic form natural changes in the earth system. This talk introduces this topic of the use of the space segment to deconvolve change from anthropogenic activity and natural phenomena.

Proceedings of the NASA Workshop on Atomic Oxygen Effects. [low earth orbital environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brinza, David E. (Editor)

1987-01-01

A workshop was held to address the scientific issues concerning the effects of atomic oxygen on materials in the low Earth orbital (LEO) environment. The program included 18 invited speakers plus contributed posters covering topics such as LEO spaceflight experiments, interaction mechanisms, and atomic oxygen source development. Discussion sessions were also held to organize a test program to evaluate atomic oxygen exposure facilities. The key issues raised in the workshop were: (1) the need to develop a reliable predictive model of the effects of long-term exposure of materials to the LEO environment; (2) the ability of ground-based exposure facilities to provide useful data for development of durable materials; and (3) accurate determination of the composition of the LEO environment. These proceedings include the invited papers, the abstracts for the contributed posters, and an account of the test program discussion sessions.

The gamma-ray observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

An overview is given of the Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) mission. Detection of gamma rays and gamma ray sources, operations using the Space Shuttle, and instruments aboard the GRO, including the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE), the Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment (OSSE), the Imaging Compton Telescope (COMPTEL), and the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) are among the topics surveyed.

Biological Systems, Energy Sources, and Biology Teaching. Biology and Human Welfare.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tribe, Michael; Pritchard, Alan J.

This five-chapter document (part of a series on biology and human welfare) focuses on biological systems as energy sources and on the teaching of this subject area. Chapter 1 discusses various topics related to energy and ecology, including biomass, photosynthesis and world energy balances, energy flow through ecosystems, and others. Chapter 2…

Using Automated Blogging for Creation and Delivery of Topic-Centric News

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crouse, David A.

2013-01-01

Every day, news relevant to Extension clientele is posted to the Internet from a variety of sources such as the popular press, scientific journals, and government agency press releases. In order to stay current with the information being published, an end-user must be following all of the possible sources of information. That task can be…

Sources and Timing of Sex Education: Relations with American Adolescent Sexual Attitudes and Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Somers, Cheryl L.; Surmann, Amy T.

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the comparative contribution that (a) multiple sources of education about sexual topics (peers, media, school and other adults), and (b) the timing of this sex education, make on American adolescent sexual attitudes and behavior. Participants were 672 ethnically and economically diverse male and female,…

Why Men Left: Reconsidering the Feminization of Teaching in the Nineteenth Century

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montgomery, Sarah E.

2009-01-01

In this essay, the author provides a critique of sources relevant to the feminization of teaching in the United States from the mid- to late-nineteenth century. Sources covering topics such as the American Civil War, labor market forces, increasing urbanization, educational reform, and regional differences, and how they affected the feminization…

Using Pamphlets With Disadvantaged Adults. Public Library Training Institutes Library Service Guide Number Three.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmidt, Susan K.

Pamphlets are a useful way of presenting alternative sources of information to disadvantaged adults. Pamphlets are easy to handle and to read, inexpensive, and provide current information of various topics of interest. This brief guide lists sources of free or inexpensive pamphlets and describes various methods for their display in the library,…

Audio Visual Instructional Materials for Distributive Education; a Classified Bibliography. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levendowski, Jerry C.

The bibliography contains a list of 90 names and addresses of sources of audiovisual instructional materials. For each title a brief description of content, the source, purchase price, rental fee or free use for 16MM films, sound-slidefilms, tapes-records, and transparencies is given. Materials are listed separately by topics: (1) advertising and…

Lasers in energy device manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ostendorf, A.; Schoonderbeek, A.

2008-02-01

Global warming is a current topic all over the world. CO II emissions must be lowered to stop the already started climate change. Developing regenerative energy sources, like photovoltaics and fuel cells contributes to the solution of this problem. Innovative technologies and strategies need to be competitive with conventional energy sources. During the last years, the photovoltaic solar cell industry has experienced enormous growth. However, for solar cells to be competitive on the longer term, both an increase in efficiency as well as reduction in costs is necessary. An effective method to reduce costs of silicon solar cells is reducing the wafer thickness, because silicon makes up a large part of production costs. Consequently, contact free laser processing has a large advantage, because of the decrease in waste materials due to broken wafers as caused by other manufacturing processes. Additionally, many novel high efficiency solar cell concepts are only economically feasible with laser technology, e.g. for scribing silicon thin-film solar cells. This paper describes laser hole drilling, structuring and texturing of silicon wafer based solar cells and describes thin film solar cell scribing. Furthermore, different types of lasers are discussed with respect to processing quality and time.

Beam position monitoring system at CESR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Billing, M. G.; Bergan, W. F.; Forster, M. J.; Meller, R. E.; Rendina, M. C.; Rider, N. T.; Sagan, D. C.; Shanks, J.; Sikora, J. P.; Stedinger, M. G.; Strohman, C. R.; Palmer, M. A.; Holtzapple, R. L.

2017-09-01

The Cornell Electron-positron Storage Ring (CESR) has been converted from a High Energy Physics electron-positron collider to operate as a dedicated synchrotron light source for the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) and to conduct accelerator physics research as a test accelerator, capable of studying topics relevant to future damping rings, colliders and light sources. Some of the specific topics that were targeted for the initial phase of operation of the storage ring in this mode, labeled CESRTA (CESR as a Test Accelerator), included 1) tuning techniques to produce low emittance beams, 2) the study of electron cloud development in a storage ring and 3) intra-beam scattering effects. The complete conversion of CESR to CESRTA occurred over a several year period and is described elsewhere. As a part of this conversion the CESR beam position monitoring (CBPM) system was completely upgraded to provide the needed instrumental capabilities for these studies. This paper describes the new CBPM system hardware, its function and representative measurements performed by the upgraded system.

Postmenopausal virilization after spousal use of topical androgens.

PubMed

Merhi, Zaher O; Santoro, Nanette

2007-04-01

To increase awareness of the potential to cause virilization in postmenopausal woman secondary to a spouse's use of topical androgen. Case report. University-affiliated teaching hospital. A 63-year-old postmenopausal woman with virilization. Removal of the source of androgen exposure. Regression of the biochemical and physical signs of androgen excess in a woman after cessation of T gel use by her partner, and reinitiation of use with precautions against potential methods of transfer. This case highlights the unintentional transdermal absorption of testosterone sufficient to induce virilization in a couple who were aware of this potential problem. The apparent source of androgen absorption was a washcloth that the couple shared. The diagnosis can be established with a detailed history and a few blood tests (total and free T, and DHEAS) to exclude other sources of androgens. This report reinforces the need to consider exogenous androgen exposure in the differential diagnosis of virilization in adults when the more common causes have been excluded.

Designing Flightdeck Procedures: Literature Resources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Feldman, Jolene; Barshi, Immanuel; Degani, Asaf; Loukopoulou, Loukia; Mauro, Robert

2017-01-01

This technical publication contains the titles, abstracts, summaries, descriptions, and/or annotations of available literature sources on procedure design and development, requirements, and guidance. It is designed to provide users with an easy access to available resources on the topic of procedure design, and with a sense of the contents of these sources. This repository of information is organized into the following publication sources: Research (e.g., journal articles, conference proceedings), Manufacturers' (e.g., operation manuals, newsletters), and Regulatory and/or Government (e.g., advisory circulars, reports). An additional section contains synopses of Accident/Incident Reports involving procedures. This work directly supports a comprehensive memorandum by Barshi, Mauro, Degani, & Loukopoulou (2016) that summarizes the results of a multi-year project, partially funded by the FAA, to develop technical reference materials that support guidance on the process of developing cockpit procedures (see "Designing Flightdeck Procedures" https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20160013263.pdf). An extensive treatment of this topic is presented in a forthcoming book by the same authors.

Work-related stress and reward: an Australian study of multidisciplinary pediatric oncology healthcare providers.

PubMed

Bowden, M J; Mukherjee, S; Williams, L K; DeGraves, S; Jackson, M; McCarthy, M C

2015-11-01

Managing staff stress and preventing long-term burnout in oncology staff are highly important for both staff and patient well-being. Research addressing work-related stress in adult oncology is well documented; however, less is known about this topic in the pediatric context. This study examined sources of work-related stress and reward specific to multidisciplinary staff working in pediatric oncology in Australia. Participants were 107 pediatric oncology clinicians, including medical, nursing, and allied health staff from two Australian pediatric oncology centers. Participants completed an online survey using two newly developed measures: the work stressors scale-pediatric oncology and the work rewards scale-pediatric oncology. The most commonly reported sources of both stress and reward are related to patient care and interactions with children. Results indicated that levels of work-related stress and reward were similar between the professional disciplines and between the two hospitals. Regression analyses revealed no demographic or organizational factors that were associated with either stress or reward. Work-related stress and reward are not mutually exclusive; particular situations and events can be simultaneously stressful and rewarding for healthcare providers. Although patient care and interactions with children was found to be the most stressful aspect of working in this speciality, it was also the greatest source of reward. Results are discussed in relation to workplace approaches to staff well-being and stress reduction. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Managed Care and Long-Term Services for People with Mental Retardation. ARC Q&A.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arc, Arlington, TX.

This fact sheet uses a question-and-answer format to summarize issues related to managed care and long-term services for people with mental retardation. Questions and answers address the following topics: the evolving concept of "managed care"; the application of managed care to provide cost-efficient long-term services for people with mental…

Nuclear Winter: Uncertainties Surround the Long-Term Effects of Nuclear War. Report to the Congress.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

General Accounting Office, Washington, DC.

Nuclear winter, a term used to describe potential long-term climate and environmental effects of nuclear war, has been a subject of debate and controversy. This report examines and presents scientific and policy implications of nuclear winter. Contents include: (1) an executive summary (highlighting previous and current studies on the topic); (2)…

Long-term outcomes after adjunctive topical 5-flurouracil or mitomycin C for the treatment of surgically excised, localized ocular surface squamous neoplasia.

PubMed

Bahrami, Bobak; Greenwell, Timothy; Muecke, James S

2014-01-01

To report rates of recurrence and complications of localized ocular surface squamous neoplasia treated with 5-fluorouracil or mitomycin C as adjunctive treatment to surgical excision. Long-term follow up of two prospective, non-comparative interventional case series. One hundred fifty-three eyes with histologically confirmed localized, non-invasive ocular surface squamous neoplasia. 89 eyes were treated with adjuvant 5-fluorouracil and 64 eyes were treated with adjuvant mitomycin C. Following surgical excision±cryotherapy patients received topical 5-fluorouracil 1% four times daily for two weeks or topical mitomycin C 0.04% four times daily for two to three 1-week cycles. Ocular surface squamous neoplasia recurrence, complications of therapy and compliance. Median follow up was 33.6 (range 12-84) months and 57.9 (range 12-160) months in 5-fluorouracil and mitomycin C groups, respectively. There was one recurrence in the 5-fluorouracil group and no recurrences in the mitomycin C group. Side-effects occurred in 69% of 5-fluorouracil patients and 41% of mitomycin C patients. Five patients (6%) required intervention for treatment-related side-effects in the 5-fluorouracil group versus 11 (17%) in the mitomycin C group. No vision-threatening complications were noted. Long-term recurrence of localised ocular surface squamous neoplasia is rare when topical 5-fluorouracil or mitomycin C are used as adjunctive treatment to surgical excision. While side-effects are common, the majority are transient and rarely limit compliance. © 2013 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists.

Speech Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Several articles addressing topics in speech research are presented. The topics include: exploring the functional significance of physiological tremor: A biospectroscopic approach; differences between experienced and inexperienced listeners to deaf speech; a language-oriented view of reading and its disabilities; Phonetic factors in letter detection; categorical perception; Short-term recall by deaf signers of American sign language; a common basis for auditory sensory storage in perception and immediate memory; phonological awareness and verbal short-term memory; initiation versus execution time during manual and oral counting by stutterers; trading relations in the perception of speech by five-year-old children; the role of the strap muscles in pitch lowering; phonetic validation of distinctive features; consonants and syllable boundaires; and vowel information in postvocalic frictions.

MedlinePlus FAQ: Information on Doctors or Hospitals

MedlinePlus

... section which lists directories of doctors and services relevant to the topic. The Directories page lists many sources of information about physicians, other health professionals, and health facilities. ...

Audiovisuals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aviation/Space, 1980

1980-01-01

Presents information on a variety of audiovisual materials from government and nongovernment sources. Topics include aerodynamics and conditions of flight, airports, navigation, careers, history, medical factors, weather, films for classroom use, and others. (Author/SA)

[The healthcare system for slaves in nineteenth-century Brazil: disease, institutions, and treatment practices].

PubMed

Pôrto, Angela

2006-01-01

Although the nineteenth century saw numerous attempts to deter the slave trade, it was also the period when Brazil imported the greatest number of slaves in its history. The conditions under which slaves were transported, worked, and lived were largely responsible for their state of health. Yet this topic barely makes an appearance in the field of history, and many disputed points remain to be settled. My research cross-references sources and topics in order to gather data on the hygienic lives of nineteenth-century slaves. By analyzing archival documents from hospitals, notary public offices, and church bodies, iconographic sources, and the medical literature, I have retrieved information that can be used towards writing a history of the healthcare system available to slaves.

Long-term treatment patterns of testosterone replacement medications.

PubMed

Donatucci, Craig; Cui, Zhanglin; Fang, Yun; Muram, David

2014-08-01

Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is prescribed to men diagnosed with hypogonadism to alleviate symptoms, improve quality of life, and improve overall health. However, most men use TRT for only a short duration. To evaluate the long-term treatment patterns in hypogonadal men using topical TRT or short-lasting TRT injections. Using the Truven MarketScan(®) Database, 15,435 men who received their first (index) topical TRT prescription and 517 men who received their short-lasting TRT injection index prescription in 2009 were followed from 12 to 30 months after treatment initiation. Treatment interruption was defined as a medication gap of >30 days. Patients who remained off treatment were classified as having discontinued treatment. Patients who restarted therapy after 30 days were classified as cyclic users. Patients were required to have continuous insurance coverage during 1 year prior to treatment initiation and at least 1 year afterward. Main outcome measures were length of therapy, discontinuation, and restarts of topical TRT or short-lasting TRT injections. The patient characteristics were similar for patients who received topical TRT or short-lasting TRT injections. Of the patients who discontinued therapy during the follow-up period, the percentages of patients who were still on therapy after 3 months were 52% and 31% for topical TRT and short-lasting TRT users, respectively. For cyclic users, there was an attrition rate of approximately 40% to 50% of patients in each cycle. For both topical TRT and short-lasting TRT injections, the gap between stopping and restarting therapy tended to decrease over time. In this analysis, high discontinuation rates were observed. The treatment pattern of TRT may be related to the disease state rather than dosing, daily use, or mode of administration. © 2014 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

Writing Assignments that Promote Active Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narayanan, M.

2014-12-01

Encourage students to write a detailed, analytical report correlating classroom discussions to an important historical event or a current event. Motivate students interview an expert from industry on a topic that was discussed in class. Ask the students to submit a report with supporting sketches, drawings, circuit diagrams and graphs. Propose that the students generate a complete a set of reading responses pertaining to an assigned topic. Require each student to bring in one comment or one question about an assigned reading. The assignment should be a recent publication in an appropriate journal. Have the students conduct a web search on an assigned topic. Ask them to generate a set of ideas that can relate to classroom discussions. Provide the students with a study guide. The study guide should provide about 10 or 15 short topics. Quiz the students on one or two of the topics. Encourage the students to design or develop some creative real-world examples based on a chapter discussed or a topic of interest. Require that students originate, develop, support and defend a viewpoint using a specifically assigned material. Make the students practice using or utilizing a set of new technical terms they have encountered in an assigned chapter. Have students develop original examples explaining the different terms. Ask the students to select one important terminology from the previous classroom discussions. Encourage the students to explain why they selected that particular word. Ask them to talk about the importance of the terminology from the point of view of their educational objectives and future career. Angelo, T. A. (1991). Ten easy pieces: Assessing higher learning in four dimensions. In T. A. Angelo (Ed.), Classroom research: Early lessons from success (pp. 17-31). New Directions for Teaching and Learning, No. 46. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Will the Oxygen-Phosphorus Paradigm Persist? - Expert Views of the Future of Management and Restoration of Eutrophic Lakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nygrén, Nina A.; Tapio, Petri; Horppila, Jukka

2017-11-01

In the age of climate change, the demand and lack of pure water challenges many communities. Substantial amount of effort is put in every year to manage and restore degraded lakes while the long-term effects of those efforts are only poorly known or monitored. Oxygenation, or aeration, is used extensively for the restoration of eutrophic lakes, although many studies question whether this process improves the status of the lakes in the long-term. The desired effect of oxygenation is based on paradigmatic theories that, in the light of recent literature, might not be adequate when long-term improvements are sought. This article canvasses expert views on the feasibility of the `oxygen-phosphorus paradigm' as well as the future of the management and restoration of eutrophic lakes, based on an international, two-rounded, expert panel survey (Delphi study), employing 200 freshwater experts from 33 nationalities, contacted at three conferences on the topic. The conclusion is that the oxygen-phosphorus paradigm seems to be rather persistent. The experts considered oxygenation to be a valid short-term lake restoration method, but not without harmful side-effects. In addition, experts' low level of trust in the adequacy of the scientific knowledge on the effects of restorations and in the use of the scientific knowledge as a basis of choice of restoration methods, could be signs of a paradigm shift towards an outlook emphasizing more effective catchment management over short-term restorations. The expert panel also anticipated that reducing external nutrient loads from both point and diffuse sources will succeed in the future.

Publication analysis of the contact lens field: what are the current topics of interest?

PubMed

Cardona, Genís; Sanz, Joan P

2015-01-01

To determine the main current research interests of scientists working in the contact lens field. All articles published in the 2011 issues of all journals included in the Journal Citation Reports subject category Ophthalmology were inspected to expose those papers related to the contact lens field. Information regarding source journal was obtained and authorship details were recorded to determine the top most prolific authors, institutions and countries. A comprehensive list of key words was compiled to generate a two-dimensional term map in which the frequency of occurrence of a particular term is defined by label size and the distance between two terms is an indication of the relatedness of these terms, based on their co-occurrences within groups of key words. Clusters of related terms were also identified. Visual examination of all articles uncovered a total of 156 papers, published in 28 different journals. Contact Lens & Anterior Eye, Eye & Contact Lens and Optometry and Vision Science had 27 articles each. The most prolific authors and institutions revealed the predominance of countries with long research tradition in the contact lens field. Ten different word clusters or areas of interest were identified, including both traditional, yet unresolved issues (e.g., comfort or dry eye), and the latest research efforts (e.g., myopia control). These findings, which revealed contact lenses to be a fertile area of research, may be of relevance to new researchers as well as to those interested in exploring the latest research trends in this scientific discipline. Copyright © 2013 Spanish General Council of Optometry. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Infant Skin Care Products: What Are the Issues?

PubMed

Kuller, Joanne McManus

2016-10-01

Infant skin is susceptible to dryness and irritation from external factors, including topical skin care products not formulated for the infant's skin. This may increase the risk of contact dermatitis. Parents frequently express concern regarding potential harm from ingredients in skin care products and seek information. This is complicated by several skin care myths. The purpose of this literature review was to provide evidence-based information to educate parents on the use of products for preterm and term infants. Multiple searches using PubMed were conducted including the search terms "infant skin care," "infant products," "infant bath," "emollients," "diaper skin care," and "diaper wipes." Reference lists of comprehensive reviews were also scanned. Google searches were used to assess consumer information, product information, and regulatory guidelines. There is little scientific evidence to support safety of natural/organic products on infant skin. Raw materials originate from different sources, complicating testing and comparisons of ingredients. Research shows that cleansers formulated for infant skin do not weaken the skin barrier the way harsher soaps and detergents can. Oils with the lowest oleic acid content provide a lower risk of irritant contact dermatitis. Nurses must be informed about natural and organic products, preservatives, and fragrances and know the definition of commonly used marketing terms. Decisions regarding the use of infant products in preterm and term infants should be evidence based. More research is needed to support claims regarding the safety of products used on infant skin.

Long-term prospects for developments in space: A scenario approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, W. M.; Kahn, H. D.

1977-01-01

Long-term plans for future NASA programs are reported, and some of the following topics are discussed in detail: (1) systematic formulation of space scenarios; (2) the basic international context; (3) potential 21st century space developments; (4) space vehicle developments; and (5) future exploration.

Querying and Ranking XML Documents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schlieder, Torsten; Meuss, Holger

2002-01-01

Discussion of XML, information retrieval, precision, and recall focuses on a retrieval technique that adopts the similarity measure of the vector space model, incorporates the document structure, and supports structured queries. Topics include a query model based on tree matching; structured queries and term-based ranking; and term frequency and…

Gaylord Information Systems: Poised for Its Second Century.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farley, Charles E., Jr.; And Others

1993-01-01

Describes the development of the GALAXY Integrated Library System by Gaylord Information Systems. Topics addressed include the library automation business; industry trends, both long-term and short-term; a history of Gaylord's automation ventures; Gaylord's vision of the future; and perspectives from two GALAXY users. (LRW)

Text Mining to inform construction of Earth and Environmental Science Ontologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schildhauer, M.; Adams, B.; Rebich Hespanha, S.

2013-12-01

There is a clear need for better semantic representation of Earth and environmental concepts, to facilitate more effective discovery and re-use of information resources relevant to scientists doing integrative research. In order to develop general-purpose Earth and environmental science ontologies, however, it is necessary to represent concepts and relationships that span usage across multiple disciplines and scientific specialties. Traditional knowledge modeling through ontologies utilizes expert knowledge but inevitably favors the particular perspectives of the ontology engineers, as well as the domain experts who interacted with them. This often leads to ontologies that lack robust coverage of synonymy, while also missing important relationships among concepts that can be extremely useful for working scientists to be aware of. In this presentation we will discuss methods we have developed that utilize statistical topic modeling on a large corpus of Earth and environmental science articles, to expand coverage and disclose relationships among concepts in the Earth sciences. For our work we collected a corpus of over 121,000 abstracts from many of the top Earth and environmental science journals. We performed latent Dirichlet allocation topic modeling on this corpus to discover a set of latent topics, which consist of terms that commonly co-occur in abstracts. We match terms in the topics to concept labels in existing ontologies to reveal gaps, and we examine which terms are commonly associated in natural language discourse, to identify relationships that are important to formally model in ontologies. Our text mining methodology uncovers significant gaps in the content of some popular existing ontologies, and we show how, through a workflow involving human interpretation of topic models, we can bootstrap ontologies to have much better coverage and richer semantics. Because we base our methods directly on what working scientists are communicating about their research, it gives us an alternative bottom-up approach to populating and enriching ontologies, that complements more traditional knowledge modeling endeavors.

Source amplitudes of NTS explosions inferred from Rayleigh waves at Albuquerque and Tucson. Topical report

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

Bache, T.C.; Rodi, W.L.; Mason, B.F.

1978-06-01

Comparing observed and synthetic seismograms, source amplitudes of NTS explosions are inferred from Rayleigh wave recordings from the WWSSN stations at Albuquerque, New Mexico (ALQ) and Tucson, Arizona (TUC). The potential influence of source complexities, particularly surface spallation and related phenomena, is studied in detail. As described in earlier work by Bache, Rodi and Harkrider, the earth model for the synthetic were converted from observations at ALQ and TUC. The agreement of observed and synthetic seismograms is quite good and is sensitive to important features of the source.

Topical minoxidil: cardiac effects in bald man.

PubMed Central

Leenen, F H; Smith, D L; Unger, W P

1988-01-01

Systemic cardiovascular effects during chronic treatment with topical minoxidil vs placebo were evaluated using a double-blind, randomized design for two parallel groups (n = 20 for minoxidil, n = 15 for placebo). During 6 months of follow-up, blood pressure did not change, whereas minoxidil increased heart rate by 3-5 beats min-1. Compared with placebo, topical minoxidil caused significant increases in LV end-diastolic volume, in cardiac output (by 0.751 min-1) and in LV mass (by 5 g m-2). We conclude that in healthy subjects short-term use of topical minoxidil is likely not to be detrimental. However, safety needs to be established regarding ischaemic symptoms in patients with coronary artery disease as well as for the possible development of LV hypertrophy in healthy subjects during years of therapy. PMID:3191000

Current status of atopic dermatitis in Japan

PubMed Central

Chiba, Takahito; Takeuchi, Satoshi

2011-01-01

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common, chronic or chronically relapsing, severely pruritic, eczematous skin disease. AD is the second most frequently observed skin disease in dermatology clinics in Japan. Prevalence of childhood AD is 12-13% in mainland Japan; however, it is only half that (about 6%) in children from Ishigaki Island, Okinawa. Topical steroids and tacrolimus are the mainstay of treatment. However, the adverse effects and emotional fear of long-term use of topical steroids have induced a "topical steroid phobia" in patients throughout the world. Undertreatment can exacerbate facial/periocular lesions and lead to the development of atopic cataract and retinal detachment due to repeated scratching/rubbing/patting. Overcoming topical steroid phobia is a key issue for the successful treatment of AD through education, understanding and cooperation of patients and their guardians. PMID:22053299

Water resources activities of the USGS, 1987

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moore, John E.; Cardin, C. William

1987-01-01

Effective management of water resources requires an understanding of hydrologic systems and the factors that determine the distribution, availability, and quality of water. Within the Federal Government, the U.S. Geological Survey has the principal responsibility for providing hydrologic information and for appraising the Nation's water resources. The water resources activities of the U.S. Geological Survey are diverse, ranging from research investigations of specific aspects of the hydrologic cycle to large programs of regional water-resources investigations, such as the Regional Aquifer System Analyses.This report describes the U.S. Geological Survey's water resources activities. Some activities, such as the acid rain program, are mandated by line items in the Survey's fiscal year 1987 budget. Others, such as floods, sediment, and snow and ice, are topics of general interest to the water resources community. Still others are related to current water issues, such as nonpoint sources of pollution, the irrigation drainage problem of the western San Joaquin Valley, and national ground-water protection.In many cases, there is considerable overlap in the topical descrip-tions. The Survey's water resources research program, for example, conducts investigations that are applicable to virtually all of the activities listed in this book. Similarly, projects in the Federal-State Cooperative Program cover multiple aspects of water resources. For these reasons, the sums associated with funding for each of the activities listed exceeds by a considerable amount the Survey's budget for water resources activities.The report first describes the water-resources mission of the U.S. Geological Survey and discusses the principal sources of funds that support the activities. The remainder of the report consists of descriptions of 39 of the most significant water resources activities. An index appears at the end of the report.Each description of a significant water activity has the following parts:Introduction--the problem or issue addressed by the activity and a statement of purpose.Activities--examples of investigations underway.Recent accomplishments--examples of findings or achievements.Funding--an indication of the size of the program in terms of funding. Where possible, the funding of activities is given by source for fiscal years 1983 to 1987.

Chiropractic wellness on the web: the content and quality of information related to wellness and primary prevention on the Internet.

PubMed

Evans, Marion Willard; Perle, Stephen M; Ndetan, Harrison

2011-02-02

The Internet has become a common source of information for patients wishing to learn about health information. Previous studies found information related to back pain poor and often contradictory to current guidelines. Wellness has become a common topic in the field of chiropractic and accrediting agencies have standards on delivery of wellness-based content in college curricula as well as directives for clinical applications. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality of the information on the Internet using the terms "chiropractic wellness," or "wellness chiropractic". Five commonly used search engines were selected and the first 10 sites found using the strategy above were evaluated by two raters. Demographic assessments of the sites were made along with whether they were Health on the Net Foundation (HON) certified, contained standard wellness content, mentioned any Healthy People Focus Areas, and other chiropractic topics. Kappa statistics compared inter-rater agreement. Potential patients appeared to be the audience 87% of the time and a private doctor of chiropractic appeared to be the typical site owner. The sites usually promoted the provider. No sites displayed HON certification logo nor did any appear to meet the HON certification criteria. Twenty-six sites (55%) promoted regular physical activity in some manner and 18 (38%) had information on health risks of tobacco. Four (9%) had mental health or stress-reduction content but none had information supportive of vaccination. Some had information contradictory to common public health measures. Patients searching the Internet for chiropractic wellness information will often find useless information that will not help them maintain health or become well. Most simply market the chiropractic practice or allow for a patients to provide personal information in exchange for more 'wellness' information. More research should be done on how providers determine site content, pay any attention to the details on their sites, or agree with content as some appear to be prefabricated sites. Website content could be enhanced by sharing of information from reputable sources like US Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health and other authoritative sources. HON certification should also be sought.

Chiropractic wellness on the web: the content and quality of information related to wellness and primary prevention on the Internet

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background The Internet has become a common source of information for patients wishing to learn about health information. Previous studies found information related to back pain poor and often contradictory to current guidelines. Wellness has become a common topic in the field of chiropractic and accrediting agencies have standards on delivery of wellness-based content in college curricula as well as directives for clinical applications. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality of the information on the Internet using the terms "chiropractic wellness," or "wellness chiropractic". Methods Five commonly used search engines were selected and the first 10 sites found using the strategy above were evaluated by two raters. Demographic assessments of the sites were made along with whether they were Health on the Net Foundation (HON) certified, contained standard wellness content, mentioned any Healthy People Focus Areas, and other chiropractic topics. Kappa statistics compared inter-rater agreement. Results Potential patients appeared to be the audience 87% of the time and a private doctor of chiropractic appeared to be the typical site owner. The sites usually promoted the provider. No sites displayed HON certification logo nor did any appear to meet the HON certification criteria. Twenty-six sites (55%) promoted regular physical activity in some manner and 18 (38%) had information on health risks of tobacco. Four (9%) had mental health or stress-reduction content but none had information supportive of vaccination. Some had information contradictory to common public health measures. Conclusions Patients searching the Internet for chiropractic wellness information will often find useless information that will not help them maintain health or become well. Most simply market the chiropractic practice or allow for a patients to provide personal information in exchange for more 'wellness' information. More research should be done on how providers determine site content, pay any attention to the details on their sites, or agree with content as some appear to be prefabricated sites. Website content could be enhanced by sharing of information from reputable sources like US Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health and other authoritative sources. HON certification should also be sought. PMID:21288336

Energy Education in Brazil.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Messick, Rosemary; de Paiva, Terezhina Villela O'Grady

1980-01-01

Compares energy education in Brazil and the United States. Topics discussed include the Brazilian setting, government initiatives, dependence on foreign fuel sources, public reaction, schools and energy education, and mass media involvement. (DB)

Curriculum Counselor.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doty, Robert

1995-01-01

Features Internet sites that are sources for lesson plans, materials, group discussion topics, activities, test questions, computer software, and videos for K-12 education. Resources highlighted include CNN Newsroom, KidLink, and AskERIC. (AEF)

Web Conversations About Complementary and Alternative Medicines and Cancer: Content and Sentiment Analysis.

PubMed

Mazzocut, Mauro; Truccolo, Ivana; Antonini, Marialuisa; Rinaldi, Fabio; Omero, Paolo; Ferrarin, Emanuela; De Paoli, Paolo; Tasso, Carlo

2016-06-16

The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among cancer patients is widespread and mostly self-administrated. Today, one of the most relevant topics is the nondisclosure of CAM use to doctors. This general lack of communication exposes patients to dangerous behaviors and to less reliable information channels, such as the Web. The Italian context scarcely differs from this trend. Today, we are able to mine and analyze systematically the unstructured information available in the Web, to get an insight of people's opinions, beliefs, and rumors concerning health topics. Our aim was to analyze Italian Web conversations about CAM, identifying the most relevant Web sources, therapies, and diseases and measure the related sentiment. Data have been collected using the Web Intelligence tool ifMONITOR. The workflow consisted of 6 phases: (1) eligibility criteria definition for the ifMONITOR search profile; (2) creation of a CAM terminology database; (3) generic Web search and automatic filtering, the results have been manually revised to refine the search profile, and stored in the ifMONITOR database; (4) automatic classification using the CAM database terms; (5) selection of the final sample and manual sentiment analysis using a 1-5 score range; (6) manual indexing of the Web sources and CAM therapies type retrieved. Descriptive univariate statistics were computed for each item: absolute frequency, percentage, central tendency (mean sentiment score [MSS]), and variability (standard variation σ). Overall, 212 Web sources, 423 Web documents, and 868 opinions have been retrieved. The overall sentiment measured tends to a good score (3.6 of 5). Quite a high polarization in the opinions of the conversation partaking emerged from standard variation analysis (σ≥1). In total, 126 of 212 (59.4%) Web sources retrieved were nonhealth-related. Facebook (89; 21%) and Yahoo Answers (41; 9.7%) were the most relevant. In total, 94 CAM therapies have been retrieved. Most belong to the "biologically based therapies or nutrition" category: 339 of 868 opinions (39.1%), showing an MSS of 3.9 (σ=0.83). Within nutrition, "diets" collected 154 opinions (18.4%) with an MSS of 3.8 (σ=0.87); "food as CAM" overall collected 112 opinions (12.8%) with a MSS of 4 (σ=0.68). Excluding diets and food, the most discussed CAM therapy is the controversial Italian "Di Bella multitherapy" with 102 opinions (11.8%) with an MSS of 3.4 (σ=1.21). Breast cancer was the most mentioned disease: 81 opinions of 868. Conversations about CAM and cancer are ubiquitous. There is a great concern about the biologically based therapies, perceived as harmless and useful, under-rating all risks related to dangerous interactions or malnutrition. Our results can be useful to doctors to be aware of the implications of these beliefs for the clinical practice. Web conversation exploitation could be a strategy to gain insights of people's perspective for other controversial topics.

Long-term management of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis with dupilumab and concomitant topical corticosteroids (LIBERTY AD CHRONOS): a 1-year, randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial.

PubMed

Blauvelt, Andrew; de Bruin-Weller, Marjolein; Gooderham, Melinda; Cather, Jennifer C; Weisman, Jamie; Pariser, David; Simpson, Eric L; Papp, Kim A; Hong, H Chih-Ho; Rubel, Diana; Foley, Peter; Prens, Errol; Griffiths, Christopher E M; Etoh, Takafumi; Pinto, Pedro Herranz; Pujol, Ramon M; Szepietowski, Jacek C; Ettler, Karel; Kemény, Lajos; Zhu, Xiaoping; Akinlade, Bolanle; Hultsch, Thomas; Mastey, Vera; Gadkari, Abhijit; Eckert, Laurent; Amin, Nikhil; Graham, Neil M H; Pirozzi, Gianluca; Stahl, Neil; Yancopoulos, George D; Shumel, Brad

2017-06-10

Dupilumab (an anti-interleukin-4-receptor-α monoclonal antibody) blocks signalling of interleukin 4 and interleukin 13, type 2/Th2 cytokines implicated in numerous allergic diseases ranging from asthma to atopic dermatitis. Previous 16-week monotherapy studies showed that dupilumab substantially improved signs and symptoms of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis with acceptable safety, validating the crucial role of interleukin 4 and interleukin 13 in atopic dermatitis pathogenesis. We aimed to evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of dupilumab with medium-potency topical corticosteroids versus placebo with topical corticosteroids in adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. In this 1-year, randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, phase 3 study (LIBERTY AD CHRONOS), adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis and inadequate response to topical corticosteroids were enrolled at 161 hospitals, clinics, and academic institutions in 14 countries in Europe, Asia-Pacific, and North America. Patients were randomly assigned (3:1:3) to subcutaneous dupilumab 300 mg once weekly (qw), dupilumab 300 mg every 2 weeks (q2w), or placebo via a central interactive voice/web response system, stratified by severity and global region. All three groups were given concomitant topical corticosteroids with or without topical calcineurin inhibitors where inadvisable for topical corticosteroids. Topical corticosteroids could be tapered, stopped, or restarted on the basis of disease activity. Coprimary endpoints were patients (%) achieving Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA) 0/1 and 2-point or higher improvement from baseline, and Eczema Area and Severity Index 75% improvement from baseline (EASI-75) at week 16. Week 16 efficacy and week 52 safety analyses included all randomised patients; week 52 efficacy included patients who completed treatment by US regulatory submission cutoff. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02260986. Between Oct 3, 2014, and July 31, 2015, 740 patients were enrolled: 319 were randomly assigned to dupilumab qw plus topical corticosteroids, 106 to dupilumab q2w plus topical corticosteroids, and 315 to placebo plus topical corticosteroids. 623 (270, 89, and 264, respectively) were evaluable for week 52 efficacy. At week 16, more patients who received dupilumab plus topical corticosteroids achieved the coprimary endpoints of IGA 0/1 (39% [125 patients] who received dupilumab plus topical corticosteroids qw and 39% [41 patients] who received dupilumab q2w plus topical corticosteroids vs 12% [39 patients] who received placebo plus topical corticosteroids; p<0·0001) and EASI-75 (64% [204] and 69% [73] vs 23% [73]; p<0·0001). Week 52 results were similar. Adverse events were reported in 261 (83%) patients who received dupilumab qw plus topical corticosteroids, 97 (88%) patients who received dupilumab q2w, and 266 (84%) patients who received placebo, and serious adverse events in nine (3%), four (4%), and 16 (5%) patients, respectively. No significant dupilumab-induced laboratory abnormalities were noted. Injection-site reactions and conjunctivitis were more common in patients treated with dupilumab plus topical corticosteroids-treated patients than in patients treated with placebo plus topical corticosteroids. Dupilumab added to standard topical corticosteroid treatment for 1 year improved atopic dermatitis signs and symptoms, with acceptable safety. Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Down-regulation of tyrosinase, TRP-1, TRP-2 and MITF expressions by citrus press-cakes in murine B16 F10 melanoma.

PubMed

Kim, Sang Suk; Kim, Min-Jin; Choi, Young Hun; Kim, Byung Kok; Kim, Kwang Sik; Park, Kyung Jin; Park, Suk Man; Lee, Nam Ho; Hyun, Chang-Gu

2013-08-01

To investigate the suitability of citrus-press cakes, by-products of the juice industry as a source for the whitening agents for cosmetic industry. Ethylacetate extracts of citrus-press cakes (CCE) were examined for their anti-melanogenic potentials in terms of the inhibition of melanin production and mechanisim of melanogenesis by using Western Blot analysis with tyrosinese, tyrosinase-related protein-1 (TRP-1), TRP2, and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) proteins. To apply the topical agents, citrus-press cakes was investigated the safety in human skin cell line. Finally flavonoid analysis of CCE was also determined by HPLC analysis. Results indicated that CCE were shown to down-regulate melanin content in a dose-dependent pattern. The CCE inhibited tyrosinase, TRP-2, and MITF expressions in a dose-dependent manner. To test the applicability of CCE to human skin, we used MTT assay to assess the cytotoxic effects of CCE on human keratinocyte HaCaT cells. The CCE exhibited low cytotoxicity at 50 µg/mL. Characterization of the citrus-press cakes for flavonoid contents using HPLC showed varied quantity of rutin, narirutin, and hesperidin. Considering the anti-melanogenic activity and human safety, CCE is considered as a potential anti-melanogenic agent and may be effective for topical application for treating hyperpigmentation disorders.

Down-regulation of tyrosinase, TRP-1, TRP-2 and MITF expressions by citrus press-cakes in murine B16 F10 melanoma

PubMed Central

Kim, Sang Suk; Kim, Min-Jin; Choi, Young Hun; Kim, Byung Kok; Kim, Kwang Sik; Park, Kyung Jin; Park, Suk Man; Lee, Nam Ho; Hyun, Chang-Gu

2013-01-01

Objective To investigate the suitability of citrus-press cakes, by-products of the juice industry as a source for the whitening agents for cosmetic industry. Methods Ethylacetate extracts of citrus-press cakes (CCE) were examined for their anti-melanogenic potentials in terms of the inhibition of melanin production and mechanisim of melanogenesis by using Western Blot analysis with tyrosinese, tyrosinase-related protein-1 (TRP-1), TRP2, and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) proteins. To apply the topical agents, citrus-press cakes was investigated the safety in human skin cell line. Finally flavonoid analysis of CCE was also determined by HPLC analysis. Results Results indicated that CCE were shown to down-regulate melanin content in a dose-dependent pattern. The CCE inhibited tyrosinase, TRP-2, and MITF expressions in a dose-dependent manner. To test the applicability of CCE to human skin, we used MTT assay to assess the cytotoxic effects of CCE on human keratinocyte HaCaT cells. The CCE exhibited low cytotoxicity at 50 µg/mL. Characterization of the citrus-press cakes for flavonoid contents using HPLC showed varied quantity of rutin, narirutin, and hesperidin. Conclusions Considering the anti-melanogenic activity and human safety, CCE is considered as a potential anti-melanogenic agent and may be effective for topical application for treating hyperpigmentation disorders. PMID:23905018

The Structure of Scientific Arguments by Secondary Science Teachers: Comparison of experimental and historical science topics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gray, Ron; Kang, Nam-Hwa

2014-01-01

Just as scientific knowledge is constructed using distinct modes of inquiry (e.g. experimental or historical), arguments constructed during science instruction may vary depending on the mode of inquiry underlying the topic. The purpose of this study was to examine whether and how secondary science teachers construct scientific arguments during instruction differently for topics that rely on experimental or historical modes of inquiry. Four experienced high-school science teachers were observed daily during instructional units for both experimental and historical science topics. The main data sources include classroom observations and teacher interviews. The arguments were analyzed using Toulmin's argumentation pattern revealing specific patterns of arguments in teaching topics relying on these 2 modes of scientific inquiry. The teachers presented arguments to their students that were rather simple in structure but relatively authentic to the 2 different modes. The teachers used far more evidence in teaching topics based on historical inquiry than topics based on experimental inquiry. However, the differences were implicit in their teaching. Furthermore, their arguments did not portray the dynamic nature of science. Very few rebuttals or qualifiers were provided as the teachers were presenting their claims as if the data led straightforward to the claim. Implications for classroom practice and research are discussed.

An Annotated Bibliography of Literature Analyzing Factors of Adolescent Drug Use/Abuse and the Effectiveness of Various Drug Abuse Prevention Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pearish, Pamela L.

This document reviews literature which analyzes factors of adolescent drug use/abuse and the effectiveness of various drug abuse prevention programs. After a brief introduction to the topic of drug abuse, 16 terms such as "adolescence" and "drug abuse" are defined. Ten papers and articles on the topic of motivations and factors for drug use are…

Ultrafast mode-locked fiber lasers for high-speed OTDM transmission and related topics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakazawa, Masataka

Ultrashort optical pulse sources in the 1.5-µm region are becoming increasingly important in terms of realizing ultrahigh-speed optical transmission and signal processing at optical nodes. This paper provides a detailed description of several types of mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser, which are capable of generating picosecond-femtosecond optical pulses in the 1.55-µm region. In terms of ultrashort pulse generation at a low repetition rate (˜100 MHz), passively mode-locked fiber lasers enable us to produce pulses of approximately 100 fs. With regard to high repetition rate pulse generation at 10-40 GHz, harmonically mode-locked fiber lasers can produce picosecond pulses. This paper also describes the generation of a femtosecond pulse train at a repetition rate of 10-40 GHz by compressing the output pulses from harmonically mode-locked fiber lasers with dispersion-decreasing fibers. Finally, a new Cs optical atomic clock at a frequency of 9.1926 GHz is reported that uses a re-generatively mode-locked fiber laser as an opto-electronic oscillator instead of a quartz oscillator. The repetition rate stability reaches as high as 10-12-10-13.

Children facing a family member's acute illness: a review of intervention studies.

PubMed

Spath, Mary L

2007-07-01

A review of psycho-educational intervention studies to benefit children adapting to a close (parent, sibling, or grandparent) family member's serious illness was conducted. To review the literature on studies addressing this topic, critique research methods, describe clinical outcomes, and make recommendations for future research efforts. Research citations from 1990 to 2005 from Medline, CINAHL, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, PsycARTICLES, and PsycINFO databases were identified. Citations were reviewed and evaluated for sample, design, theoretical framework, intervention, threats to validity, and outcomes. Reviewed studies were limited to those that included statistical analysis to evaluate interventions and outcomes. Six studies were reviewed. Positive outcomes were reported for all of the interventional strategies used in the studies. Reviewed studies generally lacked a theoretical framework and a control group, were generally composed of small convenience samples, and primarily used non-tested investigator instruments. They were diverse in terms of intervention length and intensity, and measured short-term outcomes related to participant program satisfaction, rather than participant cognitive and behavioral change. The paucity of interventional studies and lack of systematic empirical precision to evaluate intervention effectiveness necessitates future studies that are methodologically rigorous.

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.

Effects of awakening and the use of topical dexamethasone and levofloxacin on the cytokine levels in tears following corneal transplantation.

PubMed

Fodor, Mariann; Petrovski, Goran; Pásztor, Dorottya; Gogolák, Péter; Rajnavölgyi, Éva; Berta, András

2014-01-01

To study the short-term effect of eye opening and use of topical dexamethasone phosphate 0.1% and levofloxacin 0.5% on the cytokine levels in human tears. Prospective experimental design was used for tear collection from eyes of 10 healthy controls and 20 patients four days after penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) at awakening and after instilling dexamethasone or levofloxacin. The concentrations of different cytokines were measured by cytometric bead array. At eye opening, IL-6 levels were higher in the PKP group as compared to the controls. Thirty minutes later, the released levels of IL-10, IL-13, IL-17, IFNγ, and CCL5 increased in controls, while CXCL8 decreased in both control and PKP groups. The release of the cytokines remained stable after 30 mins except for IFNγ, which showed a decrease in the controls following levofloxacin instillation. No short-term effects of the topically used dexamethasone and levofloxacin could be detected on the cytokine levels in controls and after PKP. Evidence of changes in the levels and time course of tear cytokines after awakening or eye opening could be established and the short-term confounding effects of dexamethasone and levofloxacin on the levels of released cytokines in human tears could be excluded.

Theme trends and knowledge structure on choroidal neovascularization: a quantitative and co-word analysis.

PubMed

Zhao, Fangkun; Shi, Bei; Liu, Ruixin; Zhou, Wenkai; Shi, Dong; Zhang, Jinsong

2018-04-03

The distribution pattern and knowledge structure of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) was surveyed based on literatures in PubMed. Published scientific papers about CNV were retrieved from Jan 1st, 2012 to May 31st, 2017. Extracted MeSH terms were analyzed quantitatively by using Bibliographic Item Co-Occurrence Matrix Builder (BICOMB) and high-frequency MeSH terms were identified. Hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted by SPSS 19.0 according to the MeSH term-source article matrix. High-frequency MeSH terms co-occurrence matrix was constructed to support strategic diagram and social network analysis (SNA). According to the searching strategy, all together 2366 papers were included, and the number of annual papers changed slightly from Jan 1st, 2012 to May 31st, 2017. Among all the extracted MeSH terms, 44 high-frequency MeSH terms were identified and hotspots were clustered into 6 categories. In the strategic diagram, clinical drug therapy, pathology and diagnosis related researches of CNV were well developed. In contrast, the metabolism, etiology, complications, prevention and control of CNV in animal models, and genetics related researches of CNV were relatively immature, which offers potential research space for future study. As for the SNA result, the position status of each component was described by the centrality values. The studies on CNV are relatively divergent and the 6 research categories concluded from this study could reflect the publication trends on CNV to some extent. By providing a quantitative bibliometric research across a 5-year span, it could help to depict an overall command of the latest topics and provide some hints for researchers when launching new projects.

Challenges in systematic reviews: synthesis of topics related to the delivery, organization, and financing of health care.

PubMed

Bravata, Dena M; McDonald, Kathryn M; Shojania, Kaveh G; Sundaram, Vandana; Owens, Douglas K

2005-06-21

Some important health policy topics, such as those related to the delivery, organization, and financing of health care, present substantial challenges to established methods for evidence synthesis. For example, such reviews may ask: What is the effect of for-profit versus not-for-profit delivery of care on patient outcomes? Or, which strategies are the most effective for promoting preventive care? This paper describes innovative methods for synthesizing evidence related to the delivery, organization, and financing of health care. We found 13 systematic reviews on these topics that described novel methodologic approaches. Several of these syntheses used 3 approaches: conceptual frameworks to inform problem formulation, systematic searches that included nontraditional literature sources, and hybrid synthesis methods that included simulations to address key gaps in the literature. As the primary literature on these topics expands, so will opportunities to develop additional novel methods for performing high-quality comprehensive syntheses.

Efficacy of pressure topical anaesthesia in punctal occlusion by diathermy

PubMed Central

Law, R W K; Li, R T H; Lam, D S C; Lai, J S M

2005-01-01

Aims: To prospectively compare the efficacy and safety of pressure topical anaesthesia in punctal occlusion by using cautery in the treatment of dry eye syndrome (DES) with that of conventional treatment by using needle injection of anaesthetic agents. Methods: In a randomised controlled trial, 18 consecutive adult patients with DES requiring punctal occlusion were recruited over a 10 month period. Consenting patients were randomised into two groups. Group A patients received pressure topical anaesthesia in the right eye followed by injection anaesthesia in the left eye. Group B was vice versa. Punctal occlusion using cautery was performed in each eye after a specified time following the application of anaesthesia. The main outcome measures were the pain experienced during application of anaesthesia and that during punctal occlusion. Results: 36 eyes of 18 patients were randomised to receive injection anaesthesia in one eye and pressure topical anaesthesia in the other. Nine patients (nine females) were in group A and nine patients (seven females, two males) in group B. The mean age of group A patients was 45.3 (SD 13.5) years, and that of group B patients was 55.6 (12.6) years. The two groups were comparable in terms of mean age (p = 0.117) and mean pain score for pressure topical anaesthesia application (p = 0.612), injection anaesthesia application (p = 0.454), diathermy in pressure anaesthetised eyes (p = 0.113), and diathermy in injection anaesthetised eyes (p = 0.289). Paired t test was used to compare the mean pain score for pressure topical anaesthesia application (16.8 (24.8)) with those for injection anaesthesia application (56.7 (30.0)). 18 eyes of 18 patients were compared with the fellow eye of the same 18 patients. The mean pain score for injection anaesthesia was greater than for pressure topical anaesthesia application (p<0.0001) (statistical power = 0.87). No statistically significant difference was found in the mean pain score for diathermy for eyes that received pressure topical anaesthesia (20.5 (27.5)) compared with eyes that received injection anaesthesia (23.1 (26.3)) (p = 0.760) (statistical power = 0.96). All 18 patients preferred pressure topical anaesthesia to injection anaesthesia. Conclusion: Injection anaesthesia for punctal occlusion is more painful than pressure topical anaesthesia application. However, the pain experienced during diathermy application for punctal occlusion is similar between pressure anaesthetised eyes and injection anaesthetised eyes. Pressure topical anaesthesia is a less painful (in terms of anaesthesia application) but equally effective alternative to conventional injection anaesthesia when used for punctal occlusion. PMID:16234451

Efficacy of pressure topical anaesthesia in punctal occlusion by diathermy.

PubMed

Law, R W K; Li, R T H; Lam, D S C; Lai, J S M

2005-11-01

To prospectively compare the efficacy and safety of pressure topical anaesthesia in punctal occlusion by using cautery in the treatment of dry eye syndrome (DES) with that of conventional treatment by using needle injection of anaesthetic agents. In a randomised controlled trial, 18 consecutive adult patients with DES requiring punctal occlusion were recruited over a 10 month period. Consenting patients were randomised into two groups. Group A patients received pressure topical anaesthesia in the right eye followed by injection anaesthesia in the left eye. Group B was vice versa. Punctal occlusion using cautery was performed in each eye after a specified time following the application of anaesthesia. The main outcome measures were the pain experienced during application of anaesthesia and that during punctal occlusion. 36 eyes of 18 patients were randomised to receive injection anaesthesia in one eye and pressure topical anaesthesia in the other. Nine patients (nine females) were in group A and nine patients (seven females, two males) in group B. The mean age of group A patients was 45.3 (SD 13.5) years, and that of group B patients was 55.6 (12.6) years. The two groups were comparable in terms of mean age (p=0.117) and mean pain score for pressure topical anaesthesia application (p=0.612), injection anaesthesia application (p=0.454), diathermy in pressure anaesthetised eyes (p=0.113), and diathermy in injection anaesthetised eyes (p=0.289). Paired t test was used to compare the mean pain score for pressure topical anaesthesia application (16.8 (24.8)) with those for injection anaesthesia application (56.7 (30.0)). 18 eyes of 18 patients were compared with the fellow eye of the same 18 patients. The mean pain score for injection anaesthesia was greater than for pressure topical anaesthesia application (p<0.0001) (statistical power=0.87). No statistically significant difference was found in the mean pain score for diathermy for eyes that received pressure topical anaesthesia (20.5 (27.5)) compared with eyes that received injection anaesthesia (23.1 (26.3)) (p=0.760) (statistical power=0.96). All 18 patients preferred pressure topical anaesthesia to injection anaesthesia. Injection anaesthesia for punctal occlusion is more painful than pressure topical anaesthesia application. However, the pain experienced during diathermy application for punctal occlusion is similar between pressure anaesthetised eyes and injection anaesthetised eyes. Pressure topical anaesthesia is a less painful (in terms of anaesthesia application) but equally effective alternative to conventional injection anaesthesia when used for punctal occlusion.

Machine Learning-Based Classification of 38 Years of Spine-Related Literature Into 100 Research Topics.

PubMed

Sing, David C; Metz, Lionel N; Dudli, Stefan

2017-06-01

Retrospective review. To identify the top 100 spine research topics. Recent advances in "machine learning," or computers learning without explicit instructions, have yielded broad technological advances. Topic modeling algorithms can be applied to large volumes of text to discover quantifiable themes and trends. Abstracts were extracted from the National Library of Medicine PubMed database from five prominent peer-reviewed spine journals (European Spine Journal [ESJ], The Spine Journal [SpineJ], Spine, Journal of Spinal Disorders and Techniques [JSDT], Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine [JNS]). Each abstract was entered into a latent Dirichlet allocation model specified to discover 100 topics, resulting in each abstract being assigned a probability of belonging in a topic. Topics were named using the five most frequently appearing terms within that topic. Significance of increasing ("hot") or decreasing ("cold") topic popularity over time was evaluated with simple linear regression. From 1978 to 2015, 25,805 spine-related research articles were extracted and classified into 100 topics. Top two most published topics included "clinical, surgeons, guidelines, information, care" (n = 496 articles) and "pain, back, low, treatment, chronic" (424). Top two hot trends included "disc, cervical, replacement, level, arthroplasty" (+0.05%/yr, P < 0.001), and "minimally, invasive, approach, technique" (+0.05%/yr, P < 0.001). By journal, the most published topics were ESJ-"operative, surgery, postoperative, underwent, preoperative"; SpineJ-"clinical, surgeons, guidelines, information, care"; Spine-"pain, back, low, treatment, chronic"; JNS- "tumor, lesions, rare, present, diagnosis"; JSDT-"cervical, anterior, plate, fusion, ACDF." Topics discovered through latent Dirichlet allocation modeling represent unbiased meaningful themes relevant to spine care. Topic dynamics can provide historical context and direction for future research for aspiring investigators and trainees interested in spine careers. Please explore https://singdc.shinyapps.io/spinetopics. N A.

Automatic topic identification of health-related messages in online health community using text classification.

PubMed

Lu, Yingjie

2013-01-01

To facilitate patient involvement in online health community and obtain informative support and emotional support they need, a topic identification approach was proposed in this paper for identifying automatically topics of the health-related messages in online health community, thus assisting patients in reaching the most relevant messages for their queries efficiently. Feature-based classification framework was presented for automatic topic identification in our study. We first collected the messages related to some predefined topics in a online health community. Then we combined three different types of features, n-gram-based features, domain-specific features and sentiment features to build four feature sets for health-related text representation. Finally, three different text classification techniques, C4.5, Naïve Bayes and SVM were adopted to evaluate our topic classification model. By comparing different feature sets and different classification techniques, we found that n-gram-based features, domain-specific features and sentiment features were all considered to be effective in distinguishing different types of health-related topics. In addition, feature reduction technique based on information gain was also effective to improve the topic classification performance. In terms of classification techniques, SVM outperformed C4.5 and Naïve Bayes significantly. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed approach could identify the topics of online health-related messages efficiently.

Topical hyperbaric oxygen and electrical stimulation: exploring potential synergy.

PubMed

Edsberg, Laura E; Brogan, Michael S; Jaynes, C David; Fries, Kristin

2002-11-01

Treatment of chronic wounds involves interventions ranging from dressings to surgery. Modalities gaining popularity in clinical settings include topical hyperbaric oxygen and electrical stimulation. A prospective, uncontrolled study was conducted to obtain preliminary observations and data about the effects of topical hyperbaric oxygen therapy and topical hyperbaric oxygen used with electrical stimulation on the healing of chronic wounds. All subjects were geriatric residents of long-term care facilities with Stage III or Stage IV pressure ulcers. Topical hyperbaric oxygen was applied daily to the wounds of eight subjects; three also received electrical stimulation. Initial wound size ranged from 87.75 cm2 to 7.04 cm2 with an average size of 30.1 +/- 28.5 (mean +/- sd) cm2. Healing times ranged from 8 to 49 weeks. After 4 weeks of treatment with topical hyperbaric oxygen, wound size decreased an average of 34.4% +/- 22.9%. Incidentally, the wounds of five of the eight subjects decreased more than 20%, for an average of 51.8% +/- 17.9%. No significant differences in healing were observed between patients receiving topical hyperbaric oxygen alone and those receiving topical hyperbaric oxygen/electrical stimulation. Preliminary data indicate that topical hyperbaric oxygen facilitates wound healing and full closure for pressure ulcers in patients with and without diabetes mellitus. A multicenter, prospective, randomized, double-blind controlled study is currently under way.

Accuracy-preserving source term quadrature for third-order edge-based discretization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishikawa, Hiroaki; Liu, Yi

2017-09-01

In this paper, we derive a family of source term quadrature formulas for preserving third-order accuracy of the node-centered edge-based discretization for conservation laws with source terms on arbitrary simplex grids. A three-parameter family of source term quadrature formulas is derived, and as a subset, a one-parameter family of economical formulas is identified that does not require second derivatives of the source term. Among the economical formulas, a unique formula is then derived that does not require gradients of the source term at neighbor nodes, thus leading to a significantly smaller discretization stencil for source terms. All the formulas derived in this paper do not require a boundary closure, and therefore can be directly applied at boundary nodes. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate third-order accuracy at interior and boundary nodes for one-dimensional grids and linear triangular/tetrahedral grids over straight and curved geometries.

Depression - resources

MedlinePlus

Resources - depression ... Depression is a medical condition. If you think you may be depressed, see a health care provider. ... following organizations are good sources of information on depression : American Psychological Association -- www.apa.org/topics/depression/ ...

Long-term Rebamipide and Diquafosol in Two Cases of Immune-Mediated Dry Eye

PubMed Central

Yamane, Mio; Ogawa, Yoko; Fukui, Masaki; Kamoi, Mizuka; Saijo-Ban, Yumiko; Yaguchi, Saori; Mukai, Shin; Kawakita, Tetsuya; Simmura, Shigeto; Tsubota, Kazuo

2015-01-01

ABSTRACT Purpose Two new drugs with mucin-inducing and secretion-promotive effects, rebamipide and diquafosol, were recently approved as topical dry-eye treatments. We report two cases in which the long-term use of mucin-inducing eye drops improved chronic ocular graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD)–related dry eye and ocular cicatricial pemphigoid (OCP)-like disease. Case Reports Case 1. A 61-year-old woman had cGVHD-related dry eye that resisted traditional medications. Next, we use topical diquafosol in addition to conventional treatments. The patient used diquafosol for 6 months without experiencing any side effects. The symptoms, including dry-eye sensation, ocular pain, foreign body sensation, and photophobia, as well as ocular surface findings including fluorescein and rose bengal scores and tear break-up time (TBUT), partly improved. To further improve the clinical signs and symptoms and decrease chronic inflammation, rebamipide was added to diquafosol. The symptoms, TBUT, and fluorescein and rose bengal scores markedly improved after long-term dual treatment without any side effects for 6 months. Case 2. A 77-year-old woman had OCP-like disease with dry eye. The patient did not improve using the currently available conventional treatments. Next, we use topical rebamipide in addition to conventional treatments. Symptoms including asthenopia, dry-eye sensation, ocular pain, and dull sensation, as well as fluorescein and rose bengal scores and TBUT, partly improved. Specifically, functional visual acuity was markedly improved after commencement of rebamipide. To further improve the clinical signs and symptoms and increase tear film stability and tear film volume, diquafosol was added to rebamipide. The combination of diquafosol and rebamipide worked for the patient. Improvements were seen in several symptoms, fluorescein and rose bengal scores, Schirmer test value, and TBUT without any side effects for 12 months. Conclusions Long-term treatment with topical rebamipide and diquafosol can improve dry eye in patients with cGVHD or OCP-like disease. PMID:25785527

Long-term rebamipide and diquafosol in two cases of immune-mediated dry eye.

PubMed

Yamane, Mio; Ogawa, Yoko; Fukui, Masaki; Kamoi, Mizuka; Saijo-Ban, Yumiko; Yaguchi, Saori; Mukai, Shin; Kawakita, Tetsuya; Simmura, Shigeto; Tsubota, Kazuo

2015-04-01

Two new drugs with mucin-inducing and secretion-promotive effects, rebamipide and diquafosol, were recently approved as topical dry-eye treatments. We report two cases in which the long-term use of mucin-inducing eye drops improved chronic ocular graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD)-related dry eye and ocular cicatricial pemphigoid (OCP)-like disease. Case 1. A 61-year-old woman had cGVHD-related dry eye that resisted traditional medications. Next, we use topical diquafosol in addition to conventional treatments. The patient used diquafosol for 6 months without experiencing any side effects. The symptoms, including dry-eye sensation, ocular pain, foreign body sensation, and photophobia, as well as ocular surface findings including fluorescein and rose bengal scores and tear break-up time (TBUT), partly improved. To further improve the clinical signs and symptoms and decrease chronic inflammation, rebamipide was added to diquafosol. The symptoms, TBUT, and fluorescein and rose bengal scores markedly improved after long-term dual treatment without any side effects for 6 months. Case 2. A 77-year-old woman had OCP-like disease with dry eye. The patient did not improve using the currently available conventional treatments. Next, we use topical rebamipide in addition to conventional treatments. Symptoms including asthenopia, dry-eye sensation, ocular pain, and dull sensation, as well as fluorescein and rose bengal scores and TBUT, partly improved. Specifically, functional visual acuity was markedly improved after commencement of rebamipide. To further improve the clinical signs and symptoms and increase tear film stability and tear film volume, diquafosol was added to rebamipide. The combination of diquafosol and rebamipide worked for the patient. Improvements were seen in several symptoms, fluorescein and rose bengal scores, Schirmer test value, and TBUT without any side effects for 12 months. Long-term treatment with topical rebamipide and diquafosol can improve dry eye in patients with cGVHD or OCP-like disease.

Intercultural Development: Topics and Sequences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Savicki, Victor; Adams, Ingrid; Wilde, April; Binder, Frauke

2008-01-01

When people travel from their own home culture to a different culture, they experience variations not only in terms of scenery and societal arrangements, but also in terms of daily routines, interpersonal interactions, and expectations. Many differences are based on the divergence in underlying values and concerns of the home versus the host…

Hybrid Fiber/Copper LAN Meets School's 25-Year Networking Requirements.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petruso, Sam; Humes, Vince

1994-01-01

Describes an innovative new curriculum being implemented at Walnut Creek Middle School (Pennsylvania) and an advanced networked computer environment that supports it now and will also meet future needs. Topics addressed include physical facilities; networking goals, both short-term and long-term; fiber-optic cable versus copper; and future…

Memory and Language Impairment in Children and Adults: New Perspectives.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gillam, Ronald B.

This book contains articles from two issues of "Topics in Language Disorders" that focus on recent developments in the understanding of short-term memory, working memory, and long-term memory systems and their relationship to language comprehension, lexical development, early academic development, later academic development, and communication…

Case-Based Long-Term Professional Development of Science Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dori, Yehudit J.; Herscovitz, Orit

2005-01-01

Reform efforts are often unsuccessful because they failed to understand that teachers play a key role in making educational reforms successful. This paper describes a long-term teacher professional development (PD) program aimed at educating and training teachers to teach interdisciplinary topics using case-based method in science. The research…

Topical ear drop self-medication practice among the Ear, Nose, and Throat patients in Ido Ekiti, Nigeria: A cross - sectional study.

PubMed

Olajide, Toye Gabriel; Aremu, Kayode Shuaib; Esan, Olaide T; Dosunmu, Adepeju Oluwatona; Raji, Mustapha Muhammad

2018-01-01

Self-medication is a common habit in our country; Nigeria, especially among patients with otorhinolaryngological disorders. Medication when taken wrongly may bring dire consequences to the individual, such as masking developing diseases and may cause many other undesirable effects. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and to analyze topical ear drop self-medication practices among respondents attending the Ear, Nose, and Throat Clinic of Federal Teaching Hospital Ido Ekiti, Nigeria. A 6-month hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted among patients who were seen in the Ear, Nose, and Throat facility of Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti from July to December 2016 to determine topical ear drop self-medication practices. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtained information from respondents. A total of 162 respondents out of 493 patients seen during the study had otological problems. Of which 107 (66%) respondents had engaged in self-medication with topical ear drops. Their ages ranged between 2 and 83 years with a mean age of 36.6 ± 19.1 years. There were 75 males and 87 females. The major reason for self-medication was that their ailments were minor in about 40.2% and the most common indication for self-medication was ear blockage with hearing impairment (33.6%). Pharmacy/chemist shops (42%) were major sources of information for those that self-medicated. Chloramphenicol and gentamycin were the major drugs that were used by the respondents. Majority of the respondents in this study practiced self-medication using different topical ear drops. Major source of information on the topical ear drops used was from pharmacy/chemist shops. There is a need for adequate public health education to create awareness among people on the danger of self-medication and to enact or enforce the law to reduce access to over the counter drugs. Healthcare should be made available and avoidable at primary health-care level.

Historical theses on nursing and caring sciences in Finland: a literature review.

PubMed

Lukana, Anne; Leena, Salminen; Marjo, Kaartinen; Helena, Leino-Kilpi

2013-12-01

The purpose of this literature review was to review the theses (masters, licentiate and doctoral theses) on the history of nursing and caring sciences in Finland. The research questions were as follows: 1.What is the number and characteristics of these historical theses (target groups, methods and sources) on nursing and caring sciences have been produced in Finland? 2.What periods of time have been under investigation in these theses? 3.What topics have been investigated in these theses? The theses on the history of nursing and caring sciences were retrieved from the theses index of the universities that offer education in nursing and caring sciences in Finland. The literature search covered the time period 1979-2010. Altogether, 58 theses were reviewed and analysed via content analysis. Of all of the theses (n = 3969) produced in nursing and caring sciences, 58 of them focused on historical topics (<2%). The most common target group was healthcare personnel. The most common research method was the traditional historical method. Primary and secondary sources were used both together and separately. Nearly all of the theses examined the history of the 1900s, whereas only a few of them examined time periods before that. The four main topics of the theses were nursing practice, nursing education, nursing management and philosophy of nursing. The most common topic was nursing practice, especially psychiatric nursing. Research on the history of nursing and caring sciences in Finland has received only marginal attention from researchers. This literature review offers a description of the historical research produced on nursing and caring sciences and the topics of interest. In future, it will be necessary to more closely examine several historical topics that have been neglected in the study of nursing and caring sciences. © 2012 The Authors Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences © 2012 Nordic College of Caring Science.

Chemical Topic Modeling: Exploring Molecular Data Sets Using a Common Text-Mining Approach.

PubMed

Schneider, Nadine; Fechner, Nikolas; Landrum, Gregory A; Stiefl, Nikolaus

2017-08-28

Big data is one of the key transformative factors which increasingly influences all aspects of modern life. Although this transformation brings vast opportunities it also generates novel challenges, not the least of which is organizing and searching this data deluge. The field of medicinal chemistry is not different: more and more data are being generated, for instance, by technologies such as DNA encoded libraries, peptide libraries, text mining of large literature corpora, and new in silico enumeration methods. Handling those huge sets of molecules effectively is quite challenging and requires compromises that often come at the expense of the interpretability of the results. In order to find an intuitive and meaningful approach to organizing large molecular data sets, we adopted a probabilistic framework called "topic modeling" from the text-mining field. Here we present the first chemistry-related implementation of this method, which allows large molecule sets to be assigned to "chemical topics" and investigating the relationships between those. In this first study, we thoroughly evaluate this novel method in different experiments and discuss both its disadvantages and advantages. We show very promising results in reproducing human-assigned concepts using the approach to identify and retrieve chemical series from sets of molecules. We have also created an intuitive visualization of the chemical topics output by the algorithm. This is a huge benefit compared to other unsupervised machine-learning methods, like clustering, which are commonly used to group sets of molecules. Finally, we applied the new method to the 1.6 million molecules of the ChEMBL22 data set to test its robustness and efficiency. In about 1 h we built a 100-topic model of this large data set in which we could identify interesting topics like "proteins", "DNA", or "steroids". Along with this publication we provide our data sets and an open-source implementation of the new method (CheTo) which will be part of an upcoming version of the open-source cheminformatics toolkit RDKit.

INEEL Subregional Conceptual Model Report Volume 3: Summary of Existing Knowledge of Natural and Anthropogenic Influences on the Release of Contaminants to the Subsurface Environment from Waste Source Terms at the INEEL

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

Paul L. Wichlacz

2003-09-01

This source-term summary document is intended to describe the current understanding of contaminant source terms and the conceptual model for potential source-term release to the environment at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), as presented in published INEEL reports. The document presents a generalized conceptual model of the sources of contamination and describes the general categories of source terms, primary waste forms, and factors that affect the release of contaminants from the waste form into the vadose zone and Snake River Plain Aquifer. Where the information has previously been published and is readily available, summaries of the inventorymore » of contaminants are also included. Uncertainties that affect the estimation of the source term release are also discussed where they have been identified by the Source Term Technical Advisory Group. Areas in which additional information are needed (i.e., research needs) are also identified.« less

Not strange but not true: self-reported interest in a topic increases false memory.

PubMed

O'Connell, Anthony; Greene, Ciara M

2017-09-01

People are more likely to recall both true and false information that is consistent with their pre-existing stereotypes, schemata and desires. In addition, experts in a particular field are more likely to experience false memory in relation to their area of expertise. Here, we investigate whether level of interest, as distinct from level of knowledge, and in the absence of self-professed expertise, is associated with increased false memory. 489 participants were asked to rank 7 topics from most to least interesting. They were then asked if they remembered the events described in four news items related to the topic they selected as the most interesting and four items related to the topic selected as least interesting. In each case, three of the events depicted had really happened and one was fictional. A high level of interest in a topic increased true memories for the topic and doubled the frequency of false memories, even after controlling for level of knowledge. We interpret the results in the context of the source-monitoring framework and suggest that false memories arise as a result of interference from existing information stored in domain-related schemata.

Energy: An annotated selected bibliography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blow, S. J. (Compiler); Peacock, R. W. (Compiler); Sholy, J. J. (Compiler)

1979-01-01

This updated bibliography contains approximately 7,000 selected references on energy and energy related topics from bibliographic and other data sources from June 1977. Under each subject heading the entries are arranged by the date, with the latest works first. Geothermal, solar, wind, and ocean/water power sources are included. Magnetohydrodynamics and electrohydrodynamics, electric power engineering, automotive power plants, and energy storage are also covered.

Mixed clusters from the coexpansion of C2F6 and n2 in a pulsed, supersonic expansion cluster ion source and beam deflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer: A first application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thompson, Steven D.

The following topics are discussed: (1) cluster ion genesis; (2) cluster ion detection; (3) Ion source; (4) pulse valve; (5) e-gun; (6) Ion optics; (7) a first order model; and (8) a modified Bakker's model.

On Developing Independent Critical Thinking: What We Can Learn from Studies of the Research Process.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stotsky, Sandra

1991-01-01

Examines studies of what students do as they select and narrow a topic, locate sources, sift through these sources, and develop a central research question or thesis statement. Notes limitations of a related body of research focusing on other kinds of academic writing. Raises conceptual and methodological issues for researchers to address in…

Example Owner/Operator Certification for Painter Training Under National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutant (NESHAP): Area Source Standards for Nine Metal Fabrication and Finishing Source Categories 40 CFR 60 Subpart XXXXXX

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This example training certification format and any attached training documentation may be used to demonstrate, document and certify successful completion of required training topics under 40 CFR 63.11515(d)(6) for personnel, who spray apply surface coating

Academic Essay Writing as Imitative Problem Solving: Examples from Distance Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robertson, Sydney Ian

2014-01-01

Students in tertiary education are often faced with the prospect of writing an essay on a topic they know nothing about in advance. In distance learning institutions, essays are a common method of assessment in the UK, and specified course texts remain the main sources of information the students have. How do students use a source text to…

The World of Barilla Taylor: A Primary Source-Based Kit for Students in Grades 8-12.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fellner, Kelly; Stearns, Liza

1995-01-01

Examines a primary source-based kit that describes the life of a young woman factory worker in early 19th-century New England. The kit includes five document sets, utilizing maps, newspaper articles, deeds, letters, poems, and other artifacts. The document sets illustrate various topics including mill life and personal life. (MJP)

Google vs. the Library (Part II): Student Search Patterns and Behaviors When Using Google and a Federated Search Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Georgas, Helen

2014-01-01

This study examines the information-seeking behavior of undergraduate students within a research context. Student searches were recorded while the participants used Google and a library (federated) search tool to find sources (one book, two articles, and one other source of their choosing) for a selected topic. The undergraduates in this study…

Sources of Sex Education as a Function of Sex, Coital Activity, and Type of Information.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andre, Thomas; And Others

The perceived importance of sources of sex education and the effects of gender, coital activity, and type of information were studied, and previous studies were assessed. Attention was directed to the relative contribution of parents, institutions, reading, and peers to the information about each of 35 different sexual topics of 116 male and 116…

Bibliography of Military History. A Selected and Annotated History of Reference Sources, 3rd ed.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aimone, Alan C., Comp.

This revision of the 1975 publication of the same name has increased the scope of sources to include non-print materials, and has added several new categories: Order of Battles, Abstracts, Lineages, Statistics, and Guidebooks. The previous topic headings are grouped by document type or, in some cases, by subject, such as Customs, Decorations,…

Frontier Research in Astrophysics - II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2016-05-01

The purpose of this international workshop is to bring together astrophysicists and physicists who are involved in various topics at the forefront of modern astrophysics and particle physics. The workshop will discuss the most recent experimental and theoretical results in order to advance our understanding of the physics governing our Universe. To accomplish the goals of the workshop, we believe it is necessary to use data from ground-based and space-based experiments and results from theoretical developments: work on the forefront of science which has resulted (or promises to result in) high-impact scientific papers. Hence, the main purpose of the workshop is to discuss in a unique and collaborative setting a broad range of topics in modern astrophysics, from the Big Bang to Planets and Exoplanets. We believe that this can provide a suitable framework for each participant who (while obviously not involved in all the topics discussed), will be able to acquire a general view of the main experimental and theoretical results currently obtained. Such an up-to-date view of the current research on cosmic sources can help guide future research projects by the participants, and will encourage collaborative efforts across various topical areas of research. The proceedings will be published in Proceedings of Science (PoS)- SISSA and will provide a powerful resource for all the scientific community and will be especially helpful for PhD students. The following items will be reviewed: Cosmology: Cosmic Background, Dark Matter, Dark Energy, Clusters of Galaxies. Physics of the Diffuse Cosmic Sources. Physics of Cosmic Rays. Physics of Discrete Cosmic Sources. Extragalactic Sources: Active Galaxies, Normal Galaxies, Gamma-Ray Bursts. Galactic Sources: Star Formation, Pre-Main-Sequence and Main- Sequence Stars, the Sun, Cataclysmic Variables and Novae, Supernovae and SNRs, X-Ray Binary Systems, Pulsars, Black Holes, Gamma-Ray Sources, Nucleosynthesis, Asteroseismology. Planetology: Solar System, Sun-like Stars, Exoplanets. Science from large area multiwavelength surveys and deep-exposure pointings. Future Physics and Astrophysics: Ongoing and Planned Ground- and Space-based Experiments. The workshop will include a few 35-minute general review talks to introduce the current problems, and 20-minute talks to discuss new experimental and theoretical results. A series of 15-minute talks will discuss the ongoing and planned ground- based and space-based experiments. There will also be some general talks about the future directions of scientific research on cosmic sources. The papers will pass a peer-review process and the workshop proceedings will be edited by Franco Giovannelli & Lola Sabau-Graziati. The location of the workshop is the Splendid Hotel La Torre, located in Mondello beach in Palermo, Italy, a venue that will provide a friendly and collaborative atmosphere.

Methemoglobinemia Secondary to Topical Benzocaine Application to Gastrostomy Site.

PubMed

Lipton, Matthew; Szlam, Sarah M; Barker, Kim; Benitez, John G

2016-05-01

Benzocaine is a common topical anesthetic that has the ability to induce methemoglobinemia (MetHgb) in large doses. We describe a 4-year-old girl who received a standard dose of topical benzocaine to her gastrostomy mucosa that resulted in rapid, severe MetHgb. She required intubation, mechanical ventilation, and multiple doses of methylene blue for treatment. The resultant tissue hypoxia from MetHgb caused profound confusion, cyanosis, and myocardial infarction. Although the patient did not sustain any permanent disability, this case demonstrates the need for emergency providers to rapidly identify and treat MetHgb to reverse tissue hypoxia and prevent long-term sequelae.

The therapeutic effects of a topical tretinoin and corticosteroid combination for vitiligo: a placebo-controlled, paired-comparison, left-right study.

PubMed

Kwon, Hyok Bu; Choi, Yunseok; Kim, Hwa Jung; Lee, Ai-Young

2013-04-01

Topical all-trans-retinoic acid (tretinoin) prevents skin atrophy induced by long-term use of topical corticosteroids, without abrogating their anti-inflammatory effects. The goal of this study was to determine the efficacy of tretinoin plus topical corticosteroids (tretinoin plus) for repigmentation in patients with vitiligo. A placebo-controlled, paired-comparison, left-right study was conducted for a period of 6 months on tretinoin plus and the vehicle plus the same topical corticosteroid (vehicle plus) treatment in 50 patients diagnosed with generalized vitiligo. Clinical responses were assessed using the computerized analysis, and the results were compared with the visual analysis. The percentage agreement between the 2 analyses was 91.8%. Among 49 participants who successfully completed this study, 27 (55%) showed a better response to tretinoin plus than to vehicle plus. The improved response was noted at an early stage of treatment, during the first 3 months in 60% of patients. Combined therapy with tretinoin plus topical corticosteroids is safe and effective and provides another option for treatment of patients with vitiligo.

UTOPIAN: user-driven topic modeling based on interactive nonnegative matrix factorization.

PubMed

Choo, Jaegul; Lee, Changhyun; Reddy, Chandan K; Park, Haesun

2013-12-01

Topic modeling has been widely used for analyzing text document collections. Recently, there have been significant advancements in various topic modeling techniques, particularly in the form of probabilistic graphical modeling. State-of-the-art techniques such as Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) have been successfully applied in visual text analytics. However, most of the widely-used methods based on probabilistic modeling have drawbacks in terms of consistency from multiple runs and empirical convergence. Furthermore, due to the complicatedness in the formulation and the algorithm, LDA cannot easily incorporate various types of user feedback. To tackle this problem, we propose a reliable and flexible visual analytics system for topic modeling called UTOPIAN (User-driven Topic modeling based on Interactive Nonnegative Matrix Factorization). Centered around its semi-supervised formulation, UTOPIAN enables users to interact with the topic modeling method and steer the result in a user-driven manner. We demonstrate the capability of UTOPIAN via several usage scenarios with real-world document corpuses such as InfoVis/VAST paper data set and product review data sets.

The Role of Medications in Causing Dry Eye

PubMed Central

Fraunfelder, Frederick T.; Sciubba, James J.; Mathers, William D.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to review the possible role of polypharmacy in causing dry eye disease (DED), reflecting the complex interactions and complications associated with the use of multiple systemic and topical ocular medications. The pharmacological, physiological, anatomical, and histological mechanisms causing dry mouth differ little from those causing dry eye. Oral polypharmacy is the most common cause of dry mouth, but has not been investigated as a cause of dry eye. Topical ocular polypharmacy has been shown to cause DED. Information on drugs that likely cause or aggravate DED and the controversial role of preservatives in topical ocular medications are examined. Systemic or topical ocular medications and preservatives used in topical ocular drugs may cause dry eye through the drug's therapeutic action, ocular surface effects, or preservatives, and the effects probably are additive. Long-term use of topical ocular medications, especially those containing preservatives such as BAK, may play an important role in DED and the role of polypharmacy needs further study. We review possible ways to decrease the risk of medication-related dry eye. PMID:23050121

Topical versus peribulbar anaesthesia for cataract surgery.

PubMed

Sauder, Gangolf; Jonas, Jost B

2003-12-01

To assess and compare the efficacy and safety of topical versus peribulbar anaesthesia in patients undergoing routine cataract surgery. The unicentre, prospective, randomized, clinical interventional trial included 140 consecutive patients undergoing routine cataract surgery performed by one of two surgeons. The patients were randomly distributed to either peribulbar anaesthesia or topical anaesthesia. To assess intraoperative pain, each patient was asked immediately after surgery to quantitate his/her pain using a 10-point pain rating scale. The study groups did not differ significantly in pain score (p=0.54), duration of surgery (p=0.52), anaesthesia-related intraoperative difficulties (p=0.17), postoperative visual acuity (p=0.94), overall intraoperative surgical complication rate, blood pressure rise (p=0.16) or blood oxygen saturation (p=0.74) Patient comfort and surgery-related complications did not differ between topical anaesthesia and peribulbar anaesthesia. As there are no significant differences between the two techniques in terms of subjective pain experienced by patients, intraoperative complications and postoperative visual outcome, and in view of the minimally invasive character of topical anaesthesia compared to peribulbar anaesthesia, the present study suggests the use of topical anaesthesia for routine cataract surgery.

[Old medical dissertations in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University Frankfurt-on-Oder (Viadrina), 1700-1811].

PubMed

Rummler, Siegbert

2008-01-01

Based on an analysis of the medical dissertations which have survived from the University of Frankfurt-on-Oder (Viadrina), this paper illustrates the importance of old medical dissertations as historical sources. For 389 out of 570 medical students who received their medical doctorate at the Viadrina between the years 1700 and 1811, the topics of their dissertations have been ascertained. 15 dissertations on obstetrical and gynaecological topics are more closely analysed.

Photodynamic therapy with topical photosensitizers in mucosal and semimucosal areas: review from a dermatologic perspective.

PubMed

Grandi, Vieri; Sessa, Maurizio; Pisano, Luigi; Rossi, Riccardo; Galvan, Arturo; Gattai, Riccardo; Mori, Moira; Tiradritti, Luana; Bacci, Stefano; Zuccati, Giuliano; Cappugi, Pietro; Pimpinelli, Nicola

2018-04-15

Photodynamic Therapy is a procedure based on the interaction between a Photo Sensitizer, a light source with a specific wavelength and oxygen. Aim of this Review is to provide a brief and updated analysis of scientific reports of the use of PDT with topical PS in the management of oncological, infectious, and inflammatory disorders involving mucosal and semimucosal areas, with a specific focus on diseases of dermatologic interest. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

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

Buchanan, J. R.

The risks of nuclear power and radiation are described to place them in perspective with other potential hazards faced by the public on a day-to-day basis in our complex industrial society. Twenty articles on this general topic that have appeared in Nuclear Safety are reprinted, since they collectively form a valuable reference source. Topics covered include the effects of radiation, riskbenefit concepts, radiation risks relative to other risks, nuclear plant risks relative to fossil plant risks, licensing requirements, nuclear insurance, nuclear industry safety record, and public attitudes. (auth)

Special topics in infrared interferometry. [Michelson interferometer development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hanel, R. A.

1985-01-01

Topics in IR interferometry related to the development of a Michelson interferometer are treated. The selection and reading of the signal from the detector to the analog to digital converter is explained. The requirements for the Michelson interferometer advance speed are deduced. The effects of intensity modulation on the interferogram are discussed. Wavelength and intensity calibration of the interferometer are explained. Noise sources (Nyquist or Johnson noise, phonon noise), definitions of measuring methods of noise, and noise measurements are presented.

Alternative autophagy, brefeldin A and viral trafficking pathways.

PubMed

Grose, Charles; Klionsky, Daniel J

2016-09-01

Two topics that have attracted recent attention in the field of autophagy concern the source of the membrane that is used to form the autophagosome during macroautophagy and the role of noncanonical autophagic pathways. The 2 topics may converge when considering the intersection of autophagy with viral infection. We suggest that noncanonical autophagy, which is sensitive to treatment with brefeldin A, may converge with the infectious cycles of certain DNA and RNA viruses that utilize membrane from the ER and cis-Golgi.

Studying the potential impact of automated document classification on scheduling a systematic review update.

PubMed

Cohen, Aaron M; Ambert, Kyle; McDonagh, Marian

2012-04-19

Systematic Reviews (SRs) are an essential part of evidence-based medicine, providing support for clinical practice and policy on a wide range of medical topics. However, producing SRs is resource-intensive, and progress in the research they review leads to SRs becoming outdated, requiring updates. Although the question of how and when to update SRs has been studied, the best method for determining when to update is still unclear, necessitating further research. In this work we study the potential impact of a machine learning-based automated system for providing alerts when new publications become available within an SR topic. Some of these new publications are especially important, as they report findings that are more likely to initiate a review update. To this end, we have designed a classification algorithm to identify articles that are likely to be included in an SR update, along with an annotation scheme designed to identify the most important publications in a topic area. Using an SR database containing over 70,000 articles, we annotated articles from 9 topics that had received an update during the study period. The algorithm was then evaluated in terms of the overall correct and incorrect alert rate for publications meeting the topic inclusion criteria, as well as in terms of its ability to identify important, update-motivating publications in a topic area. Our initial approach, based on our previous work in topic-specific SR publication classification, identifies over 70% of the most important new publications, while maintaining a low overall alert rate. We performed an initial analysis of the opportunities and challenges in aiding the SR update planning process with an informatics-based machine learning approach. Alerts could be a useful tool in the planning, scheduling, and allocation of resources for SR updates, providing an improvement in timeliness and coverage for the large number of medical topics needing SRs. While the performance of this initial method is not perfect, it could be a useful supplement to current approaches to scheduling an SR update. Approaches specifically targeting the types of important publications identified by this work are likely to improve results.

Studying the potential impact of automated document classification on scheduling a systematic review update

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Systematic Reviews (SRs) are an essential part of evidence-based medicine, providing support for clinical practice and policy on a wide range of medical topics. However, producing SRs is resource-intensive, and progress in the research they review leads to SRs becoming outdated, requiring updates. Although the question of how and when to update SRs has been studied, the best method for determining when to update is still unclear, necessitating further research. Methods In this work we study the potential impact of a machine learning-based automated system for providing alerts when new publications become available within an SR topic. Some of these new publications are especially important, as they report findings that are more likely to initiate a review update. To this end, we have designed a classification algorithm to identify articles that are likely to be included in an SR update, along with an annotation scheme designed to identify the most important publications in a topic area. Using an SR database containing over 70,000 articles, we annotated articles from 9 topics that had received an update during the study period. The algorithm was then evaluated in terms of the overall correct and incorrect alert rate for publications meeting the topic inclusion criteria, as well as in terms of its ability to identify important, update-motivating publications in a topic area. Results Our initial approach, based on our previous work in topic-specific SR publication classification, identifies over 70% of the most important new publications, while maintaining a low overall alert rate. Conclusions We performed an initial analysis of the opportunities and challenges in aiding the SR update planning process with an informatics-based machine learning approach. Alerts could be a useful tool in the planning, scheduling, and allocation of resources for SR updates, providing an improvement in timeliness and coverage for the large number of medical topics needing SRs. While the performance of this initial method is not perfect, it could be a useful supplement to current approaches to scheduling an SR update. Approaches specifically targeting the types of important publications identified by this work are likely to improve results. PMID:22515596

Rural Latino caregivers’ beliefs and behaviors around their children’s salt consumption

PubMed Central

Hoeft, Kristin S.; Guerra, Claudia; Gonzalez-Vargas, M. Judy; Barker, Judith C.

2015-01-01

Background Prevalence of high blood pressure has been increasing in U.S. children, with implications for long term health consequences. Sodium consumption, a modifiable risk factor for high blood pressure, is above recommended limits and increasing. Very little is known about Latino caregiver beliefs and behaviors around their children’s salt consumption. Methods In California’s Central Valley, qualitative interviews in Spanish investigated low-income caregivers’ views and understandings of their children’s dietary salt consumption. Thirty individual interviews and 5 focus groups were conducted (N=61). Interview transcripts were translated and transcribed, coded and thematically analyzed. Results Seven primary topic areas around children’s salt intake and its impact on health were identified: children’s favorite foods, children’s dietary salt sources, superiority of home-cooked foods, salty and sweet foods, managing salt for health, developing children’s tastes, and adding salt added at the table. Parents recognize common sources of sodium such as “junk food” and processed food and made efforts to limit their children’s consumption of these foods, but may overlook other significant sodium sources, particularly bread, cheese, prepared soups and sports drinks. Caregivers recognize excess salt as unhealthy for children, but don’t believe health problems (like high blood pressure) can occur in young children. Nevertheless, they made efforts to limit how much salt their children consumed through a variety of strategies; school meals were a source of high sodium that they felt were outside of their control. Conclusion Latino caregivers are concerned about their children’s salt intake and attempt to limit consumption, but some common sources of sodium are under-recognized. PMID:25481770

DebriSat Project Update and Planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sorge, M.; Krisko, P. H.

2016-01-01

DebriSat Reporting Topics: DebriSat Fragment Analysis Calendar; Near-term Fragment Extraction Strategy; Fragment Characterization and Database; HVI (High-Velocity Impact) Considerations; Requirements Document.

Informed Purchasing Can Stretch Short Dollars.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, John B.; Miller, Kathryn Madera

1979-01-01

Provides purchasing tips for programs on a tight budget. Topics include writing specifications for the merchandise needed, finding and developing sources (vendors), receiving and analyzing bids, writing purchase orders, and receiving merchandise. (CM)

Recent Developments in Radioastronomy--Part 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Booth, R. S.

1980-01-01

Described are recent developments and discoveries in radioastronomy. Topics discussed include galactic structures, stellar evolution, the binary pulsar and general relativity, extragalactic radioastronomy, model of the source of radioactive emission and quasars. (DS)

PEER Lifelines Program | PEER Center

Science.gov Websites

research projects are organized into eight topics as shown in the following chart. The PEER Lifelines , sources of funding. PEER Lifelines research projects are primarily funded by the following agencies

Microscope Resolution.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Higbie, J.

1981-01-01

Describes problems using the Jenkins and White approach and standard diffraction theory when dealing with the topic of finite conjugate, point-source resolution and how they may be resolved using the relatively obscure Abbe's sine theorem. (JN)

The Rights of Parents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fischer, Louis; Schimmel, David

1978-01-01

This article describes the rights of parents as they relate to the education of their children. Topics include legal sources of parents' rights; parent involvement; freedom of religion, conscience, and expression; and political rights. (DS)

Books on Energy: A Current Checklist.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maryles, Daisy; Dahlin, Robert

1980-01-01

This checklist of books related to energy is divided into categories dealing with the topics of oil, nuclear energy, alternative sources (general, solar, wood, and wind), conservation, energy for homes, and architecture. (SA)

Stress and ways of coping among nurse managers: An integrative review.

PubMed

Labrague, Leodoro J; McEnroe-Petitte, Denise M; Leocadio, Michael C; Van Bogaert, Peter; Cummings, Greta G

2018-04-01

To appraise and synthesise empirical studies examining sources of occupational stress and ways of coping utilised by nurse managers when dealing with stress. The Nurse Manager's role is challenging yet draining and stressful and has adverse consequences on an individual's overall health and well-being, patients' outcomes and organisational productivity. Considerable research has been carried out; however, an updated and broader perspective on this critical organisational issue has not been performed. An integrative review. Five databases (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, SCOPUS, PubMed, PsychINFO and MEDLINE) were searched to identify relevant articles. Search terms and MeSH terms included: "charge nurse," "coping," "coping strategy," "coping style," "psychological adaptation," "psychological stress," "stressors," "nurse manager" and "unit manager." Twenty-two articles were included in this review. Reporting followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement guidelines. Four themes were identified: moderate stress levels, common sources of stress, ways of coping and the impact of nurses' characteristics on stress. Nurse managers experienced moderate levels of stress mainly from heavy workloads, lack of resources and financial responsibilities. Enhancing social support and promoting job control were seen as important in reducing work stress and its related consequences. Additional studies using a more rigorous method and a larger sample size preferably in multicultural settings would shed more light on this topic. Hospital and nurse administrators play an important role in promoting supportive structures for daily professional practice for nurse managers through staffing, organisational resources, support services, leadership and stress management training. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Pimecrolimus in atopic dermatitis: consensus on safety and the need to allow use in infants.

PubMed

Luger, Thomas; Boguniewicz, Mark; Carr, Warner; Cork, Michael; Deleuran, Mette; Eichenfield, Lawrence; Eigenmann, Philippe; Fölster-Holst, Regina; Gelmetti, Carlo; Gollnick, Harald; Hamelmann, Eckard; Hebert, Adelaide A; Muraro, Antonella; Oranje, Arnold P; Paller, Amy S; Paul, Carle; Puig, Luis; Ring, Johannes; Siegfried, Elaine; Spergel, Jonathan M; Stingl, Georg; Taieb, Alain; Torrelo, Antonio; Werfel, Thomas; Wahn, Ulrich

2015-06-01

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a distressing dermatological disease, which is highly prevalent during infancy, can persist into later life and requires long-term management with anti-inflammatory compounds. The introduction of the topical calcineurin inhibitors (TCIs), tacrolimus and pimecrolimus, more than 10 yr ago was a major breakthrough for the topical anti-inflammatory treatment of AD. Pimecrolimus 1% is approved for second-line use in children (≥2 yr old) and adults with mild-to-moderate AD. The age restriction was emphasized in a boxed warning added by the FDA in January 2006, which also highlights the lack of long-term safety data and the theoretical risk of skin malignancy and lymphoma. Since then, pimecrolimus has been extensively investigated in short- and long-term studies including over 4000 infants (<2 yr old). These studies showed that pimecrolimus effectively treats AD in infants, with sustained improvement with long-term intermittent use. Unlike topical corticosteroids, long-term TCI use does not carry the risks of skin atrophy, impaired epidermal barrier function or enhanced percutaneous absorption, and so is suitable for AD treatment especially in sensitive skin areas. Most importantly, the studies of pimecrolimus in infants provided no evidence for systemic immunosuppression, and a comprehensive body of evidence from clinical studies, post-marketing surveillance and epidemiological investigations does not support potential safety concerns. In conclusion, the authors consider that the labelling restrictions regarding the use of pimecrolimus in infants are no longer justified and recommend that the validity of the boxed warning for TCIs should be reconsidered. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Energy Options for the Future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheffield, John; Obenschain, Stephen; Conover, David; Bajura, Rita; Greene, David; Brown, Marilyn; Boes, Eldon; McCarthy, Kathyrn; Christian, David; Dean, Stephen; Kulcinski, Gerald; Denholm, P. L.

2004-06-01

This paper summarizes the presentations and discussion at the Energy Options for the Future meeting held at the Naval Research Laboratory in March of 2004. The presentations covered the present status and future potential for coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass energy sources and the effect of measures for energy conservation. The longevity of current major energy sources, means for resolving or mitigating environmental issues, and the role to be played by yet to be deployed sources, like fusion, were major topics of presentation and discussion.

Energy: An annotated selected bibliography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blow, S. J. (Compiler); Peacock, R. W. (Compiler); Sholy, J. J. (Compiler)

1979-01-01

This updated bibliography contains approximately 7,000 selected references on energy and energy related topics from bibliographic and other data sources from June 1977. Under each subject heading the entries are arranged by the data, with the latest works first. Subject headings include: resources supply/demand, and forecasting; policy, legislation, and regulation; environment; consumption, conservation, and economics; analysis, systems, and modeling, and information sources and documentation. Fossil fuels, hydrogen and other fuels, liquid/solid wastes and biomass, waste heat utilization, and nuclear power sources are also included.

Overview of recent studies and design changes for the FNAL magnetron ion source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bollinger, D. S.; Sosa, A.

2017-08-01

This paper presents several studies and design changes that will eventually be implemented to the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) magnetron ion source. The topics include tungsten cathode insert, solenoid gas valves, current controlled arc pulser, cesium boiler redesign, gas mixtures of hydrogen and nitrogen, and duty factor reduction. The studies were performed on the FNAL test stand described in [1], with the aim to improve source lifetime, stability, and reducing the amount of tuning needed.

Measuring Radiofrequency and Microwave Radiation from Varying Signal Strengths

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Bette; Gaul, W. C.

2007-01-01

This viewgraph presentation discusses the process of measuring radiofrequency and microwave radiation from various signal strengths. The topics include: 1) Limits and Guidelines; 2) Typical Variable Standard (IEEE) Frequency Dependent; 3) FCC Standard 47 CFR 1.1310; 4) Compliance Follows Unity Rule; 5) Multiple Sources Contribute; 6) Types of RF Signals; 7) Interfering Radiations; 8) Different Frequencies Different Powers; 9) Power Summing - Peak Power; 10) Contribution from Various Single Sources; 11) Total Power from Multiple Sources; 12) Are You Out of Compliance?; and 13) In Compliance.

Seeing Red and Shooting Blanks: A Study of Red Quasars and Blank Field X-Ray Sources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oliversen, Ronald J. (Technical Monitor); Elvis, Martin

2004-01-01

One type of "Blank Field X-ray Source" is now being seen in deep Chandra and XMM-Newton surveys. These are the newly dubbed "XBONGs" (X-ray Bright, Optically Normal Galaxies). The study of the brighter counterparts from ROSAT and XMM- Newton serendipitous surveys is therefore of renewed interest and topicality. We continue to define the properties of the ROSAT sample which is the basis of this grant. We expect to publish the SEDs of these sources soon.

Implications for the UK of solar-power satellites /s.p.s/ as an energy source

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shelton, R. M.

1980-01-01

The solar power satellite concept which would make the sun's radiation available on earth as a source of energy, is discussed. Attention is given to the concept currently under evaluation in the USA, and also in Europe, though to a lesser extent. The advantages and problems associated with its adoption by the UK as a major source of electrical energy are discussed. The discussion covers topics such as sizing, reference system, and construction, costs, and problem areas.

Kinetic modeling of particle dynamics in H- negative ion sources (invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hatayama, A.; Shibata, T.; Nishioka, S.; Ohta, M.; Yasumoto, M.; Nishida, K.; Yamamoto, T.; Miyamoto, K.; Fukano, A.; Mizuno, T.

2014-02-01

Progress in the kinetic modeling of particle dynamics in H- negative ion source plasmas and their comparisons with experiments are reviewed, and discussed with some new results. Main focus is placed on the following two topics, which are important for the research and development of large negative ion sources and high power H- ion beams: (i) Effects of non-equilibrium features of EEDF (electron energy distribution function) on H- production, and (ii) extraction physics of H- ions and beam optics.

Analysis of newspaper coverage of active aging through the lens of the 2002 World Health Organization Active Ageing Report: A Policy Framework and the 2010 Toronto Charter for Physical Activity: A Global Call for Action.

PubMed

Abdullah, Boushra; Wolbring, Gregor

2013-12-05

As populations continue to grow older, efforts to support the process of aging well are important goals. Various synonyms are used to cover aging well, such as active aging. The World Health Organization published in 2002 the report Active Ageing: A Policy Framework that according to the call for papers, has brought active ageing to the forefront of international public health awareness. The 2010 Toronto Charter for Physical Activity: A Global Call for Action was singled out in the call for papers as a key document promoting physical activity one goal of the 2002 WHO active aging policy framework. Media are to report to the public topics of importance to them. We investigated the newspaper coverage of aging well and synonymous terms such as active aging through the lens of the 2002 WHO active aging policy framework and the 2010 Toronto Charter for Physical Activity. As sources we used the following newspapers: China Daily, The Star (Malaysia), two UK newspapers (The Guardian, The Times), a database of 300 Canadian newspapers (Canadian Newsstand) and a US newspaper (The New York Times). The study generated data answering the following four research questions: (1) how often are the 2002 WHO active aging policy framework and the 2010 Toronto Charter for Physical Activity mentioned; (2) how often is the topic of active aging and terms conveying similar content (aging well, healthy aging, natural aging and successful aging) discussed; (3) which of the issues flagged as important in the 2002 WHO active aging policy framework and the 2010 Toronto Charter for Physical Activity are covered in the newspaper coverage of active aging and synonymous terms; (4) which social groups were mentioned in the newspapers covered. The study found a total absence of mentioning of the two key documents and a low level of coverage of "active aging" and terms conveying similar content. It found further a lack of engagement with the issues raised in the two key documents and a low level of mentioning of socially disadvantages groups. We posit that reading the newspapers we covered will not expose the reader to the two key documents and the issues linked to aging well including the need to increase physical activity.

Analysis of Newspaper Coverage of Active Aging through the Lens of the 2002 World Health Organization Active Ageing Report: A Policy Framework and the 2010 Toronto Charter for Physical Activity: A Global Call for Action

PubMed Central

Abdullah, Boushra; Wolbring, Gregor

2013-01-01

As populations continue to grow older, efforts to support the process of aging well are important goals. Various synonyms are used to cover aging well, such as active aging. The World Health Organization published in 2002 the report Active Ageing: A Policy Framework that according to the call for papers, has brought active ageing to the forefront of international public health awareness. The 2010 Toronto Charter for Physical Activity: A Global Call for Action was singled out in the call for papers as a key document promoting physical activity one goal of the 2002 WHO active aging policy framework. Media are to report to the public topics of importance to them. We investigated the newspaper coverage of aging well and synonymous terms such as active aging through the lens of the 2002 WHO active aging policy framework and the 2010 Toronto Charter for Physical Activity. As sources we used the following newspapers: China Daily, The Star (Malaysia), two UK newspapers (The Guardian, The Times), a database of 300 Canadian newspapers (Canadian Newsstand) and a US newspaper (The New York Times). The study generated data answering the following four research questions: (1) how often are the 2002 WHO active aging policy framework and the 2010 Toronto Charter for Physical Activity mentioned; (2) how often is the topic of active aging and terms conveying similar content (aging well, healthy aging, natural aging and successful aging) discussed; (3) which of the issues flagged as important in the 2002 WHO active aging policy framework and the 2010 Toronto Charter for Physical Activity are covered in the newspaper coverage of active aging and synonymous terms; (4) which social groups were mentioned in the newspapers covered. The study found a total absence of mentioning of the two key documents and a low level of coverage of “active aging” and terms conveying similar content. It found further a lack of engagement with the issues raised in the two key documents and a low level of mentioning of socially disadvantages groups. We posit that reading the newspapers we covered will not expose the reader to the two key documents and the issues linked to aging well including the need to increase physical activity. PMID:24317386

Revealing topics and their evolution in biomedical literature using Bio-DTM: a case study of ginseng.

PubMed

Chen, Qian; Ai, Ni; Liao, Jie; Shao, Xin; Liu, Yufeng; Fan, Xiaohui

2017-01-01

Valuable scientific results on biomedicine are very rich, but they are widely scattered in the literature. Topic modeling enables researchers to discover themes from an unstructured collection of documents without any prior annotations or labels. In this paper, taking ginseng as an example, biological dynamic topic model (Bio-DTM) was proposed to conduct a retrospective study and interpret the temporal evolution of the research of ginseng. The system of Bio-DTM mainly includes four components, documents pre-processing, bio-dictionary construction, dynamic topic models, topics analysis and visualization. Scientific articles pertaining to ginseng were retrieved through text mining from PubMed. The bio-dictionary integrates MedTerms medical dictionary, the second edition of side effect resource, a dictionary of biology and HGNC database of human gene names (HGNC). A dynamic topic model, a text mining technique, was used to emphasize on capturing the development trends of topics in a sequentially collected documents. Besides the contents of topics taken on, the evolution of topics was visualized over time using ThemeRiver. From the topic 9, ginseng was used in dietary supplements and complementary and integrative health practices, and became very popular since the early twentieth century. Topic 6 reminded that the planting of ginseng is a major area of research and symbiosis and allelopathy of ginseng became a research hotspot in 2007. In addition, the Bio-DTM model gave an insight into the main pharmacologic effects of ginseng, such as anti-metabolic disorder effect, cardioprotective effect, anti-cancer effect, hepatoprotective effect, anti-thrombotic effect and neuroprotective effect. The Bio-DTM model not only discovers what ginseng's research involving in but also displays how these topics evolving over time. This approach can be applied to the biomedical field to conduct a retrospective study and guide future studies.

Topical retinoids in acne vulgaris: update on efficacy and safety.

PubMed

Thielitz, Anja; Gollnick, Harald

2008-01-01

Topical retinoids represent a mainstay of acne treatment because they expel mature comedones, reduce microcomedone formation, and exert anti-inflammatory effects. The first-generation retinoid tretinoin (all-trans retinoic acid) and the synthetic third-generation polyaromatics adapalene and tazarotene are approved for acne treatment by the US FDA, whereas topical tretinoin, isotretinoin (13-cis retinoic acid), and adapalene are accredited in Canada and Europe. Topical retinoids have a favorable safety profile distinct from the toxicity of their systemic counterparts. Local adverse effects, including erythema, dryness, itching, and stinging, occur frequently during the early treatment phase. Their impact varies with the vehicle formation, skin type, frequency and mode of application, use of moisturizers, and environmental factors such as sun exposure or temperature. The broad anti-acne activity and safety profile of topical retinoids justifies their use as first-line treatment in most types of non-inflammatory and inflammatory acne. They are also suitable as long-term medications, with no risk of inducing bacterial resistance, for maintenance of remission after cessation of initial combination therapy.

Preface: Special Topic on Reaction Pathways

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clementi, Cecilia; Henkelman, Graeme

2017-10-01

This Special Topic Issue on Reaction Pathways collects original research articles illustrating the state of the art in the development and application of methods to describe complex chemical systems in terms of relatively simple mechanisms and collective coordinates. A broad range of applications is presented, spanning the sub-fields of biophysics and material science, in an attempt to showcase the similarities in the formulation of the approaches and highlight the different needs of the different application domains.

Genetic Testing: MedlinePlus Health Topic

MedlinePlus

... Disease Control and Prevention) Glossary (National Center for Biotechnology Information) Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms (National Human Genome Research Institute) Also in Spanish Find an Expert ...

Ninteenth International Cosmic Ray Conference. OG Sessions, Volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, F. C. (Compiler)

1985-01-01

Contributed papers addressing cosmic ray origin and galactic phenomena are compiled. The topic areas covered in this volume include gamma ray bursts, gamma rays from point sources, and diffuse gamma ray emission.

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

Mocioiu, Irina

I will discuss several different aspects of neutrino physics and astrophysics, including neutrino oscillations and high energy neutrinos from astrophysical sources. I will review the present status of experimental results on these topics and discuss prospects for future measurements and discoveries.

Accelerator and fusion research division. 1992 Summary of activities

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

Not Available

1992-12-01

This report contains brief discussions on research topics in the following area: Heavy-Ion Fusion Accelerator Research; Magnetic Fusion Energy; Advanced Light Source; Center for Beam Physics; Superconducting Magnets; and Bevalac Operations.

[Experiences from terminal care. Anthropological principles in human practice].

PubMed

Helle-Feldmann, A

1995-01-01

Paper gives the personal account by physiotherapist working in hospitals and geriatric care centers compelled to give moral assistance to old people engaged in the process of dying without being prepared for it. Moral assistance ad hoc is necessitated by compassion and by patient's struggle to come to terms with an extreme situation. To grasp the real meaning of some main topics of philosophical and theological anthropology is advocated here as a means to prepare assisting person effectively and practically for this task. Topics discussed are: Personal presence of a human being, the human soul, vital activity vs. higher life; experiences of good and evil in one's life time; success and loss in terms of social values; human dignity.

Haemophilia A: patients' knowledge level of treatment and sources of treatment-related information.

PubMed

Miller, K L; Guelcher, C; Taylor, A

2009-01-01

There are minimal or no data regarding the extent of patient and/or parent/legal guardian/caregiver knowledge about haemophilia A and its treatment, their sources for this information, or their preferred methods of communication. A pilot study using a survey instrument developed by haemophilia nurse coordinators was conducted at a national meeting to obtain information on these topics. A total of 187 surveys were completed. More than 80% of respondents reported high and high-medium knowledge levels about how haemophilia A is inherited, types of bleeding, identifying and treating bleeding emergencies, prophylaxis and on-demand treatment, travel and vacation planning and guidelines for exercise and sports activities. However, a lower proportion of respondents (<65%) reported high and high-medium knowledge levels for drug-related topics. The majority of respondents (>55%) consistently ranked healthcare providers as the most useful source of information for most topics related to haemophilia A. This pilot survey of well-informed respondents identified deficits in knowledge regarding factor concentrates for the treatment of haemophilia A and highlights the need for healthcare providers to provide more information about factor concentrates, insurance coverage for treatments, and community and educational resources. Additional study is necessary to determine the extent of knowledge deficits and how best to address them in the haemophilia A population as a whole. Other areas of study needed are whether information deficits and delivery of information vary by age or by other factors.

Analysis of individual risk belief structures

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

Tonn, B.E.; Travis, C.B.; Arrowood, L.

An interactive computer program developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is presented as a methodology to model individualized belief structures. The logic and general strategy of the model is presented for two risk topics: AIDs and toxic waste. Subjects identified desirable and undesirable consequences for each topic and formulated an associative rule linking topic and consequence in either a causal or correlational framework. Likelihood estimates, generated by subjects in several formats (probability, odds statements, etc.), constituted one outcome measure. Additionally, source of belief (personal experience, news media, etc.) and perceived personal and societal impact are reviewed. Briefly, subjects believe thatmore » AIDs causes significant emotional problems, and to a lesser degree, physical health problems whereas toxic waste causes significant environmental problems.« less

Do observational studies using propensity score methods agree with randomized trials? A systematic comparison of studies on acute coronary syndromes

PubMed Central

Dahabreh, Issa J.; Sheldrick, Radley C.; Paulus, Jessica K.; Chung, Mei; Varvarigou, Vasileia; Jafri, Haseeb; Rassen, Jeremy A.; Trikalinos, Thomas A.; Kitsios, Georgios D.

2012-01-01

Aims Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are the gold standard for assessing the efficacy of therapeutic interventions because randomization protects from biases inherent in observational studies. Propensity score (PS) methods, proposed as a potential solution to confounding of the treatment–outcome association, are widely used in observational studies of therapeutic interventions for acute coronary syndromes (ACS). We aimed to systematically assess agreement between observational studies using PS methods and RCTs on therapeutic interventions for ACS. Methods and results We searched for observational studies of interventions for ACS that used PS methods to estimate treatment effects on short- or long-term mortality. Using a standardized algorithm, we matched observational studies to RCTs based on patients’ characteristics, interventions, and outcomes (‘topics’), and we compared estimates of treatment effect between the two designs. When multiple observational studies or RCTs were identified for the same topic, we performed a meta-analysis and used the summary relative risk for comparisons. We matched 21 observational studies investigating 17 distinct clinical topics to 63 RCTs (median = 3 RCTs per observational study) for short-term (7 topics) and long-term (10 topics) mortality. Estimates from PS analyses differed statistically significantly from randomized evidence in two instances; however, observational studies reported more extreme beneficial treatment effects compared with RCTs in 13 of 17 instances (P = 0.049). Sensitivity analyses limited to large RCTs, and using alternative meta-analysis models yielded similar results. Conclusion For the treatment of ACS, observational studies using PS methods produce treatment effect estimates that are of more extreme magnitude compared with those from RCTs, although the differences are rarely statistically significant. PMID:22711757

Dermal absorption and short-term biological impact in hairless mice from sunscreens containing zinc oxide nano- or larger particles

PubMed Central

Oytam, Yalchin; Kirby, Jason K.; Gomez-Fernandez, Laura; Baxter, Brent; McCall, Maxine J.

2014-01-01

Previous studies have shown no, or very limited, skin penetration of metal oxide nanoparticles following topical application of sunscreens, yet concerns remain about their safety compared to larger particles. Here, we assessed the comparative dermal absorption of a traceable form of Zn (68Zn) from 68ZnO nano-sized and larger particles in sunscreens. Sunscreens were applied to the backs of virgin or pregnant hairless mice over four days. Control groups received topical applications of the sunscreen formulation containing no ZnO particles, or no treatment. Major organs were assessed for changes in 68Zn/64Zn ratios, 68Zn tracer and total Zn concentrations. Short-term biological impact was assessed by measuring levels of serum amyloid A in blood, and by performing whole-genome transcriptional profiling on livers from each group. Increased concentrations of 68Zn tracer were detected in internal organs of mice receiving topical applications of 68ZnO (nano-sized and larger particles), as well as in fetal livers from treated dams, compared with controls. Furthermore, concentrations of 68Zn in organs of virgin mice treated with sunscreen containing 68ZnO nanoparticles were found to be significantly higher than in mice treated with sunscreen containing larger 68ZnO particles. However, no ZnO-mediated change in total Zn concentration in any of the major organs was observed. Thus, despite 68Zn absorption, which may have been in the form of soluble 68Zn species or 68ZnO particles (not known), Zn homeostasis was largely maintained, and the presence of ZnO particles in sunscreen did not elicit an adverse biological response in the mice following short-term topical applications. PMID:24266363