Evaluation of the ASCO Value Framework for Anticancer Drugs at an Academic Medical Center.

PubMed

Wilson, Leslie; Lin, Tracy; Wang, Ling; Patel, Tanuja; Tran, Denise; Kim, Sarah; Dacey, Katie; Yuen, Courtney; Kroon, Lisa; Brodowy, Bret; Rodondi, Kevin

2017-02-01

Anticancer drug prices have increased by an average of 12% each year from 1996 to 2014. A major concern is that the increasing cost and responsibility of evaluating treatment options are being shifted to patients. This research compared 2 value-based pricing models that were being considered for use at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center to address the growing burden of high-cost cancer drugs while improving patient-centered care. The Medication Outcomes Center (MOC) in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), School of Pharmacy focuses on assessing the value of medication-related health care interventions and disseminating findings to the UCSF Medical Center. The High Cost Oncology Drug Initiative at the MOC aims to assess and adopt tools for the critical assessment and amelioration of high-cost cancer drugs. The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Value Framework (2016 update) and a cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) framework were identified as potential tools for adoption. To assess 1 prominent value framework, the study investigators (a) asked 8 clinicians to complete the ASCO Value Framework for 11 anticancer medications selected by the MOC; (b) reviewed CEAs assessing the drugs; (c) generated descriptive statistics; and (d) analyzed inter-rater reliability, convergence validity, and ranking consistency. On the scale of -20 to 180, the mean ASCO net health benefit (NHB) total score across 11 drugs ranged from 7.6 (SD = 7.8) to 53 (SD = 9.8). The Kappa coefficient (κ) for NHB scores across raters was 0.11, which is categorized as "slightly reliable." The combined κ score was 0.22, which is interpreted as low to fair inter-rater reliability. Convergent validity indicates that the correlation between NHB scores and CEA-based incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) was low (-0.215). Ranking of ICERs, ASCO scores, and wholesale acquisition costs indicated different results between frameworks. The ASCO Value Framework requires further specificity before use in a clinical setting, since it currently results in low inter-rater reliability and validity. Furthermore, ASCO scores were unable to discriminate between drugs providing the most and least value. The evaluation provides specific areas of weakness that can be addressed in future updates of the ASCO framework to improve usability. Meanwhile, the UCSF Medical Center should rely on CEAs, which are highly accessible for the highlighted cancer drugs. The MOC role can include summarizing and disseminating available CEA studies for interpretation by clinicians and financial counselors around drug value. Funding for this research was contributed by the University of California, San Francisco, Medical Center Campus Strategic Initiative Program. The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Study concept and design were contributed primarily by Wilson, along with Wang and Patel. Kim, Dacey, and Yuen collected the data, and data interpretation was performed by Wilson and Lin. The manuscript was written by Wilson, Lin, Wang, and Tran and revised by Lin, Redondi, Brodowy, and Kroon.

Training the next generation of research mentors: the University of California, San Francisco, Clinical & Translational Science Institute Mentor Development Program.

PubMed

Feldman, Mitchell D; Huang, Laurence; Guglielmo, B Joseph; Jordan, Richard; Kahn, James; Creasman, Jennifer M; Wiener-Kronish, Jeanine P; Lee, Kathryn A; Tehrani, Ariane; Yaffe, Kristine; Brown, Jeanette S

2009-06-01

Mentoring is a critical component of career development and success for clinical translational science research faculty. Yet few programs train faculty in mentoring skills. We describe outcomes from the first two faculty cohorts who completed a Mentor Development Program (MDP) at UCSF. Eligibility includes having dedicated research time, expertise in a scientific area and a desire to be a lead research mentor. A post-MDP survey measured the program's impact on enhancement of five key mentoring skills, change in the Mentors-in-Training (MIT) self-rated importance of being a mentor to their career satisfaction, and overall confidence in their mentoring skills. Since 2007, 29 MITs participated in and 26 completed the MDP. Only 15% of the MITs reported any previous mentor training. Overall, 96% of MITs felt that participation in the MDP helped them to become better mentors. A majority reported a significant increase in confidence in mentoring skills and most reported an increased understanding of important mentoring issues at UCSF. MITs reported increased confidence in overall and specific mentoring skills after completion of the MDP. The MDP can serve as a model for other institutions to develop the next generation of clinical-translational research mentors.

Special Issue on Global Health Disparities Focus on Cancer.

PubMed

Lee, Haeok

2016-01-01

Haeok Lee, PhD, RN, FAAN who is a Korean-American nurse scientist, received her doctor al degree from the Nursing Physiology Department, College of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), in 1993, and her post doctor al training from College of Medicine, UCSF. Dr. Lee worked at Case Western Reserve University and University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. She has worked at the UMass Boston since 2008. Dr. Lee has established a long-term commitment to minority health, especially Asian American Pacific Islanders, as a community leader, community health educator, and community researcher, and all these services have become a foundation for her community-based participatory research. Dr. Lee's research addresses current health problems framed in the context of social, political, and economic settings, and her studies have improved racial and ethnic data and developed national health policies to address health disparities in hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections and liver cancer among minorities. Dr. Lee's research, which is noteworthy for its theoretical base, is clearly filling the gap. Especially, Dr. Lee's research is beginning to have a favorable impact on national and international health policies and continuing education programs directed toward the global elimination of cervical and liver cancer-related health disparities in underserved and understudied populations.

Cross-calibration of liquid and solid QCT calibration standards: corrections to the UCSF normative data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Faulkner, K. G.; Gluer, C. C.; Grampp, S.; Genant, H. K.

1993-01-01

Quantitative computed tomography (QCT) has been shown to be a precise and sensitive method for evaluating spinal bone mineral density (BMD) and skeletal response to aging and therapy. Precise and accurate determination of BMD using QCT requires a calibration standard to compensate for and reduce the effects of beam-hardening artifacts and scanner drift. The first standards were based on dipotassium hydrogen phosphate (K2HPO4) solutions. Recently, several manufacturers have developed stable solid calibration standards based on calcium hydroxyapatite (CHA) in water-equivalent plastic. Due to differences in attenuating properties of the liquid and solid standards, the calibrated BMD values obtained with each system do not agree. In order to compare and interpret the results obtained on both systems, cross-calibration measurements were performed in phantoms and patients using the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) liquid standard and the Image Analysis (IA) solid standard on the UCSF GE 9800 CT scanner. From the phantom measurements, a highly linear relationship was found between the liquid- and solid-calibrated BMD values. No influence on the cross-calibration due to simulated variations in body size or vertebral fat content was seen, though a significant difference in the cross-calibration was observed between scans acquired at 80 and 140 kVp. From the patient measurements, a linear relationship between the liquid (UCSF) and solid (IA) calibrated values was derived for GE 9800 CT scanners at 80 kVp (IA = [1.15 x UCSF] - 7.32).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS).

McCormick to Aid Frederick National Laboratory in Developing RAS Cancer Genetics Initiative | Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research

Cancer.gov

Frank McCormick, Ph.D., director of the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, San Francisco, and associate dean of the UCSF School of Medicine, has signed a consulting agreement with SAIC-Frederick Inc. to w

Rethinking the Educator Portfolio: An Innovative Criteria-Based Model.

PubMed

Shinkai, Kanade; Chen, Chen Amy; Schwartz, Brian S; Loeser, Helen; Ashe, Cynthia; Irby, David M

2017-11-07

Academic medical centers struggle to achieve parity in advancement and promotions between educators and discovery-oriented researchers in part because of narrow definitions of scholarship, lack of clear criteria for measuring excellence, and barriers to making educational contributions available for peer review. Despite recent progress in expanding scholarship definitions and identifying excellence criteria, these advances are not integrated into educator portfolio (EP) templates or curriculum vitae platforms. From 2013 to 2015, a working group from the Academy of Medical Educators (AME) at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) designed a streamlined, criteria-based EP (EP 2.0) template highlighting faculty members' recent activities in education and setting rigorous evaluation methods to enable educational scholarship to be objectively evaluated for academic advancement, AME membership, and professional development. The EP 2.0 template was integrated into the AME application, resulting in high overall satisfaction among candidates and the selection committee and positive feedback on the template's transparency, ease of use, and streamlined format. In 2016, the EP 2.0 template was integrated into the campus-wide curriculum vitae platform and academic advancement system. The authors plan to increase awareness of the EP 2.0 template by educating promotions committees and faculty at UCSF and partnering with other institutions to disseminate it for use. They also plan to study the impact of the template on supporting educators by making their important scholarly contributions available for peer review, providing guidance for professional development, and decreasing disparities in promotions.

The 'indirect costs' of underfunding foreign partners in global health research: A case study.

PubMed

Crane, Johanna T; Andia Biraro, Irene; Fouad, Tamer M; Boum, Yap; R Bangsberg, David

2017-09-16

This study of a global health research partnership assesses how U.S. fiscal administrative policies impact capacity building at foreign partner institutions. We conducted a case study of a research collaboration between Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) in Mbarara, Uganda, and originally the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), but now Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Our case study is based on three of the authors' experiences directing and working with this partnership from its inception in 2003 through 2015. The collaboration established an independent Ugandan non-profit to act as a local fiscal agent and grants administrator and to assure compliance with the Ugandan labour and tax law. This structure, combined with low indirect cost reimbursements from U.S. federal grants, failed to strengthen institutional capacity at MUST. In response to problems with this model, the collaboration established a contracts and grants office at MUST. This office has built administrative capacity at MUST but has also generated new risks and expenses for MGH. We argue that U.S. fiscal administrative practices may drain rather than build capacity at African universities by underfunding the administrative costs of global health research, circumventing host country institutions, and externalising legal and financial risks associated with international work. MGH: Massachusetts General Hospital; MUST: Mbarara University of Science and Technology; NIH: National Institutes of Health; UCSF: University of California San Francisco; URI: Uganda Research Institute.

Targeting BRCAness in Gastric Cancer

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-10-01

inhibitors. We also generated a modified CRISPR system using dCas9-KRAB expressing variants of these cells, and validated them for CRISPRi screening...Figure 2. Validation of CRISPR activity following transduction with sgRNAs targeting CD55 and FACS staining with the anti-CD55 antibody. Data shown...interpretation of CRISPR experiments Morgan Diolaiti Specialist UCSF PH.D. Experimental planning and reporting Jefferson Woods SRA UCSF B.S. Perform drug

English language proficiency, health literacy, and trust in physician are associated with shared decision-making in rheumatoid arthritis

PubMed Central

Barton, Jennifer L.; Trupin, Laura; Tonner, Chris; Imboden, John; Katz, Patricia; Schillinger, Dean; Yelin, Edward H.

2014-01-01

Objective Treat to Target guidelines promote shared decision-making (SDM) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Also, due to high cost and potential toxicity of therapies, SDM is central to patient safety. Our objective was to examine patterns of perceived communication around decision-making in two cohorts of adults with RA. Methods Data were derived from patients enrolled in one of two longitudinal, observational cohorts (UCSF RA Cohort and RA Panel). Subjects completed a telephone interview in their preferred language that included a measure of patient-provider communication, including items about decision-making. Measures of trust in physician, education, and language proficiency were also asked. Logistic regression was performed to identify correlates of suboptimal SDM communication. Analyses were performed on each sample separately. Results Of 509 patients across two cohorts, 30% and 32% reported suboptimal SDM communication. Low trust in physician was independently associated with suboptimal SDM communication in both cohorts. Older age and limited English proficiency were independently associated with suboptimal SDM in the UCSF RA Cohort, as was limited health literacy in the RA Panel. Conclusions This study of over 500 adults with RA from two demographically distinct cohorts found that nearly one-third of subjects report suboptimal SDM communication with their clinicians, regardless of cohort. Lower trust in physician was independently associated with suboptimal SDM communication in both cohorts, as was limited English language proficiency and older age in the UCSF RA Cohort and limited health literacy in the Panel. These findings underscore the need to examine the impact of SDM on health outcomes in RA. PMID:24931952

What's in It for Me? Maintenance of Certification as an Incentive for Faculty Supervision of Resident Quality Improvement Projects.

PubMed

Rosenbluth, Glenn; Tabas, Jeffrey A; Baron, Robert B

2016-01-01

Residents are required to engage in quality improvement (QI) activities, which requires faculty engagement. Because of increasing program requirements and clinical demands, faculty may be resistant to taking on additional teaching and supervisory responsibilities without incentives. The authors sought to create an authentic benefit for University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Pediatrics Residency Training Program faculty who supervise pediatrics residents' QI projects by offering maintenance of certification (MOC) Part 4 (Performance in Practice) credit. The authors identified MOC as an ideal framework to both more actively engage faculty who were supervising QI projects and provide incentives for doing so. To this end, in 2011, the authors designed an MOC portfolio program which included faculty development, active supervision of residents, and QI projects designed to improve patient care. The UCSF Pediatrics Residency Training Program's Portfolio Sponsor application was approved by the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) in 2012, and faculty whose projects were included in the application were granted MOC Part 4 credit. As of December 2013, six faculty had received MOC Part 4 credit for their supervision of residents' QI projects. Based largely on the success of this program, UCSF has transitioned to the MOC portfolio program administered through the American Board of Medical Specialties, which allows the organization to offer MOC Part 4 credit from multiple specialty boards including the ABP. This may require refinements to screening, over sight, and reporting structures to ensure the MOC standards are met. Ongoing faculty development will be essential.

University of California San Francisco (UCSF-1): Construction of Directional Regulatory Networks Using Orthogonal CRISPR/Cas Screens | Office of Cancer Genomics

Cancer.gov

UCSF investigators developed an orthogonal CRISPR/Cas system which can be used to quantify gene regulation and construct directional regulatory networks. They combined two orthogonal Cas9 proteins from Streptococcus pyogenes and Staphylococcus aureus to carry out a dual screen in which one gene is activated while a second gene is deleted in the same cell. Read the abstract.

Results of Liver Transplantation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in a Multicenter Latin American Cohort Study.

PubMed

Piñero, Federico; Costa, Paulo; Boteon, Yuri L; Duque, Sergio Hoyos; Marciano, Sebastian; Anders, Margarita; Varón, Adriana; Zerega, Alina; Poniachik, Jaime; Soza, Alejandro; Machaca, Martín Padilla; Menéndez, Josemaría; Zapata, Rodrigo; Vilatoba, Mario; Muñoz, Linda; Maraschio, Martín; Fauda, Martín; McCormack, Lucas; Gadano, Adrian; Boin, Ilka Sf; García, Jose H Parente; Silva, Marcelo

2018-03-01

Heterogeneous data has been reported regarding liver transplantation (LT) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Latin America. We aimed to describe treatment during waiting list, survival and recurrence of HCC after LT in a multicenter study from Latin America. Patients with HCC diagnosed prior to transplant (cHCC) and incidentally found in the explanted liver (iHCC) were included. Imaging-explanted features were compared in cHCC (non-discordant if pre and post-LT were within Milan, discordant if pre-LT was within and post-LT exceeding Milan). Overall, 435 patients with cHCC and 92 with iHCC were included. At listing, 81% and 91% of cHCC patients were within Milan and San Francisco criteria (UCSF), respectively. Five-year survival and recurrence rates for cHCC within Milan, exceeding Milan/within UCSF and beyond UCSF were 71% and 16%; 66% and 26%; 46% and 55%, respectively. Locoregional treatment prior to LT was performed in 39% of cHCC within Milan, in 53% beyond Milan/within UCSF and in 83% exceeding UCSF (p < 0.0001). This treatment difference was not observed according to AFP values (≤100, 44%; 101-1,000, 39%, and > 1,000 ng/mL 64%; p = 0.12). Discordant imaging-explanted data was observed in 29% of cHCC, showing lower survival HR 2.02 (CI 1.29; 3.15) and higher recurrence rates HR 2.34 when compared to AFP <100 ng/mL. Serum AFP > 1,000 ng/mL at listing was independently associated with a higher 5-year recurrence rate and a HR of 3.24 when compared to AFP <100 ng/mL. Although overall results are comparable to other regions worldwide, pre-LT treatment not only considering imaging data but also AFP values should be contemplated during the next years.

Caring Wisely: A Program to Support Frontline Clinicians and Staff in Improving Healthcare Delivery and Reducing Costs.

PubMed

Gonzales, Ralph; Moriates, Christopher; Lau, Catherine; Valencia, Victoria; Imershein, Sarah; Rajkomar, Alvin; Prasad, Priya; Boscardin, Christy; Grady, Deborah; Johnston, S

2017-08-01

We describe a program called "Caring Wisely"®, developed by the University of California, San Francisco's (UCSF), Center for Healthcare Value, to increase the value of services provided at UCSF Health. The overarching goal of the Caring Wisely® program is to catalyze and advance delivery system redesign and innovations that reduce costs, enhance healthcare quality, and improve health outcomes. The program is designed to engage frontline clinicians and staff-aided by experienced implementation scientists-to develop and implement interventions specifically designed to address overuse, underuse, or misuse of services. Financial savings of the program are intended to cover the program costs. The theoretical underpinnings for the design of the Caring Wisely® program emphasize the importance of stakeholder engagement, behavior change theory, market (target audience) segmentation, and process measurement and feedback. The Caring Wisely® program provides an institutional model for using crowdsourcing to identify "hot spot" areas of low-value care, inefficiency and waste, and for implementing robust interventions to address these areas. © 2017 Society of Hospital Medicine.

Policy Options for University of California Budgeting. Research & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.5.11

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Charles E.

2011-01-01

Within a quarter century after the end of World War II (1945-1970), largely because of the support and investment it received from the State, the University of California had changed from two modest-size general campuses (Berkeley and Los Angeles) and the medical campus in San Francisco (UCSF), to a system of eight general campuses. California was…

UCSF partnership to enrich science teaching for sixth graders in San Francisco's schools.

PubMed

Doyle, H J

1999-04-01

Increasing the diversity of students entering the health professions is a challenging goal for medical schools. One approach to this goal is to share the enthusiasm and energy of medical students with younger students, who may pursue medical education in the future. The MedTeach program, established in 1989 and coordinated by the Science & Health Education Partnership of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), does so by partnering volunteer medical students from UCSF with sixth-grade classes studying the human body. In 1997-98, around 350 sixth-graders in the San Francisco Schools benefitted from the program. Each team of medical student's visits its class ten to 12 times a year to present engaging, hands-on lessons on body systems and health. The medical students are also role models for the middle-school students. In addition, the diverse student population of San Francisco public schools provides a rich environment for the medical students to improve their communication and teaching skills.

DBMap: a TreeMap-based framework for data navigation and visualization of brain research registry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Ming; Zhang, Hong; Tjandra, Donny; Wong, Stephen T. C.

2003-05-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate and apply a new, intuitive and space-conscious visualization framework to facilitate efficient data presentation and exploration of large-scale data warehouses. We have implemented the DBMap framework for the UCSF Brain Research Registry. Such a novel utility would facilitate medical specialists and clinical researchers in better exploring and evaluating a number of attributes organized in the brain research registry. The current UCSF Brain Research Registry consists of a federation of disease-oriented database modules, including Epilepsy, Brain Tumor, Intracerebral Hemorrphage, and CJD (Creuzfeld-Jacob disease). These database modules organize large volumes of imaging and non-imaging data to support Web-based clinical research. While the data warehouse supports general information retrieval and analysis, there lacks an effective way to visualize and present the voluminous and complex data stored. This study investigates whether the TreeMap algorithm can be adapted to display and navigate categorical biomedical data warehouse or registry. TreeMap is a space constrained graphical representation of large hierarchical data sets, mapped to a matrix of rectangles, whose size and color represent interested database fields. It allows the display of a large amount of numerical and categorical information in limited real estate of computer screen with an intuitive user interface. The paper will describe, DBMap, the proposed new data visualization framework for large biomedical databases. Built upon XML, Java and JDBC technologies, the prototype system includes a set of software modules that reside in the application server tier and provide interface to backend database tier and front-end Web tier of the brain registry.

Does mentoring matter: results from a survey of faculty mentees at a large health sciences university

PubMed Central

Feldman, Mitchell D.; Arean, Patricia A.; Marshall, Sally J.; Lovett, Mark; O'Sullivan, Patricia

2010-01-01

Background To determine the characteristics associated with having a mentor, the association of mentoring with self-efficacy, and the content of mentor–mentee interactions at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), we conducted a baseline assessment prior to implementing a comprehensive faculty mentoring program. Method We surveyed all prospective junior faculty mentees at UCSF. Mentees completed a web-based, 38-item survey including an assessment of self-efficacy and a needs assessment. We used descriptive and inferential statistics to determine the association between having a mentor and gender, ethnicity, faculty series, and self-efficacy. Results Our respondents (n=464, 56%) were 53% female, 62% white, and 7% from underrepresented minority groups. More than half of respondents (n=319) reported having a mentor. There were no differences in having a mentor based on gender or ethnicity (p≥0.05). Clinician educator faculty with more teaching and patient care responsibilities were statistically significantly less likely to have a mentor compared with faculty in research intensive series (p<0.001). Having a mentor was associated with greater satisfaction with time allocation at work (p<0.05) and with higher academic self-efficacy scores, 6.07 (sd = 1.36) compared with those without a mentor, 5.33 (sd = 1.35, p<0.001). Mentees reported that they most often discussed funding with the mentors, but rated highest requiring mentoring assistance with issues of promotion and tenure. Conclusion Findings from the UCSF faculty mentoring program may assist other health science institutions plan similar programs. Mentoring needs for junior faculty with greater teaching and patient care responsibilities must be addressed. PMID:20431710

[Neuroethics].

PubMed

Ramiro, H Manuel

2015-01-01

Neuroethics emerged as a discipline in 2012 after a World Congress organized by the Stanford University, the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), and sponsored by the Dana Foundation. It has emerged with great force and an important interdisciplinary approach between science and philosophy. Its most relevant lines of action are the study of the ethical consequences of neuroscience research and clinical interventions; as well as the biological factors of human behavior or conduct.

University of California San Francisco (UCSF-1): Chemical-Genetic Interaction Mapping Strategy | Office of Cancer Genomics

Cancer.gov

The CTD2 Center at University of California San Francisco (UCSF-1) developed a chemical-genetic interaction mapping strategy to uncover the impact of cancer gene expression on responses to a panel of emerging therapeutics. To study the impact of aberrant gene activity in isolation, they developed an isogenic model of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) using the hormone receptor negative MCF10A non-tumorigenic cell line derived from healthy breast tissue which is diploid and largely devoid of somatic alterations.

The Institute for Global Orthopedics and Traumatology: A Model for Academic Collaboration in Orthopedic Surgery.

PubMed

Conway, Devin James; Coughlin, Richard; Caldwell, Amber; Shearer, David

2017-01-01

In 2006, surgeons at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) established the Institute for Global Orthopedics and Traumatology (IGOT), an initiative within the department of orthopedic surgery. The principal aim of IGOT is to create long-term, sustainable solutions to the growing burden of musculoskeletal injury in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) through academic partnership. IGOT currently has relationships with teaching hospitals in Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania, Nicaragua, and Nepal. The organizational structure of IGOT is built on four pillars: Global Surgical Education (GSE), Global Knowledge Exchange (GKE), Global Research Initiative (GRI), and Global Leadership and Advocacy. GSE focuses on increasing surgical knowledge and technical proficiency through hands-on educational courses. The GKE facilitates the mutual exchange of surgeons and trainees among IGOT and its partners. This includes a global resident elective that allows UCSF residents to complete an international rotation at one of IGOT's partner sites. The GRI strives to build research capacity and sponsor high-quality clinical research projects that address questions relevant to local partners. The fourth pillar, Global Leadership and Advocacy aims to increase awareness of the global impact of musculoskeletal injury through national and international courses and events, such as the Bay Area Global Health Film Festival. At the core of each tenet is the collaboration among IGOT and its international partners. Over the last decade, IGOT has experienced tremendous growth and maturation in its partnership model based on cumulative experience and the needs of its partners.

The Institute for Global Orthopedics and Traumatology: A Model for Academic Collaboration in Orthopedic Surgery

PubMed Central

Conway, Devin James; Coughlin, Richard; Caldwell, Amber; Shearer, David

2017-01-01

In 2006, surgeons at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) established the Institute for Global Orthopedics and Traumatology (IGOT), an initiative within the department of orthopedic surgery. The principal aim of IGOT is to create long-term, sustainable solutions to the growing burden of musculoskeletal injury in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) through academic partnership. IGOT currently has relationships with teaching hospitals in Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania, Nicaragua, and Nepal. The organizational structure of IGOT is built on four pillars: Global Surgical Education (GSE), Global Knowledge Exchange (GKE), Global Research Initiative (GRI), and Global Leadership and Advocacy. GSE focuses on increasing surgical knowledge and technical proficiency through hands-on educational courses. The GKE facilitates the mutual exchange of surgeons and trainees among IGOT and its partners. This includes a global resident elective that allows UCSF residents to complete an international rotation at one of IGOT’s partner sites. The GRI strives to build research capacity and sponsor high-quality clinical research projects that address questions relevant to local partners. The fourth pillar, Global Leadership and Advocacy aims to increase awareness of the global impact of musculoskeletal injury through national and international courses and events, such as the Bay Area Global Health Film Festival. At the core of each tenet is the collaboration among IGOT and its international partners. Over the last decade, IGOT has experienced tremendous growth and maturation in its partnership model based on cumulative experience and the needs of its partners. PMID:28713803

Structural Characterization and Determinants of Specificity of Single- Chain Antibody Inhibitors of Membrane-Type Serine Protease 1

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-03-01

inset) defined the on rate as k1 =1.2×10 8 M−1s−1. The KIUN CO RR E Figure 1. Progress curves of MT-SP1 inhibition by scFv inhibitors reveal multiple...Farady 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e. TASK NUMBER E -Mail: christopher.farady@ucsf.edu 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND...library; pNA pAB, p-aminobenzamidine; ESI, elec E -mail address of the correspondi craik@cgl.ucsf.edu 0022-2836/$ - see front matter © 2007 P Please

Improved Ribosome-Footprint and mRNA Measurements Provide Insights into Dynamics and Regulation of Yeast Translation

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-02-11

the White- head Genome Technology Core for sequencing . This work was supported by the UCSF Program for Breakthrough Biomedical Research (funded in...landscape of the yeast genome defined by RNA sequencing . Science 320, 1344–1349. Nedialkova, D.D., and Leidel, S.A. (2015). Optimization of Codon Translation... the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). SUMMARY Ribosome-footprint profiling provides genome -wide snapshots of translation

Aspm, a Key Element in Medulloblastoma Pathogenesis and a Novel Target for Treatment

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-10-01

pathogenesis ( Wechsler -Reya and Scott, 1999; Kenney and Rowitch, 2000; Zurawel et al., 2000; Ellison et al., 2011; Hatten and Roussel, 2011; Roussel...Laboratories, Bar Harbor, ME, USA) to generate Aspm floxed (Aspmf/+) mice. Math-1 cre mice were generously shared by David Rowitch, MD, PhD, UCSF and...Robert Wechsler -Reya, PhD, 10 Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, La Jolla, CA and have been previously described (Matei et al., 2005

Investigating Genomic Mechanisms of Treatment Resistance in Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-05-01

and genomically profiled. Figure 3 shows data from a series of cell- line experiments showing that PC3 prostate cancer cells are recoverable and...coursework until the second-half of the grant period. I am enrolled in the UCSF Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program class BMS 255: Genetics : Basic... Genetics and Genomics. This class is set to start in January 2016. Given a large number of clinical, teaching, and research duties I will plan to enroll

University of California San Francisco (UCSF-2): Gene Expression Profiling of Normal Mouse Skin, Hras WT and Hras -/- | Office of Cancer Genomics

Cancer.gov

University of California San Francisco (UCSF-2): Gene Expression Profiling of Normal Mouse Skin, Hras WT and Hras -/- This data set contains the transcriptional profiles of 20 dorsal skin samples from eight-week-old mice. Mice were generated by crossing FVB/N to Mus spretus mice to generate F1 mice, and then crossing F1 mice back to the FVB/N strain. 10  FVB/N mice lacking Hras1 (aka HrasKO, Hras-/-) and 10  FVB/N mice with wild-type Hras1 were generated. Read the abstract.

Can we direct organ allocation based on predicted outcome? Hepatocellular carcinoma outside of UCSF criteria or retransplant?

PubMed

Rochon, Caroline; Sheiner, Patricia; Mahadevappa, Basant; Gunasekaran, Ganesh; Sharma, Joyti; Wolf, David C; Facciuto, Marcelo

2012-06-01

In this study, we ask between patients with graft failure listed for retransplant and patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) outside of UCSF criteria, who has the greater survival benefit with transplantation? This is a retrospective analysis, of liver transplant (LT) patients, done between February 2002 and December 2009 at our center. Patients were included in the "extended HCC" group if their tumor was pathologically beyond UCSF criteria at LT and in the "redo" group if they underwent LT for graft failure occurring more than 3 months after the initial LT. Extended criteria donors (ECDs) were defined as donors above 70 years old, DCD, serology positive for HCV, and split grafts. There were 25 redos and 37 extended HCC patients. Use of ECDs or high donor risk index organs was associated with poor outcome in both groups (P = 0.005). Overall, the extended HCC population had a much better survival than redos, both at 1 and 3 years. These two very different but high risk patient populations have very different survival rates. At a time where regulatory agencies demand more and more with regards to transplant outcomes, we think the transplant community has to reflect on whether allocation justice and fair access to transplant are respected if we start allocating organs based on outcomes.

A mentor development program for clinical translational science faculty leads to sustained, improved confidence in mentoring skills.

PubMed

Feldman, Mitchell D; Steinauer, Jody E; Khalili, Mandana; Huang, Laurence; Kahn, James S; Lee, Kathryn A; Creasman, Jennifer; Brown, Jeanette S

2012-08-01

Mentorship is crucial for academic productivity and advancement for clinical and translational (CT) science faculty. However, little is known about the long-term effects of mentor training programs. The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Clinical and Translational Science Institute launched a Mentor Development Program (MDP) in 2007 for CT faculty. We report on an evaluation of the first three cohorts of graduates from the MDP. In 2010, all Mentors in Training (MITs) who completed the MDP from 2007 to 2009 (n= 38) were asked to complete an evaluation of their mentoring skills and knowledge; all MITs (100%) completed the evaluation. Two-thirds of MDP graduates reported that they often apply knowledge, attitudes, or skills obtained in the MDP to their mentoring. Nearly all graduates (97%) considered being a mentor important to their career satisfaction. Graduates were also asked about the MDP's impact on specific mentoring skills; 95% agreed that the MDP helped them to become a better mentor and to focus their mentoring goals. We also describe a number of new initiatives to support mentoring at UCSF that have evolved from the MDP. To our knowledge, this is the first evaluation of the long-term impact of a mentor training program for CT researchers. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Partial knee replacement

MedlinePlus

... guideline: surgical management of osteoarthritis of the knee: evidence-based guideline. J Am Acad Orthop ... UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, San Francisco, CA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, ...

Rate of tumor growth predicts recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma after liver transplantation in patients beyond Milan or UCSF criteria.

PubMed

Hanouneh, I A; Macaron, C; Lopez, R; Aucejo, F; Zein, N N

2011-12-01

It is likely that some patients whose tumor burdens exceed the current transplant criteria have favorable tumor biology, and that these patients would have low risk of tumor recurrence after liver transplantation (LT). To assess the rate of tumor growth as selection criteria for LT in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We identified all patients who underwent LT for HCC in our institution from 2002 to 2008. Total tumor volume (TTV) was calculated as the sum of the volumes of all tumors on pretransplantation imaging [(4/3)πr3, where r is the maximum radius of each HCC]. The rate of tumor growth was calculated as per-month change in TTV on sequential pretransplantation imaging before any locoregional therapy. A Kaplan-Meier plot was constructed and Cox regression analysis performed. Ninety-two patients were included in the study. The median follow-up was 19.5 (range 10.7-30.7) months during which 12 patients (13%) experienced recurrence of HCC. Twenty-four patients (26%) had HCC beyond the Milan criteria, and the overall survival rate of the entire group was 72%. Higher pre-LT alpha-fetoprotein (hazard ratio [HR] 1.01; P=.001), poorly differentiated tumors (HR 13; P=.039), the presence of microvascular invasion (HR 7.9; P=.001), higher TTV (HR 1.03; P<.001), and faster tumor growth (HR 1.09; P<.001) were significantly associated with the risk of recurrence. A cutoff value of tumor growth of 1.61 cm3/mo was chosen on the basis of the risk of recurrence with the use of a receiver operating characteristic curve. Patients beyond the Milan criteria with tumor growth<1.61 cm3/mo experienced less recurrence (11% vs 58%; P=.023) than those beyond the Milan criteria with tumor growth>1.61 cm3/mo. Similarly, rate of tumor growth predicted HCC recurrence in those beyond the University of California of San Francisco (UCSF) criteria. Patients with slowly growing tumor who would be currently excluded from LT because tumor burden exceeds traditional Milan and UCSF criteria may have a favorable posttransplantation outcome. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Inc.

UCSF Center for HIV Information

MedlinePlus

... This patient educational brochure offers a primer on hepatitis C, including information on the liver's functions, laboratory tests, and treatment. HIV and Aging Toolkit Subscribe Subscribe to receive ...

Validation of Clinical Testing for Warfarin Sensitivity

PubMed Central

Langley, Michael R.; Booker, Jessica K.; Evans, James P.; McLeod, Howard L.; Weck, Karen E.

2009-01-01

Responses to warfarin (Coumadin) anticoagulation therapy are affected by genetic variability in both the CYP2C9 and VKORC1 genes. Validation of pharmacogenetic testing for warfarin responses includes demonstration of analytical validity of testing platforms and of the clinical validity of testing. We compared four platforms for determining the relevant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in both CYP2C9 and VKORC1 that are associated with warfarin sensitivity (Third Wave Invader Plus, ParagonDx/Cepheid Smart Cycler, Idaho Technology LightCycler, and AutoGenomics Infiniti). Each method was examined for accuracy, cost, and turnaround time. All genotyping methods demonstrated greater than 95% accuracy for identifying the relevant SNPs (CYP2C9 *2 and *3; VKORC1 −1639 or 1173). The ParagonDx and Idaho Technology assays had the shortest turnaround and hands-on times. The Third Wave assay was readily scalable to higher test volumes but had the longest hands-on time. The AutoGenomics assay interrogated the largest number of SNPs but had the longest turnaround time. Four published warfarin-dosing algorithms (Washington University, UCSF, Louisville, and Newcastle) were compared for accuracy for predicting warfarin dose in a retrospective analysis of a local patient population on long-term, stable warfarin therapy. The predicted doses from both the Washington University and UCSF algorithms demonstrated the best correlation with actual warfarin doses. PMID:19324988

Validation of clinical testing for warfarin sensitivity: comparison of CYP2C9-VKORC1 genotyping assays and warfarin-dosing algorithms.

PubMed

Langley, Michael R; Booker, Jessica K; Evans, James P; McLeod, Howard L; Weck, Karen E

2009-05-01

Responses to warfarin (Coumadin) anticoagulation therapy are affected by genetic variability in both the CYP2C9 and VKORC1 genes. Validation of pharmacogenetic testing for warfarin responses includes demonstration of analytical validity of testing platforms and of the clinical validity of testing. We compared four platforms for determining the relevant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in both CYP2C9 and VKORC1 that are associated with warfarin sensitivity (Third Wave Invader Plus, ParagonDx/Cepheid Smart Cycler, Idaho Technology LightCycler, and AutoGenomics Infiniti). Each method was examined for accuracy, cost, and turnaround time. All genotyping methods demonstrated greater than 95% accuracy for identifying the relevant SNPs (CYP2C9 *2 and *3; VKORC1 -1639 or 1173). The ParagonDx and Idaho Technology assays had the shortest turnaround and hands-on times. The Third Wave assay was readily scalable to higher test volumes but had the longest hands-on time. The AutoGenomics assay interrogated the largest number of SNPs but had the longest turnaround time. Four published warfarin-dosing algorithms (Washington University, UCSF, Louisville, and Newcastle) were compared for accuracy for predicting warfarin dose in a retrospective analysis of a local patient population on long-term, stable warfarin therapy. The predicted doses from both the Washington University and UCSF algorithms demonstrated the best correlation with actual warfarin doses.

Otosclerosis

MedlinePlus

... Updated by: Sumana Jothi, MD, specialist in laryngology, Assistant Clinical Professor, UCSF Otolaryngology, NCHCS VA, SFVA, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, ...

Cholesteatoma

MedlinePlus

... Updated by: Sumana Jothi, MD, specialist in laryngology, Assistant Clinical Professor, UCSF Otolaryngology, NCHCS VA, SFVA, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, ...

Mastoiditis

MedlinePlus

... Updated by: Sumana Jothi, MD, specialist in laryngology, Assistant Clinical Professor, UCSF Otolaryngology, NCHCS VA, SFVA, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, ...

Can living donor liver transplantation offer similar outcomes to deceased donor liver transplantation using expanded selection criteria for hepatocellular carcinoma?

PubMed Central

Chen, Li-Ping; Li, Chuan; Wen, Tian-Fu; Yan, Lu-Nan; Li, Bo; Yang, Jia-Yin

2015-01-01

Objective: To compare the outcomes of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) versus deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT) for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in different selection criteria. Methods: Data of patients with HCC who underwent liver transplantation between 2005 and 2013 at our center were reviewed. Clinical data of LDLT recipients and DDLT recipients were compared. The postoperative recurrence-free survival (RFS) rate and overall survival (OS) rate after LDLT versus DDLT were compared in the Milan recipients, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) recipients, the up-to-seven recipients, the Hangzhou recipients and the Chengdu recipients. Results: Data of 255 patients were retrospectively reviewed in this study. Seventeen DDLT recipient and 9 LDLT recipients died during the perioperative period. Among the remaining 229 recipients (NLDLT=66, NDDLT=163), 96 patients met the Milan criteria, 123 recipients met the UCSF criteria, 135 patients met the up-to-seven criteria, 216 patients met the Hangzhou criteria, and 229 recipients met the Chengdu criteria. The overall RFS and OS rates of the Milan recipients, the UCSF recipients, the up-to-seven recipients, the Hangzhou recipients and the Chengdu recipients after LDLT and DDLT were all similar. Conclusion: Using well-studied selection criteria, LDLT offers similar outcomes to DDLT for patient with HCC, even using expanded selection criteria. PMID:26430399

Can living donor liver transplantation offer similar outcomes to deceased donor liver transplantation using expanded selection criteria for hepatocellular carcinoma?

PubMed

Chen, Li-Ping; Li, Chuan; Wen, Tian-Fu; Yan, Lu-Nan; Li, Bo; Yang, Jia-Yin

2015-01-01

To compare the outcomes of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) versus deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT) for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in different selection criteria. Data of patients with HCC who underwent liver transplantation between 2005 and 2013 at our center were reviewed. Clinical data of LDLT recipients and DDLT recipients were compared. The postoperative recurrence-free survival (RFS) rate and overall survival (OS) rate after LDLT versus DDLT were compared in the Milan recipients, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) recipients, the up-to-seven recipients, the Hangzhou recipients and the Chengdu recipients. Data of 255 patients were retrospectively reviewed in this study. Seventeen DDLT recipient and 9 LDLT recipients died during the perioperative period. Among the remaining 229 recipients (NLDLT=66, NDDLT=163), 96 patients met the Milan criteria, 123 recipients met the UCSF criteria, 135 patients met the up-to-seven criteria, 216 patients met the Hangzhou criteria, and 229 recipients met the Chengdu criteria. The overall RFS and OS rates of the Milan recipients, the UCSF recipients, the up-to-seven recipients, the Hangzhou recipients and the Chengdu recipients after LDLT and DDLT were all similar. Using well-studied selection criteria, LDLT offers similar outcomes to DDLT for patient with HCC, even using expanded selection criteria.

Palatal myoclonus

MedlinePlus

... Updated by: Sumana Jothi MD, specialist in laryngology, Assistant Clinical Professor, UCSF Otolaryngology, NCHCS VA, SFVA, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, ...

Infectious myringitis

MedlinePlus

... Updated by: Sumana Jothi, MD, specialist in laryngology, Assistant Clinical Professor, UCSF Otolaryngology, NCHCS VA, SFVA, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, ...

Aural polyps

MedlinePlus

... Updated by: Sumana Jothi, MD, specialist in laryngology, Assistant Clinical Professor, UCSF Otolaryngology, NCHCS VA, SFVA, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, ...

Headache

MedlinePlus

... ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Mosby; 2014:chap 30. Review Date 11/22/2017 Updated by: Luc Jasmin, ... of Maxillofacial Surgery at UCSF, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by ...

Malignant otitis externa

MedlinePlus

... Updated by: Sumana Jothi, MD, specialist in laryngology, Assistant Clinical Professor, UCSF Otolaryngology, NCHCS VA, SFVA, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, ...

Treatment of Infants Identified by Newborn Screening for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency

PubMed Central

Dorsey, Morna J.; Dvorak, Christopher C.; Cowan, Morton J.; Puck, Jennifer M.

2017-01-01

Background Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) is characterized by severely impaired T cell development and is fatal without treatment. Newborn screening (NBS) for SCID permits identification of affected infants before development of opportunistic infections and other complications. Substantial variation exists between treatment centers with regard to pre-transplant care and transplant protocols for NBS identified SCID infants, as well as for infants with other T lymphopenic disorders detected by NBS. Methods We developed approaches to management based on the study of infants identified by SCID NBS who received care at UCSF. Results From August 2010 through October 2016, 32 NBS SCID and leaky SCID cases from California and other states were treated and 42 NBS identified non-SCID T cell lymphopenia (TCL) cases were followed. Conclusions Our center’s approach supports successful outcomes; systematic review of our practice provides a framework for diagnosis and management, recognizing that more data will continue to shape best practices. PMID:28270365

Surveillance Tools Emerging From Search Engines and Social Media Data for Determining Eye Disease Patterns.

PubMed

Deiner, Michael S; Lietman, Thomas M; McLeod, Stephen D; Chodosh, James; Porco, Travis C

2016-09-01

Internet-based search engine and social media data may provide a novel complementary source for better understanding the epidemiologic factors of infectious eye diseases, which could better inform eye health care and disease prevention. To assess whether data from internet-based social media and search engines are associated with objective clinic-based diagnoses of conjunctivitis. Data from encounters of 4143 patients diagnosed with conjunctivitis from June 3, 2012, to April 26, 2014, at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center, were analyzed using Spearman rank correlation of each weekly observation to compare demographics and seasonality of nonallergic conjunctivitis with allergic conjunctivitis. Data for patient encounters with diagnoses for glaucoma and influenza were also obtained for the same period and compared with conjunctivitis. Temporal patterns of Twitter and Google web search data, geolocated to the United States and associated with these clinical diagnoses, were compared with the clinical encounters. The a priori hypothesis was that weekly internet-based searches and social media posts about conjunctivitis may reflect the true weekly clinical occurrence of conjunctivitis. Weekly total clinical diagnoses at UCSF of nonallergic conjunctivitis, allergic conjunctivitis, glaucoma, and influenza were compared using Spearman rank correlation with equivalent weekly data on Tweets related to disease or disease-related keyword searches obtained from Google Trends. Seasonality of clinical diagnoses of nonallergic conjunctivitis among the 4143 patients (2364 females [57.1%] and 1776 males [42.9%]) with 5816 conjunctivitis encounters at UCSF correlated strongly with results of Google searches in the United States for the term pink eye (ρ, 0.68 [95% CI, 0.52 to 0.78]; P < .001) and correlated moderately with Twitter results about pink eye (ρ, 0.38 [95% CI, 0.16 to 0.56]; P < .001) and with clinical diagnosis of influenza (ρ, 0.33 [95% CI, 0.12 to 0.49]; P < .001), but did not significantly correlate with seasonality of clinical diagnoses of allergic conjunctivitis diagnosis at UCSF (ρ, 0.21 [95% CI, -0.02 to 0.42]; P = .06) or with results of Google searches in the United States for the term eye allergy (ρ, 0.13 [95% CI, -0.06 to 0.32]; P = .19). Seasonality of clinical diagnoses of allergic conjunctivitis at UCSF correlated strongly with results of Google searches in the United States for the term eye allergy (ρ, 0.44 [95% CI, 0.24 to 0.60]; P < .001) and eye drops (ρ, 0.47 [95% CI, 0.27 to 0.62]; P < .001). Internet-based search engine and social media data may reflect the occurrence of clinically diagnosed conjunctivitis, suggesting that these data sources can be leveraged to better understand the epidemiologic factors of conjunctivitis.

Cluster headache

MedlinePlus

... ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Mosby; 2014:chap 30. Review Date 11/22/2017 Updated by: Luc Jasmin, ... of Maxillofacial Surgery at UCSF, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by ...

A Mentor Development Program for Clinical Translational Science Faculty Leads to Sustained, Improved Confidence in Mentoring Skills

PubMed Central

Feldman, Mitchell D.; Steinauer, Jody E.; Khalili, Mandana; Huang, Laurence; Kahn, James S.; Lee, Kathryn A.; Creasman, Jennifer; Brown, Jeanette S.

2012-01-01

Abstract Mentorship is crucial for academic productivity and advancement for clinical and translational (CT) science faculty. However, little is known about the long‐term effects of mentor training programs. The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Clinical and Translational Science Institute launched a Mentor Development Program (MDP) in 2007 for CT faculty. We report on an evaluation of the first three cohorts of graduates from the MDP. In 2010, all Mentors in Training (MITs) who completed the MDP from 2007 to 2009 (n= 38) were asked to complete an evaluation of their mentoring skills and knowledge; all MITs (100%) completed the evaluation. Two‐thirds of MDP graduates reported that they often apply knowledge, attitudes, or skills obtained in the MDP to their mentoring. Nearly all graduates (97%) considered being a mentor important to their career satisfaction. Graduates were also asked about the MDP's impact on specific mentoring skills; 95% agreed that the MDP helped them to become a better mentor and to focus their mentoring goals. We also describe a number of new initiatives to support mentoring at UCSF that have evolved from the MDP. To our knowledge, this is the first evaluation of the long‐term impact of a mentor training program for CT researchers. Clin Trans Sci 2012; Volume 5: 362–367 PMID:22883616

BAER - brainstem auditory evoked response

MedlinePlus

... Updated by: Sumana Jothi, MD, specialist in laryngology, Assistant Clinical Professor, UCSF Otolaryngology, NCHCS VA, SFVA, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, ...

Benign ear cyst or tumor

MedlinePlus

... Updated by: Sumana Jothi, MD, specialist in laryngology, Assistant Clinical Professor, UCSF Otolaryngology, NCHCS VA, SFVA, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, ...

Osteotomy of the knee

MedlinePlus

... joint. A tibial osteotomy may make you look "knock-kneed." A femoral osteotomy may make you look " ... Updated by: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic ...

Elbow sprain -- aftercare

MedlinePlus

... MD, Thompson SR, eds. DeLee and Drez's Orthopaedic Sports Medicine: Principles and Practice . 4th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier ... Updated by: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, ...

Achilles tendon repair

MedlinePlus

... MD, Thompson SR, eds. DeLee and Drez's Orthopaedic Sports Medicine: Principles and Practice . 4th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier ... Updated by: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, ...

Crutches and children - stairs

MedlinePlus

... Put the good foot on the step and push up. Push down hard on the crutches to help lift ... Updated by: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic ...

Surveillance Tools Emerging From Search Engines and Social Media Data for Determining Eye Disease Patterns

PubMed Central

Deiner, Michael S.; Lietman, Thomas M.; McLeod, Stephen D.; Chodosh, James; Porco, Travis C.

2016-01-01

IMPORTANCE Internet-based search engine and social media data may provide a novel complementary source for better understanding the epidemiologic factors of infectious eye diseases, which could better inform eye health care and disease prevention. OBJECTIVE To assess whether data from internet-based social media and search engines are associated with objective clinic-based diagnoses of conjunctivitis. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Data from encounters of 4143 patients diagnosed with conjunctivitis from June 3, 2012, to April 26, 2014, at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center, were analyzed using Spearman rank correlation of each weekly observation to compare demographics and seasonality of nonallergic conjunctivitis with allergic conjunctivitis. Data for patient encounters with diagnoses for glaucoma and influenza were also obtained for the same period and compared with conjunctivitis. Temporal patterns of Twitter and Google web search data, geolocated to the United States and associated with these clinical diagnoses, were compared with the clinical encounters. The a priori hypothesis was that weekly internet-based searches and social media posts about conjunctivitis may reflect the true weekly clinical occurrence of conjunctivitis. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Weekly total clinical diagnoses at UCSF of nonallergic conjunctivitis, allergic conjunctivitis, glaucoma, and influenza were compared using Spearman rank correlation with equivalent weekly data on Tweets related to disease or disease-related keyword searches obtained from Google Trends. RESULTS Seasonality of clinical diagnoses of nonallergic conjunctivitis among the 4143 patients (2364 females [57.1%] and 1776 males [42.9%]) with 5816 conjunctivitis encounters at UCSF correlated strongly with results of Google searches in the United States for the term pink eye (ρ, 0.68 [95%CI, 0.52 to 0.78]; P < .001) and correlated moderately with Twitter results about pink eye (ρ, 0.38 [95%CI, 0.16 to 0.56]; P < .001) and with clinical diagnosis of influenza (ρ, 0.33 [95%CI, 0.12 to 0.49]; P < .001), but did not significantly correlate with seasonality of clinical diagnoses of allergic conjunctivitis diagnosis at UCSF (ρ, 0.21 [95%CI, −0.02 to 0.42]; P = .06) or with results of Google searches in the United States for the term eye allergy (ρ, 0.13 [95%CI, −0.06 to 0.32]; P = .19). Seasonality of clinical diagnoses of allergic conjunctivitis at UCSF correlated strongly with results of Google searches in the United States for the term eye allergy (ρ, 0.44 [95%CI, 0.24 to 0.60]; P < .001) and eye drops (ρ, 0.47 [95%CI, 0.27 to 0.62]; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Internet-based search engine and social media data may reflect the occurrence of clinically diagnosed conjunctivitis, suggesting that these data sources can be leveraged to better understand the epidemiologic factors of conjunctivitis. PMID:27416554

Lifting and bending the right way

MedlinePlus

... MD, Thompson SR, eds. DeLee and Drez's Orthopaedic Sports Medicine . 4th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2015:chap ... Updated by: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, ...

The key role of a transition course in preparing medical students for internship.

PubMed

Teo, Alan R; Harleman, Elizabeth; O'sullivan, Patricia S; Maa, John

2011-07-01

Among the core transitions in medical education is the one from medical school to residency. Despite this challenging transition, the final year of medical school is known as lacking structure and clarity. The authors examine the preparation of medical students for the professional and personal challenges of internship in the context of transition courses. They first describe the development of a residency transition course, offered since 2001 at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine (UCSF), exploring aspects of a needs assessment, course goals and content, core competencies, and course implementation. They then critically analyze the course, judging it successful based on high subjective satisfaction scores and increased perceived preparedness data. Next, the authors discuss the national context of transition courses, perspectives of various stakeholders, and lessons learned from the UCSF experience. Finally, they consider future directions, suggesting that internship transition courses be a standard part of the medical school curriculum.

From Hahnemann's hand to your computer screen: building a digital homeopathy collection

PubMed Central

Mix, Lisa A; Cameron, Kathleen

2011-01-01

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Library holds the unique manuscript of the sixth edition of Samuel Hahnemann's Organon der Heilkunst, the primary text of homeopathy. The manuscript volume is Hahnemann's own copy of the fifth edition of the Organon with his notes for the sixth edition, handwritten throughout the volume. There is a high level of interest in the Organon manuscript, particularly among homeopaths. This led to the decision to present a digital surrogate on the web to make it accessible to a wider audience. Digitizing Hahnemann's manuscript and determining the best method of presentation on the web posed several challenges. Lessons learned in the course of this project will inform future digital projects. This article discusses the historical significance of the sixth edition of Hahnemann's Organon, its context in UCSF's homeopathy collections, and the specifics of developing the online homeopathy collection. PMID:21243055

Trigger finger

MedlinePlus

... by: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Assistant Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Isla Ogilvie, PhD, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team. Related MedlinePlus Health Topics Finger Injuries and Disorders ...

Metatarsal fracture (acute) - aftercare

MedlinePlus

... Krettek C, Anderson PA, eds. Skeletal Trauma: Basic Science, Management, and Reconstruction . 5th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2015:chap 67. Review Date 11/27/2016 Updated by: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic ...

Taking narcotics for back pain

MedlinePlus

... Turk DC, Argoff CE, Hurley RW, eds. Practical Management of Pain . 5th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Mosby; 2014:chap 12. Review Date 9/7/2017 Updated by: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic ...

Defining competencies for education in health care value: recommendations from the University of California, San Francisco Center for Healthcare Value Training Initiative.

PubMed

Moriates, Christopher; Dohan, Daniel; Spetz, Joanne; Sawaya, George F

2015-04-01

Leaders in medical education have increasingly called for the incorporation of cost awareness and health care value into health professions curricula. Emerging efforts have thus far focused on physicians, but foundational competencies need to be defined related to health care value that span all health professions and stages of training. The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Center for Healthcare Value launched an initiative in 2012 that engaged a group of educators from all four health professions schools at UCSF: Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy. This group created and agreed on a multidisciplinary set of comprehensive competencies related to health care value. The term "competency" was used to describe components within the larger domain of providing high-value care. The group then classified the competencies as beginner, proficient, or expert level through an iterative process and group consensus. The group articulated 21 competencies. The beginner competencies include basic principles of health policy, health care delivery, health costs, and insurance. Proficient competencies include real-world applications of concepts to clinical situations, primarily related to the care of individual patients. The expert competencies focus primarily on systems-level design, advocacy, mentorship, and policy. These competencies aim to identify a standard that may help inform the development of curricula across health professions training. These competencies could be translated into the learning objectives and evaluation methods of resources to teach health care value, and they should be considered in educational settings for health care professionals at all levels of training and across a variety of specialties.

Building leadership among laboratory-based and clinical and translational researchers: the University of California, San Francisco experience.

PubMed

Wides, Cynthia; Mertz, Elizabeth; Lindstaedt, Bill; Brown, Jeanette

2014-02-01

In 2005 the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) implemented the Scientific Leadership and Management (SLM) course, a 2-day leadership training program to assist laboratory-based postdoctoral scholars in their transition to independent researchers managing their own research programs. In 2011, the course was expanded to clinical and translational junior faculty and fellows. The course enrollment was increased from approximate 100 to 123 participants at the same time. Based on course evaluations, the number and percent of women participants appears to have increased over time from 40% (n = 33) in 2007 to 53% (n = 58) in 2011. Course evaluations also indicated that participants found the course to be relevant and valuable in their transition to academic leadership. This paper describes the background, structure, and content of the SLM and reports on participant evaluations of the course offerings from 2007 through 2011. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Synovial biopsy

MedlinePlus

... Updated by: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, San Francisco, CA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Isla Ogilvie, PhD, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team. Autoimmune Diseases Read more Biopsy Read more Fungal ...

Carpal tunnel biopsy

MedlinePlus

... Updated by: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, San Francisco, CA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Isla Ogilvie, PhD, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team. Amyloidosis Read more Biopsy Read more Carpal Tunnel ...

Metatarsus adductus

MedlinePlus

... 2016 Updated by: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, San Francisco, CA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Isla Ogilvie, PhD, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team. Foot Injuries and Disorders Read more NIH MedlinePlus ...

Tendon repair

MedlinePlus

... Updated by: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, San Francisco, CA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Isla Ogilvie, PhD, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team. Sprains and Strains Read more NIH MedlinePlus Magazine ...

Compartment syndrome

MedlinePlus

... Updated by: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, San Francisco, CA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Isla Ogilvie, PhD, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team. Muscle Disorders Read more NIH MedlinePlus Magazine Read ...

Kyphosis

MedlinePlus

... Updated by: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, San Francisco, CA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Isla Ogilvie, PhD, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team. Spine Injuries and Disorders Read more NIH MedlinePlus ...

Tenosynovitis

MedlinePlus

... Updated by: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, San Francisco, CA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Isla Ogilvie, PhD, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team. Tendinitis Read more NIH MedlinePlus Magazine Read more ...

Bunion removal

MedlinePlus

... Updated by: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, San Francisco, CA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Isla Ogilvie, PhD, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team. Toe Injuries and Disorders Read more NIH MedlinePlus ...

Hammer toe

MedlinePlus

... by: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Assistant Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, San Francisco, CA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Isla Ogilvie, PhD, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team. Toe Injuries and Disorders Read more NIH MedlinePlus ...

Replantation of digits

MedlinePlus

... Updated by: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, San Francisco, CA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Isla Ogilvie, PhD, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team. Finger Injuries and Disorders Read more Toe Injuries ...

THE EFFECT OF PRE-OPERATIVE NUTRITIONAL STATUS ON POST-OPERATIVE OUTCOMES IN CHILDREN UNDERGOING SURGERY FOR CONGENITAL HEART DEFECTS IN SAN FRANCISCO (UCSF) AND GUATEMALA CITY (UNICAR)

PubMed Central

Radman, Monique; Mack, Ricardo; Barnoya, Joaquin; Castañeda, Aldo; Rosales, Monica; Azakie, Anthony; Mehta, Nilesh; Keller, Roberta; Datar, Sanjeev; Oishi, Peter; Fineman, Jeffrey

2013-01-01

Objective To determine the association between preoperative nutritional status and postoperative outcomes in children undergoing surgery for congenital heart defects (CHD). Methods Seventy-one patients with CHD were enrolled in a prospective, two-center cohort study. We adjusted for baseline risk differences using a standardized risk adjustment score for surgery for CHD. We assigned a World Health Organization Z-score for each subjects’ preoperative triceps skinfold measurement, an assessment of total body fat mass. We obtained preoperative plasma concentrations of markers of nutritional status (prealbumin, albumin) and myocardial stress (B-type natriuretic peptide, BNP). Associations between indices of preoperative nutritional status and clinical outcomes were sought. Results Subjects had a median (IQR) age of 10.2 (33) months. In the UCSF cohort, duration of mechanical ventilation (median 19 hours, IQR 29), length of ICU stay (median 5 days, IQR 5), duration of any continuous inotropic infusion (median 66 hours, IQR 72) and preoperative BNP levels (median 30 pg/mL, IQR 75) were associated with a lower preoperative triceps skinfold Z-score (p<0.05). Longer duration of any continuous inotropic infusion and higher preoperative BNP levels were also associated with lower preoperative prealbumin (12.1 ± 0.5 mg/dL) and albumin (3.2 ± 0.1) (p<0.05). Conclusions Lower total body fat mass and acute and chronic malnourishment are associated with worse clinical outcomes in children undergoing surgery for CHD at UCSF, a resource-abundant institution. There is an inverse correlation between total body fat mass and BNP levels. Duration of inotropic support and BNP increase concomitantly as measures of nutritional status decrease, supporting the hypothesis that malnourishment is associated with decreased myocardial function. PMID:23583172

Digital Tools for Cancer Prevention: Extending Reach and Engagement

Cancer.gov

Judith (Jodi) Prochaska, PhD, MPH, is Associate Professor of Medicine with the Stanford Prevention Research Center and a member of the Stanford Cancer Institute. Dr. Prochaska is a Principal Investigator on multiple research awards from the National Institutes of Health and the State of California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program. Her research program is leveraging technology (e.g., web, text, social media) to bring tobacco cessation treatment into novel settings and to populations with high smoking prevalence. With attention to medical education and clinical practice, Dr. Prochaska has disseminated tobacco treatment curricula as part of Rx for Change (http://rxforchange.ucsf.edu). She has authored 175 peer-reviewed publications, serves on the Editorial Board of JAMA Internal Medicine, and is on the advisory board for Optum’s Quit for Life Tobacco Quitline. Dr. Prochaska is President of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT), the international scientific society aimed at stimulating the generation and dissemination of new knowledge concerning nicotine and tobacco from bench to bedside and through to health policy.

Bursitis of the heel

MedlinePlus

... by: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Assistant Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, San Francisco, CA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Isla Ogilvie, PhD, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team. Bursitis Read more Heel Injuries and Disorders Read ...

Limited range of motion

MedlinePlus

... Updated by: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, San Francisco, CA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Isla Ogilvie, PhD, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team. Joint Disorders Read more NIH MedlinePlus Magazine Read ...

Heritability of MMPI-2 scales in the UCSF Family Alcoholism Study

PubMed Central

Gizer, Ian R.; Seaton-Smith, Kimberley L.; Ehlers, Cindy L.; Vietan, Cassandra; Wilhelmsen, Kirk C.

2009-01-01

The present study evaluated the heritability of personality traits and psychopathology symptoms assessed by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Interview 2nd edition (MMPI-2) in a family-based sample selected for alcohol dependence. Participants included 950 probands and 1204 first-degree relatives recruited for the UCSF Family Alcoholism Study. Heritability estimates (h2) for MMPI-2 scales ranged from .25–.49. When alcohol dependence was used as a covariate, heritability estimates remained significant but generally declined. However, when the MMPI-2 scales were used as covariates to estimate the heritability of alcohol dependence, scales measuring antisocial behavior (ASP), depressive symptoms (DEP), and addictive behavior (MAC-R) led to moderate increases in the heritability of alcohol dependence. This suggests that the ASP, DEP, and MAC-R scales may explain some of the non-genetic variance in the alcohol dependence diagnosis in this population when utilized as covariates, and thus may serve to produce a more homogeneous and heritable alcohol dependence phenotype. PMID:20390702

The Key Role of a Transition Course in Preparing Medical Students for Internship

PubMed Central

Teo, Alan R.; Harleman, Elizabeth; O’Sullivan, Patricia S.; Maa, John

2011-01-01

Among the core transitions in medical education is the one from medical school to residency. Despite this challenging transition, the final year of medical school is known as lacking structure and clarity. The authors examine the preparation of medical students for the professional and personal challenges of internship in the context of transition courses. They first describe the development of a residency transition course, offered since 2001 at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine (UCSF), exploring aspects of a needs assessment, course goals and content, core competencies, and course implementation. They then critically analyze the course, judging it successful based on high subjective satisfaction scores and increased perceived preparedness data. Next, the authors discuss the national context of transition courses, perspectives of various stakeholders, and lessons learned from the UCSF experience. Finally, they consider future directions, suggesting that internship transition courses be a standard part of the medical school curriculum. PMID:21617513

Repair of webbed fingers or toes

MedlinePlus

... Updated by: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, San Francisco, CA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Isla Ogilvie, PhD, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team. Finger Injuries and Disorders Read more Toe Injuries ...

Progranulin levels in blood in Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment.

PubMed

Cooper, Yonatan A; Nachun, Daniel; Dokuru, Deepika; Yang, Zhongan; Karydas, Anna M; Serrero, Ginette; Yue, Binbin; Boxer, Adam L; Miller, Bruce L; Coppola, Giovanni

2018-05-01

Changes in progranulin ( GRN ) expression have been hypothesized to alter risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). We investigated the relationship between GRN expression in peripheral blood and clinical diagnosis of AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Peripheral blood progranulin gene expression was measured, using microarrays from Alzheimer's ( n = 186), MCI ( n = 118), and control ( n = 204) subjects from the University of California San Francisco Memory and Aging Center (UCSF-MAC) and two independent published series (AddNeuroMed and ADNI). GRN gene expression was correlated with clinical, demographic, and genetic data, including APOE haplotype and the GRN rs5848 single-nucleotide polymorphism. Finally, we assessed progranulin protein levels, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and methylation status using methylation microarrays. We observed an increase in blood progranulin gene expression and a decrease in GRN promoter methylation in males ( P = 0.007). Progranulin expression was 13% higher in AD and MCI patients compared with controls in the UCSF-MAC cohort ( F 2,505 = 10.41, P = 3.72*10 -5 ). This finding was replicated in the AddNeuroMed ( F 2,271 = 17.9, P = 4.83*10 -8 ) but not the ADNI series. The rs5848 SNP (T-allele) predicted decreased blood progranulin gene expression ( P = 0.03). The APOE4 haplotype was positively associated with progranulin expression independent of diagnosis ( P = 0.04). Finally, we did not identify differences in plasma progranulin protein levels or gene methylation between diagnostic categories. Progranulin mRNA is elevated in peripheral blood of patients with AD and MCI and its expression is associated with numerous genetic and demographic factors. These data suggest a role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative dementias besides frontotemporal dementia.

A Changing Health Care Environment: Its Impact on UCSF Graduates' Practice Patterns and Perceptions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sauer, Barbara L.; Koda-Kimble, Mary Anne

1998-01-01

A survey of 754 University of California at San Francisco doctoral pharmacy graduates from 1980 to 1994 investigated how managed care affected practice patterns and perceptions of the profession. Graduates generally remained satisfied with their education and were optimistic about the profession. Although managed care has created a stressful…

The effect of preoperative nutritional status on postoperative outcomes in children undergoing surgery for congenital heart defects in San Francisco (UCSF) and Guatemala City (UNICAR).

PubMed

Radman, Monique; Mack, Ricardo; Barnoya, Joaquin; Castañeda, Aldo; Rosales, Monica; Azakie, Anthony; Mehta, Nilesh; Keller, Roberta; Datar, Sanjeev; Oishi, Peter; Fineman, Jeffrey

2014-01-01

The objective of this study was to determine the association between preoperative nutritional status and postoperative outcomes in children undergoing surgery for congenital heart defects (CHD). Seventy-one patients with CHD were enrolled in a prospective, 2-center cohort study. We adjusted for baseline risk differences using a standardized risk adjustment score for surgery for CHD. We assigned a World Health Organization z score for each subject's preoperative triceps skin-fold measurement, an assessment of total body fat mass. We obtained preoperative plasma concentrations of markers of nutritional status (prealbumin, albumin) and myocardial stress (B-type natriuretic peptide [BNP]). Associations between indices of preoperative nutritional status and clinical outcomes were sought. Subjects had a median (interquartile range [IQR]) age of 10.2 (33) months. In the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) cohort, duration of mechanical ventilation (median, 19 hours; IQR, 29 hours), length of intensive care unit stay (median, 5 days; IQR 5 days), duration of any continuous inotropic infusion (median, 66 hours; IQR 72 hours), and preoperative BNP levels (median, 30 pg/mL; IQR, 75 pg/mL) were associated with a lower preoperative triceps skin-fold z score (P < .05). Longer duration of any continuous inotropic infusion and higher preoperative BNP levels were also associated with lower preoperative prealbumin (12.1 ± 0.5 mg/dL) and albumin (3.2 ± 0.1; P < .05) levels. Lower total body fat mass and acute and chronic malnourishment are associated with worse clinical outcomes in children undergoing surgery for CHD at UCSF, a resource-abundant institution. There is an inverse correlation between total body fat mass and BNP levels. Duration of inotropic support and BNP increase concomitantly as measures of nutritional status decrease, supporting the hypothesis that malnourishment is associated with decreased myocardial function. Copyright © 2014 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Internship Experiences Contribute to Confident Career Decision Making for Doctoral Students in the Life Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schnoes, Alexandra M.; Caliendo, Anne; Morand, Janice; Dillinger, Teresa; Naffziger-Hirsch, Michelle; Moses, Bruce; Gibeling, Jeffery C.; Yamamoto, Keith R.; Lindstaedt, Bill; McGee, Richard; O'Brien, Theresa C.

2018-01-01

The Graduate Student Internships for Career Exploration (GSICE) program at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), offers structured training and hands-on experience through internships for a broad range of PhD-level careers. The GSICE program model was successfully replicated at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis). Here, we…

Engaging a University in Self-Assessment and Strategic Planning to Build Partnership Capacity: The UCSF Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wortis, Naomi; Goldstein, Ellen; Vargas, Roberto Ariel; Grumbach, Kevin

2006-01-01

In an effort to better fulfill its public service mission, the University of California, San Francisco, has undertaken an intensive assessment and strategic planning process to build institutional capacity for civic engagement and community partnership. The first stage was a qualitative assessment focused primarily on three local communities,…

Targeting BRCAness in Gastric Cancer

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-10-01

modified CRISPR system using dCas9-KRAB expressing variants of these cells, and validated them for CRISPRi screening. These reagents will next be used...OE19 Adherent Stable Oesophagus/ gastric cardia - - - OE33 Adherent Stable Esophageal adenocarcinoma - - - Figure 2. Validation of CRISPR ...project planning and reporting Patrick O’Leary Postdoctoral Fellow UCSF PH.D. Design, execution, and interpretation of CRISPR experiments

78 FR 77289 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for Arctostaphylos...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-20

... request, and we removed the existing off-leash dog play area from Corona Heights (Unit 6) and eliminated... in Corona Heights is fenced off and modified with wood chips. We visited Bernal Heights on November...; Bayview Hill; UCSF, Laurel Hill Campus; Buena Vista Park; Corona Heights Park; Starr King Open Space; and...

Cloning of the poly(ADP-ribose) Gene from Rat Liver.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-09-24

Levinson, Ph.D. (Cetus Corp., Berkeley). 5. Amino acid analysis done in UCSF Bioanal. Lab. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page METHOD I...TABLE I ............. ............................... ... 12 Proteolytic degradation, isolation of peptide and amino acid sequences...technique developed for enzyme quantitation in biological materials. The amino- acid sequence of the enzyme has so far been determined because the amino

The UCSF AIDS Health Project Guide to Counseling: Perspectives on Psychotherapy, Prevention, and Therapeutic Practice.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dilley, James W., Ed.; Marks, Robert, Ed.

The University of California San Francisco AIDS Health Project has more than 15 years' experience in working with thousands of people with AIDS. This guide, developed by the Project, provides practical, state-of-the-art resources in the field. Part 1, "Risk and Behavior: Helping Clients Remain Uninfected," covers the following topics:…

Targeting BRCAness in Gastric Cancer

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-10-01

generated a modified CRISPR system using dCas9-KRAB expressing variants of these cells, and validated them for CRISPRi screening. These reagents will...adenocarcinoma - - - Figure 2. Validation of CRISPR activity following transduction with sgRNAs targeting CD55 and FACS staining with the anti...execution, and interpretation of CRISPR experiments Morgan Diolaiti Specialist UCSF PH.D. Experimental planning and reporting Jefferson Woods SRA

Expediting Clinician Adoption of Safety Practices: The UCSF Venous Access Patient Safety Interdisciplinary Education Project

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-01-01

knowledge in the digital age. New York: McGraw- Hill; 2001. p. 11. 37. Sackett D, Straus S, Richardson W, et al. Evidence - based medicine . 2nd ed. New...249. 46. Evidence - Based Medicine Working Group. Evidence - based medicine . A new approach to teaching the practice of medicine. JAMA 1992;268(17):2420

Development of a longitudinal integrated clerkship at an academic medical center.

PubMed

Poncelet, Ann; Bokser, Seth; Calton, Brook; Hauer, Karen E; Kirsch, Heidi; Jones, Tracey; Lai, Cindy J; Mazotti, Lindsay; Shore, William; Teherani, Arianne; Tong, Lowell; Wamsley, Maria; Robertson, Patricia

2011-04-04

In 2005, medical educators at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), began developing the Parnassus Integrated Student Clinical Experiences (PISCES) program, a year-long longitudinal integrated clerkship at its academic medical center. The principles guiding this new clerkship were continuity with faculty preceptors, patients, and peers; a developmentally progressive curriculum with an emphasis on interdisciplinary teaching; and exposure to undiagnosed illness in acute and chronic care settings. Innovative elements included quarterly student evaluation sessions with all preceptors together, peer-to-peer evaluation, and oversight advising with an assigned faculty member. PISCES launched with eight medical students for the 2007/2008 academic year and expanded to 15 students for 2008/2009. Compared to UCSF's traditional core clerkships, evaluations from PISCES indicated significantly higher student satisfaction with faculty teaching, formal didactics, direct observation of clinical skills, and feedback. Student performance on discipline-specific examinations and United States Medical Licensing Examination step 2 CK was equivalent to and on standardized patient examinations was slightly superior to that of traditional peers. Participants' career interests ranged from primary care to surgical subspecialties. These results demonstrate that a longitudinal integrated clerkship can be implemented successfully at a tertiary care academic medical center.

Development of a longitudinal integrated clerkship at an academic medical center

PubMed Central

Poncelet, Ann; Bokser, Seth; Calton, Brook; Hauer, Karen E.; Kirsch, Heidi; Jones, Tracey; Lai, Cindy J.; Mazotti, Lindsay; Shore, William; Teherani, Arianne; Tong, Lowell; Wamsley, Maria; Robertson, Patricia

2011-01-01

In 2005, medical educators at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), began developing the Parnassus Integrated Student Clinical Experiences (PISCES) program, a year-long longitudinal integrated clerkship at its academic medical center. The principles guiding this new clerkship were continuity with faculty preceptors, patients, and peers; a developmentally progressive curriculum with an emphasis on interdisciplinary teaching; and exposure to undiagnosed illness in acute and chronic care settings. Innovative elements included quarterly student evaluation sessions with all preceptors together, peer-to-peer evaluation, and oversight advising with an assigned faculty member. PISCES launched with eight medical students for the 2007/2008 academic year and expanded to 15 students for 2008/2009. Compared to UCSF's traditional core clerkships, evaluations from PISCES indicated significantly higher student satisfaction with faculty teaching, formal didactics, direct observation of clinical skills, and feedback. Student performance on discipline-specific examinations and United States Medical Licensing Examination step 2 CK was equivalent to and on standardized patient examinations was slightly superior to that of traditional peers. Participants' career interests ranged from primary care to surgical subspecialties. These results demonstrate that a longitudinal integrated clerkship can be implemented successfully at a tertiary care academic medical center. PMID:21475642

Multicentre validation of a sepsis prediction algorithm using only vital sign data in the emergency department, general ward and ICU

PubMed Central

Mao, Qingqing; Jay, Melissa; Calvert, Jacob; Barton, Christopher; Shimabukuro, David; Shieh, Lisa; Chettipally, Uli; Fletcher, Grant; Kerem, Yaniv; Zhou, Yifan; Das, Ritankar

2018-01-01

Objectives We validate a machine learning-based sepsis-prediction algorithm (InSight) for the detection and prediction of three sepsis-related gold standards, using only six vital signs. We evaluate robustness to missing data, customisation to site-specific data using transfer learning and generalisability to new settings. Design A machine-learning algorithm with gradient tree boosting. Features for prediction were created from combinations of six vital sign measurements and their changes over time. Setting A mixed-ward retrospective dataset from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center (San Francisco, California, USA) as the primary source, an intensive care unit dataset from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston, Massachusetts, USA) as a transfer-learning source and four additional institutions’ datasets to evaluate generalisability. Participants 684 443 total encounters, with 90 353 encounters from June 2011 to March 2016 at UCSF. Interventions None. Primary and secondary outcome measures Area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve for detection and prediction of sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock. Results For detection of sepsis and severe sepsis, InSight achieves an AUROC curve of 0.92 (95% CI 0.90 to 0.93) and 0.87 (95% CI 0.86 to 0.88), respectively. Four hours before onset, InSight predicts septic shock with an AUROC of 0.96 (95% CI 0.94 to 0.98) and severe sepsis with an AUROC of 0.85 (95% CI 0.79 to 0.91). Conclusions InSight outperforms existing sepsis scoring systems in identifying and predicting sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock. This is the first sepsis screening system to exceed an AUROC of 0.90 using only vital sign inputs. InSight is robust to missing data, can be customised to novel hospital data using a small fraction of site data and retains strong discrimination across all institutions. PMID:29374661

Targeting BRCAness in Gastric Cancer

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-10-01

modified CRISPR system using dCas9-KRAB expressing variants of these cells, and validated them for CRISPRi screening. These reagents will next be... CRISPR activity following transduction with sgRNAs targeting CD55 and FACS staining with the anti-CD55 antibody. Data shown for MKN7 and KATOIII...Oversight, project planning and reporting Patrick O’Leary Postdoctoral Fellow UCSF PH.D. Design, execution, and interpretation of CRISPR experiments

Targeting BRCAness in Gastric Cancer

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-10-01

a modified CRISPR system using dCas9-KRAB expressing variants of these cells, and validated them for CRISPRi screening. These reagents will next be... CRISPR activity following transduction with sgRNAs targeting CD55 and FACS staining with the anti-CD55 antibody. Data shown for MKN7 and KATOIII...Oversight, project planning and reporting Patrick O’Leary Postdoctoral Fellow UCSF PH.D. Design, execution, and interpretation of CRISPR

The virulence of human pathogenic fungi: notes from the South of France.

PubMed

Reedy, Jennifer L; Bastidas, Robert J; Heitman, Joseph

2007-08-16

The Second FEBS Advanced Lecture Course on Human Fungal Pathogens: Molecular Mechanisms of Host-Pathogen Interactions and Virulence, organized by Christophe d'Enfert (Institut Pasteur, France), Anita Sil (UCSF, USA), and Steffen Rupp (Fraunhofer, IGB, Germany), occurred May 2007 in La Colle sur Loup, France. Here we review the advances presented and the current state of knowledge in key areas of fungal pathogenesis.

Determination of ubiquitin fitness landscapes under different chemical stresses in a classroom setting.

PubMed

Mavor, David; Barlow, Kyle; Thompson, Samuel; Barad, Benjamin A; Bonny, Alain R; Cario, Clinton L; Gaskins, Garrett; Liu, Zairan; Deming, Laura; Axen, Seth D; Caceres, Elena; Chen, Weilin; Cuesta, Adolfo; Gate, Rachel E; Green, Evan M; Hulce, Kaitlin R; Ji, Weiyue; Kenner, Lillian R; Mensa, Bruk; Morinishi, Leanna S; Moss, Steven M; Mravic, Marco; Muir, Ryan K; Niekamp, Stefan; Nnadi, Chimno I; Palovcak, Eugene; Poss, Erin M; Ross, Tyler D; Salcedo, Eugenia C; See, Stephanie K; Subramaniam, Meena; Wong, Allison W; Li, Jennifer; Thorn, Kurt S; Conchúir, Shane Ó; Roscoe, Benjamin P; Chow, Eric D; DeRisi, Joseph L; Kortemme, Tanja; Bolon, Daniel N; Fraser, James S

2016-04-25

Ubiquitin is essential for eukaryotic life and varies in only 3 amino acid positions between yeast and humans. However, recent deep sequencing studies indicate that ubiquitin is highly tolerant to single mutations. We hypothesized that this tolerance would be reduced by chemically induced physiologic perturbations. To test this hypothesis, a class of first year UCSF graduate students employed deep mutational scanning to determine the fitness landscape of all possible single residue mutations in the presence of five different small molecule perturbations. These perturbations uncover 'shared sensitized positions' localized to areas around the hydrophobic patch and the C-terminus. In addition, we identified perturbation specific effects such as a sensitization of His68 in HU and a tolerance to mutation at Lys63 in DTT. Our data show how chemical stresses can reduce buffering effects in the ubiquitin proteasome system. Finally, this study demonstrates the potential of lab-based interdisciplinary graduate curriculum.

Clinical outcome in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after living-donor liver transplantation

PubMed Central

Choi, Ho Joong; Kim, Dong Goo; Na, Gun Hyung; Han, Jae Hyun; Hong, Tae Ho; You, Young Kyoung

2013-01-01

AIM: To investigate risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) and efficacy of various criteria. METHODS: From October 2000 to November 2011, 233 adult patients underwent LDLT for HCC at our institution. After excluding nine postoperative mortality cases, we analyzed retrospectively 224 patients. To identify risk factors for recurrence, we evaluated recurrence, disease-free survival (DFS) rate, survival rate, and various other factors which are based on the characteristics of both the patient and tumor. Additionally, we developed our own criteria based on our data. Next, we compared our selection criteria with various tumor-grading scales, such as the Milan criteria, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) criteria, TNM stage, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage and Cancer of the Liver Italian Program (CLIP) scoring system. The median follow up was 68 (6-139) mo. RESULTS: In 224 patients who received LDLT for HCC, 37 (16.5%) experienced tumor recurrence during the follow-up period. The 5-year DFS and overall survival rates after LDLT in all patients with HCC were 80.9% and 76.4%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, the tumor diameter {5 cm; P < 0.001; exponentiation of the B coefficient [Exp(B)], 11.89; 95%CI: 3.784-37.368} and alpha fetoprotein level [AFP, 100 ng/mL; P = 0.021; Exp(B), 2.892; 95%CI: 1.172-7.132] had significant influences on HCC recurrence after LDLT. Therefore, these two factors were included in our criteria. Based on these data, we set our selection criteria as a tumor diameter ≤ 5 cm and AFP ≤ 100 ng/mL. Within our new criteria (140/214, 65.4%), the 5-year DFS and overall survival rates were 88.6% and 81.8%, respectively. Our criteria (P = 0.001), Milan criteria (P = 0.009), and UCSF criteria (P = 0.001) showed a significant difference in DFS rate. And our criteria (P = 0.006) and UCSF criteria (P = 0.009) showed a significant difference in overall survival rate. But Milan criteria did not show significant difference in overall survival rate (P = 0.137). Among stages 0, A, B and C of BCLC, stage C had a significantly higher recurrence rate (P = 0.001), lower DFS (P = 0.001), and overall survival rate (P = 0.005) compared with the other stages. Using the CLIP scoring system, the group with a score of 4 to 5 showed a high recurrence rate (P = 0.023) and lower DFS (P = 0.011); however, the overall survival rate did not differ from that of the lower scoring group. The TNM system showed a trend of increased recurrence rate, decreased DFS, or survival rate according to T stage, albeit without statistical significance. CONCLUSION: LDLT is considered the preferred therapeutic option in patients with an AFP level less than 100 ng/mL and a tumor diameter of less than 5 cm. PMID:23922471

Continuing quality improvement procedures for a clinical PACS.

PubMed

Andriole, K P; Gould, R G; Avrin, D E; Bazzill, T M; Yin, L; Arenson, R L

1998-08-01

The University of California at San Francisco (USCF) Department of Radiology currently has a clinically operational picture archiving and communication system (PACS) that is thirty-five percent filmless, with the goal of becoming seventy-five percent filmless within the year. The design and implementation of the clinical PACS has been a collaborative effort between an academic research laboratory and a commercial vendor partner. Images are digitally acquired from three computed radiography (CR) scanners, five computed tomography (CT) scanners, five magnetic resonance (MR) imagers, three digital fluoroscopic rooms, an ultrasound mini-PACS and a nuclear medicine mini-PACS. The DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) standard communications protocol and image format is adhered to throughout the PACS. Images are archived in hierarchical staged fashion, on a RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) and on magneto-optical disk jukeboxes. The clinical PACS uses an object-oriented Oracle SQL (systems query language) database, and interfaces to the Radiology Information System using the HL7 (Health Languages 7) standard. Components are networked using a combination of switched and fast ethernet, and ATM (asynchronous transfer mode), all over fiber optics. The wide area network links six UCSF sites in San Francisco. A combination of high and medium resolution dual-monitor display stations have been placed throughout the Department of Radiology, the Emergency Department (ED) and Intensive Care Units (ICU). A continuing quality improvement (CQI) committee has been formed to facilitate the PACS installation and training, workflow modifications, quality assurance and clinical acceptance. This committee includes radiologists at all levels (resident, fellow, attending), radiology technologists, film library personnel, ED and ICU clinician end-users, and PACS team members. The CQI committee has proved vital in the creation of new management procedures, providing a means for user feedback and education, and contributing to the overall acceptance of, and user satisfaction with the system. Well developed CQI procedures have been essential to the successful clinical operation of the PACS as UCSF Radiology moves toward a filmless department.

Brain enabled by next-generation neurotechnology: using multiscale and multimodal models.

PubMed

Shenoy, Krishna; Nurmikko, Arto V

2012-03-01

As many articles in this issue of IEEE Pulse demonstrate, interfacing directly with the brain presents several fundamental challenges. These challenges reside at multiple levels and span many disciplines, ranging from the need to understand brain states at the level of neural circuits to creating technological innovations to facilitate new therapeutic options. The goal of our multiuniversity research team, composed of researchers from Stanford University, Brown University, the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), and the University College London (UCL), is to substantially elevate the fundamental understanding of brain information processing and its relationship with sensation, behavior, and injury. Our team was assembled to provide expertise ranging from neuroscience to neuroengineering and to neurological and psychiatric clinical guidance, all of which are critical to the overarching research goal. By employing a suite of innovative experimental, computational, and theoretical approaches, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Reorganization and Plasticity to Accelerate Injury Recovery (REPAIR) team has set its sights on learning how the brain and its microcircuitry react (e.g., to sudden physiological changes) and what can be done to encourage recovery from such (reversible) injury. In this article, we summarize some of the team's technical goals, approaches, and early illustrative results.

Quality of Life for Adults with Asthma in a Military Setting

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-05-01

Tilley, Havstead, & Zoratti, 1997). More recently, van der Molen , et al. (1997) conducted a study comparing discriminative aspects of two generic...Symptom Management Faculty Group, UCSF. (1994). IMAGE: Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 26(4), 272-276. van der Molen , T., Postma, D., Schreuers, A...the most important (Earwood, 1996, Rutten- Van Molken, Van Doorslaer, & Rutten, 1992). Purpose of the Study When patients clarify their perceptions of

Predicting Prostate Cancer Progression at Time of Diagnosis

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-01

shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number...the UCSF specimens given an unexpected finding of different mean scores between the two cohorts and the Canary (Aim 2) specimens. The repeat analysis...PCA3 in an Active Surveillance Cohort: Results from a Baseline Analysis in the Canary Prostate Active Surveillance Study” (Lin DW et al, Clin Cancer

Exome Sequencing in 32 Patients with Anophthalmia/Microphthalmia and Developmental Eye Defects

PubMed Central

Slavotinek, Anne M.; Garcia, Sarah T.; Chandratillake, Gemma; Bardakjian, Tanya; Ullah, Ehsan; Wu, Di; Umeda, Kyle; Lao, Richard; Tang, Paul Ling-Fung; Wan, Eunice; Madireddy, Lohith; Lyalina, Svetlana; Mendelsohn, Bryce A.; Dugan, Sarah; Tirch, Jean; Tischler, Reana; Harris, Jason; Clark, Michael J.; Chervitz, Stephen; Patwardhan, Anil; West, John M.; Ursell, Phillip; de Alba Campomanes, Alejandra; Schneider, Adele; Kwok, Pui-yan; Baranzini, Sergio; Chen, Richard O.

2014-01-01

Anophthalmia/microphthalmia (A/M) is a genetically heterogeneous birth defect for which the etiology is unknown in more than 50% of patients. We used exome sequencing with the ACE Exome™ (Personalis, Inc; 18 cases) and UCSF Genomics Core (21 cases) to sequence 28 patients with A/M and four patients with varied developmental eye defects. In the 28 patients with A/M, we identified de novo mutations in three patients (OTX2, p.(Gln91His), RARB, p.Arg387Cys and GDF6, p.Ala249Glu) and inherited mutations in STRA6 in two patients. In patients with developmental eye defects, a female with cataracts and cardiomyopathy had a de novo COL4A1 mutation, p.(Gly773Arg), expanding the phenotype associated with COL4A1 to include cardiomyopathy. A male with a chorioretinal defect, microcephaly, seizures and sensorineural deafness had two PNPT1 mutations, p.(Ala507Ser) and c.401-1G>A, and we describe eye defects associated with this gene for the first time. Exome sequencing was efficient for identifying mutations in pathogenic genes for which there is no clinical testing available and for identifying cases that expand phenotypic spectra, such as the PNPT1 and COL4A1-associated disorders described here. PMID:25457163

A Controlled Trial of Topiramate Treatment for Alcohol Dependence in Veterans with PTSD

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-10-01

Dieter J. Meyerhoff, Dr.rer.nat., UCSF Rationale and Content: Civilian and military personnel with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) frequently...patients with PTSD, and for some patients alcohol use may be an attempt to “self-medicate” or cope or to respond to symptoms such as insomnia , anxiety...model of stress -enhanced fear learning which mimics several PTSD features, including increased voluntary alcohol intake, and set it in context to other

Multicentre validation of a sepsis prediction algorithm using only vital sign data in the emergency department, general ward and ICU.

PubMed

Mao, Qingqing; Jay, Melissa; Hoffman, Jana L; Calvert, Jacob; Barton, Christopher; Shimabukuro, David; Shieh, Lisa; Chettipally, Uli; Fletcher, Grant; Kerem, Yaniv; Zhou, Yifan; Das, Ritankar

2018-01-26

We validate a machine learning-based sepsis-prediction algorithm ( InSight ) for the detection and prediction of three sepsis-related gold standards, using only six vital signs. We evaluate robustness to missing data, customisation to site-specific data using transfer learning and generalisability to new settings. A machine-learning algorithm with gradient tree boosting. Features for prediction were created from combinations of six vital sign measurements and their changes over time. A mixed-ward retrospective dataset from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center (San Francisco, California, USA) as the primary source, an intensive care unit dataset from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston, Massachusetts, USA) as a transfer-learning source and four additional institutions' datasets to evaluate generalisability. 684 443 total encounters, with 90 353 encounters from June 2011 to March 2016 at UCSF. None. Area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve for detection and prediction of sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock. For detection of sepsis and severe sepsis, InSight achieves an AUROC curve of 0.92 (95% CI 0.90 to 0.93) and 0.87 (95% CI 0.86 to 0.88), respectively. Four hours before onset, InSight predicts septic shock with an AUROC of 0.96 (95% CI 0.94 to 0.98) and severe sepsis with an AUROC of 0.85 (95% CI 0.79 to 0.91). InSight outperforms existing sepsis scoring systems in identifying and predicting sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock. This is the first sepsis screening system to exceed an AUROC of 0.90 using only vital sign inputs. InSight is robust to missing data, can be customised to novel hospital data using a small fraction of site data and retains strong discrimination across all institutions. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

The evolution of public psychiatry fellowships.

PubMed

Steiner, Jeanne L; Giggie, Marisa A; Koh, Steve; Mangurian, Christina; Ranz, Jules M

2014-12-01

The growth of Public Psychiatry Fellowships (PPFs) has reached a new developmental stage, providing a wide array of academic partnerships and educational opportunities in psychiatric leadership and administration. The authors examine the evolution of these programs and illustrate three distinct models. Data from yearly surveys and discussions with PPF directors were used to identify key similarities and areas of divergence as the programs have evolved. The first period of program expansion took place 8-10 years ago when new programs were modeled on the Columbia PPF, and key elements of that program and the American Association of Community Psychiatrists (AACP) guidelines were incorporated broadly. Examples of multiple source (Columbia), single source (Yale and UCSF), and grant-funded programs (Alabama and UCSD) are presented. A review of the current status of PPFs reveals a diversity of structures and strategies for success, which can be attributed to the range of their funding sources. The advantages and potential disadvantages of those models are outlined with respect to the educational experience and opportunities for growth and sustainability.

Determination of ubiquitin fitness landscapes under different chemical stresses in a classroom setting

PubMed Central

Mavor, David; Barlow, Kyle; Thompson, Samuel; Barad, Benjamin A; Bonny, Alain R; Cario, Clinton L; Gaskins, Garrett; Liu, Zairan; Deming, Laura; Axen, Seth D; Caceres, Elena; Chen, Weilin; Cuesta, Adolfo; Gate, Rachel E; Green, Evan M; Hulce, Kaitlin R; Ji, Weiyue; Kenner, Lillian R; Mensa, Bruk; Morinishi, Leanna S; Moss, Steven M; Mravic, Marco; Muir, Ryan K; Niekamp, Stefan; Nnadi, Chimno I; Palovcak, Eugene; Poss, Erin M; Ross, Tyler D; Salcedo, Eugenia C; See, Stephanie K; Subramaniam, Meena; Wong, Allison W; Li, Jennifer; Thorn, Kurt S; Conchúir, Shane Ó; Roscoe, Benjamin P; Chow, Eric D; DeRisi, Joseph L; Kortemme, Tanja; Bolon, Daniel N; Fraser, James S

2016-01-01

Ubiquitin is essential for eukaryotic life and varies in only 3 amino acid positions between yeast and humans. However, recent deep sequencing studies indicate that ubiquitin is highly tolerant to single mutations. We hypothesized that this tolerance would be reduced by chemically induced physiologic perturbations. To test this hypothesis, a class of first year UCSF graduate students employed deep mutational scanning to determine the fitness landscape of all possible single residue mutations in the presence of five different small molecule perturbations. These perturbations uncover 'shared sensitized positions' localized to areas around the hydrophobic patch and the C-terminus. In addition, we identified perturbation specific effects such as a sensitization of His68 in HU and a tolerance to mutation at Lys63 in DTT. Our data show how chemical stresses can reduce buffering effects in the ubiquitin proteasome system. Finally, this study demonstrates the potential of lab-based interdisciplinary graduate curriculum. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.15802.001 PMID:27111525

Novel Adult Stem Cells for Peripheral Nerve Regeneration

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-01

were also positive for MSC surface marker CD29 and CD44 (Fig. 1F-G). However, CD29 and CD44 are also expressed in SMCs, so we will not use these non...tubulin. In addition, MVSCs were negative for perivascular MSC marker CD146 (Fig. 1H) and SMC progenitor marker Sca-1 (Fig. 1I). MVSCs were also...University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. 2 UC Berkeley-UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. 3

Symposium KK: Structure-Property Relationships in Biomineralized and Bio-mimetic Composites

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-06

Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences, UCSF, San Francisco, California. 4:45 PM KK2.8 Damage and Crack Evolution in Mammalian Enamel James Jin...Technology, Graz, Austria. 9:45AMKK6.S AFM and PFM measurements of Enamel in order to Determine the Crack Tip Toughness and Cohesive Zone of Enamel Gerold...11:00 AM KK9.7 Enamel Matrix Guided Growth of Apatite Vuk Uskokovic1. Li Zhu2, Wu Li2 and Stefan Habelitz1; ’Department of Preventive and

University of California San Francisco (UCSF-2): Gene Expression Profiling of Normal Mouse Skin, Hras WT and Hras -/- | Office of Cancer Genomics

Cancer.gov

This data set contains the transcriptional profiles of 20 dorsal skin samples from eight-week-old mice. Mice were generated by crossing FVB/N to Mus spretus mice to generate F1 mice, and then crossing F1 mice back to the FVB/N strain. 10  FVB/N mice lacking Hras1 (aka HrasKO, Hras-/-) and 10  FVB/N mice with wild-type Hras1 were generated. Read the abstract.

UCSF Protocol for Caries Arrest Using Silver Diamine Fluoride: Rationale, Indications, and Consent

PubMed Central

Horst, Jeremy A; Ellenikiotis, Hellene; Milgrom, Peter M

2016-01-01

The Food and Drug Administration recently cleared silver diamine fluoride for reducing tooth sensitivity. Clinical trials document arrest and prevention of dental caries by silver diamine fluoride; this off-label use is now permissible and appropriate under U.S. law. A CDT code was approved for caries arresting medicaments for 2016 to facilitate documentation and billing. We present a systematic review, clinical indications, clinical protocol, and consent procedure to guide application for caries arrest treatment. PMID:26897901

Matrix Metalloproteinases as a Therapeutic Target to Improve Neurologic Recovery After Spinal Cord Injury

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-10-01

the BMS scale where a score of 0 indicates hindlimb paralysis and a score of 9 reflects normal hindlimb locomotor function. The more mildly injured...graded levels of injury severity based upon the BMS scale . Urologic status shows injury severity-dependent changes with UICs being most pronounced...BMS scale . Exclusion criteria were as follows: any animal showing an average score of > 0.5 at 8 hours post- injury or morbidity as defined in UCSF

The impact of intramural grants on educators' careers and on medical education innovation.

PubMed

Adler, Shelley R; Chang, Anna; Loeser, Helen; Cooke, Molly; Wang, Jason; Teherani, Arianne

2015-06-01

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators Innovations Funding program awards competitive grants to create novel curricula and faculty development programs, compare pedagogical approaches, and design learner assessment methods. The authors examined the principal investigators' (PIs') perceptions of the impact of these intramural grants on their careers and on medical education innovation. At 12 months (project completion) and 24 months (follow-up), PIs submit a progress report describing the impact of their grant on their careers, work with collaborators, subsequent funding, project dissemination, and the UCSF curriculum. The authors analyzed these reports using qualitative thematic analysis and achieved consensus in coding and interpretation through discussion. From 2001 to 2012, the program funded 77 PIs to lead 103 projects, awarding over $2.2 million. The authors analyzed reports from 88 grants (85.4%) awarded to 68 PIs (88.3%). PIs noted that the funding led to accelerated promotion, expanded networking opportunities, enhanced knowledge and skills, more scholarly publications and presentations, extramural funding, and local and national recognition. They also reported that the funding improved their status in their departments, enhanced their careers as medical educators, laid the foundation for subsequent projects, and engaged an array of stakeholders, including trainees and junior faculty. These modest intramural education grants not only created innovative, enduring programs but also promoted educators' professional identity formation, fostered collaborations, supported junior faculty in finding their desired career paths, provided advancement opportunities, and raised the local and national profiles of recipients.

Cigarette smoking and risk of pancreatic cancer: a clinic-based case-control study in the San Francisco Bay Area.

PubMed

Lea, C Suzanne; Holly, Elizabeth A; Bracci, Paige M

2015-11-01

Cigarette smoking is an established risk factor for pancreatic cancer (PC). We examined the association between cigarette smoking and PC in a San Francisco Bay Area clinic-based, case-control study. A total of 536 cases and sex and age frequency-matched controls (n = 869) were recruited predominately from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) medical clinics between 2006 and 2011. Participants were interviewed in-person using structured questionnaires. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were computed. Forty-eight percent of cases and controls reported never having smoked cigarettes; 39% of cases and 40% of controls were former smokers; 13% of cases and 12% of controls were current smokers. No association was found for either former (OR = 0.85, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.66-1.1) or current cigarette smoking (men: OR = 1.0, 95% CI = 0.60-1.7; women: OR = 1.2, 95% CI = 0.73-2.1). No dose-response relationships were detected with number of cigarettes/day, smoking intensity, duration, or years since last smoked. Comparisons with a 1995-1999 population-based UCSF study demonstrated a significantly increased proportion of never smokers in this study (P < .001). This study revealed no significant associations between cigarette smoking and PC in the San Francisco Bay Area during 2006-2011. Data suggest a reduction in the duration of smoking within the referral population. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

‘A delicate diplomatic situation’: Tobacco industry efforts to gain control of the Framingham study

PubMed Central

Cataldo, J. K.; Bero, L. A.; Malone, R. E.

2010-01-01

The Framingham Heart Study (henceforth Framingham) is among the gold standards for epidemiological research. A prospective cohort study of 5,000+ men and women, it provided early findings about causes of coronary heart disease (CHD), following a cohort over 24 years. After US government funding ended, the tobacco industry-funded Council for Tobacco Research (CTR) provided continued funding for analyses related to smoking. Objective This study sought to understand the tobacco industry's motivation and activities in funding Framingham. Study Design We analyzed previously undisclosed tobacco industry documents, conducting iterative searches of the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/), and assembled an historical case study. Results CTR funded Framingham to obtain full access to Framingham data. CTR planned for longtime industry consultant Carl Seltzer to reanalyze them to suggest that tobacco-related morbidity and mortality primarily resulted from “constitutional” factors such as age/ethnicity. Once data were obtained, CTR terminated funding for the Framingham principal investigator, who disagreed with Seltzer. Seltzer's critical analyses of subsequently-published work by the Framingham team created confusion about the association between coronary heart disease and cigarette smoking. Conclusion Researchers accepting tobacco industry funding risk losing control of data, analysis, and publication. PMID:20630333

Exome sequencing in 32 patients with anophthalmia/microphthalmia and developmental eye defects.

PubMed

Slavotinek, A M; Garcia, S T; Chandratillake, G; Bardakjian, T; Ullah, E; Wu, D; Umeda, K; Lao, R; Tang, P L-F; Wan, E; Madireddy, L; Lyalina, S; Mendelsohn, B A; Dugan, S; Tirch, J; Tischler, R; Harris, J; Clark, M J; Chervitz, S; Patwardhan, A; West, J M; Ursell, P; de Alba Campomanes, A; Schneider, A; Kwok, P-Y; Baranzini, S; Chen, R O

2015-11-01

Anophthalmia/microphthalmia (A/M) is a genetically heterogeneous birth defect for which the etiology is unknown in more than 50% of patients. We used exome sequencing with the ACE Exome(TM) (Personalis, Inc; 18 cases) and UCSF Genomics Core (21 cases) to sequence 28 patients with A/M and four patients with varied developmental eye defects. In the 28 patients with A/M, we identified de novo mutations in three patients (OTX2, p.(Gln91His), RARB, p.Arg387Cys and GDF6, p.Ala249Glu) and inherited mutations in STRA6 in two patients. In patients with developmental eye defects, a female with cataracts and cardiomyopathy had a de novo COL4A1 mutation, p.(Gly773Arg), expanding the phenotype associated with COL4A1 to include cardiomyopathy. A male with a chorioretinal defect, microcephaly, seizures and sensorineural deafness had two PNPT1 mutations, p.(Ala507Ser) and c.401-1G>A, and we describe eye defects associated with this gene for the first time. Exome sequencing was efficient for identifying mutations in pathogenic genes for which there is no clinical testing available and for identifying cases that expand phenotypic spectra, such as the PNPT1 and COL4A1-associated disorders described here. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Use and Significance of a Research Networking System

PubMed Central

Yuan, Leslie; Daigre, John; Meeks, Eric; Nelson, Katie; Piontkowski, Cynthia; Reuter, Katja; Sak, Rachael; Turner, Brian; Weber, Griffin M; Chatterjee, Anirvan

2014-01-01

Background Universities have begun deploying public Internet systems that allow for easy search of their experts, expertise, and intellectual networks. Deployed first in biomedical schools but now being implemented more broadly, the initial motivator of these research networking systems was to enable easier identification of collaborators and enable the development of teams for research. Objective The intent of the study was to provide the first description of the usage of an institutional research “social networking” system or research networking system (RNS). Methods Number of visits, visitor location and type, referral source, depth of visit, search terms, and click paths were derived from 2.5 years of Web analytics data. Feedback from a pop-up survey presented to users over 15 months was summarized. Results RNSs automatically generate and display profiles and networks of researchers. Within 2.5 years, the RNS at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) achieved one-seventh of the monthly visit rate of the main longstanding university website, with an increasing trend. Visitors came from diverse locations beyond the institution. Close to 75% (74.78%, 208,304/278,570) came via a public search engine and 84.0% (210 out of a sample of 250) of these queried an individual’s name that took them directly to the relevant profile page. In addition, 20.90% (214 of 1024) visits went beyond the page related to a person of interest to explore related researchers and topics through the novel and networked information provided by the tool. At the end of the period analyzed, more than 2000 visits per month traversed 5 or more links into related people and topics. One-third of visits came from returning visitors who were significantly more likely to continue to explore networked people and topics (P<.001). Responses to an online survey suggest a broad range of benefits of using the RNS in supporting the research and clinical mission. Conclusions Returning visitors in an ever-increasing pool of visitors to an RNS are among those that display behavior consistent with using the tool to identify new collaborators or research topics. Through direct user feedback we know that some visits do result in research-enhancing outcomes, although we cannot address the scale of impact. With the rapid pace of acquiring visitors searching for individual names, the RNS is evolving into a new kind of gateway for the university. PMID:24509520

The use and significance of a research networking system.

PubMed

Kahlon, Maninder; Yuan, Leslie; Daigre, John; Meeks, Eric; Nelson, Katie; Piontkowski, Cynthia; Reuter, Katja; Sak, Rachael; Turner, Brian; Weber, Griffin M; Chatterjee, Anirvan

2014-02-07

Universities have begun deploying public Internet systems that allow for easy search of their experts, expertise, and intellectual networks. Deployed first in biomedical schools but now being implemented more broadly, the initial motivator of these research networking systems was to enable easier identification of collaborators and enable the development of teams for research. The intent of the study was to provide the first description of the usage of an institutional research "social networking" system or research networking system (RNS). Number of visits, visitor location and type, referral source, depth of visit, search terms, and click paths were derived from 2.5 years of Web analytics data. Feedback from a pop-up survey presented to users over 15 months was summarized. RNSs automatically generate and display profiles and networks of researchers. Within 2.5 years, the RNS at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) achieved one-seventh of the monthly visit rate of the main longstanding university website, with an increasing trend. Visitors came from diverse locations beyond the institution. Close to 75% (74.78%, 208,304/278,570) came via a public search engine and 84.0% (210 out of a sample of 250) of these queried an individual's name that took them directly to the relevant profile page. In addition, 20.90% (214 of 1024) visits went beyond the page related to a person of interest to explore related researchers and topics through the novel and networked information provided by the tool. At the end of the period analyzed, more than 2000 visits per month traversed 5 or more links into related people and topics. One-third of visits came from returning visitors who were significantly more likely to continue to explore networked people and topics (P<.001). Responses to an online survey suggest a broad range of benefits of using the RNS in supporting the research and clinical mission. Returning visitors in an ever-increasing pool of visitors to an RNS are among those that display behavior consistent with using the tool to identify new collaborators or research topics. Through direct user feedback we know that some visits do result in research-enhancing outcomes, although we cannot address the scale of impact. With the rapid pace of acquiring visitors searching for individual names, the RNS is evolving into a new kind of gateway for the university.

Medical workstation design: enhancing graphical interface with 3D anatomical atlas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoo, Kent S., Jr.; Wong, Stephen T. C.; Grant, Ellen

1997-05-01

The huge data archive of the UCSF Hospital Integrated Picture Archiving and Communication System gives healthcare providers access to diverse kinds of images and text for diagnosis and patient management. Given the mass of information accessible, however, conventional graphical user interface (GUI) approach overwhelms the user with forms, menus, fields, lists, and other widgets and causes 'information overloading.' This article describes a new approach that complements the conventional GUI with 3D anatomical atlases and presents the usefulness of this approach with a clinical neuroimaging application.

Using the structure-function linkage database to characterize functional domains in enzymes.

PubMed

Brown, Shoshana; Babbitt, Patricia

2014-12-12

The Structure-Function Linkage Database (SFLD; http://sfld.rbvi.ucsf.edu/) is a Web-accessible database designed to link enzyme sequence, structure, and functional information. This unit describes the protocols by which a user may query the database to predict the function of uncharacterized enzymes and to correct misannotated functional assignments. The information in this unit is especially useful in helping a user discriminate functional capabilities of a sequence that is only distantly related to characterized sequences in publicly available databases. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Linkage analyses of cannabis dependence, craving, and withdrawal in the San Francisco family study.

PubMed

Ehlers, Cindy L; Gizer, Ian R; Vieten, Cassandra; Wilhelmsen, Kirk C

2010-04-05

Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States. There is ample evidence that cannabis use has a heritable component, yet the genes underlying cannabis use disorders are yet to be completely identified. This study's aims were to map susceptibility loci for cannabis use and dependence and two narrower cannabis-related phenotypes of "craving" and "withdrawal" using a family study design. Participants were 2,524 adults participating in the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Family Alcoholism Study. DSM-IV diagnoses of cannabis dependence, as well as indices of cannabis craving and withdrawal, were obtained using a modified version of the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA). Genotypes were determined for a panel of 791 microsatellite polymorphisms. Multipoint variance component LOD scores were obtained using SOLAR. Genome-wide significance for linkage (LOD > 3.0) was not found for the DSM-IV cannabis dependence diagnosis; however, linkage analyses of cannabis "craving" and the cannabis withdrawal symptom of "nervous, tense, restless, or irritable" revealed five sites with LOD scores over 3.0 on chromosomes 1, 3, 6, 7, and 9. These results identify new regions of the genome associated with cannabis use phenotypes as well as corroborate the importance of several chromosome regions highlighted in previous linkage analyses for other substance dependence phenotypes.

The Evolution of Public Psychiatry Fellowships

PubMed Central

Steiner, Jeanne L.; Giggie, Marisa A.; Koh, Steve; Mangurian, Christina; Ranz, Jules M.

2014-01-01

Objective The growth of Public Psychiatry Fellowships [PPF’s] has reached a new developmental stage, providing a wide array of academic partnerships and educational opportunities in psychiatric leadership and administration. The authors examine the evolution of these programs and illustrate three distinct models. Methods Data from yearly surveys and discussions with PPF Directors were used to identify key similarities and areas of divergence as the programs have evolved. Results The first period of program expansion took place 8–10 years ago when new programs were modeled on the Columbia PPF, and key elements of that program and the American Association of Community Psychiatrists (AACP) guidelines were incorporated broadly. Examples of multiple source (Columbia), single source (Yale and UCSF), and grant-funded programs (Alabama and UCSD) are presented. Conclusions A review of the current status of PPF’s reveals a diversity of structures and strategies for success, which can be attributed to the range of their funding sources. The advantages and potential disadvantages of those models are outlined with respect to the educational experience and opportunities for growth and sustainability. PMID:25026948

Cigarette company trade secrets are not secret: an analysis of reverse engineering reports in internal tobacco industry documents released as a result of litigation

PubMed Central

Velicer, Clayton; Lempert, Lauren K; Glantz, Stanton

2014-01-01

Objectives Use previously secret tobacco industry documents to assess tobacco companies’ routine claims of trade secret protection for information on cigarette ingredients, additives and construction made to regulatory agencies, as well as the companies’ refusal to publicly disclose this information. Methods We analysed previously secret tobacco industry documents available at (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) to identify 100 examples of seven major tobacco companies’ reverse engineering of their competitors’ brands between 1937 and 2001. Results These reverse engineering reports contain detailed data for 142 different measurements for at least two companies, including physical parameters of the cigarettes, tobacco types, humectants, additives, flavourings, and smoke constituents of competitors’ cigarettes. These 100 documents were distributed to 564 employees, including top managers in domestic and foreign offices across multiple departments, including executive leadership, research and design, product development, marketing and legal. These documents reported new competitors’ products, measured ingredient changes over time, and informed companies’ decisions regarding ingredients in their own products. Conclusions Because cigarette companies routinely analyse their competitors’ cigarettes in great detail, this information is neither secret nor commercially valuable and, thus, does not meet the legal definition of a ‘trade secret.’ This information is only being kept ‘secret’ from the people consuming cigarettes and the scientific community. Public agencies should release this detailed information because it would provide valuable information about how ingredients affect addictiveness and toxicity, and would help the public health community and consumers better understand the impact of cigarette design on human health. PMID:24920577

A brief history of the Bioengineering Institute of California and the UC System-wide Symposia.

PubMed

Chien, Shu

2011-04-01

The plan to establish a Multicampus Research Unit (MRU) on Bioengineering in the University of California (UC) System started in August 1999. The cooperative efforts of the UC campuses led to the formal establishment of the Bioengineering Institute of California (BIC) in October 2003. Three years prior to the BIC establishment, the System-wide Annual Bioengineering Symposium was started at UC Davis. The Symposia were then hosted sequentially by UC Santa Barbara, UC Berkeley, UCSD, UC Santa Cruz, UC Irvine, UCSF, UCLA, and UC Riverside, with the completion of the first cycle of a decade in the newest campus of UC Merced in 2009. The second cycle began in 2010 with the Symposium returning again to UC Davis. Each campus hosted a wonderful Symposium, with the active participation of students and faculty from all campuses, with the motto of "Ten campuses united as one, learning and growing together." These Symposia have contributed significantly to the collaborative research and training of students and young scientists in bioengineering, as well as fruitful interactions with industry and government agencies, which have provided strong support for these valuable meetings. The BIC will endeavor to further enhance these efforts by fostering research collaborations and joint education and training activities, with the ultimate goal of advancing bioengineering for the improvement of human health and wellbeing.

A library for the fifteenth through the twenty-first centuries.

PubMed Central

Cooper, R S

1991-01-01

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), began developing a program for a new library in 1977, started the design in 1985, began construction in 1988, and opened the library in September 1990. The primary objectives were to design and build a facility that would house print collections under optimal conditions, allow for ten years' growth, be flexible enough to permit future reconfiguration, support present and future technologies, and provide beautiful spaces in which to study. The planning process is summarized, planning concepts are outlined, and considerations for the electronic library are briefly reviewed. Images PMID:2039900

A Hospital Local Area Communication Network—The First Year's Experience

PubMed Central

Simborg, D. W.; Chadwick, M.; Whiting-O'Keefe, Q. E.; Tolchin, S. G.; Stewart, R. L.; Kahn, S. A.; Bergan, E. S.; Gafke, G. P.

1982-01-01

A local area communications network has been implemented at the University of California, San Francisco Hospital to integrate major components of the hospital's information system. This microprocessor-based network technology was developed by The Applied Physics Laboratory of the Johns Hopkins University. The first year's experience has demonstrated the basic feasibility of this technology in simplifying the integration of diverse hardware and software systems. Four minicomputer-based UCSF systems now use the network to synchronize key patient identification and registration information among the systems. Clinical uses of the network will begin during the second year of the project.

An interview with Margaret A Liu: the future of gene-based vaccines and immunotherapies, and other musings.

PubMed

Liu, Margaret A; Rees, Jenaid

2015-02-01

Interview by Jenaid Rees, commissioning editor. Margaret A Liu is best known for her pioneering work in the area of DNA vaccines. A world renowned scientist, Liu was named one of 'The 50 Most Important Women Scientists' by Discover magazine in 2002. Liu obtained her M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and has held positions at numerous institutions including Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Pennsylvania, UCSF, and the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. In her career she has served as Senior Advisor in Vaccinology at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Executive Vice-Chair of the International Vaccine Institute in Seoul, Korea and worked for companies including Merck, Transgène and Chiron Corporation. Her research achievements have led to her receipt of honorary lectureships, and she has held many board positions throughout her career. Liu currently consults in the fields of vaccines and immunotherapy for companies, universities, and non-governmental and governmental scientific organizations, and is a Foreign Adjunct Professor at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of California, San Francisco.

Menthol cigarettes and smoking initiation: a tobacco industry perspective

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Objectives To determine what the tobacco industry knew about menthol cigarettes and the initiation of smoking. Methods Based on Food and Drug Administration staff-supplied research questions we used a snowball sampling strategy to search the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) between February and April 2010. Of the approximately 11 million documents available in the LTDL, the iterative searches returned tens of thousands of results. Researchers reviewed 2634 documents and 128 were deemed relevant to one or more of the research questions. Results The documents show that menthol is added to cigarettes in part because it is known to be an attractive feature to inexperienced smokers who perceive menthol cigarettes as less harsh and easier to smoke and because of their availability from friends and family. Second, the tobacco industry found that some youths smoke menthols because they perceive them to be less harmful than non-menthol cigarettes. A key product design issue concerns whether to increase brand menthol levels to appeal to the taste preferences of long-term menthol smokers or keep menthol levels lower to appeal to inexperienced smokers. Marketing studies showed that the companies carefully researched the menthol segment of the market in order to recruit younger smokers to their brands. The industry tracked menthol cigarette usage by age, gender and race to inform product development and marketing decisions. Conclusions Menthol is a prominent design feature used by cigarette manufacturers to attract and retain new, younger smokers. PMID:21504927

Menthol cigarettes and smoking initiation: a tobacco industry perspective.

PubMed

Klausner, Kim

2011-05-01

To determine what the tobacco industry knew about menthol cigarettes and the initiation of smoking. Based on Food and Drug Administration staff-supplied research questions we used a snowball sampling strategy to search the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) between February and April 2010. Of the approximately 11 million documents available in the LTDL, the iterative searches returned tens of thousands of results. Researchers reviewed 2634 documents and 128 were deemed relevant to one or more of the research questions. The documents show that menthol is added to cigarettes in part because it is known to be an attractive feature to inexperienced smokers who perceive menthol cigarettes as less harsh and easier to smoke and because of their availability from friends and family. Second, the tobacco industry found that some youths smoke menthols because they perceive them to be less harmful than non-menthol cigarettes. A key product design issue concerns whether to increase brand menthol levels to appeal to the taste preferences of long-term menthol smokers or keep menthol levels lower to appeal to inexperienced smokers. Marketing studies showed that the companies carefully researched the menthol segment of the market in order to recruit younger smokers to their brands. The industry tracked menthol cigarette usage by age, gender and race to inform product development and marketing decisions. Menthol is a prominent design feature used by cigarette manufacturers to attract and retain new, younger smokers.

Linkage analyses of cannabis dependence, craving, and withdrawal in the San Francisco Family Study

PubMed Central

Ehlers, Cindy L.; Gizer, Ian R.; Vieten, Cassandra; Wilhelmsen, Kirk C.

2010-01-01

Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States. There is ample evidence that cannabis use has a heritable component, yet the genes underlying cannabis use disorders are yet to be completely identified. This study's aims were to map susceptibility loci for cannabis use and dependence and two narrower cannabis-related phenotypes of “craving” and “withdrawal” using a family study design. Participants were 2524 adults participating in the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Family Alcoholism Study. DSM-IV diagnoses of cannabis dependence, as well as indices of cannabis craving and withdrawal, were obtained using a modified version of the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA). Genotypes were determined for a panel of 791 microsatellite polymorphisms. Multipoint variance component LOD scores were obtained using SOLAR. Genome-wide significance for linkage (LOD > 3.0) was not found for the DSM-IV cannabis dependence diagnosis, however, linkage analyses of cannabis “craving” and the cannabis withdrawal symptom of “nervous, tense, restless or irritable” revealed five sites with LOD scores over 3.0 on chromosomes 1, 3, 6, 7, 9. These results identify new regions of the genome associated with cannabis use phenotypes as well as corroborate the importance of several chromosome regions highlighted in previous linkage analyses for other substance dependence phenotypes. PMID:19937978

High-intensity focused ultrasound ablation: an effective bridging therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

PubMed

Cheung, Tan To; Fan, Sheung Tat; Chan, See Ching; Chok, Kenneth S H; Chu, Ferdinand S K; Jenkins, Caroline R; Lo, Regina C L; Fung, James Y Y; Chan, Albert C Y; Sharr, William W; Tsang, Simon H Y; Dai, Wing Chiu; Poon, Ronnie T P; Lo, Chung Mau

2013-05-28

To analyze whether high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation is an effective bridging therapy for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). From January 2007 to December 2010, 49 consecutive HCC patients were listed for liver transplantation (UCSF criteria). The median waiting time for transplantation was 9.5 mo. Twenty-nine patients received transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) as a bringing therapy and 16 patients received no treatment before transplantation. Five patients received HIFU ablation as a bridging therapy. Another five patients with the same tumor staging (within the UCSF criteria) who received HIFU ablation but not on the transplant list were included for comparison. Patients were comparable in terms of Child-Pugh and model for end-stage liver disease scores, tumor size and number, and cause of cirrhosis. The HIFU group and TACE group showed no difference in terms of tumor size and tumor number. One patient in the HIFU group and no patient in the TACE group had gross ascites. The median hospital stay was 1 d (range, 1-21 d) in the TACE group and two days (range, 1-9 d) in the HIFU group (P < 0.000). No HIFU-related complication occurred. In the HIFU group, nine patients (90%) had complete response and one patient (10%) had partial response to the treatment. In the TACE group, only one patient (3%) had response to the treatment while 14 patients (48%) had stable disease and 14 patients (48%) had progressive disease (P = 0.00). Seven patients in the TACE group and no patient in the HIFU group dropped out from the transplant waiting list (P = 0.559). HIFU ablation is safe and effective in the treatment of HCC for patients with advanced cirrhosis. It may reduce the drop-out rate of liver transplant candidate.

[Response of the tobacco industry to the creation of smoke-free environments in Brazil].

PubMed

Bialous, Stella Aguinaga; Presman, Sabrina; Gigliotti, Analice; Muggli, Monique; Hurt, Richard

2010-04-01

To document the response of the tobacco industry to the regulation of smoking in public places in Brazil starting in 1996. The Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (legacy.library.ucsf.edu/) and the British American Tobacco (BAT) Company Documents (bat.library.ucsf.edu/) were searched. The following key words were used: Brasil/Brazil; Souza Cruz; fumo passivo, tabagismo passivo/passive smoking; fumo de segunda mão/secondhand smoking; convivência em harmonia/courtesy of choice; along with the names of institutions, politicians, and individuals associated with tobacco control. We also searched the websites of cigarette manufacturers and hospitality industry organizations and businesses, news websites, and online newspapers and magazines. The search was limited to the period from 1995 to 2005. The text of the first law restricting smoking in Brazil (no. 9 294, of 1996) benefited the industry by stating that smokers and nonsmokers could share the same space provided that specific areas were designated as smoking and nonsmoking. As in other countries, the tobacco industry established partnerships with hotel, bar, and restaurant associations to prevent the passing of laws creating 100% smoke-free environments, as recommended by the World Health Organization. However, local state and city laws in major cities and states (such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo) have been successful in ensuring the creation of 100% smoke-free places. It is essential that Brazil recognize the damage caused by smoking and revise its federal law regulating smoking in closed environments. The knowledge concerning the strategies employed by the industry may be useful for politicians and health care professionals to prepare arguments opposing measures that can be detrimental to public health.

Cigarette company trade secrets are not secret: an analysis of reverse engineering reports in internal tobacco industry documents released as a result of litigation.

PubMed

Velicer, Clayton; Lempert, Lauren K; Glantz, Stanton

2015-09-01

Use previously secret tobacco industry documents to assess tobacco companies' routine claims of trade secret protection for information on cigarette ingredients, additives and construction made to regulatory agencies, as well as the companies' refusal to publicly disclose this information. We analysed previously secret tobacco industry documents available at (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) to identify 100 examples of seven major tobacco companies' reverse engineering of their competitors' brands between 1937 and 2001. These reverse engineering reports contain detailed data for 142 different measurements for at least two companies, including physical parameters of the cigarettes, tobacco types, humectants, additives, flavourings, and smoke constituents of competitors' cigarettes. These 100 documents were distributed to 564 employees, including top managers in domestic and foreign offices across multiple departments, including executive leadership, research and design, product development, marketing and legal. These documents reported new competitors' products, measured ingredient changes over time, and informed companies' decisions regarding ingredients in their own products. Because cigarette companies routinely analyse their competitors' cigarettes in great detail, this information is neither secret nor commercially valuable and, thus, does not meet the legal definition of a 'trade secret.' This information is only being kept 'secret' from the people consuming cigarettes and the scientific community. Public agencies should release this detailed information because it would provide valuable information about how ingredients affect addictiveness and toxicity, and would help the public health community and consumers better understand the impact of cigarette design on human health. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Whose butt is it? tobacco industry research about smokers and cigarette butt waste.

PubMed

Smith, Elizabeth A; Novotny, Thomas E

2011-05-01

Cigarette filters are made of non-biodegradable cellulose acetate. As much as 766,571 metric tons of butts wind up as litter worldwide per year. Numerous proposals have been made to prevent or mitigate cigarette butt pollution, but none has been effective; cigarette butts are consistently found to be the single most collected item in beach clean-ups and litter surveys. We searched the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) and http://tobaccodocuments.org using a snowball strategy beginning with keywords (eg, 'filter', 'biodegradable', 'butts'). Data from approximately 680 documents, dated 1959-2006, were analysed using an interpretive approach. The tobacco industry has feared being held responsible for cigarette litter for more than 20 years. Their efforts to avoid this responsibility included developing biodegradable filters, creating anti-litter campaigns, and distributing portable and permanent ashtrays. They concluded that biodegradable filters would probably encourage littering and would not be marketable, and that smokers were defensive about discarding their tobacco butts and not amenable to anti-litter efforts. Tobacco control and environmental advocates should develop partnerships to compel the industry to take financial and practical responsibility for cigarette butt waste.

Utilization of a multimedia PACS workstation for surgical planning of epilepsy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soo Hoo, Kent; Wong, Stephen T.; Hawkins, Randall A.; Knowlton, Robert C.; Laxer, Kenneth D.; Rowley, Howard A.

1997-05-01

Surgical treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy requires the localization of the epileptogenic zone for surgical resection. Currently, clinicians utilize electroencephalography, various neuroimaging modalities, and psychological tests together to determine the location of this zone. We investigate how a multimedia neuroimaging workstation built on top of the UCSF Picture Archiving and Communication System can be used to aid surgical planning of epilepsy and related brain diseases. This usage demonstrates the ability of the workstation to retrieve image and textural data from PACS and other image sources, register multimodality images, visualize and render 3D data sets, analyze images, generate new image and text data from the analysis, and organize all data in a relational database management system.

LS-SNP/PDB: annotated non-synonymous SNPs mapped to Protein Data Bank structures.

PubMed

Ryan, Michael; Diekhans, Mark; Lien, Stephanie; Liu, Yun; Karchin, Rachel

2009-06-01

LS-SNP/PDB is a new WWW resource for genome-wide annotation of human non-synonymous (amino acid changing) SNPs. It serves high-quality protein graphics rendered with UCSF Chimera molecular visualization software. The system is kept up-to-date by an automated, high-throughput build pipeline that systematically maps human nsSNPs onto Protein Data Bank structures and annotates several biologically relevant features. LS-SNP/PDB is available at (http://ls-snp.icm.jhu.edu/ls-snp-pdb) and via links from protein data bank (PDB) biology and chemistry tabs, UCSC Genome Browser Gene Details and SNP Details pages and PharmGKB Gene Variants Downloads/Cross-References pages.

Implementation of a Prototype Generalized Network Technology for Hospitals *

PubMed Central

Tolchin, S. G.; Stewart, R. L.; Kahn, S. A.; Bergan, E. S.; Gafke, G. P.; Simborg, D. W.; Whiting-O'Keefe, Q. E.; Chadwick, M. G.; McCue, G. E.

1981-01-01

A demonstration implementation of a distributed data processing hospital information system using an intelligent local area communications network (LACN) technology is described. This system is operational at the UCSF Medical Center and integrates four heterogeneous, stand-alone minicomputers. The applications systems are PID/Registration, Outpatient Pharmacy, Clinical Laboratory and Radiology/Medical Records. Functional autonomy of these systems has been maintained, and no operating system changes have been required. The LACN uses a fiber-optic communications medium and provides extensive communications protocol support within the network, based on the ISO/OSI Model. The architecture is reconfigurable and expandable. This paper describes system architectural issues, the applications environment and the local area network.

Development of virtual environments for training skills and reducing errors in laparoscopic surgery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tendick, Frank; Downes, Michael S.; Cavusoglu, Murat C.; Gantert, Walter A.; Way, Lawrence W.

1998-06-01

In every surgical procedure there are key steps and skills that, if performed incorrectly, can lead to complications. In conjunction with efforts, based on task and error analysis, in the Videoscopic Training Center at UCSF to identify these key elements in laparoscopic surgical procedures, the authors are developing virtual environments and modeling methods to train the elements. Laparoscopic surgery is particularly demanding of the surgeon's spatial skills, requiring the ability to create 3D mental models and plans while viewing a 2D image. For example, operating a laparoscope with the objective lens angled from the scope axis is a skill that some surgeons have difficulty mastering, even after using the instrument in many procedures. Virtual environments are a promising medium for teaching spatial skills. A kinematically accurate model of an angled laparoscope in an environment of simple targets is being tested in courses for novice and experienced surgeons. Errors in surgery are often due to a misinterpretation of local anatomy compounded with inadequate procedural knowledge. Methods to avoid bile duct injuries in cholecystectomy are being integrated into a deformable environment consisting of the liver, gallbladder, and biliary tree. Novel deformable tissue modeling algorithms based on finite element methods will be used to improve the response of the anatomical models.

The state of research funding from the National Institutes of Health for criminal justice health research

PubMed Central

Ahalt, Cyrus; Bolano, Marielle; Wang, Emily A.; Williams, Brie

2015-01-01

Background Over 20 million Americans are currently incarcerated or have been in the past. Most are from medically underserved populations; one in three African American men and one in six Latino men born in 2001 are projected to go to prison during their lifetimes. The amount of funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to understand and improve the health of criminal justice-involved persons is unknown. Objective Describe NIH funding for research addressing the health and healthcare needs of criminal justice-involved individuals. Design Review of NIH grants (from 2008 through 2012) in the RePORT (Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools) database. Setting The NIH RePORT database. Patients Criminal justice involved individuals participating in NIH-funded clinical research. Measurements NIH research and training grants awarded by number, type, research area, institute or center, and dollar amount. Results Of more than 250,000 NIH funded grants, 180 (less than 0.1%) focused on criminal justice health research. The three most common foci of criminal justice health research grants were substance use and/or HIV (64%), mental health (11%), and juvenile health (8%). Two institutes, the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute of Mental Health, funded 78% of all grants. In 2012, the NIH invested $40.9 million in criminal justice health research, or 1.5% of the $2.7 billion health disparities budget for that year. Limitations NIH-supported research that did not explicitly include current or former prisoners but may have relevance to criminal justice health was not included. Conclusions Federal funding for research focused on understanding and improving the health of criminal justice-involved persons is small, even when compared to the NIH’s overall investment in health disparities research. The NIH is well-positioned to transform the care of current and former prisoners by investing in this critical yet overlooked research area. Primary Funding Source One author received funding support from the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health and Tideswell at UCSF. PMID:25732276

Creating a Clinical Video-Conferencing Facility in a Security-Constrained Environment Using Open-Source AccessGrid Software and Consumer Hardware

PubMed Central

Terrazas, Enrique; Hamill, Timothy R.; Wang, Ye; Channing Rodgers, R. P.

2007-01-01

The Department of Laboratory Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has been split into widely separated facilities, leading to much time being spent traveling between facilities for meetings. We installed an open-source AccessGrid multi-media-conferencing system using (largely) consumer-grade equipment, connecting 6 sites at 5 separate facilities. The system was accepted rapidly and enthusiastically, and was inexpensive compared to alternative approaches. Security was addressed by aspects of the AG software and by local network administrative practices. The chief obstacles to deployment arose from security restrictions imposed by multiple independent network administration regimes, requiring a drastically reduced list of network ports employed by AG components. PMID:18693930

Creating a clinical video-conferencing facility in a security-constrained environment using open-source AccessGrid software and consumer hardware.

PubMed

Terrazas, Enrique; Hamill, Timothy R; Wang, Ye; Channing Rodgers, R P

2007-10-11

The Department of Laboratory Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has been split into widely separated facilities, leading to much time being spent traveling between facilities for meetings. We installed an open-source AccessGrid multi-media-conferencing system using (largely) consumer-grade equipment, connecting 6 sites at 5 separate facilities. The system was accepted rapidly and enthusiastically, and was inexpensive compared to alternative approaches. Security was addressed by aspects of the AG software and by local network administrative practices. The chief obstacles to deployment arose from security restrictions imposed by multiple independent network administration regimes, requiring a drastically reduced list of network ports employed by AG components.

Tandem Repeated Irritation Test (TRIT) Studies and Clinical Relevance: Post 2006.

PubMed

Reddy, Rasika; Maibach, Howard

2018-06-11

Single or multiple applications of irritants can lead to occupational contact dermatitis, and most commonly irritant contact dermatitis (ICD). Tandem irritation, the sequential application of two irritants to a target skin area, has been studied using the Tandem Repeated Irritation Test (TRIT) to provide a more accurate representation of skin irritation. Here we present an update to Kartono's review on tandem irritation studies since 2006 [1]. We surveyed the literature available on PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, and the UCSF Dermatology library databases since 2006. The studies included discuss the tandem effects of common chemical irritants, organic solvents, occlusion as well as clinical relevance - and enlarge our ability to discern whether multiple chemical exposures are more or less likely to enhance irritation.

Hydroxychloroquine use in a community-based cohort of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

PubMed Central

Schmajuk, Gabriela; Yazdany, Jinoos; Trupin, Laura; Yelin, Edward

2010-01-01

Background In recent years hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has emerged as a key therapy in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We determined the rates of HCQ use in a diverse, community-based cohort of patients with SLE and identified predictors of current HCQ use. Methods Patients were participants in the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Lupus Outcomes Study (LOS), an ongoing longitudinal study of patients with confirmed SLE. We examined the prevalence of HCQ use per person-year and compared baseline characteristics of users and non-users, including demographic, socioeconomic, clinical, and health-system use variables. Multiple logistic regression with generalized estimating equations was used to evaluate predictors of HCQ use. Results Eight hundred and eighty one patients contributed 3095person-years of data over 4 interview cycles. The prevalence of HCQ use was 55 per 100 person-years and was constant throughout the observation period. In multivariate models, the odds of HCQ use were nearly doubled among patients receiving their SLE care from a rheumatologist compared to those identifying generalists or nephrologists as their primary sources of SLE care. In addition, patients with shorter disease duration were more likely to use HCQ, even after adjusting for age and other covariates. Conclusions In this community-based cohort of patients, HCQ use was suboptimal. Physician specialty and disease duration were the strongest predictors of HCQ use. Patients who are not using HCQ, those with longer disease duration, and those who see non-rheumatologists for their SLE care should be targeted for quality improvement. PMID:20391485

Whose butt is it? tobacco industry research about smokers and cigarette butt waste

PubMed Central

Novotny, Thomas E

2011-01-01

Background Cigarette filters are made of non-biodegradable cellulose acetate. As much as 766 571 metric tons of butts wind up as litter worldwide per year. Numerous proposals have been made to prevent or mitigate cigarette butt pollution, but none has been effective; cigarette butts are consistently found to be the single most collected item in beach clean-ups and litter surveys. Methods We searched the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) and http://tobaccodocuments.org using a snowball strategy beginning with keywords (eg, ‘filter’, ‘biodegradable’, ‘butts’). Data from approximately 680 documents, dated 1959–2006, were analysed using an interpretive approach. Results The tobacco industry has feared being held responsible for cigarette litter for more than 20 years. Their efforts to avoid this responsibility included developing biodegradable filters, creating anti-litter campaigns, and distributing portable and permanent ashtrays. They concluded that biodegradable filters would probably encourage littering and would not be marketable, and that smokers were defensive about discarding their tobacco butts and not amenable to anti-litter efforts. Conclusions Tobacco control and environmental advocates should develop partnerships to compel the industry to take financial and practical responsibility for cigarette butt waste. PMID:21504919

Waiting for the opportune moment: the tobacco industry and marijuana legalization.

PubMed

Barry, Rachel Ann; Hiilamo, Heikki; Glantz, Stanton A

2014-06-01

In 2012, Washington State and Colorado legalized the recreational use of marijuana, and Uruguay, beginning in 2014, will become the first country to legalize the sale and distribution of marijuana. The challenge facing policymakers and public health advocates is reducing the harms of an ineffective, costly, and discriminatory "war on drugs" while preventing another public health catastrophe similar to tobacco use, which kills 6 million people worldwide each year. Between May and December 2013, using the standard snowball research technique, we searched the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library of previously secret tobacco industry documents (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu). Since at least the 1970s, tobacco companies have been interested in marijuana and marijuana legalization as both a potential and a rival product. As public opinion shifted and governments began relaxing laws pertaining to marijuana criminalization, the tobacco companies modified their corporate planning strategies to prepare for future consumer demand. Policymakers and public health advocates must be aware that the tobacco industry or comparable multinational organizations (eg, food and beverage industries) are prepared to enter the marijuana market with the intention of increasing its already widespread use. In order to prevent domination of the market by companies seeking to maximize market size and profits, policymakers should learn from their successes and failures in regulating tobacco. © 2014 Milbank Memorial Fund.

Breast Reference Set Application: Chris Li-FHCRC (2015) — EDRN Public Portal

Cancer.gov

We propose to evaluate nine candidate biomarkers for ER+ breast cancer in samples from the EDRN Breast Cancer Reference Set. These biomarkers have been preliminarily validated in preclinical samples. The intended clinical applications of these markers are to: 1. Inform timing of a subsequent mammogram in women with a negative screening mammogram; 2. Inform continuation of mammographic screening among women 75-79 years; 3. Prioritize women who should be screened with mammography in areas with limited resources. Testing the reference samples would further expedite addressing these intended clinical applications by providing further validation data to support requests for samples from other sources for further Phase 3 evaluation (e.g., WHI, PLCO, and samples collected at the time of mammographic screening from the University of Toronto and UCSF).

Stories from Haiti: a comparison of three approaches.

PubMed

Baumann, Steven L; Bellefleur, Carmelle

2014-04-01

Two stories from Haiti are considered from three different perspectives. The first story is about a boy named Joseph Alvyns, whose mother died from cholera in 2011. His story is told in a short film titled Baseball in the time of Cholera. The second story is about Mme. Yolande Marie Nazaire, who was the Director of the Haiti National School of Nursing in Port-au-Prince on the morning of January 12, 2010, when an earthquake killed 90 students and faculty. The three perspectives discussed here are: (a) Critical Reflective in health professional education as used by the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine; (b) The Capacities of Stories, which is part of a socio-narratology methodology; and(c) Story Theory with implications for global health nursing.

PONDEROSA, an automated 3D-NOESY peak picking program, enables automated protein structure determination.

PubMed

Lee, Woonghee; Kim, Jin Hae; Westler, William M; Markley, John L

2011-06-15

PONDEROSA (Peak-picking Of Noe Data Enabled by Restriction of Shift Assignments) accepts input information consisting of a protein sequence, backbone and sidechain NMR resonance assignments, and 3D-NOESY ((13)C-edited and/or (15)N-edited) spectra, and returns assignments of NOESY crosspeaks, distance and angle constraints, and a reliable NMR structure represented by a family of conformers. PONDEROSA incorporates and integrates external software packages (TALOS+, STRIDE and CYANA) to carry out different steps in the structure determination. PONDEROSA implements internal functions that identify and validate NOESY peak assignments and assess the quality of the calculated three-dimensional structure of the protein. The robustness of the analysis results from PONDEROSA's hierarchical processing steps that involve iterative interaction among the internal and external modules. PONDEROSA supports a variety of input formats: SPARKY assignment table (.shifts) and spectrum file formats (.ucsf), XEASY proton file format (.prot), and NMR-STAR format (.star). To demonstrate the utility of PONDEROSA, we used the package to determine 3D structures of two proteins: human ubiquitin and Escherichia coli iron-sulfur scaffold protein variant IscU(D39A). The automatically generated structural constraints and ensembles of conformers were as good as or better than those determined previously by much less automated means. The program, in the form of binary code along with tutorials and reference manuals, is available at http://ponderosa.nmrfam.wisc.edu/.

Curricular transformation of health professions education in Tanzania: the process at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (2008-2011).

PubMed

Ngassapa, Olipa D; Kaaya, Ephata E; Fyfe, Molly V; Lyamuya, Eligius F; Kakoko, Deodatus C; Kayombo, Edmund J; Kisenge, Rodrick R; Loeser, Helen; Mwakigonja, Amos R; Outwater, Anne H; Martin-Holland, Judy; Mwambete, Kennedy D; Kida, Irene; Macfarlane, Sarah B

2012-01-01

Tanzania requires more health professionals equipped to tackle its serious health challenges. When it became an independent university in 2007, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) decided to transform its educational offerings to ensure its students practice competently and contribute to improving population health. In 2008, in collaboration with the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), all MUHAS's schools (dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and public health and social sciences) and institutes (traditional medicine and allied health sciences) began a university-wide process to revise curricula. Adopting university-wide committee structures, procedures, and a common schedule, MUHAS faculty set out to: (i) identify specific competencies for students to achieve by graduation (in eight domains, six that are inter-professional, hence consistent across schools); (ii) engage stakeholders to understand adequacies and inadequacies of current curricula; and (iii) restructure and revise curricula introducing competencies. The Tanzania Commission for Universities accredited the curricula in September 2011, and faculty started implementation with first-year students in October 2011. We learned that curricular revision of this magnitude requires: a compelling directive for change, designated leadership, resource mobilization inclusion of all stakeholders, clear guiding principles, an iterative plan linking flexible timetables to phases for curriculum development, engagement in skills training for the cultivation of future leaders, and extensive communication.

Adapt-Mix: learning local genetic correlation structure improves summary statistics-based analyses

PubMed Central

Park, Danny S.; Brown, Brielin; Eng, Celeste; Huntsman, Scott; Hu, Donglei; Torgerson, Dara G.; Burchard, Esteban G.; Zaitlen, Noah

2015-01-01

Motivation: Approaches to identifying new risk loci, training risk prediction models, imputing untyped variants and fine-mapping causal variants from summary statistics of genome-wide association studies are playing an increasingly important role in the human genetics community. Current summary statistics-based methods rely on global ‘best guess’ reference panels to model the genetic correlation structure of the dataset being studied. This approach, especially in admixed populations, has the potential to produce misleading results, ignores variation in local structure and is not feasible when appropriate reference panels are missing or small. Here, we develop a method, Adapt-Mix, that combines information across all available reference panels to produce estimates of local genetic correlation structure for summary statistics-based methods in arbitrary populations. Results: We applied Adapt-Mix to estimate the genetic correlation structure of both admixed and non-admixed individuals using simulated and real data. We evaluated our method by measuring the performance of two summary statistics-based methods: imputation and joint-testing. When using our method as opposed to the current standard of ‘best guess’ reference panels, we observed a 28% decrease in mean-squared error for imputation and a 73.7% decrease in mean-squared error for joint-testing. Availability and implementation: Our method is publicly available in a software package called ADAPT-Mix available at https://github.com/dpark27/adapt_mix. Contact: noah.zaitlen@ucsf.edu PMID:26072481

A novel approach for effective integration of new faculty leadership

PubMed Central

Hastings, Natalie B; Centore, Linda S; Gansky, Stuart A; Finzen, Frederick C; White, Joel M; Wong, Eric; Marshall, Grayson W; Chung, Lisa; Kalenderian, Elsbeth

2017-01-01

Purpose We report on an accelerated and effective way of assimilating a new leader into a team at a large academic dental school department. Methods At University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), a new Chair was recruited through a national search to lead its largest department in the School of Dentistry. Two months after arrival, the new Chair embarked on a process of leadership assimilation among her executive team, facilitated by a professional consultant. Within four weeks, team members participated in one-on-one interviews with the professional facilitator consultant and then completed the leadership assimilation questionnaire and returned it electronically to the facilitator. The facilitator then summarized all answers into themes and met with the team members without the Chair to debrief. Thereafter, the facilitator met with the Chair to discuss the major themes. Next, the Chair met with the team members in a facilitated session to discuss the results and negotiate a path forward. Results Approximately half of the feedback described the “how” of leadership: comments on communication, building relationships, building trust, and understanding UCSF history. The remaining half described the “what”: comments on vision, strategy, and operations. Team members indicated that the first debriefing session was helpful to alleviate initial anxiety and to start building team spirit. The session with the Chair was perceived as open and fruitful in which team members were able to express their concerns and hopes for the Department, while the Chair showed commitment to the team and the communication process. Conclusion Leader assimilation allows teams to share their expectations and anxieties with the new leader early in the relationship in an open way, before new habits and beliefs are formed. Conversely, for the leader, it effectively and efficiently allows a window into the team members’ thinking at a critical time period when otherwise first impressions occur. With a safe space created for open communication, the process allowed siloed individual division leaders to move toward a cohesive group while at the same time solidifying a commitment to the success of the new leader. PMID:29720883

A novel approach for effective integration of new faculty leadership.

PubMed

Hastings, Natalie B; Centore, Linda S; Gansky, Stuart A; Finzen, Frederick C; White, Joel M; Wong, Eric; Marshall, Grayson W; Chung, Lisa; Kalenderian, Elsbeth

2017-01-01

We report on an accelerated and effective way of assimilating a new leader into a team at a large academic dental school department. At University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), a new Chair was recruited through a national search to lead its largest department in the School of Dentistry. Two months after arrival, the new Chair embarked on a process of leadership assimilation among her executive team, facilitated by a professional consultant. Within four weeks, team members participated in one-on-one interviews with the professional facilitator consultant and then completed the leadership assimilation questionnaire and returned it electronically to the facilitator. The facilitator then summarized all answers into themes and met with the team members without the Chair to debrief. Thereafter, the facilitator met with the Chair to discuss the major themes. Next, the Chair met with the team members in a facilitated session to discuss the results and negotiate a path forward. Approximately half of the feedback described the "how" of leadership: comments on communication, building relationships, building trust, and understanding UCSF history. The remaining half described the "what": comments on vision, strategy, and operations. Team members indicated that the first debriefing session was helpful to alleviate initial anxiety and to start building team spirit. The session with the Chair was perceived as open and fruitful in which team members were able to express their concerns and hopes for the Department, while the Chair showed commitment to the team and the communication process. Leader assimilation allows teams to share their expectations and anxieties with the new leader early in the relationship in an open way, before new habits and beliefs are formed. Conversely, for the leader, it effectively and efficiently allows a window into the team members' thinking at a critical time period when otherwise first impressions occur. With a safe space created for open communication, the process allowed siloed individual division leaders to move toward a cohesive group while at the same time solidifying a commitment to the success of the new leader.

Digital Signal Processing Based Biotelemetry Receivers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singh, Avtar; Hines, John; Somps, Chris

1997-01-01

This is an attempt to develop a biotelemetry receiver using digital signal processing technology and techniques. The receiver developed in this work is based on recovering signals that have been encoded using either Pulse Position Modulation (PPM) or Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) technique. A prototype has been developed using state-of-the-art digital signal processing technology. A Printed Circuit Board (PCB) is being developed based on the technique and technology described here. This board is intended to be used in the UCSF Fetal Monitoring system developed at NASA. The board is capable of handling a variety of PPM and PCM signals encoding signals such as ECG, temperature, and pressure. A signal processing program has also been developed to analyze the received ECG signal to determine heart rate. This system provides a base for using digital signal processing in biotelemetry receivers and other similar applications.

Introducing quality assurance and medical audit into the UCSF medical center curriculum.

PubMed

Barbaccia, J C

1976-05-01

The experience gained by a medical school faculty in developing and piloting a course for undergraduate medical students in medical care evaluation led to a similar effort for house staff. It is recognized that if the profession is to fulfill the demand by society for social accountability in the use of resources for health care, medical care assessment and quality assurance mechanisms must become an intimate part of the clinical experience of medical students and house officers. Teaching these subjects requires a theoretical framework; introduction of content and skills appropriate to the level of the student and continuation of progressively more advanced training throughout medical education; use of assessment and quality assurance techniques by clinician-teachers themselves to provide models for the student; and continued evolution of pedagogic approach and course content based on developments in the area.

EVAcon: a protein contact prediction evaluation service

PubMed Central

Graña, Osvaldo; Eyrich, Volker A.; Pazos, Florencio; Rost, Burkhard; Valencia, Alfonso

2005-01-01

Here we introduce EVAcon, an automated web service that evaluates the performance of contact prediction servers. Currently, EVAcon is monitoring nine servers, four of which are specialized in contact prediction and five are general structure prediction servers. Results are compared for all newly determined experimental structures deposited into PDB (∼5–50 per week). EVAcon allows for a precise comparison of the results based on a system of common protein subsets and the commonly accepted evaluation criteria that are also used in the corresponding category of the CASP assessment. EVAcon is a new service added to the functionality of the EVA system for the continuous evaluation of protein structure prediction servers. The new service is accesible from any of the three EVA mirrors: PDG (CNB-CSIC, Madrid) (); CUBIC (Columbia University, NYC) (); and Sali Lab (UCSF, San Francisco) (). PMID:15980486

Tobacco industry sponsorship of a book and conflict of interest.

PubMed

Hong, Mi-Kyung; Bero, Lisa A

2006-08-01

The tobacco industry has hidden its involvement in the design, conduct and publication of scientific research articles and has used the articles to argue against tobacco regulation. The objective of this study is to examine tobacco industry involvement in the development of scientific books. Qualitative analysis of previously secret internal tobacco industry documents retrieved from the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu). Information from the documents was supplemented with material from Internet searches, the National Center for Biotechnology Information Pubmed database and interviews with individuals involved in book publication. Between 1997 and 1999 the tobacco industry sponsored a monograph, entitled 'Analytical Determination of Nicotine and Related Compounds and their Metabolites', that examined the measurement and metabolism of nicotine. The tobacco industry recruited Elsevier Science to publish the monograph. Tobacco industry executives, lawyers and scientists reviewed the chapters. One use of the monograph was to stimulate collaborative efforts between academic and tobacco industry scientists. Another was to provide the book to a government regulatory agency reviewing the teratogenic effects of nicotine. Our findings show the breadth of tobacco industry engagement in scientific knowledge production and dissemination, and its motives for sponsoring scientific literature. The industry's effort to gain credibility through collaboration with academic scientists raises questions regarding the ethics of accepting tobacco industry funding for publication. Scientists who collaborate on publications sponsored by the tobacco industry must consider the full implications of these joint efforts.

Telephone-Based Cognitive-Behavioral Screening for Frontotemporal Changes in Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

PubMed Central

Christodoulou, Georgia; Gennings, Chris; Hupf, Jonathan; Factor-Litvak, Pam; Murphy, Jennifer; Goetz, Raymond R.; Mitsumoto, Hiroshi

2017-01-01

Objective To establish a valid and reliable battery of measures to evaluate frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in patients with ALS over the phone. Methods Thirty-one subjects were administered either in-person or telephone-based screening followed by the opposite mode of testing two weeks later, using a modified version of the UCSF Cognitive Screening Battery. Results Equivalence testing was performed for in-person and telephone-based tests. The standard ALS Cognitive Behavioral Screen (ALS-CBS) showed statistical equivalence at the 5% significance level when compared to a revised phone-version of the ALS-CBS. In addition, the Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT) and Center for Neurologic Study-Lability Scale (CNS-LS) were also found to be equivalent at the 5% and 10% significance level respectively. Similarly, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the well-established Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS) were also statistically equivalent. Equivalence could not be claimed for the ALS-Frontal Behavioral Inventory (ALS-FBI) caregiver interview and the Written Verbal Fluency Index (WVFI). Conclusions Our study suggests that telephone-based versions of the ALS-CBS, COWAT, and CNS-LS may offer clinicians valid tools to detect frontotemporal changes in the ALS population. Development of telephone-based cognitive testing for ALS could become an integral resource for population-based research in the future. PMID:27121545

Telephone based cognitive-behavioral screening for frontotemporal changes in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

PubMed

Christodoulou, Georgia; Gennings, Chris; Hupf, Jonathan; Factor-Litvak, Pam; Murphy, Jennifer; Goetz, Raymond R; Mitsumoto, Hiroshi

Our objective was to establish a valid and reliable battery of measures to evaluate frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in patients with ALS over the telephone. Thirty-one subjects were administered either in-person or by telephone-based screening followed by the opposite mode of testing two weeks later, using a modified version of the UCSF Cognitive Screening Battery. Equivalence testing was performed for in-person and telephone based tests. The standard ALS Cognitive Behavioral Screen (ALS-CBS) showed statistical equivalence at the 5% significance level compared to a revised phone version of the ALS-CBS. In addition, the Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT) and Center for Neurologic Study-Lability Scale (CNS-LS) were also found to be equivalent at the 5% and 10% significance level, respectively. Similarly, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the well-established Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS) were also statistically equivalent. Equivalence could not be claimed for the ALS-Frontal Behavioral Inventory (ALS-FBI) caregiver interview and the Written Verbal Fluency Index (WVFI). In conclusion, our study suggests that telephone-based versions of the ALS-CBS, COWAT, and CNS-LS may offer clinicians valid tools to detect frontotemporal changes in the ALS population. Development of telephone based cognitive testing for ALS could become an integral resource for population based research in the future.

Waiting for the Opportune Moment: The Tobacco Industry and Marijuana Legalization

PubMed Central

Barry, Rachel Ann; Hiilamo, Heikki; Glantz, Stanton A

2014-01-01

Context In 2012, Washington State and Colorado legalized the recreational use of marijuana, and Uruguay, beginning in 2014, will become the first country to legalize the sale and distribution of marijuana. The challenge facing policymakers and public health advocates is reducing the harms of an ineffective, costly, and discriminatory “war on drugs” while preventing another public health catastrophe similar to tobacco use, which kills 6 million people worldwide each year. Methods Between May and December 2013, using the standard snowball research technique, we searched the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library of previously secret tobacco industry documents (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu). Findings Since at least the 1970s, tobacco companies have been interested in marijuana and marijuana legalization as both a potential and a rival product. As public opinion shifted and governments began relaxing laws pertaining to marijuana criminalization, the tobacco companies modified their corporate planning strategies to prepare for future consumer demand. Conclusions Policymakers and public health advocates must be aware that the tobacco industry or comparable multinational organizations (eg, food and beverage industries) are prepared to enter the marijuana market with the intention of increasing its already widespread use. In order to prevent domination of the market by companies seeking to maximize market size and profits, policymakers should learn from their successes and failures in regulating tobacco. PMID:24890245

Mentorship through advisory colleges.

PubMed

Murr, Andrew H; Miller, Carol; Papadakis, Maxine

2002-11-01

Medical students face pressures ranging from the need to create a social network to learning vast amounts of scientific material. Students often feel isolated in this system and lack mentorship. In order to counteract feelings of bureaucratic anonymity and isolation, the University of California San Francisco has created an advisory college to foster the professional and personal growth and well being of students. UCSF has developed a formal structure to advise medical students. A selection committee, chaired by the associate dean of student affairs, appointed five faculty mentors to head advisory colleges. These five colleges serve as the advising and well-being infrastructure for the students. Mentors were chosen from a balanced range of clinical disciplines, both primary and specialty. The disciplines are obstetrics-gynecology, otolaryngology/head and neck surgery, medicine, pediatrics, and psychiatry. The mentors have demonstrated excellence in advising and counseling of students. Mentors meet individually at the beginning of the academic year with incoming first-year and second-year students. They then have bimonthly meetings with eight to ten students within each college throughout the academic year. Curricula for these group sessions include well-being discussions and coping techniques, sessions on the hidden and informal curriculum of professionalism, and discussions on career choices and strategies. For third-year students, advisory college meetings are scheduled during intersessions, which are weeklong courses that occur between the eight-week clerkship blocks. Mentors are available throughout the year to meet with students on an as-needed basis, and advisory colleges may hold group social activities. The dean's office supports each mentor with 20% salary and provides administrative support for the group college activities. Historically, UCSF students feel they receive an excellent education and appropriate job opportunities, but they do not feel they receive adequate advising and mentoring. This may have as its root cause the financial, clinical, and research pressures placed upon a faculty who are also responsible for mentoring residents and fellows. The advisory colleges begin by providing an infrastructure for developing a relationship for the student with a single faculty member. The advisory college system is incorporated into the academic schedule rather than relying on ad-hoc activities from well-meaning but inconsistently available faculty. In the early part of medical school, the advisory college relationship concentrates on assimilation into the new environment and provides the student with advice pertaining to mastering academic material. The college also serves as a sounding board for problems that can then be relayed to course directors to improve the educational experience. For students encountering academic difficulty, the college advisor can provide discreet advice about tutoring resources and can direct the student to a separately staffed Student Well-being Program. As time progresses, the mentors can direct students to key people in different fields of interest such as program directors and keep the students on track to make career decisions in a timely manner. The college system can help transform an anonymous medical school experience into a supportive, rich environment.

Tobacco companies’ efforts to undermine ingredient disclosure: the Massachusetts benchmark study

PubMed Central

Velicer, Clayton; Aguinaga-Bialous, Stella; Glantz, Stanton

2015-01-01

Objectives To assess the Massachusetts Benchmark ‘Study’ (MBS) that the tobacco companies presented to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) in 1999 in response to ingredient disclosure regulations in the state. This case study can inform future ingredient disclosure regulations, including implementation of Articles 9 and 10 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Methods We analysed documents available at http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu to identify internal communications regarding the design and execution of the MBS and internal studies on the relationship between tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide and smoke constituents and reviewed publications that further evaluated data published as part of the MBS. Results The companies conducted extensive studies of cigarette design factors and ingredients that significantly impacted the levels of constituents. While this study asserted that by-brand emissions could be estimated reliably from published tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide levels, the tobacco companies were well aware that factors beyond tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide influenced levels of constituents included in the study. This severely limited the potential usefulness of the MBS predictor equations. Conclusions Despite promises to provide data that would allow regulators to predict constituent data for all brands on the market, the final MBS results offered no useful predictive information to inform regulators, the scientific community or consumers. When implementing FCTC Articles 9 and 10, regulatory agencies should demand detailed by-brand information on tobacco product constituents and toxin deliveries to users. PMID:26292701

Increased mitochondrial DNA deletions and copy number in transfusion-dependent thalassemia

PubMed Central

Calloway, Cassandra

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND. Iron overload is the primary cause of morbidity in transfusion-dependent thalassemia. Increase in iron causes mitochondrial dysfunction under experimental conditions, but the occurrence and significance of mitochondrial damage is not understood in patients with thalassemia. METHODS. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to nuclear DNA copy number (Mt/N) and frequency of the common 4977-bp mitochondrial deletion (ΔmtDNA4977) were quantified using a quantitative PCR assay on whole blood samples from 38 subjects with thalassemia who were receiving regular transfusions. RESULTS. Compared with healthy controls, Mt/N and ΔmtDNA4977 frequency were elevated in thalassemia (P = 0.038 and P < 0.001, respectively). ΔmtDNA4977 was increased in the presence of either liver iron concentration > 15 mg/g dry-weight or splenectomy, with the highest levels observed in subjects who had both risk factors (P = 0.003). Myocardial iron (MRI T2* < 20 ms) was present in 0%, 22%, and 46% of subjects with ΔmtDNA4977 frequency < 20, 20–40, and > 40/1 × 107 mtDNA, respectively (P = 0.025). Subjects with Mt/N values below the group median had significantly lower Matsuda insulin sensitivity index (5.76 ± 0.53) compared with the high Mt/N group (9.11 ± 0.95, P = 0.008). CONCLUSION. Individuals with transfusion-dependent thalassemia demonstrate age-related increase in mtDNA damage in leukocytes. These changes are markedly amplified by splenectomy and are associated with extrahepatic iron deposition. Elevated mtDNA damage in blood cells may predict the risk of iron-associated organ damage in thalassemia. FUNDING. This project was supported by Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland Institutional Research Award and by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, NIH, through UCSF-CTSI grant UL1 TR000004. PMID:27583305

Biocuration in the structure-function linkage database: the anatomy of a superfamily.

PubMed

Holliday, Gemma L; Brown, Shoshana D; Akiva, Eyal; Mischel, David; Hicks, Michael A; Morris, John H; Huang, Conrad C; Meng, Elaine C; Pegg, Scott C-H; Ferrin, Thomas E; Babbitt, Patricia C

2017-01-01

With ever-increasing amounts of sequence data available in both the primary literature and sequence repositories, there is a bottleneck in annotating molecular function to a sequence. This article describes the biocuration process and methods used in the structure-function linkage database (SFLD) to help address some of the challenges. We discuss how the hierarchy within the SFLD allows us to infer detailed functional properties for functionally diverse enzyme superfamilies in which all members are homologous, conserve an aspect of their chemical function and have associated conserved structural features that enable the chemistry. Also presented is the Enzyme Structure-Function Ontology (ESFO), which has been designed to capture the relationships between enzyme sequence, structure and function that underlie the SFLD and is used to guide the biocuration processes within the SFLD. http://sfld.rbvi.ucsf.edu/. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

A Historical Review of R. J. Reynolds’ Strategies for Marketing Tobacco to Hispanics in the United States

PubMed Central

Parascandola, Mark

2013-01-01

Hispanics are the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the United States, and smoking is the leading preventable cause of morbidity and mortality among this population. We analyzed tobacco industry documents on R. J. Reynolds’ marketing strategies toward the Hispanic population using tobacco industry document archives from the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) between February–July 2011 and April–August 2012. Our analysis revealed that by 1980 the company had developed a sophisticated surveillance system to track the market behavior of Hispanic smokers and understand their psychographics, cultural values, and attitudes. This information was translated into targeted marketing campaigns for the Winston and Camel brands. Marketing targeted toward Hispanics appealed to values and sponsored activities that could be perceived as legitimating. Greater understanding of tobacco industry marketing strategies has substantial relevance for addressing tobacco-related health disparities. PMID:23488493

A historical review of R.J. Reynolds' strategies for marketing tobacco to Hispanics in the United States.

PubMed

Iglesias-Rios, Lisbeth; Parascandola, Mark

2013-05-01

Hispanics are the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the United States, and smoking is the leading preventable cause of morbidity and mortality among this population. We analyzed tobacco industry documents on R. J. Reynolds' marketing strategies toward the Hispanic population using tobacco industry document archives from the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) between February-July 2011 and April-August 2012. Our analysis revealed that by 1980 the company had developed a sophisticated surveillance system to track the market behavior of Hispanic smokers and understand their psychographics, cultural values, and attitudes. This information was translated into targeted marketing campaigns for the Winston and Camel brands. Marketing targeted toward Hispanics appealed to values and sponsored activities that could be perceived as legitimating. Greater understanding of tobacco industry marketing strategies has substantial relevance for addressing tobacco-related health disparities.

Marketing of menthol cigarettes and consumer perceptions: a review of tobacco industry documents.

PubMed

Anderson, Stacey J

2011-05-01

To examine tobacco industry marketing of menthol cigarettes and to determine what the tobacco industry knew about consumer perceptions of menthol. A snowball sampling design was used to systematically search the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (LTDL) (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) between 28 February and 27 April 2010. Of the approximately 11 million documents available in the LTDL, the iterative searches returned tens of thousands of results from the major US tobacco companies and affiliated organisations. A collection of 953 documents from the 1930s to the first decade of the 21st century relevant to 1 or more of the research questions were qualitatively analysed, as follows: (1) are/were menthol cigarettes marketed with health reassurance messages? (2) What other messages come from menthol cigarette advertising? (3) How do smokers view menthol cigarettes? (4) Were menthol cigarettes marketed to specific populations? Menthol cigarettes were marketed as, and are perceived by consumers to be, healthier than non-menthol cigarettes. Menthol cigarettes are also marketed to specific social and demographic groups, including African-Americans, young people and women, and are perceived by consumers to signal social group belonging. The tobacco industry knew consumers perceived menthol as healthier than non-menthol cigarettes, and this was the intent behind marketing. Marketing emphasising menthol attracts consumers who may not otherwise progress to regular smoking, including young, inexperienced users and those who find 'regular' cigarettes undesirable. Such marketing may also appeal to health-concerned smokers who might otherwise quit.

Role of collaborative academic partnerships in surgical training, education, and provision.

PubMed

Riviello, Robert; Ozgediz, Doruk; Hsia, Renee Y; Azzie, Georges; Newton, Mark; Tarpley, John

2010-03-01

The global disparities in both surgical disease burden and access to delivery of surgical care are gaining prominence in the medical literature and media. Concurrently, there is an unprecedented groundswell in idealism and interest in global health among North American medical students and trainees in anesthesia and surgical disciplines. Many academic medical centers (AMCs) are seeking to respond by creating partnerships with teaching hospitals overseas. In this article we describe six such partnerships, as follows: (1) University of California San Francisco (UCSF) with the Bellagio Essential Surgery Group; (2) USCF with Makerere University, Uganda; (3) Vanderbilt with Baptist Medical Center, Ogbomoso, Nigeria; (4) Vanderbilt with Kijabe Hospital, Kenya; (5) University of Toronto, Hospital for Sick Children with the Ministry of Health in Botswana; and (6) Harvard (Brigham and Women's Hospital and Children's Hospital Boston) with Partners in Health in Haiti and Rwanda. Reflection on these experiences offers valuable lessons, and we make recommendations of critical components leading to success. These include the importance of relationships, emphasis on mutual learning, the need for "champions," affirming that local training needs to supersede expatriate training needs, the value of collaboration in research, adapting the mission to locally expressed needs, the need for a multidisciplinary approach, and the need to measure outcomes. We conclude that this is an era of cautious optimism and that AMCs have a critical opportunity to both shape future leaders in global surgery and address the current global disparities.

Tobacco companies' efforts to undermine ingredient disclosure: the Massachusetts benchmark study.

PubMed

Velicer, Clayton; Aguinaga-Bialous, Stella; Glantz, Stanton

2016-09-01

To assess the 'Massachusetts Benchmark Study' (MBS) that the tobacco companies presented to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) in 1999 in response to ingredient disclosure regulations in the state. This case study can inform future ingredient disclosure regulations, including implementation of Articles 9 and 10 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). We analysed documents available at http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu to identify internal communications regarding the design and execution of the MBS and internal studies on the relationship between tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide and smoke constituents and reviewed publications that further evaluated data published as part of the MBS. The companies conducted extensive studies of cigarette design factors and ingredients that significantly impacted the levels of constituents. While this study asserted that by-brand emissions could be estimated reliably from published tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide levels, the tobacco companies were well aware that factors beyond tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide influenced levels of constituents included in the study. This severely limited the potential usefulness of the MBS predictor equations. Despite promises to provide data that would allow regulators to predict constituent data for all brands on the market, the final MBS results offered no useful predictive information to inform regulators, the scientific community or consumers. When implementing FCTC Articles 9 and 10, regulatory agencies should demand detailed by-brand information on tobacco product constituents and toxin deliveries to users. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

PONDEROSA, an automated 3D-NOESY peak picking program, enables automated protein structure determination

PubMed Central

Lee, Woonghee; Kim, Jin Hae; Westler, William M.; Markley, John L.

2011-01-01

Summary: PONDEROSA (Peak-picking Of Noe Data Enabled by Restriction of Shift Assignments) accepts input information consisting of a protein sequence, backbone and sidechain NMR resonance assignments, and 3D-NOESY (13C-edited and/or 15N-edited) spectra, and returns assignments of NOESY crosspeaks, distance and angle constraints, and a reliable NMR structure represented by a family of conformers. PONDEROSA incorporates and integrates external software packages (TALOS+, STRIDE and CYANA) to carry out different steps in the structure determination. PONDEROSA implements internal functions that identify and validate NOESY peak assignments and assess the quality of the calculated three-dimensional structure of the protein. The robustness of the analysis results from PONDEROSA's hierarchical processing steps that involve iterative interaction among the internal and external modules. PONDEROSA supports a variety of input formats: SPARKY assignment table (.shifts) and spectrum file formats (.ucsf), XEASY proton file format (.prot), and NMR-STAR format (.star). To demonstrate the utility of PONDEROSA, we used the package to determine 3D structures of two proteins: human ubiquitin and Escherichia coli iron-sulfur scaffold protein variant IscU(D39A). The automatically generated structural constraints and ensembles of conformers were as good as or better than those determined previously by much less automated means. Availability: The program, in the form of binary code along with tutorials and reference manuals, is available at http://ponderosa.nmrfam.wisc.edu/. Contact: whlee@nmrfam.wisc.edu; markley@nmrfam.wisc.edu Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:21511715

Apparent diffusion coefficient in glioblastoma with PNET-like components, a GBM variant.

PubMed

Ali, Saad; Joseph, Nancy M; Perry, Arie; Barajas, Ramon F; Cha, Soonmee

2014-09-01

Glioblastoma (GBM) with primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET)-like (GBM-PNET) components is a rare variant of GBM. Recent studies describe PNET-like clinical behavior in these patients-with significantly increased propensity for CSF dissemination and a benefit of "PNET-like" chemotherapy. The imaging appearance of GBM-PNET is not well-described and given areas of marked cellularity in the PNET components one might expect significantly reduced diffusion on MRI. The purpose of this study is to quantitatively evaluate the diffusion characteristics in GBM-PNET and compare them with conventional GBMs. Nine patients with surgical specimens yielding GBM-PNET were identified from the UCSF Pathology files. MR images of these patients were reviewed retrospectively. DWI (diffusion-weighted imaging) sequences were analyzed with multiple regions of interests placed within the tumor, and ADC (apparent diffusion coefficient) values were measured. Results were compared to previously published ADC values in pathology-proven conventional GBM cases from our institution. Reduced ADC was seen in GBM-PNET (mean 581 × 10(-6) mm(2)/s, range 338-817) compared to previously published mean of 1,030 × 10(-6) mm(2)/s in the enhancing components of conventional GBMs. We report substantially reduced ADC values in GBM-PNETs compared to conventional GBMs. If demonstrated in a larger sample, when areas of marked reduced diffusion are seen in a suspected GBM, MRI may appropriately direct tissue sampling and can advocate a thorough search for PNET-like components on histopathology. These patients may have a higher chance of developing CSF dissemination and may benefit from "PNET-like" platinum-based chemotherapy.

A transparent model of the human scala tympani cavity.

PubMed

Rebscher, S J; Talbot, N; Bruszewski, W; Heilmann, M; Brasell, J; Merzenich, M M

1996-01-01

A dimensionally accurate clear model of the human scala tympani has been produced to evaluate the insertion and position of clinically applied intracochlear electrodes for electrical stimulation. Replicates of the human scala tympani were made from low melting point metal alloy (LMA) and from polymethylmeth-acrylate (PMMA) resin. The LMA metal casts were embedded in blocks of epoxy and in clear silicone rubber. After removal of the metal alloy, a cavity was produced that accurately models the human scala tympani. Investment casting molds were made from the PMMA scala tympani casts to enable production of multiple LMA casts from which identical models were fabricated. Total dimensional distortion of the LMA casting process was less than 1% in length and 2% in diameter. The models have been successfully integrated into the design process for the iterative development of advanced intracochlear electrode arrays at UCSF. These fabrication techniques are applicable to a wide range of biomedical design problems that require modelling of visually obscured cavities.

Standardization and Optimization of Computed Tomography Protocols to Achieve Low-Dose

PubMed Central

Chin, Cynthia; Cody, Dianna D.; Gupta, Rajiv; Hess, Christopher P.; Kalra, Mannudeep K.; Kofler, James M.; Krishnam, Mayil S.; Einstein, Andrew J.

2014-01-01

The increase in radiation exposure due to CT scans has been of growing concern in recent years. CT scanners differ in their capabilities and various indications require unique protocols, but there remains room for standardization and optimization. In this paper we summarize approaches to reduce dose, as discussed in lectures comprising the first session of the 2013 UCSF Virtual Symposium on Radiation Safety in Computed Tomography. The experience of scanning at low dose in different body regions, for both diagnostic and interventional CT procedures, is addressed. An essential primary step is justifying the medical need for each scan. General guiding principles for reducing dose include tailoring a scan to a patient, minimizing scan length, use of tube current modulation and minimizing tube current, minimizing-tube potential, iterative reconstruction, and periodic review of CT studies. Organized efforts for standardization have been spearheaded by professional societies such as the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. Finally, all team members should demonstrate an awareness of the importance of minimizing dose. PMID:24589403

All-atom ensemble modeling to analyze small angle X-ray scattering of glycosylated proteins

PubMed Central

Guttman, Miklos; Weinkam, Patrick; Sali, Andrej; Lee, Kelly K.

2013-01-01

Summary The flexible and heterogeneous nature of carbohydrate chains often renders glycoproteins refractory to traditional structure determination methods. Small Angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) can be a useful tool for obtaining structural information of these systems. All-atom modeling of glycoproteins with flexible glycan chains was applied to interpret the solution SAXS data for a set of glycoproteins. For simpler systems (single glycan, with a well defined protein structure), all-atom modeling generates models in excellent agreement with the scattering pattern, and reveals the approximate spatial occupancy of the glycan chain in solution. For more complex systems (several glycan chains, or unknown protein substructure), the approach can still provide insightful models, though the orientations of glycans become poorly determined. Ab initio shape reconstructions appear to capture the global morphology of glycoproteins, but in most cases offer little information about glycan spatial occupancy. The all-atom modeling methodology is available as a webserver at http://modbase.compbio.ucsf.edu/allosmod-foxs. PMID:23473666

Dissociable executive functions in behavioral variant frontotemporal and Alzheimer dementias

PubMed Central

Feigenbaum, Dana; Rankin, Katherine P.; Smith, Glenn E.; Boxer, Adam L.; Wood, Kristie; Hanna, Sherrie M.; Miller, Bruce L.; Kramer, Joel H.

2013-01-01

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine which aspects of executive functions are most affected in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and best differentiate this syndrome from Alzheimer disease (AD). Methods: We compared executive functions in 22 patients diagnosed with bvFTD, 26 with AD, and 31 neurologically healthy controls using a conceptually driven and comprehensive battery of executive function tests, the NIH EXAMINER battery (http://examiner.ucsf.edu). Results: The bvFTD and the AD patients were similarly impaired compared with controls on tests of working memory, category fluency, and attention, but the patients with bvFTD showed significantly more severe impairments than the patients with AD on tests of letter fluency, antisaccade accuracy, social decision-making, and social behavior. Discriminant function analysis with jackknifed cross-validation classified the bvFTD and AD patient groups with 73% accuracy. Conclusions: Executive function assessment can support bvFTD diagnosis when measures are carefully selected to emphasize frontally specific functions. PMID:23658382

Marketing of menthol cigarettes and consumer perceptions: a review of tobacco industry documents

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Objective To examine tobacco industry marketing of menthol cigarettes and to determine what the tobacco industry knew about consumer perceptions of menthol. Methods A snowball sampling design was used to systematically search the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (LTDL) (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) between 28 February and 27 April 2010. Of the approximately 11 million documents available in the LTDL, the iterative searches returned tens of thousands of results from the major US tobacco companies and affiliated organisations. A collection of 953 documents from the 1930s to the first decade of the 21st century relevant to 1 or more of the research questions were qualitatively analysed, as follows: (1) are/were menthol cigarettes marketed with health reassurance messages? (2) What other messages come from menthol cigarette advertising? (3) How do smokers view menthol cigarettes? (4) Were menthol cigarettes marketed to specific populations? Results Menthol cigarettes were marketed as, and are perceived by consumers to be, healthier than non-menthol cigarettes. Menthol cigarettes are also marketed to specific social and demographic groups, including African–Americans, young people and women, and are perceived by consumers to signal social group belonging. Conclusions The tobacco industry knew consumers perceived menthol as healthier than non-menthol cigarettes, and this was the intent behind marketing. Marketing emphasising menthol attracts consumers who may not otherwise progress to regular smoking, including young, inexperienced users and those who find ‘regular’ cigarettes undesirable. Such marketing may also appeal to health-concerned smokers who might otherwise quit. PMID:21504928

Creating More Effective Mentors: Mentoring the Mentor.

PubMed

Gandhi, Monica; Johnson, Mallory

2016-09-01

Given the diversity of those affected by HIV, increasing diversity in the HIV biomedical research workforce is imperative. A growing body of empirical and experimental evidence supports the importance of strong mentorship in the development and success of trainees and early career investigators in academic research settings, especially for mentees of diversity. Often missing from this discussion is the need for robust mentoring training programs to ensure that mentors are trained in best practices on the tools and techniques of mentoring. Recent experimental evidence shows improvement in mentor and mentee perceptions of mentor competency after structured and formalized training on best practices in mentoring. We developed a 2-day "Mentoring the Mentors" workshop at UCSF to train mid-level and senior HIV researchers from around the country [recruited mainly from Centers for AIDS Research (CFARs)] on best practices, tools and techniques of effective mentoring. The workshop content was designed using principles of Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) and included training specifically geared towards working with early career investigators from underrepresented groups, including sessions on unconscious bias, microaggressions, and diversity supplements. The workshop has been held three times (September 2012, October 2013 and May 2015) with plans for annual training. Mentoring competency was measured using a validated tool before and after each workshop. Mentoring competency skills in six domains of mentoring-specifically effective communication, aligning expectations, assessing understanding, fostering independence, addressing diversity and promoting development-all improved as assessed by a validated measurement tool for participants pre- and -post the "Mentoring the Mentors" training workshops. Qualitative assessments indicated a greater awareness of the micro-insults and unconscious bias experienced by mentees of diversity and a commitment to improve awareness and mitigate these effects via the mentor-mentee relationship. Our "Mentoring the Mentors" workshop for HIV researchers/mentors offers a formal and structured curriculum on best practices, tools and techniques of effective mentoring, and methods to mitigate unconscious bias in the mentoring relationship. We found quantitative and qualitative improvements in mentoring skills as assessed by self-report by participants after each workshop and plan additional programs with longitudinal longer-term assessments focused on objective mentee outcomes (grants, papers, academic retention). Mentoring training can improve mentoring skills and is likely to improve outcomes for optimally-mentored mentees.

Scientometric identification of elite 'revolutionary science' research institutions by analysis of trends in Nobel prizes 1947-2006.

PubMed

Charlton, Bruce G

2007-01-01

Most research is 'normal science' using Thomas Kuhn's term: checking, trial-and-error improvement and incremental extrapolation of already existing paradigms. By contrast, 'revolutionary science' changes the fundamental structures of science by making new theories, discoveries or technologies. Science Nobel prizes (in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology/Medicine and Economics) have the potential to be used as a new metric for measuring revolutionary science. Nobel laureates' nations and research institutions were measured between 1947 and 2006 in 20 year segments. The minimum threshold for inclusion was 3 Nobel prizes. Credit was allocated to each laureate's institution and nation of residence at the time of award. Over 60 years, the USA has 19 institutions which won three-plus Nobel prizes in 20 years, the UK has 4, France has 2 and Sweden and USSR 1 each. Four US institutions won 3 or more prizes in all 20 year segments: Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley and CalTech. The most successful institution in the past 20 years was MIT, with 11 prizes followed by Stanford (9), Columbia and Chicago (7). But the Western United States has recently become the world dominant region for revolutionary science, generating a new generation of elite public universities: University of Colorado at Boulder; University of Washington at Seattle; and the University of California institutions of Santa Barbara, Irvine, UCSF, and UCLA; also the Fred Hutchinson CRC in Seattle. Since 1986 the USA has 16 institutions which have won 3 plus prizes, but elsewhere in the world only the College de France has achieved this. In the UK Cambridge University, Cambridge MRC unit, Oxford and Imperial College have declined from 17 prizes in 1967-86 to only 3 since then. Harvard has also declined as a revolutionary science university from being the top Nobel-prize-winning institution for 40 years, to currently joint sixth position. Although Nobel science prizes are sporadically won by numerous nations and institutions, it seems that long term national strength in revolutionary science is mainly a result of sustaining and newly-generating multi-Nobel-winning research centres. At present these elite institutions are found almost exclusively in the USA. The USA is apparently the only nation with a research system that nurtures revolutionary science on a large scale.

Creating more effective mentors: Mentoring the mentor

PubMed Central

Gandhi, Monica; Johnson, Mallory

2016-01-01

Introduction Given the diversity of those affected by HIV, increasing diversity in the HIV biomedical research workforce is imperative. A growing body of empirical and experimental evidence supports the importance of strong mentorship in the development and success of trainees and early career investigators in academic research settings, especially for mentees of diversity. Often missing from this discussion is the need for robust mentoring training programs to ensure that mentors are trained in best practices on the tools and techniques of mentoring. Recent experimental evidence shows improvement in mentor and mentee perceptions of mentor’s competency after structured and formalized training on best practices in mentoring. Methods We developed a 2-day “Mentoring the Mentors” workshop at UCSF to train mid-level and senior HIV researchers from around the country (recruited mainly from Centers for AIDS Research (CFARs)) on best practices, tools and techniques of effective mentoring. The workshop content was designed using principles of Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) and included training specific to working with early career investigators from underrepresented groups, including training on unconscious bias, microaggressions, and diversity supplements. The workshop has been held 3 times (September 2012, October 2013 and May 2015) with plans for annual training. Mentoring competency was measured using a validated tool before and after each workshop. Results Mentoring competency skills in six domains of mentoring -specifically effective communication, aligning expectations, assessing understanding, fostering independence, addressing diversity and promoting development - all improved as assessed by a validated measurement tool for participants pre- and-post the “Mentoring the Mentors” training workshops. Qualitative assessments indicated a greater awareness of the micro-insults and unconscious bias experienced by mentees of diversity and a commitment to improve awareness and mitigate these effects via the mentor-mentee relationship. Discussion Our “Mentoring the Mentors” workshop for HIV researchers/mentors offers a formal and structured curriculum on best practices, tools and techniques of effective mentoring, and methods to mitigate unconscious bias in the mentoring relationship and at the institutional level with mentees of diversity. We found quantitative and qualitative improvements in mentoring skills as assessed by self-report by participants after each workshop and plan additional programs with longitudinal longer-term assessments focused on objective mentee outcomes (grants, papers, academic retention). Mentoring training can improve mentoring skills and are likely to improve outcomes for optimally-mentored mentees. PMID:27039092

Tobacco-Control Policies in Tobacco-Growing States: Where Tobacco Was King

PubMed Central

Fallin, Amanda; Glantz, Stanton A

2015-01-01

Context The 5 major tobacco-growing states (Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia) are disproportionately affected by the tobacco epidemic, with higher rates of smoking and smoking-induced disease. These states also have fewer smoke-free laws and lower tobacco taxes, 2 evidence-based policies that reduce tobacco use. Historically, the tobacco farmers and hospitality associations allied with the tobacco companies to oppose these policies. Methods This research is based on 5 detailed case studies of these states, which included key informant interviews, previously secret tobacco industry documents (available at http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu), and media articles. This was supplemented with additional tobacco document and media searches specifically for this article. Findings The tobacco companies were particularly concerned about blocking tobacco-control policies in the tobacco-growing states by promoting a pro-tobacco culture, beginning in the late 1960s. Nevertheless, since 2003, there has been rapid progress in the tobacco-growing states’ passage of smoke-free laws. This progress came after the alliance between the tobacco companies and the tobacco farmers fractured and hospitality organizations stopped opposing smoke-free laws. In addition, infrastructure built by National Cancer Institute research projects (COMMIT and ASSIST) led to long-standing tobacco-control coalitions that capitalized on these changes. Although tobacco production has dramatically fallen in these states, pro-tobacco sentiment still hinders tobacco-control policies in the major tobacco-growing states. Conclusions The environment has changed in the tobacco-growing states, following a fracture of the alliance between the tobacco companies and their former allies (tobacco growers and hospitality organizations). To continue this progress, health advocates should educate the public and policymakers on the changing reality in the tobacco-growing states, notably the great reduction in the number of tobacco farmers as well as in the volume of tobacco produced. PMID:26044632

Near Infrared Imaging as a Diagnostic Tool for Detecting Enamel Demineralization: An in vivo Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lucas, Seth Adam

Background and Objectives: For decades there has been an effort to develop alternative optical methods of imaging dental decay utilizing non-ionizing radiation methods. The purpose of this in-vivo study was to demonstrate whether NIR can be used as a diagnostic tool to evaluate dental caries and to compare the sensitivity and specificity of this method with that of conventional methods, including bitewing x-rays and visual inspection. Materials and Methods: 31 test subjects (n=31) from the UCSF orthodontic clinic undergoing orthodontic treatment with planned premolar extractions were recruited. Calibrated examiners performed caries detection examinations using conventional methods: bitewing radiographs and visual inspection. These findings were compared with the results from NIR examinations: transillumination and reflectance. To confirm the results found in the two different detection methods, a gold standard was used. After teeth were extracted, polarized light microscopy and transverse microradiography were performed. Results: A total of 87 premolars were used in the study. NIR identified the occlusal lesions with a sensitivity of 71% and a specificity of 77%, whereas, the visual examination had a sensitivity of only 40% and a specifity of 39%. For interproximal lesions halfway to DEJ, specificity remained constant, but sensitivity improved to 100% for NIR and 75% for x-rays. Conclusions: The results of this preliminary study demonstrate that NIR is just as effective at detecting enamel interproximal lesions as standard dental x-rays. NIR was more effective at detecting occlusal lesions than visual examination alone. NIR shows promise as an alternative diagnostic tool to the conventional methods of x-rays and visual examination and provides a non-ionizing radiation technique.

Cannabis dependence in the San Francisco Family Study: age of onset of use, DSM-IV symptoms, withdrawal, and heritability

PubMed Central

Ehlers, Cindy L.; Gizer, Ian R.; Vieten, Cassandra; Gilder, David A.; Stouffer, Gina M.; Lau, Philip; Wilhelmsen, Kirk C.

2009-01-01

Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States, yet the role of genetics in individual symptoms associated with cannabis use disorders has not been evaluated. The purpose of the present set of analyses was to describe the symptomatology and estimate the heritability of DSM-IV criteria/symptoms of cannabis dependence in a large sample of families. Participants were 2524 adults, participating in the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Family Study of alcoholism. Seventy percent of the sample had ever used cannabis and 13.9% met DSM-IV criteria for cannabis dependence. Younger age at first cannabis use was found to be significantly associated with a shortened survival to becoming cannabis dependent. Although a greater percentage of men met criteria for cannabis dependence, women were found to demonstrate “telescoping” as indexed by a shorter survival time from initial use to dependence as compared to men. A cannabis withdrawal syndrome was identified in users, the primary symptoms of which were nervousness, appetite change, and sleep disturbance. Cannabis use (h2 = 0.31) and dependence (h2 = 0.20), age at first use, individual DSM-IV criteria for dependence, and cannabis-use associated symptoms of depression, trouble concentrating and paranoia were all found to be heritable. These findings suggest that within this population that cannabis use and dependence, as well as individual cannabis dependence symptoms have a significant heritable component, that cannabis dependence is more likely to occur when use begins during adolescence, and that the cannabis dependence syndrome includes a number of heritable untoward psychiatric side effects including withdrawal. PMID:19818563

Clinical predictors of oral leukoplakia recurrence following CO₂ laser vaporization.

PubMed

Chainani-Wu, Nita; Lee, Dustin; Madden, Erin; Sim, Chelsia; Collins, Kornelia; Silverman, Sol

2015-11-01

The objective of this study was to determine whether risk of early leukoplakia recurrence (within 3 months) following carbon dioxide (CO2) laser removal varies by clinical characteristics including lesion size, site and accessibility of margins. A retrospective cohort study included patients with oral leukoplakia who had their first CO2 laser surgery for removal of oral leukoplakia between 2005 and 2010 at the UCSF oral medicine clinic. Twenty-six patients with 32 separate lesions met the eligibility criteria after a clinic database search was followed by review of clinical notes and biopsy reports from existing patient charts. Data analysis included computation of summary statistics, and logistic regression analyses to evaluate recurrence of leukoplakia by clinical characteristics of the lesions. Patient data and the characteristics of lesions were evaluated as possible predictors of early recurrence following laser removal; these included age, sex, duration, size, appearance and histopathology of the lesion. The only one that reached statistical significance was poor accessibility of the margins of the lesion (vs. good accessibility, OR = 24.57 (95% CI: 1.59-16.68), p = 0.016); the probability for trend for good, questionable, and poor accessibility was 0.0028. This finding remained significant after controlling for age, sex, duration and size of lesion. Four out of five lesions with poor accessibility showed recurrence at 3 months. Of these, three involved the gingiva and one the lateral tongue. This study has identified poor accessibility of the lesion margins as a predictor for early recurrence of leukoplakia following laser removal. Other variables evaluated did not reach statistical significance, possibly due to lack of power. Copyright © 2015 European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DROIDS 1.20: A GUI-Based Pipeline for GPU-Accelerated Comparative Protein Dynamics.

PubMed

Babbitt, Gregory A; Mortensen, Jamie S; Coppola, Erin E; Adams, Lily E; Liao, Justin K

2018-03-13

Traditional informatics in comparative genomics work only with static representations of biomolecules (i.e., sequence and structure), thereby ignoring the molecular dynamics (MD) of proteins that define function in the cell. A comparative approach applied to MD would connect this very short timescale process, defined in femtoseconds, to one of the longest in the universe: molecular evolution measured in millions of years. Here, we leverage advances in graphics-processing-unit-accelerated MD simulation software to develop a comparative method of MD analysis and visualization that can be applied to any two homologous Protein Data Bank structures. Our open-source pipeline, DROIDS (Detecting Relative Outlier Impacts in Dynamic Simulations), works in conjunction with existing molecular modeling software to convert any Linux gaming personal computer into a "comparative computational microscope" for observing the biophysical effects of mutations and other chemical changes in proteins. DROIDS implements structural alignment and Benjamini-Hochberg-corrected Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistics to compare nanosecond-scale atom bond fluctuations on the protein backbone, color mapping the significant differences identified in protein MD with single-amino-acid resolution. DROIDS is simple to use, incorporating graphical user interface control for Amber16 MD simulations, cpptraj analysis, and the final statistical and visual representations in R graphics and UCSF Chimera. We demonstrate that DROIDS can be utilized to visually investigate molecular evolution and disease-related functional changes in MD due to genetic mutation and epigenetic modification. DROIDS can also be used to potentially investigate binding interactions of pharmaceuticals, toxins, or other biomolecules in a functional evolutionary context as well. Copyright © 2018 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review article: liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma - a critical appraisal of the current worldwide listing criteria.

PubMed

Menon, K V; Hakeem, A R; Heaton, N D

2014-10-01

Liver transplantation (LT) plays an important role in the management of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Although early results following LT for HCC were poor, since the introduction of the Milan criteria in 1996 morphological criteria have since been well established. Thereafter, various expansions of the Milan criteria were introduced worldwide. Listing criteria for LT for HCC in the United Kingdom (UK) initially conformed to the Milan criteria but were re-defined in 2009 by expansion of the Milan criteria. To look at the evidence in literature on listing criteria and management of HCC worldwide in comparison with the UK. Secondly, we aim to review worldwide vs. UK literature on prioritisation models, loco-regional therapy protocols and role of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in LT for HCC. An electronic literature search with Medline was carried out to identify articles related to LT for HCC. Although various expansions of the Milan criteria have been described, they remain the gold standard against which other criteria are measured. The UK criteria are an expansion of the Milan criteria that go beyond Milan and University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) criteria. The current UK listing criteria for LT for HCC when compared to the worldwide criteria have a worse survival benefit (projected 5-year survival between 35-50%) when plotted on the metroticket calculator. In keeping with most transplant centres worldwide, the UK have adopted expansions to Milan to allow more patients to benefit from LT. However, currently, as it stands the UK criteria when plotted in the modification of the Metroticket model project worse survival that would seem unjustified. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Risk Factors and Outcomes in Transfusion-associated Circulatory Overload

PubMed Central

Murphy, Edward L.; Kwaan, Nicholas; Looney, Mark R.; Gajic, Ognjen; Hubmayr, Rolf D.; Gropper, Michael A.; Koenigsberg, Monique; Wilson, Greg; Matthay, Michael; Bacchetti, Peter; Toy, Pearl

2013-01-01

BACKGROUND Transfusion-associated circulatory overload is characterized by new respiratory distress and hydrostatic pulmonary edema within 6 hours after blood transfusion, but its risk factors and outcomes are poorly characterized. METHODS Using a case control design, we enrolled 83 patients with severe transfusion-associated circulatory overload identified by active surveillance for hypoxemia and 163 transfused controls at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn) hospitals. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using multivariable logistic regression, and survival and length of stay were analyzed using proportional hazard models. RESULTS Transfusion-associated circulatory overload was associated with chronic renal failure (OR 27.0; 95% CI, 5.2–143), a past history of heart failure (OR 6.6; 95% CI, 2.1–21), hemorrhagic shock (OR 113; 95% CI, 14.1–903), number of blood products transfused (OR 1.11 per unit; 95% CI, 1.01–1.22), and fluid balance per hour (OR 9.4 per liter; 95% CI, 3.1–28). Patients with transfusion-associated circulatory overload had significantly increased in-hospital mortality (hazard ratio 3.20; 95% CI, 1.23–8.10) after controlling for Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation-II (APACHE-II) score, and longer hospital and intensive care unit lengths of stay. CONCLUSIONS The risk of transfusion-associated circulatory overload increases with the number of blood products administered and a positive fluid balance, and in patients with pre-existing heart failure and chronic renal failure. These data, if replicated, could be used to construct predictive algorithms for transfusion-associated circulatory overload, and subsequent modifications of transfusion practice might prevent morbidity and mortality associated with this complication. PMID:23357450

Implications of Measurement Assay Type in Design of HIV Experiments.

PubMed

Cannon, LaMont; Jagarapu, Aditya; Vargas-Garcia, Cesar A; Piovoso, Michael J; Zurakowski, Ryan

2017-12-01

Time series measurements of circular viral episome (2-LTR) concentrations enable indirect quantification of persistent low-level Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) replication in patients on Integrase-Inhibitor intensified Combined Antiretroviral Therapy (cART). In order to determine the magnitude of these low level infection events, blood has to be drawn from a patients at a frequency and volume that is strictly regulated by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Once the blood is drawn, the 2-LTR concentration is determined by quantifying the amount of HIV DNA present in the sample via a PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) assay. Real time quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) is a widely used method of performing PCR; however, a newer droplet digital Polymerase Chain Reaction (ddPCR) method has been shown to provide more accurate quantification of DNA. Using a validated model of HIV viral replication, this paper demonstrates the importance of considering DNA quantification assay type when optimizing experiment design conditions. Experiments are optimized using a Genetic Algorithm (GA) to locate a family of suboptimal sample schedules which yield the highest fitness. Fitness is defined as the expected information gained in the experiment, measured by the Kullback-Leibler Divergence (KLD) between the prior and posterior distributions of the model parameters. We compare the information content of the optimized schedules to uniform schedules as well as two clinical schedules implemented by researchers at UCSF and the University of Melbourne. This work shows that there is a significantly greater gain information in experiments using a ddPCR assay vs. a qPCR assay and that certain experiment design considerations should be taken when using either assay.

Menthol cigarettes and smoking cessation behaviour: a review of tobacco industry documents

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Objective To determine what the tobacco industry knew about menthol's relation to smoking cessation behaviour. Methods A snowball sampling design was used to systematically search the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (LTDL) (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) between 15 May to 1 August 2010. Of the approximately 11 million documents available in the LTDL, the iterative searches returned tens of thousands of results. A final collection of 509 documents relevant to 1 or more of the research questions were qualitatively analysed, as follows: (1) perceived sensory and taste rewards of menthol and potential relation to quitting; and (2) motivation to quit among menthol users. Results Menthol's cooling and anaesthetic effects mask the short-term negative physiological effects of smoking such as throat pain, burning and cough. This provides superficial physical relief as well as psychological assurance against concerns about the health dangers of smoking that would otherwise motivate smokers to quit. Menthol smokers, particularly women, perceive the minty aroma of menthol cigarettes to be more socially acceptable than non-menthol cigarettes. Discussion Consumers believe menthol's sensory effects equate to health protections and that menthol cigarettes are more socially acceptable than non-menthol cigarettes. Menthol in cigarettes may encourage experimenters who find non-mentholated cigarettes too harsh, including young or inexperienced users, to progress to regular smoking rather than quitting, and may lessen the motivation to quit among established menthol smokers. The perception of menthol cigarettes as more socially acceptable lessens the impact of smoking denormalisation on quitting motivation. Menthol makes cigarettes easier and more palatable to smoke and less desirable to quit among established smokers. Fewer smokers quitting contributes to the incidence of tobacco-related diseases. PMID:21504932

Detecting protein-protein interactions in the intact cell of Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6633).

PubMed

Winters, Michael S; Day, R A

2003-07-01

The salt bridge, paired group-specific reagent cyanogen (ethanedinitrile; C(2)N(2)) converts naturally occurring pairs of functional groups into covalently linked products. Cyanogen readily permeates cell walls and membranes. When the paired groups are shared between associated proteins, isolation of the covalently linked proteins allows their identity to be assigned. Examination of organisms of known genome sequence permits identification of the linked proteins by mass spectrometric techniques applied to peptides derived from them. The cyanogen-linked proteins were isolated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Digestion of the isolated proteins with proteases of known specificity afforded sets of peptides that could be analyzed by mass spectrometry. These data were compared with those derived theoretically from the Swiss Protein Database by computer-based comparisons (Protein Prospector; http://prospector.ucsf.edu). Identification of associated proteins in the ribosome of Bacillus subtilis strain ATCC 6633 showed that there is an association homology with the association patterns of the ribosomal proteins of Haloarcula marismortui and Thermus thermophilus. In addition, other proteins involved in protein biosynthesis were shown to be associated with ribosomal proteins.

Detecting Protein-Protein Interactions in the Intact Cell of Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6633)

PubMed Central

Winters, Michael S.; Day, R. A.

2003-01-01

The salt bridge, paired group-specific reagent cyanogen (ethanedinitrile; C2N2) converts naturally occurring pairs of functional groups into covalently linked products. Cyanogen readily permeates cell walls and membranes. When the paired groups are shared between associated proteins, isolation of the covalently linked proteins allows their identity to be assigned. Examination of organisms of known genome sequence permits identification of the linked proteins by mass spectrometric techniques applied to peptides derived from them. The cyanogen-linked proteins were isolated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Digestion of the isolated proteins with proteases of known specificity afforded sets of peptides that could be analyzed by mass spectrometry. These data were compared with those derived theoretically from the Swiss Protein Database by computer-based comparisons (Protein Prospector; http://prospector.ucsf.edu). Identification of associated proteins in the ribosome of Bacillus subtilis strain ATCC 6633 showed that there is an association homology with the association patterns of the ribosomal proteins of Haloarcula marismortui and Thermus thermophilus. In addition, other proteins involved in protein biosynthesis were shown to be associated with ribosomal proteins. PMID:12837803

Menthol's potential effects on nicotine dependence: a tobacco industry perspective.

PubMed

Yerger, Valerie B

2011-05-01

To examine what the tobacco industry knows about the potential effects menthol may have on nicotine dependence. A snowball strategy was used to systematically search the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/) between 22 February and 29 April, 2010. Of the approximately 11 million documents available in the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library, the iterative searches returned tens of thousands of results. We qualitatively analysed a final collection of 309 documents relevant the effects of menthol on nicotine dependence. The tobacco industry knows that menthol overrides the harsh taste of tobacco and alleviates nicotine's irritating effects, synergistically interacts with nicotine, stimulates the trigeminal nerve to elicit a 'liking' response for a tobacco product, and makes low tar, low nicotine tobacco products more acceptable to smokers than non-mentholated low delivery products. Menthol is not only used in cigarettes as a flavour additive; tobacco companies know that menthol also has sensory effects and interacts with nicotine to produce tobacco products that are easier to smoke, thereby making it easier to expose smokers, especially those who are new and uninitiated, to the addictive power of nicotine.

From primary care to public health: using Problem-based Learning and the ecological model to teach public health to first year medical students.

PubMed

Hoover, Cora R; Wong, Candice C; Azzam, Amin

2012-06-01

We investigated whether a public health-oriented Problem-Based Learning case presented to first-year medical students conveyed 12 "Population Health Competencies for Medical Students," as recommended by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the Regional Medicine-Public Health Education Centers. A public health-oriented Problem-Based Learning case guided by the ecological model paradigm was developed and implemented among two groups of 8 students at the University of California, Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program, in the Fall of 2010. Using directed content analysis, student-generated written reports were coded for the presence of the 12 population health content areas. Students generated a total of 29 reports, of which 20 (69%) contained information relevant to at least one of the 12 population health competencies. Each of the 12 content areas was addressed by at least one report. As physicians-in-training prepare to confront the challenges of integrating prevention and population health with clinical practice, Problem-Based Learning is a promising tool to enhance medical students' engagement with public health.

Implementation of the Hungarian Algorithm to Account for Ligand Symmetry and Similarity in Structure-Based Design

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

False negative docking outcomes for highly symmetric molecules are a barrier to the accurate evaluation of docking programs, scoring functions, and protocols. This work describes an implementation of a symmetry-corrected root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) method into the program DOCK based on the Hungarian algorithm for solving the minimum assignment problem, which dynamically assigns atom correspondence in molecules with symmetry. The algorithm adds only a trivial amount of computation time to the RMSD calculations and is shown to increase the reported overall docking success rate by approximately 5% when tested over 1043 receptor–ligand systems. For some families of protein systems the results are even more dramatic, with success rate increases up to 16.7%. Several additional applications of the method are also presented including as a pairwise similarity metric to compare molecules during de novo design, as a scoring function to rank-order virtual screening results, and for the analysis of trajectories from molecular dynamics simulation. The new method, including source code, is available to registered users of DOCK6 (http://dock.compbio.ucsf.edu). PMID:24410429

Fine-mapping of the human leukocyte antigen locus as a risk factor for Alzheimer disease: A case–control study

PubMed Central

Steele, Natasha Z. R.; Geier, Ethan G.; Damotte, Vincent; Boehme, Kevin L.; Mukherjee, Shubhabrata; Crane, Paul K.; Kauwe, John S. K.; Kramer, Joel H.; Miller, Bruce L.; Hollenbach, Jill A.; Huang, Yadong

2017-01-01

Background Alzheimer disease (AD) is a progressive disorder that affects cognitive function. There is increasing support for the role of neuroinflammation and aberrant immune regulation in the pathophysiology of AD. The immunoregulatory human leukocyte antigen (HLA) complex has been linked to susceptibility for a number of neurodegenerative diseases, including AD; however, studies to date have failed to consistently identify a risk HLA haplotype for AD. Contributing to this difficulty are the complex genetic organization of the HLA region, differences in sequencing and allelic imputation methods, and diversity across ethnic populations. Methods and findings Building on prior work linking the HLA to AD, we used a robust imputation method on two separate case–control cohorts to examine the relationship between HLA haplotypes and AD risk in 309 individuals (191 AD, 118 cognitively normal [CN] controls) from the San Francisco-based University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Memory and Aging Center (collected between 1999–2015) and 11,381 individuals (5,728 AD, 5,653 CN controls) from the Alzheimer’s Disease Genetics Consortium (ADGC), a National Institute on Aging (NIA)-funded national data repository (reflecting samples collected between 1984–2012). We also examined cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker measures for patients seen between 2005–2007 and longitudinal cognitive data from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (n = 346, mean follow-up 3.15 ± 2.04 y in AD individuals) to assess the clinical relevance of identified risk haplotypes. The strongest association with AD risk occurred with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) haplotype A*03:01~B*07:02~DRB1*15:01~DQA1*01:02~DQB1*06:02 (p = 9.6 x 10−4, odds ratio [OR] [95% confidence interval] = 1.21 [1.08–1.37]) in the combined UCSF + ADGC cohort. Secondary analysis suggested that this effect may be driven primarily by individuals who are negative for the established AD genetic risk factor, apolipoprotein E (APOE) ɛ4. Separate analyses of class I and II haplotypes further supported the role of class I haplotype A*03:01~B*07:02 (p = 0.03, OR = 1.11 [1.01–1.23]) and class II haplotype DRB1*15:01- DQA1*01:02- DQB1*06:02 (DR15) (p = 0.03, OR = 1.08 [1.01–1.15]) as risk factors for AD. We followed up these findings in the clinical dataset representing the spectrum of cognitively normal controls, individuals with mild cognitive impairment, and individuals with AD to assess their relevance to disease. Carrying A*03:01~B*07:02 was associated with higher CSF amyloid levels (p = 0.03, β ± standard error = 47.19 ± 21.78). We also found a dose-dependent association between the DR15 haplotype and greater rates of cognitive decline (greater impairment on the 11-item Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale cognitive subscale [ADAS11] over time [p = 0.03, β ± standard error = 0.7 ± 0.3]; worse forgetting score on the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) over time [p = 0.02, β ± standard error = −0.2 ± 0.06]). In a subset of the same cohort, dose of DR15 was also associated with higher baseline levels of chemokine CC-4, a biomarker of inflammation (p = 0.005, β ± standard error = 0.08 ± 0.03). The main study limitations are that the results represent only individuals of European-ancestry and clinically diagnosed individuals, and that our study used imputed genotypes for a subset of HLA genes. Conclusions We provide evidence that variation in the HLA locus—including risk haplotype DR15—contributes to AD risk. DR15 has also been associated with multiple sclerosis, and its component alleles have been implicated in Parkinson disease and narcolepsy. Our findings thus raise the possibility that DR15-associated mechanisms may contribute to pan-neuronal disease vulnerability. PMID:28350795

Orchid: a novel management, annotation and machine learning framework for analyzing cancer mutations.

PubMed

Cario, Clinton L; Witte, John S

2018-03-15

As whole-genome tumor sequence and biological annotation datasets grow in size, number and content, there is an increasing basic science and clinical need for efficient and accurate data management and analysis software. With the emergence of increasingly sophisticated data stores, execution environments and machine learning algorithms, there is also a need for the integration of functionality across frameworks. We present orchid, a python based software package for the management, annotation and machine learning of cancer mutations. Building on technologies of parallel workflow execution, in-memory database storage and machine learning analytics, orchid efficiently handles millions of mutations and hundreds of features in an easy-to-use manner. We describe the implementation of orchid and demonstrate its ability to distinguish tissue of origin in 12 tumor types based on 339 features using a random forest classifier. Orchid and our annotated tumor mutation database are freely available at https://github.com/wittelab/orchid. Software is implemented in python 2.7, and makes use of MySQL or MemSQL databases. Groovy 2.4.5 is optionally required for parallel workflow execution. JWitte@ucsf.edu. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Menthol's potential effects on nicotine dependence: a tobacco industry perspective

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Objective To examine what the tobacco industry knows about the potential effects menthol may have on nicotine dependence. Methods A snowball strategy was used to systematically search the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/) between 22 February and 29 April, 2010. Of the approximately 11 million documents available in the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library, the iterative searches returned tens of thousands of results. We qualitatively analysed a final collection of 309 documents relevant the effects of menthol on nicotine dependence. Results The tobacco industry knows that menthol overrides the harsh taste of tobacco and alleviates nicotine's irritating effects, synergistically interacts with nicotine, stimulates the trigeminal nerve to elicit a ‘liking’ response for a tobacco product, and makes low tar, low nicotine tobacco products more acceptable to smokers than non-mentholated low delivery products. Conclusion Menthol is not only used in cigarettes as a flavour additive; tobacco companies know that menthol also has sensory effects and interacts with nicotine to produce tobacco products that are easier to smoke, thereby making it easier to expose smokers, especially those who are new and uninitiated, to the addictive power of nicotine. PMID:21504929

Menthol sensory qualities and smoking topography: a review of tobacco industry documents.

PubMed

Yerger, Valerie B; McCandless, Phyra M

2011-05-01

To determine what the tobacco industry knew about the potential effects of menthol on smoking topography-how a person smokes a cigarette. A snowball strategy was used to systematically search the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) between 1 June 2010 and 9 August 2010. We qualitatively analysed a final collection of 252 documents related to menthol and smoking topography. The tobacco industry knew that menthol has cooling, anaesthetic and analgesic properties that moderate the harshness and irritation of tobacco. Owing to its physiological effects, menthol contributes to the sensory qualities of the smoke and affects smoking topography and cigarette preference. Our review of industry studies suggests that the amount of menthol in a cigarette is associated with how the cigarette is smoked and how satisfying it is to the smoker. If menthol in cigarettes was banned, as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently considering, new/experimental smokers might choose not to smoke rather than experience the harshness of tobacco smoke and the irritating qualities of nicotine. Similarly, established menthol smokers might choose to quit if faced with an unpleasant smoking alternative.

Multicenter validation of a bedside antisaccade task as a measure of executive function

PubMed Central

Hellmuth, J.; Mirsky, J.; Heuer, H.W.; Matlin, A.; Jafari, A.; Garbutt, S.; Widmeyer, M.; Berhel, A.; Sinha, L.; Miller, B.L.; Kramer, J.H.

2012-01-01

Objective: To create and validate a simple, standardized version of the antisaccade (AS) task that requires no specialized equipment for use as a measure of executive function in multicenter clinical studies. Methods: The bedside AS (BAS) task consisted of 40 pseudorandomized AS trials presented on a laptop computer. BAS performance was compared with AS performance measured using an infrared eye tracker in normal elders (NE) and individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia (n = 33). The neuropsychological domain specificity of the BAS was then determined in a cohort of NE, MCI, and dementia (n = 103) at UCSF, and the BAS was validated as a measure of executive function in a 6-center cohort (n = 397) of normal adults and patients with a variety of brain diseases. Results: Performance on the BAS and laboratory AS task was strongly correlated and BAS performance was most strongly associated with neuropsychological measures of executive function. Even after controlling for disease severity and processing speed, BAS performance was associated with multiple assessments of executive function, most strongly the informant-based Frontal Systems Behavior Scale. Conclusions: The BAS is a simple, valid measure of executive function in aging and neurologic disease. PMID:22573640

Migration of the digital interactive breast-imaging teaching file

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Fei; Sickles, Edward A.; Huang, H. K.; Zhou, Xiaoqiang

1998-06-01

The digital breast imaging teaching file developed during the last two years in our laboratory has been used successfully at UCSF (University of California, San Francisco) as a routine teaching tool for training radiology residents and fellows in mammography. Building on this success, we have ported the teaching file from an old Pixar imaging/Sun SPARC 470 display system to our newly designed telemammography display workstation (Ultra SPARC 2 platform with two DOME Md5/SBX display boards). The old Pixar/Sun 470 system, although adequate for fast and high-resolution image display, is 4- year-old technology, expensive to maintain and difficult to upgrade. The new display workstation is more cost-effective and is also compatible with the digital image format from a full-field direct digital mammography system. The digital teaching file is built on a sophisticated computer-aided instruction (CAI) model, which simulates the management sequences used in imaging interpretation and work-up. Each user can be prompted to respond by making his/her own observations, assessments, and work-up decisions as well as the marking of image abnormalities. This effectively replaces the traditional 'show-and-tell' teaching file experience with an interactive, response-driven type of instruction.

Using a Curricular Vision to Define Entrustable Professional Activities for Medical Student Assessment.

PubMed

Hauer, Karen E; Boscardin, Christy; Fulton, Tracy B; Lucey, Catherine; Oza, Sandra; Teherani, Arianne

2015-09-01

The new UCSF Bridges Curriculum aims to prepare students to succeed in today's health care system while simultaneously improving it. Curriculum redesign requires assessment strategies that ensure that graduates achieve competence in enduring and emerging skills for clinical practice. To design entrustable professional activities (EPAs) for assessment in a new curriculum and gather evidence of content validity. University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. Nineteen medical educators participated; 14 completed both rounds of a Delphi survey. Authors describe 5 steps for defining EPAs that encompass a curricular vision including refining the vision, defining draft EPAs, developing EPAs and assessment strategies, defining competencies and milestones, and mapping milestones to EPAs. A Q-sort activity and Delphi survey involving local medical educators created consensus and prioritization for milestones for each EPA. For 4 EPAs, most milestones had content validity indices (CVIs) of at least 78 %. For 2 EPAs, 2 to 4 milestones did not achieve CVIs of 78 %. We demonstrate a stepwise procedure for developing EPAs that capture essential physician work activities defined by a curricular vision. Structured procedures for soliciting faculty feedback and mapping milestones to EPAs provide content validity.

Menthol sensory qualities and smoking topography: a review of tobacco industry documents

PubMed Central

McCandless, Phyra M

2011-01-01

Objective To determine what the tobacco industry knew about the potential effects of menthol on smoking topography—how a person smokes a cigarette. Methods A snowball strategy was used to systematically search the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) between 1 June 2010 and 9 August 2010. We qualitatively analysed a final collection of 252 documents related to menthol and smoking topography. Results The tobacco industry knew that menthol has cooling, anaesthetic and analgesic properties that moderate the harshness and irritation of tobacco. Owing to its physiological effects, menthol contributes to the sensory qualities of the smoke and affects smoking topography and cigarette preference. Conclusion Our review of industry studies suggests that the amount of menthol in a cigarette is associated with how the cigarette is smoked and how satisfying it is to the smoker. If menthol in cigarettes was banned, as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently considering, new/experimental smokers might choose not to smoke rather than experience the harshness of tobacco smoke and the irritating qualities of nicotine. Similarly, established menthol smokers might choose to quit if faced with an unpleasant smoking alternative. PMID:21504930

Addressing the business of discharge: building a case for an electronic discharge summary.

PubMed

Mourad, Michelle; Cucina, Russell; Ramanathan, Rajiv; Vidyarthi, Arpana R

2011-01-01

Hospitalists are increasingly involved in implementing quality improvement initiatives around patient safety, clinical informatics, and transitions of care, but may lack expertise in promoting these important interventions. Developing a sound business case is essential to garnering support and resources for any quality improvement initiative. We present a framework for developing a business case using a structured approach to exploring qualitative and quantitative costs and benefits and describe its application in the experience of developing an electronic discharge summary at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). At our institution, we found that the primary financial benefits are the cost reductions in eliminating transcription needs and decreasing billing delays, as well as reducing the cost of tracking completion of and dissemination of discharge summaries. Costs incurred from a new information technology (IT) infrastructure, programmer time, maintenance and training must also be accounted for. While benefits may be apparent to front line providers (improved communication, efficiency of data transfer, and increased referring physician satisfaction), implementing and sustaining such an innovation depends on articulating a sound business case with a detailed cost-benefit analysis to institutional decision making. Copyright © 2010 Society of Hospital Medicine.

Impact of duty-hour restriction on resident inpatient teaching.

PubMed

Mazotti, Lindsay A; Vidyarthi, Arpana R; Wachter, Robert M; Auerbach, Andrew D; Katz, Patricia P

2009-10-01

Education and patient care are essential to academic hospitalists, and residents are key partners in these goals. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) duty-hour restrictions (DHR) likely impacted aspects of resident teaching, well-being, and patient care practices that affect the duties of academic hospitalists. To determine the impact of DHR on resident teaching time and the factors associated with, and impacts of, time spent teaching. Cross-sectional survey. SETTING AND MEASUREMENTS: A total of 164 internal medicine residents at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, CA were queried regarding their time spent teaching, completion of administrative tasks, number of hours worked, frequency of emotional exhaustion, and satisfaction with quality of patient care provided after DHR. Regression analyses identified factors associated with decreased teaching time and determined that there were associations between time spent teaching, emotional exhaustion, and satisfaction with quality of patient care. A total of 125 residents (76%) responded; 24% reported spending less time teaching. Less time teaching was associated with being a postgraduate year (PGY)-2 (odds ratio [OR], 7.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.56-32.79) or PGY-3 (OR, 8.23; 95% CI, 1.44-47.09), reporting working <80 hours/week (OR, 5.99; 95% CI, 1.11-32.48) and spending a greater percentage of time on administrative tasks (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.00-1.06). Those residents who spent less time teaching also reported less frequent emotional exhaustion (P = 0.003) and more satisfaction with quality of care (P = 0.006). DHR has decreased teaching time for some residents, and those residents are more likely to be less emotionally exhausted and deliver self-perceived higher quality of care. Academic hospitalists should consider these impacts of DHR and make adjustments such as educational and work-life innovations to account for these shifts. Copyright 2009 Society of Hospital Medicine

COMPARISON OF AGE AT NATURAL MENOPAUSE IN BRCA1/2 MUTATION CARRIERS TO A NON-CLINIC-BASED SAMPLE OF WOMEN IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

PubMed Central

Lin, Wayne T; Beattie, Mary; Chen, Lee-may; Oktay, Kutluk; Crawford, Sybil L.; Gold, Ellen B.; Cedars, Marcelle; Rosen, Mitchell

2013-01-01

Objective Germline mutations in BRCA1/2 are related to increased lifetime risk of breast and ovarian cancer. While risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy reduces the risk for both cancers, loss of fertility is a major concern. A recent study suggested an association of BRCA1 mutation with occult primary ovarian insufficiency. The aim of this study was to determine whether BRCA1/2 mutation carriers have earlier onset of natural menopause than unaffected women. Materials and Methods Caucasian BRCA1/2 carriers (n=382) were identified within the UCSF Breast Cancer Risk Program Registry and compared to non-clinic-based Caucasian women in Northern California (n=765). We compared the two groups regarding median age at natural menopause before and after adjustment for known risk factors, and examined the role of smoking within each group, using the Kaplan-Meier approach for unadjusted analyses and Cox proportional hazards regression analyses for adjusted analyses. Results The median age at natural menopause in BRCA1/2 carriers was significantly earlier than the unaffected sample (50 vs 53years, p-value<0.001). The unadjusted hazard ratio for natural menopause comparing BRCA1/2 carriers to unaffected women was 4.06(95% confidence interval 3.03-5.45), 3.98(2.87-5.53) after adjusting for smoking, parity, and oral contraceptive use. For BRCA1/2 carriers who were current heavy smokers (≥20cigarettes/day), the median age at natural menopause was 46 vs.49years for non-smokers (p-value=0.027). Conclusions BRCA1/2 mutation was associated with significantly earlier age at natural menopause, and heavy smoking compounded this risk. As the relationship between menopause and end of natural fertility is considered fixed, these findings suggest a risk of earlier infertility among BRCA1/2 carriers. PMID:23362014

The impact of an electronic health questionnaire on symptom management and behavior reporting for breast cancer survivors.

PubMed

Bock, Meredith; Moore, Dan; Hwang, Jimmy; Shumay, Dianne; Lawson, Laurell; Hamolsky, Deborah; Esserman, Laura; Rugo, Hope; Chien, A Jo; Park, John; Munster, Pamela; Melisko, Michelle

2012-08-01

Breast cancer (BC) patients experience multiple symptoms as a result of diagnosis and treatment. While surveillance for detecting cancer recurrence is fundamental to follow-up care, managing symptoms, and promoting health behaviors are equally important. UCSF has implemented a secure online health questionnaire enabling BC patients to provide updates of their health history and symptoms. We randomly selected a sample of stage I-III BC patients (n = 106) who completed a questionnaire before a medical oncology visit between August 2010 and January 2011 and consented to have data used for research. We conducted a chart review calculating the number of symptoms reported in the questionnaire, the clinic note only, and both questionnaire and clinic note, excluding chronic symptoms addressed previously. Self-reported data on exercise and alcohol consumption was compared to documentation of these lifestyle factors in clinic notes. Patients reported significantly more symptoms using the online questionnaire (mean = 3.8, range 0-13) than were documented by the provider in clinic notes (mean = 1.8, range 0-7; p < 0.001 for the difference). A regression plot comparing the percentage of symptoms agreed upon by the patient and provider and the percentage of symptoms addressed yields a slope of 0.56 (95 % CI 0.41-0.71). The number of self-reported symptoms correlates with self-reported Karnofsky scale such that the number of symptoms reported by the patient increases linearly with this score until a threshold and it then plateaus (p < 0.001). Exercise behavior and alcohol consumption were reported in 100 % of the online questionnaires, but was documented in only 30/106 (28 %) and 75/106 (70 %) of charts reviewed. In 19/75 (25 %) charts with alcohol consumption documented, there was substantial discordance between patient and clinician reporting. Electronic data collection of BC patient-reported outcomes has a positive effect on symptom management and identification of opportunities for risk-reducing behavior change.

Living Donor Liver Transplantation for Combined Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Cholangiocarcinoma: Experience of a Single Center.

PubMed

Chang, Cheng-Chih; Chen, Ying-Ju; Huang, Tzu-Hao; Chen, Chun-Han; Kuo, Fang-Ying; Eng, Hock-Liew; Yong, Chee-Chien; Liu, Yueh-Wei; Lin, Ting-Lung; Li, Wei-Feng; Lin, Yu-Hung; Lin, Chih-Che; Wang, Chih-Chi; Chen, Chao-Long

2017-02-28

BACKGROUND Because the outcome of liver transplantation for cholangiocarcinoma is often poor, cholangiocarcinoma is a contraindication for liver transplantation in most centers. Combined hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma is a rare type of primary hepatic malignancy containing features of hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma. Diagnosing combined hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma pre-operatively is difficult. Because of sparse research presentations worldwide, we report our experience with living donor liver transplantation for combined hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 710 patients underwent living donor liver transplantation at our institution from April 2006 to June 2014; 377 of them received transplantation because of hepatocellular carcinoma with University of California San Francisco (UCSF) staging criteria fulfilled pre-operatively. Eleven patients (2.92%) were diagnosed with combined hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma confirmed pathologically from explant livers; we reviewed these cases retrospectively. Long-term survival was compared between patients diagnosed with combined hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma and patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma. RESULTS The mean age of the patients in our series was 60.2 years, and the median follow-up period was 23.9 months. Four patients were diagnosed with a recurrence during the follow-up period, including one intra-hepatic and three extra-hepatic recurrences. Four patients died due to tumor recurrence. Except for patients with advanced-stage cancer, disease-free survival of patients with combined hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma compared with that of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma was 80% versus 97.2% in 1 year, and 46.7% versus 92.5% in 3 years (p<0.001), and overall survival was 90% versus 97.2% in 1 year, and 61.7% versus 95.1% in 3 years (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Outcomes of liver transplantation for patients with combined hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma were worse than those for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in this study. Combined hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma are presumed to be a relative contraindication for liver transplantation.

TOPAS Tool for Particle Simulation

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

Perl, Joseph

2013-05-30

TOPAS lets users simulate the passage of subatomic particles moving through any kind of radiation therapy treatment system, can import a patient geometry, can record dose and other quantities, has advanced graphics, and is fully four-dimensional (3D plus time) to handle the most challenging time-dependent aspects of modern cancer treatments.TOPAS unlocks the power of the most accurate particle transport simulation technique, the Monte Carlo (MC) method, while removing the painstaking coding work such methods used to require. Research physicists can use TOPAS to improve delivery systems towards safer and more effective radiation therapy treatments, easily setting up and running complexmore » simulations that previously used to take months of preparation. Clinical physicists can use TOPAS to increase accuracy while reducing side effects, simulating patient-specific treatment plans at the touch of a button. TOPAS is designed as a “user code” layered on top of the Geant4 Simulation Toolkit. TOPAS includes the standard Geant4 toolkit, plus additional code to make Geant4 easier to control and to extend Geant4 functionality. TOPAS aims to make proton simulation both “reliable” and “repeatable.” “Reliable” means both accurate physics and a high likelihood to simulate precisely what the user intended to simulate, reducing issues of wrong units, wrong materials, wrong scoring locations, etc. “Repeatable” means not just getting the same result from one simulation to another, but being able to easily restore a previously used setup and reducing sources of error when a setup is passed from one user to another. TOPAS control system incorporates key lessons from safety management, proactively removing possible sources of user error such as line-ordering mistakes In control files. TOPAS has been used to model proton therapy treatment examples including the UCSF eye treatment head, the MGH stereotactic alignment in radiosurgery treatment head and the MGH gantry treatment heads in passive scattering and scanning modes, and has demonstrated dose calculation based on patient-specific CT data.« less

Role of radiation therapy in the management of ocular reticulum cell sarcoma. [Efficacy and complications

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

Margolis, L.; Fraser, R.; Lichter, A.

Nine patients with ocular lymphomas were seen in the Department of Ophthalmology and the Division of Radiation Oncology at UCSF and Ralph K. Davies Medical Center, San Francisco, from 1968 through 1974. Six of the 9 patients had visual symptoms as the first manifestation of their disease. Eight of the 9 patients developed intracranial lymphoma at some time during the course of the disease. Despite lymphoma work-up including bone marrow biopsies and lymphangiogram, only 1 patient was found to have documented systemic involvement. The diagnosis of ocular lymphoma was based on pathologic material from the eye in 5 cases ormore » from central nervous system biopsy in 4 patients in association with tumor cell infiltrates in the retina and vitreous clouding. Radiation therapy to the eyes improved vision in 10 of 13 eyes treated in 8 patients. The usual dose was in the range of 3500 to 4500 rads given over 4 to 5 weeks. In addition, 7 patients received central nervous system irradiation. Review of the literature reinforced the findings of this series showing the frequent association of ocular lymphoma with intracranial lymphoma and the rare systemic dissemination. This disease process has previously been referred to as ocular reticulum cell sarcoma.« less

Genome-wide Linkage Scan of Antisocial Behavior, Depression and Impulsive Substance Use in the UCSF Family Alcoholism Study

PubMed Central

Gizer, Ian R.; Ehlers, Cindy L.; Vieten, Cassandra; Feiler, Heidi S.; Gilder, David A.; Wilhelmsen, Kirk C.

2012-01-01

OBJECTIVE Epidemiological and clinical studies suggest that rates of antisocial behavior, depression, and impulsive substance use are increased among individuals diagnosed with alcohol dependence relative to those who are not. Thus, the present study conducted genome-wide linkage scans of antisocial behavior, depression, and impulsive substance use in the University of California at San Francisco Family Alcoholism Study. METHODS Antisocial behavior, depressive symptoms, and impulsive substance use were assessed using three scales from the MMPI-2, the Antisocial Practices content scale (ASP), the Depression content scale (DEP), and the revised MacAndrew Alcoholism scale (MAC-R). Linkage analyses were conducted using a variance components approach. RESULTS Suggestive evidence of linkage to three genomic regions independent of alcohol and cannabis dependence diagnostic status was observed: the ASP scale showed evidence of linkage to chromosome 13 at 11 cM, the MAC-R scale showed evidence of linkage to chromosome 15 at 47 cM, and all 3 scales showed evidence of linkage to chromosome 17 at 57–58 cM. CONCLUSIONS Each of these regions has shown prior evidence of linkage and association to substance dependence as well as other psychiatric disorders such as mood and anxiety disorders, ADHD, and schizophrenia thus suggesting potentially broad relations between these regions and psychopathology. PMID:22517380

Immunospecificity of albumin detected in 1.6 million-year-old fossils from Venta Micena in Orce, Granada, Spain.

PubMed

Borja, C; García-Pacheco, M; Olivares, E G; Scheuenstuhl, G; Lowenstein, J M

1997-08-01

The Orce skull fragment from southern Spain, dated at 1.6 Myr, has been a subject of heated controversy since it was first discovered in 1982. If it is hominid, as its discoverers contend, it is by far the oldest fossil hominid yet found in western Europe and implies that human populations settled this region much earlier than was previously realized. Numerous stone artifacts found at the Orce sites provide evidence that hominids were indeed present there in the Lower Pleistocene. Some paleontologists maintain that the 8 cm diameter occipital fragment is from a horse, not a hominid. Two independent investigations of the residual proteins in the skull were undertaken, one at the University of Granada in Spain, the other at the University of California, San Francisco. Two immunological methods of comparable sensitivity were employed for detection and species attribution of protein extracted from fossil bone: the Granada team used an enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the UCSF team used a radioimmunoassay (RIA). Both teams obtained reactions characteristic of human albumin in the Orce skull and horse albumin in some of the horse fossils. These results support the lithic evidence that hominids were living in Andalusia 1.6 million years ago.

A Global Comparison of the Human and T. brucei Degradomes Gives Insights about Possible Parasite Drug Targets

PubMed Central

Mashiyama, Susan T.; Koupparis, Kyriacos; Caffrey, Conor R.; McKerrow, James H.; Babbitt, Patricia C.

2012-01-01

We performed a genome-level computational study of sequence and structure similarity, the latter using crystal structures and models, of the proteases of Homo sapiens and the human parasite Trypanosoma brucei. Using sequence and structure similarity networks to summarize the results, we constructed global views that show visually the relative abundance and variety of proteases in the degradome landscapes of these two species, and provide insights into evolutionary relationships between proteases. The results also indicate how broadly these sequence sets are covered by three-dimensional structures. These views facilitate cross-species comparisons and offer clues for drug design from knowledge about the sequences and structures of potential drug targets and their homologs. Two protease groups (“M32” and “C51”) that are very different in sequence from human proteases are examined in structural detail, illustrating the application of this global approach in mining new pathogen genomes for potential drug targets. Based on our analyses, a human ACE2 inhibitor was selected for experimental testing on one of these parasite proteases, TbM32, and was shown to inhibit it. These sequence and structure data, along with interactive versions of the protein similarity networks generated in this study, are available at http://babbittlab.ucsf.edu/resources.html. PMID:23236535

If Medicare Were to Negotiate Drug Prices, How Would it Determine a ‘Fair’ Price for a Cancer Treatment?

Cancer.gov

Steven D. Pearson, MD, MSc, FRCP, is the Founder and President of the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER). ICER is a leader in bringing stakeholders together to collaborate in the evaluation of the comparative effectiveness of medical interventions. The Institute also helps translate comparative effectiveness information into distinctive formats for patients, clinicians, and policy makers to enable them to make better use of evidence throughout the health care system. Dr. Pearson is also a Lecturer in the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School, as well as serving as Visiting Scientist in the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health. He attended UCSF School of Medicine, completed his residency in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and obtained a Master of Science Degree in Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health. An internist, health services researcher, and ethicist, Dr. Pearson has served in many advisory and leadership roles in academia and government. He was awarded an Atlantic Fellowship from the British Government in 2004 and chose to serve as Senior Fellow at the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). Returning to the United States in 2005, he was asked to serve for one year as Special Advisor, Technology and Coverage Policy, within the Coverage and Analysis Group at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He has also served as Senior Fellow at America’s Health Insurance Plans, as the Vice Chair of the Medicare Evidence Development and Coverage Advisory Committee (MedCAC), and as a Member of the Board of Directors of Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi). Dr. Pearson’s ongoing academic work combines efforts in comparative effectiveness research, health policy, and bioethics. His published work includes numerous articles and commentaries on the role of evidence in the health care system, and the book No Margin, No Mission: Health Care Organizations and the Quest for Ethical Excellence. If you are a person with a disability and require an assistive device, services or other reasonable accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact the Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program at (240) 276-5626 at least one week in advance of the lecture date to discuss your accommodation needs.

Promoting tobacco through the international language of dance music: British American Tobacco and the Ministry of Sound.

PubMed

Stanton, Caitlin R; Chu, Alexandria; Collin, Jeff; Glantz, Stanton A

2011-02-01

Tobacco companies target young adults through marketing strategies that use bars and nightclubs to promote smoking. As restrictions increasingly limit promotions, music marketing has become an important vehicle for tobacco companies to shape brand image, generate brand recognition and promote tobacco. Analysis of previously secret tobacco industry documents from British American Tobacco, available at http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu. In 1995, British American Tobacco (BAT) initiated a partnership with London's Ministry of Sound (MOS) nightclub to promote Lucky Strike cigarettes to establish relevance and credibility among young adults in the UK. In 1997, BAT extended their MOS partnership to China and Taiwan to promote State Express 555. BAT sought to transfer values associated with the MOS lifestyle brand to its cigarettes. The BAT/MOS partnership illustrates the broad appeal of international brands across different regions of the world. Transnational tobacco companies like BAT are not only striving to stay contemporary with young adults through culturally relevant activities such as those provided by MOS but they are also looking to export their strategies to regions across the world. Partnerships like this BAT/MOS one skirt marketing restrictions recommended by the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The global scope and success of the MOS program emphasizes the challenge for national regulations to restrict such promotions.

Promoting tobacco through the international language of dance music: British American Tobacco and the Ministry of Sound

PubMed Central

Stanton, Caitlin R.; Chu, Alexandria; Collin, Jeff

2011-01-01

Background: Tobacco companies target young adults through marketing strategies that use bars and nightclubs to promote smoking. As restrictions increasingly limit promotions, music marketing has become an important vehicle for tobacco companies to shape brand image, generate brand recognition and promote tobacco. Methods: Analysis of previously secret tobacco industry documents from British American Tobacco, available at http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu. Results: In 1995, British American Tobacco (BAT) initiated a partnership with London’s Ministry of Sound (MOS) nightclub to promote Lucky Strike cigarettes to establish relevance and credibility among young adults in the UK. In 1997, BAT extended their MOS partnership to China and Taiwan to promote State Express 555. BAT sought to transfer values associated with the MOS lifestyle brand to its cigarettes. The BAT/MOS partnership illustrates the broad appeal of international brands across different regions of the world. Conclusion: Transnational tobacco companies like BAT are not only striving to stay contemporary with young adults through culturally relevant activities such as those provided by MOS but they are also looking to export their strategies to regions across the world. Partnerships like this BAT/MOS one skirt marketing restrictions recommended by the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The global scope and success of the MOS program emphasizes the challenge for national regulations to restrict such promotions. PMID:20159772

High femoral artery bifurcation predicts contralateral high bifurcation: implications for complex percutaneous cardiovascular procedures requiring large caliber and/or dual access.

PubMed

Gupta, Vipul; Feng, Kent; Cheruvu, Pavan; Boyer, Nathan; Yeghiazarians, Yerem; Ports, Thomas A; Zimmet, Jeffrey; Shunk, Kendrick; Boyle, Andrew J

2014-09-01

Recent advances in technology have led to an increase in the use of bilateral femoral artery access and the requirement for large-bore access. Optimal access is in the common femoral artery (CFA), rather than higher (in the external iliac artery) or lower (in one of the branches of the CFA). However, there is a paucity of data in the literature about the relationship between bifurcation level of one CFA and the contralateral CFA. To define the prevalence of high bifurcation of the CFA and the relationship between bifurcation level on both sides, we performed a retrospective analysis of all patients with bilateral femoral angiography. From 4880 femoral angiograms performed at UCSF cardiac catheterization laboratory between 2005-2013, a total of 273 patients had bilateral femoral angiograms. The prevalence of low/normal, high, and very-high femoral bifurcations was 70%, 26%, and 4%, respectively, with no difference between sides. A high or very-high bifurcation significantly increased the likelihood of a high bifurcation on the contralateral side (odds ratio >3.0). Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed age, gender, self-reported race, height, weight, and body mass index were not predictive of high or very-high bifurcations on either side. In conclusion, high femoral artery bifurcations are common and increase the likelihood of a high bifurcation of the contralateral femoral artery.

GPU acceleration of Dock6's Amber scoring computation.

PubMed

Yang, Hailong; Zhou, Qiongqiong; Li, Bo; Wang, Yongjian; Luan, Zhongzhi; Qian, Depei; Li, Hanlu

2010-01-01

Dressing the problem of virtual screening is a long-term goal in the drug discovery field, which if properly solved, can significantly shorten new drugs' R&D cycle. The scoring functionality that evaluates the fitness of the docking result is one of the major challenges in virtual screening. In general, scoring functionality in docking requires a large amount of floating-point calculations, which usually takes several weeks or even months to be finished. This time-consuming procedure is unacceptable, especially when highly fatal and infectious virus arises such as SARS and H1N1, which forces the scoring task to be done in a limited time. This paper presents how to leverage the computational power of GPU to accelerate Dock6's (http://dock.compbio.ucsf.edu/DOCK_6/) Amber (J. Comput. Chem. 25: 1157-1174, 2004) scoring with NVIDIA CUDA (NVIDIA Corporation Technical Staff, Compute Unified Device Architecture - Programming Guide, NVIDIA Corporation, 2008) (Compute Unified Device Architecture) platform. We also discuss many factors that will greatly influence the performance after porting the Amber scoring to GPU, including thread management, data transfer, and divergence hidden. Our experiments show that the GPU-accelerated Amber scoring achieves a 6.5× speedup with respect to the original version running on AMD dual-core CPU for the same problem size. This acceleration makes the Amber scoring more competitive and efficient for large-scale virtual screening problems.

Tobacco-control policies in tobacco-growing states: where tobacco was king.

PubMed

Fallin, Amanda; Glantz, Stanton A

2015-06-01

POLICY POINTS: The tobacco companies prioritized blocking tobacco-control policies in tobacco-growing states and partnered with tobacco farmers to oppose tobacco-control policies. The 1998 Master Settlement Agreement, which settled state litigation against the cigarette companies, the 2004 tobacco-quota buyout, and the companies' increasing use of foreign tobacco led to a rift between the companies and tobacco farmers. In 2003, the first comprehensive smoke-free local law was passed in a major tobacco-growing state, and there has been steady progress in the region since then. Health advocates should educate the public and policymakers on the changing reality in tobacco-growing states, notably the major reduction in the volume of tobacco produced. The 5 major tobacco-growing states (Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia) are disproportionately affected by the tobacco epidemic, with higher rates of smoking and smoking-induced disease. These states also have fewer smoke-free laws and lower tobacco taxes, 2 evidence-based policies that reduce tobacco use. Historically, the tobacco farmers and hospitality associations allied with the tobacco companies to oppose these policies. This research is based on 5 detailed case studies of these states, which included key informant interviews, previously secret tobacco industry documents (available at http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu), and media articles. This was supplemented with additional tobacco document and media searches specifically for this article. The tobacco companies were particularly concerned about blocking tobacco-control policies in the tobacco-growing states by promoting a pro-tobacco culture, beginning in the late 1960s. Nevertheless, since 2003, there has been rapid progress in the tobacco-growing states' passage of smoke-free laws. This progress came after the alliance between the tobacco companies and the tobacco farmers fractured and hospitality organizations stopped opposing smoke-free laws. In addition, infrastructure built by National Cancer Institute research projects (COMMIT and ASSIST) led to long-standing tobacco-control coalitions that capitalized on these changes. Although tobacco production has dramatically fallen in these states, pro-tobacco sentiment still hinders tobacco-control policies in the major tobacco-growing states. The environment has changed in the tobacco-growing states, following a fracture of the alliance between the tobacco companies and their former allies (tobacco growers and hospitality organizations). To continue this progress, health advocates should educate the public and policymakers on the changing reality in the tobacco-growing states, notably the great reduction in the number of tobacco farmers as well as in the volume of tobacco produced. © 2015 Milbank Memorial Fund.

Understanding Philip Morris's pursuit of US government regulation of tobacco

PubMed Central

McDaniel, P; Malone, R

2005-01-01

Objective: To investigate Philip Morris's support of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation of tobacco products and analyse its relationship to the company's image enhancement strategies. Data sources: Internal Philip Morris documents released as part of the Master Settlement Agreement. Methods: Searches of the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) beginning with such terms as "FDA" and "regulatory strategy" and expanding to include relevant new terms. Results: Philip Morris's support for government regulation of tobacco is part of a broader effort to address its negative public image, which has a damaging impact on the company's stock price, political influence, and employee morale. Through regulation, the company seeks to enhance its legitimacy, redefine itself as socially responsible, and alter the litigation environment. Whereas health advocates frame tobacco use as a public health policy issue, Philip Morris's regulatory efforts focus on framing tobacco use as an individual choice by informed adults to use a risky product. This framing allows Philip Morris to portray itself as a reasonable and responsible manufacturer and marketer of risky products. Conclusions: Philip Morris's ability to improve its image through support of FDA regulation may undermine tobacco control efforts aimed at delegitimising the tobacco industry. It may also create the impression that Philip Morris's products are being made safer and ultimately protect the company from litigation. While strong regulation of tobacco products and promotion remain critical public health goals, previous experiences with tobacco regulation show that caution may be warranted. PMID:15923470

Understanding Philip Morris's pursuit of US government regulation of tobacco.

PubMed

McDaniel, P A; Malone, R E

2005-06-01

To investigate Philip Morris's support of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation of tobacco products and analyse its relationship to the company's image enhancement strategies. Internal Philip Morris documents released as part of the Master Settlement Agreement. Searches of the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) beginning with such terms as "FDA" and "regulatory strategy" and expanding to include relevant new terms. Philip Morris's support for government regulation of tobacco is part of a broader effort to address its negative public image, which has a damaging impact on the company's stock price, political influence, and employee morale. Through regulation, the company seeks to enhance its legitimacy, redefine itself as socially responsible, and alter the litigation environment. Whereas health advocates frame tobacco use as a public health policy issue, Philip Morris's regulatory efforts focus on framing tobacco use as an individual choice by informed adults to use a risky product. This framing allows Philip Morris to portray itself as a reasonable and responsible manufacturer and marketer of risky products. Philip Morris's ability to improve its image through support of FDA regulation may undermine tobacco control efforts aimed at delegitimising the tobacco industry. It may also create the impression that Philip Morris's products are being made safer and ultimately protect the company from litigation. While strong regulation of tobacco products and promotion remain critical public health goals, previous experiences with tobacco regulation show that caution may be warranted.

'A major lobbying effort to change and unify the excise structure in six Central American countries': How British American Tobacco influenced tax and tariff rates in the Central American Common Market.

PubMed

Holden, Chris; Lee, Kelley

2011-05-19

Transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) may respond to processes of regional trade integration both by acting politically to influence policy and by reorganising their own operations. The Central American Common Market (CACM) was reinvigorated in the 1990s, reflecting processes of regional trade liberalisation in Latin America and globally. This study aimed to ascertain how British American Tobacco (BAT), which dominated the markets of the CACM, sought to influence policy towards it by member country governments and how the CACM process impacted upon BAT's operations. The study analysed internal tobacco industry documents released as a result of litigation in the US and available from the online Legacy Tobacco Documents Library at http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/. Documents were retrieved by searching the BAT collection using key terms in an iterative process. Analysis was based on an interpretive approach involving a process of attempting to understand the meanings of individual documents and relating these to other documents in the set, identifying the central themes of documents and clusters of documents, contextualising the documentary data, and choosing representative material in order to present findings. Utilising its multinational character, BAT was able to act in a coordinated way across the member countries of the CACM to influence tariffs and taxes to its advantage. Documents demonstrate a high degree of access to governments and officials. The company conducted a coordinated, and largely successful, attempt to keep external tariff rates for cigarettes high and to reduce external tariffs for key inputs, whilst also influencing the harmonisation of excise taxes between countries. Protected by these high external tariffs, it reorganised its own operations to take advantage of regional economies of scale. In direct contradiction to arguments presented to CACM governments that affording the tobacco industry protection via high cigarette tariffs would safeguard employment, the company's regional reorganisation involved the loss of hundreds of jobs. Regional integration organisations and their member states should be aware of the capacity of TTCs to act in a coordinated transnational manner to influence policy in their own interests, and coordinate their own public health and tax policies in a similarly effective way.

'A major lobbying effort to change and unify the excise structure in six Central American countries': How British American Tobacco influenced tax and tariff rates in the Central American Common Market

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) may respond to processes of regional trade integration both by acting politically to influence policy and by reorganising their own operations. The Central American Common Market (CACM) was reinvigorated in the 1990s, reflecting processes of regional trade liberalisation in Latin America and globally. This study aimed to ascertain how British American Tobacco (BAT), which dominated the markets of the CACM, sought to influence policy towards it by member country governments and how the CACM process impacted upon BAT's operations. Methods The study analysed internal tobacco industry documents released as a result of litigation in the US and available from the online Legacy Tobacco Documents Library at http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/. Documents were retrieved by searching the BAT collection using key terms in an iterative process. Analysis was based on an interpretive approach involving a process of attempting to understand the meanings of individual documents and relating these to other documents in the set, identifying the central themes of documents and clusters of documents, contextualising the documentary data, and choosing representative material in order to present findings. Results Utilising its multinational character, BAT was able to act in a coordinated way across the member countries of the CACM to influence tariffs and taxes to its advantage. Documents demonstrate a high degree of access to governments and officials. The company conducted a coordinated, and largely successful, attempt to keep external tariff rates for cigarettes high and to reduce external tariffs for key inputs, whilst also influencing the harmonisation of excise taxes between countries. Protected by these high external tariffs, it reorganised its own operations to take advantage of regional economies of scale. In direct contradiction to arguments presented to CACM governments that affording the tobacco industry protection via high cigarette tariffs would safeguard employment, the company's regional reorganisation involved the loss of hundreds of jobs. Conclusions Regional integration organisations and their member states should be aware of the capacity of TTCs to act in a coordinated transnational manner to influence policy in their own interests, and coordinate their own public health and tax policies in a similarly effective way. PMID:21595921

Tobacco Industry Promotional Strategies Targeting American Indians/Alaska Natives and Exploiting Tribal Sovereignty.

PubMed

Lempert, Lauren K; Glantz, Stanton A

2018-03-12

American Indians/Alaska Natives have the highest commercial tobacco use in the United States, resulting in higher tobacco-caused deaths and diseases than the general population. Some American Indians/Alaska Natives use commercial tobacco for ceremonial as well as recreational uses. Because federally-recognized Tribal lands are sovereign, they are not subject to state cigarette taxes and smokefree laws. This study analyzes tobacco industry promotional efforts specifically targeting American Indians/Alaska Natives and exploiting Tribal lands to understand appropriate policy responses in light of American Indians'/Alaska Natives' unique sovereign status and culture. We analyzed previously secret tobacco industry documents available at the Truth Tobacco Documents Library (https://industrydocuments.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/). Tobacco companies used promotional strategies targeting American Indians/Alaska Natives and exploiting Tribal lands that leveraged the federally-recognized Tribes' unique sovereign status exempting them from state cigarette taxes and smokefree laws, and exploited some Tribes' existing traditional uses of ceremonial tobacco and poverty. Tactics included price reductions, coupons, giveaways, gaming promotions, charitable contributions and sponsorships. Additionally, tobacco companies built alliances with Tribal leaders to help improve their corporate image, advance ineffective "youth smoking prevention" programs, and defeat tobacco control policies. The industry's promotional tactics likely contribute to disparities in smoking prevalence and smoking-related diseases among American Indians//Alaska Natives. Proven policy interventions to address these disparities including tobacco price increases, cigarette taxes, comprehensive smokefree laws, and industry denormalization campaigns to reduce smoking prevalence and smoking-related disease could be considered by Tribal communities. The sovereign status of federally-recognized Tribes does not prevent them from adopting these measures.

eCONSULTS TO ENDOCRINOLOGISTS IMPROVE ACCESS AND CHANGE PRIMARY CARE PROVIDER BEHAVIOR.

PubMed

Tran, Christopher S; Liddy, Clare E; Liu, Dora M; Afkham, Amir; Keely, Erin J

2016-10-01

To describe the impact of an eConsult service on access to endocrinologists along with its influence on changing primary care provider (PCP) course of action and referral behaviors. Established in 2011, the Champlain BASE (Building Access to Specialist Care via eConsult) service allows PCPs to access specialist care in lieu of traditional face-to-face referrals. We conducted a cross-sectional study of eConsult cases submitted to endocrinologists by PCPs between April 15, 2011 and January 31, 2015. Usage data and PCP responses to a mandatory closeout survey were analyzed to determine eConsult response times, PCP practice behavior, referral outcomes, and provider satisfaction. Each eConsult was coded according to clinical topic and question type based on established taxonomies. A total of 180 PCPs submitted 464 eConsults to endocrinology during the study period. Specialist median response time was 7 hours, with 90% of responses occurring within 3 days. PCPs received a new or additional course of action in 62% of submitted cases. An unnecessary face-to-face referral was avoided in 44% of all eConsults and in 67% of cases where the PCP initially contemplated requesting a referral. Over 95% of cases were rated at least 4 out of 5 in value for PCPs and their patients. The use of eConsult improves access to endocrinologists by providing timely, highly rated practice-changing clinical advice while reducing the need for patients to attend face-to-face office visits. BASE = Building Access to Specialist Advice through eConsult PCP = primary care physician UCSF = University of California San Francisco.

Development and pilot evaluation of novel genetic educational materials designed for an underserved patient population.

PubMed

Lubitz, Rebecca Jean; Komaromy, Miriam; Crawford, Beth; Beattie, Mary; Lee, Robin; Luce, Judith; Ziegler, John

2007-01-01

Genetic counseling for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations involves teaching about hereditary cancer, genetics and risk, subjects that are difficult to grasp and are routinely misunderstood. Supported by a grant from the Avon Foundation, the UCSF Cancer Risk Program started the first genetic testing and counseling service for a population of traditionally underserved women of varied ethnic and social backgrounds at the San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH). Informed by educational theory and clinical experience, we devised and piloted two simplified explanations of heredity and genetic risk, with the aim of uncovering how to best communicate genetics and risk to this underserved population. A "conventional" version comprised pictures of genes, pedigrees, and quantitative representations of risk. A "colloquial" pictorial version used an analogy of the "information book" of genes, family stories and vignettes, and visual representations of risk, without using scientific words such as genes or chromosomes. A verbal narrative accompanied each picture. We presented these modules to four focus groups of five to eight women recruited from the SFGH Family Practice Clinic. Overall, women preferred a picture-based approach and commented that additional text would have been distracting. The majority of women preferred the colloquial version because it was easier to understand and better conveyed a sense of comfort and hope. We conclude that simplicity, analogies, and familiarity support comprehension while vignettes, family stories, and photos of real people provide comfort and hope. These elements may promote understanding of complex scientific topics in healthcare, particularly when communicating with patients who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The effects of bone on proton NMR relaxation times of surrounding liquids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, C. A.; Genant, H. K.; Dunham, J. S.

1986-01-01

Preliminary attempts by our group at UCSF to assess fat content of vertebral marrow in the lumbar spine using relaxation time information demonstrated that the presence of trabecular bone affects relaxation times. The objective of this work was a thorough study of the effects of bone on NMR relaxation characteristics of surrounding liquids. Trabecular bone from autopsy specimens was ground up and sifted into a series of powders with graded densities ranging from 0.3 gm/cc to 0.8 gm/cc. Each powder was placed first in n-saline and then in cottonseed oil. With spectroscopy, spin-lattice relaxation times (T1) and effective spin-spin relaxation times (T2*) were measured for each liquid in each bone powder. As bone density and surface to volume ratio increased, T1 decreased faster for saline than for oil. T2* decreased significantly for both water and oil as the surface to volume ratio increased. It was concluded that effects of water on T1 could be explained by a surface interaction at the bone/liquid interface, which restricted rotational and translational motion of nearby molecules. The T1s of oil were not affected since oil molecules are nonpolar, do not participate in significant intermolecular hydrogen bonding, and therefore would not be expected to interact strongly with the bone surface. Effects on T2* could be explained by local magnetic field inhomogeneities created by discontinuous magnetic susceptibility near the bone surface. These preliminary results suggest that water in contact with trabecular bone in vivo will exhibit shortened relaxation times.

Covering their butts: responses to the cigarette litter problem.

PubMed

Smith, Elizabeth A; McDaniel, Patricia A

2011-03-01

Cigarette butt litter is a potential target of tobacco control. In addition to its toxicity and non-biodegradability, it can justify environmental regulation and policies that raise the price of tobacco and further denormalise its use. This paper examines how the tobacco industry has managed the cigarette butt litter issue and how the issue has been covered in the media. We searched the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/) using a snowball strategy. We analysed data from approximately 700 documents, dated 1959-2006, using an interpretive approach. We also searched two newspaper databases, Lexis/Nexis and Newsbank, and found 406 relevant articles, dated 1982-2009 which we analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. The tobacco industry monitored and developed strategies for dealing with the cigarette litter issue because it affected the social acceptability of smoking, created the potential for alliances between tobacco control and environmental advocates, and created a target for regulation. The industry developed anti-litter programs with Keep America Beautiful (KAB) and similar organisations. Media coverage focused on industry-acceptable solutions, such as volunteer clean-ups and installation of ashtrays; stories that mentioned KAB were also more frequently positive towards the tobacco industry. Among alternative approaches, clean outdoor air (COA) laws received the most media attention. Cigarette litter, like secondhand smoke, is the result of smoker behaviour and affects nonsmokers. The tobacco industry has tried and failed to mitigate the impact of cigarette litter. Tobacco control advocates should explore alliances with environmental groups and propose policy options that hold the industry accountable for cigarette waste.

Clinical management of chronic hepatitis B infection: results from a registry at a German tertiary referral center.

PubMed

Demir, M; Nigemeier, J; Kütting, F; Bowe, A; Schramm, C; Hoffmann, V; Waldschmidt, D; Goeser, T; Steffen, H-M

2015-04-01

We studied a cohort of adult patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection, followed at a tertiary referral liver center in Germany over 12.5 years to analyze the clinical features and impact of management on disease progression and survival of CHB patients in general and of those with CHB and HCC in particular. We retrospectively evaluated the medical records of 242 adult (age ≥ 18 years) patients. CHB was defined as positive hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and/or HBV-DNA levels >10 IU/mL for at least 6 months. Patient demographics, HBV markers, antiviral treatment, laboratory parameters, liver imaging and histology were recorded for each visit. HCC patients were divided into two groups and separately analyzed (group 1: n = 24, HCC at first visit and group 2: n = 11, HCC during surveillance). The mean age was 44 years in CHB patients without HCC (63% male) and about 59 years in patients with HCC (77% male). Antiviral therapy was given to 59% of patients without HCC compared to only 25% in group 1 and 18% in group 2 with comparable median HBV DNA levels of approximately 36,000 IU/mL. There was no statistically significant difference concerning the HCC stages (Milan, UCSF, BCLC) at first diagnosis. Five-year survival was 19% in group 1 vs. 64% in group 2 (p = 0.019), with LTx performed in 12 vs. 45%, respectively. Surveillance of CHB patients did not result in early stage detection of HCC but in a higher likelihood to receive potentially curative treatments.

Pilot Study on Long Term Effects of HZE Exposure on the Canine Brain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Budinger, T.; Brennan, K.; Pearlstein, R.

A ground-based pilot experiment was initiated in December 1992 to evaluate the long term effects on health and aging after HZE cosmic radiation of the canine brain. Six adult male beagle dogs (1 yr) from the UC Davis breeding colony at the Laboratory for Energy Related Health Research were researched in this study. Iron nuclei at 600 MeV/amu (180 keV/mm) were used to irradiate the whole brain. The fluence of 3 x 106 iron nuclei/ cm2 mimics the HZE exposure (all > He) for a 2- year mission to Mars. The HZE irradiation was a fully stripped iron particle beam at the LBNL BEVALAC. Using a Raster Scanner we were able to spread the beam to deliver a uniform dose over the brain. The total dose to the brain was 200 cGy. Four dogs were whole brain irradiated with iron and two dogs served as litter-mate controls. The control dogs received a similar amount of background neutron irradiation as the irradiated dogs. One of the control dogs died suddenly 3/98 of intestinal cancer unrelated to the brain irradiation. That brain was not harvested before autolysis had prevented analysis. Periodic PET metabolism and yearly MRI studies have been done on these dog's brain since irradiation. All dogs had yearly physical, neurological and blood chemistry work-ups. PET imaging was performed with the Donner 600-crystal high-resolution PET (2.6 mm resolution) and with the commercial PET, CTI/Siemens ECAT 951 PET Scanner (5 mm resolution). NMR imaging is performed with the 1 5T GE Signa at UCSF using T spoiled gradient imaging.1 sequences for T1 contrast at 1 mm resolution as well as a T2 weighted spin echo imaging sequence at 1 mm resolution. A major goal of this work is to present an accurate method for measuring surface areas and volumes of the irradiated vs the non-irradiated canine brain using MRI data which are isotropic in resolution at the 1 mm level. This allows us to monitor the changes in brain size with aging and radiation exposure. Nine years post irradiation, these dog brains (+ 3 additional age-matched controls) were in-situ perfused with 4% paraformaldehyde/01.M phosphate buffer. The brain was removed and fixed in the same fixative for 2 weeks. Brain sections were embedded in parafin and cut at 6 or 12 μm thickness. Histology included H&E, Luxol fast blue and Silver staining. Immunochemistry included Amyloidprecursor protein. There was no marked increase in amyloid plaque formation in the irradiated dogs. Imaging and histology results will be presented at the COSPAR conference.

Effective stakeholder participation in setting research priorities using a Global Evidence Mapping approach.

PubMed

Clavisi, Ornella; Bragge, Peter; Tavender, Emma; Turner, Tari; Gruen, Russell L

2013-05-01

We present a multistep process for identifying priority research areas in rehabilitation and long-term care of traumatic brain-injured (TBI) patients. In particular, we aimed to (1) identify which stakeholders should be involved; (2) identify what methods are appropriate; (3) examine different criteria for the generation of research priority areas; and (4) test the feasibility of linkage and exchange among researchers, decision makers, and other potential users of the research. Potential research questions were identified and developed using an initial scoping meeting and preliminary literature search, followed by a facilitated mapping workshop and an online survey. Identified research questions were then prioritized against specific criteria (clinical importance, novelty, and controversy). Existing evidence was then mapped to the high-priority questions using usual processes for search, screening, and selection. A broad range of stakeholders were then brought together at a forum to identify priority research themes for future research investment. Using clinical and research leaders, smaller targeted planning workshops prioritized specific research projects for each of the identified themes. Twenty-six specific questions about TBI rehabilitation were generated, 14 of which were high priority. No one method identified all high-priority questions. Methods that relied solely on the views of clinicians and researchers identified fewer high-priority questions compared with methods that used broader stakeholder engagement. Evidence maps of these high-priority questions yielded a number of evidence gaps. Priority questions and evidence maps were then used to inform a research forum, which identified 12 priority themes for future research. Our research demonstrates the value of a multistep and multimethod process involving many different types of stakeholders for prioritizing research to improve the rehabilitation outcomes of people who have suffered TBI. Enhancing stakeholder representation can be augmented using a combination of methods and a process of linkage and exchange. This process can inform decisions about prioritization of research areas. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Perspectives of Patients, Caregivers and Researchers on Research Priorities in Donation and Transplantation in Canada: A Pilot Workshop.

PubMed

Allard, Julie; Durand, Céline; Anthony, Samantha J; Dumez, Vincent; Hartell, David; Hébert, Marie-Josée; West, Lori J; Wright, Linda; Fortin, Marie-Chantal

2017-02-01

It is vitally important to seek input from key stakeholders to increase the quality and relevance of health-related research and accelerate its adoption into practice. Patients and caregivers have rarely been involved in setting research priorities in the transplantation and donation field. The objectives of this explorative study are: (i) to discuss research priorities within the Canadian National Transplant Research Program during a priority-setting exercise with patients, caregivers, organ donors and researchers and (ii) to compare the identified priorities with research published in 2 prestigious transplantation journals. A pilot workshop attended by 10 patients and caregivers and 5 researchers was held in Montréal (Quebec, Canada) in August 2014 to identify research priorities. Priorities were identified using a thematic analysis of the workshop transcription conducted by multiple coders. These priorities were compared with the topics of research articles published in 2 major transplantation journals between 2012 and 2014. The themes of the 10 research priorities identified by study participants were related to different research domains: social, cultural, and environmental health factors (4); biomedical or clinical (4); and research about health systems and services (2). 26.7% of the research articles published were related to the identified priorities. Thirteen percent looked at ways to improve graft survival and 8.5% looked at the development of tolerance, 2 priorities identified by participants. Fewer than 5% examined the other 8 research priorities identified as important by workshop participants. This is the first study reporting patients' and researchers' priorities in the field of transplantation and donation in Canada. There is a discrepancy between topics that key stakeholders find important and research published in 2 major transplantation journals. The research priorities identified during our initial workshop will be validated through a national survey and workshop.

Toward an Integrated BAC Library Resource for Genome Sequencing and Analysis

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

Simon, M. I.; Kim, U.-J.

We developed a great deal of expertise in building large BAC libraries from a variety of DNA sources including humans, mice, corn, microorganisms, worms, and Arabidopsis. We greatly improved the technology for screening these libraries rapidly and for selecting appropriate BACs and mapping BACs to develop large overlapping contigs. We became involved in supplying BACs and BAC contigs to a variety of sequencing and mapping projects and we began to collaborate with Drs. Adams and Venter at TIGR and with Dr. Leroy Hood and his group at University of Washington to provide BACs for end sequencing and for mapping andmore » sequencing of large fragments of chromosome 16. Together with Dr. Ian Dunham and his co-workers at the Sanger Center we completed the mapping and they completed the sequencing of the first human chromosome, chromosome 22. This was published in Nature in 1999 and our BAC contigs made a major contribution to this sequencing effort. Drs. Shizuya and Ding invented an automated highly accurate BAC mapping technique. We also developed long-term collaborations with Dr. Uli Weier at UCSF in the design of BAC probes for characterization of human tumors and specific chromosome deletions and breakpoints. Finally the contribution of our work to the human genome project has been recognized in the publication both by the international consortium and the NIH of a draft sequence of the human genome in Nature last year. Dr. Shizuya was acknowledged in the authorship of that landmark paper. Dr. Simon was also an author on the Venter/Adams Celera project sequencing the human genome that was published in Science last year.« less

Early vs late age at onset frontotemporal dementia and frontotemporal lobar degeneration.

PubMed

Seo, Sang Won; Thibodeau, Marie-Pierre; Perry, David C; Hua, Alice; Sidhu, Manu; Sible, Isabel; Vargas, Jose Norberto S; Gaus, Stephanie E; Rabinovici, Gil D; Rankin, Katherine D; Boxer, Adam L; Kramer, Joel H; Rosen, Howard J; Gorno-Tempini, Maria Luisa; Grinberg, Lea T; Huang, Eric J; DeArmond, Stephen J; Trojanowski, John Q; Miller, Bruce L; Seeley, William W

2018-03-20

To examine clinicopathologic correlations in early vs late age at onset frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). All patients were clinically evaluated and prospectively diagnosed at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center. Two consecutive series were included: (1) patients with a clinically diagnosed FTD syndrome who underwent autopsy (cohort 1) and (2) patients with a primary pathologic diagnosis of FTLD, regardless of the clinical syndrome (cohort 2). These series were divided by age at symptom onset (cutoff 65 years). In cohort 1, 48 (25.3%) were 65 years or older at symptom onset. Pathologic causes of behavioral variant FTD (bvFTD) were similar in the early age at onset (EO) and late age at onset (LO) bvFTD groups. In corticobasal syndrome (CBS), however, the most common pathologic substrate differed according to age at onset: progressive supranuclear palsy (42.9%) in LO-CBS and Alzheimer disease (AD; 40.7%) in EO-CBS. In cohort 2, 57 (28.4%) were classified as LO-FTLD. Regarding FTLD major molecular classes, FTLD with transactive response DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa was most common in EO-FTLD (44.4%), whereas FTLD-tau (58.3%) was most common in LO-FTLD. Antemortem diagnosis of a non-FTD syndrome, usually AD-type dementia, was more frequent in LO-FTLD than EO-FTLD (19.3% vs 7.7%, p = 0.017). LO-FTLD was also associated with more prevalent comorbid pathologic changes. Of these, moderate to severe AD neuropathologic change and argyrophilic grain disease were overrepresented among patients who received an antemortem diagnosis of AD-type dementia. Patients with FTD and FTLD often develop symptoms after age 65, and age at onset represents an important consideration when making antemortem neuropathologic predictions. © 2018 American Academy of Neurology.

Signed, sealed and delivered: "big tobacco" in Hollywood, 1927-1951.

PubMed

Lum, K L; Polansky, J R; Jackler, R K; Glantz, S A

2008-10-01

Smoking in movies is associated with adolescent and young adult smoking initiation. Public health efforts to eliminate smoking from films accessible to youth have been countered by defenders of the status quo, who associate tobacco imagery in "classic" movies with artistry and nostalgia. The present work explores the mutually beneficial commercial collaborations between the tobacco companies and major motion picture studios from the late 1920s through the 1940s. Cigarette endorsement contracts with Hollywood stars and movie studios were obtained from internal tobacco industry documents at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Legacy Tobacco Documents Library and the Jackler advertising collection at Stanford. Cigarette advertising campaigns that included Hollywood endorsements appeared from 1927 to 1951, with major activity in 1931-2 and 1937-8 for American Tobacco Company's Lucky Strike, and in the late 1940s for Liggett & Myers' Chesterfield. Endorsement contracts and communication between American Tobacco and movie stars and studios explicitly reveal the cross-promotional value of the campaigns. American Tobacco paid movie stars who endorsed Lucky Strike cigarettes US$218,750 in 1937-8 (equivalent to US$3.2 million in 2008) for their testimonials. Hollywood endorsements in cigarette advertising afforded motion picture studios nationwide publicity supported by the tobacco industry's multimillion US dollar advertising budgets. Cross-promotion was the incentive that led to a synergistic relationship between the US tobacco and motion picture industries, whose artefacts, including "classic" films with smoking and glamorous publicity images with cigarettes, continue to perpetuate public tolerance of onscreen smoking. Market-based disincentives within the film industry may be a solution to decouple the historical association between Hollywood films and cigarettes.

Smoke Rings: Towards a Comprehensive Tobacco Free Policy for the Olympic Games

PubMed Central

Lee, Kelley; Fooks, Gary; Wander, Nathaniel; Fang, Jennifer

2015-01-01

Background The tobacco industry has long sought affiliation with major sporting events, including the Olympic Games, for marketing, advertising and promotion purposes. Since 1988, each Olympic Games has adopted a tobacco-free policy. Limited study of the effectiveness of the smoke-free policy has been undertaken to date, with none examining the tobacco industry’s involvement with the Olympics or use of the Olympic brand. Methods and Findings A comparison of the contents of Olympic tobacco-free policies from 1988 to 2014 was carried out by searching the websites of the IOC and host NOCs. The specific tobacco control measures adopted for each Games were compiled and compared with measures recommended by the WHO Tobacco Free Sports Initiative and Article 13 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). This was supported by semi-structured interviews of key informants involved with the adoption of tobacco-free policies for selected games. To understand the industry’s interests in the Olympics, the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) was systematically searched between June 2013 and August 2014. Company websites, secondary sources and media reports were also searched to triangulate the above data sources. This paper finds that, while most direct associations between tobacco and the Olympics have been prohibited since 1988, a variety of indirect associations undermine the Olympic tobacco-free policy. This is due to variation in the scope of tobacco-free policies, limited jurisdiction and continued efforts by the industry to be associated with Olympic ideals. Conclusions The paper concludes that, compatible with the IOC’s commitment to promoting healthy lifestyles, a comprehensive tobacco-free policy with standardized and binding measures should be adopted by the International Olympic Committee and all national Olympic committees. PMID:26252397

Updating the International Standards for Tuberculosis Care. Entering the era of molecular diagnostics.

PubMed

Hopewell, Philip C; Fair, Elizabeth L; Uplekar, Mukund

2014-03-01

The International Standards for Tuberculosis Care, first published in 2006 (Lancet Infect Dis 2006;6:710-725.) with a second edition in 2009 ( www.currytbcenter.ucsf.edu/international/istc_report ), was produced by an international coalition of organizations funded by the United States Agency for International Development. Development of the document was led jointly by the World Health Organization and the American Thoracic Society, with the aim of promoting engagement of all care providers, especially those in the private sector in low- and middle-income countries, in delivering high-quality services for tuberculosis. In keeping with World Health Organization recommendations regarding rapid molecular testing, as well as other pertinent new recommendations, the third edition of the Standards has been developed. After decades of dormancy, the technology available for tuberculosis care and control is now rapidly evolving. In particular, rapid molecular testing, using devices with excellent performance characteristics for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis and rifampin resistance, and that are practical and affordable for use in decentralized facilities in low-resource settings, is being widely deployed globally. Used appropriately, both within tuberculosis control programs and in private laboratories, these devices have the potential to revolutionize tuberculosis care and control, providing a confirmed diagnosis and a determination of rifampin resistance within a few hours, enabling appropriate treatment to be initiated promptly. Major changes have been made in the standards for diagnosis. Additional important changes include: emphasis on the recognition of groups at increased risk of tuberculosis; updating the standard on antiretroviral treatment in persons with tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus infection; and revising the standard on treating multiple drug-resistant tuberculosis.

Smoke Rings: Towards a Comprehensive Tobacco Free Policy for the Olympic Games.

PubMed

Lee, Kelley; Fooks, Gary; Wander, Nathaniel; Fang, Jennifer

2015-01-01

The tobacco industry has long sought affiliation with major sporting events, including the Olympic Games, for marketing, advertising and promotion purposes. Since 1988, each Olympic Games has adopted a tobacco-free policy. Limited study of the effectiveness of the smoke-free policy has been undertaken to date, with none examining the tobacco industry's involvement with the Olympics or use of the Olympic brand. A comparison of the contents of Olympic tobacco-free policies from 1988 to 2014 was carried out by searching the websites of the IOC and host NOCs. The specific tobacco control measures adopted for each Games were compiled and compared with measures recommended by the WHO Tobacco Free Sports Initiative and Article 13 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). This was supported by semi-structured interviews of key informants involved with the adoption of tobacco-free policies for selected games. To understand the industry's interests in the Olympics, the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) was systematically searched between June 2013 and August 2014. Company websites, secondary sources and media reports were also searched to triangulate the above data sources. This paper finds that, while most direct associations between tobacco and the Olympics have been prohibited since 1988, a variety of indirect associations undermine the Olympic tobacco-free policy. This is due to variation in the scope of tobacco-free policies, limited jurisdiction and continued efforts by the industry to be associated with Olympic ideals. The paper concludes that, compatible with the IOC's commitment to promoting healthy lifestyles, a comprehensive tobacco-free policy with standardized and binding measures should be adopted by the International Olympic Committee and all national Olympic committees.

A Web Resource for Standardized Benchmark Datasets, Metrics, and Rosetta Protocols for Macromolecular Modeling and Design.

PubMed

Ó Conchúir, Shane; Barlow, Kyle A; Pache, Roland A; Ollikainen, Noah; Kundert, Kale; O'Meara, Matthew J; Smith, Colin A; Kortemme, Tanja

2015-01-01

The development and validation of computational macromolecular modeling and design methods depend on suitable benchmark datasets and informative metrics for comparing protocols. In addition, if a method is intended to be adopted broadly in diverse biological applications, there needs to be information on appropriate parameters for each protocol, as well as metrics describing the expected accuracy compared to experimental data. In certain disciplines, there exist established benchmarks and public resources where experts in a particular methodology are encouraged to supply their most efficient implementation of each particular benchmark. We aim to provide such a resource for protocols in macromolecular modeling and design. We present a freely accessible web resource (https://kortemmelab.ucsf.edu/benchmarks) to guide the development of protocols for protein modeling and design. The site provides benchmark datasets and metrics to compare the performance of a variety of modeling protocols using different computational sampling methods and energy functions, providing a "best practice" set of parameters for each method. Each benchmark has an associated downloadable benchmark capture archive containing the input files, analysis scripts, and tutorials for running the benchmark. The captures may be run with any suitable modeling method; we supply command lines for running the benchmarks using the Rosetta software suite. We have compiled initial benchmarks for the resource spanning three key areas: prediction of energetic effects of mutations, protein design, and protein structure prediction, each with associated state-of-the-art modeling protocols. With the help of the wider macromolecular modeling community, we hope to expand the variety of benchmarks included on the website and continue to evaluate new iterations of current methods as they become available.

Use of Age and Medical Comorbidity to Assess Long-term Other-cause Mortality Risk in a Cohort of Men Undergoing Prostate Biopsy at an Academic Medical Center.

PubMed

Kominsky, Hal D; Bashline, Michael; Eun, Daniel; Pontari, Michel A; Mydlo, Jack H; Reese, Adam C

2017-02-01

To assess life expectancy and biopsy outcomes in men undergoing prostate biopsy at an academic medical center. We analyzed men who underwent prostate biopsy at our medical center between July 2012 and June 2014. Long-term other-cause mortality risk was determined using survival tables. Indications for biopsy and biopsy outcomes were assessed, and compared among men with varying mortality risks. A total of 417 men underwent prostate biopsy, in whom 14-year other-cause mortality risk ranged from 9% to 74%. One hundred ninety-three men (46.3%) were considered low-mortality risk (<40% risk of 14-year mortality), 131 (31.4%) intermediate risk (41%-55% 14-year mortality), and 93 (22.3%) high risk (>55% 14-year mortality). Of the 417 patients who underwent biopsy, 149 (35.7%) were found to have prostate cancer. There was no significant difference in the rate of positive biopsies (P = .72), distribution of Gleason scores (P = .60), or percentage of positive biopsy cores (P = .74) between mortality risk groups. However, by UCSF Cancer of the Prostate Risk Assessment score, there was significant trend toward higher-risk prostate cancer in men with intermediate and high-mortality risk (P = .04). In this analysis, a large number of men with limited life expectancies underwent prostate biopsy. The majority of these men had negative biopsies or low-risk cancers, suggesting that they were unlikely to benefit from biopsy. To avoid potentially unnecessary prostate biopsies, the practitioner must give serious consideration to a patient's age and medical comorbidities before making a recommendation as to whether biopsy should be performed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dynamo: a flexible, user-friendly development tool for subtomogram averaging of cryo-EM data in high-performance computing environments.

PubMed

Castaño-Díez, Daniel; Kudryashev, Mikhail; Arheit, Marcel; Stahlberg, Henning

2012-05-01

Dynamo is a new software package for subtomogram averaging of cryo Electron Tomography (cryo-ET) data with three main goals: first, Dynamo allows user-transparent adaptation to a variety of high-performance computing platforms such as GPUs or CPU clusters. Second, Dynamo implements user-friendliness through GUI interfaces and scripting resources. Third, Dynamo offers user-flexibility through a plugin API. Besides the alignment and averaging procedures, Dynamo includes native tools for visualization and analysis of results and data, as well as support for third party visualization software, such as Chimera UCSF or EMAN2. As a demonstration of these functionalities, we studied bacterial flagellar motors and showed automatically detected classes with absent and present C-rings. Subtomogram averaging is a common task in current cryo-ET pipelines, which requires extensive computational resources and follows a well-established workflow. However, due to the data diversity, many existing packages offer slight variations of the same algorithm to improve results. One of the main purposes behind Dynamo is to provide explicit tools to allow the user the insertion of custom designed procedures - or plugins - to replace or complement the native algorithms in the different steps of the processing pipeline for subtomogram averaging without the burden of handling parallelization. Custom scripts that implement new approaches devised by the user are integrated into the Dynamo data management system, so that they can be controlled by the GUI or the scripting capacities. Dynamo executables do not require licenses for third party commercial software. Sources, executables and documentation are freely distributed on http://www.dynamo-em.org. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Signed, sealed and delivered: “big tobacco” in Hollywood, 1927–1951

PubMed Central

Lum, K L; Polansky, J R; Jackler, R K; Glantz, S A

2008-01-01

Objective: Smoking in movies is associated with adolescent and young adult smoking initiation. Public health efforts to eliminate smoking from films accessible to youth have been countered by defenders of the status quo, who associate tobacco imagery in “classic” movies with artistry and nostalgia. The present work explores the mutually beneficial commercial collaborations between the tobacco companies and major motion picture studios from the late 1920s through the 1940s. Methods: Cigarette endorsement contracts with Hollywood stars and movie studios were obtained from internal tobacco industry documents at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Legacy Tobacco Documents Library and the Jackler advertising collection at Stanford. Results: Cigarette advertising campaigns that included Hollywood endorsements appeared from 1927 to 1951, with major activity in 1931–2 and 1937–8 for American Tobacco Company’s Lucky Strike, and in the late 1940s for Liggett & Myers’ Chesterfield. Endorsement contracts and communication between American Tobacco and movie stars and studios explicitly reveal the cross-promotional value of the campaigns. American Tobacco paid movie stars who endorsed Lucky Strike cigarettes US$218 750 in 1937–8 (equivalent to US$3.2 million in 2008) for their testimonials. Conclusions: Hollywood endorsements in cigarette advertising afforded motion picture studios nationwide publicity supported by the tobacco industry’s multimillion US dollar advertising budgets. Cross-promotion was the incentive that led to a synergistic relationship between the US tobacco and motion picture industries, whose artefacts, including “classic” films with smoking and glamorous publicity images with cigarettes, continue to perpetuate public tolerance of onscreen smoking. Market-based disincentives within the film industry may be a solution to decouple the historical association between Hollywood films and cigarettes. PMID:18818225

Donor miR-196a-2 polymorphism is associated with hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence after liver transplantation in a Han Chinese population.

PubMed

Xu, Xiao; Ling, Qi; Wang, Jianguo; Xie, Haiyang; Wei, Xuyong; Lu, Di; Hu, Qichao; Zhang, Xuanyu; Wu, Liming; Zhou, Lin; Zheng, Shusen

2016-02-01

Recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of death after liver transplantation (LT). We aim to evaluate the association of donor and recipient single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with the risk of HCC recurrence after LT. A total of 155 adult patients who underwent primary LT for HCC were enrolled. Ten SNPs associated with HCC susceptibility were genotyped. Patients who received donor livers with the rs11614913 homozygous CC variant presented significantly higher recurrence rates of HCC (41.7 vs. 15.3%, p = 0.009) and lower cumulative tumor-free survival (p = 0.005) than those who received TT wild-type donor livers. The donor rs11614913 genetic variant was an independent risk factor for HCC recurrence (odds ratio = 2 per each C allele, p < 0.05) and could significantly improve the predictive abilities of clinical models (Milan, UCSF and Hangzhou criteria). Donor livers homozygous for rs11614913 CC were associated with a higher miR-196a expression than TT (p = 0.002). In a lentiviral infection of mouse liver and orthotopic mouse model of HCC, the liver miR-196a overexpression group showed a significantly larger tumor size than the control group (p = 0.001). There is a close association between the tumor size and expression of miR-196a in the liver (r = 0.693, p = 0.001). In conclusion, the donor miR-196a-2 rs11614913 polymorphism is associated with HCC recurrence after LT and improves the predictive value of clinical models. The overexpression of miR-196a in the liver might provide a tumor-favorable environment for the development of HCC. © 2015 UICC.

Benchmarking the ERG valve tip and MRI Interventions Smart Flow neurocatheter convection-enhanced delivery system's performance in a gel model of the brain: employing infusion protocols proposed for gene therapy for Parkinson's disease

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sillay, Karl; Schomberg, Dominic; Hinchman, Angelica; Kumbier, Lauren; Ross, Chris; Kubota, Ken; Brodsky, Ethan; Miranpuri, Gurwattan

2012-04-01

Convection-enhanced delivery (CED) is an advanced infusion technique used to deliver therapeutic agents into the brain. CED has shown promise in recent clinical trials. Independent verification of published parameters is warranted with benchmark testing of published parameters in applicable models such as gel phantoms, ex vivo tissue and in vivo non-human animal models to effectively inform planned and future clinical therapies. In the current study, specific performance characteristics of two CED infusion catheter systems, such as backflow, infusion cloud morphology, volume of distribution (mm3) versus the infused volume (mm3) (Vd/Vi) ratios, rate of infusion (µl min-1) and pressure (mmHg), were examined to ensure published performance standards for the ERG valve-tip (VT) catheter. We tested the hypothesis that the ERG VT catheter with an infusion protocol of a steady 1 µl min-1 functionality is comparable to the newly FDA approved MRI Interventions Smart Flow (SF) catheter with the UCSF infusion protocol in an agarose gel model. In the gel phantom models, no significant difference was found in performance parameters between the VT and SF catheter. We report, for the first time, such benchmark characteristics in CED between these two otherwise similar single-end port VT with stylet and end-port non-stylet infusion systems. Results of the current study in agarose gel models suggest that the performance of the VT catheter is comparable to the SF catheter and warrants further investigation as a tool in the armamentarium of CED techniques for eventual clinical use and application.

Signal transduction molecules in gliomas of all grades.

PubMed

Ermoian, Ralph P; Kaprealian, Tania; Lamborn, Kathleen R; Yang, Xiaodong; Jelluma, Nannette; Arvold, Nils D; Zeidman, Ruth; Berger, Mitchel S; Stokoe, David; Haas-Kogan, Daphne A

2009-01-01

To interrogate grade II, III, and IV gliomas and characterize the critical effectors within the PI3-kinase pathway upstream and downstream of mTOR. Experimental design Tissues from 87 patients who were treated at UCSF between 1990 and 2004 were analyzed. Twenty-eight grade II, 17 grade III glioma, 26 grade IV gliomas, and 16 non-tumor brain specimens were analyzed. Protein levels were assessed by immunoblots; RNA levels were determined by polymerase chain reaction amplification. To address the multiple comparisons, first an overall analysis was done comparing the four groups using Spearman's Correlation Coefficient. Only if this analysis was statistically significant were individual pairwise comparisons done. Multiple comparison analyses revealed a significant correlation with grade for all variables examined, except phosphorylated-S6. Expression of phosphorylated-4E-BP1, phosphorylated-PKB/Akt, PTEN, TSC1, and TSC2 correlated with grade (P < 0.01 for all). We extended our analyses to ask whether decreases in TSC proteins levels were due to changes in mRNA levels, or due to changes in post-transcriptional alterations. We found significantly lower levels of TSC1 and TSC2 mRNA in GBMs than in grade II gliomas or non-tumor brain (P < 0.01). Expression levels of critical signaling molecules upstream and downstream of mTOR differ between non-tumor brain and gliomas of any grade. The single variable whose expression did not differ between non-tumor brain and gliomas was phosphorylated-S6, suggesting that other protein kinases, in addition to mTOR, contribute significantly to S6 phosphorylation. mTOR provides a rational therapeutic target in gliomas of all grades, and clinical benefit may emerge as mTOR inhibitors are combined with additional agents.

Living donor liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma achieves better outcomes.

PubMed

Lin, Chih-Che; Chen, Chao-Long

2016-10-01

Liver transplantation (LT) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital mainly relies on live donor LT (LDLT). Owing to taking the risk of LD, we are obligated to adopt strict selection criteria for HCC patients and optimize the pre-transplant conditions to ensure a high disease-free survival similar to those without HCC, even better than deceased donor LT (DDLT). Better outcomes are attributed to excellent surgical results and optimal patient selection. The hospital mortality of primary and salvage LDLT are lower than 2% in our center. Although Taiwan Health Insurance Policy extended the Milan to University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) criteria in 2006, selection criteria will not be consolidated to take into account only by the morphologic size/number of tumors but also by their biology. The criteria are divided into modifiable image morphology, alpha fetoprotein (AFP), and positron emission tomography (PET) scan with standard uptake value (SUV) and unmodifiable unfavorable pathology such as HCC combined with cholangiocarcinoma (CC), sarcomatoid type, and poor differentiation. Downstaging therapy is necessary for HCC patients beyond criteria to fit all modifiable standards. The upper limit of downstaging treatment seems to be extended by more effective drug eluting transarterial chemoembolization in cases without absolute contraindications. In contrast, the pitfall of unmodifiable tumor pathology should be excluded by the findings of pretransplant core biopsy/resection if possible. More recently, achieving complete tumor necrosis in explanted liver could almost predict no recurrence after transplant. Necrotizing therapy is advised if possible before transplant even the tumor status within criteria to minimize the possibility of tumor recurrence. LDLT with low surgical mortality in experienced centers provides the opportunities of optimizing the pre-transplant tumor conditions and timing of transplant to achieve better outcomes.

Identifying research priorities for public health research to address health inequalities: use of Delphi-like survey methods.

PubMed

Turner, S; Ollerhead, E; Cook, A

2017-10-09

In the funding of health research and public health research it is vital that research questions posed are important and that funded research meets a research need or a gap in evidence. Many methods are used in the identification of research priorities, however, these can be resource intensive, costly and logistically challenging. Identifying such research priorities can be particularly challenging for complex public health problems as there is a need to consult a number of experts across disciplines and with a range of expertise. This study investigated the use of Delphi-like survey methods in identifying important research priorities relating to health inequalities and framing tractable research questions for topic areas identified. The study was conducted in two phases, both using Delphi-like survey methods. Firstly, public health professionals with an interest in health inequalities were asked to identify research priorities. Secondly academic researchers were asked to frame tractable research questions relating to the priorities identified. These research priorities identified using Delphi-like survey methods were subsequently compared to those identified using different methods. A total of 52 public health professionals and 21 academics across the United Kingdom agreed to take part. The response rates were high, from public health professionals across three survey rounds (69%, 50% and 40%) and from academics across one round (52%), indicating that participants were receptive to the method and motivated to respond. The themes identified as encompassing the most important research priorities were mental health, healthy environment and health behaviours. Within these themes, the topic areas that emerged most strongly included community interventions for prevention of mental health problems and the food and alcohol environment. Some responses received from academic researchers were (as requested) in the form of tractable research questions, whereas others contributed further potential topic areas instead. Delphi-like survey methods are practical and productive as a means of obtaining opinions from a wide number of relevant experts identifying potential priority topic areas for research; however, this method is less appropriate for framing tractable research questions.

Evaluation of the Program in Medical Education for the Urban Underserved (PRIME-US) at the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program (JMP): The First 4 Years.

PubMed

Sokal-Gutierrez, Karen; Ivey, Susan L; Garcia, Roxanna M; Azzam, Amin

2015-01-01

Medical educators, clinicians, and health policy experts widely acknowledge the need to increase the diversity of our healthcare workforce and build our capacity to care for medically underserved populations and reduce health disparities. The Program in Medical Education for the Urban Underserved (PRIME-US) is part of a family of programs across the University of California (UC) medical schools aiming to recruit and train physicians to care for underserved populations, expand the healthcare workforce to serve diverse populations, and promote health equity. PRIME-US selects medical students from diverse backgrounds who are committed to caring for underserved populations and provides a 5-year curriculum including a summer orientation, a longitudinal seminar series with community engagement and leadership-development activities, preclerkship clinical immersion in an underserved setting, a master's degree, and a capstone rotation in the final year of medical school. This is a mixed-methods evaluation of the first 4 years of the PRIME-US at the UC Berkeley-UC San Francisco Joint Medical Program (JMP). From 2006 to 2010, focus groups were conducted each year with classes of JMP PRIME-US students, for a total of 11 focus groups; major themes were identified using content analysis. In addition, 4 yearly anonymous, online surveys of all JMP students, faculty and staff were conducted and analyzed. Most PRIME-US students came from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds and ethnic backgrounds underrepresented in medicine, and all were committed to caring for underserved populations. The PRIME-US students experienced many program benefits including peer support, professional role models and mentorship, and curricular enrichment activities that developed their knowledge, skills, and sustained commitment to care for underserved populations. Non-PRIME students, faculty, and staff also benefited from participating in PRIME-sponsored seminars and community-based activities. Challenges noted by PRIME-US students and non-PRIME students, faculty, and staff included the stress of additional workload, perceived inequities in student educational opportunities, and some negative comments from physicians in other specialties regarding primary care careers. Over the first 4 years of the program, PRIME-US students and non-PRIME students, faculty, and staff experienced educational benefits consistent with the intended program goals. Long-term evaluation is needed to examine the participants' medical careers and impacts on California's healthcare workforce and patient outcomes. Attention should also be paid to the challenges of implementing new medical education enrichment programs.

Cochrane systematic reviews are useful to map research gaps for decreasing maternal mortality.

PubMed

Chapman, Evelina; Reveiz, Ludovic; Chambliss, Amy; Sangalang, Stephanie; Bonfill, Xavier

2013-01-01

To use an "evidence-mapping" approach to assess the usefulness of Cochrane reviews in identifying research gaps in the maternal health. The article describes the general mapping, prioritizing, reconciling, and updating approach: (1) identifying gaps in the maternal health research using published systematic reviews and formulating research questions, (2) prioritizing questions using Delphi method, (3) reconciling identified research priorities with the existing literature (i.e., searching of ongoing trials in trials registries), (4) updating the process. A comprehensive search of Cochrane systematic reviews published or updated from January 2006 to March 2011 was performed. We evaluated the "Implications for Research" section to identify gaps in the research. Our search strategy identified 695 references; 178 systematic reviews identifying at least one research gap were used. We formulated 319 research questions, which were classified into 11 different categories based on the direct and indirect causes of maternal mortality: postpartum hemorrhage, abortion, hypertensive disorders, infection/sepsis, caesarean section, diabetes, pregnancy prevention, preterm labor, other direct causes, indirect causes, and health policies and systems. Most research questions concerned the effectiveness of clinical interventions, including drugs (42.6%), nonpharmacologic interventions (16.3%), and health system (14.7%). It is possible to identify gaps in the maternal health research by using this approach. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Perspectives of Patients, Caregivers and Researchers on Research Priorities in Donation and Transplantation in Canada: A Pilot Workshop

PubMed Central

Allard, Julie; Durand, Céline; Anthony, Samantha J.; Dumez, Vincent; Hartell, David; Hébert, Marie-Josée; West, Lori J.; Wright, Linda; Fortin, Marie-Chantal

2017-01-01

Background It is vitally important to seek input from key stakeholders to increase the quality and relevance of health-related research and accelerate its adoption into practice. Patients and caregivers have rarely been involved in setting research priorities in the transplantation and donation field. The objectives of this explorative study are: (i) to discuss research priorities within the Canadian National Transplant Research Program during a priority-setting exercise with patients, caregivers, organ donors and researchers and (ii) to compare the identified priorities with research published in 2 prestigious transplantation journals. Methods A pilot workshop attended by 10 patients and caregivers and 5 researchers was held in Montréal (Quebec, Canada) in August 2014 to identify research priorities. Priorities were identified using a thematic analysis of the workshop transcription conducted by multiple coders. These priorities were compared with the topics of research articles published in 2 major transplantation journals between 2012 and 2014. Results The themes of the 10 research priorities identified by study participants were related to different research domains: social, cultural, and environmental health factors (4); biomedical or clinical (4); and research about health systems and services (2). 26.7% of the research articles published were related to the identified priorities. Thirteen percent looked at ways to improve graft survival and 8.5% looked at the development of tolerance, 2 priorities identified by participants. Fewer than 5% examined the other 8 research priorities identified as important by workshop participants. Conclusions This is the first study reporting patients' and researchers' priorities in the field of transplantation and donation in Canada. There is a discrepancy between topics that key stakeholders find important and research published in 2 major transplantation journals. The research priorities identified during our initial workshop will be validated through a national survey and workshop. PMID:28361111

28 CFR 22.25 - Final disposition of identifiable materials.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... RESEARCH AND STATISTICAL INFORMATION § 22.25 Final disposition of identifiable materials. Upon completion of a research or statistical project the security of identifiable research or statistical information...

28 CFR 22.25 - Final disposition of identifiable materials.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... RESEARCH AND STATISTICAL INFORMATION § 22.25 Final disposition of identifiable materials. Upon completion of a research or statistical project the security of identifiable research or statistical information...

Key factors influencing allied health research capacity in a large Australian metropolitan health district

PubMed Central

Alison, Jennifer A; Zafiropoulos, Bill; Heard, Robert

2017-01-01

Objective The aim of this study was to identify key factors affecting research capacity and engagement of allied health professionals working in a large metropolitan health service. Identifying such factors will assist in determining strategies for building research capacity in allied health. Materials and methods A total of 276 allied health professionals working within the Sydney Local Health District (SLHD) completed the Research Capacity in Context Tool (RCCT) that measures research capacity and culture across three domains: organization, team, and individual. An exploratory factor analysis was undertaken to identify common themes within each of these domains. Correlations were performed between demographic variables and the identified factors to determine possible relationships. Results Research capacity and culture success/skill levels were reported to be higher within the organization and team domains compared to the individual domain (median [interquartile range, IQR] 6 [5–8], 6 [5–8], 5 [3–7], respectively; Friedman χ2(2)=42.04, p<0.001). Exploratory factor analyses were performed to identify factors that were perceived by allied health respondents to affect research capacity. Factors identified within the organization domain were infrastructure for research (eg, funds and equipment) and research culture (eg, senior manager’s support for research); within the team domain the factors were research orientation (eg, dissemination of results at research seminars) and research support (eg, providing staff research training). Within the individual domain, only one factor was identified which was the research skill of the individual (eg, literature evaluation, submitting ethics applications and data analysis, and writing for publication). Conclusion The reported skill/success levels in research were lower for the individual domain compared to the organization or team domains. Key factors were identified in each domain that impacted on allied health research capacity. As these factors were different in each domain, various strategies may be required at the level of the organization, team, and individual to support and build allied health research capacity. PMID:28860795

Strategies for public health research in European Union countries.

PubMed

Grimaud, Olivier; McCarthy, Mark; Conceição, Claudia

2013-11-01

'Health' is an identifiable theme within the European Union multi-annual research programmes. Public Health Innovation and Research in Europe (PHIRE), led by the European Public Health Association, sought to identify public health research strategies in EU member states. Within PHIRE, national public health associations reviewed structures for health research, held stakeholder workshops and produced reports. This information, supplemented by further web searches, including using assisted translation, was analysed for national research strategies and health research strategies. All countries described general research strategies, outlining organizational and capacity objectives. Thematic fields, including health, are mentioned in some strategies. A health research strategy was identified for 15 EU countries and not for 12. Ministries of health led research strategies for nine countries. Public health research was identified in only three strategies. National research strategies did not refer to the European Union's health research programme. Public health research strategies of European countries need to be developed by ministries of health, working with the research community to achieve the European Research Area.

Successful strategies to engage research partners for translating evidence into action in community health: a critical review.

PubMed

Salsberg, Jon; Parry, David; Pluye, Pierre; Macridis, Soultana; Herbert, Carol P; Macaulay, Ann C

2015-01-01

To undertake a critical review describing key strategies supporting development of participatory research (PR) teams to engage partners for creation and translation of action-oriented knowledge. Sources are four leading PR practitioners identified via bibliometric analysis. Authors' publications were identified in January 1995-October 2009 in PubMed, Embase, ISI Web of Science and CAB databases, and books. Works were limited to those with a process description describing a research project and practitioners were first, second, third, or last author. Adapting and applying the "Reliability Tested Guidelines for Assessing Participatory Research Projects" to retained records identified five key strategies: developing advisory committees of researchers and intended research users; developing research agreements; using formal and informal group facilitation techniques; hiring co-researchers/partners from community; and ensuring frequent communication. Other less frequently mentioned strategies were also identified. This review is the first time these guidelines were used to identify key strategies supporting PR projects. They proved effective at identifying and evaluating engagement strategies as reported by completed research projects. Adapting these guidelines identified gaps where the tool was unable to assess fundamental PR elements of power dynamics, equity of resources, and member turnover. Our resulting template serves as a new tool to measure partnerships.

Successful Strategies to Engage Research Partners for Translating Evidence into Action in Community Health: A Critical Review

PubMed Central

Salsberg, Jon; Parry, David; Pluye, Pierre; Macridis, Soultana; Herbert, Carol P.; Macaulay, Ann C.

2015-01-01

Objectives. To undertake a critical review describing key strategies supporting development of participatory research (PR) teams to engage partners for creation and translation of action-oriented knowledge. Methods. Sources are four leading PR practitioners identified via bibliometric analysis. Authors' publications were identified in January 1995–October 2009 in PubMed, Embase, ISI Web of Science and CAB databases, and books. Works were limited to those with a process description describing a research project and practitioners were first, second, third, or last author. Results. Adapting and applying the “Reliability Tested Guidelines for Assessing Participatory Research Projects” to retained records identified five key strategies: developing advisory committees of researchers and intended research users; developing research agreements; using formal and informal group facilitation techniques; hiring co-researchers/partners from community; and ensuring frequent communication. Other less frequently mentioned strategies were also identified. Conclusion. This review is the first time these guidelines were used to identify key strategies supporting PR projects. They proved effective at identifying and evaluating engagement strategies as reported by completed research projects. Adapting these guidelines identified gaps where the tool was unable to assess fundamental PR elements of power dynamics, equity of resources, and member turnover. Our resulting template serves as a new tool to measure partnerships. PMID:25815016

The Prevalence of Stalking among College Students: The Disparity between Researcher- and Self-Identified Victimization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McNamara, Corinne L.; Marsil, Dorothy F.

2012-01-01

Objective: Researchers examined the prevalence of self-identified and researcher-identified stalking victimization among college students. Participants and Methods: A representative sample of 1,573 (70.1% female; 29.9% male) student respondents completed an online stalking questionnaire. Results: Overall, 12% self-identified as having been…

Think Tank: Identifying and Creating the Next Generation of Community-Based Cancer Prevention Studies | Division of Cancer Prevention

Cancer.gov

In late 2015, the NCI Division of Cancer Prevention convened cancer prevention research experts and stakeholders to discuss the current state of cancer prevention research, identify key prevention research priorities for the NCI, and identify studies that could be conducted within the NCI Community Oncology Research Program. Read the Cancer Prevention Research journal article

Describing the impact of health research: a Research Impact Framework

PubMed Central

Kuruvilla, Shyama; Mays, Nicholas; Pleasant, Andrew; Walt, Gill

2006-01-01

Background Researchers are increasingly required to describe the impact of their work, e.g. in grant proposals, project reports, press releases and research assessment exercises. Specialised impact assessment studies can be difficult to replicate and may require resources and skills not available to individual researchers. Researchers are often hard-pressed to identify and describe research impacts and ad hoc accounts do not facilitate comparison across time or projects. Methods The Research Impact Framework was developed by identifying potential areas of health research impact from the research impact assessment literature and based on research assessment criteria, for example, as set out by the UK Research Assessment Exercise panels. A prototype of the framework was used to guide an analysis of the impact of selected research projects at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Additional areas of impact were identified in the process and researchers also provided feedback on which descriptive categories they thought were useful and valid vis-à-vis the nature and impact of their work. Results We identified four broad areas of impact: I. Research-related impacts; II. Policy impacts; III. Service impacts: health and intersectoral and IV. Societal impacts. Within each of these areas, further descriptive categories were identified. For example, the nature of research impact on policy can be described using the following categorisation, put forward by Weiss: Instrumental use where research findings drive policy-making; Mobilisation of support where research provides support for policy proposals; Conceptual use where research influences the concepts and language of policy deliberations and Redefining/wider influence where research leads to rethinking and changing established practices and beliefs. Conclusion Researchers, while initially sceptical, found that the Research Impact Framework provided prompts and descriptive categories that helped them systematically identify a range of specific and verifiable impacts related to their work (compared to ad hoc approaches they had previously used). The framework could also help researchers think through implementation strategies and identify unintended or harmful effects. The standardised structure of the framework facilitates comparison of research impacts across projects and time, which is useful from analytical, management and assessment perspectives. PMID:17049092

Development and pilot test of a process to identify research needs from a systematic review.

PubMed

Saldanha, Ian J; Wilson, Lisa M; Bennett, Wendy L; Nicholson, Wanda K; Robinson, Karen A

2013-05-01

To ensure appropriate allocation of research funds, we need methods for identifying high-priority research needs. We developed and pilot tested a process to identify needs for primary clinical research using a systematic review in gestational diabetes mellitus. We conducted eight steps: abstract research gaps from a systematic review using the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, and Settings (PICOS) framework; solicit feedback from the review authors; translate gaps into researchable questions using the PICOS framework; solicit feedback from multidisciplinary stakeholders at our institution; establish consensus among multidisciplinary external stakeholders on the importance of the research questions using the Delphi method; prioritize outcomes; develop conceptual models to highlight research needs; and evaluate the process. We identified 19 research questions. During the Delphi method, external stakeholders established consensus for 16 of these 19 questions (15 with "high" and 1 with "medium" clinical benefit/importance). We pilot tested an eight-step process to identify clinically important research needs. Before wider application of this process, it should be tested using systematic reviews of other diseases. Further evaluation should include assessment of the usefulness of the research needs generated using this process for primary researchers and funders. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

78 FR 7419 - Applications for New Awards; National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-01

... underserved populations; (4) identify research gaps; (5) identify mechanisms for integrating research and... Rehabilitation Research--Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program--Minority-Serving Institution Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training Projects AGENCY: Office of Special Education and...

78 FR 2664 - Applications for New Awards; National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-14

... with disabilities from underserved populations; (4) identify research gaps; (5) identify mechanisms for... Rehabilitation Research--Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program--Minority-Serving... Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)--Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program--Minority...

A Comparison of Teacher Perceptions and Research-Based Categories of Student Behavior Difficulties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Conley, Laura; Marchant, Michelle; Caldarella, Paul

2014-01-01

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) are less successful in school than their peers. In order for teachers and researchers to effectively partner to identify and support these students, they must focus on the same problem behaviors. This research identified six components of EBD commonly identified in research literature:…

Managing protected health information in distributed research network environments: automated review to facilitate collaboration.

PubMed

Bredfeldt, Christine E; Butani, Amy; Padmanabhan, Sandhyasree; Hitz, Paul; Pardee, Roy

2013-03-22

Multi-site health sciences research is becoming more common, as it enables investigation of rare outcomes and diseases and new healthcare innovations. Multi-site research usually involves the transfer of large amounts of research data between collaborators, which increases the potential for accidental disclosures of protected health information (PHI). Standard protocols for preventing release of PHI are extremely vulnerable to human error, particularly when the shared data sets are large. To address this problem, we developed an automated program (SAS macro) to identify possible PHI in research data before it is transferred between research sites. The macro reviews all data in a designated directory to identify suspicious variable names and data patterns. The macro looks for variables that may contain personal identifiers such as medical record numbers and social security numbers. In addition, the macro identifies dates and numbers that may identify people who belong to small groups, who may be identifiable even in the absences of traditional identifiers. Evaluation of the macro on 100 sample research data sets indicated a recall of 0.98 and precision of 0.81. When implemented consistently, the macro has the potential to streamline the PHI review process and significantly reduce accidental PHI disclosures.

Final Report: Biological and Synthetic Nanostructures Controlled at the Atomistic Level

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

Williamson, A; van Buuren, T

2007-02-21

Nanotechnology holds great promise for many application fields, ranging from the semiconductor industry to medical research and national security. Novel, nanostructured materials are the fundamental building blocks upon which all these future nanotechnologies will be based. In this Strategic Initiative (SI) we conducted a combined theoretical and experimental investigation of the modeling, synthesis, characterization, and design techniques which are required to fabricate semiconducting and metallic nanostructures with enhanced properties. We focused on developing capabilities that have broad applicability to a wide range of materials and can be applied both to nanomaterials that are currently being developed for nanotechnology applications andmore » also to new, yet to be discovered, nanomaterials. During this 3 year SI project we have made excellent scientific progress in each of the components of this project. We have developed first-principles techniques for modeling the structural, electronic, optical, and transport properties of materials at the nanoscale. For the first time, we have simulated nanomaterials both in vacuum and in aqueous solution. These simulation capabilities harness the worldleading computational resources available at LLNL to model, at the quantum mechanical level, systems containing hundreds of atoms and thousands of electrons. Significant advances in the density functional and quantum Monte Carlo techniques employed in this project were developed to enable these techniques to scale up to simulating realistic size nanostructured materials. We have developed the first successful techniques for chemically synthesizing crystalline silicon and germanium nanoparticles and nanowires. We grew the first macroscopic, faceted superlattice crystals from these nanoparticles. We have also advanced our capabilities to synthesize semiconductor nanoparticles using physical vapor deposition techniques so that we are now able to control of the size, shape and surface structure of these nanoparticles. We have made advances in characterizing the surface of nanoparticles using x-ray absorption experiments. Throughout this SI a number of long-term, strategic external collaborations have been established. These collaborations have resulted in 30 joint publications, strategic hires of postdocs and graduate students from these groups into groups at LLNL and the submission of joint research grants. We have developed collaborations on the theory and modeling of nanomaterials with the groups of Profs. Ceder and Marzari (MIT), Crespi (Penn State), Freeman (Northwestern), Grossman and Lester (UC Berkeley), Mitas (North Carolina State), and Needs (Cambridge). We are collaborating with Dr. Alivisatos's group in the Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory on the fabrication, characterization and modeling of inorganic nanomaterials. We are working with Prof. Majumdar's group at UC Berkeley on the characterization of nanomaterials. We are working with the molecular diamond group at Chevron-Texaco who has developed a process for extracting mono-disperse samples of nano-scale diamonds from crude oil. We are collaborating with Dr. Chen at UCSF to develop CdSe nanoparticle-biolabels. As a result of the outstanding scientific achievements and the long-term collaborations developed during this strategic initiative we have been extremely successful in obtaining external funding to continue and grow this research activity at the LLNL. We have received two DARPA grants to support the further development of our computational modeling techniques and to develop carbon nanotube based molecular separation devices. We have received two new Office of Science BES grants to support our nanomaterials modeling and synthesis projects. We have received funding from the NA22 office of DOE to develop the materials modeling capabilities begun in this SI for modeling detector materials. We have received funding from Intel Corporation to apply the modeling techniques developed in this initiative to examine silicon nanowires fabricated on computer chips. We are also pursuing several additional sources of funding from BES, the DHS, and NIH to support the continuation of the research programs developed in this SI. The remainder of this report and the attached publications describe the background to this SI research project and the details of the scientific achievements that have been made.« less

Research Roadmaps

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

These Roadmaps identify scientific gaps that inform the National Research Programs in the development of their Strategic Research Action Plans. EPA expects to use this approach to integrate existing research efforts and to identify needed work.

Adopting ORCID as a unique identifier will benefit all involved in scholarly communication.

PubMed

Arunachalam, Subbiah; Madhan, Muthu

2016-01-01

ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID, is a non- profit, community-driven effort to create and maintain a registry of unique researcher identifiers and a transparent method of linking research activities and outputs to these identifiers. Together with other persistent identifiers for scholarly works such as digital object identifiers (DOIs) and identifiers for organizations, ORCID makes research more discoverable. It helps ensure that one's grants, publications and outputs are correctly attributed. It helps the research community not just in aggregating publications, but in every stage of research, viz. publishing, reviewing, profiling, metrics, accessing and archiving. Funding agencies in Austria, Australia, Denmark, Portugal, Sweden and the UK, and the world's leading scholarly publishers and associations have integrated their systems with ORCID registry. Among the BRICS countries, China and South Africa are adopting ORCID avidly. India is yet to make a beginning. If research councils and funding agencies in India require researchers to adopt ORCID and link ORCID iDs to funding as well as tracking performance, it will help them keep track of the workflow. Journal editors can also keep track of contributions made by different authors and work assigned to different reviewers through their ORCID iDs.

Partners in Flight research needs assessment summary

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ruth, Janet M.; Rosenberg, Kenneth V.

2009-01-01

An important component of the PIF International Conference in McAllen, TX in February 2008 was the incorporation of a Needs Assessment Process in all of the conference sessions. Throughout the McAllen sessions, a number of critical information gaps were identified, pointing to future research that will be needed to establish bird conservation objectives and accomplish bird conservation goals. This document is a summary of the research needs topics identified in the McAllen sessions, placed in the larger context of PIF research needs information. This summary is not intended to be a comprehensive evaluation of landbird research needs, nor a literature review or synthesis of such research needs and research topics. This report was developed by compiling and organizing the research needs identified in McAllen (Rich et al. 2008) and then placing the needs within the context of other PIF-related documents that have identified research needs.

75 FR 36237 - National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)-Disability and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-24

... outcomes for underserved populations; (4) identify research gaps; (5) identify mechanisms of integrating... Part IV Department of Education National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)-- Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program-- Rehabilitation Research...

A Review on Critical Success Factors of Governance towards Sustainable Campus Operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halid Abdullah, Abd; Razman, Ruzaimah; Muslim, Rahmat

2017-08-01

Campus Sustainability is an effort that integrates environmentally sustainable practices into institutional practices. A successful transition to a sustainable campus requires the involvement of the university community; the administration, academics departments (faculty and students), researchers and he local community. Our research seeks to identify Critical Success Factors (CSFs) of university governance that contribute to the success in implementing Sustainable Campus Operation (SCO) initiatives. The common CSFs have been identified from 22 published and unpublished articles, conference proceedings, university reports, books, and website documents. The CSFs are mapped and ranked based on the frequency of the identified CSFs. 23 CSFs of SCO have been identified through this research. This research revealed that the CSF that contributes the highest frequency as indicated by most researchers is “developing network with external parties for gaining consensus and commitment”. By identifying these CSFs, this research will help assist universities in successfully plan and implement their SCO initiatives.

Biomedical databases: protecting privacy and promoting research.

PubMed

Wylie, Jean E; Mineau, Geraldine P

2003-03-01

When combined with medical information, large electronic databases of information that identify individuals provide superlative resources for genetic, epidemiology and other biomedical research. Such research resources increasingly need to balance the protection of privacy and confidentiality with the promotion of research. Models that do not allow the use of such individual-identifying information constrain research; models that involve commercial interests raise concerns about what type of access is acceptable. Researchers, individuals representing the public interest and those developing regulatory guidelines must be involved in an ongoing dialogue to identify practical models.

Managing protected health information in distributed research network environments: automated review to facilitate collaboration

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Multi-site health sciences research is becoming more common, as it enables investigation of rare outcomes and diseases and new healthcare innovations. Multi-site research usually involves the transfer of large amounts of research data between collaborators, which increases the potential for accidental disclosures of protected health information (PHI). Standard protocols for preventing release of PHI are extremely vulnerable to human error, particularly when the shared data sets are large. Methods To address this problem, we developed an automated program (SAS macro) to identify possible PHI in research data before it is transferred between research sites. The macro reviews all data in a designated directory to identify suspicious variable names and data patterns. The macro looks for variables that may contain personal identifiers such as medical record numbers and social security numbers. In addition, the macro identifies dates and numbers that may identify people who belong to small groups, who may be identifiable even in the absences of traditional identifiers. Results Evaluation of the macro on 100 sample research data sets indicated a recall of 0.98 and precision of 0.81. Conclusions When implemented consistently, the macro has the potential to streamline the PHI review process and significantly reduce accidental PHI disclosures. PMID:23521861

Wildland fire research: Future Search conference notes

Treesearch

Jim Saveland; Dave Thomas

1998-01-01

This conference provided an arena for identifying common key issues that are shaping wildland fire research. Commonly identified desired outcomes include: research, integrated across disciplines, and management form partnerships; communication between management and research is effective and continuous; responsive and proactive research balances long-term scientific...

Missouri Department of Transportation research peer exchange : final report, March 5-7, 2007.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-03-01

MoDOTs Organizational Results identified four critical focus issues for this peer exchange: : identifying research needs, : conducting external research and the role of the Missouri Transportation Institute, : implementing research results through...

Comparative and cost-effectiveness research: Competencies, opportunities, and training for nurse scientists.

PubMed

Stone, Patricia W; Cohen, Catherine; Pincus, Harold Alan

Comparative and cost-effectiveness research develops knowledge on the everyday effectiveness and value of treatments and care delivery models. To describe comparative and cost-effectiveness research; identify needed competencies for this research; identify federal funding; and describe current training opportunities. Published recommended competencies were reviewed. Current federal funding and training opportunities were identified. A federally funded training program and other training opportunities are described. Fourteen core competencies were identified that have both analytic and theoretical foci from nursing and other fields. There are multiple sources of federal funding for research and training. Interdisciplinary training is needed. Comparative and cost-effectiveness research has the opportunity to transform health care delivery and improve the outcomes of patients. Nurses, as clinicians and scientists, are in a unique position to contribute to this important research. We encourage nurses to seek the needed interdisciplinary research training to participate in this important endeavor. We also encourage educators to use the competencies and processes identified in current training programs to help shape their doctoral programs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Quality of an Action Research Thesis in the Social Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zuber-Skerrit, Ortrun; Fletcher, Margaret

2007-01-01

Purpose: The paper seeks to identify the quality characteristics of critical action research and action research theses compared to traditional research thesis writing. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on the literature and the authors' experience with supervising and examining action research theses, the paper identifies key problem areas in…

Research Supervisors' Perceptions of Effective Practices for Selecting Successful Research Candidates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blunt, R. J. S.

2009-01-01

This investigation elicited the perceptions of thirteen of the most successful research supervisors from one university, with a view to identifying their approaches to selecting research candidates. The supervisors were identified by the university's research office using the single criterion of having the largest number of completed research…

The national strategic plan for federal aquaculture research, specific goal #4: Improve production efficiency and well-being

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The 2014-2019 National Strategic Plan for Federal Aquaculture Research identifies a series of specific goals that identify research priorities for Federal agency and interagency research programs. Collectively, these priorities define research activities with the broad outcome of supporting aquacul...

A Consensus-Driven Agenda for Emergency Medicine Firearm Injury Prevention Research

PubMed Central

Ranney, Megan L.; Fletcher, Jonathan; Alter, Harrison; Barsotti, Christopher; Bebarta, Vikhyat S.; Betz, Marian E.; Carter, Patrick M.; Cerdá, Magdalena; Cunningham, Rebecca M.; Crane, Peter; Fahimi, Jahan; Miller, Matthew J.; Rowhani-Rahbar, Ali; Vogel, Jody A.; Wintemute, Garen J.; Shah, Manish N.; Waseem, Muhammad

2016-01-01

Objective To identify critical Emergency Medicine (EM)-focused firearm injury research questions and to develop an evidence-based research agenda. Methods National content experts were recruited to a technical advisory group for the American College of Emergency Physicians Research Committee. Nominal Group Technique (NGT) was used to identify research questions by consensus. The technical advisory group decided to focus on five widely accepted categorizations of firearm injury. Subgroups conducted literature reviews on each topic and developed preliminary lists of EM-relevant research questions. In-person meetings and conference calls were held to iteratively refine the extensive list of research questions, following NGT guidelines. Feedback from external stakeholders was reviewed and integrated. Results Fifty-nine final EM-relevant research questions were identified, including questions that cut across all firearm injury topics and questions specific to self-directed violence (suicide and attempted suicide); intimate partner violence; peer (non-partner) violence; mass violence; and unintentional (“accidental”) injury. Some questions could be addressed through research conducted in emergency departments (EDs); others would require work in other settings. Conclusions The technical advisory group identified key EM-relevant firearm injury research questions. EM-specific data is limited for most of these questions. Funders and researchers should consider increasing their attention to firearm injury prevention and control, particularly to the questions identified here and in other recently developed research agendas. PMID:27998625

A Consensus-Driven Agenda for Emergency Medicine Firearm Injury Prevention Research.

PubMed

Ranney, Megan L; Fletcher, Jonathan; Alter, Harrison; Barsotti, Christopher; Bebarta, Vikhyat S; Betz, Marian E; Carter, Patrick M; Cerdá, Magdalena; Cunningham, Rebecca M; Crane, Peter; Fahimi, Jahan; Miller, Matthew J; Rowhani-Rahbar, Ali; Vogel, Jody A; Wintemute, Garen J; Waseem, Muhammad; Shah, Manish N

2017-02-01

To identify critical emergency medicine-focused firearm injury research questions and develop an evidence-based research agenda. National content experts were recruited to a technical advisory group for the American College of Emergency Physicians Research Committee. Nominal group technique was used to identify research questions by consensus. The technical advisory group decided to focus on 5 widely accepted categorizations of firearm injury. Subgroups conducted literature reviews on each topic and developed preliminary lists of emergency medicine-relevant research questions. In-person meetings and conference calls were held to iteratively refine the extensive list of research questions, following nominal group technique guidelines. Feedback from external stakeholders was reviewed and integrated. Fifty-nine final emergency medicine-relevant research questions were identified, including questions that cut across all firearm injury topics and questions specific to self-directed violence (suicide and attempted suicide), intimate partner violence, peer (nonpartner) violence, mass violence, and unintentional ("accidental") injury. Some questions could be addressed through research conducted in emergency departments; others would require work in other settings. The technical advisory group identified key emergency medicine-relevant firearm injury research questions. Emergency medicine-specific data are limited for most of these questions. Funders and researchers should consider increasing their attention to firearm injury prevention and control, particularly to the questions identified here and in other recently developed research agendas. Copyright © 2016 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Research funders' roles and perceived responsibilities in relation to the implementation of clinical research results: a multiple case study of Swedish research funders.

PubMed

Brantnell, Anders; Baraldi, Enrico; van Achterberg, Theo; Winblad, Ulrika

2015-07-17

Implementation of clinical research results is challenging, yet the responsibility for implementation is seldom addressed. The process from research to the use of clinical research results in health care can be facilitated by research funders. In this paper, we report the roles of ten Swedish research funders in relation to implementation and their views on responsibilities in implementation. Ten cases were studied and compared using semi-structured interviews. In addition, websites and key documents were reviewed. Eight facilitative roles for research funders in relation to the implementation of clinical research results were identified. Three of them were common for several funders: "Advocacy work," "Monitoring implementation outcomes," and "Dissemination of knowledge." Moreover, the research funders identified six different actors responsible for implementation, five of which belonged to the healthcare setting. Collective and organizational responsibilities were the most common forms of responsibilities among the identified actors responsible for implementation. The roles commonly identified by the Swedish funders, "Advocacy work," "Monitoring implementation outcomes," and "Dissemination of knowledge," seem feasible facilitative roles in relation to the implementation of clinical research results. However, many actors identified as responsible for implementation together with the fact that collective and organizational responsibilities were the most common forms of responsibilities entail a risk of implementation becoming no one's responsibility.

Research management peer exchange hosted by the Oregon Department of Transportation.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-06-01

The objectives of the peer exchange process were to: : -Identify how ODOT can improve the quality of the research results. : -Examin how ODOT can better implement research findings. : -Identify methods to determine the value of research. : -Determine...

28 CFR 22.21 - Use of identifiable data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... STATISTICAL INFORMATION § 22.21 Use of identifiable data. Research or statistical information identifiable to a private person may be used only for research or statistical purposes. ... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Use of identifiable data. 22.21 Section...

Biochemical and dietary factors of uric acid stone formation.

PubMed

Trinchieri, Alberto; Montanari, Emanuele

2018-04-01

The aim of this study was to compare the clinical characteristics of "pure" uric acid renal stone formers (UA-RSFs) with that of mixed uric acid/calcium oxalate stone formers (UC-RSFs) and to identify which urinary and dietary risk factors predispose to their formation. A total of 136 UA-RSFs and 115 UC-RSFs were extracted from our database of renal stone formers. A control group of 60 subjects without history of renal stones was considered for comparison. Data from serum chemistries, 24-h urine collections and 24-h dietary recalls were considered. UA-RSFs had a significantly (p = 0.001) higher body mass index (26.3 ± 3.6 kg/m 2 ) than UC-RSFs, whereas body mass index of UA-RSFs was higher but not significantly than in controls (24.6 ± 4.7) (p = 0.108). The mean urinary pH was significantly lower in UA-RSFs (5.57 ± 0.58) and UC-RSFs (5.71 ± 0.56) compared with controls (5.83 ± 0.29) (p = 0.007). No difference of daily urinary uric acid excretion was observed in the three groups (p = 0.902). Daily urinary calcium excretion was significantly (p = 0.018) higher in UC-RSFs (224 ± 149 mg/day) than UA-RSFs (179 ± 115) whereas no significant difference was observed with controls (181 ± 89). UA-RSFs tend to have a lower uric acid fractional excretion (0.083 ± 0.045% vs 0.107+/-0.165; p = 0.120) and had significantly higher serum uric acid (5.33 ± 1.66 vs 4.78 ± 1.44 mg/dl; p = 0.007) than UC-RSFs. The mean energy, carbohydrate and vitamin C intakes were higher in UA-SFs (1987 ± 683 kcal, 272 ± 91 g, 112 ± 72 mg) and UC-SFs (1836 ± 74 kcal, 265 ± 117, 140 ± 118) with respect to controls (1474 ± 601, 188 ± 84, 76 ± 53) (p = 0.000). UA-RSFs should be differentiated from UC-RSFs as they present lower urinary pH, lower uric acid fractional excretion and higher serum uric acid. On the contrary, patients with UC-RSFs show urinary risk factors more similar to those for calcium oxalate stones. The dietary approach in patients forming uric acid stones should be reconsidered with more attention to the quantity and quality of carbohydrate intake.

NIH Researchers Identify OCD Risk Gene

MedlinePlus

... News From NIH NIH Researchers Identify OCD Risk Gene Past Issues / Summer 2006 Table of Contents For ... and Alcoholism (NIAAA) have identified a previously unknown gene variant that doubles an individual's risk for obsessive- ...

Certificates of confidentiality: legal counsels' experiences with and perspectives on legal demands for research data.

PubMed

Wolf, Leslie E; Dame, Lauren A; Patel, Mayank J; Williams, Brett A; Austin, Jefferey A; Beskow, Laura M

2012-10-01

The certificate of confidentiality (Certificate) is an important tool for protecting identifiable, sensitive human subjects research data in the United States. However, little is known about the Certificate's effectiveness in protecting identifiable data. We interviewed 24 legal counsel representing U.S. research institutions about their experiences with legal demands for research data. Our respondents reported few, if any, legal demands over the course of their tenure, but two-thirds had experience with legal demands for data protected by a Certificate. They reported such demands often were resolved without disclosure of identifiable research data, typically without court intervention. While our respondents reported similar success protecting identifiable data in court, they often did not rely on the Certificate to do so.

International identification of research priorities for postgraduate theses in musculoskeletal physiotherapy using a modified Delphi technique.

PubMed

Rushton, Alison; Moore, Ann

2010-04-01

Research priorities are established to identify gaps and maximise opportunities in developing an evidence base. Numerous postgraduate research theses are undertaken each year within the specialist area of musculoskeletal physiotherapy, and although some are published, greater potential for influence exists. This paper identifies international research priorities for postgraduate theses developed using a consensual Delphi process. A purposive sample included course tutors and expert clinicians nominated by Member Organisations of the International Federation of Orthopaedic Manipulative Physical Therapists (N=91). Round 1 requested >10 priorities for theses, and content analysis identified research themes. Round 2 requested participants rank the importance of each theme on a 1-5 scale, and round 3 requested ranking the importance and feasibility of the research question areas within each agreed theme. Descriptive analysis and use of Kendall's coefficient of concordance enabled interpretation of consensus. The response rate of 68% was good, identifying 23 research themes in round 1. Round 2 identified 14 research themes as important. Participant rating of the importance and feasibility of research question areas in round 3 supported 43 agreed priorities demonstrating good measurement validity. Establishing priorities provides a vision of how postgraduate theses can contribute to the developing evidence base and offer a focus for international collaboration. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Novel target for high-risk neuroblastoma identified in pre-clinical research | Center for Cancer Research

Cancer.gov

Pre-clinical research by investigators at the Center for Cancer Research and their colleagues have identified a number of novel epigenetic targets for high-risk neuroblastoma and validated a promising new targeted inhibitor in pre-clinical models.  Read more...

Reflections on a community and university research collaboration.

PubMed

Mayo, Kevin; Tsey, Komla

2009-08-01

This paper reflects on the collaborative research relationship between university and community researchers. It identifies emergent themes expressed in the words of researchers and recommends strategies to assist with other research collaborations. Emergent themes included: Initial reticence by community members followed by positive experiences; the value of empowerment frameworks in research; building trust between community and university researchers; capacity building, management, and workloads; and community politics, misunderstandings and wealth disparity. The paper recommends strategies for successful research collaborations and identifies challenges to research collaborations.

Research fronts analysis : A bibliometric to identify emerging fields of research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miwa, Sayaka; Ando, Satoko

Research fronts analysis identifies emerging areas of research through observing co-clustering in highly-cited papers. This article introduces the concept of research fronts analysis, explains its methodology and provides case examples. It also demonstrates developing research fronts in Japan by looking at the past winners of Thomson Reuters Research Fronts Awards. Research front analysis is currently being used by the Japanese government to determine new trends in science and technology. Information professionals can also utilize this bibliometric as a research evaluation tool.

What do medical students understand by research and research skills? Identifying research opportunities within undergraduate projects.

PubMed

Murdoch-Eaton, Deborah; Drewery, Sarah; Elton, Sarah; Emmerson, Catherine; Marshall, Michelle; Smith, John A; Stark, Patsy; Whittle, Sue

2010-01-01

Undergraduate research exposure leads to increased recruitment into academic medicine, enhanced employability and improved postgraduate research productivity. Uptake of undergraduate research opportunities is reported to be disappointing, and little is known about how students perceive research. To investigate opportunities for undergraduate participation in research, recognition of such opportunities, and associated skills development. A mixed method approach, incorporating student focus and study groups, and documentary analysis at five UK medical schools. Undergraduates recognised the benefits of acquiring research skills, but identified practical difficulties and disadvantages of participating. Analysis of 905 projects in four main research skill areas - (1) research methods; (2) information gathering; (3) critical analysis and review; (4) data processing - indicated 52% of projects provided opportunities for students to develop one or more skills, only 13% offered development in all areas. In 17%, project descriptions provided insufficient information to determine opportunities. Supplied with information from a representative sample of projects (n = 80), there was little consensus in identifying skills among students or between students and researchers. Consensus improved dramatically following guidance on how to identify skills. Undergraduates recognise the benefits of research experience but need a realistic understanding of the research process. Opportunities for research skill development may not be obvious. Undergraduates require training to recognise the skills required for research and enhanced transparency in potential project outcomes.

Let's Inhibit Our Excitement: The Relationships Between Stroop, Behavioral Disinhibition, and the Frontal Lobes

PubMed Central

Heflin, Lara H.; Laluz, Victor; Jang, Jung; Ketelle, Robin; Miller, Bruce L.; Kramer, Joel H.

2011-01-01

Objective The Stroop is a frequently used neuropsychological test, with poor performance typically interpreted as indicative of disinhibition and frontal lobe damage. This study tested those interpretations by examining relationships between Stroop performance, behavioral disinhibition, and frontal lobe atrophy. Method Participants were 112 well-characterized patients with mild cognitive impairment or dementia, recruited through UCSF's Memory and Aging Center. Participants received comprehensive dementia evaluations including structural MRI, neuropsychological testing, and informant interviews. Freesurfer, a semi-automated parcellation program, was used to analyze 1.5T MRI scans. Behavioral disinhibition was measured using the Disinhibition scale of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. The sample (n=112) mean age was 65.40 (SD=8.60) years, education was 16.64 (SD=2.54) years, and MMSE was 26.63 (SD=3.32). Hierarchical linear regressions were used for data analysis. Results Controlling for age, MMSE, and Color Naming performance, Stroop performance was not significantly associated with behavioral disinhibition (β=0.01, ΔR2=0.01, p=0.29). Hierarchical regressions controlling for age, MMSE, Color Naming, intracranial volume, and temporal and parietal lobes, examined whether left hemisphere or right hemisphere regions predict Interference speed. Bilaterally, parietal lobes were the brain region in which atrophy best predicted poorer Stroop (left: β=0.0004, ΔR2=0.02, p=0.002; right: β=0.0004, ΔR2=0.02, p=0.002). Of frontal regions, only dorsolateral prefrontal cortex atrophy predicted poorer Stroop (β=0.001, ΔR2=0.01, p=0.03); left and right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) atrophy predicted better Stroop (left: β=−0.003, ΔR2=0.01, p=0.02; right: β=−0.004, ΔR2=0.01, p=0.02). Conclusions These findings suggest Stroop performance is a poor measure of behavioral disinhibition and frontal lobe atrophy even among a relatively high-risk population. PMID:21574716

'Addressed to you not as a smoker… but as a doctor': doctor-targeted cigarette advertisements in JAMA.

PubMed

Jackler, Robert K; Ayoub, Noel F

2018-07-01

During the mid-20th century tobacco companies placed advertisements in medical journals to entice physicians to smoke their brand and, more importantly, to recommend it to their patients. They have been little studied, in part because advertising sections in medical journals are almost universally discarded before binding. This study aimed to define the themes and techniques used in doctor-targeted tobacco advertisements that appeared in American medical journals in the mid-20th century and determine the motivations and tactics of the tobacco industry in engaging the medical profession in this way. Doctor-targeted tobacco advertisements from JAMA and the New York State Medical Journal appearing between 1936 and 1953 were studied. These were obtained from the New York Academy of Medicine and the UCSF Truth database of tobacco industry documents. Content analysis of advertising slogans and imagery was conducted. Using internal tobacco industry documents, we examined the relationship between tobacco advertisers and medical journals. Among the 519 doctor-targeted advertisements, 13 brands were represented, with two (Philip Morris and Camel) accounting for 84%. Correspondence between tobacco advertisers and medical journal editors reveals the potent influence of revenue to the sponsoring society and personal compensation derived from consulting arrangements. Content analysis of the advertisements revealed much flattery of doctors and arguments professing the harmlessness of the company's brand. Analysis of doctor-targeted tobacco advertisements in American medical journals from 1936 to 1953 suggest that tobacco companies targeted physicians as a potential sales force to assuage the public's fear of health risks and to recruit them as allies against negative publicity. Tobacco companies also appeared to try, through the substantial advertising revenue passed by journals to their parent medical societies, to temper any possible opposition by organized medicine. © 2018 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Regional and national guideline recommendations for digital ano-rectal examination as a means for anal cancer screening in HIV positive men who have sex with men: a systematic review.

PubMed

Ong, Jason J; Chen, Marcus; Grulich, Andrew E; Fairley, Christopher K

2014-08-01

Although anal cancer is common in HIV positive men who have sex with men, few centres offer systematic screening. Regular digital ano-rectal examination (DARE) is a type of screening that has been recommended by some experts. How widely this forms part of HIV management guidelines is unclear. The protocol was registered prospectively (CRD42013005188; http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/). We systematically reviewed 121 regional and national HIV guidelines and searched for guidelines from http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/global?page=cr-00-04#SauguidelineX, PubMed and Web of Science databases up to 5th August 2013 for recommendations of DARE as a means of anal cancer screening in HIV positive MSM. Guidelines were examined in detail if they were clinical guidelines, including both prevention and treatment protocols and were in English. Guidelines were excluded if they were restricted to limited areas (e.g. antiretroviral therapy only, children or pregnant women, strategies for prevention/testing). Information was extracted regarding recommendation of DARE as a screening method, the frequency of DARE recommended, target population for screening and the strength of evidence supporting this. 30 regional and national guidelines were included and examined in detail. Only 2 recommended DARE. The 'European AIDS Clinical Society Guidelines' recommends DARE every 1-3 years for HIV positive MSM whilst the 'US Guideline for prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections in HIV-infected adults and adolescents' recommends an annual DARE for the HIV + population in general. None of these guidelines specify the age of commencing screening. In each case, the highest level of evidence supporting these two recommendations was expert opinion. Few HIV guidelines discuss or recommend DARE as a means of anal cancer screening. Studies of the efficacy, acceptability and cost-effectiveness of DARE are needed to assess its role in anal cancer screening.

Let's inhibit our excitement: the relationships between Stroop, behavioral disinhibition, and the frontal lobes.

PubMed

Heflin, Lara H; Laluz, Victor; Jang, Jung; Ketelle, Robin; Miller, Bruce L; Kramer, Joel H

2011-09-01

The Stroop (Stroop, 1935) is a frequently used neuropsychological test, with poor performance typically interpreted as indicative of disinhibition and frontal lobe damage. This study tested those interpretations by examining relationships between Stroop performance, behavioral disinhibition, and frontal lobe atrophy. Participants were 112 patients with mild cognitive impairment or dementia, recruited through UCSF's Memory and Aging Center. Participants received comprehensive dementia evaluations including structural MRI, neuropsychological testing, and informant interviews. Freesurfer, a semiautomated parcellation program, was used to analyze 1.5T MRI scans. Behavioral disinhibition was measured using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (Cummings, 1997; Cummings et al., 1994) Disinhibition Scale. The sample (n = 112) mean age was 65.40 (SD = 8.60) years, education was 16.64 (SD = 2.54) years, and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE; Folstein et al., 1975) was 26.63 (SD = 3.32). Hierarchical linear regressions were used for data analysis. Controlling for age, MMSE, and color naming, Stroop performance was not significantly associated with disinhibition (β = 0.01, ΔR² = 0.01, p = .29). Hierarchical regressions controlling for age, MMSE, color naming, intracranial volume, and temporal and parietal lobes, examined whether left or right hemisphere regions predict Stroop performance. Bilaterally, parietal lobe atrophy best predicted poorer Stroop (left: β = 0.0004, ΔR² = 0.02, p = .002; right: β = 0.0004, ΔR² = 0.02, p = .002). Of frontal regions, only dorsolateral prefrontal cortex atrophy predicted poorer Stroop (β = 0.001, ΔR² = 0.01, p = .03); left and right anterior cingulate cortex atrophy predicted better Stroop (left: β = -0.003, ΔR² = 0.01, p = .02; right: β = -0.004, ΔR² = 0.01, p = .02). These findings suggest Stroop performance is a poor measure of behavioral disinhibition and frontal lobe atrophy even among a relatively high-risk population. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

Differences in iris thickness among African Americans, Caucasian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Chinese Americans, and Filipino-Americans.

PubMed

Lee, Roland Y; Huang, Guofu; Porco, Travis C; Chen, Yi-Chun; He, Mingguang; Lin, Shan C

2013-12-01

To evaluate the capability of iris thickness parameters to explain the difference in primary angle-closure glaucoma prevalence among the different racial groups. In this prospective study, 436 patients with open and narrow angles that met inclusion criteria were consecutively recruited from the UCSF general ophthalmology and glaucoma clinics to receive anterior segment optical coherence tomography imaging under standardized dark conditions. Images from 11 patients were removed due to poor visibility of the scleral spurs and the remaining images were analyzed using the Zhongshan Angle Assessment Program to assess the following measurements for the nasal and temporal angle of the anterior chamber: iris thickness at 750 and 2000 μm from the scleral spurs and the maximum iris thickness at middle one third of the iris. Iris thickness parameters were compared among and within the following 5 different racial groups: African Americans, Caucasian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Chinese Americans, and Filipino-Americans. In comparing iris parameters among the open-angle racial groups, significant differences were found for nasal iris thickness at 750 and 2000 μm from the scleral spurs in which Chinese Americans displayed the highest mean value (P=0.01, P<0.0001). Among the narrow-angle racial groups, significant difference was found for nasal iris thickness at 2000 μm from the scleral in which Chinese Americans showed the highest mean value (P<0.0001). Significant difference was also found for temporal maximum iris thickness at middle one third of the iris in which African Americans exhibited the highest mean value (P=0.021). Iris thickness was modeled as a function of angle status using linear mixed-effects regression, adjusting for age, sex, pupil diameter, spherical equivalent, ethnicity, and the use of both eyes in patients. The iris thickness difference between the narrow-angle and open-angle groups was significant (P=0.0007). Racial groups that historically showed higher prevalence of primary angle-closure glaucoma possess thicker irides.

The Fag Lady, revisited: Margaret Thatcher's efforts on behalf of the tobacco industry.

PubMed

Petticrew, M; Krishnaratne, S

2014-10-01

The death of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has offered many opportunities to reappraise her career. However it is not widely known that she acted as a consultant for the tobacco industry following her resignation from office. The availability of evidence from tobacco documents archives offers the opportunity to explore her work for Philip Morris, and more generally to assess how industry seeks to influence and use elected and former public officials. Analysis of documents from the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu). Memos, letters and other documents were sought which mentioned Margaret Thatcher or other key individuals. Documents (n = 151) were downloaded as PDFs. Of these 51 provided relevant information. Margaret Thatcher advised Philip Morris on issues including advertising bans, lowering of tobacco tariffs in EEC countries, reducing tobacco taxes, and anti-tobacco programs. She had previously been involved in moving two of her ministers from their posts in response to tobacco industry pressure. She advised Philip Morris to exert political pressure through the House of Commons by lobbying MPs against the Conservative government accepting ECOFIN, an European Union (EU) tax harmonisation agreement. Other activities included trips to Prague, Tokyo, Chicago, Geneva and Hong Kong on Philip Morris' behalf, or for meetings with Philip Morris executives. Relationships between politicians and industry remain relevant today, not least because Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control includes the protection of public health policies from tobacco industry interference. The findings are consistent with findings from other studies which show tobacco industry attempts to influence governments, for example to attempt to weaken the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. They particularly point out the value of former senior politicians to industry, specifically their 'insider knowledge' which can be employed to gain access to and influence other policymakers on industry's behalf. Copyright © 2014 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Operator Variability in Scan Positioning is a Major Component of HR-pQCT Precision Error and is Reduced by Standardized Training

PubMed Central

Bonaretti, Serena; Vilayphiou, Nicolas; Chan, Caroline Mai; Yu, Andrew; Nishiyama, Kyle; Liu, Danmei; Boutroy, Stephanie; Ghasem-Zadeh, Ali; Boyd, Steven K.; Chapurlat, Roland; McKay, Heather; Shane, Elizabeth; Bouxsein, Mary L.; Black, Dennis M.; Majumdar, Sharmila; Orwoll, Eric S.; Lang, Thomas F.; Khosla, Sundeep; Burghardt, Andrew J.

2017-01-01

Introduction HR-pQCT is increasingly used to assess bone quality, fracture risk and anti-fracture interventions. The contribution of the operator has not been adequately accounted in measurement precision. Operators acquire a 2D projection (“scout view image”) and define the region to be scanned by positioning a “reference line” on a standard anatomical landmark. In this study, we (i) evaluated the contribution of positioning variability to in vivo measurement precision, (ii) measured intra- and inter-operator positioning variability, and (iii) tested if custom training software led to superior reproducibility in new operators compared to experienced operators. Methods To evaluate the operator in vivo measurement precision we compared precision errors calculated in 64 co-registered and non-co-registered scan-rescan images. To quantify operator variability, we developed software that simulates the positioning process of the scanner’s software. Eight experienced operators positioned reference lines on scout view images designed to test intra- and inter-operator reproducibility. Finally, we developed modules for training and evaluation of reference line positioning. We enrolled 6 new operators to participate in a common training, followed by the same reproducibility experiments performed by the experienced group. Results In vivo precision errors were up to three-fold greater (Tt.BMD and Ct.Th) when variability in scan positioning was included. Inter-operator precision errors were significantly greater than short-term intra-operator precision (p<0.001). New trained operators achieved comparable intra-operator reproducibility to experienced operators, and lower inter-operator reproducibility (p<0.001). Precision errors were significantly greater for the radius than for the tibia. Conclusion Operator reference line positioning contributes significantly to in vivo measurement precision and is significantly greater for multi-operator datasets. Inter-operator variability can be significantly reduced using a systematic training platform, now available online (http://webapps.radiology.ucsf.edu/refline/). PMID:27475931

Comparing the effectiveness of a crowdsourced video and a social marketing video in promoting condom use among Chinese men who have sex with men: a study protocol

PubMed Central

Liu, Chuncheng; Wong, Terrence; Tang, Weiming; Tso, Lai Sze; Tang, Songyuan; Zhang, Ye; Zhang, Wei; Qin, Yilu; Chen, Zihuang; Ma, Wei; Kang, Dianming; Li, Haochu; Liao, Meizhen; Mollan, Katie; Hudgens, Michael; Bayus, Barry; Huang, Shujie; Yang, Bin; Wei, Chongyi; Tucker, Joseph D

2016-01-01

Introduction Crowdsourcing has been used to spur innovation and increase community engagement in public health programmes. Crowdsourcing is the process of giving individual tasks to a large group, often involving open contests and enabled through multisectoral partnerships. Here we describe one crowdsourced video intervention in which a video promoting condom use is produced through an open contest. The aim of this study is to determine whether a crowdsourced intervention is as effective as a social marketing intervention in promoting condom use among high-risk men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender male-to-female (TG) in China. Method We evaluate videos developed by crowdsourcing and social marketing. The crowdsourcing contest involved an open call for videos. Entries were judged on capacity to promote condom use, to be shareable or ‘go viral’ and to give value to the individual. 1170 participants will be recruited for the randomised controlled trial. Participants need to be MSM age 16 and over who have had condomless anal sex in the last 3 months. Recruitment will be through an online banner ad on a popular MSM web page and other social media platforms. After completing an initial survey, participants will be randomly assigned to view either the social marketing video or the crowdsourcing video. Follow-up surveys will be completed at 3 weeks and 3 months after initial intervention to evaluate condomless sex and related secondary outcomes. Secondary outcomes include condom social norms, condom negotiation, condom self-efficacy, HIV/syphilis testing, frequency of sex acts and incremental cost. Ethics and dissemination Approval was obtained from the ethical review boards of the Guangdong Provincial Center for Skin Diseases and STI Control, UNC and UCSF. The results of this trial will be made available through publication in peer-reviewed journals. Trial registration number NCT02516930. PMID:27697868

Utilization of Health Research Recommendation in Policy and Planning in Nepal.

PubMed

Dhimal, M; Pandey, A R; Aryal, K K; Budhathoki, C B; Vaidya, D L; Karki, K K; Onta, S

2016-09-01

Over the past decade in Nepal, a large number of studies have been carried in a variety of health areas; however whether evidence derived from these studies has been used to inform health policy has not been explored. This study aims to assess the utilization of recommendations from health research in health policy and plans, and to identify the factors that influence utilization of research findings by policy makers' in Nepal. Qualitative study incorporating literature review and semi-structured interviews was used. Research reports and health related policies were collected from governmental and non-governmental bodies. Documents were reviewed to identify the utilization of research-based recommendations in health policy and plan formulation. In-depth interviews were conducted with key policy makers and researchers to identify factors that hinder the utilization of research recommendations. A total of 83 health related research reports were identified, of which 48 had recommendations. Four policies and three plans, from total 21 identified plans and policies, were found to have incorporated recommendations from research. Of the 48 studies that had recommendations, 35 were found to be used in the policy making process. Lack of appropriate communication mechanisms, and concerns related to the quality of research conducted, were the main factors hindering the translation of evidence into policy. Communication gaps exist between researchers and policy makers, which seem to have impeded the utilization of research-based information and recommendations in decision-making process. Establishing a unit responsible for synthesizing evidences and producing actionable messages for policy makers can improve utilization of research findings.

Protocol for a thematic synthesis to identify key themes and messages from a palliative care research network.

PubMed

Nicholson, Emma; Murphy, Tara; Larkin, Philip; Normand, Charles; Guerin, Suzanne

2016-10-21

Research networks that facilitate collaborative research are increasing both regionally and globally and such collaborations contribute greatly to knowledge transfer particularly in health research. The Palliative Care Research Network is an Irish-based network that seeks to create opportunities and engender a collaborative environment to encourage innovative research that is relevant for policy and practice. The current review outlines a methodology to identify cross-cutting messages to identify how dissemination outputs can be optimized to ensure that key messages from this research reaches all knowledge users. Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocol guidelines will inform the search and analysis plan to ensure that the synthesis of the data is as rigorous as possible. An approach based on critical interpretative synthesis will be adapted to include a thematic synthesis for the identification of higher-order themes and messages from a body of dissemination products generated by the Palliative Care Research Network. The thematic synthesis outlined in the present protocol offers a novel method of synthesising data from a focused research network that employs a variety of dissemination materials as a means of identifying key themes and messages from a specific body of research. The high-level themes and messages will be identified from the thematic synthesis, widely disseminated and targeted towards a range of stakeholders and knowledge users such as carers, health and social care professionals, policy makers and researchers.

Researchers identify potential therapeutic targets for a rare childhood cancer | Center for Cancer Research

Cancer.gov

CCR researchers have identified the mechanism behind a rare but extremely aggressive childhood cancer called alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS) and have pinpointed a potential drug target for its treatment. Learn more...

Certificates of Confidentiality: Legal Counsels’ Experiences with and Perspectives on Legal Demands for Research Data

PubMed Central

Wolf, Leslie E.; Dame, Lauren A.; Patel, Mayank J.; Williams, Brett A.; Austin, Jeffrey A.; Beskow, Laura M.

2013-01-01

The Certificate of Confidentiality (Certificate) is an important tool for protecting identifiable, sensitive human subjects research data in the United States. However, little is known about the Certificate’s effectiveness in protecting identifiable data. We interviewed 24 legal counsel representing U.S. research institutions about their experiences with legal demands for research data. Our respondents reported few, if any, legal demands over the course of their tenure, but two-thirds had experience with legal demands for data protected by a Certificate. They reported such demands often were resolved without disclosure of identifiable research data, typically without court intervention. While our respondents reported similar success protecting identifiable data in court, they often did not rely on the Certificate to do so. PMID:23086043

Mixed methods research in mental health nursing.

PubMed

Kettles, A M; Creswell, J W; Zhang, W

2011-08-01

Mixed methods research is becoming more widely used in order to answer research questions and to investigate research problems in mental health and psychiatric nursing. However, two separate literature searches, one in Scotland and one in the USA, revealed that few mental health nursing studies identified mixed methods research in their titles. Many studies used the term 'embedded' but few studies identified in the literature were mixed methods embedded studies. The history, philosophical underpinnings, definition, types of mixed methods research and associated pragmatism are discussed, as well as the need for mixed methods research. Examples of mental health nursing mixed methods research are used to illustrate the different types of mixed methods: convergent parallel, embedded, explanatory and exploratory in their sequential and concurrent combinations. Implementing mixed methods research is also discussed briefly and the problem of identifying mixed methods research in mental and psychiatric nursing are discussed with some possible solutions to the problem proposed. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing.

Economic Education within the BME Research Community: Rejoinder to "Identifying Research Topic Development in Business and Management Education Research Using Legitimation Code Theory"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Asarta, Carlos J.

2016-01-01

Carlos Asarta comments here that Arbaugh, Fornaciari, and Hwang (2016) are to be commended for their work ("Identifying Research Topic Development in Business and Management Education Research Using Legitimation Code Theory" "Journal of Management Education," Dec 2016, see EJ1118407). Asarta says that they make several…

Clinical records anonymisation and text extraction (CRATE): an open-source software system.

PubMed

Cardinal, Rudolf N

2017-04-26

Electronic medical records contain information of value for research, but contain identifiable and often highly sensitive confidential information. Patient-identifiable information cannot in general be shared outside clinical care teams without explicit consent, but anonymisation/de-identification allows research uses of clinical data without explicit consent. This article presents CRATE (Clinical Records Anonymisation and Text Extraction), an open-source software system with separable functions: (1) it anonymises or de-identifies arbitrary relational databases, with sensitivity and precision similar to previous comparable systems; (2) it uses public secure cryptographic methods to map patient identifiers to research identifiers (pseudonyms); (3) it connects relational databases to external tools for natural language processing; (4) it provides a web front end for research and administrative functions; and (5) it supports a specific model through which patients may consent to be contacted about research. Creation and management of a research database from sensitive clinical records with secure pseudonym generation, full-text indexing, and a consent-to-contact process is possible and practical using entirely free and open-source software.

Evidence-based practice and research utilization activities among rural nurses.

PubMed

Olade, Rosaline A

2004-01-01

To identify the extent to which rural nurses utilize evidence-based practice guidelines from scientific research in their practice; to describe both previous and current research utilization activities in which they have participated, and to identify the specific barriers they face in their practice settings. Data for this descriptive study were collected through questionnaires with open-ended questions focused on (a) current utilization of nursing research findings, (b) previous involvement in nursing research activities, and (c) participation in medical research activities. The participants were 106 nurses from various practice areas in six rural counties of a southwestern state in the United States. Results revealed that only 20.8% of the participants stated they were currently involved in research utilization, and they were mostly nurses with bachelor's degrees. The two most common areas of current research utilization were pain management and pressure ulcer prevention and management. Barriers to research utilization, such as rural isolation and lack of nursing research consultants, were identified. The types of research utilization activities identified by these nurses indicate how much the facilities in which these nurses work in the rural areas are striving with the utilization of available scientific evidence. Rural nurses face unique barriers related to situational and geographic factors, with implications for nursing administrators, researchers, and educators.

Researching routine immunization-do we know what we don't know?

PubMed

Clements, C John; Watkins, Margaret; de Quadros, Ciro; Biellik, Robin; Hadler, James; McFarland, Deborah; Steinglass, Robert; Luman, Elizabeth; Hennessey, Karen; Dietz, Vance

2011-11-03

The Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), launched in 1974, has developed and implemented a range of strategies and practices over the last three decades to ensure that children and adults receive the vaccines they need to help protect them against vaccine-preventable diseases. Many of these strategies have been implemented, resulting in immunization coverage exceeding 80% among children one year of age in many countries. Yet millions of infants remain under-immunized or unimmunized, particularly in poorer countries. In November 2009, a panel of external experts met at the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to review and identify areas of research required to strengthen routine service delivery in developing countries. Research opportunities were identified utilizing presentations emphasizing existing research, gaps in knowledge and key questions. Panel members prioritized the topics, as did other meeting participants. Several hundred research topics covering a wide range were identified by the panel members and participants. However there were relatively few topics for which there was a consensus that immediate investment in research is warranted. The panel identified 28 topics as priorities. 18 topics were identified as priorities by at least 50% of non-panel participants; of these, five were also identified as priorities by the panel. Research needs included identifying the best ways to increase coverage with existing vaccines and introduce new vaccines, integrate other services with immunizations, and finance immunization programmes. There is an enormous range of research that could be undertaken to support routine immunization. However, implementation of strategic plans, rather than additional research will have the greatest impact on raising immunization coverage and preventing disease, disability, and death from vaccine-preventable diseases. The panel emphasized the importance of tying operational research to programmatic needs, with a focus on efforts to scale up proven best practices in each country, facilitating the full implementation of immunization strategies. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

28 CFR 22.28 - Use of data identifiable to a private person for judicial, legislative or administrative purposes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CONFIDENTIALITY OF IDENTIFIABLE RESEARCH AND STATISTICAL INFORMATION § 22.28 Use of...) Research or statistical information identifiable to a private person shall be immune from legal process and...

28 CFR 22.28 - Use of data identifiable to a private person for judicial, legislative or administrative purposes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CONFIDENTIALITY OF IDENTIFIABLE RESEARCH AND STATISTICAL INFORMATION § 22.28 Use of...) Research or statistical information identifiable to a private person shall be immune from legal process and...

28 CFR 22.20 - Applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CONFIDENTIALITY OF IDENTIFIABLE RESEARCH AND STATISTICAL INFORMATION § 22.20 Applicability. (a) These regulations govern use and revelation of research and statistical... identifiable research or statistical information was originally obtained; or to any records which are...

28 CFR 22.20 - Applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CONFIDENTIALITY OF IDENTIFIABLE RESEARCH AND STATISTICAL INFORMATION § 22.20 Applicability. (a) These regulations govern use and revelation of research and statistical... identifiable research or statistical information was originally obtained; or to any records which are...

Facilitating factors and barriers to malaria research utilization for policy development in Malawi.

PubMed

Mwendera, Chikondi A; de Jager, Christiaan; Longwe, Herbert; Phiri, Kamija; Hongoro, Charles; Mutero, Clifford M

2016-10-19

Research on various determinants of health is key in providing evidence for policy development, thereby leading to successful interventions. Utilization of research is an intricate process requiring an understanding of contextual factors. The study was conducted to assess enhancing factors and barriers of research utilization for malaria policy development in Malawi. Qualitative research approach was used through in-depth interviews with 39 key informants that included malaria researchers, policy makers, programme managers, and key stakeholders. Purposive sampling and snowballing techniques were used in identifying key informants. Interview transcripts were entered in QSR Nvivo 11 software for coding and analysis. Respondents identified global efforts as key in advancing knowledge translation, while local political will has been conducive for research utilization. Other factors were availability of research, availability of diverse local researchers and stakeholders supporting knowledge translation. While barriers included: lack of platforms for researcher-public engagement, politics, researchers' lack of communication skills, lack of research collaborations, funder driven research, unknown World Health Organization policy position, and the lack of a malaria research repository. Overall, the study identified facilitating factors to malaria research utilization for policy development in Malawi. These factors need to be systematically coordinated to address the identified barriers and improve on malaria research utilization in policy development. Malaria research can be key in the implementation of evidence-based interventions to reduce the malaria burden and assist in the paradigm shift from malaria control to elimination in Malawi.

Citation Mining: Integrating Text Mining and Bibliometrics for Research User Profiling.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kostoff, Ronald N.; del Rio, J. Antonio; Humenik, James A.; Garcia, Esther Ofilia; Ramirez, Ana Maria

2001-01-01

Discusses the importance of identifying the users and impact of research, and describes an approach for identifying the pathways through which research can impact other research, technology development, and applications. Describes a study that used citation mining, an integration of citation bibliometrics and text mining, on articles from the…

Proceedings of National Avian-Wind Power Planning Meeting IV

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

NWCC Avian Subcommittee

2001-05-01

OAK-B135 The purpose of the fourth meeting was to (1) share research and update research conducted on avian wind interactions (2) identify questions and issues related to the research results, (3) develop conclusions about some avian/wind power issues, and (4) identify questions and issues for future avian research.

The Internet of Scientific Research Things

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandler, Cynthia; Shepherd, Adam; Arko, Robert; Leadbetter, Adam; Groman, Robert; Kinkade, Danie; Rauch, Shannon; Allison, Molly; Copley, Nancy; Gegg, Stephen; Wiebe, Peter; Glover, David

2016-04-01

The sum of the parts is greater than the whole, but for scientific research how do we identify the parts when they are curated at distributed locations? Results from environmental research represent an enormous investment and constitute essential knowledge required to understand our planet in this time of rapid change. The Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO) curates data from US NSF Ocean Sciences funded research awards, but BCO-DMO is only one repository in a landscape that includes many other sites that carefully curate results of scientific research. Recent efforts to use persistent identifiers (PIDs), most notably Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCiD) for person, Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for publications including data sets, and Open Funder Registry (FundRef) codes for research grants and awards are realizing success in unambiguously identifying the pieces that represent results of environmental research. This presentation uses BCO-DMO as a test case for adding PIDs to the locally-curated information published out as standards compliant metadata records. We present a summary of progress made thus far; what has worked and why, and thoughts on logical next steps.

Autism research funding allocation: can economics tell us if we have got it right?

PubMed

Zwicker, Jennifer D; Emery, J C Herbert

2014-12-01

There is a concern that the allocation of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) research funding may be misallocating resources, overemphasizing basic science at the expense of translational and clinical research. Anthony Bailey has proposed that an economic evaluation of autism research funding allocations could be beneficial for funding agencies by identifying under- or overfunded areas of research. In response to Bailey, we illustrate why economics cannot provide an objective, technical solution for identifying the "best" allocation of research resources. Economic evaluation has its greatest power as a late-stage research tool for interventions with identified objectives, outcomes, and data. This is not the case for evaluating whether research areas are over- or underfunded. Without an understanding of how research funding influences the likelihood and value of a discovery, or without a statement of the societal objectives for ASD research and level of risk aversion, economic analysis cannot provide a useful normative evaluation of ASD research. © 2014 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

28 CFR 22.1 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CONFIDENTIALITY OF IDENTIFIABLE RESEARCH AND STATISTICAL INFORMATION § 22.1... information identifiable to a private person obtained in a research or statistical program may only be used... reliability of federally-supported research and statistical findings by minimizing subject concern over...

28 CFR 22.1 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CONFIDENTIALITY OF IDENTIFIABLE RESEARCH AND STATISTICAL INFORMATION § 22.1... information identifiable to a private person obtained in a research or statistical program may only be used... reliability of federally-supported research and statistical findings by minimizing subject concern over...

Identifying and Prioritizing Information Needs and Research Priorities of Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Practitioners.

PubMed

Siegfried, Alexa L; Carbone, Eric G; Meit, Michael B; Kennedy, Mallory J; Yusuf, Hussain; Kahn, Emily B

2017-10-01

This study describes findings from an assessment conducted to identify perceived knowledge gaps, information needs, and research priorities among state, territorial, and local public health preparedness directors and coordinators related to public health emergency preparedness and response (PHPR). The goal of the study was to gather information that would be useful for ensuring that future funding for research and evaluation targets areas most critical for advancing public health practice. We implemented a mixed-methods approach to identify and prioritize PHPR research questions. A web survey was sent to all state, city, and territorial health agencies funded through the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) Cooperative Agreement program and a sample of local health departments (LHDs). Three focus groups of state and local practitioners and subject matter experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were subsequently conducted, followed by 3 meetings of an expert panel of PHPR practitioners and CDC experts to prioritize and refine the research questions. We identified a final list of 44 research questions that were deemed by study participants as priority topics where future research can inform PHPR programs and practice. We identified differences in perceived research priorities between PHEP awardees and LHD survey respondents; the number of research questions rated as important was greater among LHDs than among PHEP awardees (75%, n=33, compared to 24%, n=15). The research questions identified provide insight into public health practitioners' perceived knowledge gaps and the types of information that would be most useful for informing and advancing PHPR practice. The study also points to a higher level of information need among LHDs than among PHEP awardees. These findings are important for CDC and the PHPR research community to ensure that future research studies are responsive to practitioners' needs and provide the information required to enhance their capacity to meet the needs of the communities and jurisdictions they serve. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:552-561).

Priority setting partnership to identify the top 10 research priorities for the management of Parkinson's disease.

PubMed

Deane, Katherine H O; Flaherty, Helen; Daley, David J; Pascoe, Roland; Penhale, Bridget; Clarke, Carl E; Sackley, Catherine; Storey, Stacey

2014-12-14

This priority setting partnership was commissioned by Parkinson's UK to encourage people with direct and personal experience of the condition to work together to identify and prioritise the top 10 evidential uncertainties that impact on everyday clinical practice for the management of Parkinson's disease (PD). The UK. Anyone with experience of PD including: people with Parkinson's (PwP), carers, family and friends, healthcare and social care professionals. Non-clinical researchers and employees of pharmaceutical or medical devices companies were excluded. 1000 participants (60% PwP) provided ideas on research uncertainties, 475 (72% PwP) initially prioritised them and 27 (37% PwP) stakeholders agreed a final top 10. Using a modified nominal group technique, participants were surveyed to identify what issues for the management of PD needed research. Unique research questions unanswered by current evidence were identified and participants were asked to identify their top 10 research priorities from this list. The top 26 uncertainties were presented to a consensus meeting with key stakeholders to agree the top 10 research priorities. 1000 participants provided 4100 responses, which contained 94 unique unanswered research questions that were initially prioritised by 475 participants. A consensus meeting with 27 stakeholders agreed the top 10 research priorities. The overarching research aspiration was an effective cure for PD. The top 10 research priorities for PD management included the need to address motor symptoms (balance and falls, and fine motor control), non-motor symptoms (sleep and urinary dysfunction), mental health issues (stress and anxiety, dementia and mild cognitive impairments), side effects of medications (dyskinesia) and the need to develop interventions specific to the phenotypes of PD and better monitoring methods. These research priorities identify crucial gaps in the existing evidence to address everyday practicalities in the management of the complexities of PD. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

The RICHE taxonomy - an innovative means of classification of child health research.

PubMed

Alexander, D; Bourek, A; Kilroe, J; Rigby, M; Staines, A

2014-09-01

Research outputs increase inexorably. Health is now a required element in all policies of the European Union. There is a need for a system that helps to navigate the vast body of children's health research, identify pertinent research institutions, discover ongoing and recently funded research projects and identify gaps where there is little knowledge. The European Commission funded the Research Inventory of Child Health in Europe (RICHE) project through the Framework 7 Programme, to identify gaps in child health research in Europe. A necessary first step was to identify and index current research, for which a website repository was created. As a basis for this task, an innovative taxonomy was necessary to encompass the many arenas of children's health and development, including subjects outside the traditional areas of children's health. Drawing inspiration from existing taxonomies, library systems and other forms of classification, a multi-axial approach was selected as the best way to encompass the many influences on children's health. Six axes were identified and their contents defined. All of the axes can be viewed and searched independently, as well as in relation to each other. The axes encompass factors and service areas that impact on children, including health, education, justice, the environment and others. This has created a system that is consistent and impartial, but adaptable to an enormous variety of uses. The taxonomy has been tested and validated by a number of well-respected academics, researchers and practitioners across Europe. It forms the basis of an intuitive and accessible database. This allows research knowledge to be easily identified and for networking to take place. The RICHE taxonomy facilitates retrieval of knowledge - ongoing research as well as findings - in order to inform researchers and policy makers who wish to include children's health as an element of new policy. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Priority setting partnership to identify the top 10 research priorities for the management of Parkinson's disease

PubMed Central

Deane, Katherine H O; Flaherty, Helen; Daley, David J; Pascoe, Roland; Penhale, Bridget; Clarke, Carl E; Sackley, Catherine; Storey, Stacey

2014-01-01

Objectives This priority setting partnership was commissioned by Parkinson's UK to encourage people with direct and personal experience of the condition to work together to identify and prioritise the top 10 evidential uncertainties that impact on everyday clinical practice for the management of Parkinson's disease (PD). Setting The UK. Participants Anyone with experience of PD including: people with Parkinson's (PwP), carers, family and friends, healthcare and social care professionals. Non-clinical researchers and employees of pharmaceutical or medical devices companies were excluded. 1000 participants (60% PwP) provided ideas on research uncertainties, 475 (72% PwP) initially prioritised them and 27 (37% PwP) stakeholders agreed a final top 10. Methods Using a modified nominal group technique, participants were surveyed to identify what issues for the management of PD needed research. Unique research questions unanswered by current evidence were identified and participants were asked to identify their top 10 research priorities from this list. The top 26 uncertainties were presented to a consensus meeting with key stakeholders to agree the top 10 research priorities. Results 1000 participants provided 4100 responses, which contained 94 unique unanswered research questions that were initially prioritised by 475 participants. A consensus meeting with 27 stakeholders agreed the top 10 research priorities. The overarching research aspiration was an effective cure for PD. The top 10 research priorities for PD management included the need to address motor symptoms (balance and falls, and fine motor control), non-motor symptoms (sleep and urinary dysfunction), mental health issues (stress and anxiety, dementia and mild cognitive impairments), side effects of medications (dyskinesia) and the need to develop interventions specific to the phenotypes of PD and better monitoring methods. Conclusions These research priorities identify crucial gaps in the existing evidence to address everyday practicalities in the management of the complexities of PD. PMID:25500772

Privacy and ethics in pediatric environmental health research-part II: protecting families and communities.

PubMed

Fisher, Celia B

2006-10-01

In pediatric environmental health research, information about family members is often directly sought or indirectly obtained in the process of identifying child risk factors and helping to tease apart and identify interactions between genetic and environmental factors. However, federal regulations governing human subjects research do not directly address ethical issues associated with protections for family members who are not identified as the primary "research participant." Ethical concerns related to family consent and privacy become paramount as pediatric environmental health research increasingly turns to questions of gene-environment interactions. In this article I identify issues arising from and potential solutions for the privacy and informed consent challenges of pediatric environmental health research intended to adequately protect the rights and welfare of children, family members, and communities. I first discuss family members as secondary research participants and then the specific ethical challenges of longitudinal research on late-onset environmental effects and gene-environment interactions. I conclude with a discussion of the confidentiality and social risks of recruitment and data collection of research conducted within small or unique communities, ethnic minority populations, and low-income families. The responsible conduct of pediatric environmental health research must be conceptualized as a goodness of fit between the specific research context and the unique characteristics of subjects and other family stakeholders.

Identifying fruitful connections between and among researchers and practitioners

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Feather, Martin S.; Menzies, Tim; Connelly, Judith R.

2003-01-01

Many organizations look to research to yield new and improved products and practices. Connecting practitioners who have the need for research results to the researchers producing those results is important to guiding research and utilizing its results. Likewise, connecting researchers working on related topics to one another, and connecting practitioners with related needs to one another, is important to establishing communities of shared interests. We present an approach that helps identify fruitful such connections.

Progress in the Legitimacy of Business and Management Education Research: Rejoinder to "Identifying Research Topic Development in Business and Management Education Research Using Legitimation Code Theory"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bacon, Donald R.

2016-01-01

In this rejoinder to "Identifying Research Topic Development in Business and Management Education Research Using Legitimation Code Theory," published in the "Journal of Management Education," Dec 2016 (see EJ1118407), Donald R. Bacon discusses the similarities between Arbaugh et al.'s (2016) findings and the scholarship…

The risk of re-identification versus the need to identify individuals in rare disease research

PubMed Central

Hansson, Mats G; Lochmüller, Hanns; Riess, Olaf; Schaefer, Franz; Orth, Michael; Rubinstein, Yaffa; Molster, Caron; Dawkins, Hugh; Taruscio, Domenica; Posada, Manuel; Woods, Simon

2016-01-01

There is a growing concern in the ethics literature and among policy makers that de-identification or coding of personal data and biospecimens is not sufficient for protecting research subjects from privacy invasions and possible breaches of confidentiality due to the possibility of unauthorized re-identification. At the same time, there is a need in medical science to be able to identify individual patients. In particular for rare disease research there is a special and well-documented need for research collaboration so that data and biosamples from multiple independent studies can be shared across borders. In this article, we identify the needs and arguments related to de-identification and re-identification of patients and research subjects and suggest how the different needs may be balanced within a framework of using unique encrypted identifiers. PMID:27222291

The risk of re-identification versus the need to identify individuals in rare disease research.

PubMed

Hansson, Mats G; Lochmüller, Hanns; Riess, Olaf; Schaefer, Franz; Orth, Michael; Rubinstein, Yaffa; Molster, Caron; Dawkins, Hugh; Taruscio, Domenica; Posada, Manuel; Woods, Simon

2016-11-01

There is a growing concern in the ethics literature and among policy makers that de-identification or coding of personal data and biospecimens is not sufficient for protecting research subjects from privacy invasions and possible breaches of confidentiality due to the possibility of unauthorized re-identification. At the same time, there is a need in medical science to be able to identify individual patients. In particular for rare disease research there is a special and well-documented need for research collaboration so that data and biosamples from multiple independent studies can be shared across borders. In this article, we identify the needs and arguments related to de-identification and re-identification of patients and research subjects and suggest how the different needs may be balanced within a framework of using unique encrypted identifiers.

Unfinished business: efforts to define dual-use research of bioterrorism concern.

PubMed

Zmorzynska, Anna; Suk, Jonathan E; Biederbick, Walter; Maidhof, Heinrich; Sasse, Julia; Semenza, Jan C; Hunger, Iris

2011-12-01

Biotechnological research poses a special security problem because of the duality between beneficial use and misuse. In order to find a balance between regulating potentially dangerous research and assuring scientific advancement, a number of assessments have tried to define which types of research are especially open to misuse and should therefore be considered dual-use research of special concern requiring rigorous oversight. So far, there has been no common understanding of what such activities are. Here we present a review of 27 assessments focusing on biological dual-use issues published between 1997 and 2008. Dual-use research activities identified by these assessments as being of special concern were compiled and compared. Moreover, from these 27 assessments, the primary research publications explicitly identified as examples of concerning research activities were extracted and analyzed. We extracted a core list of 11 activities of special concern and show that this list does not match with the reasons why primary research publications were identified as being of special concern. Additionally, we note that the 11 activities identified are not easily conducted or replicated, and therefore the likelihood of their being used in a high-tech mass casualty bioterrorism event should be reevaluated. © Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

48 CFR 10.001 - Policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... commercially available market research methods in order to effectively identify the capabilities of small... RESEARCH 10.001 Policy. (a) Agencies must— (1) Ensure that legitimate needs are identified and trade-offs evaluated to acquire items that meet those needs; (2) Conduct market research appropriate to the...

GENE EXPRESSION PROFILING TO IDENTIFY MECHANISMS OF MALE REPRODUCTIVE TOXICITY

EPA Science Inventory

Gene Expression Profiling to Identify Mechanisms of Male Reproductive Toxicity
David J. Dix
National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27711, USA.
Ab...

Scientifically-Based Reading Research: A Primer for Adult and Family Literacy Educators. Research to Practice.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Padak, Nancy; Rasinski, Tim; Mraz, Maryann

The National Reading Panel (NRP) reviewed quantitative reading research focusing on grades K-3 to identify methods leading to reading success. The following areas were identified as key areas in the process of beginning to read: (1) phonemic awareness; (2) phonics; (3) fluency; (4) vocabulary; and (5) comprehension. The research findings were…

Top 10 Research Questions Related to Physical Activity in Preschool Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pate, Russell R.; O'Neill, Jennifer R.; Brown, William H.; McIver, Kerry L.; Howie, Erin K.; Dowda, Marsha

2013-01-01

The purpose of this article was to highlight important research needs related to physical activity in 3-to 5-year-old children. We identified research needs in 3 major categories: health effects, patterns of physical activity, and interventions and policies. The top research needs include identifying the health effects of physical activity, the…

Teaching, Learning and Assessing HRD: Findings from a BMAF/UFHRD Research Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sambrook, Sally; Stewart, Jim

2010-01-01

Purpose: This paper seeks to analyse and explore the results of a research project, which aimed to identify recent and current research on TLA within HRD programmes. From that base the project also intended to identify areas for future research and a basis for establishing a Special Interest Group. Design/methodology/approach: A comprehensive…

Use of Second Life in K-12 and Higher Education: A Review of Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Inman, Chris; Wright, Vivian H.; Hartman, Julia A.

2010-01-01

This study reviewed empirical research conducted in Second Life by educators since Second Life's launch in 2003. The study's purpose was to identify how Second Life is being used in both K-12 and higher education. The methodology, findings, and recommendations of 27 research studies were analyzed. Researchers identified potential problems when…

Data Identifiers and Citations Enable Reproducible Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tilmes, C.

2011-12-01

Modern science often involves data processing with tremendous volumes of data. Keeping track of that data has been a growing challenge for data center. Researchers who access and use that data don't always reference and cite their data sources adequately for consumers of their research to follow their methodology or reproduce their analyses or experiments. Recent research has led to recommendations for good identifiers and citations that can help address this problem. This paper will describe some of the best practices in data identifiers, reference and citation. Using a simplified example scenario based on a long term remote sensing satellite mission, it will explore issues in identifying dynamic data sets and the importance of good data citations for reproducibility. It will describe the difference between granule and collection level identifiers, using UUIDs and DOIs to illustrate some recommendations for developing identifiers and assigning them during data processing. As data processors create data products, the provenance of the input products and precise steps that led to their creation are recorded and published for users of the data to see. As researchers access the data from an archive, they can use the provenance to help understand the genesis of the data, which could have effects on their usage of the data. By citing the data on publishing their research, others can retrieve the precise data used in their research and reproduce the analyses and experiments to confirm the results. Describing the experiment to a sufficient extent to reproduce the research enforces a formal approach that lends credibility to the results, and ultimately, to the policies of decision makers depending on that research.

Research priorities in mental health occupational therapy: A study of clinician perspectives.

PubMed

Hitch, Danielle; Lhuede, Kate

2015-10-01

The evidence to support mental health occupational therapy has proliferated in the early years of this century, but this growth has tended to be organic rather than targeted. Previous efforts to identify research priorities in this area of practice are either out dated, or encompass discrete areas of practice. The aim of this study was to identify priority areas for research in mental health occupational therapy from clinician's perspectives. A Policy Delphi method was used to enable occupational therapists to define and differentiate their perspectives on research priorities. Forty-two occupational therapists took part in the first two rounds of this method, with 69% (n = 29) going on to complete the third and final round of data collection. A Likert scale was used to rate the importance of each priority, and descriptive quantitative analysis undertaken to identify those most consistently identified as being highly important. Four research priorities were identified as being highly important in this study: (i) working in an occupationally focussed way; (ii) consumer experience of therapy groups; (iii) identifying factors which increase consumer engagement in occupation; and (iv) engaging patients on the inpatient unit in meaningful and positive occupation. Two of the priority areas are already the subject of substantial evidence bases, but there has been far less research into consumer experiences of groups and occupational engagement in acute settings. Collaboration between research teams and greater consumer inclusion are recommended for the future. This study provides an updated indication of research priorities for mental health occupational therapy in Australia. © 2015 Occupational Therapy Australia.

Status of Cardiovascular Issues Related to Space Flight: implications for Future Research Directions

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-01-01

identified in the 2007 NASA Human Integrated Research Program. An evidence-based approach to identify the research priorities needed to resolve those...radiation needs to be defined. In contrast, data from the literature support the notion that the highest probability of occurrence and operational impact...identify and prioritize the most important ques- tions or problems needed to be resolved in order to assure the successful completion of extended

Identifying and Creating the Next Generation of Community-Based Cancer Prevention Studies: Summary of a National Cancer Institute Think Tank

PubMed Central

McCaskill-Stevens, Worta; Pearson, Deborah C.; Kramer, Barnett S.; Ford, Leslie G.; Lippman, Scott M.

2016-01-01

In late 2015, The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Division of Cancer Prevention convened cancer prevention research experts and stakeholders to discuss the current state of cancer prevention research, identify key prevention research priorities for the NCI, and identify studies that could be conducted within the NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP). Goals included identifying cancer prevention research opportunities offering the highest return on investment, exploring the concept of precision prevention and what is needed to advance this area of research, and identifying possible targets for prevention. Four study populations were considered for cancer prevention research: healthy people; those at increased risk for a specific cancer; people with preneoplastic lesions; and children, adolescents, and young adults. Priorities that emerged include screening (e.g., surveillance intervals, tomosynthesis vs. digital mammography), a pre-cancer genome atlas (PreTCGA), HPV vaccines, immunoprevention of non-infectious origins, and overdiagnosis. Challenges exist, as the priority list is ambitious and potentially expensive. Clinical trials need to be carefully designed to include and maximize prospective tissue collection. Exploring existing co-funding mechanisms will likely be necessary. Finally, relationships with a new generation of physician specialists will need to be cultivated in order to reach the target populations. PMID:27965286

Setting priorities for a research agenda to combat drug-resistant tuberculosis in children.

PubMed

Velayutham, B; Nair, D; Ramalingam, S; Perez-Velez, C M; Becerra, M C; Swaminathan, S

2015-12-21

Numerous knowledge gaps hamper the prevention and treatment of childhood drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB). Identifying research priorities is vital to inform and develop strategies to address this neglected problem. To systematically identify and rank research priorities in childhood drug-resistant TB. Adapting the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) methodology, we compiled 53 research questions in four research areas, then classified the questions into three research types. We invited experts in childhood drug-resistant TB to score these questions through an online survey. A total of 81 respondents participated in the survey. The top-ranked research question was to identify the best combination of existing diagnostic tools for early diagnosis. Highly ranked treatment-related questions centred on the reasons for and interventions to improve treatment outcomes, adverse effects of drugs and optimal treatment duration. The prevalence of drug-resistant TB was the highest-ranked question in the epidemiology area. The development type questions that ranked highest focused on interventions for optimal diagnosis, treatment and modalities for treatment delivery. This is the first effort to identify and rank research priorities for childhood drug-resistant TB. The result is a resource to guide research to improve prevention and treatment of drug-resistant TB in children.

28 CFR 22.22 - Revelation of identifiable data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... STATISTICAL INFORMATION § 22.22 Revelation of identifiable data. (a) Except as noted in paragraph (b) of this section, research and statistical information relating to a private person may be revealed in identifiable... Act. (3) Persons or organizations for research or statistical purposes. Information may only be...

Practical strategies and perceptions from community pharmacists following their experiences with conducting pharmacy practice research: a qualitative content analysis.

PubMed

De Vera, Mary A; Campbell, Natasha K J; Chhina, Harpreet; Galo, Jessica S; Marra, Carlo

2017-10-26

While prior research identified barriers to conducting research in community pharmacies, there remains a need to better understand facilitators to ensure successful collaborations between academic researchers and pharmacists. Our objective was to determine the experiences and perspectives of community pharmacists who have recently conducted a pharmacy practice-based research study to gain in-depth understanding of challenges as well as facilitators and identify strategies and solutions. We conducted a qualitative study involving one-on-one semi-structured telephone interviews with community pharmacists following the completion of a practice-based research study in their pharmacies. Interview transcripts were analysed using inductive content analysis involving open coding, creating categories and abstraction into final themes. Eleven pharmacists participated in the qualitative interviews. We identified six major themes including: (1) barriers (e.g. time constraints); (2) facilitators (e.g. ideal pharmacy layout); (3) support and resources from academic researchers (e.g. helpfulness of training, easy-to-use study materials); (4) pharmacist-initiated strategies for conducting research (beyond prior suggestions from researchers); (5) suggestions for future pharmacy practice research; and (6) motivation for conducting pharmacy practice research. These findings informed practical strategies targeted at academic researchers and pharmacists, respectively, to facilitate the conduct of research in community pharmacists across various stages of the research process. Our study adds to better understanding of community pharmacists' perspectives on conducting research and identifies practical solutions that can be readily implemented by academic researchers and pharmacists participating in research. © 2017 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

The Resilient Brain

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brendtro, Larry K.; Longhurst, James E.

2005-01-01

Brain research opens new frontiers in working with children and youth experiencing conflict in school and community. Blending this knowledge with resilience science offers a roadmap for reclaiming those identified as "at risk." This article applies findings from resilience research and recent brain research to identify strategies for reaching…

Bioethical Biobanks: Three Concerns in Designing and Using Law Enforcement DNA Identification Databases

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

D.H. Kaye

2006-10-19

Federal and state law enforcement authorities have amassed large collections of DNA samples and the identifying profiles derived from them. These databases help to identify the guilty and to exonerate the innocent, but as the databanks grow, so do fears about civil liberties. The research reported here discusses three legal and social policy issues that have been raised in regard to these biobanks—the choice of loci to type for identifying individuals, the indefinite retention of DNA samples, and the use of the DNA samples or the identifying profiles for research purposes. It also considers the possible value of the databasesmore » for research into the genetics of human behavior and the ethics of using them for this purpose. It rejects the broad claim that such research is inherently unethical but proposes procedures for ensuring that the value of the proposed research justifies any psychosocial or other risks to the subjects of the research.« less

Identifying Strategic Scientific Opportunities

Cancer.gov

As NCI's central scientific strategy office, CRS collaborates with the institute's divisions, offices, and centers to identify research opportunities to advance NCI's vision for the future of cancer research.

Cultural neuroscience and global mental health: addressing grand challenges

PubMed Central

Chiao, Joan Y.; Li, Shu-Chen; Turner, Robert; Lee-Tauler, Su Yeon; Pringle, Beverly A.

2016-01-01

Mental, neurological and substance-use (MNS) disorders comprise approximately 13% of the global burden of disease. The Grand Challenges in Global Mental Health Initiative has recently identified research priorities for the next decade to address prevention and treatment of MNS disorders. One main research priority is to identify the root causes, risks and protective factors associated with global mental health. Recent advances in cultural neuroscience have identified theoretical, methodological, and empirical methods of identifying biomarkers associated with mental health disorders across nations. Here we review empirical research in cultural neuroscience that address meeting the grand challenges in global mental health. PMID:28642836

Using Co-authorship Networks to Map and Analyse Global Neglected Tropical Disease Research with an Affiliation to Germany

PubMed Central

Bender, Max Ernst; Edwards, Suzanne; von Philipsborn, Peter; Steinbeis, Fridolin; Keil, Thomas; Tinnemann, Peter

2015-01-01

Background Research on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) has increased in recent decades, and significant need-gaps in diagnostic and treatment tools remain. Analysing bibliometric data from published research is a powerful method for revealing research efforts, partnerships and expertise. We aim to identify and map NTD research networks in Germany and their partners abroad to enable an informed and transparent evaluation of German contributions to NTD research. Methodology/Principal Findings A SCOPUS database search for articles with German author affiliations that were published between 2002 and 2012 was conducted for kinetoplastid and helminth diseases. Open-access tools were used for data cleaning and scientometrics (OpenRefine), geocoding (OpenStreetMaps) and to create (Table2Net), visualise and analyse co-authorship networks (Gephi). From 26,833 publications from around the world that addressed 11 diseases, we identified 1,187 (4.4%) with at least one German author affiliation, and we processed 972 publications for the five most published-about diseases. Of those, we extracted 4,007 individual authors and 863 research institutions to construct co-author networks. The majority of co-authors outside Germany were from high-income countries and Brazil. Collaborations with partners on the African continent remain scattered. NTD research within Germany was distributed among 220 research institutions. We identified strong performers on an individual level by using classic parameters (number of publications, h-index) and social network analysis parameters (betweenness centrality). The research network characteristics varied strongly between diseases. Conclusions/Significance The share of NTD publications with German affiliations is approximately half of its share in other fields of medical research. This finding underlines the need to identify barriers and expand Germany’s otherwise strong research activities towards NTDs. A geospatial analysis of research collaborations with partners abroad can support decisions to strengthen research capacity, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, which were less involved in collaborations than high-income countries. Identifying knowledge hubs within individual researcher networks complements traditional scientometric indicators that are used to identify opportunities for collaboration. Using free tools to analyse research processes and output could facilitate data-driven health policies. Our findings contribute to the prioritisation of efforts in German NTD research at a time of impending local and global policy decisions. PMID:26719978

The challenges of being an insider in storytelling research.

PubMed

Blythe, Stacy; Wilkes, Lesley; Jackson, Debra; Halcomb, Elizabeth

2013-01-01

To describe the challenges related to being an 'insider' researcher in a study that uses a feminist-informed storytelling research design and to discuss practical strategies to manage these challenges. The positioning of the researcher in qualitative research has numerous methodological implications. Often, qualitative researchers share similar experiences or characteristics with their participants. Such an 'insider' position provides challenges for the researcher in conducting the research. Understanding these challenges and planning how to manage them is beneficial for the researcher and for the conduct of the project. This paper is based on the research team's experience of undertaking a feminist-informed storytelling study exploring the experiences of Australian women providing long-term foster care. This paper provides a discussion of the methodology used in the investigation. Four challenges resulting from the insider status of the primary researcher were identified as affecting the research: assumed understanding, ensuring analytic objectivity, dealing with emotions and participants' expectations. Strategies to address these challenges include: 'participant probing', 'researcher reflexivity', review by an 'outsider' researcher, identifying the risk, debriefing, making the aims and use of study outcomes clear, and acknowledging participants' expectations. Methods to implement these strategies are described. The use of an insider researcher was beneficial to our study design and helped with recruitment and rapport, enabling collaboration and the generation of stories rich in content. By identifying the challenges associated with insider research and using strategies to mitigate them, researchers can effectively use an insider position in conjunction with a storytelling research design. ImplicaTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH/PRACTICE: Further investigation of the insider in different qualitative research designs would be useful in identifying challenges and benefits specific to those designs.

The STAR Data Reporting Guidelines for Clinical High Altitude Research.

PubMed

Brodmann Maeder, Monika; Brugger, Hermann; Pun, Matiram; Strapazzon, Giacomo; Dal Cappello, Tomas; Maggiorini, Marco; Hackett, Peter; Bärtsch, Peter; Swenson, Erik R; Zafren, Ken

2018-03-01

Brodmann Maeder, Monika, Hermann Brugger, Matiram Pun, Giacomo Strapazzon, Tomas Dal Cappello, Marco Maggiorini, Peter Hackett, Peter Baärtsch, Erik R. Swenson, Ken Zafren (STAR Core Group), and the STAR Delphi Expert Group. The STARdata reporting guidelines for clinical high altitude research. High AltMedBiol. 19:7-14, 2018. The goal of the STAR (STrengthening Altitude Research) initiative was to produce a uniform set of key elements for research and reporting in clinical high-altitude (HA) medicine. The STAR initiative was inspired by research on treatment of cardiac arrest, in which the establishment of the Utstein Style, a uniform data reporting protocol, substantially contributed to improving data reporting and subsequently the quality of scientific evidence. The STAR core group used the Delphi method, in which a group of experts reaches a consensus over multiple rounds using a formal method. We selected experts in the field of clinical HA medicine based on their scientific credentials and identified an initial set of parameters for evaluation by the experts. Of 51 experts in HA research who were identified initially, 21 experts completed both rounds. The experts identified 42 key parameters in 5 categories (setting, individual factors, acute mountain sickness and HA cerebral edema, HA pulmonary edema, and treatment) that were considered essential for research and reporting in clinical HA research. An additional 47 supplemental parameters were identified that should be reported depending on the nature of the research. The STAR initiative, using the Delphi method, identified a set of key parameters essential for research and reporting in clinical HA medicine.

Identifying the Strengths, Needs, and Barriers to Student Success for First Generation, Low-Income, First Year College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hayes, Linda A.

2013-01-01

This participatory action research needs assessment was to empower the students in a large urban research university to explore and to identify the strengths of the program, to identify the needs, and to identify the barriers to student success during their first year of college. Using qualitative methods of Group Level Interviews (GLA) and…

Guiding Future Research on the Community College Transfer Function: Summary of a National Seminar (Washington, D.C., September 21-22, 1992).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ludwig, Meredith J.; Palmer, James C.

1993-01-01

In September 1992, a small group of experienced researchers met to identify areas of research and specific research hypotheses to guide further inquiry into transfer. Specifically, participants examined transfer as it relates to institutional mission, institutional organization, and access to education and identified various premises upon which…

"The Purpose of This Study Is to": Connecting Lexical Bundles and Moves in Research Article Introductions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cortes, Viviana

2013-01-01

This article presents a group of lexical bundles identified in a corpus of research article introductions as the first step in the analysis of these expressions in the different sections of the research article. A one-million word corpus of research article introductions from various disciplines was compiled and the lexical bundles identified in…

The Use of Citation Counting to Identify Research Trends

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rothman, Harry; Woodhead, Michael

1971-01-01

The analysis and application of manpower statistics to identify some long-term international research trends in economic entomology and pest conrol are described. Movements in research interests, particularly towards biological methods of control, correlations between these sectors, and the difficulties encountered in the construction of a…

Identifying the Return on Investment for Army Migration to a Modular Open Systems Approach for Future and Legacy Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-04-05

quantitative data on the expected savings. This research attempted to identify and quantify the ROI for transitioning programs to MOSA. Purpose of This...6 Significance of This Research ............................................................................................... 6 Overview...of the Research Methodology ............................................................................... 7 Limitations

Analysis of protein-altering variants in telomerase genes and their association with MUC5B common variant status in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a candidate gene sequencing study.

PubMed

Dressen, Amy; Abbas, Alexander R; Cabanski, Christopher; Reeder, Janina; Ramalingam, Thirumalai R; Neighbors, Margaret; Bhangale, Tushar R; Brauer, Matthew J; Hunkapiller, Julie; Reeder, Jens; Mukhyala, Kiran; Cuenco, Karen; Tom, Jennifer; Cowgill, Amy; Vogel, Jan; Forrest, William F; Collard, Harold R; Wolters, Paul J; Kropski, Jonathan A; Lancaster, Lisa H; Blackwell, Timothy S; Arron, Joseph R; Yaspan, Brian L

2018-06-08

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) risk has a strong genetic component. Studies have implicated variations at several loci, including TERT, surfactant genes, and a single nucleotide polymorphism at chr11p15 (rs35705950) in the intergenic region between TOLLIP and MUC5B. Patients with IPF who have risk alleles at rs35705950 have longer survival from the time of IPF diagnosis than do patients homozygous for the non-risk allele, whereas patients with shorter telomeres have shorter survival times. We aimed to assess whether rare protein-altering variants in genes regulating telomere length are enriched in patients with IPF homozygous for the non-risk alleles at rs35705950. Between Nov 1, 2014, and Nov 1, 2016, we assessed blood samples from patients aged 40 years or older and of European ancestry with sporadic IPF from three international phase 3 clinical trials (INSPIRE, CAPACITY, ASCEND), one phase 2 study (RIFF), and US-based observational studies (Vanderbilt Clinical Interstitial Lung Disease Registry and the UCSF Interstitial Lung Disease Clinic registry cohorts) at the Broad Institute (Cambridge, MA, USA) and Human Longevity (San Diego, CA, USA). We also assessed blood samples from non-IPF controls in several clinical trials. We did whole-genome sequencing to assess telomere length and identify rare protein-altering variants, stratified by rs35705950 genotype. We also assessed rare functional variation in TERT exons and compared telomere length and disease progression across genotypes. We assessed samples from 1510 patients with IPF and 1874 non-IPF controls. 30 (3%) of 1046 patients with an rs35705950 risk allele had a rare protein-altering variant in TERT compared with 34 (7%) of 464 non-risk allele carriers (odds ratio 0·40 [95% CI 0·24-0·66], p=0·00039). Subsequent analyses identified enrichment of rare protein-altering variants in PARN and RTEL1, and rare variation in TERC in patients with IPF compared with controls. We expanded our study population to provide a more accurate estimation of rare variant frequency in these four loci, and to calculate telomere length. The proportion of patients with at least one rare variant in TERT, PARN, TERC, or RTEL1 was higher in patients with IPF than in controls (149 [9%] of 1739 patients vs 205 [2%] of 8645 controls, p=2·44 × 10 -8 ). Patients with IPF who had a variant in any of the four identified telomerase component genes had telomeres that were 3·69-16·10% shorter than patients without a variant in any of the four genes and had an earlier mean age of disease onset than patients without one or more variants (65·1 years [SD 7·8] vs 67·1 years [7·9], p=0·004). In the placebo arms of clinical trials, shorter telomeres were significantly associated with faster disease progression (1·7% predicted forced vital capacity per kb per year, p=0·002). Pirfenidone had treatment benefit regardless of telomere length (p=4·24 × 10 -8 for telomere length lower than the median, p=0·0044 for telomere length greater than the median). Rare protein-altering variants in TERT, PARN, TERC, and RTEL1 are enriched in patients with IPF compared with controls, and, in the case of TERT, particularly in individuals without a risk allele at the rs35705950 locus. This suggests that multiple genetic factors contribute to sporadic IPF, which might implicate distinct mechanisms of pathogenesis and disease progression. Genentech, National Institutes of Health, Francis Family Foundation, Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, Nina Ireland Program for Lung Health, US Department of Veterans Affairs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Heat stress intervention research in construction: gaps and recommendations.

PubMed

Yang, Yang; Chan, Albert Ping-Chuen

2017-06-08

Developing heat stress interventions for construction workers has received mounting concerns in recent years. However, limited efforts have been exerted to elaborate the rationale, methodology, and practicality of heat stress intervention in the construction industry. This study aims to review previous heat stress intervention research in construction, to identify the major research gaps in methodological issues, and to offer detailed recommendations for future studies. A total of 35 peer-reviewed journal papers have been identified to develop administrative, environmental or personal engineering interventions to safeguard construction workers. It was found that methodological limitations, such as arbitrary sampling methods and unreliable instruments, could be the major obstacle in undertaking heat stress intervention research. To bridge the identified research gaps, this study then refined a research framework for conducting heat stress intervention studies in the construction industry. The proposed research strategy provides researchers and practitioners with fresh insights into expanding multidisciplinary research areas and solving practical problems in the management of heat stress. The proposed research framework may foster the development of heat stress intervention research in construction, which further aids researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in formulating proper intervention strategies.

Gaps and strategies in developing health research capacity: experience from the Nigeria Implementation Science Alliance.

PubMed

Ezeanolue, Echezona E; Menson, William Nii Ayitey; Patel, Dina; Aarons, Gregory; Olutola, Ayodotun; Obiefune, Michael; Dakum, Patrick; Okonkwo, Prosper; Gobir, Bola; Akinmurele, Timothy; Nwandu, Anthea; Khamofu, Hadiza; Oyeledun, Bolanle; Aina, Muyiwa; Eyo, Andy; Oleribe, Obinna; Ibanga, Ikoedem; Oko, John; Anyaike, Chukwuma; Idoko, John; Aliyu, Muktar H; Sturke, Rachel

2018-02-12

Despite being disproportionately burdened by preventable diseases than more advanced countries, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) continue to trail behind other parts of the world in the number, quality and impact of scholarly activities by their health researchers. Our strategy at the Nigerian Implementation Science Alliance (NISA) is to utilise innovative platforms that catalyse collaboration, enhance communication between different stakeholders, and promote the uptake of evidence-based interventions in improving healthcare delivery. This article reports on findings from a structured group exercise conducted at the 2016 NISA Conference to identify (1) gaps in developing research capacity and (2) potential strategies to address these gaps. A 1-hour structured group exercise was conducted with 15 groups of 2-9 individuals (n = 94) to brainstorm gaps for implementation, strategies to address gaps and to rank their top 3 in each category. Qualitative thematic analysis was used. First, duplicate responses were merged and analyses identified emerging themes. Each of the gaps and strategies identified were categorised as falling into the purview of policy-makers, researchers, implementing partners or multiple groups. Participating stakeholders identified 98 gaps and 91 strategies related to increasing research capacity in Nigeria. A total of 45 gaps and an equal number of strategies were ranked; 39 gaps and 43 strategies were then analysed, from which 8 recurring themes emerged for gaps (lack of sufficient funding, poor research focus in education, inadequate mentorship and training, inadequate research infrastructure, lack of collaboration between researchers, research-policy dissonance, lack of motivation for research, lack of leadership buy-in for research) and 7 themes emerged for strategies (increased funding for research, improved research education, improved mentorship and training, improved infrastructure for research, increased collaboration between academic/research institutions, greater engagement between researchers and policy-makers, greater leadership buy-in for research). The gaps and strategies identified in this study represent pathways judged to be important in increasing research and implementation science capacity in Nigeria. The inclusion of perspectives and involvement of stakeholders who play different roles in policy, research and implementation activities makes these findings comprehensive, relevant and actionable, not only in Nigeria but in other similar LMICs.

Participatory action research methodology in disaster research: results from the World Trade Center evacuation study.

PubMed

Gershon, Robyn R M; Rubin, Marcie S; Qureshi, Kristine A; Canton, Allison N; Matzner, Frederick J

2008-10-01

Participatory action research (PAR) methodology is an effective tool in identifying and implementing risk-reduction interventions. It has been used extensively in occupational health research, but not, to our knowledge, in disaster research. A PAR framework was incorporated into the World Trade Center evacuation study, which was designed to identify the individual, organizational, and structural (environmental) factors that affected evacuation from the World Trade Center Towers 1 and 2 on September 11, 2001. PAR teams-comprising World Trade Center evacuees, study investigators, and expert consultants-worked collaboratively to develop a set of recommendations designed to facilitate evacuation from high-rise office buildings and reduce risk of injury among evacuees. Two PAR teams worked first separately and then collectively to identify data-driven strategies for improvement of high-rise building evacuation. The teams identified interventions targeting individual, organizational, and structural (environmental) barriers to safe and rapid evacuation. PAR teams were effective in identifying numerous feasible and cost-effective strategies for improvement of high-rise emergency preparedness and evacuation. This approach may have utility in other workplace disaster prevention planning and response programs.

Joint federal research and development process to meet state and local needs. Part 1. Science and technology and political decision making

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

Wise, H F; Smith, L K; Einsweiler, R C

This part of the handbook addresses the basic how to do it - how states and local governments can identify complex and cross-cutting issues and develop and manage scientific and technical resources in seeking policy solutions to such issues. The following subjects are discussed: background statement of the issue; the research/decision-making process; defining problems and identifying research components; research and decision-making strategies; how to identify existing knowledge or ongoing research in the area of policy concern; and managing multi-disciplinary research. The fourteen agencies involved in this effort include: US Departments of Energy, Agriculture, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Environmental Protectionmore » Agency, and National Science Foundation. (PSB)« less

Characteristic behaviors of students with LD who have teacher-identified math weaknesses.

PubMed

Bryant, D P; Bryant, B R; Hammill, D D

2000-01-01

Mathematics learning disabilities (LD) have gained increased attention over the last decade from both researchers and practitioners. A large percentage of students receiving learning disability services experience difficulties with mathematics, but little research has examined the specific mathematics behaviors of students with LD who have teacher-identified math weaknesses. This study examines the literature on mathematics LD and identifies specific behaviors from that body of research for the purpose of determining the extent to which those behaviors are observed in students with LD. Data are presented from observations of 391 special education professionals on 1724 students with LD, 870 of whom had identified math weaknesses and 854 of whom did not. Our results validate the existing literature and provide implications for teachers, researchers, and others interested in studying mathematics LD.

Tracing Bodylines: The Body in Feminist Poststructural Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Somerville, Margaret

2004-01-01

This paper traces body lines in feminist poststructural research by identifying the conditions under which research into the lived body can be brought into discursive relation with contemporary theoretical formulations of the body. It begins by identifying the erasure of the corporeal body in the somatophobia of essentialism and the exclusive…

Persistent Factors Facilitating Excellence in Research Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kalpazidou Schmidt, Evanthia; Graversen, Ebbe Krogh

2018-01-01

The study presented here identifies robust and time-invariant features that characterise dynamic and innovative research environments. It takes as its point of departure the results of an empirical study conducted in 2002 which identified the common characteristics of 15 dynamic and innovative public research environments, and focusses on their…

Adoption Research: Trends, Topics, Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palacios, Jesus; Brodzinsky, David

2010-01-01

The current article provides a review of adoption research since its inception as a field of study. Three historical trends in adoption research are identified: the first focusing on risk in adoption and identifying adoptee-nonadoptee differences in adjustment; the second examining the capacity of adopted children to recover from early adversity;…

Positioning Mathematics Education Researchers to Influence Storylines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herbel-Eisenmann, Beth; Sinclair, Nathalie; Chval, Kathryn B.; Clements, Douglas H.; Civil, Marta; Pape, Stephen J.; Stephan, Michelle; Wanko, Jeffrey J.; Wilkerson, Trena L.

2016-01-01

The NCTM Research Committee identifies key influences on mathematics education that are largely outside the domain of the academic world in which most mathematics education researchers live. The groups that are identified--including the media, companies and foundations, and other academic domains--affect the public's perception of mathematics and…

Partnership in Teacher Education--A Research Mapping

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lillejord, Sølvi; Børte, Kristin

2016-01-01

This mapping of research on partnership in teacher education provides an overview of themes and analyses problems identified in the studies that were included. The mapping gives a status of research in the field; identifies knowledge gaps and suggests improvements in partnership models. Studies included describe partnerships as complex and…

Building health research systems: WHO is generating global perspectives, and who's celebrating national successes?

PubMed

Hanney, Stephen R; González-Block, Miguel A

2016-12-28

In 2016, England's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) celebrated its tenth anniversary as an innovative national health research system with a focus on meeting patients' needs. This provides a good opportunity to reflect on how the creation of the NIHR has greatly enhanced important work, started in 1991, to develop a health research system in England that is embedded in the National Health Service.In 2004, WHO identified a range of functions that a national health research system should undertake to improve the health of populations. Health Research Policy and Systems (HRPS) has taken particular interest in the pioneering developments in the English health research system, where the comprehensive approach has covered most, if not all, of the functions identified by WHO. Furthermore, several significant recent developments in thinking about health research are relevant for the NIHR and have informed accounts of its achievements. These include recognition of the need to combat waste in health research, which had been identified as a global problem in successive papers in the Lancet, and an increasing emphasis on demonstrating impact. Here, pioneering evaluation of United Kingdom research, conducted through the impact case studies of the Research Excellence Framework, is particularly important. Analyses informed by these and other approaches identified many aspects of NIHR's progress in combating waste, building and sustaining research capacity, creating centres of research excellence linked to leading healthcare institutions, developing research networks, involving patients and others in identifying research needs, and producing and adopting research findings that are improving health outcomes.The NIHR's overall success, and an analysis of the remaining problems, might have lessons for other systems, notwithstanding important advances in many countries, as described in papers in HRPS and elsewhere. WHO's recently established Global Observatory for Health Research and Development provides an opportunity to promote some of these lessons. To inform its work, the Observatory is sponsoring a thematic series of papers in HRPS focusing on health research issues such as funding flows, priority setting, capacity building, utilisation and equity. While important papers on these have been published, this series is still open to new submissions.

2015 Pediatric Research Priorities in Prehospital Care.

PubMed

Browne, Lorin R; Shah, Manish I; Studnek, Jonathan R; Farrell, Brittany M; Mattrisch, Linda M; Reynolds, Stacy; Ostermayer, Daniel G; Brousseau, David C; Lerner, E Brooke

2016-01-01

Pediatric prehospital research has been limited, but work in this area is starting to increase particularly with the growth of pediatric-specific research endeavors. Given the increased interest in pediatric prehospital research, there is a need to identify specific research priorities that incorporate the perspective of prehospital providers and other emergency medical services (EMS) stakeholders. To develop a list of specific research priorities that is relevant, specific, and important to the practice of pediatric prehospital care. Three independent committees of EMS providers and researchers were recruited. Each committee developed a list of research topics. These topics were collated and used to initiate a modified Delphi process for developing consensus on a list of research priorities. Participants were the committee members. Topics approved by 80% were retained as research priorities. Topics that were rejected by more than 50% were eliminated. The remaining topics were modified and included on subsequent surveys. Each survey allowed respondents to add additional topics. The surveys were continued until all topics were either successfully retained or rejected and no new topics were suggested. Fifty topics were identified by the three independent committees. These topics were included on the initial electronic survey. There were 5 subsequent surveys. At the completion of the final survey a total of 29 research priorities were identified. These research priorities covered the following study areas: airway management, asthma, cardiac arrest, pain, patient-family interaction, resource utilization, seizure, sepsis, spinal immobilization, toxicology, trauma, training and competency, and vascular access. The research priorities were very specific. For example, under airway the priorities were: "identify the optimal device for effectively managing the airway in the prehospital setting" and "identify the optimal airway management device for specific disease processes." This project developed a list of relevant, specific, and important research priorities for pediatric prehospital care. Some similarities exist between this project and prior research agendas but this list represents a current, more specific research agenda and reflects the opinions of working EMS providers, researchers, and leaders. emergency medical technician; research; emergency medical services; priorities.

Patients', clinicians' and the research communities' priorities for treatment research: there is an important mismatch.

PubMed

Crowe, Sally; Fenton, Mark; Hall, Matthew; Cowan, Katherine; Chalmers, Iain

2015-01-01

There is some evidence that there is a mismatch between what patients and health professionals want to see researched and the research that is actually done. The James Lind Alliance (JLA) research Priority Setting Partnerships (PSPs) were created to address this mismatch. Between 2007 and 2014, JLA partnerships of patients, carers and health professionals agreed on important treatment research questions (priorities) in a range of health conditions, such as Type 1 diabetes, eczema and stroke. We were interested in how much these JLA PSP priorities were similar to treatments undergoing evaluation and research over the same time span. We identified the treatments described in all the JLA PSP research priority lists and compared these to the treatments described in a group of research studies (randomly selected) registered publically. The priorities identified by JLA PSPs emphasised the importance of non-drug treatment research, compared to the research actually being done over the same time period, which mostly involved evaluations of drugs. These findings suggest that the research community should make greater efforts to address issues of importance to users of research, such as patients and healthcare professionals. Background Comparisons of treatment research priorities identified by patients and clinicians with research actually being done by researchers are very rare. One of the best known of these comparisons (Tallon et al. Relation between agendas of the research community and the research consumer 355:2037-40, 2000) revealed important mismatches in priorities in the assessment of treatments for osteoarthritis of the knee: researchers preferenced drug trials, patients and clinicians prioritised non-drug treatments. These findings were an important stimulus in creating the James Lind Alliance (JLA). The JLA supports research Priority Setting Partnerships (PSPs) of patients, carers and clinicians, who are actively involved in all aspects of the process, to develop shared treatment research priorities. We have compared the types of treatments (interventions) prioritised for evaluation by JLA PSPs with those being studied in samples of clinical trials being done over the same period. Objective We used treatment research priorities generated by JLA PSPs to assess whether, on average, treatments prioritised by patients and clinicians differ importantly from those being studied by researchers. Methods We identified treatments mentioned in prioritised research questions generated by the first 14 JLA PSPs. We compared these treatments with those assessed in random samples of commercial and non-commercial clinical trials recruiting in the UK over the same period, which we identified using WHO's International Clinical Trials Registry Platform. Results We found marked differences between the proportions of different types of treatments proposed by patients, carers and clinicians and those currently being evaluated by researchers. In JLA PSPs, drugs accounted for only 18 % (23/126) of the treatments mentioned in priorities; in registered non-commercial trials, drugs accounted for 37 % (397/1069) of the treatments mentioned; and in registered commercial trials, drugs accounted for 86 % (689/798) of the treatments mentioned. Discussion Our findings confirm the mismatch first described by Tallon et al. 15 years ago. On average, drug trials are being preferenced by researchers, and non-drug treatments are preferred by patients, carers and clinicians. This general finding should be reflected in more specific assessments of the extent to which research is addressing priorities identified by the patient and clinician end users of research. It also suggests that the research culture is slow to change in regard to how important and relevant treatment research questions are identified and prioritised.

Modelling Conditions and Health Care Processes in Electronic Health Records: An Application to Severe Mental Illness with the Clinical Practice Research Datalink.

PubMed

Olier, Ivan; Springate, David A; Ashcroft, Darren M; Doran, Tim; Reeves, David; Planner, Claire; Reilly, Siobhan; Kontopantelis, Evangelos

2016-01-01

The use of Electronic Health Records databases for medical research has become mainstream. In the UK, increasing use of Primary Care Databases is largely driven by almost complete computerisation and uniform standards within the National Health Service. Electronic Health Records research often begins with the development of a list of clinical codes with which to identify cases with a specific condition. We present a methodology and accompanying Stata and R commands (pcdsearch/Rpcdsearch) to help researchers in this task. We present severe mental illness as an example. We used the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, a UK Primary Care Database in which clinical information is largely organised using Read codes, a hierarchical clinical coding system. Pcdsearch is used to identify potentially relevant clinical codes and/or product codes from word-stubs and code-stubs suggested by clinicians. The returned code-lists are reviewed and codes relevant to the condition of interest are selected. The final code-list is then used to identify patients. We identified 270 Read codes linked to SMI and used them to identify cases in the database. We observed that our approach identified cases that would have been missed with a simpler approach using SMI registers defined within the UK Quality and Outcomes Framework. We described a framework for researchers of Electronic Health Records databases, for identifying patients with a particular condition or matching certain clinical criteria. The method is invariant to coding system or database and can be used with SNOMED CT, ICD or other medical classification code-lists.

Using global unique identifiers to link autism collections.

PubMed

Johnson, Stephen B; Whitney, Glen; McAuliffe, Matthew; Wang, Hailong; McCreedy, Evan; Rozenblit, Leon; Evans, Clark C

2010-01-01

To propose a centralized method for generating global unique identifiers to link collections of research data and specimens. The work is a collaboration between the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative and the National Database for Autism Research. The system is implemented as a web service: an investigator inputs identifying information about a participant into a client application and sends encrypted information to a server application, which returns a generated global unique identifier. The authors evaluated the system using a volume test of one million simulated individuals and a field test on 2000 families (over 8000 individual participants) in an autism study. Inverse probability of hash codes; rate of false identity of two individuals; rate of false split of single individual; percentage of subjects for which identifying information could be collected; percentage of hash codes generated successfully. Large-volume simulation generated no false splits or false identity. Field testing in the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative Simplex Collection produced identifiers for 96% of children in the study and 77% of parents. On average, four out of five hash codes per subject were generated perfectly (only one perfect hash is required for subsequent matching). The system must achieve balance among the competing goals of distinguishing individuals, collecting accurate information for matching, and protecting confidentiality. Considerable effort is required to obtain approval from institutional review boards, obtain consent from participants, and to achieve compliance from sites during a multicenter study. Generic unique identifiers have the potential to link collections of research data, augment the amount and types of data available for individuals, support detection of overlap between collections, and facilitate replication of research findings.

Research options for controlling zoonotic disease in India, 2010-2015.

PubMed

Sekar, Nitin; Shah, Naman K; Abbas, Syed Shahid; Kakkar, Manish

2011-02-25

Zoonotic infections pose a significant public health challenge for low- and middle-income countries and have traditionally been a neglected area of research. The Roadmap to Combat Zoonoses in India (RCZI) initiative conducted an exercise to systematically identify and prioritize research options needed to control zoonoses in India. Priority setting methods developed by the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative were adapted for the diversity of sectors, disciplines, diseases and populations relevant for zoonoses in India. A multidisciplinary group of experts identified priority zoonotic diseases and knowledge gaps and proposed research options to address key knowledge gaps within the next five years. Each option was scored using predefined criteria by another group of experts. The scores were weighted using relative ranks among the criteria based upon the feedback of a larger reference group. We categorized each research option by type of research, disease targeted, factorials, and level of collaboration required. We analysed the research options by tabulating them along these categories. Seventeen experts generated four universal research themes and 103 specific research options, the majority of which required a high to medium level of collaboration across sectors. Research options designated as pertaining to 'social, political and economic' factorials predominated and scored higher than options focussing on ecological, genetic and biological, or environmental factors. Research options related to 'health policy and systems' scored highest while those related to 'research for development of new interventions' scored the lowest. We methodically identified research themes and specific research options incorporating perspectives of a diverse group of stakeholders. These outputs reflect the diverse nature of challenges posed by zoonoses and should be acceptable across diseases, disciplines, and sectors. The identified research options capture the need for 'actionable research' for advancing the prevention and control of zoonoses in India.

Rediscovering Paideia and the Meaning of a Scholarly Career: Rejoinder to "Identifying Research Topic Development in Business and Management Education Research Using Legitimation Code Theory"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Antonacopoulou, Elena P.

2016-01-01

In "Identifying Research Topic Development in Business and Management Education Research Using Legitimation Code Theory," authors J.B. Arbaugh, Charles J. Fornaciari, and Alvin Hwang ("Journal of Management Education," December 2016 vol. 40 no. 6 p654-691, see EJ1118407) used citation analysis to track the development of…

Federal Early Childhood Programs: A Description and Analysis of Research, Child Care, State Grant and Teacher Training Programs Pertaining to Young Children. Interim Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Searcy, Ellen Ouhl

The main objectives of this report about the Federal effort in early learning research are to assist the National Program on Early Childhood Education (NPECE) in planning its research and development program, to identify predicted "popular" areas of research for the future, and to identify possible NPECE funding sources. The report…

Incorporating Distance Learning into Counselor Education Programs: A Research Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wantz, Richard A.; Tromski, Donna M.; Mortsolf, Christina Joelle; Yoxtheimer, Greggory; Brill, Samantha; Cole, Alison

The purpose of this study is to determine the number of counselor education programs that utilize distance learning, to identify the distance learning software delivery products used, and to identify features of software used. The researchers also attempt to identify faculty perceptions related to and experience with the importance of distance…

Descriptive Analysis in Education: A Guide for Researchers. NCEE 2017-4023

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loeb, Susanna; Dynarski, Susan; McFarland, Daniel; Morris, Pamela; Reardon, Sean; Reber, Sarah

2017-01-01

Whether the goal is to identify and describe trends and variation in populations, create new measures of key phenomena, or describe samples in studies aimed at identifying causal effects, description plays a critical role in the scientific process in general and education research in particular. Descriptive analysis identifies patterns in data to…

Identifying, Measuring and Monitoring Value during Project Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kliniotou, Maria

2004-01-01

This paper describes the findings of the research done by Loughborough University in conjunction with ten construction industry collaborators in an attempt to identify what construction professionals mean by value. The aim of the research is to establish a common approach to identify value in projects and to monitor its development throughout the…

Pediatric Emergency Research Canada (PERC): Patient/Family-Informed Research Priorities for Pediatric Emergency Medicine.

PubMed

Bialy, Liza; Plint, Amy C; Freedman, Stephen B; Johnson, David W; Curran, Janet A; Stang, Antonia S

2018-06-06

A growing body of literature supports patient and public involvement in the design, prioritization and dissemination of research and evidence based medicine. The objectives of this project were to engage patients and families in developing a prioritized list of research topics for Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) and to compare results with prior research prioritization initiatives in the ED (emergency department) setting. We utilized a systematic process to combine administrative data on frequency of patient presentations to the ED with multiple stakeholder input including an initial stakeholder survey followed by a modified Delphi consensus methodology consisting of two web-based surveys and a face-to-face meeting. The prioritization process resulted in a ranked list of 15 research priorities. The top five priorities were mental health presentations, pain and sedation, practice tools, quality of care delivery and resource utilization. Mental health, pain and sedation, clinical prediction rules, respiratory illnesses /wheeze, patient safety/medication error and sepsis were identified as shared priorities with prior initiatives. Topics identified in our process that were not identified in prior work included resource utilization, ED communication, antibiotic stewardship and patient/family adherence with recommendations. This work identifies key priorities for research in PEM. Comparing our results with prior initiatives in the ED setting identified shared research priorities and opportunities for collaboration among PEM research networks. This work in particular makes an important contribution to the existing literature by including the patient/family perspective missing from prior work. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Overcoming design problems in evaluating health behavior programs.

PubMed

Flay, B R; Best, J A

1982-03-01

The increasing importance of high-quality evaluative research on health lifestyle change programs is established. Failure to ask the right evaluative research questions and problems of research design are identified as two major reasons for the dearth of well-controlled, interpretable evaluations in this area. Thirteen issues of research design that need to be considered if interpretable answers to evaluative research questions are to be obtained are identified and discussed. Solutions to these problems and design recommendations are offered.

Privacy and Ethics in Pediatric Environmental Health Research—Part II: Protecting Families and Communities

PubMed Central

Fisher, Celia B.

2006-01-01

Background In pediatric environmental health research, information about family members is often directly sought or indirectly obtained in the process of identifying child risk factors and helping to tease apart and identify interactions between genetic and environmental factors. However, federal regulations governing human subjects research do not directly address ethical issues associated with protections for family members who are not identified as the primary “research participant.” Ethical concerns related to family consent and privacy become paramount as pediatric environmental health research increasingly turns to questions of gene–environment interactions. Objectives In this article I identify issues arising from and potential solutions for the privacy and informed consent challenges of pediatric environmental health research intended to adequately protect the rights and welfare of children, family members, and communities. Discussion I first discuss family members as secondary research participants and then the specific ethical challenges of longitudinal research on late-onset environmental effects and gene–environment interactions. I conclude with a discussion of the confidentiality and social risks of recruitment and data collection of research conducted within small or unique communities, ethnic minority populations, and low-income families. Conclusions The responsible conduct of pediatric environmental health research must be conceptualized as a goodness of fit between the specific research context and the unique characteristics of subjects and other family stakeholders. PMID:17035154

How Schools Can Promote Healthy Development for Newly Arrived Immigrant and Refugee Adolescents: Research Priorities.

PubMed

McNeely, Clea A; Morland, Lyn; Doty, S Benjamin; Meschke, Laurie L; Awad, Summer; Husain, Altaf; Nashwan, Ayat

2017-02-01

The US education system must find creative and effective ways to foster the healthy development of the approximately 2 million newly arrived immigrant and refugee adolescents, many of whom contend with language barriers, limited prior education, trauma, and discrimination. We identify research priorities for promoting the school success of these youth. The study used the 4-phase priority-setting method of the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative. In the final stage, 132 researchers, service providers, educators, and policymakers based in the United States were asked to rate the importance of 36 research options. The highest priority research options (range 1 to 5) were: evaluating newcomer programs (mean = 4.44, SD = 0.55), identifying how family and community stressors affect newly arrived immigrant and refugee adolescents' functioning in school (mean = 4.40, SD = 0.56), identifying teachers' major stressors in working with this population (mean = 4.36, SD = 0.72), and identifying how to engage immigrant and refugee families in their children's education (mean = 4.35, SD = 0.62). These research priorities emphasize the generation of practical knowledge that could translate to immediate, tangible benefits for schools. Funders, schools, and researchers can use these research priorities to guide research for the highest benefit of schools and the newly arrived immigrant and refugee adolescents they serve. © 2017, American School Health Association.

Reporting guidelines for survey research: an analysis of published guidance and reporting practices.

PubMed

Bennett, Carol; Khangura, Sara; Brehaut, Jamie C; Graham, Ian D; Moher, David; Potter, Beth K; Grimshaw, Jeremy M

2010-08-01

Research needs to be reported transparently so readers can critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of the design, conduct, and analysis of studies. Reporting guidelines have been developed to inform reporting for a variety of study designs. The objective of this study was to identify whether there is a need to develop a reporting guideline for survey research. We conducted a three-part project: (1) a systematic review of the literature (including "Instructions to Authors" from the top five journals of 33 medical specialties and top 15 general and internal medicine journals) to identify guidance for reporting survey research; (2) a systematic review of evidence on the quality of reporting of surveys; and (3) a review of reporting of key quality criteria for survey research in 117 recently published reports of self-administered surveys. Fewer than 7% of medical journals (n = 165) provided guidance to authors on survey research despite a majority having published survey-based studies in recent years. We identified four published checklists for conducting or reporting survey research, none of which were validated. We identified eight previous reviews of survey reporting quality, which focused on issues of non-response and accessibility of questionnaires. Our own review of 117 published survey studies revealed that many items were poorly reported: few studies provided the survey or core questions (35%), reported the validity or reliability of the instrument (19%), defined the response rate (25%), discussed the representativeness of the sample (11%), or identified how missing data were handled (11%). There is limited guidance and no consensus regarding the optimal reporting of survey research. The majority of key reporting criteria are poorly reported in peer-reviewed survey research articles. Our findings highlight the need for clear and consistent reporting guidelines specific to survey research.

HIV and Alcohol Research Priorities of City, State, and Federal Policymakers: Results of a Delphi Study

PubMed Central

Li, Lingfeng; Braithwaite, Ronald Scott

2015-01-01

We identified the research areas related to HIV and alcohol consumption that were of highest priority to city, state, and federal policymakers. From June to July 2014, we conducted a 3-round Delphi study to elicit from experts a list of alcohol- and HIV-related clinical trial research questions that were important to fund and rank order the list to identify questions of highest priority. Translating evidence into practice must be improved because some questions that have been extensively studied with results published in peer-reviewed journals were identified by the panel as areas needing additional research. PMID:26180968

HIV and Alcohol Research Priorities of City, State, and Federal Policymakers: Results of a Delphi Study.

PubMed

Uyei, Jennifer; Li, Lingfeng; Braithwaite, Ronald Scott

2015-09-01

We identified the research areas related to HIV and alcohol consumption that were of highest priority to city, state, and federal policymakers. From June to July 2014, we conducted a 3-round Delphi study to elicit from experts a list of alcohol- and HIV-related clinical trial research questions that were important to fund and rank order the list to identify questions of highest priority. Translating evidence into practice must be improved because some questions that have been extensively studied with results published in peer-reviewed journals were identified by the panel as areas needing additional research.

A Review of the Urban Development and Transport Impacts on Public Health with Particular Reference to Australia: Trans-Disciplinary Research Teams and Some Research Gaps

PubMed Central

Black, Deborah; Black, John

2009-01-01

Urbanization and transport have a direct effect on public health. A transdisciplinary approach is proposed and illustrated to tackle the general problem of these environmental stressors and public health. Processes driving urban development and environmental stressors are identified. Urbanization, transport and public health literature is reviewed and environmental stressors are classified into their impacts and which group is affected, the geographical scale and potential inventions. Climate change and health impacts are identified as a research theme. From an Australian perspective, further areas for research are identified. PMID:19543407

Integrating human health and environmental health into the DPSIR framework: a tool to identify research opportunities for sustainable and healthy communities.

PubMed

Yee, Susan H; Bradley, Patricia; Fisher, William S; Perreault, Sally D; Quackenboss, James; Johnson, Eric D; Bousquin, Justin; Murphy, Patricia A

2012-12-01

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recently realigned its research enterprise around the concept of sustainability. Scientists from across multiple disciplines have a role to play in contributing the information, methods, and tools needed to more fully understand the long-term impacts of decisions on the social and economic sustainability of communities. Success will depend on a shift in thinking to integrate, organize, and prioritize research within a systems context. We used the Driving forces-Pressures-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework as a basis for integrating social, cultural, and economic aspects of environmental and human health into a single framework. To make the framework broadly applicable to sustainability research planning, we provide a hierarchical system of DPSIR keywords and guidelines for use as a communication tool. The applicability of the integrated framework was first tested on a public health issue (asthma disparities) for purposes of discussion. We then applied the framework at a science planning meeting to identify opportunities for sustainable and healthy communities research. We conclude that an integrated systems framework has many potential roles in science planning, including identifying key issues, visualizing interactions within the system, identifying research gaps, organizing information, developing computational models, and identifying indicators.

Improving the quality of biomarker discovery research: the right samples and enough of them.

PubMed

Pepe, Margaret S; Li, Christopher I; Feng, Ziding

2015-06-01

Biomarker discovery research has yielded few biomarkers that validate for clinical use. A contributing factor may be poor study designs. The goal in discovery research is to identify a subset of potentially useful markers from a large set of candidates assayed on case and control samples. We recommend the PRoBE design for selecting samples. We propose sample size calculations that require specifying: (i) a definition for biomarker performance; (ii) the proportion of useful markers the study should identify (Discovery Power); and (iii) the tolerable number of useless markers amongst those identified (False Leads Expected, FLE). We apply the methodology to a study of 9,000 candidate biomarkers for risk of colon cancer recurrence where a useful biomarker has positive predictive value ≥ 30%. We find that 40 patients with recurrence and 160 without recurrence suffice to filter out 98% of useless markers (2% FLE) while identifying 95% of useful biomarkers (95% Discovery Power). Alternative methods for sample size calculation required more assumptions. Biomarker discovery research should utilize quality biospecimen repositories and include sample sizes that enable markers meeting prespecified performance characteristics for well-defined clinical applications to be identified. The scientific rigor of discovery research should be improved. ©2015 American Association for Cancer Research.

Persistent Identifiers for Field Expeditions: A Next Step for the US Oceanographic Research Fleet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arko, Robert; Carbotte, Suzanne; Chandler, Cynthia; Smith, Shawn; Stocks, Karen

2016-04-01

Oceanographic research cruises are complex affairs, typically requiring an extensive effort to secure the funding, plan the experiment, and mobilize the field party. Yet cruises are not typically published online as first-class digital objects with persistent, citable identifiers linked to the scientific literature. The Rolling Deck to Repository (R2R; info@rvdata.us) program maintains a master catalog of oceanographic cruises for the United States research fleet, currently documenting over 6,000 expeditions on 37 active and retired vessels. In 2015, R2R started routinely publishing a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for each completed cruise. Cruise DOIs, in turn, are linked to related persistent identifiers where available including the Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) for members of the science party, the International Geo Sample Number (IGSN) for physical specimens collected during the cruise, the Open Funder Registry (FundRef) codes that supported the experiment, and additional DOIs for datasets, journal articles, and other products resulting from the cruise. Publishing a persistent identifier for each field expedition will facilitate interoperability between the many different repositories that hold research products from cruises; will provide credit to the investigators who secured the funding and carried out the experiment; and will facilitate the gathering of fleet-wide altmetrics that demonstrate the broad impact of oceanographic research.

Effective Practices in the Delivery of Research Ethics Education: A Qualitative Review of Instructional Methods.

PubMed

Todd, E Michelle; Torrence, Brett S; Watts, Logan L; Mulhearn, Tyler J; Connelly, Shane; Mumford, Michael D

2017-01-01

In order to delineate best practices for courses on research ethics, the goal of the present effort was to identify themes related to instructional methods reflected in effective research ethics and responsible conduct of research (RCR) courses. By utilizing a qualitative review, four themes relevant to instructional methods were identified in effective research ethics courses: active participation, case-based activities, a combination of individual and group approaches, and a small number of instructional methods. Three instructional method themes associated with less effective courses were also identified: passive learning, a group-based approach, and a large number of instructional methods. Key characteristics of each theme, along with example courses relative to each theme, are described. Additionally, implications regarding these instructional method themes and recommendations for best practices in research ethics courses are discussed.

Organisational Factors Affecting Policy and Programme Decision Making in a Public Health Policy Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zardo, Pauline; Collie, Alex; Livingstone, Charles

2015-01-01

Organisational factors can affect the success of interventions aimed at increasing research use. Research is needed to identify organisational factors affecting research use in specific public health policy contexts. Qualitative interviews with decision makers from a specific public health context identified a range of organisational factors that…

77 FR 48162 - Announcement of Requirements and Registration for the Challenge To Identify Audacious Goals in...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-13

... science and describe current specific research needs and opportunities. The current NEI strategic planning... worldwide. The creativity arising from a variety of new perspectives is expected to generate new research... and Registration for the Challenge To Identify Audacious Goals in Vision Research and Blindness...

Learning in Earth and Space Science: A Review of Conceptual Change Instructional Approaches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mills, Reece; Tomas, Louisa; Lewthwaite, Brian

2016-01-01

In response to calls for research into effective instruction in the Earth and space sciences, and to identify directions for future research, this systematic review of the literature explores research into instructional approaches designed to facilitate conceptual change. In total, 52 studies were identified and analyzed. Analysis focused on the…

Systematically Identifying Relevant Research: Case Study on Child Protection Social Workers' Resilience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McFadden, Paula; Taylor, Brian J.; Campbell, Anne; McQuilkin, Janice

2012-01-01

Context: The development of a consolidated knowledge base for social work requires rigorous approaches to identifying relevant research. Method: The quality of 10 databases and a web search engine were appraised by systematically searching for research articles on resilience and burnout in child protection social workers. Results: Applied Social…

Physical Activity of Youth with Intellectual Disability: Review and Research Agenda

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frey, Georgia C.; Stanish, Heidi I.; Temple, Viviene A.

2008-01-01

This review characterizes physical activity behavior in youth with intellectual disability (ID) and identifies limitations in the published research. Keyword searches were used to identify articles from MEDLINE, EBSCOhost Research Databases, Psych Articles, Health Source, and SPORT Discus, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses up to June 2007.…

Identifying and Researching Market Opportunities for New High Technology Products.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunstan, Peter

Using a product called the synchro-pulse welder as a case study example, this paper discusses the activities of CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) in identifying and marketing new high-technology products. A general discussion of CSIRO's market research plans includes two goals to be attained within the next 5…

Perceived challenges to obtaining informed consent for a time-sensitive emergency department study of pediatric status epilepticus: results of two focus groups.

PubMed

Chamberlain, James M; Lillis, Kathleen; Vance, Cheryl; Brown, Kathleen M; Fawumi, Olubunmi; Nichols, Shari; Davis, Colleen O; Singh, Tasmeen; Baren, Jill M

2009-08-01

The objective was to describe the perspective of research personnel on issues of informed consent in a time-sensitive clinical study under emergency circumstances. The authors convened concurrent focus groups of research staff and investigators involved in a pharmacokinetic study of lorazepam for status epilepticus (SE). Moderators led discussion with open-ended questions on selected issues of parental consent, communication and understanding, patient assent, and comparison to other types of studies. Focus group transcripts were analyzed to identify themes and subthemes from the discussions. Most themes and subthemes were identified in both research staff and investigator focus groups. Focus group discussion points were categorized into three main themes: barriers to and enablers of informed consent, barriers to and enablers of actual enrollment, and overall ethical concerns about the research. Many of the issues identified were unique to emergency research. From the perspectives of research staff and investigators enrolling patients in a time-sensitive emergency department study, the authors identified several areas of concern that should be addressed when planning future emergency studies.

Using a research framework to identify knowledge gaps in research on food marketing to children in Australia.

PubMed

Chapman, Kathy; Kelly, Bridget; King, Lesley

2009-06-01

Research in the field of food marketing to children requires a better understanding of the research gaps in order to inform policy development. The purpose of this paper was to propose a framework for classifying food marketing research, using Australian research on food marketing to children to demonstrate how this framework can be used to determine knowledge gaps. A literature review of research databases and 'grey' material was conducted to identify research from the previous 10 years. Studies were classified according to their research focus, and media type, as either: exposure, including content analyses; effects of exposure, including opinions, attitudes and actions resulting from food marketing exposure; regulations, including the type and level of regulation that applies to food marketing; or breaches of regulations, including instances where marketing regulations have been violated. The majority of Australian research on food marketing to children has focused on television advertising and exposure research. Research has consistently shown that the content of food marketing directed at children is predominately for unhealthy foods. There is a lack of research on the effects of food marketing, which would be valuable to inform policy. The development of a logical framework for food marketing research allows for the identification of research gaps and enables research priorities to be identified.

Agricultural aviation research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chevalier, H. L. (Compiler); Bouse, L. F. (Compiler)

1977-01-01

A compilation of papers, comments, and results is provided during a workshop session. The purpose of the workshop was to review and evaluate the current state of the art of agricultural aviation, to identify and rank potentially productive short and long range research and development areas, and to strengthen communications between research scientists and engineers involved in agricultural research. Approximately 71 individuals actively engaged in agricultural aviation research were invited to participate in the workshop. These were persons familiar with problems related to agricultural aviation and processing expertise which are of value for identifying and proposing beneficial research.

[Diagnosis of the productive capacity of the IMSS regarding health technologies].

PubMed

Figueroa-Lara, Alejandro; López-Fernández, Fátima Itzel; López-Domínguez, Adriana; Fajardo-Dolci, German

To quantify the production capacity and performance in research and technological developments of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS). We identified and analyzed information of the legislation, human and financial resources, and infrastructure addressed for research and technological development of IMSS. We analyzed whether the information on the legal framework contained key features to boost research and technological development. Information on the human, financial, and infrastructure resources were obtained from official sources. The research productivity was identified by a bibliometric analysis in 2014; productivity in technological developments was identified by intellectual products. The legal framework of the IMSS has several areas for improvement to boost research and technological development, especially the guidelines for technology transfer. The IMSS has 438 researchers, 39 research units, and a budget of US$ 37.4 million for research and technological development. The rate of articles published per 10 researchers was 4.8; while rate patients was 1.8. The IMSS has a great potential to translate research into technological developments, it is only necessary to make some changes to the legal framework.

The BARRIERS scale -- the barriers to research utilization scale: A systematic review

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background A commonly recommended strategy for increasing research use in clinical practice is to identify barriers to change and then tailor interventions to overcome the identified barriers. In nursing, the BARRIERS scale has been used extensively to identify barriers to research utilization. Aim and objectives The aim of this systematic review was to examine the state of knowledge resulting from use of the BARRIERS scale and to make recommendations about future use of the scale. The following objectives were addressed: To examine how the scale has been modified, to examine its psychometric properties, to determine the main barriers (and whether they varied over time and geographic locations), and to identify associations between nurses' reported barriers and reported research use. Methods Medline (1991 to September 2009) and CINHAL (1991 to September 2009) were searched for published research, and ProQuest® digital dissertations were searched for unpublished dissertations using the BARRIERS scale. Inclusion criteria were: studies using the BARRIERS scale in its entirety and where the sample was nurses. Two authors independently assessed the study quality and extracted the data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used. Results Sixty-three studies were included, with most using a cross-sectional design. Not one study used the scale for tailoring interventions to overcome identified barriers. The main barriers reported were related to the setting, and the presentation of research findings. Overall, identified barriers were consistent over time and across geographic locations, despite varying sample size, response rate, study setting, and assessment of study quality. Few studies reported associations between reported research use and perceptions of barriers to research utilization. Conclusions The BARRIERS scale is a nonspecific tool for identifying general barriers to research utilization. The scale is reliable as reflected in assessments of internal consistency. The validity of the scale, however, is doubtful. There is no evidence that it is a useful tool for planning implementation interventions. We recommend that no further descriptive studies using the BARRIERS scale be undertaken. Barriers need to be measured specific to the particular context of implementation and the intended evidence to be implemented. PMID:20420696

Research needs in family planning program promotion.

PubMed

Cernada, G P

1984-09-01

Areas of family planning promotion which need to be further researched are identified. The effectiveness of diverse information, education, and communication approaches needs to be evaluated, feasible ways to increase contraceptive continuation rates must be identified, the relative merits of providing fieldworkers with salaries or incentives should be assessed, different styles of interactions between providers and clients should be identified and evaluated and research directed toward improving training programs, field supervision, and supply logistics should be undertaken. A number of more detailed research suggestions with special reference to Taiwan and other Asian and Pacific countries are also provided. Little is known, for example, about provider and user interaction patterns in Asia, and the impact of these patterns on contraceptive acceptance and continuance. These patterns could be analyzed using diverse research techniques ranging from observation to experimental manipulation. Despite the fact that approximately 50% of all acceptors discontinue use within 2 years, researchers tend to focus on identifying acceptor characteristics while ignoring the discontinuation process. Researcher should 1) identify the best time for providing postacceptance followup services, 2) identify training strategies which provide fieldworkers with the highest level of confidence in specific contraceptive methods, 3) experiment with the use of newspaper columns and telephone advisory services to provide users with information about side effects, 4) assess the merits of involving both partners in the contraceptive counseling process, 5) develop and evaluate postacceptance educational materials, and 6) assess the impact of various supply systems on contraceptive continuance. Another neglected area of research is the public's attitude toward different contraceptive knowledge sources. For example, receptivity to family planning messages may vary depending on wether the message is delivered by a physician or by a local trained worker. Research is also needed to assess the feasibility of using advertising approaches to encourage acceptors to switch to more effective methods of contraception. The psychosocial needs of acceptors and cultural differences in response to family planning promotional activities should also be explored. Research barriers include a lack of field-trained researchers, limited interest in family planning among scholars, inadequate government and donor support and funding, a failure to provide funds for longterm research, and inadequate communication between researchers. In Taiwan there is a need to 1) conduct more operations research; 2) make more use of previous research findings; 3) focus attention on research aimed at increasing contraceptive use among young people, improving fieldworker and client communication, and expanding the role of nongovernment agencies in family planning; and 4) develop a national population research institute.

Trends in health sciences library and information science research: an analysis of research publications in the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association and Journal of the Medical Library Association from 1991 to 2007.

PubMed

Gore, Sally A; Nordberg, Judith M; Palmer, Lisa A; Piorun, Mary E

2009-07-01

This study analyzed trends in research activity as represented in the published research in the leading peer-reviewed professional journal for health sciences librarianship. Research articles were identified from the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association and Journal of the Medical Library Association (1991-2007). Using content analysis and bibliometric techniques, data were collected for each article on the (1) subject, (2) research method, (3) analytical technique used, (4) number of authors, (5) number of citations, (6) first author affiliation, and (7) funding source. The results were compared to a previous study, covering the period 1966 to 1990, to identify changes over time. Of the 930 articles examined, 474 (51%) were identified as research articles. Survey (n = 174, 37.1%) was the most common methodology employed, quantitative descriptive statistics (n = 298, 63.5%) the most used analytical technique, and applied topics (n = 332, 70%) the most common type of subject studied. The majority of first authors were associated with an academic health sciences library (n = 264, 55.7%). Only 27.4% (n = 130) of studies identified a funding source. This study's findings demonstrate that progress is being made in health sciences librarianship research. There is, however, room for improvement in terms of research methodologies used, proportion of applied versus theoretical research, and elimination of barriers to conducting research for practicing librarians.

Informed Consent in Implantable BCI Research: Identifying Risks and Exploring Meaning.

PubMed

Klein, Eran

2016-10-01

Implantable brain-computer interface (BCI) technology is an expanding area of engineering research now moving into clinical application. Ensuring meaningful informed consent in implantable BCI research is an ethical imperative. The emerging and rapidly evolving nature of implantable BCI research makes identification of risks, a critical component of informed consent, a challenge. In this paper, 6 core risk domains relevant to implantable BCI research are identified-short and long term safety, cognitive and communicative impairment, inappropriate expectations, involuntariness, affective impairment, and privacy and security. Work in deep brain stimulation provides a useful starting point for understanding this core set of risks in implantable BCI. Three further risk domains-risks pertaining to identity, agency, and stigma-are identified. These risks are not typically part of formalized consent processes. It is important as informed consent practices are further developed for implantable BCI research that attention be paid not just to disclosing core research risks but exploring the meaning of BCI research with potential participants.

Improvement Research Priorities: USA Survey and Expert Consensus

PubMed Central

Stevens, Kathleen R.; Ovretveit, John

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify stakeholder views about national priorities for improvement science and build agreement for action in a national improvement and implementation research network in the USA. This was accomplished using three stages of identification and consensus. (1) Topics were identified through a multipronged environmental scan of the literature and initiatives. (2) Based on this scan, a survey was developed, and stakeholders (n = 2,777) were invited to rate the resulting 33-topic, 9-category list, via an online survey. Data from 560 respondents (20% response) were analyzed. (3) An expert panel used survey results to further refine the research priorities through a Rand Delphi process. Priorities identified were within four categories: care coordination and transitions, high-performing clinical systems and microsystems improvement approaches, implementation of evidence-based improvements and best practices, and culture of quality and safety. The priorities identified were adopted by the improvement science research network as the research agenda to guide strategy. The process and conclusions may be of value to quality improvement research funding agencies, governments, and research units seeking to concentrate their resources on improvement topics where research is capable of yielding timely and actionable answers as well as contributing to the knowledge base for improvement. PMID:24024029

EZID: Long term identifiers made easy (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Starr, J.

2013-12-01

Scholarly research is producing ever increasing amounts of digital research data, and this data should be managed throughout the research life cycle both as part of good scientific practice, but also to comply with funder mandates, such as the 2013 OSTP Public Access Memo (http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/ostp_public_access_memo_2013.pdf). By assigning unique and persistent identifiers to data objects, data managers can gain control and flexibility over what can be a daunting task. This is due to the fact that the objects can be moved to new locations without disruption to links, as long as the identifier target is maintained. EZID is a tool that makes assigning and maintaining unique, persistent identifiers easy. It was designed and built by California Digital Library (CDL) and has both a user interface and a RESTful API. EZID currently offers services for two globally unique, persistent identifier schemes: Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) and Archival Resource Keys (ARKs). DOIs are identifiers originating from the publishing world and are in widespread use for journal articles. CDL is able to offer DOIs because of being a founding member of DataCite (http://www.datacite.org/), an international consortium established to provide easier access to scientific research data on the Internet. ARKs are identifiers originating from the library, archive and museum community. Like DOIs, they become persistent when the objects and identifier forwarding information is maintained. DOIs and ARKs have a key role in data management and, therefore, in data management plans. DOIs are the recommended identifier for use in data citation, and ARKs provide the maximum flexibility needed for data documentation and management throughout the early phases of a project. The two identifier schemes are able to be used together, and EZID is made to work with both. EZID clients, coming from education, research, government, and the private sector, are utilizing the tool for these use cases and more.

Engaging basic scientists in translational research: identifying opportunities, overcoming obstacles

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

This report is based on the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology’s symposium, “Engaging basic Scientists in Translational Research: Identifying Opportunities, Overcoming Obstacles,” held in Chevy Chase, MD, March 24–25, 2011. Meeting participants examined the benefits of engaging basic scientists in translational research, the challenges to their participation in translational research, and the roles that research institutions, funding organizations, professional societies, and scientific publishers can play to address these challenges. PMID:22500917

Toward sustainable environmental quality: Identifying priority research questions for Latin America.

PubMed

Furley, Tatiana Heid; Brodeur, Julie; Silva de Assis, Helena C; Carriquiriborde, Pedro; Chagas, Katia R; Corrales, Jone; Denadai, Marina; Fuchs, Julio; Mascarenhas, Renata; Miglioranza, Karina Sb; Miguez Caramés, Diana Margarita; Navas, José Maria; Nugegoda, Dayanthi; Planes, Estela; Rodriguez-Jorquera, Ignacio Alejandro; Orozco-Medina, Martha; Boxall, Alistair Ba; Rudd, Murray A; Brooks, Bryan W

2018-05-01

The Global Horizon Scanning Project (GHSP) is an innovative initiative that aims to identify important global environmental quality research needs. Here we report 20 key research questions from Latin America (LA). Members of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) LA and other scientists from LA were asked to submit research questions that would represent priority needs to address in the region. One hundred questions were received, then partitioned among categories, examined, and some rearranged during a workshop in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Twenty priority research questions were subsequently identified. These research questions included developing, improving, and harmonizing across LA countries methods for 1) identifying contaminants and degradation products in complex matrices (including biota); 2) advancing prediction of contaminant risks and effects in ecosystems, addressing lab-to-field extrapolation challenges, and understanding complexities of multiple stressors (including chemicals and climate change); and 3) improving management and regulatory tools toward achieving sustainable development. Whereas environmental contaminants frequently identified in these key questions were pesticides, pharmaceuticals, endocrine disruptors or modulators, plastics, and nanomaterials, commonly identified environmental challenges were related to agriculture, urban effluents, solid wastes, pulp and paper mills, and natural extraction activities. Several interesting research topics included assessing and preventing pollution impacts on conservation protected areas, integrating environment and health assessments, and developing strategies for identification, substitution, and design of less hazardous chemicals (e.g., green chemistry). Finally, a recurrent research need included developing an understanding of differential sensitivity of regional species and ecosystems to environmental contaminants and other stressors. Addressing these critical questions will support development of long-term strategic research efforts to advance more sustainable environmental quality and protect public health and the environment in LA. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2018;14:344-357. © 2018 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC). © 2018 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

Toward sustainable environmental quality: Identifying priority research questions for Latin America

PubMed Central

Furley, Tatiana Heid; Brodeur, Julie; Silva de Assis, Helena C; Carriquiriborde, Pedro; Chagas, Katia R; Corrales, Jone; Denadai, Marina; Fuchs, Julio; Mascarenhas, Renata; Miglioranza, Karina SB; Miguez Caramés, Diana Margarita; Navas, José Maria; Nugegoda, Dayanthi; Planes, Estela; Rodriguez‐Jorquera, Ignacio Alejandro; Orozco‐Medina, Martha; Boxall, Alistair BA; Rudd, Murray A

2018-01-01

ABSTRACT The Global Horizon Scanning Project (GHSP) is an innovative initiative that aims to identify important global environmental quality research needs. Here we report 20 key research questions from Latin America (LA). Members of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) LA and other scientists from LA were asked to submit research questions that would represent priority needs to address in the region. One hundred questions were received, then partitioned among categories, examined, and some rearranged during a workshop in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Twenty priority research questions were subsequently identified. These research questions included developing, improving, and harmonizing across LA countries methods for 1) identifying contaminants and degradation products in complex matrices (including biota); 2) advancing prediction of contaminant risks and effects in ecosystems, addressing lab‐to‐field extrapolation challenges, and understanding complexities of multiple stressors (including chemicals and climate change); and 3) improving management and regulatory tools toward achieving sustainable development. Whereas environmental contaminants frequently identified in these key questions were pesticides, pharmaceuticals, endocrine disruptors or modulators, plastics, and nanomaterials, commonly identified environmental challenges were related to agriculture, urban effluents, solid wastes, pulp and paper mills, and natural extraction activities. Several interesting research topics included assessing and preventing pollution impacts on conservation protected areas, integrating environment and health assessments, and developing strategies for identification, substitution, and design of less hazardous chemicals (e.g., green chemistry). Finally, a recurrent research need included developing an understanding of differential sensitivity of regional species and ecosystems to environmental contaminants and other stressors. Addressing these critical questions will support development of long‐term strategic research efforts to advance more sustainable environmental quality and protect public health and the environment in LA. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2018;14:344–357. © 2018 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC) PMID:29469193

Hotspots in research on the measurement of medical students' clinical competence from 2012-2016 based on co-word analysis.

PubMed

Chang, Xing; Zhou, Xin; Luo, Linzhi; Yang, Chengjia; Pan, Hui; Zhang, Shuyang

2017-09-12

This study aimed to identify hotspots in research on clinical competence measurements from 2012 to 2016. The authors retrieved literature published between 2012 and 2016 from PubMed using selected medical subject headings (MeSH) terms. They used BibExcel software to generate high-frequency MeSH terms and identified hotspots by co-word analysis and cluster analysis. The authors searched 588 related articles and identified 31 high-frequency MeSH terms. In addition, they obtained 6 groups of high-frequency MeSH terms that reflected the domain hotspots. This study identified 6 hotspots of domain research, including studies on influencing factors and perception evaluation, improving and developing measurement tools, feedback measurement, measurement approaches based on computer simulation, the measurement of specific students in different learning phases, and the measurement of students' communication ability. All of these research topics could provide useful information for educators and researchers to continually conduct in-depth studies.

Estimating a Research and Development Price Index

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-01-01

8330-1399- 8 1. Military research -Prices-United States. 2. Indexation (Economnics)-United States. I. Title U393.5.$54 1993 338.4 3^35507--dc2O 93-20614...3 Step 2. Identifying Changes in Relevant Sector Prices .......... 4 Some General Considerations... 4 Identifying Price Changes ..................................... 6 Detailed Methods for Identifying Price Changes ................ 6 Step 3

Identifying emerging issues in forestry as a tool for research planning.

Treesearch

Hans M. Gregersen; Allen L. Lundgren; Pamela J. Jakes; David N. Bengston

1989-01-01

A Delphi exercise is used to identify emerging issues in National Forest management and use, the relative importance of the issues, and barriers to resolving issues. USDA Forest Service managers agree on the importance of the 11 issues identified; however, researchers and National Forest managers do not always agree on the importance of issues or barriers.

Maintaining wildlife habitat in southeastern Alaska: implications of new knowledge for forest management and research.

Treesearch

Thomas A. Hanley; Winston P. Smith; Scott M. Gende

2005-01-01

We review results and implications from recent wildlife studies that followed from the 1997 Tongass Land Management Plan (TLMP) and identify information needs and directions for research, development, and application. Sustained population viability of wildlife species was identified as a major issue in the TLMP planning process. Several species were identified as...

The Short Supply of Saints: Limits on Replication of Models that "Beat the Odds"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilder, Tamara; Jacobsen, Rebecca

2010-01-01

Researchers have identified effective practices that allow schools to "beat the odds" and close the reading achievement gap. Although identifying these practices is important, researchers have paid little attention to the work it takes to implement them. Through interviews with teachers who work at schools identified as beating the odds, this…

An assessment of US microbiome research.

PubMed

Stulberg, Elizabeth; Fravel, Deborah; Proctor, Lita M; Murray, David M; LoTempio, Jonathan; Chrisey, Linda; Garland, Jay; Goodwin, Kelly; Graber, Joseph; Harris, M Camille; Jackson, Scott; Mishkind, Michael; Porterfield, D Marshall; Records, Angela

2016-01-11

Genome-enabled technologies have supported a dramatic increase in our ability to study microbial communities in environments and hosts. Taking stock of previously funded microbiome research can help to identify common themes, under-represented areas and research priorities to consider moving forward. To assess the status of US microbiome research, a team of government scientists conducted an analysis of federally funded microbiome research. Microbiomes were defined as host-, ecosystem- or habitat-associated communities of microorganisms, and microbiome research was defined as those studies that emphasize community-level analyses using 'omics technologies. Single pathogen, single strain and culture-based studies were not included, except symbiosis studies that served as models for more complex communities. Fourteen governmental organizations participated in the data call. The analysis examined three broad research themes, eight environments and eight microbial categories. Human microbiome research was larger than any other environment studied, and the basic biology research theme accounted for half of the total research activities. Computational biology and bioinformatics, reference databases and biorepositories, standardized protocols and high-throughput tools were commonly identified needs. Longitudinal and functional studies and interdisciplinary research were also identified as needs. This study has implications for the funding of future microbiome research, not only in the United States but beyond.

Traditions of research into interruptions in healthcare: A conceptual review.

PubMed

McCurdie, Tara; Sanderson, Penelope; Aitken, Leanne M

2017-01-01

Researchers from diverse theoretical backgrounds have studied workplace interruptions in healthcare, leading to a complex and conflicting body of literature. Understanding pre-existing viewpoints may advance the field more effectively than attempts to remove bias from investigations. To identify research traditions that have motivated and guided interruptions research, and to note research questions posed, gaps in approach, and possible avenues for future research. A critical review was conducted of research on interruptions in healthcare. Two researchers identified core research communities based on the community's motivations, philosophical outlook, and methods. Among the characteristics used to categorise papers into research communities were the predominant motivation for studying interruptions, the research questions posed, and key contributions to the body of knowledge on interruptions in healthcare. In cases where a paper approached an equal number of characteristics from two traditions, it was placed in a blended research community. A total of 141 papers were identified and categorised; all papers identified were published from 1994 onwards. Four principal research communities emerged: epidemiology, quality improvement, cognitive systems engineering (CSE), and applied cognitive psychology. Blends and areas of mutual influence between the research communities were identified that combine the benefits of individual traditions, but there was a notable lack of blends incorporating quality improvement initiatives. The question most commonly posed by researchers across multiple communities was: what is the impact of interruptions? Impact was measured as a function of task time or risk in the epidemiology tradition, situation awareness in the CSE tradition, or resumption lag (time to resume an interrupted task) in the applied cognitive psychology tradition. No single question about interruptions in healthcare was shared by all four of the core communities. Much research on workplace interruptions in healthcare can be described in terms of fundamental values of four distinct research traditions and the communities that bring the values and methods: of those research traditions to their investigations. Blends between communities indicate that mutual influence has occurred as interruptions research has progressed. It is clear from this review that there is no single or privileged perspective to study interruptions. Instead, these findings suggest that researchers investigating interruptions in healthcare would benefit from being more aware of different perspectives from their own, especially when they consider workplace interventions to reduce interruptions. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Health policy and systems research agendas in developing countries.

PubMed

Gonzalez-Block, Miguel A

2004-08-05

BACKGROUND: Health policy and systems research (HPSR) is an international public good with potential to orient investments and performance at national level. Identifying research trends and priorities at international level is therefore important. This paper offers a conceptual framework and defines the HPSR portfolio as a set of research projects under implementation. The research portfolio is influenced by factors external to the research system as well as internal to it. These last include the capacity of research institutions, the momentum of research programs, funding opportunities and the influence of stakeholder priorities and public opinion. These dimensions can vary in their degree of coordination, leading to a complementary or a fragmented research portfolio. OBJECTIVE: The main objective is to identify the themes currently being pursued in the research portfolio and agendas within developing countries and to quantify their frequency in an effort to identify current research topics and their underlying influences. METHODS: HPSR topics being pursued by developing country producer institutions and their perceived priorities were identified through a survey between 2000 and 2002. The response to a call for letters of intent issued by the Alliance in 2000 for a broad range of topics was also analyzed. The institutions that were the universe of this study consisted of the 176 institutional partners of the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research producing research in low and middle income countries outside Europe. HPSR topics as well as the beneficiaries or issues and the health problems addressed were content analyzed. Topics were classified into 19 categories and their frequency analyzed across groups of countries with similar per capita income. Agendas were identified by analyzing the source of funding and of project initiation for projects under implementation. RESULTS: The highest ranking topic at the aggregate level is "Sector analysis", followed by "Disease burden" and "Management and organization". Categories at the bottom of this ranking are "Equity", "Policy process", "Economic policy and health" and "Information systems". "Disease burden" is more often funded than other topics for which there is more demand or perceived priority. Analysis suggests few although important differences across priorities, demand for funding and actual project funding. The donors' agenda coincides most with the ranking of research topics overall.Ranking across country income groups shows important differences. Topics that gain prominence in low income countries are "Disease burden" and "Accessibility". In lower middle income countries "Insurance" gains prominence. In upper middle income countries "Decentralization/local health systems", "Equity" and "Policy process" are more prominent. "Program evaluation" is the most consistently ranked topic across income regions, showing a neutral influence by donors, governments or researchers. CONCLUSIONS: The framework proposed offers a basis to identify and contrast research needs, projects and products at the international level and to identify the actor agendas and their influence. Research gaps are suggested when comparing topic ranking against the challenges to health system strengthening and scaling up of disease control programs. Differences across per capita income groups suggests the need for differentiated priority setting mechanisms guiding international support. Data suggests that stakeholders have different agendas, and that donors predominate in determining the research portfolio. High-level consensus building at the national and international levels is necessary to ensure that the diverse agendas play a complementary role in support of health system objectives.The Ministerial Summit for Health Research to be held in Mexico in November 2004 should be an opportunity to analyze further data and to commit funding for priorities identified through sharing and discussion of agendas.

Forced migrants involved in setting the agenda and designing research to reduce impacts of complex emergencies: combining Swarm with patient and public involvement.

PubMed

Brainard, Julii Suzanne; Al Assaf, Enana; Omasete, Judith; Leach, Steve; Hammer, Charlotte C; Hunter, Paul R

2017-01-01

The UK's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit in Emergency Preparedness and Response was asked to undertake research on how to reduce the impact of complex national/international emergencies on public health. How to focus the research and decide on priority topics was challenging, given the nature of complex events. Using a type of structured brain-storming, the researchers identified the ongoing UK, European and international migration crisis as both complex and worthy of deeper research. To further focus the research, two representatives of forced migrant communities were invited to join the project team as patient and public (PPI) representatives. They attended regular project meetings, insightfully contributed to and advised on practical aspects of potential research areas. The representatives identified cultural obstacles and community needs and helped choose the final research study design, which was to interview forced migrants about their strategies to build emotional resilience and prevent mental illness. The representatives also helped design recruitment documents, and undertake recruitment and interviewer training. Many events with wide-ranging negative health impacts are notable for complexity: lack of predictability, non-linear feedback mechanisms and unexpected consequences. A multi-disciplinary research team was tasked with reducing the public health impacts from complex events, but without a pre-specified topic area or research design. This report describes using patient and public involvement within an adaptable but structured development process to set research objectives and aspects of implementation. An agile adaptive development approach, sometimes described as swarm , was used to identify possible research areas. Swarm is meant to quickly identify strengths and weaknesses of any candidate project, to accelerate early failure before resources are invested. When aspects of the European migration crisis were identified as a potential priority topic area, two representatives of forced migrant communities were recruited to explore possible research ideas. These representatives helped set the specific research objectives and advised on aspects of implementation, still within the swarm framework for project development. Over ten months, many research ideas were considered by the collaborative working group in a series of six group meetings, supplemented by email contact in between. Up to four possible research ideas were scrutinised at any one meeting, with a focus on identifying practical or desirable aspects of each proposed project. Interest settled on a study to solicit original data about successful strategies that forced migrants use to adapt to life in the UK, with an emphasis on successfully promoting resilience and minimizing emotional distress. "Success in resettlement" was identified to be a more novel theme than "barriers to adaption" research. A success approach encourages participation when individuals may find discussion of mental illness stigmatising. The patient representatives helped with design of patient-facing and interview training materials, interviewer training (mock interviews), and aspects of the recruitment. Using patient and public involvement (PPI) within an early failure development approach that itself arises from theory on complex adaptive systems, we successfully implemented a dynamic development process to determine research topic and study design. The PPI representatives were closely involved in setting research objectives and aspects of implementation.

Out of sight, out of mind? The inclusion and identification of people with intellectual disability in public health research.

PubMed

Brooker, Katie; van Dooren, Kate; Tseng, Chih-Han; McPherson, Lyn; Lennox, Nick; Ware, Robert

2015-07-01

Adults with intellectual disability experience substantial health inequities. Public health research aiming to improve the lives of this population group is needed. We sought to investigate the extent to which a sample of international public health research includes and identifies people with intellectual disability. In this systematic review, we examined a select number of public health journals to determine (1) how often people with intellectual disability are explicitly included in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies and (2) how the presence of intellectual disability is identified and reported. Among eligible articles in these selected public health journals, it was found that cohort studies passively exclude people with intellectual disability, while RCTs actively exclude this population. Most general population articles that explicitly identified people with intellectual disability did so through self-report or proxy report and databases. A more extensive and adequate evidence base relating to the health of this overlooked population group is needed. A useful first step would be for researchers specialising in intellectual disability to identify how we can best assist mainstream researchers to include and identify people with intellectual disability in their population-level studies. © Royal Society for Public Health 2014.

Analysis of South African graduate degrees in science education: 1930-2000

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laugksch, Rüdiger C.

2005-05-01

This analysis of research conducted by graduate students at South African universities over the last 70 years is an attempt to identify the foci of South African science education research. Appropriate graduate degrees were systematically identified by interrogating electronic databases and verifying details. Title and abstract were then used to assign keywords. Overall 23% and 77% of the 469 graduate degrees identified are doctoral and master's degrees, respectively. The activity of graduate work suggests that science education as a discipline was comparatively well established in South Africa by the 1980s, although 59% of all degrees were conferred between 1991 and 2000. Following the methodology of White [2001, in V. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (4th ed., pp. 457-471)]. Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association), trends in the relative frequency of keywords indicate that South African science education is broadly in line with worldwide trends in the discipline but that some differences exist. However, South African science education research appears to focus relatively more on attitudes, classrooms, curriculum issues, STS-related issues, and laboratories, and relatively less on assessment, reflection, teachers' or students' conceptions, and informal learning. Research on identified national priorities is being conducted, albeit with variable prevalence. Future opportunities in science education research lie in following a research agenda more closely matched to local contexts, and in the diversification of research focused largely on the secondary-tertiary interface.

2015 NIEHS/EPA Children’s Centers Grantees Meeting Agenda

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Meeting will enable Children’s Centers program researchers to present novel findings, discuss lessons learned, identify challenges, review methodologies as well as to identify collaborative opportunities for future research efforts between the Centers.

Study Identifies New Lymphoma Treatment Target

Cancer.gov

NCI researchers have identified new therapeutic targets for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Drugs that hit these targets are under clinical development and the researchers hope to begin testing them in clinical trials of patients with DLBCL.

Modelling Conditions and Health Care Processes in Electronic Health Records: An Application to Severe Mental Illness with the Clinical Practice Research Datalink

PubMed Central

Olier, Ivan; Springate, David A.; Ashcroft, Darren M.; Doran, Tim; Reeves, David; Planner, Claire; Reilly, Siobhan; Kontopantelis, Evangelos

2016-01-01

Background The use of Electronic Health Records databases for medical research has become mainstream. In the UK, increasing use of Primary Care Databases is largely driven by almost complete computerisation and uniform standards within the National Health Service. Electronic Health Records research often begins with the development of a list of clinical codes with which to identify cases with a specific condition. We present a methodology and accompanying Stata and R commands (pcdsearch/Rpcdsearch) to help researchers in this task. We present severe mental illness as an example. Methods We used the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, a UK Primary Care Database in which clinical information is largely organised using Read codes, a hierarchical clinical coding system. Pcdsearch is used to identify potentially relevant clinical codes and/or product codes from word-stubs and code-stubs suggested by clinicians. The returned code-lists are reviewed and codes relevant to the condition of interest are selected. The final code-list is then used to identify patients. Results We identified 270 Read codes linked to SMI and used them to identify cases in the database. We observed that our approach identified cases that would have been missed with a simpler approach using SMI registers defined within the UK Quality and Outcomes Framework. Conclusion We described a framework for researchers of Electronic Health Records databases, for identifying patients with a particular condition or matching certain clinical criteria. The method is invariant to coding system or database and can be used with SNOMED CT, ICD or other medical classification code-lists. PMID:26918439

Converging research needs across framework convention on tobacco control articles: making research relevant to global tobacco control practice and policy.

PubMed

Leischow, Scott J; Ayo-Yusuf, Olalekan; Backinger, Cathy L

2013-04-01

Much of the research used to support the ratification of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) was conducted in high-income countries or in highly controlled environments. Therefore, for the global tobacco control community to make informed decisions that will continue to effectively inform policy implementation, it is critical that the tobacco control community, policy makers, and funders have updated information on the state of the science as it pertains to provisions of the FCTC. Following the National Cancer Institute's process model used in identifying the research needs of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's relatively new tobacco law, a core team of scientists from the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco identified and commissioned internationally recognized scientific experts on the topics covered within the FCTC. These experts analyzed the relevant sections of the FCTC and identified critical gaps in research that is needed to inform policy and practice requirements of the FCTC. This paper summarizes the process and the common themes from the experts' recommendations about the research and related infrastructural needs. Research priorities in common across Articles include improving surveillance, fostering research communication/collaboration across organizations and across countries, and tracking tobacco industry activities. In addition, expanding research relevant to low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), was also identified as a priority, including identification of what existing research findings are transferable, what new country-specific data are needed, and the infrastructure needed to implement and disseminate research so as to inform policy in LMIC.

An extensible and successful method of identifying collaborators for National Library of Medicine informationist projects.

PubMed

Williams, Jeff D; Rambo, Neil H

2015-07-01

The New York University (NYU) Health Sciences Library used a new method to arrange in-depth discussions with basic science researchers. The objective was to identify collaborators for a new National Library of Medicine administrative supplement. The research took place at the NYU Health Sciences Library. Using the National Institutes of Health (NIH) RePORTER, forty-four researchers were identified and later contacted through individualized emails. Nine researchers responded to the email followed by six in-person or phone discussions. At the conclusion of this process, two researchers submitted applications for supplemental funding, and both of these applications were successful. This method confirmed these users could benefit from the skills and knowledge of health sciences librarians, but they are largely unaware of this.

Recognizing Risk and Vulnerability in Research Ethics: Imagining the "What Ifs?"

PubMed

Peter, Elizabeth; Friedland, Judith

2017-04-01

Research ethics committees (RECs) may misunderstand the vulnerability of participants, given their distance from the field. What RECs identify as the vulnerabilities that were not adequately recognized in protocols and how they attempt to protect the perceived vulnerability of participants and mitigate risks were examined using the response letters sent to researchers by three university-based RECs. Using a critical qualitative method informed by feminist ethics, we identified an overarching theme of recognizing and responding to cascading vulnerabilities and four subthemes: identifying vulnerable groups, recognizing potentially risky research, imagining the "what ifs," and mitigating perceived risks. An ethics approach that is up-close, as opposed to distant, is needed to foster closer relationships among participants, researchers, and RECs and to understand participant vulnerability and strength better.

Structural dynamics technology research in NASA: Perspective on future needs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

The perspective of a NASA ad hoc study group on future research needs in structural dynamics within the aerospace industry is presented. The common aspects of the design process across the industry are identified and the role of structural dynamics is established through a discussion of various design considerations having their basis in structural dynamics. The specific structural dynamics issues involved are identified and assessed as to their current technological status and trends. Projections of future requirements based on this assessment are made and areas of research to meet them are identified.

Understanding of research, genetics and genetic research in a rapid ethical assessment in north west Cameroon

PubMed Central

Kengne-Ouafo, Jonas A.; Millard, James D.; Nji, Theobald M.; Tantoh, William F.; Nyoh, Doris N.; Tendongfor, Nicholas; Enyong, Peter A.; Newport, Melanie J.; Davey, Gail; Wanji, Samuel

2016-01-01

Background There is limited assessment of whether research participants in low-income settings are afforded a full understanding of the meaning of medical research. There may also be particular issues with the understanding of genetic research. We used a rapid ethical assessment methodology to explore perceptions surrounding the meaning of research, genetics and genetic research in north west Cameroon. Methods Eleven focus group discussions (including 107 adults) and 72 in-depth interviews were conducted with various stakeholders in two health districts in north west Cameroon between February and April 2012. Results Most participants appreciated the role of research in generating knowledge and identified a difference between research and healthcare but gave varied explanations as to this difference. Most participants' understanding of genetics was limited to concepts of hereditary, with potential benefits limited to the level of the individual or family. Explanations based on supernatural beliefs were identified as a special issue but participants tended not to identify any other special risks with genetic research. Conclusion We demonstrated a variable level of understanding of research, genetics and genetic research, with implications for those carrying out genetic research in this and other low resource settings. Our study highlights the utility of rapid ethical assessment prior to complex or sensitive research. PMID:25969503

Collaborative research networks in health: a pragmatic scoping study for the development of an imaging network.

PubMed

Robinson, Tracy Elizabeth; Rankin, Nicole; Janssen, Anna; Mcgregor, Deborah; Grieve, Stuart; Shaw, Timothy

2015-12-09

Collaborative research networks are often touted as a solution for enhancing the translation of knowledge, but questions remain about how to evaluate their impact on health service delivery. This pragmatic scoping study explored the enabling factors for developing and supporting a collaborative imaging network in a metropolitan university in Australia. An advisory group was established to provide governance and to identify key informants and participants. Focus group discussions (n = 2) and semi-structured interviews (n = 22) were facilitated with representatives from a broad range of disciplines. In addition, a survey, a review of relevant websites (n = 15) and a broad review of the literature were undertaken to elicit information on collaborative research networks and perceived needs and factors that would support their involvement in a multi-disciplinary collaborative research network. Findings were de-identified and broad themes were identified. Participants identified human factors as having priority for developing and sustaining a collaborative research network. In particular, leadership, a shared vision and a communication plan that includes social media were identified as crucial for sustaining an imaging network in health research. It is important to develop metrics that map relationships between network members and the role that communication tools can contribute to this process. This study confirms that human factors remain significant across a range of collaborative endeavours. The use of focus group discussions, interviews, and literature and website reviews means we can now strongly recommend the primacy of human factors. More work is needed to identify how the network operates and what specific indicators or metrics help build the capacity of clinicians and scientists to participate in translational research.

Synthesizing Single-Case Research to Identify Evidence-Based Practices: Some Brief Reflections

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horner, Robert H.; Kratochwill, Thomas R.

2012-01-01

The purposes of this paper are to (a) propose an operational standard for defining a "practice," (b) encourage development of professional standards for visual and statistical analysis of single-case research, and (c) propose a standard for using single-case research results to identify practices that are "evidence-based." These topics are not new…

A Review of Practical Reasoning in Child and Youth Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ljungdalh, Anders Kruse

2016-01-01

The purpose of the review is to investigate various relations between the concepts of competence and participation found within child and youth research with the aim of identifying differences in practical reasoning of the various kinds of child research. The search identified 260 articles, and an in-depth analysis of 39 articles was conducted,…

Removing the College Involvement "Research Asterisk": Identifying and Rethinking Predictors of American Indian College Student Involvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garland, John L.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify campus environmental predictors of American Indian college student involvement. The American Indian research asterisk, or not including American Indian data, has prevailed over student development research for decades. As a result, student affairs professionals have been limited in their ability to develop…

The Contributions of Human Resource Development Research across Disciplines: A Citation and Content Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeung, Chang-Wook; Yoon, Hea Jun; Park, Sunyoung; Jo, Sung Jun

2011-01-01

The primary purpose of the current study is to identify how human resource development (HRD) research has contributed to the knowledge base across social science disciplines during the past two decades. We identified the top 20 Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) journal articles that have been most frequently cited in research articles…

Research on psychotherapy integration: building on the past, looking to the future.

PubMed

Castonguay, Louis G; Eubanks, Catherine F; Goldfried, Marvin R; Muran, J Christopher; Lutz, Wolfgang

2015-01-01

Integration has become an important and influential movement within psychotherapy practice, reflected by the fact that many treatment providers now identify as integrative. However, integration has not had as great an influence on psychotherapy research. The goal of this paper is to highlight the growing body of research on psychotherapy integration, and to identify future directions for research that may strengthen the integration movement as well as the field of psychotherapy as a whole. We first summarize the past 25 years of research on integration, with a focus on four approaches to integration: theoretical integration, technical eclectic, common factors, and assimilative integration. Next, we identify directions of research within these four areas that could strengthen and support integrative practice. We then propose ways in which the perspective of integrationists could contribute to psychotherapy research in the critical areas of harmful effects, therapist effects, practice-oriented research, and training. We end this paper by suggesting that a greater collaboration between integrationists and psychotherapy researchers will help to create a unified landscape of knowledge and action that will benefit all participants and advance the field.

Research design in end-of-life research: state of science.

PubMed

George, Linda K

2002-10-01

The volume of research on end-of-life care, death, and dying has exploded during the past decade. This article reviews the conceptual and methodological adequacy of end-of-life research to date, focusing on limitations of research to date and ways of improving future research. A systematic search was conducted to identify the base of end-of-life research. Approximately 400 empirical articles were identified and are the basis of this review. Although much has been learned from research to date, limitations in the knowledge base are substantial. The most fundamental problems identified are conceptual and include failure to define dying; neglect of the distinctions among quality of life, quality of death, and quality of end-of-life care. Methodologically, the single greatest problem is the lack of longitudinal studies that cover more than the time period immediately before death. Gaps in the research base include insufficient attention to psychological and spiritual issues, the prevalence of psychiatric disorder and the effectiveness of the treatment of such disorders among dying persons, provider and health system variables, social and cultural diversity, and the effects of comorbidity on trajectories of dying.

An anticipatory quality improvement process for curricular reform.

PubMed

Hollander, Harry; Loeser, Helen; Irby, David

2002-09-01

Over half of American medical schools are currently engaged in significant curricular reform. Traditionally, evaluation of the efficacy of educational changes has occurred well after the implementation of curricular reform, resulting in significant time elapsed before modification of goals and content can be accomplished. We were interested in establishing a process by which a new curriculum could be reviewed and refined before its actual introduction. The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine embarked upon a new curriculum for the class entering in September 2001. Two separate committees coordinated plans for curricular change. The Essential Core Steering Committee was responsible for the first two years of training, and the Integrated Clinical Steering Committee guided the development of the third-and fourth-year curriculum. Both groups operated under guidelines of curricular reform, established by the School's Committee on Curriculum and Educational Policy, that emphasized integration of basic, clinical, and social sciences; longitudinal inclusion of themes such as behavior, culture, and ethics; use of clinical cases in teaching; and inclusion of small-group and problem-based learning. In early 2001, the deans of education and curricular affairs appointed an ad hoc committee to examine the status of the first-year curriculum, which had been entirely reformulated into a series of new multidisciplinary block courses. This ad hoc committee was composed of students and clinical faculty members who had not been substantially involved in the detailed planning of the blocks. The charge to the committee was to critique the progress of individual courses, and the first year as a whole, in meeting the goals outlined above, and to make recommendations for improving the preparation of students for the clinical years. To accomplish these goals, the committee reviewed background planning documents; interviewed each course director using a standardized set of questions; and examined course schedules, cases, and detailed learning objectives for particular sessions. In July 2001, the committee reported back to the deans with specific recommendations for coordinating the block courses, and about the success in creating integration and the overall balance of topics students would learn. Specific recommendations included increasing the use of pediatric and geriatric cases across courses, creating a case database, developing explicit plans to relocate uncovered material in the four-year curriculum, and bolstering participation of clinical faculty during the first-year blocks. These recommendations were then presented to and endorsed by the Essential Core Steering Committee, which implemented an action plan prior to the September 2001 start date. This proactive approach to quality improvement added an evaluation point before the new curriculum was actually unveiled. The anticipatory planning process substantially aided the interdisciplinary developmental process, increased input into the first-year curriculum by clerkship directors, and identified problems that would have otherwise become apparent after implementation. We believe this model adds value to the curriculum planning process.

An appraisal of the quality of published qualitative dental research.

PubMed

Masood, Mohd; Thaliath, Ebin T; Bower, Elizabeth J; Newton, J Timothy

2011-06-01

To appraise the quality of published qualitative research in dentistry and identify aspects of quality, which require attention in future research. Qualitative research studies on dental topics were appraised using the critical appraisal skills programme (CASP) appraisal framework for qualitative research. The percentage of CASP criteria fully met during the assessment was used as an indication of the quality of each paper. Individual criteria were not weighted. Forty-three qualitative studies were identified for appraisal of which 48% had a dental public health focus. Deficiencies in detail of reporting, research design, methodological rigour, presentation of findings, reflexivity, credibility of findings and relevance of study were identified. Problems with quality were apparent irrespective of journal impact factor, although papers from low impact factor journals exhibited the most deficiencies. Journals with the highest impact factors published the least qualitative research. The quality of much of the qualitative research published on dental topics is mediocre. Qualitative methods are underutilized in oral health research. If quality guidelines such as the CASP framework are used in the context of a thorough understanding of qualitative research design and data analysis, they can promote good practice and the systematic assessment of qualitative research. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Computer Science Research at Langley

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Voigt, S. J. (Editor)

1982-01-01

A workshop was held at Langley Research Center, November 2-5, 1981, to highlight ongoing computer science research at Langley and to identify additional areas of research based upon the computer user requirements. A panel discussion was held in each of nine application areas, and these are summarized in the proceedings. Slides presented by the invited speakers are also included. A survey of scientific, business, data reduction, and microprocessor computer users helped identify areas of focus for the workshop. Several areas of computer science which are of most concern to the Langley computer users were identified during the workshop discussions. These include graphics, distributed processing, programmer support systems and tools, database management, and numerical methods.

How Researchers Define Vulnerable Populations in HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials

PubMed Central

Lo, Bernard; Strauss, Ronald P.; Eron, Joseph; Gifford, Allen L.

2010-01-01

In this study, we interviewed researchers, asking them to define vulnerable populations in HIV/AIDS clinical trials, and provide feedback on the federal regulations for three vulnerable populations. Interview data informed a conceptual framework, and were content analyzed to identify acceptability or disagreement with the regulations. Beginning with several characteristics of vulnerable enrollees identified by researchers, the conceptual framework illustrates possible scenarios of how enrollees could be considered vulnerable in clinical research. Content analysis identified barriers affecting HIV/AIDS researchers’ ability to conduct clinical trials with pregnant women, prisoners, and children, for which the regulations specify additional protections. This study challenges current thinking about federal regulations’ group-based approach to defining vulnerable populations. PMID:20721614

Public priorities for osteoporosis and fracture research: results from a general population survey.

PubMed

Paskins, Zoe; Jinks, Clare; Mahmood, Waheed; Jayakumar, Prakash; Sangan, Caroline B; Belcher, John; Gwilym, Stephen

2017-12-01

This is the first national study of public and patient research priorities in osteoporosis and fracture. We have identified new research areas of importance to members of the public, particularly 'access to information from health professionals'. The findings are being incorporated into the research strategy of the National Osteoporosis Society. This study aimed to prioritise, with patients and public members, research topics for the osteoporosis research agenda. An e-survey to identify topics for research was co-designed with patient representatives. A link to the e-survey was disseminated to supporters of the UK National Osteoporosis Society (NOS) in a monthly e-newsletter. Responders were asked to indicate their top priority for research across four topics (understanding and preventing osteoporosis, living with osteoporosis, treating osteoporosis and treating fractures) and their top three items within each topic. Descriptive statistics were used to describe demographics and item ranking. A latent class analysis was applied to identify a substantive number of clusters with different combinations of binary responses. One thousand one hundred eighty-eight (7.4%) respondents completed the e-survey. The top three items overall were 'Having easy access to advice and information from health professionals' (63.8%), 'Understanding further the safety and benefit of osteoporosis drug treatments' (49.9%) and 'Identifying the condition early by screening' (49.2%). Latent class analysis revealed distinct clusters of responses within each topic including primary care management and self-management. Those without a history of prior fracture or aged under 70 were more likely to rate items within the cluster of self-management as important (21.0 vs 12.9 and 19.8 vs 13.3%, respectively). This is the first study of public research priorities in osteoporosis and has identified new research areas of importance to members of the public including access to information. The findings are being incorporated into the research strategy of the National Osteoporosis Society.

Agriculture for improved nutrition: the current research landscape.

PubMed

Turner, Rachel; Hawkes, Corinna; Jeff, Waage; Ferguson, Elaine; Haseen, Farhana; Homans, Hilary; Hussein, Julia; Johnston, Deborah; Marais, Debbi; McNeill, Geraldine; Shankar, Bhavani

2013-12-01

Concern about food security and its effect on persistent undernutrition has increased interest in how agriculture could be used to improve nutritional outcomes in developing countries. Yet the evidence base for the impact of agricultural interventions targeted at improved nutrition is currently poor. To map the extent and nature of current and planned research on agriculture for improved nutrition in order to identify gaps where more research might be useful. The research, which was conducted from April to August 2012, involved developing a conceptual framework linking agriculture and nutrition, identifying relevant research projects and programs, devising and populating a "template" with details of the research projects in relation to the conceptual framework, classifying the projects, and conducting a gap analysis. The study identified a large number of research projects covering a broad range of themes and topics. There was a strong geographic focus on sub-Saharan Africa, and many studies were explicitly concerned with nutritional impacts on women and children. Although the study revealed a diverse and growing body of research, it also identified research gaps. Few projects consider the entire evidence chain linking agricultural input or practice to nutritional outcomes. There is comparatively little current research on indirect effects of agriculture on nutrition, or the effect of policies or governance, rather than technical interventions. Most research is focused on undernutrition and small farmer households, and few studies target consumers generally, urban populations, or nutrition-related non-communicable diseases. There is very little work on the cost-effectiveness of agricultural interventions. On the basis of these findings, we make suggestions for research investment and for broader engagement of researchers and disciplines in developing approaches to design and evaluate agricultural programs for improved nutrition.

Workshop report: US-China workshop on smart structures and smart systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomizuka, Masayoshi

2006-03-01

A Joint U.S.-China workshop on the topic of Integrated Sensing Systems, Mechatronics and Smart Structures Technologies was held in Jinan, China in October 2005 to evaluate the current status of research and education in the topic areas in the United States and China, to identify critical and strategic research and educational issues of mutual interest, and to identify joint research projects and potential research teams for collaborative research activities. The workshop included a series of presentations by leading researchers and educators from the United States and China and group discussions on the workshop objectives.

A framework for stakeholder identification in concept mapping and health research: a novel process and its application to older adult mobility and the built environment.

PubMed

Schiller, Claire; Winters, Meghan; Hanson, Heather M; Ashe, Maureen C

2013-05-02

Stakeholders, as originally defined in theory, are groups or individual who can affect or are affected by an issue. Stakeholders are an important source of information in health research, providing critical perspectives and new insights on the complex determinants of health. The intersection of built and social environments with older adult mobility is an area of research that is fundamentally interdisciplinary and would benefit from a better understanding of stakeholder perspectives. Although a rich body of literature surrounds stakeholder theory, a systematic process for identifying health stakeholders in practice does not exist. This paper presents a framework of stakeholders related to older adult mobility and the built environment, and further outlines a process for systematically identifying stakeholders that can be applied in other health contexts, with a particular emphasis on concept mapping research. Informed by gaps in the relevant literature we developed a framework for identifying and categorizing health stakeholders. The framework was created through a novel iterative process of stakeholder identification and categorization. The development entailed a literature search to identify stakeholder categories, representation of identified stakeholders in a visual chart, and correspondence with expert informants to obtain practice-based insight. The three-step, iterative creation process progressed from identifying stakeholder categories, to identifying specific stakeholder groups and soliciting feedback from expert informants. The result was a stakeholder framework comprised of seven categories with detailed sub-groups. The main categories of stakeholders were, (1) the Public, (2) Policy makers and governments, (3) Research community, (4) Practitioners and professionals, (5) Health and social service providers, (6) Civil society organizations, and (7) Private business. Stakeholders related to older adult mobility and the built environment span many disciplines and realms of practice. Researchers studying this issue may use the detailed stakeholder framework process we present to identify participants for future projects. Health researchers pursuing stakeholder-based projects in other contexts are encouraged to incorporate this process of stakeholder identification and categorization to ensure systematic consideration of relevant perspectives in their work.

A framework for stakeholder identification in concept mapping and health research: a novel process and its application to older adult mobility and the built environment

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Stakeholders, as originally defined in theory, are groups or individual who can affect or are affected by an issue. Stakeholders are an important source of information in health research, providing critical perspectives and new insights on the complex determinants of health. The intersection of built and social environments with older adult mobility is an area of research that is fundamentally interdisciplinary and would benefit from a better understanding of stakeholder perspectives. Although a rich body of literature surrounds stakeholder theory, a systematic process for identifying health stakeholders in practice does not exist. This paper presents a framework of stakeholders related to older adult mobility and the built environment, and further outlines a process for systematically identifying stakeholders that can be applied in other health contexts, with a particular emphasis on concept mapping research. Methods Informed by gaps in the relevant literature we developed a framework for identifying and categorizing health stakeholders. The framework was created through a novel iterative process of stakeholder identification and categorization. The development entailed a literature search to identify stakeholder categories, representation of identified stakeholders in a visual chart, and correspondence with expert informants to obtain practice-based insight. Results The three-step, iterative creation process progressed from identifying stakeholder categories, to identifying specific stakeholder groups and soliciting feedback from expert informants. The result was a stakeholder framework comprised of seven categories with detailed sub-groups. The main categories of stakeholders were, (1) the Public, (2) Policy makers and governments, (3) Research community, (4) Practitioners and professionals, (5) Health and social service providers, (6) Civil society organizations, and (7) Private business. Conclusions Stakeholders related to older adult mobility and the built environment span many disciplines and realms of practice. Researchers studying this issue may use the detailed stakeholder framework process we present to identify participants for future projects. Health researchers pursuing stakeholder-based projects in other contexts are encouraged to incorporate this process of stakeholder identification and categorization to ensure systematic consideration of relevant perspectives in their work. PMID:23639179

Trends in health sciences library and information science research: an analysis of research publications in the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association and Journal of the Medical Library Association from 1991 to 2007*

PubMed Central

Gore, Sally A.; Nordberg, Judith M.; Palmer, Lisa A.

2009-01-01

Objective: This study analyzed trends in research activity as represented in the published research in the leading peer-reviewed professional journal for health sciences librarianship. Methodology: Research articles were identified from the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association and Journal of the Medical Library Association (1991–2007). Using content analysis and bibliometric techniques, data were collected for each article on the (1) subject, (2) research method, (3) analytical technique used, (4) number of authors, (5) number of citations, (6) first author affiliation, and (7) funding source. The results were compared to a previous study, covering the period 1966 to 1990, to identify changes over time. Results: Of the 930 articles examined, 474 (51%) were identified as research articles. Survey (n = 174, 37.1%) was the most common methodology employed, quantitative descriptive statistics (n = 298, 63.5%) the most used analytical technique, and applied topics (n = 332, 70%) the most common type of subject studied. The majority of first authors were associated with an academic health sciences library (n = 264, 55.7%). Only 27.4% (n = 130) of studies identified a funding source. Conclusion: This study's findings demonstrate that progress is being made in health sciences librarianship research. There is, however, room for improvement in terms of research methodologies used, proportion of applied versus theoretical research, and elimination of barriers to conducting research for practicing librarians. PMID:19626146

Research Priorities in Mental Health, Justice, and Safety: A Multidisciplinary Stakeholder Report

PubMed Central

Crocker, Anne G.; Nicholls, Tonia L.; Seto, Michael C.; Roy, Laurence; Leclair, Marichelle C.; Brink, Johann; Simpson, Alexander I. F.; Côté, Gilles

2015-01-01

This paper is based on the report following the National Research Agenda Meeting on Mental Health, Justice, and Safety held in Montreal on November 19, 2014, which convened academics; health, social, and legal professionals; and people with lived experience of mental illness from across Canada. The goal was to identify research priorities addressing relevant knowledge gaps and research strategies that can translate into public policy action and improvements in evidence-based services. Participants identified key challenges: (1) inadequate identification and response to needs by civil mental health services and frontline law enforcement, (2) limited specialized resources in forensic and correctional settings, (3) fragmented care and gaps between systems, (4) limited resources for adequate community reintegration, and (5) poor knowledge transfer strategies as obstacles to evidence-based policies. Knowledge gaps were identified in epidemiology and risk reduction, frontline training and programs, forensic and correctional practices, organizations and institutions, knowledge transfer, and rehabilitation. Finally, participants identified potential sources of support to conduct real time research with regard to data collection and sharing. The findings represent a roadmap for how forensic mental health systems can best proceed to address current challenges through research and practice initiatives, drawing from lived, clinical and research experiences of a multidisciplinary group of experts. PMID:26681928

Quantity, quality, and support for research in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: An organizational assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ratz, Joan M.; Ponds, Phadrea D.; Neilson, Jennifer R.; Liverca, Joyce; Lamb, Berton Lee

2005-01-01

To develop a clearer picture of the nature, extent and quality of management support available for conducting research within the FWS, we completed investigations to identify organizational units within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) that conduct research as a significant portion of their mission; identify positions in the FWS that include, in whole or in part, a component of scientific research; and assess the attitudes of employees and managers about the obstacles and opportunities for scientific research existing within the FWS.

A Systematic Review of Conceptual Models and Methods Used in Research on Educational Leadership and Management in Arab Societies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hammad, Waheed; Hallinger, Philip

2017-01-01

This review of research analyzed topics, conceptual models and research methods employed in 62 EDLM studies from Arab societies published between 2000 and 2016. Systematic review methods were used to identify relevant studies published in nine core international EDLM journals. Quantitative analyses identified patterns within this set of Arab…

A Systematic Review of Research on Educational Leadership in Hong Kong, 1995-2014

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Szeto, Elson; Lee, Theodore Tai Hoi; Hallinger, Philip

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a research synthesis of substantive findings drawn from studies of educational leadership and management in Hong Kong between 1995 and 2014. The goal of the research synthesis was to identify and elaborate on key trends identified by scholars who studied educational leadership in Hong Kong over the…

U.S. Air Force Research Technology Area Plan, FY 1989

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-09-01

Continue on reverse if necessaty and identify by block number) FIELD GROUP SUB-GROUP 19. ABSTRACT (Continue on reverse if necessary and identify by...Armstrong Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory (AAMRL) USAF School of Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory (USAFSAM) Rome Air Development Center...development of advanced weapon concepts and advance the state of the art in systems development, electromagnetic countermeasures, nuclear weapons

The development of human factors research objectives for civil aviation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Post, T. J.

1970-01-01

Human factors research programs which would support civil aviation and be suitable for accomplishment by NASA research centers are identified. Aviation problems formed the basis for the research program recommendations and, accordingly, problems were identified, ranked and briefly defined in an informal report to the project monitor and other cognizant NASA personnel. The sources for this problem foundation were literature reviews and extensive interviews with NASA and non-NASA personnel. An overview of these findings is presented.

Pediatric Critical Care Nursing Research Priorities-Initiating International Dialogue.

PubMed

Tume, Lyvonne N; Coetzee, Minette; Dryden-Palmer, Karen; Hickey, Patricia A; Kinney, Sharon; Latour, Jos M; Pedreira, Mavilde L G; Sefton, Gerri R; Sorce, Lauren; Curley, Martha A Q

2015-07-01

To identify and prioritize research questions of concern to the practice of pediatric critical care nursing practice. One-day consensus conference. By using a conceptual framework by Benner et al describing domains of practice in critical care nursing, nine international nurse researchers presented state-of-the-art lectures. Each identified knowledge gaps in their assigned practice domain and then poised three research questions to fill that gap. Then, meeting participants prioritized the proposed research questions using an interactive multivoting process. Seventh World Congress on Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care in Istanbul, Turkey. Pediatric critical care nurses and nurse scientists attending the open consensus meeting. Systematic review, gap analysis, and interactive multivoting. The participants prioritized 27 nursing research questions in nine content domains. The top four research questions were 1) identifying nursing interventions that directly impact the child and family's experience during the withdrawal of life support, 2) evaluating the long-term psychosocial impact of a child's critical illness on family outcomes, 3) articulating core nursing competencies that prevent unstable situations from deteriorating into crises, and 4) describing the level of nursing education and experience in pediatric critical care that has a protective effect on the mortality and morbidity of critically ill children. The consensus meeting was effective in organizing pediatric critical care nursing knowledge, identifying knowledge gaps and in prioritizing nursing research initiatives that could be used to advance nursing science across world regions.

Identifying primary care patient safety research priorities in the UK: a James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership

PubMed Central

Stocks, Susan Jill; Alam, Rahul; Taylor, Sian; Rolfe, Carly; Glover, Steven William; Whitcombe, Joanne; Campbell, Stephen M

2018-01-01

Objectives To identify the top 10 unanswered research questions for primary care patient safety research. Design A modified nominal group technique. Setting UK. Participants Anyone with experience of primary care including: patients, carers and healthcare professionals. 341 patients and 86 healthcare professionals submitted questions. Main outcomes A top 10, and top 30, future research questions for primary care patient safety. Results 443 research questions were submitted by 341 patients and 86 healthcare professionals, through a national survey. After checking for relevance and rephrasing, a total of 173 questions were collated into themes. The themes were largely focused on communication, team and system working, interfaces across primary and secondary care, medication, self-management support and technology. The questions were then prioritised through a national survey, the top 30 questions were taken forward to the final prioritisation workshop. The top 10 research questions focused on the most vulnerable in society, holistic whole-person care, safer communication and coordination between care providers, work intensity, continuity of care, suicide risk, complex care at home and confidentiality. Conclusions This study was the first national prioritisation exercise to identify patient and healthcare professional priorities for primary care patient safety research. The research priorities identified a range of important gaps in the existing evidence to inform everyday practice to address primary care patient safety. PMID:29490970

Pain research using Veterans Health Administration electronic and administrative data sources.

PubMed

Abel, Erica A; Brandt, Cynthia A; Czlapinski, Rebecca; Goulet, Joseph L

2016-01-01

Health services researchers are using Veterans Health Administration (VHA) electronic health record (EHR) data sources to examine the prevalence, treatment, and outcomes of pain among Veterans in VHA care. Little guidance currently exists on using these data; thus, findings may vary depending on the methods, data sources, and definitions used. We sought to identify current practices in order to provide guidance to future pain researchers. We conducted an anonymous survey of VHA-affiliated researchers participating in a monthly national pain research teleconference. Thirty-two researchers (89%) responded: 75% conducted pain-focused research, 78% used pain intensity numeric rating screening scale (NRS) scores to identify pain, 41% used International Classification of Diseases-9th Revision codes, and 57% distinguished between chronic and acute pain using either NRS scores or pharmacy data. The NRS and pharmacy data were rated as the most valid pain data sources. Of respondents, 48% reported the EHR data sources were adequate for pain research, while 45% had published peer-reviewed articles based on the data. Despite limitations, VHA researchers are increasingly using EHR data for pain research, and several common methods were identified. More information on the performance characteristics of these data sources and definitions is needed.

Understanding factors associated with the translation of cardiovascular research: a multinational case study approach

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Funders of health research increasingly seek to understand how best to allocate resources in order to achieve maximum value from their funding. We built an international consortium and developed a multinational case study approach to assess benefits arising from health research. We used that to facilitate analysis of factors in the production of research that might be associated with translating research findings into wider impacts, and the complexities involved. Methods We built on the Payback Framework and expanded its application through conducting co-ordinated case studies on the payback from cardiovascular and stroke research in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. We selected a stratified random sample of projects from leading medical research funders. We devised a series of innovative steps to: minimize the effect of researcher bias; rate the level of impacts identified in the case studies; and interrogate case study narratives to identify factors that correlated with achieving high or low levels of impact. Results Twenty-nine detailed case studies produced many and diverse impacts. Over the 15 to 20 years examined, basic biomedical research has a greater impact than clinical research in terms of academic impacts such as knowledge production and research capacity building. Clinical research has greater levels of wider impact on health policies, practice, and generating health gains. There was no correlation between knowledge production and wider impacts. We identified various factors associated with high impact. Interaction between researchers and practitioners and the public is associated with achieving high academic impact and translation into wider impacts, as is basic research conducted with a clinical focus. Strategic thinking by clinical researchers, in terms of thinking through pathways by which research could potentially be translated into practice, is associated with high wider impact. Finally, we identified the complexity of factors behind research translation that can arise in a single case. Conclusions We can systematically assess research impacts and use the findings to promote translation. Research funders can justify funding research of diverse types, but they should not assume academic impacts are proxies for wider impacts. They should encourage researchers to consider pathways towards impact and engage potential research users in research processes. PMID:24755187

Understanding factors associated with the translation of cardiovascular research: a multinational case study approach.

PubMed

Wooding, Steven; Hanney, Stephen R; Pollitt, Alexandra; Grant, Jonathan; Buxton, Martin J

2014-04-21

Funders of health research increasingly seek to understand how best to allocate resources in order to achieve maximum value from their funding. We built an international consortium and developed a multinational case study approach to assess benefits arising from health research. We used that to facilitate analysis of factors in the production of research that might be associated with translating research findings into wider impacts, and the complexities involved. We built on the Payback Framework and expanded its application through conducting co-ordinated case studies on the payback from cardiovascular and stroke research in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. We selected a stratified random sample of projects from leading medical research funders. We devised a series of innovative steps to: minimize the effect of researcher bias; rate the level of impacts identified in the case studies; and interrogate case study narratives to identify factors that correlated with achieving high or low levels of impact. Twenty-nine detailed case studies produced many and diverse impacts. Over the 15 to 20 years examined, basic biomedical research has a greater impact than clinical research in terms of academic impacts such as knowledge production and research capacity building. Clinical research has greater levels of wider impact on health policies, practice, and generating health gains. There was no correlation between knowledge production and wider impacts. We identified various factors associated with high impact. Interaction between researchers and practitioners and the public is associated with achieving high academic impact and translation into wider impacts, as is basic research conducted with a clinical focus. Strategic thinking by clinical researchers, in terms of thinking through pathways by which research could potentially be translated into practice, is associated with high wider impact. Finally, we identified the complexity of factors behind research translation that can arise in a single case. We can systematically assess research impacts and use the findings to promote translation. Research funders can justify funding research of diverse types, but they should not assume academic impacts are proxies for wider impacts. They should encourage researchers to consider pathways towards impact and engage potential research users in research processes.

Life After Research Misconduct.

PubMed

Galbraith, Kyle L

2017-02-01

Research misconduct is a serious violation of a scientific community's ethical standards. Scientists who commit research misconduct typically face corrective actions from employers and funding agencies, as well as significant professional stigma. Unfortunately, there is little systematic data about the post-misconduct career of these guilty parties. Through a review of Office of Research Integrity (ORI) case summaries, I identified a pool of 284 researchers who engaged in research misconduct and were subject to ORI corrective actions. To assess the prevalence of post-misconduct research activities for these scientists, I searched publicly available databases and online resources for evidence of post-misconduct research activities (such as publications and federal research support). The data demonstrate that researchers often receive second chances as researchers, with indicators of post-misconduct research activities identified for 134 (47.18%) of the offending researchers. In addition, those researchers have received more than US$123 million in federal support for their post-misconduct research efforts.

Cross-Cultural Barriers to Effective Communication in Aviation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Orasanu, Judith; Davison, Jeannie; Shafto, Michael G. (Technical Monitor)

1995-01-01

Recent research on communication and performance in airline flight crews has led to a concept of shared mental models that is associated with effective, efficient team coordination in problem solving and decision making situations. Elements that characterize efficient communication have been identified. This research, however, was based strictly on US crews. More recent studies supported by NASA have identified cultural factors that influence communication among team members who vary in their status and roles. Research is just beginning to identify commonalities and culturally distinct strategies for accomplishing joint tasks. ASRS incident reports have been analyzed to identify language barriers in flight that have safety consequences. Implications of these concepts and findings for multi-cultural command and control will be explored.

An extensible and successful method of identifying collaborators for National Library of Medicine informationist projects

PubMed Central

Williams, Jeff D.; Rambo, Neil H.

2015-01-01

Question/Purpose The New York University (NYU) Health Sciences Library used a new method to arrange in-depth discussions with basic science researchers. The objective was to identify collaborators for a new National Library of Medicine administrative supplement. Setting The research took place at the NYU Health Sciences Library. Methods Using the National Institutes of Health (NIH) RePORTER, forty-four researchers were identified and later contacted through individualized emails. Results Nine researchers responded to the email followed by six in-person or phone discussions. At the conclusion of this process, two researchers submitted applications for supplemental funding, and both of these applications were successful. Conclusions This method confirmed these users could benefit from the skills and knowledge of health sciences librarians, but they are largely unaware of this. PMID:26213507

Mixed methods in psychotherapy research: A review of method(ology) integration in psychotherapy science.

PubMed

Bartholomew, Theodore T; Lockard, Allison J

2018-06-13

Mixed methods can foster depth and breadth in psychological research. However, its use remains in development in psychotherapy research. Our purpose was to review the use of mixed methods in psychotherapy research. Thirty-one studies were identified via the PRISMA systematic review method. Using Creswell & Plano Clark's typologies to identify design characteristics, we assessed each study for rigor and how each used mixed methods. Key features of mixed methods designs and these common patterns were identified: (a) integration of clients' perceptions via mixing; (b) understanding group psychotherapy; (c) integrating methods with cases and small samples; (d) analyzing clinical data as qualitative data; and (e) exploring cultural identities in psychotherapy through mixed methods. The review is discussed with respect to the value of integrating multiple data in single studies to enhance psychotherapy research. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Mapping human dimensions of climate change research in the Canadian Arctic.

PubMed

Ford, James D; Bolton, Kenyon; Shirley, Jamal; Pearce, Tristan; Tremblay, Martin; Westlake, Michael

2012-12-01

This study maps current understanding and research trends on the human dimensions of climate change (HDCC) in the eastern and central Canadian Arctic. Developing a systematic literature review methodology, 117 peer reviewed articles are identified and examined using quantitative and qualitative methods. The research highlights the rapid expansion of HDCC studies over the last decade. Early scholarship was dominated by work documenting Inuit observations of climate change, with research employing vulnerability concepts and terminology now common. Adaptation studies which seek to identify and evaluate opportunities to reduce vulnerability to climate change and take advantage of new opportunities remain in their infancy. Over the last 5 years there has been an increase social science-led research, with many studies employing key principles of community-based research. We currently have baseline understanding of climate change impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability in the region, but key gaps are evident. Future research needs to target significant geographic disparities in understanding, consider risks and opportunities posed by climate change outside of the subsistence hunting sector, complement case study research with regional analyses, and focus on identifying and characterizing sustainable and feasible adaptation interventions.

Setting research priorities for patients on or nearing dialysis.

PubMed

Manns, Braden; Hemmelgarn, Brenda; Lillie, Erin; Dip, Sally Crowe P G; Cyr, Annette; Gladish, Michael; Large, Claire; Silverman, Howard; Toth, Brenda; Wolfs, Wim; Laupacis, Andreas

2014-10-07

With increasing emphasis among health care providers and funders on patient-centered care, it follows that patients and their caregivers should be included when priorities for research are being established. This study sought to identify the most important unanswered questions about the management of kidney failure from the perspective of adult patients on or nearing dialysis, their caregivers, and the health care professionals who care for these patients. Research uncertainties were identified through a national Canadian survey of adult patients on or nearing dialysis, their caregivers, and health care professionals. Uncertainties were refined by a steering committee that included patients, caregivers, researchers, and clinicians to assemble a short-list of the top 30 uncertainties. Thirty-four people (11 patients; five caregivers; eight physicians; six nurses; and one social worker, pharmacist, physiotherapist, and dietitian each) from across Canada subsequently participated in a workshop to determine the top 10 research questions. In total, 1570 usable research uncertainties were received from 317 respondents to the survey. Among these, 259 unique uncertainties were identified; after ranking, these were reduced to a short-list of 30 uncertainties. During the in-person workshop, the top 10 research uncertainties were identified, which included questions about enhanced communication among patients and providers, dialysis modality options, itching, access to kidney transplantation, heart health, dietary restrictions, depression, and vascular access. These can be used alongside the results of other research priority-setting exercises to guide researchers in designing future studies and inform health care funders. Copyright © 2014 by the American Society of Nephrology.

Setting Research Priorities for Patients on or Nearing Dialysis

PubMed Central

Hemmelgarn, Brenda; Lillie, Erin; Dip, Sally Crowe P.G.; Cyr, Annette; Gladish, Michael; Large, Claire; Silverman, Howard; Toth, Brenda; Wolfs, Wim; Laupacis, Andreas

2014-01-01

With increasing emphasis among health care providers and funders on patient-centered care, it follows that patients and their caregivers should be included when priorities for research are being established. This study sought to identify the most important unanswered questions about the management of kidney failure from the perspective of adult patients on or nearing dialysis, their caregivers, and the health care professionals who care for these patients. Research uncertainties were identified through a national Canadian survey of adult patients on or nearing dialysis, their caregivers, and health care professionals. Uncertainties were refined by a steering committee that included patients, caregivers, researchers, and clinicians to assemble a short-list of the top 30 uncertainties. Thirty-four people (11 patients; five caregivers; eight physicians; six nurses; and one social worker, pharmacist, physiotherapist, and dietitian each) from across Canada subsequently participated in a workshop to determine the top 10 research questions. In total, 1570 usable research uncertainties were received from 317 respondents to the survey. Among these, 259 unique uncertainties were identified; after ranking, these were reduced to a short-list of 30 uncertainties. During the in-person workshop, the top 10 research uncertainties were identified, which included questions about enhanced communication among patients and providers, dialysis modality options, itching, access to kidney transplantation, heart health, dietary restrictions, depression, and vascular access. These can be used alongside the results of other research priority–setting exercises to guide researchers in designing future studies and inform health care funders. PMID:24832095

Measuring research impact in Australia's medical research institutes: a scoping literature review of the objectives for and an assessment of the capabilities of research impact assessment frameworks.

PubMed

Deeming, Simon; Searles, Andrew; Reeves, Penny; Nilsson, Michael

2017-03-21

Realising the economic potential of research institutions, including medical research institutes, represents a policy imperative for many Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development nations. The assessment of research impact has consequently drawn increasing attention. Research impact assessment frameworks (RIAFs) provide a structure to assess research translation, but minimal research has examined whether alternative RIAFs realise the intended policy outcomes. This paper examines the objectives presented for RIAFs in light of economic imperatives to justify ongoing support for health and medical research investment, leverage productivity via commercialisation and outcome-efficiency gains in health systems, and ensure that translation and impact considerations are embedded into the research process. This paper sought to list the stated objectives for RIAFs, to identify existing frameworks and to evaluate whether the identified frameworks possessed the capabilities necessary to address the specified objectives. A scoping review of the literature to identify objectives specified for RIAFs, inform upon descriptive criteria for each objective and identify existing RIAFs. Criteria were derived for each objective. The capability for the existing RIAFs to realise the alternative objectives was evaluated based upon these criteria. The collated objectives for RIAFs included accountability (top-down), transparency/accountability (bottom-up), advocacy, steering, value for money, management/learning and feedback/allocation, prospective orientation, and speed of translation. Of the 25 RIAFs identified, most satisfied objectives such as accountability and advocacy, which are largely sufficient for the first economic imperative to justify research investment. The frameworks primarily designed to optimise the speed of translation or enable the prospective orientation of research possessed qualities most likely to optimise the productive outcomes from research. However, the results show that few frameworks met the criteria for these objectives. It is imperative that the objective(s) for an assessment framework are explicit and that RIAFs are designed to realise these objectives. If the objectives include the capability to pro-actively drive productive research impacts, the potential for prospective orientation and a focus upon the speed of translation merits prioritisation. Frameworks designed to optimise research translation and impact, rather than simply assess impact, offer greater promise to contribute to the economic imperatives compelling their implementation.

Research Options for Controlling Zoonotic Disease in India, 2010–2015

PubMed Central

Sekar, Nitin; Shah, Naman K.; Abbas, Syed Shahid; Kakkar, Manish

2011-01-01

Background Zoonotic infections pose a significant public health challenge for low- and middle-income countries and have traditionally been a neglected area of research. The Roadmap to Combat Zoonoses in India (RCZI) initiative conducted an exercise to systematically identify and prioritize research options needed to control zoonoses in India. Methods and Findings Priority setting methods developed by the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative were adapted for the diversity of sectors, disciplines, diseases and populations relevant for zoonoses in India. A multidisciplinary group of experts identified priority zoonotic diseases and knowledge gaps and proposed research options to address key knowledge gaps within the next five years. Each option was scored using predefined criteria by another group of experts. The scores were weighted using relative ranks among the criteria based upon the feedback of a larger reference group. We categorized each research option by type of research, disease targeted, factorials, and level of collaboration required. We analysed the research options by tabulating them along these categories. Seventeen experts generated four universal research themes and 103 specific research options, the majority of which required a high to medium level of collaboration across sectors. Research options designated as pertaining to ‘social, political and economic’ factorials predominated and scored higher than options focussing on ecological, genetic and biological, or environmental factors. Research options related to ‘health policy and systems’ scored highest while those related to ‘research for development of new interventions’ scored the lowest. Conclusions We methodically identified research themes and specific research options incorporating perspectives of a diverse group of stakeholders. These outputs reflect the diverse nature of challenges posed by zoonoses and should be acceptable across diseases, disciplines, and sectors. The identified research options capture the need for ‘actionable research’ for advancing the prevention and control of zoonoses in India. PMID:21364879

A Model for Data Citation in Astronomical Research Using Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Novacescu, Jenny; Peek, Joshua E. G.; Weissman, Sarah; Fleming, Scott W.; Levay, Karen; Fraser, Elizabeth

2018-05-01

Standardizing and incentivizing the use of digital object identifiers (DOIs) to aggregate and identify both data analyzed and data generated by a research project will advance the field of astronomy to match best practices in other research fields like geoscience and medicine. An increase in the use of DOIs will prepare the discipline for changing expectations among funding agencies and publishers, who increasingly expect accurate and thorough data citation to accompany scientific outputs. The use of DOIs ensures a robust, sustainable, and interoperable approach to data citation in which due credit is given to the researchers and institutions who produce and maintain the primary data. We describe in this work the advantages of DOIs for data citation and best practices for integrating a DOI service in an astronomical archive. We report on a pilot project carried out in collaboration with AAS journals. During the course of the 1.5-year long pilot, over 75% of submitting authors opted to use the integrated DOI service to clearly identify data analyzed during their research project when prompted at the time of paper submission.

National Priorities: Transdisciplinary Research into Detecting and Controlling Lead in Drinking Water

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA seeks applications for research on identifying communities at high risk of adverse health effects of lead in drinking water, identifying opportunities to mitigate these risks, conduct efforts to inform interested parties of these risks & opportunities.

Florida Department of Transportation peer exchange, September 24 - 27, 2007.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-09-01

The theme of this Peer Exchange was to identify research opportunities through visioning. : FDOT implemented a new process for identifying research needs which called for a statewide : meeting of transportation experts from both FDOT and the state un...

Relationship of Enlistment Intentions to Enlistment in Active Duty Services

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-09-01

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Key Stakeholders' Perceptions of Motivators for Research Participation Among Individuals Who Are Incarcerated.

PubMed

Hanson, Bridget L; Faulkner, Sherilyn A; Brems, Christiane; Corey, Staci L; Eldridge, Gloria D; Johnson, Mark E

2015-10-01

Understanding motivations of research participants is crucial for developing ethical research protocols, especially for research with vulnerable populations. Through interviews with 92 institutional review board members, prison administrators, research ethicists, and researchers, we explored key stakeholders' perceptions of what motivates incarcerated individuals to participate in research. Primary motivators identified were a desire to contribute to society, gaining knowledge and health care, acquiring incentives, and obtaining social support. The potential for undue influence or coercion were also identified as motivators. These results highlight the need for careful analysis of what motivates incarcerated individuals to participate in research as part of developing or reviewing ethically permissible and responsible research protocols. Future research should expand this line of inquiry to directly include perspectives of incarcerated individuals. © The Author(s) 2015.

Reporting Guidelines for Survey Research: An Analysis of Published Guidance and Reporting Practices

PubMed Central

Bennett, Carol; Khangura, Sara; Brehaut, Jamie C.; Graham, Ian D.; Moher, David; Potter, Beth K.; M. Grimshaw, Jeremy

2011-01-01

Background Research needs to be reported transparently so readers can critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of the design, conduct, and analysis of studies. Reporting guidelines have been developed to inform reporting for a variety of study designs. The objective of this study was to identify whether there is a need to develop a reporting guideline for survey research. Methods and Findings We conducted a three-part project: (1) a systematic review of the literature (including “Instructions to Authors” from the top five journals of 33 medical specialties and top 15 general and internal medicine journals) to identify guidance for reporting survey research; (2) a systematic review of evidence on the quality of reporting of surveys; and (3) a review of reporting of key quality criteria for survey research in 117 recently published reports of self-administered surveys. Fewer than 7% of medical journals (n = 165) provided guidance to authors on survey research despite a majority having published survey-based studies in recent years. We identified four published checklists for conducting or reporting survey research, none of which were validated. We identified eight previous reviews of survey reporting quality, which focused on issues of non-response and accessibility of questionnaires. Our own review of 117 published survey studies revealed that many items were poorly reported: few studies provided the survey or core questions (35%), reported the validity or reliability of the instrument (19%), defined the response rate (25%), discussed the representativeness of the sample (11%), or identified how missing data were handled (11%). Conclusions There is limited guidance and no consensus regarding the optimal reporting of survey research. The majority of key reporting criteria are poorly reported in peer-reviewed survey research articles. Our findings highlight the need for clear and consistent reporting guidelines specific to survey research. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary PMID:21829330

Qualitative Comparative Analysis: A Hybrid Method for Identifying Factors Associated with Program Effectiveness.

PubMed

Cragun, Deborah; Pal, Tuya; Vadaparampil, Susan T; Baldwin, Julie; Hampel, Heather; DeBate, Rita D

2016-07-01

Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) was developed over 25 years ago to bridge the qualitative and quantitative research gap. Upon searching PubMed and the Journal of Mixed Methods Research , this review identified 30 original research studies that utilized QCA. Perceptions that QCA is complex and provides few relative advantages over other methods may be limiting QCA adoption. Thus, to overcome these perceptions, this article demonstrates how to perform QCA using data from fifteen institutions that implemented universal tumor screening (UTS) programs to identify patients at high risk for hereditary colorectal cancer. In this example, QCA revealed a combination of conditions unique to effective UTS programs. Results informed additional research and provided a model for improving patient follow-through after a positive screen.

Depressed Mothers as Informants on Child Behavior: Methodological Issues

PubMed Central

Ordway, Monica Roosa

2011-01-01

Mothers with depressive symptoms more frequently report behavioral problems among their children than non-depressed mothers leading to a debate regarding the accuracy of depressed mothers as informants of children’s behavior. The purpose of this integrative review was to identify methodological challenges in research related to the debate. Data were extracted from 43 papers (6 theoretical, 36 research reports, and 1 instrument scoring manual). The analysis focused on the methodologies considered when using depressed mothers as informants. Nine key themes were identified and I concluded that researchers should incorporate multiple informants, identify the characteristics of maternal depression, and incorporate advanced statistical methodology. The use of a conceptual framework to understand informant discrepancies within child behavior evaluations is suggested for future research. PMID:21964958

Systematic review and overview of health economic evaluation models in obesity prevention and therapy.

PubMed

Schwander, Bjoern; Hiligsmann, Mickaël; Nuijten, Mark; Evers, Silvia

2016-10-01

Given the increasing clinical and economic burden of obesity, it is of major importance to identify cost-effective approaches for obesity management. Areas covered: This study aims to systematically review and compile an overview of published decision models for health economic assessments (HEA) in obesity, in order to summarize and compare their key characteristics as well as to identify, inform and guide future research. Of the 4,293 abstracts identified, 87 papers met our inclusion criteria. A wide range of different methodological approaches have been identified. Of the 87 papers, 69 (79%) applied unique /distinctive modelling approaches. Expert commentary: This wide range of approaches suggests the need to develop recommendations /minimal requirements for model-based HEA of obesity. In order to reach this long-term goal, further research is required. Valuable future research steps would be to investigate the predictiveness, validity and quality of the identified modelling approaches.

Past, present and future of respiratory research: A survey of Canadian health care professionals.

PubMed

Nonoyama, Mika Laura; Mathur, Sunita; Herbert, Rosemary; Jenkins, Heather; Lobchuk, Michelle; McEvoy, Michelle

2015-01-01

The Canadian Respiratory Health Professionals (CRHP) is the multidisciplinary health care professional group of the Canadian Lung Association. Although the CRHP has a growing number of highly qualified researchers, the landscape of their research in Canada has not been described. To describe the level of respiratory research engagement; identify barriers and facilitators to research engagement; describe the experience and interest in developing research skills; and identify priority areas of future respiratory research among health care professionals. An online survey of CRHP members was used to collect demographic information; barriers and facilitators to conducting research; future directions in respiratory research; and research funding and mentorship. Experience with and interest in 'upskilling' research skills were also evaluated. A total of 119 surveys were completed (22% response rate), of which 69 (58%) respondents were engaged in respiratory research. Reasons for not being involved in respiratory research were lack of mentorship, support and funding. The top research areas were chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (74%) and asthma (41%). The top facilitators for research engagement were amount of funding (29%) and mentorship (28%). Respondents in research positions rated their experience in research skills as high; those in nonresearch positions as low. However, both groups expressed interest in improving their research skills. Areas of development, such as research skills, greater funding opportunities and mentorship to increase the research capacity of health care professionals in respiratory health were identified. Health professional researchers have an important role in the national respiratory research strategy to increase interdisciplinary engagement and build collaborative teams.

Understanding of research, genetics and genetic research in a rapid ethical assessment in north west Cameroon.

PubMed

Kengne-Ouafo, Jonas A; Millard, James D; Nji, Theobald M; Tantoh, William F; Nyoh, Doris N; Tendongfor, Nicholas; Enyong, Peter A; Newport, Melanie J; Davey, Gail; Wanji, Samuel

2016-05-01

There is limited assessment of whether research participants in low-income settings are afforded a full understanding of the meaning of medical research. There may also be particular issues with the understanding of genetic research. We used a rapid ethical assessment methodology to explore perceptions surrounding the meaning of research, genetics and genetic research in north west Cameroon. Eleven focus group discussions (including 107 adults) and 72 in-depth interviews were conducted with various stakeholders in two health districts in north west Cameroon between February and April 2012. Most participants appreciated the role of research in generating knowledge and identified a difference between research and healthcare but gave varied explanations as to this difference. Most participants' understanding of genetics was limited to concepts of hereditary, with potential benefits limited to the level of the individual or family. Explanations based on supernatural beliefs were identified as a special issue but participants tended not to identify any other special risks with genetic research. We demonstrated a variable level of understanding of research, genetics and genetic research, with implications for those carrying out genetic research in this and other low resource settings. Our study highlights the utility of rapid ethical assessment prior to complex or sensitive research. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

NHash: Randomized N-Gram Hashing for Distributed Generation of Validatable Unique Study Identifiers in Multicenter Research.

PubMed

Zhang, Guo-Qiang; Tao, Shiqiang; Xing, Guangming; Mozes, Jeno; Zonjy, Bilal; Lhatoo, Samden D; Cui, Licong

2015-11-10

A unique study identifier serves as a key for linking research data about a study subject without revealing protected health information in the identifier. While sufficient for single-site and limited-scale studies, the use of common unique study identifiers has several drawbacks for large multicenter studies, where thousands of research participants may be recruited from multiple sites. An important property of study identifiers is error tolerance (or validatable), in that inadvertent editing mistakes during their transmission and use will most likely result in invalid study identifiers. This paper introduces a novel method called "Randomized N-gram Hashing (NHash)," for generating unique study identifiers in a distributed and validatable fashion, in multicenter research. NHash has a unique set of properties: (1) it is a pseudonym serving the purpose of linking research data about a study participant for research purposes; (2) it can be generated automatically in a completely distributed fashion with virtually no risk for identifier collision; (3) it incorporates a set of cryptographic hash functions based on N-grams, with a combination of additional encryption techniques such as a shift cipher; (d) it is validatable (error tolerant) in the sense that inadvertent edit errors will mostly result in invalid identifiers. NHash consists of 2 phases. First, an intermediate string using randomized N-gram hashing is generated. This string consists of a collection of N-gram hashes f1, f2, ..., fk. The input for each function fi has 3 components: a random number r, an integer n, and input data m. The result, fi(r, n, m), is an n-gram of m with a starting position s, which is computed as (r mod |m|), where |m| represents the length of m. The output for Step 1 is the concatenation of the sequence f1(r1, n1, m1), f2(r2, n2, m2), ..., fk(rk, nk, mk). In the second phase, the intermediate string generated in Phase 1 is encrypted using techniques such as shift cipher. The result of the encryption, concatenated with the random number r, is the final NHash study identifier. We performed experiments using a large synthesized dataset comparing NHash with random strings, and demonstrated neglegible probability for collision. We implemented NHash for the Center for SUDEP Research (CSR), a National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke-funded Center Without Walls for Collaborative Research in the Epilepsies. This multicenter collaboration involves 14 institutions across the United States and Europe, bringing together extensive and diverse expertise to understand sudden unexpected death in epilepsy patients (SUDEP). The CSR Data Repository has successfully used NHash to link deidentified multimodal clinical data collected in participating CSR institutions, meeting all desired objectives of NHash.

Research priorities for specialized nursing practice in the United Arab Emirates.

PubMed

Al-Yateem, N; Al-Tamimi, M; Brenner, M; Altawil, H; Ahmad, A; Brownie, S

2017-08-25

Globally, nurses are undertaking expanded and more specialized roles in healthcare planning and service delivery in response to changing patterns and levels of health service demand. This means the nursing profession is increasingly considered as leaders in health service policy, research and practice. The United Arab Emirates has strengthened nursing governance and practice by establishing a Nursing and Midwifery Council and increasing the activity of nursing specialization, service leadership and research. This study aimed to identify clinically relevant research priorities to facilitate nursing contributions to evidence-based care and strengthening health services in the country. A two-stage Delphi study design was used. The first round involved 783 participants. The second round involved 1116 participants, as more clinical settings were accessed. In total, 58 research priorities across a variety of nursing specialties (paediatrics, emergency care, intensive care, labour and maternity care, operating theatre and long-term care) were identified as highly important. These identified priorities will guide a more informed programme of research in each nursing specialty, with the aim of strengthening the evidence base to improving outcomes for patients and their families in the United Arab Emirates. The findings provide guidance on key areas for nurses to focus research contributions to enhance evidence-based care and strengthen health systems. The identified priorities may also guide researchers in academic institutions to conduct research informed by current, clinically relevant issues. The findings may help inform funders and policymakers to support allocation of funding to research that has potential to contribute to enhancing nursing care in specialist areas. © 2017 International Council of Nurses.

Prioritization in comparative effectiveness research: the CANCERGEN Experience.

PubMed

Thariani, Rahber; Wong, William; Carlson, Josh J; Garrison, Louis; Ramsey, Scott; Deverka, Patricia A; Esmail, Laura; Rangarao, Sneha; Hoban, Carolyn J; Baker, Laurence H; Veenstra, David L

2012-05-01

Systematic approaches to stakeholder-informed research prioritization are a central focus of comparative effectiveness research. Genomic testing in cancer is an ideal area to refine such approaches given rapid innovation and potentially significant impacts on patient outcomes. To develop and pilot test a stakeholder-informed approach to prioritizing genomic tests for future study in collaboration with the cancer clinical trials consortium SWOG. We conducted a landscape analysis to identify genomic tests in oncology using a systematic search of published and unpublished studies, and expert consultation. Clinically valid tests suitable for evaluation in a comparative study were presented to an external stakeholder group. Domains to guide the prioritization process were identified with stakeholder input, and stakeholders ranked tests using multiple voting rounds. A stakeholder group was created including representatives from patient-advocacy groups, payers, test developers, regulators, policy makers, and community-based oncologists. We identified 9 domains for research prioritization with stakeholder feedback: population impact; current standard of care, strength of association; potential clinical benefits, potential clinical harms, economic impacts, evidence of need, trial feasibility, and market factors. The landscape analysis identified 635 studies; of 9 tests deemed to have sufficient clinical validity, 6 were presented to stakeholders. Two tests in lung cancer (ERCC1 and EGFR) and 1 test in breast cancer (CEA/CA15-3/CA27.29) were identified as top research priorities. Use of a diverse stakeholder group to inform research prioritization is feasible in a pragmatic and timely manner. Additional research is needed to optimize search strategies, stakeholder group composition, and integration with existing prioritization mechanisms.

Prioritization in Comparative Effectiveness Research: The CANCERGEN Experience in Cancer Genomics

PubMed Central

Thariani, Rahber; Wong, William; Carlson, Josh J; Garrison, Louis; Ramsey, Scott; Deverka, Patricia A; Esmail, Laura; Rangarao, Sneha; Hoban, Carolyn J; Baker, Laurence H; Veenstra, David L

2012-01-01

Background Systematic approaches to stakeholder-informed research prioritization are a central focus of comparative effectiveness research. Genomic testing in cancer is an ideal area to refine such approaches given rapid innovation and potentially significant impacts on patient outcomes. Objective To develop and pilot-test a stakeholder-informed approach to prioritizing genomic tests for future study in collaboration with the cancer clinical trials consortium SWOG. Methods We conducted a landscape-analysis to identify genomic tests in oncology using a systematic search of published and unpublished studies, and expert consultation. Clinically valid tests suitable for evaluation in a comparative study were presented to an external stakeholder group. Domains to guide the prioritization process were identified with stakeholder input, and stakeholders ranked tests using multiple voting rounds. Results A stakeholder group was created including representatives from patient-advocacy groups, payers, test developers, regulators, policy-makers, and community-based oncologists. We identified nine domains for research prioritization with stakeholder feedback: population impact; current standard of care, strength of association; potential clinical benefits, potential clinical harms, economic impacts, evidence of need, trial feasibility, and market factors. The landscape-analysis identified 635 studies; of 9 tests deemed to have sufficient clinical validity, 6 were presented to stakeholders. Two tests in lung cancer (ERCC1 and EGFR) and one test in breast cancer (CEA/CA15-3/CA27.29) were identified as top research priorities. Conclusions Use of a diverse stakeholder group to inform research prioritization is feasible in a pragmatic and timely manner. Additional research is needed to optimize search strategies, stakeholder group composition and integration with existing prioritization mechanisms. PMID:22274803

Describing qualitative research undertaken with randomised controlled trials in grant proposals: a documentary analysis.

PubMed

Drabble, Sarah J; O'Cathain, Alicia; Thomas, Kate J; Rudolph, Anne; Hewison, Jenny

2014-02-18

There is growing recognition of the value of conducting qualitative research with trials in health research. It is timely to reflect on how this qualitative research is presented in grant proposals to identify lessons for researchers and research commissioners. As part of a larger study focusing on how to maximise the value of undertaking qualitative research with trials, we undertook a documentary analysis of proposals of funded studies. Using the metaRegister of Controlled Trials (mRCT) database we identified trials funded in the United Kingdom, ongoing between 2001 and 2010, and reporting the use of qualitative research. We requested copies of proposals from lead researchers. We extracted data from the proposals using closed and open questions, analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis respectively. 2% (89/3812) of trials in the mRCT database described the use of qualitative research undertaken with the trial. From these 89 trials, we received copies of 36 full proposals, of which 32 met our inclusion criteria. 25% used less than a single paragraph to describe the qualitative research. The aims of the qualitative research described in these proposals focused mainly on the intervention or trial conduct. Just over half (56%) of the proposals included an explicit rationale for conducting the qualitative research with the trial, the most frequent being to optimise implementation into clinical practice or to interpret trial findings. Key information about methods, expertise and resources was missing in a large minority of proposals, in particular sample size, type of analysis, and non-personnel resources. 28% specifically stated that qualitative researchers would conduct the qualitative research. Our review of proposals of successfully funded studies identified good practice but also identified limited space given to describing the qualitative research, with an associated lack of attention to the rationale for doing the qualitative research and important methodological details. Acknowledging the space restrictions faced by researchers writing grant proposals, we suggest a starting point for providing practical guidance to help researchers write proposals and research commissioners assess proposals of qualitative research with trials.

Describing qualitative research undertaken with randomised controlled trials in grant proposals: a documentary analysis

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background There is growing recognition of the value of conducting qualitative research with trials in health research. It is timely to reflect on how this qualitative research is presented in grant proposals to identify lessons for researchers and research commissioners. As part of a larger study focusing on how to maximise the value of undertaking qualitative research with trials, we undertook a documentary analysis of proposals of funded studies. Methods Using the metaRegister of Controlled Trials (mRCT) database we identified trials funded in the United Kingdom, ongoing between 2001 and 2010, and reporting the use of qualitative research. We requested copies of proposals from lead researchers. We extracted data from the proposals using closed and open questions, analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis respectively. Results 2% (89/3812) of trials in the mRCT database described the use of qualitative research undertaken with the trial. From these 89 trials, we received copies of 36 full proposals, of which 32 met our inclusion criteria. 25% used less than a single paragraph to describe the qualitative research. The aims of the qualitative research described in these proposals focused mainly on the intervention or trial conduct. Just over half (56%) of the proposals included an explicit rationale for conducting the qualitative research with the trial, the most frequent being to optimise implementation into clinical practice or to interpret trial findings. Key information about methods, expertise and resources was missing in a large minority of proposals, in particular sample size, type of analysis, and non-personnel resources. 28% specifically stated that qualitative researchers would conduct the qualitative research. Conclusions Our review of proposals of successfully funded studies identified good practice but also identified limited space given to describing the qualitative research, with an associated lack of attention to the rationale for doing the qualitative research and important methodological details. Acknowledging the space restrictions faced by researchers writing grant proposals, we suggest a starting point for providing practical guidance to help researchers write proposals and research commissioners assess proposals of qualitative research with trials. PMID:24533771

Researchers Use a Kinome Screen to Identify New Therapeutic Targets | Office of Cancer Genomics

Cancer.gov

The tumor suppressor p53 is mutated in over 50% of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC), yet there are currently no available therapies to target it. CTD2 researchers at the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center hypothesized that HNSCC cancer cells with p53 mutations are dependent on particular kinases for survival. In a study published in Clinical Cancer Research, they sought to identify these kinases using RNAi against known kinase genes in mouse and human cell lines.

Continuous patient engagement in cardiovascular disease clinical comparative effectiveness research.

PubMed

Vandigo, Joseph; Oloyede, Ebenezer; Aly, Abdalla; Laird, Aurelia L; Cooke, Catherine E; Mullins, C Daniel

2016-01-01

Researchers have produced evidence that identifies interventions that reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk; however, despite a significant investment in research CVD remains the leading cause of death. Engaging patients in the research process has the potential to ensure that evidence-based treatments are adopted in real-world practice to improve patient outcomes. The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute has created an Engagement Rubric to guide meaningful engagement in the research process. A 10-step systematic framework to enhance patient engagement throughout the comparative effectiveness research process also has been proposed. This special report identifies the relationship between these two approaches to patient engagement and describes examples of how patients could be engaged in a hypothetical CVD study.

CCR researchers identify pathway critical for preventing premature aging | Center for Cancer Research

Cancer.gov

Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) is a rare, fatal disease in which patients age prematurely. To identify primary HGPS driver mechanisms, Nard Kubben, Ph.D., a Research Fellow in the laboratory of Tom Misteli, Ph.D., in CCR’s Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression, and colleagues in the NCI High-throughput Imaging Facility developed an imaging-based