TCAS Benchmark, Vol. 4, No. 8, 2005

Volume four and issue eight of TCAS Benchmark.https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/specialcollections_ntasrecords/1368/thumbnail.jp

Using appreciative inquiry to develop, implement and evaluate a multi-organisation ‘Cultivating Compassion’ programme for health professionals and support staff

The ‘Cultivating Compassion’ project was developed in response to a research and innovation call relating to compassion training for National Health Service staff in the South East of England. The project aims included the following: the use of Appreciative Inquiry to develop, implement and evaluate a sustainable and evidence-based programme of compassion awareness training through engaging with a diverse group of health professionals and support staff; an evaluation of a ‘train the trainers’ approach; and an evaluation of ‘compassion lead’ roles and a multi-modal compassion toolkit. The project team included academics from two universities and one medical school, NHS staff from three separate organisations and service users. The participants recruited to the study included doctors, nurses, receptionists, chaplains and others working in close contact with service users from within four NHS organisations in the South East of England. The main findings from the project using thematic analysis from participant focus groups and interviews identified project enablers and inhibitors, the value of project resources, and shifts in perspectives. Project conclusions highlighted the importance of effective senior-level support and organisational leadership in cultivating compassion within a healthcare organisation and the importance of the integration of compassion-promoting resources within existing staff development initiatives

Data analysis strategies for the Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Schizophrenia Program.

The Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Schizophrenia (AMP® SCZ) project assesses a large sample of individuals at clinical high-risk for developing psychosis (CHR) and community controls. Subjects are enrolled in 43 sites across 5 continents. The assessments include domains similar to those acquired in previous CHR studies along with novel domains that are collected longitudinally across a period of 2 years. In parallel with the data acquisition, multidisciplinary teams of experts have been working to formulate the data analysis strategy for the AMP SCZ project. Here, we describe the key principles for the data analysis. The primary AMP SCZ analysis aim is to use baseline clinical assessments and multimodal biomarkers to predict clinical endpoints of CHR individuals. These endpoints are defined for the AMP SCZ study as transition to psychosis (i.e., conversion), remission from CHR syndrome, and persistent CHR syndrome (non-conversion/non-remission) obtained at one year and two years after baseline assessment. The secondary aim is to use longitudinal clinical assessments and multimodal biomarkers from all time points to identify clinical trajectories that differentiate subgroups of CHR individuals. The design of the analysis plan is informed by reviewing legacy data and the analytic approaches from similar international CHR studies. In addition, we consider properties of the newly acquired data that are distinct from the available legacy data. Legacy data are used to assist analysis pipeline building, perform benchmark experiments, quantify clinical concepts and to make design decisions meant to overcome the challenges encountered in previous studies. We present the analytic design of the AMP SCZ project, mitigation strategies to address challenges related to the analysis plan, provide rationales for key decisions, and present examples of how the legacy data have been used to support design decisions for the analysis of the multimodal and longitudinal data. Watch Prof. Ofer Pasternak discuss his work and this article: https://vimeo.com/1023394132?share=copy#t=0

Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Schizophrenia (AMP® SCZ):Rationale and Study Design of the Largest Global Prospective Cohort Study of Clinical High Risk for Psychosis

This article describes the rationale, aims, and methodology of the Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Schizophrenia (AMP® SCZ). This is the largest international collaboration to date that will develop algorithms to predict trajectories and outcomes of individuals at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis and to advance the development and use of novel pharmacological interventions for CHR individuals. We present a description of the participating research networks and the data processing analysis and coordination center, their processes for data harmonization across 43 sites from 13 participating countries (recruitment across North America, Australia, Europe, Asia, and South America), data flow and quality assessment processes, data analyses, and the transfer of data to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Data Archive (NDA) for use by the research community. In an expected sample of approximately 2000 CHR individuals and 640 matched healthy controls, AMP SCZ will collect clinical, environmental, and cognitive data along with multimodal biomarkers, including neuroimaging, electrophysiology, fluid biospecimens, speech and facial expression samples, novel measures derived from digital health technologies including smartphone-based daily surveys, and passive sensing as well as actigraphy. The study will investigate a range of clinical outcomes over a 2-year period, including transition to psychosis, remission or persistence of CHR status, attenuated positive symptoms, persistent negative symptoms, mood and anxiety symptoms, and psychosocial functioning. The global reach of AMP SCZ and its harmonized innovative methods promise to catalyze the development of new treatments to address critical unmet clinical and public health needs in CHR individuals.</p

ECOSTRESS: NASA's next generation mission to measure evapotranspiration from the International Space Station

The ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station ECOSTRESS) was launched to the International Space Station on June 29, 2018. The primary science focus of ECOSTRESS is centered on evapotranspiration (ET), which is produced as level‐3 (L3) latent heat flux (LE) data products. These data are generated from the level‐2 land surface temperature and emissivity product (L2_LSTE), in conjunction with ancillary surface and atmospheric data. Here, we provide the first validation (Stage 1, preliminary) of the global ECOSTRESS clear‐sky ET product (L3_ET_PT‐JPL, version 6.0) against LE measurements at 82 eddy covariance sites around the world. Overall, the ECOSTRESS ET product performs well against the site measurements (clear‐sky instantaneous/time of overpass: r2 = 0.88; overall bias = 8%; normalized RMSE = 6%). ET uncertainty was generally consistent across climate zones, biome types, and times of day (ECOSTRESS samples the diurnal cycle), though temperate sites are over‐represented. The 70 m high spatial resolution of ECOSTRESS improved correlations by 85%, and RMSE by 62%, relative to 1 km pixels. This paper serves as a reference for the ECOSTRESS L3 ET accuracy and Stage 1 validation status for subsequent science that follows using these data

Need and vision for global medium-resolution Landsat and Sentinel-2 data products

140G0118C0006 - Department of the Interior/U.S. Geological SurveyPublished versio

Surgical site infection after gastrointestinal surgery in high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries: a prospective, international, multicentre cohort study

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common infections associated with health care, but its importance as a global health priority is not fully understood. We quantified the burden of SSI after gastrointestinal surgery in countries in all parts of the world. Methods: This international, prospective, multicentre cohort study included consecutive patients undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection within 2-week time periods at any health-care facility in any country. Countries with participating centres were stratified into high-income, middle-income, and low-income groups according to the UN's Human Development Index (HDI). Data variables from the GlobalSurg 1 study and other studies that have been found to affect the likelihood of SSI were entered into risk adjustment models. The primary outcome measure was the 30-day SSI incidence (defined by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for superficial and deep incisional SSI). Relationships with explanatory variables were examined using Bayesian multilevel logistic regression models. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02662231. Findings: Between Jan 4, 2016, and July 31, 2016, 13 265 records were submitted for analysis. 12 539 patients from 343 hospitals in 66 countries were included. 7339 (58·5%) patient were from high-HDI countries (193 hospitals in 30 countries), 3918 (31·2%) patients were from middle-HDI countries (82 hospitals in 18 countries), and 1282 (10·2%) patients were from low-HDI countries (68 hospitals in 18 countries). In total, 1538 (12·3%) patients had SSI within 30 days of surgery. The incidence of SSI varied between countries with high (691 [9·4%] of 7339 patients), middle (549 [14·0%] of 3918 patients), and low (298 [23·2%] of 1282) HDI (p < 0·001). The highest SSI incidence in each HDI group was after dirty surgery (102 [17·8%] of 574 patients in high-HDI countries; 74 [31·4%] of 236 patients in middle-HDI countries; 72 [39·8%] of 181 patients in low-HDI countries). Following risk factor adjustment, patients in low-HDI countries were at greatest risk of SSI (adjusted odds ratio 1·60, 95% credible interval 1·05–2·37; p=0·030). 132 (21·6%) of 610 patients with an SSI and a microbiology culture result had an infection that was resistant to the prophylactic antibiotic used. Resistant infections were detected in 49 (16·6%) of 295 patients in high-HDI countries, in 37 (19·8%) of 187 patients in middle-HDI countries, and in 46 (35·9%) of 128 patients in low-HDI countries (p < 0·001). Interpretation: Countries with a low HDI carry a disproportionately greater burden of SSI than countries with a middle or high HDI and might have higher rates of antibiotic resistance. In view of WHO recommendations on SSI prevention that highlight the absence of high-quality interventional research, urgent, pragmatic, randomised trials based in LMICs are needed to assess measures aiming to reduce this preventable complication

Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Schizophrenia (AMP® SCZ): Rationale and Study Design of the Largest Global Prospective Cohort Study of Clinical High Risk for Psychosis

This article describes the rationale, aims, and methodology of the Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Schizophrenia (AMP® SCZ). This is the largest international collaboration to date that will develop algorithms to predict trajectories and outcomes of individuals at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis and to advance the development and use of novel pharmacological interventions for CHR individuals. We present a description of the participating research networks and the data processing analysis and coordination center, their processes for data harmonization across 43 sites from 13 participating countries (recruitment across North America, Australia, Europe, Asia, and South America), data flow and quality assessment processes, data analyses, and the transfer of data to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Data Archive (NDA) for use by the research community. In an expected sample of approximately 2000 CHR individuals and 640 matched healthy controls, AMP SCZ will collect clinical, environmental, and cognitive data along with multimodal biomarkers, including neuroimaging, electrophysiology, fluid biospecimens, speech and facial expression samples, novel measures derived from digital health technologies including smartphone-based daily surveys, and passive sensing as well as actigraphy. The study will investigate a range of clinical outcomes over a 2-year period, including transition to psychosis, remission or persistence of CHR status, attenuated positive symptoms, persistent negative symptoms, mood and anxiety symptoms, and psychosocial functioning. The global reach of AMP SCZ and its harmonized innovative methods promise to catalyze the development of new treatments to address critical unmet clinical and public health needs in CHR individuals

Gender, Socioeconomic Status, and Time Use of Married and Cohabiting Parents during the Great Recession

Using data from the 2003-14 American Time Use Survey (ATUS), this paper examines the relationship between the state unemployment rate and the time that opposite-sex couples with children spend on childcare activities, and how this varies by the socioeconomic status (SES), race, and ethnicity of the mothers and fathers. The time that mothers and fathers spend providing primary and secondary child caregiving, solo time with children, and any time spent as a family are considered. To explore the impact of macroeconomic conditions on the amount of time parents spend with children, the time-use data are combined with the state unemployment rate data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The analysis finds that the time parents spend on child-caregiving activities or with their children varies with the unemployment rate in low-SES households, African-American households, and Hispanic households. Given that job losses were disproportionately high for workers with no college degree, African-Americans, and Hispanics during the Great Recession, the results suggest that the burden of household adjustment during the crisis fell disproportionately on the households most affected by the recession

Comparative Study of a Micro-Scale Test for Lead in Blood, for Use in Mass Screening Programs

Abstract A procedure suitable for the mass screening of children for an undue body burden of lead was tested on 170 clinic patients. Capillary finger-prick blood, collected on filter paper, was analyzed for lead with an atomic absorption spectrophotometer with the Delves cup attachment. This method of analysis had first been judged to be accurate after a laboratory evaluation in which results were compared with those obtained by a dithizone procedure. In the present study, both capillary and venous bloods were obtained from the patients. Venous bloods were also analyzed by the filter paper disk method and by an atomic absorption spectrophotometric procedure requiring a 5-ml sample. Results show that the screening method described here will reliably identify those children with a significantly supranormal blood lead. Both sample collection and laboratory analysis are easier.</jats:p