Using social connection information to improve opinion mining: Identifying negative sentiment about HPV vaccines on Twitter

The manner in which people preferentially interact with others like themselves suggests that information about social connections may be useful in the surveillance of opinions for public health purposes. We examined if social connection information from tweets about human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines could be used to train classifiers that identify antivaccine opinions. From 42,533 tweets posted between October 2013 and March 2014, 2,098 were sampled at random and two investigators independently identified anti-vaccine opinions. Machine learning methods were used to train classifiers using the first three months of data, including content (8,261 text fragments) and social connections (10,758 relationships). Connection-based classifiers performed similarly to content-based classifiers on the first three months of training data, and performed more consistently than content-based classifiers on test data from the subsequent three months. The most accurate classifier achieved an accuracy of 88.6% on the test data set, and used only social connection features. Information about how people are connected, rather than what they write, may be useful for improving public health surveillance methods on Twitter

FOREIGN BRANCH CAMPUSES IN MALAYSIA : STATE ACTION AND CONSUMER CHOICES REVISITED

This research evaluates the effect and reasons of popularity of an Australian and British Branch University in Malaysia. The intention of the case study-based research was to produce an analytical overview of the countries widespread University twinning programs at local higher education institutes. The socio-economic underpinnings of the Asian Financial Crisis upon the Education sector are analyzed in this context as well. The 1997-98 economic downturn called for alternative means to address the rising problem of unmet demand for skilled labor tha high growth economies such as Malaysia vitally needed. The twinning program was a strategic state action to curb the outflow of valuable foreign currency and human capital while simultaneously creating an revenue stream from incoming international students from other affected Asian countries. Despite the success of the brain drain and brain gain reversing idea, increasing costs and lower cost education destinations such as China, Indonesia or India may limit Malaysia's potential in the future. This paper argues that state actors need to remain pro-active in maintaining the country's growing reputation for quality "foreign" education in Asia. The thesis aims to highlight the current consumer choices for foreign branch universities in the midst of the multitude of local private higher education institutes, the impact of the rising influx and origins of international students due to fiscal and non-fiscal motivations and also focus more importantly on the sustainability as a value-for-money education hotspo

Death despite known drug allergy : the story of Zoya (Australia)

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Identifying clinical study types from PubMed metadata : the active (machine) learning approach

We examined a process for automating the classification of articles in MEDLINE aimed at minimising manual effort without sacrificing accuracy. From 22,808 articles pertaining to 19 antidepressants, 1000 were randomly selected and manually labelled according to article type (including, randomised controlled trials, editorials, etc.). We applied a machine learning approach termed 'active learning', where the learner (machine) selects the order in which the user (human) labels examples. Via simulation, we determined the number of articles a user needed to label to produce a classifier with at least 95% recall and 90% precision in three scenarios related to evidence synthesis. We found that the active learning process reduced the number of training instances required by 70%, 19%, and 14% in the three scenarios. The results show that the active learning method may be used in some scenarios to produce accurate classifiers that meet the needs of evidence synthesis tasks and reduce manual effort.5 page(s

Financial conflicts of interest and conclusions about neuraminidase inhibitors for influenza : an analysis of systematic reviews

Background: Industry funding and financial conflicts of interest may contribute to bias in the synthesis and interpretation of scientific evidence.Objective: To examine the association between financial conflicts of interest and characteristics of systematic reviews of neuraminidase inhibitors.Design: Retrospective analysis.Setting: Reviews that examined the use of neuraminidase inhibitors in the prophylaxis or treatment of influenza, were published between January 2005 and May 2014, and used a systematic search protocol.Measurements: Two investigators blinded to all information regarding the review authors independently assessed the presentation of evidence on the use of neuraminidase inhibitors as favorable or not favorable. Financial conflicts of interest were identified using the index reviews, other publications, and Web-based searches. Associations between financial conflicts of interest, favorability assessments, and presence of critical appraisals of evidence quality were analyzed.Results: Twenty-six systematic reviews were identified, of which 13 examined prophylaxis and 24 examined treatment, accounting for 37 distinct assessments. Among assessments associated with a financial conflict of interest, 7 of 8 (88%) were classified as favorable, compared with 5 of 29 (17%) among those without a financial conflict of interest. Reviewers without financial conflicts of interest were more likely to include statements about the quality of the primary studies than those with financial conflicts of interest.Limitations: The heterogeneity in populations and outcomes examined in the reviews precluded analysis of the contribution of selective inclusion of evidence on the discordance of the assessments made in the reviews. Many of the systematic reviews had overlapping authorship.Conclusion: Reviewers with financial conflicts of interest may be more likely to present evidence about neuraminidase inhibitors in a favorable manner and recommend the use of these drugs than reviewers without financial conflicts of interest.Primary Funding Source: Australian National Health and Medical Research Council.6 page(s

Burden of Mesothelioma Deaths by National Income Category: Current Status and Future Implications

Background: This study compares estimates of the global-level mesothelioma burden with a focus on how existing national mortality data were utilized and further assesses the interrelationship of country-level mesothelioma burden and asbestos use with national income status. Methods: Country-level mesothelioma deaths in the WHO Mortality Database as of December 2019 were analyzed by national income category of countries in terms of data availability and reliability. Numbers of mesothelioma deaths from the study of Odgerel et al. were reanalyzed to assess country-level mesothelioma death burdens by national income status. Results: Among 80 high-income countries, 54 (68%) reported mesothelioma to the WHO and 26 (32%) did not, and among 60 upper middle-income countries, the respective numbers (proportions) were 39 (65%) countries and 21 (35%) countries, respectively. In contrast, among 78 low- and lower middle-income countries, only 11 (14%) reported mesothelioma deaths while 67 (86%) did not. Of the mesothelioma deaths, 29,854 (78%) were attributed to high- and upper middle-income countries, and 8534 (22%) were attributed to low- and lower middle- income countries. Conclusions: The global mesothelioma burden, based on reported numbers, is currently shouldered predominantly by high-income countries; however, mesothelioma burdens will likely manifest soon in upper middle-income and eventually in low and lower middle-income countries

Identifying patient safety problems associated with information technology in general practice : an analysis of incident reports

Objective: To identify the categories of problems with information technology (IT), which affect patient safety in general practice. Design: General practitioners (GPs) reported incidents online or by telephone between May 2012 and November 2013. Incidents were reviewed against an existing classification for problems associated with IT and the clinical process impacted. Participants and setting: 87 GPs across Australia. Main outcome measure: Types of problems, consequences and clinical processes. Results: GPs reported 90 incidents involving IT which had an observable impact on the delivery of care, including actual patient harm as well as near miss events. Practice systems and medications were the most affected clinical processes. Problems with IT disrupted clinical workflow, wasted time and caused frustration. Issues with user interfaces, routine updates to software packages and drug databases, and the migration of records from one package to another generated clinical errors that were unique to IT; some could affect many patients at once. Human factors issues gave rise to some errors that have always existed with paper records but are more likely to occur and cause harm with IT. Such errors were linked to slips in concentration, multitasking, distractions and interruptions. Problems with patient identification and hybrid records generated errors that were in principle no different to paper records. Conclusions: Problems associated with IT include perennial risks with paper records, but additional disruptions in workflow and hazards for patients unique to IT, occasionally affecting multiple patients. Surveillance for such hazards may have general utility, but particularly in the context of migrating historical records to new systems and software updates to existing systems.11 page(s

Financial competing interests were associated with favorable conclusions and greater author productivity in nonsystematic reviews of neuraminidase inhibitors

Objective: To characterize the conclusions and production of nonsystematic reviews about neuraminidase inhibitors relative to financial competing interests held by the authors. Study Design and Setting: We searched for articles about neuraminidase inhibitors and influenza (January 2005 to April 2015), identifying nonsystematic reviews and grading them according to the favorable/nonfavorable presentation of evidence on safety and efficacy. We recorded financial competing interests disclosed in the reviews and from other articles written by their authors. We measured associations between competing interests, author productivity, and conclusions. Results: Among 213 nonsystematic reviews, 138 (65%) presented favorable conclusions. Financial competing interests were identified for 26% (137/532) of authors; 51% (108/213) of reviews were associated with a financial competing interest. Reviews produced exclusively by authors with financial competing interests (33%; 71/213) were more likely to present favorable conclusions than reviews with no competing interests (risk ratio 1.27; 95% confidence interval 1.03-1.55). Authors with financial competing interests published more articles about neuraminidase inhibitors than their counterparts. Conclusion: Half of nonsystematic reviews about neuraminidase inhibitors included an author with a financial competing interest. Reviews produced exclusively by these authors were more likely to present favorable conclusions, and authors with financial competing interests published a greater number of reviews

Evolution of genes and genomes on the Drosophila phylogeny

Affiliations des auteurs : cf page 216 de l'articleInternational audienceComparative analysis of multiple genomes in a phylogenetic framework dramatically improves the precision and sensitivity of evolutionary inference, producing more robust results than single-genome analyses can provide. The genomes of 12 Drosophila species, ten of which are presented here for the first time (sechellia, simulans, yakuba, erecta, ananassae, persimilis, willistoni, mojavensis, virilis and grimshawi), illustrate how rates and patterns of sequence divergence across taxa can illuminate evolutionary processes on a genomic scale. These genome sequences augment the formidable genetic tools that have made Drosophila melanogaster a pre-eminent model for animal genetics, and will further catalyse fundamental research on mechanisms of development, cell biology, genetics, disease, neurobiology, behaviour, physiology and evolution. Despite remarkable similarities among these Drosophila species, we identified many putatively non-neutral changes in protein-coding genes, non-coding RNA genes, and cis-regulatory regions. These may prove to underlie differences in the ecology and behaviour of these diverse species

Evolution of genes and genomes on the Drosophila phylogeny

Comparative analysis of multiple genomes in a phylogenetic framework dramatically improves the precision and sensitivity of evolutionary inference, producing more robust results than single-genome analyses can provide. The genomes of 12 Drosophila species, ten of which are presented here for the first time (sechellia, simulans, yakuba, erecta, ananassae, persimilis, willistoni, mojavensis, virilis and grimshawi), illustrate how rates and patterns of sequence divergence across taxa can illuminate evolutionary processes on a genomic scale. These genome sequences augment the formidable genetic tools that have made Drosophila melanogaster a pre-eminent model for animal genetics, and will further catalyse fundamental research on mechanisms of development, cell biology, genetics, disease, neurobiology, behaviour, physiology and evolution. Despite remarkable similarities among these Drosophila species, we identified many putatively non-neutral changes in protein-coding genes, non-coding RNA genes, and cis-regulatory regions. These may prove to underlie differences in the ecology and behaviour of these diverse species