Patient Attitudes Toward Genetic Testing for Inherited Predispositions to Hematologic Malignancies

Although inherited predispositions to hematologic malignancies have previously been considered extremely rare, approximately 12 causative genes have been implicated in the last decade. Since individuals diagnosed with leukemia have not historically been considered for evaluation of inherited predispositions, genetic testing is underperformed in this population. This study used focus group discussions to explore the attitudes, motivations, and barriers to genetic testing for 23 patients with leukemia. Participants generally exhibited a positive regard for the utility of genetic testing, and were primarily motivated by concern for their family and a sense of altruism toward all leukemia patients. While drawbacks and barriers were difficult for participants to identify, a few individuals cited concerns about confidentiality of genetic information and possible discrimination based on test results. Participants unanimously agreed that the skin punch biopsy required for genetic testing in leukemia patients would not deter their decision to be tested. The findings from this study are valuable for guiding genetic counseling that best meets the specific needs of leukemia patients, and future studies will analyze how these issues are perceived by a larger and more diverse population of individuals with leukemia

Future prospects for personal security in travel by public transport

This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [grant number EP/I037032/1]. No other funding support from any other bodies was provided.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Personal security in travel by public transport : the role of traveller information and associated technologies

Acknowledgement This research reported in this paper has been funded by a grant award from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council: EP/I037032/1.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Technology Assessment and Education: Introduction

“Theory and Practice” of TA, which is referred to in the title of this journal “TATuP”, is usually addressed as a question of TA research. But science is more than research: the field of teaching requires just as much attention, both practically and theoretically. Therefore, a mere collection of individual teaching experiences and best practice examples does not provide a strong enough basis to discuss questions of TA teaching, these must also be embedded in a theoretical context and discussed in their relation to research. In this special issue, we aim to contribute to a combination of theoretical and practical approaches to the relation of TA and “Bildung”.Technology Assessment; education; teaching; high education

I-NURSE: Identifying and Automatically Detecting Topics in Nursing Handover Communications

I would like to thank The Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences Honors Department for both the Summer Funding Grant and the Undergraduate Research Scholarship I received to pursue this project.Statement of the Problem Patient handovers have been described as the process of transferring primary authority and responsibility for providing clinical care to a patient from one departing caregiver to one oncoming caregiver. Patient handovers with incomplete and inaccurate information have repeatedly been identified as a patient safety risk. Recently a study using the mnemonic IPASS found that post-intervention the use of these strategies decreased medical errors by 23% and the rate of preventable adverse effects by 30%. The coding analysis used in the IPASS study and many others can be time consuming and cost-ineffective. As a result there is a desire to automate this analysis. Methodology 20 existing transcripts from a previously IRB-approved data collection of audio-recorded Intensive Care Unit Registered Nurse handovers containing 27 patient discussions collected from a single, academic tertiary care institution were analyzed for this study. First all 20 transcripts were manually coded using a codebook (IPASS) adapted from Starmer et. al’s paper Changes in Medical Errors after Implementation of a Handoff Program. Next, a novel codebook was manually generated from the transcripts in an effort to more accurately model nurse handovers. The categories which emerged were grouped into INURSE (Identification, Narrative, Unusual Symptoms, Response, Status, Expected Challenges). Finally, Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software was used to identify family terms that fell under the INURSE codes Narrative Family and Expected Family Challenges. The manually coded transcripts were the gold standard against which the LIWC coded transcripts were compared. Findings The I and Sa codes from the IPASS code set were not observed. Each INURSE code was compared to the corresponding IPASS codes to observe differences between them. Overall the P code was described by 13 INURSE sub codes. The Noise category of IPASS was also described by 5 INURSE codes with few continued instances of Noise. The LIWC software had no misses and 9 false positives. Discussion Overall these findings point towards major differences between nurses and physician’s handover needs. Additionally it points to mixed usefulness of LIWC software for automated analysis. Next steps could include looking into more advanced software for automated analysis, or altering INURSE to train nurses by taking the best of IPASS as well.No embargoAcademic Major: Neuroscienc

A Tribute of 4 x 10 Meters

The first attempt to make an artwork, one I considered being able to belong to contemporary art, was my food diary. During a period of 10 years I recorded everything I ate daily. While drawings didn’t seem qualifying for what I identify as an avant-garde tool, the diary and its immediate reference did

Appmetrics - Improving impact on the go

Mobile ‘smart’ devices have increased enormously in popularity over the last few years, with 61% of UK adults now owning a smartphone (OFcom, 2014). With the emergence of the tablet computer adding significantly to the utilities available via mobile devices, the adoption of mobile technologies into work-related activities is ever-expanding. However, relatively few academic staff who use these devices make full use of the range of options available, and many lack awareness of the apps they could be using to promote their outputs and improve impact on the go. For information professionals there is a need to stay abreast of current and emerging developments within the world of mobile apps in order to support academic staff in using their mobile devices effectively to improve and monitor their research impact. With so many apps and tools to choose from, in this chapter we will look at an essential "toolkit" of apps that information professionals should bear in mind when supporting and advising academic staff on research impact, along with advice on how to make the best and most efficient use of them. Additionally, this chapter will examine how impact activities undertaken on a mobile device can be fitted into a flexible working day

The Bird of Passage and the Petit Panthéon: Frances Brooke, Philippe Aubert de Gaspé fils, and Where to Begin a National Literature

The fairly consistent disavowal of Frances Brooke and Phillipe Aubert de Gaspé fils as foundational figures in English-Canadian and Québecois literature respectively suggests much about the challenges inherent in creating and defending the claims of national literary history in a bilingual settler society. While many of the reasons for rejecting these two novelists differ (for example, Brooke is too English, de Gaspé fils is too anglophilic), they have a striking feature in common: both authors seek to break through Canada’s “two solitudes.” That is, both authors create texts that engage with metropolitan traditions in both English and French, generating the possibility of a national literature at once bilingual and cosmopolitan in outlook. Such an inclusive vision of the nation and its literatures might serve as an inspiration in our own times