Systems thinking in public health: a bibliographic contribution to a meta-narrative review.

BACKGROUND: Research across the formal, natural and social sciences has greatly expanded our knowledge about complex systems in recent decades, informing a broadly inclusive, cross-disciplinary conceptual framework referred to as Systems Thinking (ST). Its use in public health is rapidly increasing, although there remains a poor understanding of how these ideas have been imported, adapted and elaborated by public health research networks worldwide. METHOD: This review employed a mixed methods approach to narrate the development of ST in public health. Tabulated results from a literature search of the Web of Science Core Collection database were used to perform a bibliometric analysis and literature review. Annual publication counts and citation scores were used to analyse trends and identify popular and potential 'landmark' publications. Citation network and co-authorship network diagrams were analysed to identify groups of articles and researchers in various network roles. RESULTS: Our search string related to 763 publications. Filtering excluded 208 publications while citation tracing identified 2 texts. The final 557 publications were analysed, revealing a near-exponential growth in literature over recent years. Half of all articles were published after 2010 with almost a fifth (17.8%) published in 2014. Bibliographic analysis identified five distinct citation and co-authorship groups homophilous by common geography, research focus, inspiration or institutional affiliation. As a loosely related set of sciences, many public health researchers have developed different aspects of ST based on their underlying perspective. Early studies were inspired by Management-related literature, while later groups adopted a broadly inclusive understanding which incorporated related Systems sciences and approaches. CONCLUSION: ST is an increasingly popular subject of discussion within public health although its understanding and approaches remain unclear. Briefly tracing the introduction and development of these ideas and author groups in public health literature may provide clarity and opportunities for further learning, research and development

Использование терминообразующего потенциала классических языков современными языками (на примере экономической терминологии современного французского языка)

It is imperative to fascinate young children at an early stage in their education for the analytical sciences. The exposure of the public to mass spectrometry presently increases rapidly through the common media. Outreach activities can take advantage of this exposure and employ mass spectrometry as an exquisite example of an analytical science in which children can be fascinated. The presented teaching modules introduce children to mass spectrometry and give them the opportunity to experience a modern research laboratory. The modules are highly adaptable and can be applied to young children from the age of 6 to 14 y. In an interactive tour, the students explore three major scientific concepts related to mass spectrometry; the building blocks of matter, charged particle manipulation by electrostatic fields, and analyte identification by mass analysis. Also, the students carry out a mass spectrometry experiment and learn to interpret the resulting mass spectra. The multistage, inquiry-based tour contains flexible methods, which teach the students current-day research techniques and possible applications to real research topics. Besides the scientific concepts, laboratory safety and hygiene are stressed and the students are enthused for the analytical sciences by participating in “hands-on” work. The presented modules have repeatedly been successfully employed during laboratory open days. They are also found to be extremely suitable for (early) high school science classes during laboratory visit-focused field trips

[Accepted Manuscript] Systems thinking in public health: a bibliographic contribution to a meta-narrative review.

Research across the formal, natural and social sciences has greatly expanded our knowledge about complex systems in recent decades, informing a broadly inclusive, cross-disciplinary conceptual framework referred to as Systems Thinking (ST). Its use in public health is rapidly increasing, although there remains a poor understanding of how these ideas have been imported, adapted and elaborated by public health research networks worldwide. This review employed a mixed methods approach to narrate the development of ST in public health. Tabulated results from a literature search of the Web of Science Core Collection database were used to perform a bibliometric analysis and literature review. Annual publication counts and citation scores were used to analyse trends and identify popular and potential 'landmark' publications. Citation network and co-authorship network diagrams were analysed to identify groups of articles and researchers in various network roles. Our search string related to 763 publications. Filtering excluded 208 publications while citation tracing identified 2 texts. The final 557 publications were analysed, revealing a near-exponential growth in literature over recent years. Half of all articles were published after 2010 with almost a fifth (17.8%) published in 2014. Bibliographic analysis identified five distinct citation and co-authorship groups homophilous by common geography, research focus, inspiration or institutional affiliation.As a loosely related set of sciences, many public health researchers have developed different aspects of ST based on their underlying perspective. Early studies were inspired by Management-related literature, while later groups adopted a broadly inclusive understanding which incorporated related Systems sciences and approaches. ST is an increasingly popular subject of discussion within public health although its understanding and approaches remain unclear. Briefly tracing the introduction and development of these ideas and author groups in public health literature may provide clarity and opportunities for further learning, research and development

Locally finitely presented categories and functor rings

In this paper, 40 Gbaud transmission of single polarization (SP) and Polarization-Multiplexed (PM), RZ-DQPSK and RZ-D8PSK signals is analyzed numerically. The impact of nonlinear crosstalk arising from the presence of neighbouring intensity-modulated channels is analyzed in terms of required OSNR for the BER of 10-3versus launch power.QC 20120607</p

Development of mixed metal metal-organic polyhedra networks, colloids, and MOFs and their pharmacokinetic applications

The coordination networking of discrete metal-organic polyhedra (MOPs) involving different ligands as well as metals is a challenging task due to the features of limited solubility and chemical stability of these polyhedra. An unusual approach, ligand-oriented polyhedral networking via click chemistry and further metal coordination is reported here. An alkyne decorated Cu(II)-MOP self-catalyzes the regioselective click reaction (1,3-dipolar cycloaddition) using azide-functionalized ligands under unconventional reaction conditions. Introducing new metal ions, M(II), interlinks the carboxylic groups on the MOP surfaces creating coordination networks. On the other hand, exposure of the respective individual ligand components in the presence of Cu(II) promotes an in-situ click reaction along with metal coordination generating a new 3D-framework. These materials demonstrated a high drug hosting potential exhibiting a controlled progressive release of anticancer (5-flourouracil) and stimulant (caffeine) drugs in physiological saline at 37 degrees C. These innovative and unconventional MOP networks provide a significant conceptual advance in understanding

Parental Education to Increase the Rate of Flu Vaccination in Children Ages Six Months to 17 Years: A Quality Improvement Project

Background: Seasonal influenza is often considered by many to be a minor inconvenience that can result in temporary discomfort and loss of productivity. While most individuals who contract the flu will experience these outcomes, for high-risk groups including the elderly, pregnant women, and children, seasonal flu can be costly and deadly. For children who are eligible for the vaccine, consent to vaccinate must be provided by parents. Consequently, increasing vaccine uptake in children requires healthcare providers to work with parents and to educate them about the risks and benefits of vaccination. Because vaccination rates among children are often low, a quality improvement project to educate parents about vaccinating their children against influenza was constructed. Objective: Increasing vaccination uptake in these populations is viewed as an important foundation for reducing the disease and economic burden of seasonal influenza. Research Method: A quasi-experimental pre-/post-intervention approach was selected to evaluate changes in parental knowledge regarding flu vaccination before and after an educational program provided over the telephone. Conclusion: The results of the project indicate a significant increase in post-intervention knowledge that were statistically significant: p = 0.001. Based on the results, increased parental knowledge should lead to an increase in vaccination rates for children. Implications: When the results of this project are combined with current evidence on the topic, there is ample support for building practice change that would include parental education to increase knowledge and influenza vaccine uptake for children. Keywords: influenza, children, parental education, vaccine, quality improvemen

The REDS score: a new scoring system to risk-stratify emergency department suspected sepsis: a derivation and validation study.

OBJECTIVE: To derive and validate a new clinical prediction rule to risk-stratify emergency department (ED) patients admitted with suspected sepsis. DESIGN: Retrospective prognostic study of prospectively collected data. SETTING: ED. PARTICIPANTS: Patients aged ≥18 years who met two Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome criteria or one Red Flag sepsis criteria on arrival, received intravenous antibiotics for a suspected infection and admitted. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE: In-hospital all-cause mortality. METHOD: The data were divided into derivation and validation cohorts. The simplified-Mortality in Severe Sepsis in the ED score and quick-SOFA scores, refractory hypotension and lactate were collectively termed 'component scores' and cumulatively termed the 'Risk-stratification of ED suspected Sepsis (REDS) score'. Each patient in the derivation cohort received a score (0-3) for each component score. The REDS score ranged from 0 to 12. The component scores were subject to univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. The receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves for the REDS and the components scores were constructed and their cut-off points identified. Scores above the cut-off points were deemed high-risk. The area under the ROC (AUROC) curves and sensitivity for mortality of the high-risk category of the REDS score and component scores were compared. The REDS score was internally validated. RESULTS: 2115 patients of whom 282 (13.3%) died in hospital. Derivation cohort: 1078 patients with 140 deaths (13%). The AUROC curve with 95% CI, cut-off point and sensitivity for mortality (95% CI) of the high-risk category of the REDS score were: derivation: 0.78 (0.75 to 0.80); ≥3; 85.0 (78 to 90.5). VALIDATION: 0.74 (0.71 to 0.76); ≥3; 84.5 (77.5 to 90.0). The AUROC curve and the sensitivity for mortality of the REDS score was better than that of the component scores. Specificity and mortality rates for REDS scores of ≥3, ≥5 and ≥7 were 54.8%, 88.8% and 96.9% and 21.8%, 36.0% and 49.1%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The REDS score is a simple and objective score to risk-stratify ED patients with suspected sepsis

Разработка и применение современных лабораторных методов в эпидемиологическом мониторинге, диагностики и лечении энтеровирусных инфекций

У роботі проведена порівняльна оцінка специфічності й чутливості тест-системи ПЛР, зі специфічним праймером до ДНК 207 п.н. 5'-нетрансльованої області генома энтеровируса для всіх типів ентеровірусів (крім вірусу поліомієліту) у порівнянні із класичним культуральним методом. А також методологічний підхід спільного використання вищеописаної реакції ПЦР із визначенням антитіл класу Іg до вірусів Коксаки й ЕСНО у системі ІФА діагностики, розробленої авторами, і спектр застосування розробленого комплекс.In work the estimation of specificity and sensitivity of test system PTSR, with specific primers to DNA 207 n.n is spent comparative. 5 '-not broadcast areas генома an enterovirus for all types of enteroviruses (except a poliomyelitis virus) in comparison with classical the virology a method. And also the methodological approach of sharing of above described reaction PCR with definition of antibodies of a class ІgG to viruses Cocsaki and ЕСНО in system IFA of diagnostics developed by authors, and a spectrum of application of the developed complex

Novel superhydrophobic polysiloxane-based materials for the conservation of marble

Abstract: Biomimetic materials with extreme wetting properties (MEWP) offer great potential as protective coatings against water-induced damage and oil-based soiling of stone-built heritage. This thesis assessed the performance of two novel coatings, one superhydrophobic, D/S/F (WCA =160.0°), and the other superamphiphobic, 6P/1F/2S (WCA=160.3°, OCA=152.2°). This involved characterizing their wettability, breathability, mechanical durability, resilience to environmental degradation agents (extreme temperature, acid/ rain, particulate matter) and response to accelerated UV-aging. Test protocols were adopted from standards, adapted from previous research, and optimized through trial runs. Particularly, the sandpaper abrasion test was applied to coatings being developed for heritage application for the first time. The D/S/F coating showed a 25% improved protection from water uptake compared to the commercial product with minimal effect on breathability (%RVP = 16%). It also demonstrated great mechanical durability across many cycles of sandpaper abrasion, tape peeling, acid rain simulation and sand-grit erosion. The 6P/1F/2S coating, however, did not offer improved protection from water penetration, with a higher associated impact on the breathability of stone (%RVP = 54%) but showed promising tolerance to freeze-thaw cycles and acid/rain simulation. Both the coatings maintained enhanced hydrophobicity over 2 months of artificial UV-aging. In summary, this research delineates the performance of two novel coatings displaying extreme wetting behaviour, while also contributing towards the development of test protocols that enable application-oriented assessment of coatings designed for the protection of stone heritage