Women’s, partners’ and healthcare providers’ views and experiences of assisted vaginal birth: a systematic mixed methods review

Background When certain complications arise during the second stage of labour, assisted vaginal delivery (AVD), a vaginal birth with forceps or vacuum extractor, can effectively improve outcomes by ending prolonged labour or by ensuring rapid birth in response to maternal or fetal compromise. In recent decades, the use of AVD has decreased in many settings in favour of caesarean section (CS). This review aimed to improve understanding of experiences, barriers and facilitators for AVD use. Methods Systematic searches of eight databases using predefined search terms to identify studies reporting views and experiences of maternity service users, their partners, health care providers, policymakers, and funders in relation to AVD. Relevant studies were assessed for methodological quality. Qualitative findings were synthesised using a meta-ethnographic approach. Confidence in review findings was assessed using GRADE CERQual. Findings from quantitative studies were synthesised narratively and assessed using an adaptation of CERQual. Qualitative and quantitative review findings were triangulated using a convergence coding matrix. Results Forty-two studies (published 1985–2019) were included: six qualitative, one mixed-method and 35 quantitative. Thirty-five were from high-income countries, and seven from LMIC settings. Confidence in the findings was moderate or low. Spontaneous vaginal birth was most likely to be associated with positive short and long-term outcomes, and emergency CS least likely. Views and experiences of AVD tended to fall somewhere between these two extremes. Where indicated, AVD can be an effective, acceptable alternative to caesarean section. There was agreement or partial agreement across qualitative studies and surveys that the experience of AVD is impacted by the unexpected nature of events and, particularly in high-income settings, unmet expectations. Positive relationships, good communication, involvement in decision-making, and (believing in) the reason for intervention were important mediators of birth experience. Professional attitudes and skills (development) were simultaneously barriers and facilitators of AVD in quantitative studies. Conclusions Information, positive interaction and communication with providers and respectful care are facilitators for acceptance of AVD. Barriers include lack of training and skills for decision-making and use of instruments

Coupled transcriptome and proteome analysis of human lymphotropic tumor viruses: insights on the detection and discovery of viral genes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) are related human tumor viruses that cause primary effusion lymphomas (PEL) and Burkitt's lymphomas (BL), respectively. Viral genes expressed in naturally-infected cancer cells contribute to disease pathogenesis; knowing which viral genes are expressed is critical in understanding how these viruses cause cancer. To evaluate the expression of viral genes, we used high-resolution separation and mass spectrometry coupled with custom tiling arrays to align the viral proteomes and transcriptomes of three PEL and two BL cell lines under latent and lytic culture conditions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The majority of viral genes were efficiently detected at the transcript and/or protein level on manipulating the viral life cycle. Overall the correlation of expressed viral proteins and transcripts was highly complementary in both validating and providing orthogonal data with latent/lytic viral gene expression. Our approach also identified novel viral genes in both KSHV and EBV, and extends viral genome annotation. Several previously uncharacterized genes were validated at both transcript and protein levels.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This systems biology approach coupling proteome and transcriptome measurements provides a comprehensive view of viral gene expression that could not have been attained using each methodology independently. Detection of viral proteins in combination with viral transcripts is a potentially powerful method for establishing virus-disease relationships.</p

Digital youth workshop: Calling all designers, researchers, and policy makers

Digital age youth has emerged as a focus of interest to researchers across many disciplines. iSchool researchers address youth through designing applications and writing code, policymaking, understanding youth behavior and resources in myriad situations—including school, family, and neighborhoods. Despite the common interest in youth, iSchools have yet to come together as a field and move forward around a shared agenda. The goals of the 2013 workshop are to bring together researchers who are interested in digital youth and interested in being at the outset of a new digital youth community. The workshop will consist of one-minute “lightning” presentations followed by an unConference format where participants come together around working groups of interest. The 2013 iSchool workshop is the first in a three-event effort to establish an iSchool voice as leaders on the international stage around promoting digital youth. The first event, iConference 2013, is aimed at drawing a diverse initial community that will further comprise a steering group to help plan the second event, a Digital Youth Summit 2014 (in Seattle) that will be sponsored and attract participants from industry, government, nonprofits, education, and media. The third event will return to the iConference 2015 for reporting out.published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewe

Digital Youth: Towards a New Multidisciplinary Research Network

The workshop will discuss and reinterpret our collective understanding of the information-technology-people triad and accompanying concepts in order both to broaden and to sharpen the focus on Digital Youth. The workshop wants to break down walls, to cross disciplinary borders, and to establish dialogues among researchers across continents and LIS traditions in order to contribute to the development of LIS research communities. The goals of the workshop are: * to examine how Digital Youth can function as an overall research frame. * to establish dialogue and cooperation between and across disciplines and perspectives * to define the field so as to remain open to broader theoretical and methodological perspectives. * to provide a statement of purpose inviting other researchers to join the research initiative.publishedye