The Display and Manipulation of Temporal Information

Because medical data have complex temporal features, special techniques are required for storing, retrieving, and displaying clinical data from electronic databases. One significant problem caused by the temporal nature of medical data has been called the temporal granularity problem. The temporal granularity problem is said to occur when the set of facts relevant to a specific problem changes as the time scale changes. We argue that what is needed to deal with changes in the relevant time scale are temporal granularity heuristics. One heuristic that we have explored is that, for any level of problem abstraction, and for each type of data item in the record, there exists an optimal level of temporal abstraction. We describe an implemented database kernel and a graphical user interface that have features designed specially to support this temporal granularity heuristic. The basis for our solution is the use of temporal abstraction and temporal granularity. This heuristic encodes the relevant behavior of each type of event at different levels of temporal granularity. In doing so, we can define a specific behavior for each type of data as the level of abstraction changes

Using changes in speciation in a dynamic combinatorial library as a fingerprint to differentiate the methylation states of arginine

Herein we describe the development of a sensor array that utilizes the complex response of a dynamic combinatorial library (DCL) to discriminate all of the methylation states of Arg, previously unreported in a sensor array, as well as the methylation states of Lys. We find that the use of all species in the DCL, not just those that bind, allows for discrimination of analytes that are otherwise indistinguishable, demonstrating the value of utilizing a complex network of species for differential sensing

Antiepileptic Drug Monotherapy: The Initial Approach in Epilepsy Management

Antiepileptic drug (AED) monotherapy is the preferred initial management approach in epilepsy care, since most patients may be successfully managed with the first or second monotherapy utilized. This article reviews the rationale and evidence supporting preferential use of monotherapy when possible and guidelines for initiating and successfully employing AED monotherapy. Suggested approaches to consider when patients fail monotherapy include substituting a new AED monotherapy, initiating chronic maintenance AED polytherapy, or pursuit of non-pharmacologic treatments such as epilepsy surgery or vagus nerve stimulation. Reducing AED polytherapy to monotherapy frequently reduces the burden of adverse effects and may also improve seizure control. AED monotherapy remains the optimal approach for managing most patients with epilepsy

Information Retrieval from Hypertext: Update on the Dynamic Medical Handbook Project

This paper attempts to provide a perspective from which to develop a more complete theory of information retrieval from hypertext documents. Viewing hypertexts as large information spaces, we compare two general classes of navigation methods, classes we call local and global. We argue that global methods necessitate some form of “index space” conceptually separate from the hypertext “document space”. We note that the architectures of both spaces effect the ease with which one can apply various information retrieval algorithms. We identify a number of different index space and document space architectures and we discuss some of the associated trade-offs between hypertext functionality and computational complexity. We show how some index space architectures can be exploited for enhanced information retrieval, query refinement, and automated reasoning. Through analysis of a number of prototype systems, we discuss current limitations and future potentials for various hypertext information retrieval structures

Follow #eHealth2011: Measuring the Role and Effectiveness of Online and Social Media in Increasing the Outreach of a Scientific Conference

BACKGROUND: Social media promotion is increasingly adopted by organizers of industry and academic events; however, the success of social media strategies is rarely questioned or the real impact scientifically analyzed. Objective: We propose a framework that defines and analyses the impact, outreach, and effectiveness of social media for event promotion and research dissemination to participants of a scientific event as well as to the virtual audience through the Web. METHODS: Online communication channels Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and a Liveblog were trialed and their impact measured on outreach during five phases of an eHealth conference: the setup, active and last-minute promotion phases before the conference, the actual event, and after the conference. RESULTS: Planned outreach through online channels and social media before and during the event reached an audience several magnitudes larger in size than would have been possible using traditional means. In the particular case of eHealth 2011, the outreach using traditional means would have been 74 attendees plus 23 extra as sold proceedings and the number of downloaded articles from the online proceedings (4107 until October 2013). The audience for the conference reached via online channels and social media was estimated at more than 5300 in total during the event. The role of Twitter for promotion before the event was complemented by an increased usage of the website and Facebook during the event followed by a sharp increase of views of posters on Flickr after the event. CONCLUSIONS: Although our case study is focused on a particular audience around eHealth 2011, our framework provides a template for redefining “audience” and outreach of events, merging traditional physical and virtual communities and providing an outline on how these could be successfully reached in clearly defined event phases

A comparison of attitudes towards stuttering of non-stuttering preschoolers in the United States and Turkey

Background and objectives: Extensive research documents ubiquitous negative attitudes towards stuttering, but when and how they develop is unclear. This non-experimental, comparative study examined US and Turkish preschoolers to explore the origin of stuttering attitudes cross-culturally. Method: The authors compared stuttering attitudes of 28 US and 31 Turkish non-stuttering preschoolers on English and Turkish versions of experimental prototypes of the newly developed Public Opinion Survey on Human Attributes–Stuttering/Child (POSHA–S/Child). Children first watched a short video of two stuttering avatar characters and then answered oral questions about stuttering. Parents completed a demographic questionnaire. Differences in the US and Turkish POSHA–S/Child means were calculated using the Mann–Whitney U test. Results: Attitudes of the US and Turkish children were remarkably similar. Children rated most of the items negatively but also rated some items as neutral or positive. They held relatively more negative attitudes towards traits and personalities of children who stutter yet relatively more positive attitudes towards stuttering children’s potential. Conclusion: Stuttering attitudes in children appear to be partly independent of culture

Development of "Imprint-and-Report" Dynamic Combinatorial Libraries for Differential Sensing Applications

Sensor arrays using synthetic receptors have found great utility in analyte detection, resulting from their ability to distinguish analytes based on differential signals via indicator displacement. However, synthesis and characterization of receptors for an array remain a bottleneck in the field. Receptor discovery has been streamlined using dynamic combinatorial libraries (DCLs), but the resulting receptors have primarily been utilized in isolation rather than as part of the entire library, with only a few examples that make use of the complexity of a library of receptors. Herein, we demonstrate a unique sensor array approach using "imprint-and-report" DCLs that obviates the need for receptor synthesis and isolation. This strategy leverages information stored in DCLs in the form of differential library speciation to provide a high-throughput method for both developing a sensor array and analyzing data for analyte differentiation. First, each DCL is templated with analyte to give an imprinted library, followed by in situ fluorescent indicator displacement analysis. We further demonstrate that the reverse strategy, imprinting with the fluorescent reporter followed by displacement with each analyte, provides a more sensitive method for differentiating analytes. We describe the development of this differential sensing system using the methylated Arg and Lys post-translational modifications (PTMs). Altogether, 19 combinations of 3-5 DCL data sets that discriminate all 7 PTMs were identified. Thus, a comparable sensor array workflow results in a larger payoff due to the immense information stored within multiple noncovalent networks

Vulnerability of Coastal Infrastructure and Communities to Extreme Storms and Rising Sea Levels: An Improved Model for Grenada and Its Dependencies

open access articleCoastal areas of Grenada in the south-eastern Caribbean are particularly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change. The effects of increasingly powerful hurricanes, sea-level rise, and reef degradation are often compounded by local anthropogenic activities. Many communities reside in low-lying areas, with development and infrastructure concentrated along the coast. Wave/storm surge models based on historic hurricanes Ivan and Lenny, and a hurricane with a predicted 100-year return period, were used to assess coastal inundation under different storm and sea-level rise scenarios. Coupled Tomawac and Telemac models were used in conjunction with high-resolution LiDAR data to provide a full vulnerability assessment across all coastal zones. Results were combined with census data at the Enumeration District level to assess impacts on the built environment. Qualitative and quantitative estimates were derived for the impact on natural features, land use, and infrastructure supporting critical economic activity in Grenada’s coastal zones. Estimation of both spatial extent and inundation depth improved the estimation of likely coastal impacts and associated costs at the national level. A general increase in extent and severity of inundation was predicted with projected future sea-level rise, with the potential for disruption to major coastal infrastructure evident in all scenarios, risking serious social and economic consequences for local communities. Coastal communities using poorer-quality building materials were most severely affected. This integrated method of assessment can guide disaster planning and decision-making to reduce risk and aid resilience in hurricane-prone regions

Polarimetric Evidence of Non-Spherical Winds

Polarization observations yield otherwise unobtainable information about the geometrical structure of unresolved objects. In this talk we review the evidences for non-spherically symmetric structures around Luminous Hot Stars from polarimetry and what we can learn with this technique. Polarimetry has added a new dimension to the study of the envelopes of Luminous Blue Variables, Wolf-Rayet stars and B[e] stars, all of which are discussed in some detail.Comment: 8 pages, 2 encapsulated Postscript figures, uses lamuphys.sty. Invited review to appear in IAU Coll. 169, Variable and Non-Spherical Stellar Winds in Luminous Hot Stars, eds. B. Wolf, A.Fullerton and O. Stahl (Springer