37 research outputs found
Reduction of inhibitor titres by infusion of FVIII gene transduced tolerogenic dendritic cells in haemophilic mice
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72521/1/j.1365-2516.2009.01996_2.x.pd
Reaching 52bu/ac of Canola by 2025
Non-Peer ReviewedThe canola industry goal set by the Canola Council of Canada is to reach an average production level of 52 bu/ac by the year 2025. The pillars to reach this target include Genetic Improvements, and improved management of four agronomic areas; Plant Establishment, Fertility Management, Integrated Pest Management, and Harvest Management. Yields have increased since the establishment of this target, but still need to improve to reach the desired target. Several management practice improvements have been identified to help support achieving 52 bu/ac of canola by 2025
A computerized intervention to promote colorectal cancer screening for underserved populations: Theoretical background and algorithm development
Objective
The aim of this exploratory study was to assess factors deemed by patients as “important” as they planned and considered undergoing colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, and to use this data to design a computer-delivered intervention to promote screening.
Methods
Fifty participants 50 years or older, not up-to-date with current recommended CRC screening guidelines, were recruited from a primary care clinic. A semi-structured interview focused on aspects of preparing for colorectal cancer screening was administered; after transcription, researchers used triangulation and consensus to identify relevant themes and concepts.
Results
Four main themes were identified that dealt with issues important for both FOBT and colonoscopy planning: personal concerns, reminders, communication with healthcare providers and obtaining test results. FOBT specific themes included: sample collection and return. For colonoscopy screening, themes included: scheduling, intervention questions, colonoscopy preparation, and transportation. These can be classified as barrier, process and accessory themes. The developed computer-administered implementation intentions algorithm addressed all the identified concerns in a planned and sequential manner, in order to facilitate planning for CRC screening.
Conclusions
The results of this study suggest that appropriate reminders, explanations of procedures, and patient understanding of temporary life disruptions, help patients develop and accept a detailed screening plan
A computerized intervention to promote colorectal cancer screening for underserved populations: Theoretical background and algorithm development
Objective—The aim of this exploratory study was to assess factors deemed by patients as
“important” as they planned and considered undergoing colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, and to
use this data to design a computer-delivered intervention to promote screening.
Methods—Fifty participants 50 years or older, not up-to-date with current recommended CRC
screening guidelines, were recruited from a primary care clinic. A semi-structured interview
focused on aspects of preparing for colorectal cancer screening was administered; after
transcription, researchers used triangulation and consensus to identify relevant themes and
concepts.
Results—Four main themes were identified that dealt with issues important for both FOBT and
colonoscopy planning: personal concerns, reminders, communication with healthcare providers
and obtaining test results. FOBT specific themes included: sample collection and return. For
colonoscopy screening, themes included: scheduling, intervention questions, colonoscopy
preparation, and transportation. These can be classified as barrier, process and accessory themes.
The developed computer-administered implementation intentions algorithm addressed all the
identified concerns in a planned and sequential manner, in order to facilitate planning for CRC
screening.
Conclusions—The results of this study suggest that appropriate reminders, explanations of
procedures, and patient understanding of temporary life disruptions, help patients develop and
accept a detailed screening plan
Large expert-curated database for benchmarking document similarity detection in biomedical literature search
Document recommendation systems for locating relevant literature have mostly relied on methods developed a decade ago. This is largely due to the lack of a large offline gold-standard benchmark of relevant documents that cover a variety of research fields such that newly developed literature search techniques can be compared, improved and translated into practice. To overcome this bottleneck, we have established the RElevant LIterature SearcH consortium consisting of more than 1500 scientists from 84 countries, who have collectively annotated the relevance of over 180 000 PubMed-listed articles with regard to their respective seed (input) article/s. The majority of annotations were contributed by highly experienced, original authors of the seed articles. The collected data cover 76% of all unique PubMed Medical Subject Headings descriptors. No systematic biases were observed across different experience levels, research fields or time spent on annotations. More importantly, annotations of the same document pairs contributed by different scientists were highly concordant. We further show that the three representative baseline methods used to generate recommended articles for evaluation (Okapi Best Matching 25, Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency and PubMed Related Articles) had similar overall performances. Additionally, we found that these methods each tend to produce distinct collections of recommended articles, suggesting that a hybrid method may be required to completely capture all relevant articles. The established database server located at https://relishdb.ict.griffith.edu.au is freely available for the downloading of annotation data and the blind testing of new methods. We expect that this benchmark will be useful for stimulating the development of new powerful techniques for title and title/abstract-based search engines for relevant articles in biomedical research.Peer reviewe
A review of the effects of physical therapy on self-esteem in postpartum women with lumbopelvic dysfunction
This study sought to determine the impact of physical therapy for lumbopelvic dysfunction on self-esteem in postpartum women. Systematic searches were carried out in CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, Medline (OVID), Cochrane, and Web of Science by a health sciences librarian using various combinations of subject headings and key words. A dual review process was used first to assess titles and abstracts and then to examine the full text. Conflicts were resolved through discussion or a third reviewer as needed. Dual data extraction was completed using a standardized collection form. Pairs of reviewers met to discuss conflicts. Data quality was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's Risk of Bias Tool, the Joanna Briggs Critical Appraisal Tool, and the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Checklist. Thirteen articles were included in the review. None of the articles assessed self-esteem specifically; however, each article assessed aspects of self-esteem (self-concept, self-efficacy, self-worth, depression, quality of life, general well-being, or physical function). All articles reported improvements in the selected outcome measures compared with baseline; two studies that compared two different physical therapy interventions found no significant differences between the interventions. To our knowledge, there is no literature explicitly evaluating self-esteem in postpartum women following physical therapy intervention for lumbopelvic dysfunction. Low self-esteem is shown to predict depression and anxiety; therefore, interventions that increase self-esteem may be useful in reducing the risk of depression
Nanomaterials: certain aspects of application, risk assessment and risk communication
Development and market introduction of new nanomaterials trigger the need for an adequate risk assessment of such products
alongside suitable risk communication measures. Current application of classical and new nanomaterials is analyzed
in context of regulatory requirements and standardization for chemicals, food and consumer products. The challenges of
nanomaterial characterization as the main bottleneck of risk assessment and regulation are presented. In some areas, e.g.,
quantification of nanomaterials within complex matrices, the establishment and adaptation of analytical techniques such as
laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and others are potentially suited to meet the requirements. As
an example, we here provide an approach for the reliable characterization of human exposure to nanomaterials resulting from
food packaging. Furthermore, results of nanomaterial toxicity and ecotoxicity testing are discussed, with concluding key
criteria such as solubility and fiber rigidity as important parameters to be considered in material development and regulation.
Although an analysis of the public opinion has revealed a distinguished rating depending on the particular field of application,
a rather positive perception of nanotechnology could be ascertained for the German public in general. An improvement of
material characterization in both toxicological testing as well as end-product control was concluded as being the main obstacle
to ensure not only safe use of materials, but also wide acceptance of this and any novel technology in the general public.JRC.F.2-Consumer Products Safet
Nanomaterials: Certain aspects of application, risk assessment and risk communication
Development and market introduction of new nanomaterials trigger the need for an adequate risk assessment of such products alongside suitable risk communication measures. Current application of classical and new nanomaterials is analyzed in context of regulatory requirements and standardization for chemicals, food and consumer products. The challenges of nanomaterial characterization as the main bottleneck of risk assessment and regulation are presented. In some areas, e.g., quantification of nanomaterials within complex matrices, the establishment and adaptation of analytical techniques such as laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and others are potentially suited to meet the requirements. As an example, we here provide an approach for the reliable characterization of human exposure to nanomaterials resulting from food packaging. Furthermore, results of nanomaterial toxicity and ecotoxicity testing are discussed, with concluding key criteria such as solubility and fiber rigidity as important parameters to be considered in material development and regulation. Although an analysis of the public opinion has revealed a distinguished rating depending on the particular field of application, a rather positive perception of nanotechnology could be ascertained for the German public in general. An improvement of material characterization in both toxicological testing as well as end-product control was concluded as being the main obstacle to ensure not only safe use of materials, but also wide acceptance of this and any novel technology in the general public