367 research outputs found
On bias in social reviews of university courses
University course ranking forums are a popular means of disseminating
information about satisfaction with the quality of course content and
instruction, especially with undergraduate students. A variety of policy
decisions by university administrators, instructional designers and teaching
staff affect how students perceive the efficacy of pedagogies employed in a
given course, in class and online. While there is a large body of research on
qualitative driving factors behind the use of academic rating sites, there is
little investigation of the (potential) implicit student bias on said forums
towards desirable course outcomes at the institution level. To that end, we
examine the connection between course outcomes (student-reported GPA) and the
overall ranking of the primary course instructor, as well as rating disparity
by nature of course outcomes, for several hundred courses taught at Virginia
Tech based on data collected from a popular academic rating forum. We also
replicate our analysis for several public universities across the US. Our
experiments indicate that there is a discernible albeit complex bias towards
course outcomes in the professor ratings registered by students.Comment: WebSci'19 Companion Proceeding
Guideline: Appropriate use of tigecycline
INTRODUCTION: Tigecycline, the first of a new class of antibiotics, the glycylcyclines, was licensed in South Africa for the parenteral treatment of adult patients with complicated intraabdominal
infections (cIAIs) and complicated skin and softtissue infections (cSSTIs).
METHODS: A multidisciplinary meeting representative of the
Association of Surgeons of South Africa, the Critical Care
Society of Southern Africa, the Federation of Infectious
Diseases Societies of Southern Africa, the South African
Thoracic Society and the Trauma Society of South Africa was
held to draw up a national guideline for the appropriate use
of tigecycline. Background information reviewed included
randomised controlled trials, other relevant publications and
local antibiotic susceptibility patterns. The initial document
was drafted at the meeting. Subsequent drafts were circulated
to members of the working group for modification.
OUTPUT: The guideline addresses several important aspects
of the new agent, summarising key clinical data and
highlighting important considerations with the use of the
drug. The recommendations in this guideline are based on
currently available scientific evidence together with the
consensus opinion of the authors.
CONCLUSION: This statement was written out of concern
regarding the widespread misuse of antibiotics. Its primary
intention is to facilitate heterogeneous use of antibiotics as
a component of antibiotic stewardship and to highlight the
appropriate use of tigecycline in particular.Sponsored through an
unrestricted educational grant from Wyeth
Evaluating 'Prefer not to say' Around Sensitive Disclosures
As people's offline and online lives become increasingly entwined, the sensitivity of personal information disclosed online is increasing. Disclosures often occur through structured disclosure fields (e.g., drop-down lists). Prior research suggests these fields may limit privacy, with non-disclosing users being presumed to be hiding undesirable information. We investigated this around HIV status disclosure in online dating apps used by men who have sex with men. Our online study asked participants (N=183) to rate profiles where HIV status was either disclosed or undisclosed. We tested three designs for displaying undisclosed fields. Visibility of undisclosed fields had a significant effect on the way profiles were rated, and other profile information (e.g., ethnicity) could affect inferences that develop around undisclosed information. Our research highlights complexities around designing for non-disclosure and questions the voluntary nature of these fields. Further work is outlined to ensure disclosure control is appropriately implemented around online sensitive information disclosures
Statistical methods for building better biomarkers of chronic kidney disease
Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149268/1/sim8091.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149268/2/sim8091_am.pd
Summary of findings and research recommendations from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative
© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Wilson, C. A., Feldman, M. G., Carron, M. J., Dannreuther, N. M., Farrington, J. W., Halanych, K. M., Petitt, J. L., Rullkotter, J., Sandifer, P. A., Shaw, J. K., Shepherd, J. G., Westerholm, D. G., Yanoff, C. J., & Zimmermann, L. A. Summary of findings and research recommendations from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative. Oceanography, 34(1), (2021): 228–239, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2021.128.Following the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in 2010, the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) was established to improve society’s ability to understand, respond to, and mitigate the impacts of petroleum pollution and related stressors of the marine and coastal ecosystems. This article provides a high-level overview of the major outcomes of the scientific work undertaken by GoMRI. This i scientifically independent initiative, consisting of over 4,500 experts in academia, government, and industry, contributed to significant knowledge advances across the physical, chemical, geological, and biological oceanographic research fields, as well as in related technology, socioeconomics, human health, and oil spill response measures. For each of these fields, this paper outlines key advances and discoveries made by GoMRI-funded scientists (along with a few surprises), synthesizing their efforts in order to highlight lessons learned, future research needs, remaining gaps, and suggestions for the next generation of scientists
Guideline summary : appropriate use of tigecycline
Tigecycline, the first of a new class of broad-spectrum antibiotics (the glycylcyclines), has been licensed in South Africa for the parenteral treatment of adult patients with complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAIs) and complicated skin and soft-tissue infections (cSSTIs).http://www.hmpg.co.za/journaldetail.php?journalno=
Methodology of AA CRASH: a prospective observational study evaluating the incidence and pathogenesis of adverse post-traumatic sequelae in African-Americans experiencing motor vehicle collision.
INTRODUCTION: A motor vehicle collision (MVC) is one of the most common life-threatening events experienced by individuals living in the USA. While most individuals recover following MVC, a significant proportion of individuals develop adverse post-traumatic sequelae such as post-traumatic stress disorder or persistent musculoskeletal pain. Adverse post-traumatic sequelae are common, morbid and costly public health problems in the USA and other industrialised countries. The pathogenesis of these disorders following MVC remains poorly understood. In the USA, available data suggest that African-Americans experience an increased burden of adverse post-traumatic sequelae after MVC compared to European Americans, but to date no studies examining the pathogenesis of these disorders among African-Americans experiencing MVC have been performed.
METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The African-American CRASH (AA CRASH) study is an NIH-funded, multicentre, prospective study that enrols African-Americans (n=900) who present to the emergency department (ED) within 24 hours of MVC. Participants are enrolled at 13 ED sites in the USA. Individuals who are admitted to the hospital or who report a fracture or tissue injury are excluded. Participants complete a detailed ED interview that includes an assessment of crash history, current post-traumatic symptoms and health status prior to the MVC. Blood samples are also collected in the ED using PAXgene DNA and PAXgene RNA tubes. Serial mixed-mode assessments 6 weeks, 6 months and 1 year after MVC include an assessment of adverse sequelae, general health status and health service utilisation. The results from this study will provide insights into the incidence and pathogenesis of persistent pain and other post-traumatic sequelae in African-Americans experiencing MVC.
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: AA CRASH has ethics approval in the USA, and the results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal
Methodology of AA CRASH: a prospective observational study evaluating the incidence and pathogenesis of adverse post-traumatic sequelae in African-Americans experiencing motor vehicle collision: Table 1
A motor vehicle collision (MVC) is one of the most common life-threatening events experienced by individuals living in the USA. While most individuals recover following MVC, a significant proportion of individuals develop adverse post-traumatic sequelae such as post-traumatic stress disorder or persistent musculoskeletal pain. Adverse post-traumatic sequelae are common, morbid and costly public health problems in the USA and other industrialised countries. The pathogenesis of these disorders following MVC remains poorly understood. In the USA, available data suggest that African-Americans experience an increased burden of adverse post-traumatic sequelae after MVC compared to European Americans, but to date no studies examining the pathogenesis of these disorders among African-Americans experiencing MVC have been performed
Full-length messenger RNA sequences greatly improve genome annotation
Background: Annotation of eukaryotic genomes is a complex endeavor that requires the
integration of evidence from multiple, often contradictory, sources. With the ever-increasing
amount of genome sequence data now available, methods for accurate identification of large
numbers of genes have become urgently needed. In an effort to create a set of very high-quality
gene models, we used the sequence of 5,000 full-length gene transcripts from Arabidopsis to
re-annotate its genome. We have mapped these transcripts to their exact chromosomal locations
and, using alignment programs, have created gene models that provide a reference set for this
organism.
Results: Approximately 35% of the transcripts indicated that previously annotated genes needed
modification, and 5% of the transcripts represented newly discovered genes. We also discovered
that multiple transcription initiation sites appear to be much more common than previously
known, and we report numerous cases of alternative mRNA splicing. We include a comparison of
different alignment software and an analysis of how the transcript data improved the previously
published annotation.
Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that sequencing of large numbers of full-length
transcripts followed by computational mapping greatly improves identification of the complete
exon structures of eukaryotic genes. In addition, we are able to find numerous introns in the
untranslated regions of the genes
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