188 research outputs found

    Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership’s Family Self-Sufficiency Program Evaluation, July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2015

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    The final report on Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership\u27s (MBHP) Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program evaluation aims to improve our collective understanding of how the FSS program works, who benefits from the program and how they benefit, and the circumstances that are associated with success. The research findings are divided into five sections: A comparison of MBHP’s FSS program outcomes to the national average A description of how FSS graduates spend their escrow savings A comparison of FSS graduates with those who terminate from the program Mini-case examples on MBHP partnerships An assessment of goals and outcomes for MBHP under the TBF grant The Center for Social Policy used a developmental evaluation framework to design our research on the Family Self-Sufficiency program at the Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership. We investigated a series of questions developed in collaboration with key decision makers at MBHP and we tracked their progress towards the goals they set under the grant from the Boston Foundation. CSP worked together with MBHP to develop the research questions, establish priorities for data collection, synthesize the research findings and develop policy recommendations. This work has resulted in three reports, an evaluation brief, an interim report, and now a final report

    Allergic rhinitis : review of the diagnosis and management : South African Allergic Rhinitis Working Group

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    DATA AVAILABILITY : The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.BACKGROUND : Allergic rhinitis (AR) has a significant impact on the community as a whole with regard to quality of life and its relationship to allergic multi-morbidities. Appropriate diagnosis, treatment and review of the efficacy of interventions can ameliorate these effects. Yet, the importance of AR is often overlooked, and appropriate therapy is neglected. The availability of effective medications and knowledge as to management are often lacking in both public and private health systems. METHODS : This review is based on a comprehensive literature search and detailed discussions by the South African Allergic Rhinitis Working Group (SAARWG). RESULTS : The working group provided up-to-date recommendations on the epidemiology, pathology, diagnosis and management of AR, appropriate to the South African setting. CONCLUSION : Allergic rhinitis causes significant, often unappreciated, morbidity. It is a complex disease related to an inflammatory response to environmental allergens. Therapy involves education, evaluation of allergen sensitisation, pharmacological treatment, allergen immunotherapy (AIT) and evaluation of the success of interventions. Regular use of saline; the important role of intranasal corticosteroids, including those combined with topical antihistamines and reduction in the use of systemic steroids are key. Practitioners should have a thorough knowledge of associated morbidities and the need for specialist referral. CONTRIBUTION : This review summarises the latest developments in the diagnosis and management of AR such that it is a resource that allows easy access for family practitioners and specialists alike.https://www.safpj.co.zaam2024ImmunologyOtorhinolaryngologyPaediatrics and Child HealthSDG-03:Good heatlh and well-bein

    Ortho2ExpressMatrix—a web server that interprets cross-species gene expression data by gene family information

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The study of gene families is pivotal for the understanding of gene evolution across different organisms and such phylogenetic background is often used to infer biochemical functions of genes. Modern high-throughput experiments offer the possibility to analyze the entire transcriptome of an organism; however, it is often difficult to deduct functional information from that data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To improve functional interpretation of gene expression we introduce Ortho2ExpressMatrix, a novel tool that integrates complex gene family information, computed from sequence similarity, with comparative gene expression profiles of two pre-selected biological objects: gene families are displayed with two-dimensional matrices. Parameters of the tool are object type (two organisms, two individuals, two tissues, etc.), type of computational gene family inference, experimental meta-data, microarray platform, gene annotation level and genome build. Family information in Ortho2ExpressMatrix bases on computationally different protein family approaches such as EnsemblCompara, InParanoid, SYSTERS and Ensembl Family. Currently, respective all-against-all associations are available for five species: human, mouse, worm, fruit fly and yeast. Additionally, microRNA expression can be examined with respect to miRBase or TargetScan families. The visualization, which is typical for Ortho2ExpressMatrix, is performed as matrix view that displays functional traits of genes (differential expression) as well as sequence similarity of protein family members (BLAST e-values) in colour codes. Such translations are intended to facilitate the user's perception of the research object.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Ortho2ExpressMatrix integrates gene family information with genome-wide expression data in order to enhance functional interpretation of high-throughput analyses on diseases, environmental factors, or genetic modification or compound treatment experiments. The tool explores differential gene expression in the light of orthology, paralogy and structure of gene families up to the point of ambiguity analyses. Results can be used for filtering and prioritization in functional genomic, biomedical and systems biology applications. The web server is freely accessible at <url>http://bioinf-data.charite.de/o2em/cgi-bin/o2em.pl</url>.</p

    Readability estimates for commonly used health-related quality of life surveys

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    To estimate readability of seven commonly used health-related quality of life instruments: SF-36, HUI, EQ-5D, QWB-SA, HALex, Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ), and the NEI-VFQ-25. The Flesch–Kincaid (F–K) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulae were used to estimate readability for every item in each measure. The percentage of items that require more than 5 years of formal schooling according to F–K was 50 for the EQ-5D, 53 for the SF-36, 80 for the VFQ-25, 85 for the QWB-SA, 100 for the HUI, HALex, and the MLHFQ. The percentage of items deemed harder than “easy” according to FRE was 50 for the SF-36, 67 for the EQ-5D, 79 for the QWB-SA, 80 for the VFQ-25, 100 for the HUI, HALex, and the MLHFQ. All seven surveys have a substantial number of items with high readability levels that may not be appropriate for the general population
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