A quick guide for building a successful bioinformatics community

“Scientific community” refers to a group of people collaborating together on scientific-research-related activities who also share common goals, interests, and values. Such communities play a key role in many bioinformatics activities. Communities may be linked to a specific location or institute, or involve people working at many different institutions and locations. Education and training is typically an important component of these communities, providing a valuable context in which to develop skills and expertise, while also strengthening links and relationships within the community. Scientific communities facilitate: (i) the exchange and development of ideas and expertise; (ii) career development; (iii) coordinated funding activities; (iv) interactions and engagement with professionals from other fields; and (v) other activities beneficial to individual participants, communities, and the scientific field as a whole. It is thus beneficial at many different levels to understand the general features of successful, high-impact bioinformatics communities; how individual participants can contribute to the success of these communities; and the role of education and training within these communities. We present here a quick guide to building and maintaining a successful, high-impact bioinformatics community, along with an overview of the general benefits of participating in such communities. This article grew out of contributions made by organizers, presenters, panelists, and other participants of the ISMB/ECCB 2013 workshop “The ‘How To Guide’ for Establishing a Successful Bioinformatics Network” at the 21st Annual International Conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology (ISMB) and the 12th European Conference on Computational Biology (ECCB)

Tinnitus referral pathways within the National Health Service in England: a survey of their perceived effectiveness among audiology staff

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In the UK, audiology services deliver the majority of tinnitus patient care, but not all patients experience the same level of service. In 2009, the Department of Health released a Good Practice Guide to inform commissioners about key aspects of a quality tinnitus service in order to promote equity of tinnitus patient care in UK primary care, audiology, and in specialist multi-disciplinary centres. The purpose of the present research was to evaluate utilisation and opinions on pathways for the referral of tinnitus patients to and from English Audiology Departments.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We surveyed all audiology staff engaged in providing tinnitus services across England. A 36-item questionnaire was mailed to 351 clinicians in all 163 National Health Service (NHS) Trusts identified as having a tinnitus service. 138 clinicians responded. The results presented here describe experiences and opinions of the current patient pathways to and from the audiology tinnitus service.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The most common referral pathway was from general practice to a hospital-based Ear, Nose & Throat department and from there to a hospital-based audiology department (64%). Respondents considered the NHS tinnitus referral process to be generally effective (67%), but expressed needs for improving GP referral and patients' access to services. 'Open access' to the audiology clinic was rarely an option for patients (9%), nor was the opportunity to access specialist counselling provided by clinical psychology (35%). To decrease the number of inappropriate referrals, 40% of respondents called for greater awareness by referrers about the audiology tinnitus service.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Respondents in the present survey were generally satisfied with the tinnitus referral system. However, they highlighted some potential targets for service improvement including 1] faster and more appropriate referral from GPs, to be achieved through education on tinnitus referral criteria, 2] improved access to psychological services through audiologist training, and 3] ongoing support from tinnitus support groups, national charities, or open access to the tinnitus clinic for existing patients.</p

Influence of Manganese on Ochratoxin A Detoxification in Rats

The Influence of manganese on ochratoxin A detoxification was studied in 3- month old female white albino rats administered with 0.00, 500 and 500μg/kg body weight of ochratoxin A intraperitoneally daily for five days. In addition to the ochratoxin A, 0.5ml of 5% Manganese (II) chloride was administered to one of the test groups by intubation. The rats were monitored for mortality and clinical signs for five days before sacrifice. Serum samples were assayed for liver enzymes and kidney biomarkers. Histopathological examinations of the liver and kidney were conducted. The results showed that the administration of 500μg/kg body of ochratoxin A caused injury to the liver and kidney of the test groups though it was milder in the group given manganese and there was no mortality recorded. There was a significant increase (P&lt; 0.05) in activities of the enzymes aspartate aminotransferase (AST), Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) in the test groups, while it was a non significant (P &gt; 0.05) increase for creatinine level. Histopathological examinations showed degeneration of portal nuclei , walls of porteries and veins, pericholongitis, congestion of portal vessels by white blood cells, hepatocellular necrosis and perivascular cuffing in the liver and lymphocytic infiltration, haematin fragments, edema and tubular necrosis in the kidney of the test groups only. This study indicates clearly that manganese no significant influence on ochratoxin A detoxification.Key Words: Ochratoxin A, Biochemical, Histological, Detoxification, Manganese, Rats

Chemical Constituents of Essential Oil of Lantana camara Linn. Leaves

Abstract: The determination of the chemical profile of essential oil of the leaves of Lantana camara Linn. was undertaken in this study. Essential oil was extracted from the dried leaf sample using hydro distillation method. Gas Chromatograph coupled with Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS) was used for chemical analysis of the extracted essential oil. Eighteen constituents were identified, representing 100% composition of the oil. The constituents were mainly monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. The major constituents were found to be caryophllene oxide (21.75%), (-) -spathulenol (14.95%), D-nerolidol (10.39%) and (-) -β-caryophyllene (9.90%). The yield of essential oil obtained was 0.19%. Some of the identified constituents of the essential oil have proven pharmacological activities, uses in food, drink and cosmetic industries. The essential oil of L. camara leaves is worth exploiting for use by relevant industries

Identifying Risk Factors for Morbidity and Mortality in Patients with Primary Head and Neck Cancers in a Nigerian Population

Background: The risk factors for head and neck cancers (HNC) vary in different parts of the world. Objectives: To identify the risk factors for HNC and the correlation between these factors and the involved anatomical sites. Methods: We retrieved and analyzed health records of patients that met the inclusion criteria for HNC managed at our facility in a 10-year period using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) version 10. Results: We studied 122 patients with a male to female ratio of 2.1:1 aged 13 years to 85 years (mean = 51 years). Alcohol ( P  = .02), cigarette smoking ( P  = .01), and cooking wood smoke ( P  = .01) were associated with advanced tumor stage. Conclusions: The strongest risk factors for HNC are alcohol, tobacco, HIV, agricultural chemicals, and cooking wood fumes in both sexes in their sixth and seventh decades

Ultrasonographic biometry: Biparietal Diameter of Nigerian foetuses

Background: Foetal biparietal diameter has been studied previously in Nigerian foetuses but populations have been too small to make categorical conclusions regarding the reference values/data. Materials and Methods: In a cross sectional study, the foetal biparietal diameter (BPD) of 13,740 foetuses in Jos were measured with grey ultrasound machine in 13,740 Nigerian women during normal pregnancy and the mean BPD values for each week of pregnancy between 12 and 42 weeks were determined. Results: The mean biparietal diameter value was 29.4mm at 14 weeks, 49.4mm at 20 weeks, 78.4mm at 30 weeks, 91.5 at 37 weeks and 95.6mm at 40 weeks. There was a positive relationship between gestational age and biparietal diameter with correlation coefficient of R 2 = 0.9996 (P < 0.001), and with fetal weight. The increase in BPD with increasing age in the study population showed a curve similar to that of Europeans. Conclusions: Ultrasonographic measurement of biparietal diameter in Nigerian fetuses showed a linear correlation exists between BPD and gestational age, as well as BPD and foetal weight in normal foetuses