Teaching Signal Processing to the Medical Profession

Knowledge of signal processing is very important for medical students. A medical signal may be used for monitoring, constructing an image, or for extracting the numerical quantity of a parameter. This information forms a basis for medical decisions. However, the processing of the signal may lead to distortion and an incorrect interpretation. The present article describes an educational practical for first year medical students. It uses the electrocardiogram, which can be obtained easily, as a convenient example of a medical signal. The practical was developed at the VU University Amsterdam and summarizes the elementary concepts of signal processing

Food as Security: The controversy of foreign agricultural investment in the Yala Swamp, Kenya

This thesis explores the security implications of a wave of large-scale land acquisitions in developing countries led by foreign investors – generally known as the ‘global land grab’ – which came about in the aftermath of the 2008 Global Food Price Crisis. This ‘land grab’ phenomenon poses some fundamental questions about the state of the world food system and the role of emerging non-traditional challenges and threats to our future food security. At the same time, the security studies perspective that underlies the approach taken in this thesis has a rather uncomfortable association with the study’s main subject matter of ‘food security’. As a result, empirical enquiries into the phenomenon of land grabs need to be pre-empted by a solid theoretical foundation to elucidate the multifaceted relationship between food and security. This necessitates a thorough assessment of food as a matter of security; asking how our understanding of ‘food’ changes when we approach it as a security question. This thesis therefore sets out to achieve two objectives: 1) to bring the subject of ‘food’ into the security realm, and 2) to utilise a contextualised case study to critically assess the human security implications of a ‘land grab’. At the same time, however, a more holistic argument runs throughout the work, propounding the notion that there may be no technical solution to the world food problem. The idea is put forward that the natural sciences are perhaps not capable of single-handedly safeguarding our future food security. To be more precise, the solution to the world food problem may need to emanate from a radically changed human vision; one to inspire new values, ideas, morality, and above all, a change in behaviour

Food as Security: The controversy of foreign agricultural investment in the Yala Swamp, Kenya

This thesis explores the security implications of a wave of large-scale land acquisitions in developing countries led by foreign investors – generally known as the ‘global land grab’ – which came about in the aftermath of the 2008 Global Food Price Crisis. This ‘land grab’ phenomenon poses some fundamental questions about the state of the world food system and the role of emerging non-traditional challenges and threats to our future food security. At the same time, the security studies perspective that underlies the approach taken in this thesis has a rather uncomfortable association with the study’s main subject matter of ‘food security’. As a result, empirical enquiries into the phenomenon of land grabs need to be pre-empted by a solid theoretical foundation to elucidate the multifaceted relationship between food and security. This necessitates a thorough assessment of food as a matter of security; asking how our understanding of ‘food’ changes when we approach it as a security question. This thesis therefore sets out to achieve two objectives: 1) to bring the subject of ‘food’ into the security realm, and 2) to utilise a contextualised case study to critically assess the human security implications of a ‘land grab’. At the same time, however, a more holistic argument runs throughout the work, propounding the notion that there may be no technical solution to the world food problem. The idea is put forward that the natural sciences are perhaps not capable of single-handedly safeguarding our future food security. To be more precise, the solution to the world food problem may need to emanate from a radically changed human vision; one to inspire new values, ideas, morality, and above all, a change in behaviour

Beyond the dictionary : what teachers can do to help build struggling readers\u27 vocabularies

Vocabulary is well documented as a predictor of reading comprehension and school success (Cunningham & Stanovich, 1997; Davis, 1944 & 1968; Singer, 1965; Spearitt, 1972; Thurstone, 1946; Anderson & Nagy, 1991; Baker, Simmons, & Kame\u27enui, 1998; Becker, 1977; Cunningham & Stanovich, 1998). Through the research of the National Reading Panel (2000), vocabulary was identified as one of the five facets for improving students\u27 reading along with phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and comprehension. Research has estimated that for every word known by a student who is able to use morphology and context, an additional one to three words should then be understandable (Nagy & Anderson, 1984). Readers who have acquired these skills have the potential to figure out the meanings of countless unknown words in an independent fashion. Figuring out the meanings of unknown words and understanding the vocabulary is an essential skill for proficient reading (Foil & Alber, 2002). Having students look up words in a dictionary and practice their definitions is insufficient in developing a deeper understanding of words. Therefore, researching the effects of vocabulary instruction seems vital, since it is known that reading independently produces higher rates of vocabulary. Students with learning disabilities, however, do not engage in the amount of reading necessary to develop higher vocabularies by itself (Jitendra, Edwards, Sacks, & Jacobsen, 2004)

Evolution of pharmacogenomic services and implementation of a multi-state pharmacogenomics clinic across a large rural healthcare system

Introduction: Pharmacogenomics (PGx) aims to maximize drug benefits while minimizing risk of toxicity. Although PGx has proven beneficial in many settings, clinical uptake lags. Lack of clinician confidence and limited availability of PGx testing can deter patients from completing PGx testing. A few novel PGx clinic models have been described as a way to incorporate PGx testing into the standard of care.Background: A PGx clinic was implemented to fill an identified gap in provider availability, confidence, and utilization of PGx across our health system. Through a joint pharmacist and Advanced Practice Provider (APP) collaborative clinic, patients received counseling and PGx medication recommendations both before and after PGx testing. The clinic serves patients both in-person and virtually across four states in the upper Midwest.Results: The majority of patients seen in the PGx clinic during the early months were clinician referred (77%, n = 102) with the remainder being self-referred. Patients were, on average, taking two medications with Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium guidelines. Visits were split almost equally between in-person and virtual visits.Conclusion: Herein, we describe the successful implementation of an interdisciplinary PGx clinic to further enhance our PGx program. Throughout the implementation of the PGx clinic we have learned valuable lessons that may be of interest to other implementors. Clinicians were actively engaged in clinic referrals and early adoption of telemedicine was key to the clinic’s early successes