Mining social media and web searches for disease detection

Web-based social media is increasingly being used across different settings in the health care industry. The increased frequency in the use of the Internet via computer or mobile devices provides an opportunity for social media to be the medium through which people can be provided with valuable health information quickly and directly. While traditional methods of detection relied predominately on hierarchical or bureaucratic lines of communication, these often failed to yield timely and accurate epidemiological intelligence. New web-based platforms promise increased opportunities for a more timely and accurate spreading of information and analysis. This article aims to provide an overview and discussion of the availability of timely and accurate information. It is especially useful for the rapid identification of an outbreak of an infectious disease that is necessary to promptly and effectively develop public health responses. These web-based platforms include search queries, data mining of web and social media, process and analysis of blogs containing epidemic key words, text mining, and geographical information system data analyses. These new sources of analysis and information are intended to complement traditional sources of epidemic intelligence. Despite the attractiveness of these new approaches, further study is needed to determine the accuracy of blogger statements, as increases in public participation may not necessarily mean the information provided is more accurate

The LOFAR Magnetism Key Science Project

Measuring radio waves at low frequencies offers a new window to study cosmic magnetism, and LOFAR is the ideal radio telescope to open this window widely. The LOFAR Magnetism Key Science Project (MKSP) draws together expertise from multiple fields of magnetism science and intends to use LOFAR to tackle fundamental questions on cosmic magnetism by exploiting a variety of observational techniques. Surveys will provide diffuse emission from the Milky Way and from nearby galaxies, tracking the propagation of long-lived cosmic-ray electrons through magnetic field structures, to search for radio halos around spiral and dwarf galaxies and for magnetic fields in intergalactic space. Targeted deep-field observations of selected nearby galaxies and suspected intergalactic filaments allow sensitive mapping of weak magnetic fields through Rotation Measure (RM) grids. High-resolution observations of protostellar jets and giant radio galaxies reveal structures on small physical scales and at high redshifts, whilst pulsar RMs map large-scale magnetic structures of the Galactic disk and halo in revolutionary detail. The MKSP is responsible for the development of polarization calibration and processing, thus widening the scientific power of LOFAR.Comment: Proceedings of "Magnetic Fields in the Universe: From Laboratory and Stars to Primordial Structures", 2011 Aug. 21-27 in Zakopane/Poland, eds. M. Soida et a

Outcomes of On-Pump versus Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery in the High Risk (AusSCORE > 5)

Background: Coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) has been established as the preferred intervention for coronary revascularisation in the high-risk population. OPCAB may further reduce mortality and morbidity in this population subgroup. This study presents the largest series of high-risk (AusSCORE > 5) OPCAB patients in Australia and New Zealand. Methods: We reviewed the Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons' (ANZSCTS) database for high-risk patients (n=7822) undergoing isolated CABG surgery and compared the ONCAB (n=7277) with the OPCAB (n=545) technique. Preoperative and intraoperative risk factors, and postoperative outcomes were analysed. Survival analysis was performed after cross-matching the database with the national death registry to identify long-term mortality. Results: The ONCAB and OPCAB groups had similar risk profiles based on the AusSCORE. Thirty-day mortality (ONCAB vs OPCAB 3.9% vs 2.4%, p=0.067) and stroke (ONCAB vs OPCAB 2.4% vs 1.3%, p=0.104) were similar between the two groups. OPCAB patients received fewer distal anastomoses than ONCAB patients (2.5±1.2 vs 3.3±1.0, p<0.001). The rates of new postoperative atrial arrhythmia (28.3% vs 33.3%, p=0.017) and blood transfusion requirements (52.1% vs 59.5%, p=0.001) were lower in the OPCAB group, while duration of ICU stay in hours (97.4±187.8 vs 70.2±152.8, p<0.001) was longer. There was a non-significant trend towards improved 10-year survival in OPCAB patients (74.7% vs. 71.7%, p=0.133). Conclusions: In the high-risk population, CABG surgery has a low rate of mortality and morbidity suggesting that surgery is a safe option for coronary revascularisation. OPCAB reduces postoperative morbidity and is a safe procedure for 30-day mortality, stroke and long-term survival in high-risk patients