4,216 research outputs found
Contexts of diffusion: Adoption of research synthesis in Social Work and Women's Studies
Texts reveal the subjects of interest in research fields, and the values,
beliefs, and practices of researchers. In this study, texts are examined
through bibliometric mapping and topic modeling to provide a birds eye view of
the social dynamics associated with the diffusion of research synthesis methods
in the contexts of Social Work and Women's Studies. Research synthesis texts
are especially revealing because the methods, which include meta-analysis and
systematic review, are reliant on the availability of past research and data,
sometimes idealized as objective, egalitarian approaches to research
evaluation, fundamentally tied to past research practices, and performed with
the goal informing future research and practice. This study highlights the
co-influence of past and subsequent research within research fields;
illustrates dynamics of the diffusion process; and provides insight into the
cultural contexts of research in Social Work and Women's Studies. This study
suggests the potential to further develop bibliometric mapping and topic
modeling techniques to inform research problem selection and resource
allocation.Comment: To appear in proceedings of the 2014 International Conference on
Social Computing, Behavioral-Cultural Modeling, and Prediction (SBP2014
Applying machine learning to improve simulations of a chaotic dynamical system using empirical error correction
Dynamical weather and climate prediction models underpin many studies of the
Earth system and hold the promise of being able to make robust projections of
future climate change based on physical laws. However, simulations from these
models still show many differences compared with observations. Machine learning
has been applied to solve certain prediction problems with great success, and
recently it's been proposed that this could replace the role of
physically-derived dynamical weather and climate models to give better quality
simulations. Here, instead, a framework using machine learning together with
physically-derived models is tested, in which it is learnt how to correct the
errors of the latter from timestep to timestep. This maintains the physical
understanding built into the models, whilst allowing performance improvements,
and also requires much simpler algorithms and less training data. This is
tested in the context of simulating the chaotic Lorenz '96 system, and it is
shown that the approach yields models that are stable and that give both
improved skill in initialised predictions and better long-term climate
statistics. Improvements in long-term statistics are smaller than for single
time-step tendencies, however, indicating that it would be valuable to develop
methods that target improvements on longer time scales. Future strategies for
the development of this approach and possible applications to making progress
on important scientific problems are discussed.Comment: 26p, 7 figures To be published in Journal of Advances in Modeling
Earth System
Treating patients as persons : a capabilities approach to support delivery of person-centered care
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Dietary Iron bioavailability: A simple model that can be used to derive country-specific dietary reference values for adult men and women
Background: Reference intakes for iron are derived from physiological requirements, with an assumed value for dietary iron absorption. A new approach to estimate iron bioavailability, calculated from iron intake, status, and requirements was used to set European dietary reference values, but the values obtained cannot be used for low- and middle-income countries where diets are very different. Objective: We aimed to test the feasibility of using the model developed from United Kingdom and Irish data to derive a value for dietary iron bioavailability in an African country, using data collected from women of child-bearing age in Benin. We also compared the effect of using estimates of iron losses made in the 1960s with more recent data for whole body iron losses. Methods: Dietary iron intake and serum ferritin (SF), together with physiological requirements of iron, were entered into the predictive model to estimate percentage iron absorption from the diet at different levels of iron status. Results: The results obtained from the 2 different methods for calculating physiological iron requirements were similar, except at low SF concentrations. At a SF value of 30 µg/L predicted iron absorption from the African maize-based diet was 6%, compared with 18% from a Western diet, and it remained low until the SF fell below 25 µg/L. Conclusions: We used the model to estimate percentage dietary iron absorption in 30 Beninese women. The predicted values agreed with results from earlier single meal isotope studies; therefore, we conclude that the model has potential for estimating dietary iron bioavailability in men and nonpregnant women consuming different diets in other countries
Managing the symptoms of neuropathic pain: An exploration of patients' experiences
The debilitating effects of chronic neuropathic pain on everyday life are considerable but little is known about how individual sufferers manage these effects. Virtually nothing is known about what patients prefer, what measures they take themselves, when, or in what combinations. The aim of this study was to explore patients’ reports of how they managed their neuropathic pain symptoms. Three focus groups including 10 participants were used to generate qualitative data on both individual and shared experiences of managing their symptoms of neuropathic pain. Discussions were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using thematic analysis, identifying categories and broader themes of importance to patients. The most common management strategy was the use of conventional medications, often associated with poor effectiveness and unpleasant side-effects. Complementary and alternative medicine was ineffective but many found resting or retreating helpful. They exhibited a repeated cycle of seeking help to manage the pain, with each unsuccessful attempt followed by new attempts. Some had tried to accept their pain, but there was insufficient psychological, social, emotional and practical support to allow them to do this successfully. This exploratory study provides a basis from which to develop a larger study to validate and extend the findings. Other issues meriting research are the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapies for those with neuropathic pain; and an exploration and subsequent evaluation of different types of social, practical and emotional support needed to help live with neuropathic pain
Comparative Effectiveness Research: Challenges for Medical Journals
Editors from a number of medical journals lay out principles for journals considering publication of Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER). In order to encourage dissemination of this editorial, this article is freely available in PLoS Medicine and will be also published in Medical Decision Making, Croatian Medical Journal, The Cochrane Library, Trials, The American Journal of Managed Care, and Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
Searching biomedical databases on complementary medicine: the use of controlled vocabulary among authors, indexers and investigators
BACKGROUND: The optimal retrieval of a literature search in biomedicine depends on the appropriate use of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), descriptors and keywords among authors and indexers. We hypothesized that authors, investigators and indexers in four biomedical databases are not consistent in their use of terminology in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). METHODS: Based on a research question addressing the validity of spinal palpation for the diagnosis of neuromuscular dysfunction, we developed four search concepts with their respective controlled vocabulary and key terms. We calculated the frequency of MeSH, descriptors, and keywords used by authors in titles and abstracts in comparison to standard practices in semantic and analytic indexing in MEDLINE, MANTIS, CINAHL, and Web of Science. RESULTS: Multiple searches resulted in the final selection of 38 relevant studies that were indexed at least in one of the four selected databases. Of the four search concepts, validity showed the greatest inconsistency in terminology among authors, indexers and investigators. The use of spinal terms showed the greatest consistency. Of the 22 neuromuscular dysfunction terms provided by the investigators, 11 were not contained in the controlled vocabulary and six were never used by authors or indexers. Most authors did not seem familiar with the controlled vocabulary for validity in the area of neuromuscular dysfunction. Recently, standard glossaries have been developed to assist in the research development of manual medicine. CONCLUSIONS: Searching biomedical databases for CAM is challenging due to inconsistent use of controlled vocabulary and indexing procedures in different databases. A standard terminology should be used by investigators in conducting their search strategies and authors when writing titles, abstracts and submitting keywords for publications
Patient-Centered Care: An Examination of Provider–Patient Communication Over Time
Objective: To examine the quality of provider communication over time considering the increasing emphasis on patient-centered care (PCC). Patient-centered care has been shown to have a positive impact on health outcomes, care experiences, quality-of-life, as well as decreased costs. Given this emphasis, we expect that provider–patient communication has improved over time. Data Source: We collected primary data by self-report surveys between summer 2017 and fall 2018. Study Design: We use a quantitative retrospective cohort study of a national sample of 353 patients who had an ostomy surgery. Data Extraction Method: We measure provider communication from open-ended self-reports from patients of the number of stated inadequacies in their care. Principal Findings: Results show that the time since patients had their surgery is related to higher quality provider communication. That is, patients who had their surgery further back in time reported higher quality provider communication compared with patients who had their surgery performed more recently. Conclusion: Results suggest that the quality of provider communication has not improved even with an emphasis on PCC.The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The research was funded by a “Graduate College Foundation Fellowship from the Department of Sociology and the Graduate College at the University of Oklahoma” to Leslie Miller. The funding does not impact the study in any way. Open Access fees paid for in whole or in part by the University of Oklahoma Libraries.Ye
Misdiagnosis of narcolepsy
BACKGROUND: Narcolepsy is a chronic primary sleep disorder, characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and sleep dysfunction with or without cataplexy. Narcolepsy is uncommon, with a low prevalence rate which makes it difficult to diagnose definitively without a complex series of tests and a detailed history. The aim of this study was to review patients referred to a tertiary sleep centre who had been labelled with a diagnosis of narcolepsy prior to referral in order to assess if the diagnosis was accurate, and if not, to determine the cause of diagnostic misattribution. METHODS: All patients seen at a sleep centre from 2007–2013 (n = 551) who underwent detailed objective testing including an MSLT PSG, as well as wearing an actigraphy watch and completing a sleep diary for 2 weeks, were assessed for a pre-referral and final diagnosis of narcolepsy. RESULTS: Of the 41 directly referred patients with a diagnostic label of narcolepsy, 19 (46 %) were subsequently confirmed to have narcolepsy on objective testing and assessment by a sleep physician using ICSD-2 criteria. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnosis of narcolepsy was incorrectly attributed to almost 50 % of patients labelled with a diagnosis of narcolepsy who were referred for further opinion by a variety of specialists and generalists. Accurate diagnosis of narcolepsy is critical for many reasons, such as the impact it has on quality of life, driving, employment, insurance and pregnancy in women as well as medication management
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