3,373 research outputs found
The experience of accommodating privacy restrictions during implementation of a large-scale surveillance study of an osteoporosis medication.
PurposeTo explore whether privacy restrictions developed to protect patients have complicated research within a 15-year surveillance study conducted with US cancer registries.MethodsData from enrolling 27 cancer registries over a 10-year period were examined to describe the amount of time needed to obtain study approval. We also analyzed the proportion of patients that completed a research interview out of the total reported by the registries and examined factors thought to influence this measure.ResultsThe average length of the research review process from submission to approval of the research was 7âmonths (range, <1 to 24âmonths), and it took 6âmonths or more to obtain approval of the research at 41% of the cancer registries. Most registries (78%) required additional permission steps to gain access to patients for research. After adjustment for covariates, the interview response proportion was 110% greater (ratio of response proportionâ=â2.1; 95% confidence interval: 1.3, 3.3) when the least restrictive versus the most restrictive permission steps were required. An interview was more often completed for patients (or proxies) if patients were alive, within a year of being diagnosed, or identified earlier in the study.ConclusionsLengthy research review processes increased the time between diagnosis and provision of patient information to the researcher. Requiring physician permission for access to patients was associated with lower subject participation. A single national point of entry for use of cancer registry data in health research is worthy of consideration to make the research approval process efficient. © 2016 The Authors. Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Astrophysical Supercomputing with GPUs: Critical Decisions for Early Adopters
General purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU) is
dramatically changing the landscape of high performance computing in astronomy.
In this paper, we identify and investigate several key decision areas, with a
goal of simplyfing the early adoption of GPGPU in astronomy. We consider the
merits of OpenCL as an open standard in order to reduce risks associated with
coding in a native, vendor-specific programming environment, and present a GPU
programming philosophy based on using brute force solutions. We assert that
effective use of new GPU-based supercomputing facilities will require a change
in approach from astronomers. This will likely include improved programming
training, an increased need for software development best-practice through the
use of profiling and related optimisation tools, and a greater reliance on
third-party code libraries. As with any new technology, those willing to take
the risks, and make the investment of time and effort to become early adopters
of GPGPU in astronomy, stand to reap great benefits.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in PAS
Initial Top-Level Characterization of the Air Force Sustainment System
This draft white paper presents an initial top-level characterization of the Air Force sustainment system. The first part of the paper gives an overview of the proposed conceptual framework for system characterization. The second part presents an initial top-level characterization of the system, by using this framework, and offers some preliminary suggestions or recommendations. Finally, next steps in the research process are outlined, placing the paper in the larger context of the task on system characterization and transformation
Month-Timescale Optical Variability in the M87 Jet
A previously inconspicuous knot in the M87 jet has undergone a dramatic
outburst and now exceeds the nucleus in optical and X-ray luminosity.
Monitoring of M87 with the Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory
during 2002-2003, has found month-timescale optical variability in both the
nucleus and HST-1, a knot in the jet 0.82'' from the nucleus. We discuss the
behavior of the variability timescales as well as spectral energy distribution
of both components. In the nucleus, we see nearly energy-independent
variability behavior. Knot HST-1, however, displays weak energy dependence in
both X-ray and optical bands, but with nearly comparable rise/decay timescales
at 220 nm and 0.5 keV. The flaring region of HST-1 appears stationary over
eight months of monitoring. We consider various emission models to explain the
variability of both components. The flares we see are similar to those seen in
blazars, albeit on longer timescales, and so could, if viewed at smaller
angles, explain the extreme variability properties of those objects.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, ApJ Lett., in pres
Use of a Granulocyte Immunofluorescence Assay Designed for Humans for Detection of Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibodies in Dogs with Chronic Enteropathies
Perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (pANCA) previously have been shown to be serum markers in dogs with chronic enteropathies, with dogs that have foodâresponsive disease (FRD) having higher frequencies of seropositivity than dogs with steroidâresponsive disease (SRD). The indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) assay used in previous publications is timeâconsuming to perform, with low interobserver agreement. Fortyâfour dogs with FRD, 20 dogs with SRD, 20 control dogs, and 38 softâcoated wheaten terrier (SCWT) or SCWTâcross dogs
Direct measurement of the flow field around swimming microorganisms
Swimming microorganisms create flows that influence their mutual interactions
and modify the rheology of their suspensions. While extensively studied
theoretically, these flows have not been measured in detail around any
freely-swimming microorganism. We report such measurements for the microphytes
Volvox carteri and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The minute ~0.3% density excess
of V. carteri over water leads to a strongly dominant Stokeslet contribution,
with the widely-assumed stresslet flow only a correction to the subleading
source dipole term. This implies that suspensions of V. carteri have features
similar to suspensions of sedimenting particles. The flow in the region around
C. reinhardtii where significant hydrodynamic interaction is likely to occur
differs qualitatively from a "puller" stresslet, and can be described by a
simple three-Stokeslet model.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in PR
Dissipation in Poynting-flux Dominated Flows: the Sigma-Problem of the Crab Pulsar Wind
Flows in which energy is transported predominantly as Poynting flux are
thought to occur in pulsars, gamma-ray bursts and relativistic jets from
compact objects. The fluctuating component of the magnetic field in such a flow
can in principle be dissipated by magnetic reconnection, and used to accelerate
the flow. We investigate how rapidly this transition can take place, by
implementing into a global MHD model, that uses a thermodynamic description of
the plasma, explicit, physically motivated prescriptions for the dissipation
rate: a lower limit on this rate is given by limiting the maximum drift speed
of the current carriers to that of light, an upper limit follows from demanding
that the dissipation zone expand only subsonically in the comoving frame and a
further prescription is obtained by assuming that the expansion speed is
limited by the growth rate of the relativistic tearing mode. In each case,
solutions are presented which give the Lorentz factor of a spherical wind
containing a transverse, oscillating magnetic field component as a function of
radius. In the case of the Crab pulsar, we find that the Poynting flux can be
dissipated before the wind reaches the inner edge of the Nebula if the pulsar
emits electron positron pairs at a rate >1.E40 per second, thus providing a
possible solution to the sigma-problem.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
The barrier method as a new tool to assist in career selection: covert observational study
Objective To determine if senior doctorsâ parking habits and skills are associated with clinical specialty and, if so, whether observation of junior doctorsâ parking could provide guidance in choice of specialty
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