Statistical Methods Useful in Clinical Simulation and Medical Education Scholarship

The objective of this paper is to introduce selected statistical and epidemiologic topics that are of interest to interdisciplinary teams of healthcare quality professionals, educators, technical staff, and researchers who participate in clinical simulation scholarship. Four research vignettes in the setting of a hypothetical clinical simulation training workshop are presented. The first vignette illustrates the utility of exact logistic regression when analyzing a small dataset. The second underscores the importance of using an appropriate method to account for the repeated measurement of an outcome. The third illustrates the use of the intraclass correlation coefficient to measure inter-rater reliability. The final vignette demonstrates the benefits of creating a causal diagram known as a directed acyclic graph

Impact of a Faculty Development Course on Promotion at a Health Sciences Center

Background: The objective of this study was to quantify the association between graduation from our annual comprehensive Institutional Faculty Development Course (IFDC) and being promoted from assistant professor to associate professor at our health sciences center. Methods: A retrospective cohort study (October 2008-October 2019) was conducted using publicly-available faculty data. A total of 148 IFDC graduates were compared to 87 non-graduates. Subjects were full-time assistant professors at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso at the start of follow-up. The binary outcome was promotion to associate professor. The outcome was measured annually from 2008 to 2019. Follow-up ended when the faculty member left our institution, was promoted to associate professor, or the study ended, whichever came first. A longitudinal data analysis was performed using generalized estimating equations (GEE) logistic regression with an independent working correlation structure. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) for promotion were calculated from the GEE logistic regression model. Results: The 235 faculty members contributed a total of 1015 records. The average ages (standard deviation) of IFDC graduates and non-graduates were 40.7 (8.6) and 40.3 (7.4) years, respectively. More than half of the IFDC graduates were female (54.1%) and 44.8% of the non-graduates were female. A positive association was detected between IFDC status (graduates vs. non-graduates) and being promoted to associate professor after controlling for time, age, sex, race and Hispanic ethnicity, discipline/specialty, and tenure track status in a GEE logistic regression model: adjusted OR=11.68, 95% confidence interval: 2.72 – 50.21, P=0.001. Conclusions: Completion of the IFDC was strongly correlated with promotion to associate professor at our health sciences center

Linkage of cystic fibrosis to the proα2(I) collagen gene, COL1A2, on chromosome 7

A linkage has been detected between the locus for cystic fibrosis (CF) and the proα2(I) collagen gene (COL1A2) which is located in the region q21.3→q22.1 of chromosome 7. Based on the combined linkage data derived from 50 informative two-generation nuclear families collected in Canada and Denmark, the distance between COL1A2 and CF is estimated to be 19 centiMorgans. Close lilnkage has also been detected between COL1A2 and the DNA market D7S15 (formerly D0CRI-917) and the serum enzyme activity marker paraoxonase (PON), both of which have previously been found linked to CF. The results of the two-oint and three-point linkage analyses indicate that the most probable order of these four genetic loci is COL1A2-D7S15-PON-CF.published_or_final_versio

Statistical Methods Useful in Clinical Simulation and Medical Education Scholarship

The objective of this paper is to introduce selected statistical and epidemiologic topics that are of interest to interdisciplinary teams of healthcare quality professionals, educators, technical staff, and researchers who participate in clinical simulation scholarship. Four research vignettes in the setting of a hypothetical clinical simulation training workshop are presented. The first vignette illustrates the utility of exact logistic regression when analyzing a small dataset. The second underscores the importance of using an appropriate method to account for the repeated measurement of an outcome. The third illustrates the use of the intraclass correlation coefficient to measure inter-rater reliability. The final vignette demonstrates the benefits of creating a causal diagram known as a directed acyclic graph

Quantum decoherence and quantum-holographic information processes: From biomolecules to biosystems

Our recently proposed quantum approach to biomolecular recognition processes is hereby additionally supported by biomolecular Resonant Recognition Model and by quantum-chemical theory of biomolecular non-radiative resonant transitions. Previously developed general quantum-decoherence framework for biopolymer conformational changes in very selective ligand-proteins/target-receptors key/lock biomolecular recognition processes (with electron-conformational coupling, giving rise to dynamical modification of many-electron energy-state hypersurface of the cellular quantum-ensemble ligand-proteins/target-receptors biomolecular macroscopic quantum system, with revealed possibility to consider cellular biomolecular recognition as a Hopfield-like quantum-holographic associative neural network) is further extended from nonlocal macroscopic-quantum level of biological cell to nonlocal macroscopic-quantum level of biological organism, based on long-range coherent microwave excitations (as supported by macroscopic quantum-like microwave resonance therapy of the acupuncture system) - which might be of fundamental importance in understanding of underlying macroscopic quantum (quantum-holographic Hopfield-like) control mechanisms of embryogenesis/ontogenesis and morphogenesis, and their backward influence on the expression of genes.Recent Developments in Advanced Materials and Processes, 7th Conference of the Yugoslav-Materials-Research-Society (Yu-MRS), Sep 12-16, 2005, Herceg Novi, Montenegr

On macroscopic quantum phenomena in biomolecules and cells: From levinthal to hopfield

In the context of the macroscopic quantum phenomena of the second kind, we hereby seek for a solution-in-principle of the long standing problem of the polymer folding, which was considered by Levinthal as (semi)classically intractable. To illuminate it, we applied quantum-chemical and quantum decoherence approaches to conformational transitions. Our analyses imply the existence of novel macroscopic quantum biomolecular phenomena, with biomolecular chain folding in an open environment considered as a subtle interplay between energy and conformation eigenstates of this biomolecule, governed by quantum-chemical and quantum decoherence laws. On the other hand, within an open biological cell, a system of all identical (noninteracting and dynamically noncoupled) biomolecular proteins might be considered as corresponding spatial quantum ensemble of these identical biomolecular processors, providing spatially distributed quantum solution to a single corresponding biomolecular chain folding, whose density of conformational states might be represented as Hopfield-like quantum-holographic associative neural network too (providing an equivalent global quantum-informational alternative to standard molecular-biology local biochemical approach in biomolecules and cells and higher hierarchical levels of organism, as well). © 2014 Dejan Raković et al

Molecular genetics of cystic fibrosis

Proceedings of an international workshop on the Identification of the CF Gene: Recent Progress and New Research Strategies, held April 9-11, 1990, in Sestri Levante (Genoa), Italylink_to_subscribed_fulltex

Nucleation of calcium hydroxyapatite thin films from simulated body fluid

Calcium hydroxyapatite (CHA) formation was produced by biomimetic deposition on the surfaces of silica layers of the steel bands, using slightly modified simulated body fluid (SBF). The used SBF had a pH value of 7.4 and a similar ionic composition like human plasma. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy-attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) method was used to analyse obtained phases on the surfaces of silica films after various times of sample soaking in SBF. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) investigations pointed out the mechanism of CHA nucleation. Mass changes investigations of the CHA thin films showed that the depth of CHA films was dependent on the aging time of silica substrate in SBF

Molecular approaches to the cystic fibrosis gene.

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