Crafting a critical technical practice

In recent years, the category of practice-based research has become an essential component of discourse around public funding and evaluation of the arts in British higher education. When included under the umbrella of public policy concerned with the creative industries", technology researchers often find themselves collaborating with artists who consider their own participation to be a form of practice-based research. We are conducting a study under the Creator Digital Economies project asking whether technologists, themselves, should be considered as engaging in practice-based research, whether this occurs in collaborative situations, or even as a component of their own personal research [1]

Slow and Steady: Readiness, Pretreatment Weekly Strengthening Activity, and Pediatric Weight Management Program Completion

Background: Pediatric weight management programs have substantial attrition rates, which have led to recommendations to assess readiness prior to enrollment. Both pretreatment readiness scales and behaviors, such as exercise, have been theorized to predict subsequent program completion. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of self-reported pretreatment exercise in adolescents on completion of a pediatric weight management program and to explore the predictive ability of standard readiness scales. Methods: A total of 146 obese (BMI≥95th percentile) pediatric (ages 11?18) participants joined a 6-month multidisciplinary weight management program between March, 2007, and July, 2010. Completers were compared retrospectively to noncompleters on demographic, readiness, and pretreatment exercise practices from clinic-developed intake questionnaires using univariate analyses. Regression analyses specified the degree to which these variables predicted program completion. Results: The 6-month completion rate was 53%. There was no relationship between self-reported readiness and program completion. Self-reported pretreatment weekly strengthening activity (SA) was significantly associated with program completion, compared to those who performed SA either never [univariate odds ratio (OR) 3.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.51?6.68, p=0.002; multivariate OR 2.43, 95% CI 1.06?5.58, p=0.036] or daily (univariate OR 4.90, 95% CI 1.74?13.77, p=0.002; multivariate OR 4.69, 95% CI 1.45?15.14, p=0.010). No relationship was found between other forms of exercise and program completion. Conclusions: Self-reported pretreatment weekly SA, but not standard readiness scales, predicted pediatric weight management program completion.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140330/1/chi.2013.0006.pd

An inter-platform repeatability study investigating real-time amplification of plasmid DNA

BACKGROUND: The wide variety of real-time amplification platforms currently available has determined that standardisation of DNA measurements is a fundamental aspect involved in the comparability of results. Statistical analysis of the data arising from three different real-time platforms was conducted in order to assess inter-platform repeatability. On three consecutive days two PCR reaction mixes were used on each of the three amplification platforms – the LightCycler(®), ABI PRISM(® )7700 and Rotor Gene 3000™. Real-time PCR amplification using a fluorogenic 5' exonuclease assay was performed in triplicate on negative controls and DNA plasmid dilutions of 10(8)–10(2 )copies to give a total of 24 reactions per PCR experiment. RESULTS: The results of the statistical analyses indicated that the platform with the most precise repeatability was the ABI PRISM(® )7700 when coupled with the FastStart PCR reaction mix. It was also found that there was no obvious relationship between plasmid copy number and repeatability. An ANOVA approach identified the factors that significantly affected the results, in descending order of magnitude, as: plasmid copy number, platform, PCR reaction mix and day (on which the experiment was performed). CONCLUSION: In order to deliver useful, informative genetic tests, standardisation of real-time PCR detection platforms to provide repeatable, reliable results is warranted. In addition, a better understanding of inter-assay and intra-assay repeatability is required

Does High BMI Influence Hospital Charges in Children Undergoing Adenotonsillectomy?

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/93757/1/oby.2008.234.pd