Data Management Tools to Measure the Impact of Core Facilities

The Biomolecular Research Center at Boise State University is a research core facility that supports the study of biomolecules with an emphasis on protein structure and function, molecular interactions, and imaging. The mission of the core is to facilitate access to instrumentation that might otherwise be unavailable because of the cost, training for new users, and scientific staff with specialized skills to support early-stage investigators, as well as more established senior investigators. Data collection and management of users and their research output is essential to understand the impact of the center on the research environment and research productivity. However, challenges are often encountered when trying to fully quantify the impact of a core facility on the institution, as well as on the career success of individual investigators. This challenge can be exacerbated under the conditions of unprecedented growth in biomedical research and shared core facility use that has been experienced at Boise State University, an institution of emerging research excellence. Responding to these challenges required new approaches to information management, reporting, assessment, and evaluation. Our specific data management, evaluation, and assessment challenges included 1) collection and management of annual reporting information from investigators, staff, and students in a streamlined manner that did not lead to reporting fatigue; 2) application of software for analyzing synergy among programs’ management strategy and investigator success; and 3) consolidation of core facility management, billing, and reporting capabilities into 1 cohesive system. The data management tools adopted had a beneficial effect by saving time, reducing administrative burden, and streamlining reporting. Practices implemented for data management have facilitated effective evaluation and future program planning. The substantial burden of assessment requirements necessitates early consideration of a strategy for data management to allow assessment of impact

Systematically missing confounders in individual participant data meta-analysis of observational cohort studies.

One difficulty in performing meta-analyses of observational cohort studies is that the availability of confounders may vary between cohorts, so that some cohorts provide fully adjusted analyses while others only provide partially adjusted analyses. Commonly, analyses of the association between an exposure and disease either are restricted to cohorts with full confounder information, or use all cohorts but do not fully adjust for confounding. We propose using a bivariate random-effects meta-analysis model to use information from all available cohorts while still adjusting for all the potential confounders. Our method uses both the fully adjusted and the partially adjusted estimated effects in the cohorts with full confounder information, together with an estimate of their within-cohort correlation. The method is applied to estimate the association between fibrinogen level and coronary heart disease incidence using data from 154,012 participants in 31 cohort

Reactions of pulmonary emphysema patients before and after VRS - Forcusing on the rehabilitation, activity, surgery -

今まで内科的治療が主体であった肺気腫に対して,近年外科的治療(Volume Reduction Surgery 以後VRSと略す)が行われるようになった｡VRSを受ける患者の看護では,手術前後において, リハビリテーション(以後リハビリと略す)や機能回復に向けてのケアが必要不可欠とされる。そこで,本研究は肺気腫患者の適切な看護援助を検討するために,手術前後に示す肺気腫患者のリハビリや活動に対する反応を明らかにすることを目的とした｡対象者は当病棟に入院している肺気腫患者8名(VRS手術前8名,手術後はそのうちの6名である)で, リハビリ, 日常生活活動,呼吸,手術などについて,面接ならびに観察による調査を行った｡分析の結果,手術前においてリハビリでは≪義務感≫,頑張って行えば呼吸が楽になるという≪期待感≫,≪サポート≫,≪不安≫が,活動では≪活動の制限≫,手術では呼吸が楽になるのではという≪期待感≫,≪おまかせ≫,≪いちかばちかの賭け≫,≪不安≫,≪回復に向けての欲求の高まり≫が明らかになった｡手術後においてリハビリでは≪呼吸が楽になるための手段≫が, 日常生活活動では≪今の状態よりは良くなると いう期待感≫が,手術では≪達成感≫ と≪身体的苦痛≫が,将来については≪ささやかな欲求≫が明らかになった｡Pulmonary emphysema has been mainly treated with medicine, but recently VRS(volume reduction surgery) has been receiving much attention. In nursing care for VRS patients, it is important to help the patient improve his/her daily activities and recover physical function smoothly after surgery. The purpose of this study is to clarify the reactions of pulmonary emphysema patients before and after VRS for appropriate nursing. The subjects were eight pulmonary emphysema patients at a ward in Okayama University Hospital, but six of them completed both before and after VRS data collection. The data were collected by interview and observation, and from medical and nursing records. Contents of the interview included rehabilitation, daily activities, respiratory symptoms, operative stress, and so on. The results were as follows : , , , and on rehabilitation, on activity, , , , , and on surgery were extracted as pre-operative patients's reactions. on rehabilitation, on activity, and on surgery, on future were extracted as post-operative patients's reactions

Novel Loci for Adiponectin Levels and Their Influence on Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic Traits : A Multi-Ethnic Meta-Analysis of 45,891 Individuals

J. Kaprio, S. Ripatti ja M.-L. Lokki työryhmien jäseniä.Peer reviewe

Center of Biomedical Research Excellence in Matrix Biology: Building Research Infrastructure, Supporting Young Researchers, and Fostering Collaboration

The Center of Biomedical Research Excellence in Matrix Biology strives to improve our understanding of extracellular matrix at molecular, cellular, tissue, and organismal levels to generate new knowledge about pathophysiology, normal development, and regenerative medicine. The primary goals of the Center are to i) support junior investigators, ii) enhance the productivity of established scientists, iii) facilitate collaboration between both junior and established researchers, and iv) build biomedical research infrastructure that will support research relevant to cell–matrix interactions in disease progression, tissue repair and regeneration, and v) provide access to instrumentation and technical support. A Pilot Project program provides funding to investigators who propose applying their expertise to matrix biology questions. Support from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences at the National Institutes of Health that established the Center of Biomedical Research Excellence in Matrix Biology has significantly enhanced the infrastructure and the capabilities of researchers at Boise State University, leading to new approaches that address disease diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. New multidisciplinary collaborations have been formed with investigators who may not have previously considered how their biomedical research programs addressed fundamental and applied questions involving the extracellular matrix. Collaborations with the broader matrix biology community are encouraged

The emerging risk factors collaboration:Analysis of individual data on lipid, inflammatory and other markers in over 1.1 million participants in 104 prospective studies of cardiovascular diseases

Many long-term prospective studies have reported on associations of cardiovascular diseases with circulating lipid markers and/or inflammatory markers. Studies have not, however, generally been designed to provide reliable estimates under different circumstances and to correct for within-person variability. The Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration has established a central database on over 1.1 million participants from 104 prospective population-based studies, in which subsets have information on lipid and inflammatory markers, other characteristics, as well as major cardiovascular morbidity and cause-specific mortality. Information on repeat measurements on relevant characteristics has been collected in approximately 340,000 participants to enable estimation of and correction for within-person variability. Re-analysis of individual data will yield up to approximately 69,000 incident fatal or nonfatal first ever major cardiovascular outcomes recorded during about 11.7 million person years at risk. The primary analyses will involve age-specific regression models in people without known baseline cardiovascular disease in relation to fatal or nonfatal first ever coronary heart disease outcomes. This initiative will characterize more precisely and in greater detail than has previously been possible the shape and strength of the age-and sex-specific associations of several lipid and inflammatory markers with incident coronary heart disease outcomes (and, secondarily,with other incident cardiovascular outcomes) under a wide range of circumstances. It will, therefore, help to determine to what extent such associations are independent from possible confounding factors and to what extent such markers (separately and in combination) provide incremental predictive value