Generation Scotland - Using Electronic Health Records for Research

Generation Scotland: Scottish Family Health Study (GS:SFHS) is a family-based genetic epidemiology study of ~24,000 volunteers from ~7000 families recruited across Scotland between 2006 and 2011 with the capacity for follow-up through record linkage and re-contact. Broad consent was obtained for linkage to “medical records” for 98% of the cohort. Participants completed a questionnaire, provided samples, and underwent clinical assessment. The samples and data collected form a resource with consent for research on the genetics of health, becoming a longitudinal dataset by linkage to routine NHS hospital, maternity, lab test, prescribing, dentistry and mortality data. Researchers can use the linked datasets to test research hypotheses on a stratified population and target recruitment to new studies. We have established and validated EHR linkage, overcoming technical and governance issues in the process. We plan to collaborate with UK Biobank, creating a combined cohort of over 50,000 people in Scotland, and using the SHARE register to obtain new research samples from routine NHS tests. We will extend linkage to include primary care data and scanned images in the next year. The resources are available to academic and commercial researchers through a managed access process

Chronicles of Oklahoma

Article discusses the history of a Natchez-Cherokee settlement, traditional practices still preserved there, and the story of the "sacred fire" still held by its people

A Comparative Assessment of Floating and Submerged Sensor Network Deployments for Monitoring Underwater Sediment Transport Processes

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are a pioneering technology in many environmental monitoring applications owing to their ability to be deployed for long periods of time in locations that cannot be reached manually. One such use-case is the monitoring of underwater sediment transport, a process that plays a significant role in coastal erosion. Previous examples of WSNs deployed for this purpose have been in the form of underwater sensor networks (UWSNs), which have a number of shortcomings from both a practical and technical viewpoint. As such, this paper provides a comparative assessment of UWSNs and an alternative deployment approach of floating echosounding sensor networks for the purpose of monitoring underwater sediment transport

Impact-ionization and noise characteristics of thin III-V avalanche photodiodes

It is, by now, well known that McIntyre\u27s localized carrier-multiplication theory cannot explain the suppression of excess noise factor observed in avalanche photodiodes (APDs) that make use of thin multiplication regions. We demonstrate that a carrier multiplication model that incorporates the effects of dead space, as developed earlier by Hayat et al. provides excellent agreement with the impact-ionization and noise characteristics of thin InP, In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As, GaAs, and Al/sub 0.2/Ga/sub 0.8/As APDs, with multiplication regions of different widths. We outline a general technique that facilitates the calculation of ionization coefficients for carriers that have traveled a distance exceeding the dead space (enabled carriers), directly from experimental excess-noise-factor data. These coefficients depend on the electric field in exponential fashion and are independent of multiplication width, as expected on physical grounds. The procedure for obtaining the ionization coefficients is used in conjunction with the dead-space-multiplication theory (DSMT) to predict excess noise factor versus mean-gain curves that are in excellent accord with experimental data for thin III-V APDs, for all multiplication-region widths

Generation Scotland: Linking all the records we can

Objectives We started a family-based genetic epidemiology study in 2006-11 which recruited ~24,000 adult volunteers from ~7000 families across Scotland with consent for follow-up through medical record linkage and re-contact. In 2022-23 we are recruiting another 20,000, with consent extended to administrative records, with age range now 12+. Methods Original volunteers completed a demographic, health and lifestyle questionnaire, provided biological samples, and underwent detailed clinical assessment. The samples, phenotype and genotype data form a resource for research on the genetics of conditions of public health importance. This has become a longitudinal dataset by linkage to routine NHS hospital, maternity, lab test, prescriptions, dentistry, mortality, imaging, cancer screening, GP data records, Covid-19 testing and vaccinations, as well as follow-up questionnaires. The new wave of recruitment is all online and can be done on a smartphone, with DNA from saliva collected by post. Teenagers aged 12-15 can join with parental consent. Results GWAS has been done on quantitative traits and biomarkers, with DNA methylation data and proteomics available for most of the cohort. Our “CovidLife” surveys collected data on effects of the pandemic. Researchers can find prevalent and incident disease cases and controls, to test research hypotheses on a stratified population. They can also do targeted recruitment of participants to new studies, including recall by genotype. We have established and validated E-HR linkage with the NHS Scotland CHI Register,,overcoming technical and governance issues in the process. We contribute to major international consortia, with collaborators from institutions worldwide, both academic and commercial. Recruits are asked to give consent to linkage to other administrative data, and reuse of samples from routine NHS tests for medical research. Conclusion We plan to extend the linkage process to include other administrative data from national datasets as and when approvals are obtained. New types of data can also be collected by online questionnaires. The Research Tissue Bank resources are available to academic and commercial researchers through a managed access process

Impact of preeclampsia on cardiovascular events: an analysis of the Generation Scotland: Scottish Family Health Study

Preeclampsia is a recognised cause of an increased risk of major adverse cardiovascular events when compared to the background risk in women who did not have hypertensive disorders during pregnancy. The Generation Scotland: Scottish Family Health Study (GS:SFHS) is a population cohort of more than 20,000 members of the Scottish population. Using the Scottish Morbidity Records, we linked the women in the GS:SFHS cohort to validated maternity and inpatient admission data. This allowed us to robustly identify cardiovascular outcomes in the form of inpatient admission for cardiovascular events, We also aimed to explore the risk of pregnancy on future cardiovascular events, using data from nulliparous and parous women.In total, 9732 women were selected. 3693 women were nulliparous, and after study exclusion, 5253 women with 9583 pregnancies remained. Pregnancies from 1980 until the end of the study period of 1st of July 2013 were included. Cardiovascular events occurred in 9.0% of nulliparous women, 4.2% of women with pregnancies and in 7.6% of women with a history of preeclampsia. A total of 218 parous women experienced cardiovascular events, 25 in the preeclampsia group and 193 in the normotensive group.Survival analysis was undertaken, with index pregnancy taken as first pregnancy in normotensive controls and first preeclampsia pregnancy in cases. Endpoint of interest was admission to hospital with first cardiovascular event. After further exclusions a total of 169 cardiovascular events occurred in the normotensive pregnancy group and 20 in the preeclampsia group. Women with a history of preeclampsia were more likely to have cardiovascular events later in life than women with normotensive deliveries., This was statistically significantly different on Kaplan Meier survival analysis, (log rank Mantel-Cox p-value < 0.001). The women in our study were middle-aged, within 33 years of pregnancy, with a mean age of 53 years in the preeclampsia cardiovascular events group.Our study supports the urgent need for uniform guidelines and implementation to improve the health in women with this medical history. Increased awareness among the public of the cardiovascular risk associated with PE is vital to aid uptake of cardiovascular prevention programmes