Qualification model spacecraft tests for DEMP, SGEMP, and ESD effects

The development of a satellite design demonstration test program is described. The test approach is comprehensive in that it includes the effects from electrostatic discharge (ESD), system generated electromagnetic pulse (SGEMP), as well as dispersed electromagnetic pulses (DEMP). The comprehensive test concept is based on the similarity of the satellite's response to several environments

Evaluating the Online Activity and Searching Behaviour of Users of a Medical Digital Library

The National electronic Library of Infection (NeLI) is a UK-based resource, providing free access to current best-available evidence in Infectious Disease for the public and professionals alike. The content of the NeLI is intended to be developed and maintained by an online community of professionals. The library is currently running as a pilot website and analysis of the behaviour of current users, in particular professionals in the field of infectious disease is necessary to inform development of the new NeLI website. A web log analysis was undertaken for the period January 2002 to June 2003. In particular use by hospital/National Health Service (NHS)-based users was evaluated. Results indicate an increase in activity during the period and an increase in the number of hospital/NHS-based users. Hospital/NHS-based users were more likely to return to the site, spend more time on the site and to view more pages than other users. In addition, a free text search facility was added in July 2003 and an analysis of the queries entered into this search has also informed further library development and will be evaluated in future research. Further research is now necessary to promote the library among professionals and develop the online community

User Customisation of Agent Profiles in the National electronic Library for Communicable Disease

The Internet provides overwhelming amount of medical information. However, healthcare professionals often cannot find the information they need when they need it and if they do the quality may be uncertain. A new Internet digital library, the National electronic Library for Communicable Disease (NeLCD), is addressing this issue by providing a single-entry portal to evidence-based information on treatment, investigation and prevention of communicable disease. Autonomous Intelligent Agents are essential for the development and runtime of the NeLCD library as they perform autonomously a number of tasks related to the search, assist humans in information publishing, the document review process and data exchange. In this paper, we present an application of Intelligent Agents in user profiling and customisation. In particular, they allow users to personalise the search, modify the input controlled vocabulary and customize the search results to better meet their needs. In addition, they can autonomously alert users about new postings according to their interests. Profiling of Intelligent Search Agents (ISA) and Pro-active Alert Agents (PAA) allows extensive customisation of the library according to user’s personal preferences, professional background and medical specialty

Initial experience with developing communities of practice around the National electronic Library for Communicable Disease

The availability of the Internet among healthcare professionals in the UK in recent years has made online professional communities a viable vehicle for their professional communication, an information source for their everyday needs and an easy way of disseminating and sharing information. Busy healthcare professionals around the country can take advantage of online communities, which are becoming very popular and powerful alternatives to traditional personal ones. This paper discusses and defines the role of the NeLCD (National electronic Library for Communicable Disease, http://www.nelcd.co.uk/) in developing online communities of practice related specifically to communicable disease. The benefits of developing communities of practice, with reference to knowledge capture and transfer, the importance of identifying and meeting user needs, and their role in promoting evidence-based practice are discussed. Finally a strategy for developing and sustaining community building is outlined

Changing public attitudes to antibiotic prescribing: can the internet help?

INTRODUCTION: Antimicrobial resistance is a global problem with serious implications for modern medicine. Education of the public is essential for reducing patient pressure on GPs and subsequent inappropriate prescribing. Evaluation of educational interventions is necessary to assess their impact on public knowledge and attitudes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a health information website, part of the National electronic Library of Infection, on user knowledge and attitudes. METHOD: Questionnaires testing user knowledge and attitudes before and after using the website. RESULTS: There were significant improvements in knowledge about the use of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance. Expectations that antibiotics should be prescribed were significantly reduced after using the website. Health professionals showed a significantly greater knowledge about antibiotics and were less likely to expect antibiotics to be prescribed for acute otitis media than non-health professionals before using the website. There was no significant difference between the knowledge of these groups after using the website, but non-health professionals continued to have higher expectations of antibiotics being prescribed than health professionals. CONCLUSIONS: Health information websites can play a significant role in influencing public knowledge and attitudes. Further research is needed to investigate how people learn from these interventions and to determine their long-term impact on public attitudes and subsequent behaviour

Using the Internet to influence public knowledge and attitudes about health

The increasing availability of evidence-based medical information on the Internet has great potential to empower patients and health professionals and equip them for better decision-making, improving health outcomes. However, previous research has only evaluated the quality and accessibility of online information rather than the impact this information is having on the user. With these new technologies, are we actually empowering patients and professionals, improving their knowledge and changing their attitudes in a way that will impact on their behaviour? This paper presents the results of a pilot study investigating whether information within a medical digital library changes user knowledge and attitudes. The study had positive results with significant changes recorded. We conclude that digital libraries have the potential to change knowledge and attitudes of a range of users, but we need to evaluate this impact to inform digital library design in order to maximise the impact on users

Evaluating the changes in knowledge and attitudes of digital library users

Medical digital libraries are essentially life-critical applications providing timely access for professionals and the public to current medical knowledge and practice. This paper presents a new methodology for evaluating the impact of the knowledge within a medical digital library on users by testing their knowledge improvements and attitude changes. Using pre and post-use questionnaires we tested the impact of a small medical information website acting as an interface to the National electronic Library for Communicable Disease. The changes in user attitudes and the correlation with knowledge improvements observed indicate the potential for this methodology to be applied as a general evaluation technique of digital libraries and the impact of online information on user learning

Lessons learned from evaluation of the use of the National electronic Library of Infection

The National electronic Library of Infection (NeLI: http://www.neli.org.uk) in the UK is a freely available portal to key evidence and guidelines in the infectious disease field. This paper discusses 5 years of evaluation of the pilot library and how this evaluation informed design of the new library website. The importance of combining qualitative and quantitative evaluation is highlighted and the results of web access logs analysis, free text search query analysis and an online user survey are compared. The paper concludes with a discussion of lessons learned for future development and evaluation of this Internet digital library

Ontological Principles of Disease Management from Public Health Perspective: a Tuberculosis Case Study

Formal ontological representation of clinical conditions and disease management is a key methodology ensuring that the complex knowledge of disease treatment, control and prevention can be represented, stored and accessed in the most appropriate way to help the medical professionals in their decision making. This is of particular importance for the public health domain where the concern is about the affect of the disease on populations rather than individuals.The existing evidence-based knowledge can best be used by professionals if incorporated into care pathways (formal or informal) which relate the sequence of actions necessary for accurate management of diseases to the progression of the illness and treatment. Therefore, there is a need for an ontological framework to be built around care pathways in order to allow the professionals to access the most relevant information at the time of making a decision. In this paper we will illustrate a Tuberculosis (TB) care pathway, as developed at City University, and show how a formal ontological representation can, in principle, serve the needs of information retrieval around this particular disease

Brugada syndrome and fever: genetic and molecular characterization of patients carrying SCN5A mutations.

OBJECTIVE: Brugada syndrome (BrS) is characterized by ventricular tachyarrhythmias leading to sudden cardiac death and is caused, in part, by mutations in the SCN5A gene encoding the sodium channel Na(v)1.5. Fever can trigger or exacerbate the clinical manifestations of BrS. The aim of this work was to characterize the genetic and molecular determinants of fever-dependent BrS. METHODS: Four male patients with typical BrS ST-segment elevation in V1-V3 or ventricular arrhythmias during fever were screened for mutations in the SCN5A gene. Wild-type (WT) and mutant Na(v)1.5 channels were expressed in HEK293 cells. The sodium currents (I(Na)) were analysed using the whole-cell patch clamp technique at various temperatures. Protein expression of WT and mutant channels was studied by Western blot experiments. RESULTS: Two mutations in SCN5A, L325R and R535X, were identified. Expression of the two mutant Na(v)1.5 channels in HEK293 cells revealed in each case a severe loss-of-function. Upon the increase of temperature up to 42 degrees C, we observed a pronounced acceleration of Na(v)1.5 activation and fast inactivation kinetics. Cardiac action potential modelling experiments suggest that in patients with reduced I(Na), fever could prematurely shorten the action potential by virtue of its effect on WT channels. Further experiments revealed that L325R channels are likely misfolded, since their function could be partially rescued by mexiletine or curcumin. In co-expression experiments, L325R channels interfered with the proper function of WT channels, suggesting that a dominant negative phenomenon may underlie BrS triggered by fever. CONCLUSIONS: The genetic background of BrS patients sensitive to fever is heterogeneous. Our experimental data suggest that the clinical manifestations of fever-exacerbated BrS may not be mutation specific