The value of structured data elements from electronic health records for identifying subjects for primary care clinical trials

Abstract Background: An increasing number of clinical trials are conducted in primary care settings. Making better use of existing data in the electronic health records to identify eligible subjects can improve efficiency of such studies. Our study aims to quantify the proportion of eligibility criteria that can be addressed with data in electronic health records and to compare the content of eligibility criteria in primary care with previous work. Methods: Eligibility criteria were extracted from primary care studies downloaded from the UK Clinical Research Network Study Portfolio. Criteria were broken into elemental statements. Two expert independent raters classified each statement based on whether or not structured data items in the electronic health record can be used to determine if the statement was true for a specific patient. Disagreements in classification were discussed until 100 % agreement was reached. Statements were also classified based on content and the percentages of each category were compared to two similar studies reported in the literature. Results: Eligibility criteria were retrieved from 228 studies and decomposed into 2619 criteria elemental statements. 74 % of the criteria elemental statements were considered likely associated with structured data in an electronic health record. 79 % of the studies had at least 60 % of their criteria statements addressable with structured data likely to be present in an electronic health record. Based on clinical content, most frequent categories were: "disease, symptom, and sign", "therapy or surgery", and "medication" (36 %, 13 %, and 10 % of total criteria statements respectively). We also identified new criteria categories related to provider and caregiver attributes (2.6 % and 1 % of total criteria statements respectively). Conclusions: Electronic health records readily contain much of the data needed to assess patients' eligibility for clinical trials enrollment. Eligibility criteria content categories identified by our study can be incorporated as data elements in electronic health records to facilitate their integration with clinical trial management systems

Predicting habitat suitability for basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus) in UK waters using ensemble ecological niche modelling

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.The basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) is an endangered species in the north-east Atlantic, having been historically over exploited. Whilst near-shore aggregation hotspots in the UK have been identified, robust knowledge on species distribution and abundance outside these areas remains limited. Research techniques, such as habitat modelling, could however be used to gain a greater knowledge of the species distribution to inform management plans to aid population recovery. For large mobile species gathering wide-scale distribution data can be financially and logistically challenging. In lieu of conducting a UK-wide expensive strategic survey for basking sharks, we use data from two regional-scale surveys, which were conducted in southwest England and western Scotland, and use an Ensemble Ecological Niche Model (EENM) to produce a spatially explicit map of habitat suitability. When compared against a ~20-year database of public sightings of basking sharks across UK coastal seas (to 6 nautical miles offshore), patterns of habitat suitability yielded a statistically significant agreement with areas known to support basking shark sightings. EENMs could be used to advise Marine Protected Area (MPA) selection, as well as to inform environmental impact assessments for offshore developments. The application of EENM outputs could be wide-reaching and benefit not only basking sharks but other large mobile marine species in the north-east Atlantic

Seasonal changes in basking shark vertical space-use in the north-east Atlantic

This is the final version. Available on open access from Springer via the DOI in this recordMobile marine species can exhibit vast movements both horizontally and vertically. Spatial analysis of vertical movements may help improve an understanding of the processes that influence space-use. Previously, vertical space-use of basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus) in the north-east Atlantic described movements largely within waters of the continental shelf during summer and autumn months, with few records of detailed vertical behaviour during winter. We use archival satellite telemetry data from 32 basking sharks (twelve females, six males, and fourteen of unknown sex measuring 4-5 m (n = 6), 5-6 m (n = 10), 6-7 m (n = 7), 7-8 m (n = 8), and 8-9 m (n = 1) estimated total length) tracked over four years (2012-2015). The satellite tags provided depth and temperature data for a cumulative 4,489 days (mean 140 ± 97 days per shark, range: 10-292 days) in order to describe vertical space-use and thermal range of basking sharks in the north-east Atlantic. Basking sharks exhibit seasonality in vertical space-use, revealing repeated ‘yo-yo’ movement behaviour with periods of occupancy at depths greater than 1,000 metres in late winter/early spring. Describing seasonal vertical space-use in marine megavertebrates can increase knowledge of movements throughout their environment including physiological and morphological constraints to movement, nutrient transfer, and overlap with anthropogenic threats in order to inform future conservation strategies.Scottish Natural HeritageUniversity of ExeterNER

Three-Dimensional Neurophenotyping of Adult Zebrafish Behavior

The use of adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) in neurobehavioral research is rapidly expanding. The present large-scale study applied the newest video-tracking and data-mining technologies to further examine zebrafish anxiety-like phenotypes. Here, we generated temporal and spatial three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions of zebrafish locomotion, globally assessed behavioral profiles evoked by several anxiogenic and anxiolytic manipulations, mapped individual endpoints to 3D reconstructions, and performed cluster analysis to reconfirm behavioral correlates of high- and low-anxiety states. The application of 3D swim path reconstructions consolidates behavioral data (while increasing data density) and provides a novel way to examine and represent zebrafish behavior. It also enables rapid optimization of video tracking settings to improve quantification of automated parameters, and suggests that spatiotemporal organization of zebrafish swimming activity can be affected by various experimental manipulations in a manner predicted by their anxiolytic or anxiogenic nature. Our approach markedly enhances the power of zebrafish behavioral analyses, providing innovative framework for high-throughput 3D phenotyping of adult zebrafish behavior

It's not what you say but the way that you say it: an fMRI study of differential lexical and non-lexical prosodic pitch processing

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study aims to identify the neural substrate involved in prosodic pitch processing. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to test the premise that prosody pitch processing is primarily subserved by the right cortical hemisphere.</p> <p>Two experimental paradigms were used, firstly pairs of spoken sentences, where the only variation was a single internal phrase pitch change, and secondly, a matched condition utilizing pitch changes within analogous tone-sequence phrases. This removed the potential confounder of lexical evaluation. fMRI images were obtained using these paradigms.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Activation was significantly greater within the right frontal and temporal cortices during the tone-sequence stimuli relative to the sentence stimuli.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study showed that pitch changes, stripped of lexical information, are mainly processed by the right cerebral hemisphere, whilst the processing of analogous, matched, lexical pitch change is preferentially left sided. These findings, showing hemispherical differentiation of processing based on stimulus complexity, are in accord with a 'task dependent' hypothesis of pitch processing.</p

Adult zebrafish as a model organism for behavioural genetics

Recent research has demonstrated the suitability of adult zebrafish to model some aspects of complex behaviour. Studies of reward behaviour, learning and memory, aggression, anxiety and sleep strongly suggest that conserved regulatory processes underlie behaviour in zebrafish and mammals. The isolation and molecular analysis of zebrafish behavioural mutants is now starting, allowing the identification of novel behavioural control genes. As a result of this, studies of adult zebrafish are now helping to uncover the genetic pathways and neural circuits that control vertebrate behaviour

A Second-Generation Device for Automated Training and Quantitative Behavior Analyses of Molecularly-Tractable Model Organisms

A deep understanding of cognitive processes requires functional, quantitative analyses of the steps leading from genetics and the development of nervous system structure to behavior. Molecularly-tractable model systems such as Xenopus laevis and planaria offer an unprecedented opportunity to dissect the mechanisms determining the complex structure of the brain and CNS. A standardized platform that facilitated quantitative analysis of behavior would make a significant impact on evolutionary ethology, neuropharmacology, and cognitive science. While some animal tracking systems exist, the available systems do not allow automated training (feedback to individual subjects in real time, which is necessary for operant conditioning assays). The lack of standardization in the field, and the numerous technical challenges that face the development of a versatile system with the necessary capabilities, comprise a significant barrier keeping molecular developmental biology labs from integrating behavior analysis endpoints into their pharmacological and genetic perturbations. Here we report the development of a second-generation system that is a highly flexible, powerful machine vision and environmental control platform. In order to enable multidisciplinary studies aimed at understanding the roles of genes in brain function and behavior, and aid other laboratories that do not have the facilities to undergo complex engineering development, we describe the device and the problems that it overcomes. We also present sample data using frog tadpoles and flatworms to illustrate its use. Having solved significant engineering challenges in its construction, the resulting design is a relatively inexpensive instrument of wide relevance for several fields, and will accelerate interdisciplinary discovery in pharmacology, neurobiology, regenerative medicine, and cognitive science

Molecular psychiatry of zebrafish

Due to their well-characterized neural development and high genetic homology to mammals, zebrafish (Danio rerio) have emerged as a powerful model organism in the field of biological psychiatry. Here, we discuss the molecular psychiatry of zebrafish, and its implications for translational neuroscience research and modeling central nervous system (CNS) disorders. In particular, we outline recent genetic and technological developments allowing for in vivo examinations, high-throughput screening and whole-brain analyses in larval and adult zebrafish. We also summarize the application of these molecular techniques to the understanding of neuropsychiatric disease, outlining the potential of zebrafish for modeling complex brain disorders, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), aggression, post-traumatic stress and substance abuse. Critically evaluating the advantages and limitations of larval and adult fish tests, we suggest that zebrafish models become a rapidly emerging new field in modern molecular psychiatry research