Mass spectral analysis and quantification of Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry data

This work highlights the possibility of improving the quantification aspect of Cs-complex ions in SIMS (Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry), by combining the intensities of all possible Cs-complexes. Identification of all possible Cs-complexes requires quantitative analysis of mass spectrum from the material of interest. The important steps of this mass spectral analysis include constructing fingerprint mass spectra of the constituent species from the table of isotopic abundances of elements, constructing the system(s) of linear equations to get the intensities of those species, solving them, evaluating the solutions and employing a regularization process when required. These steps are comprehensively described and the results of their application on a SIMS mass spectrum obtained from D9 steel are presented. It is demonstrated that results from the summation procedure, which covers entire range of sputtered clusters, is superior to results from single Cs-complex per element. The result of employing a regularization process in solving a mass spectrum from an SS316LN steel specimen is provided to demonstrate the necessity of regularization.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures; added reference for section "Theory", a few sentences modified for clarit

Access to interpreting services in England: secondary analysis of national data

Background: Overcoming language barriers to health care is a global challenge. There is great linguistic diversity in the major cities in the UK with more than 300 languages, excluding dialects, spoken by children in London alone. However, there is dearth of data on the number of non-English speakers for planning effective interpreting services. The aim was to estimate the number of people requiring language support amongst the minority ethnic communities in England. Methods: Secondary analysis of national representative sample of subjects recruited to the Health Surveys for England 1999 and 2004. Results: 298,432 individuals from the four main minority ethnic communities (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Chinese) who may be unable to communicate effectively with a health professional. This represents 2,520,885 general practice consultations per year where interpreting services might be required. Conclusion: Effective interpreting services are required to improve access and health outcomes of non-English speakers and thereby facilitate a reduction in health inequalities

Secondary analysis of data on comorbidity/multimorbidity: a call for papers

Despite the high proportion and growing number of people with comorbidity/multimorbidity, clinical trials often exclude this group, leading to a limited evidence base to guide policy and practice for these individuals [1–5]. This evidence gap can potentially be addressed by secondary analysis of studies that were not originally designed to specifically examine comorbidity/multimorbidity, but have collected information from participants on co-occurring conditions. For example, secondary data analysis from randomized controlled trials may shed light on whether there is a differential impact of interventions on people with comorbidity/multimorbidity. Furthermore, data regarding comorbidity/multimorbidity can often be obtained from registration networks or administrative data sets

The ethics of secondary data analysis: learning from the experience of sharing qualitative data from young people and their families in an international study of childhood poverty

This working paper focuses on secondary analysis, an aspect of research practice that is sometimes assumed to pose few ethical challenges. It draws in particular on the experience of a collaborative research project involving secondary analysis of qualitative data collected as part of an ongoing international longitudinal study, Young Lives (www.younglives.org.uk), and sets this alongside a wider review of regulatory guidance on research ethics and academic debates. Secondary analysis can take many forms, and bring many benefits. But it is more ethically complex than regulatory frameworks may imply. Whether or not data are publicly archived, ethical considerations have to be addressed, including responsibilities to participants and the original researchers, and the need to achieve a contextual understanding of the data by identifying and countering risks of misinterpretation. The considerations raised here are intended to aid ethical research practice by supporting planning and reflection – for primary researchers who are planning to archive their data, as well as for researchers embarking on a qualitative secondary analysis. Not least, our experience highlights the importance of developing and maintaining trusting relationships between primary and secondary researchers

Risk Factors for Injury Mortality in Rural Tanzania: A Secondary Data Analysis.

\ud \ud Injuries rank high among the leading causes of death and disability annually, injuring over 50 million and killing over 5 million people globally. Approximately 90% of these deaths occur in developing countries. To estimate and identify the risk factors for injury mortality in the Rufiji Health and Demographic Surveillance System (RHDSS) in Tanzania. Secondary data from the RHDSS covering the period 2002 and 2007 was examined. Verbal autopsy data was used to determine the causes of death based on the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). Trend and Poisson regression tests were used to investigate the associations between risk factors and injury mortality. The overall crude injury death rate was 33.4/100 000 population. Injuries accounted for 4% of total deaths. Men were three times more likely to die from injuries compared with women (adjusted IRR (incidence risk ratios)=3.04, p=0.001, 95% CI (2.22 to 4.17)). The elderly (defined as 65+) were 2.8 times more likely to die from injuries compared with children under 15 years of age (adjusted IRR=2.83, p=0.048, 95% CI (1.01 to 7.93)). The highest frequency of deaths resulted from road traffic crashes. Injury is becoming an important cause of mortality in the Rufiji district. Injury mortality varied by age and gender in this area. Most injuries are preventable, policy makers need to institute measures to address the issue

Multimodal interventions to enhance adherence to secondary preventive medication after stroke: a systematic review and meta-analyses

Summary: Introduction: Nonadherence to secondary preventative medications after stroke is common and is associated with poor outcomes. Numerous strategies exist to promote adherence. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to describe the efficacy of strategies to improve adherence to stroke secondary prevention. Methods: We created a sensitive search strategy and searched multiple electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, CENTRAL, and Web of Knowledge) for studies of interventions that aimed to enhance adherence to secondary preventative medication after stroke. We assessed quality of included studies using the Cochrane tool for assessing risk of bias. We performed narrative review and performed meta-analysis where data allowed. Results: From 12,237 titles, we included seventeen studies in our review. Eleven studies were considered to have high risk of bias, 3 with unclear risk, and 3 of low risk. Meta-analysis of available data suggested that these interventions improved adherence to individual medication classes (blood pressure-lowering drugs – OR, 2.21; 95% CI (1.63, 2.98), [P < 0.001], lipid-lowering drugs – OR, 2.11; 95% CI (1.00, 4.46), [P = 0.049], and antithrombotic drugs – OR, 2.32; 95% CI (1.18, 4.56, [P = 0.014]) but did not improve adherence to an overall secondary preventative medication regimen (OR, 1.96; 95% CI (0.50, 7.67), [P = 0.332]). Conclusion: Interventions can lead to improvement in adherence to secondary preventative medication after stroke. However, existing data is limited as several interventions, duration of follow-up, and various definitions were used. These findings need to be interpreted with caution