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Sample records for proposed controlled clinical

  1. Proposed quality control guidelines for National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards Susceptibility Tests using the veterinary antimicrobial agent tiamulin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfaller, M A; Jones, R N; Walter, D H

    2001-01-01

    Quality control guidelines for standardized antimicrobial susceptibility test methods are critical for the continuing accuracy of these clinical tests. In this report, quality control limits were proposed for the veterinary antimicrobial agent tiamulin with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranges of three or four log(2) dilution steps in two different medium formulations. Disk diffusion zone diameter ranges were proposed for tiamulin tested against Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae ATCC 27090 (12-18 mm) and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 (25-32 mm). The data from eight participating laboratories produced 100% of results within proposed MIC limits (8-32 microg/mL), and 95.8-97.0% of zones were found within suggested zone diameter QC guidelines. These proposed QC ranges should be validated by in-use results from veterinary clinical laboratories.

  2. Proposal for a collaborative approach to clinical teaching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beckman, Thomas J; Lee, Mark C

    2009-04-01

    Evidence suggests that inexperienced clinical teachers are often controlling and noninteractive. Adult learning theory states that mature students prefer shared and self-directed learning and that skillful teachers favor facilitating discussions over transmitting knowledge. Similarly, education research shows that effective clinical teachers invest in relationships with learners, ask questions to diagnose learners, communicate complex information clearly, and provide meaningful feedback. On the basis of these principles, we propose a collaborative approach to clinical teaching that has 4 essential components: (1) establish a relationship with the learner, (2) diagnose the learner, (3) use teaching frameworks that engage learners, and (4) develop teaching scripts and a personal philosophy. This article includes suggestions for creating a positive learning climate, asking higher-order questions, providing meaningful feedback, and developing teaching scripts. We believe that practicing this approach, which emphasizes respectful teacher-learner relationships, improves the quality of every clinical teaching encounter.

  3. Choosing a control intervention for a randomised clinical trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Djulbegovic Benjamin

    2003-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Randomised controlled clinical trials are performed to resolve uncertainty concerning comparator interventions. Appropriate acknowledgment of uncertainty enables the concurrent achievement of two goals : the acquisition of valuable scientific knowledge and an optimum treatment choice for the patient-participant. The ethical recruitment of patients requires the presence of clinical equipoise. This involves the appropriate choice of a control intervention, particularly when unapproved drugs or innovative interventions are being evaluated. Discussion We argue that the choice of a control intervention should be supported by a systematic review of the relevant literature and, where necessary, solicitation of the informed beliefs of clinical experts through formal surveys and publication of the proposed trial's protocol. Summary When clinical equipoise is present, physicians may confidently propose trial enrollment to their eligible patients as an act of therapeutic beneficence.

  4. Proposal and validation of a clinical trunk control test in individuals with spinal cord injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quinzaños, J; Villa, A R; Flores, A A; Pérez, R

    2014-06-01

    One of the problems that arise in spinal cord injury (SCI) is alteration in trunk control. Despite the need for standardized scales, these do not exist for evaluating trunk control in SCI. To propose and validate a trunk control test in individuals with SCI. National Institute of Rehabilitation, Mexico. The test was developed and later evaluated for reliability and criteria, content, and construct validity. We carried out 531 tests on 177 patients and found high inter- and intra-rater reliability. In terms of criterion validity, analysis of variance demonstrated a statistically significant difference in the test score of patients with adequate or inadequate trunk control according to the assessment of a group of experts. A receiver operating characteristic curve was plotted for optimizing the instrument's cutoff point, which was determined at 13 points, with a sensitivity of 98% and a specificity of 92.2%. With regard to construct validity, the correlation between the proposed test and the spinal cord independence measure (SCIM) was 0.873 (P=0.001) and that with the evolution time was 0.437 (P=0.001). For testing the hypothesis with qualitative variables, the Kruskal-Wallis test was performed, which resulted in a statistically significant difference between the scores in the proposed scale of each group defined by these variables. It was proven experimentally that the proposed trunk control test is valid and reliable. Furthermore, the test can be used for all patients with SCI despite the type and level of injury.

  5. The clinically-integrated randomized trial: proposed novel method for conducting large trials at low cost

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Scardino Peter T

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Randomized controlled trials provide the best method of determining which of two comparable treatments is preferable. Unfortunately, contemporary randomized trials have become increasingly expensive, complex and burdened by regulation, so much so that many trials are of doubtful feasibility. Discussion Here we present a proposal for a novel, streamlined approach to randomized trials: the "clinically-integrated randomized trial". The key aspect of our methodology is that the clinical experience of the patient and doctor is virtually indistinguishable whether or not the patient is randomized, primarily because outcome data are obtained from routine clinical data, or from short, web-based questionnaires. Integration of a randomized trial into routine clinical practice also implies that there should be an attempt to randomize every patient, a corollary of which is that eligibility criteria are minimized. The similar clinical experience of patients on- and off-study also entails that the marginal cost of putting an additional patient on trial is negligible. We propose examples of how the clinically-integrated randomized trial might be applied in four distinct areas of medicine: comparisons of surgical techniques, "me too" drugs, rare diseases and lifestyle interventions. Barriers to implementing clinically-integrated randomized trials are discussed. Conclusion The proposed clinically-integrated randomized trial may allow us to enlarge dramatically the number of clinical questions that can be addressed by randomization.

  6. A proposed clinical research support career pathway for noninvestigators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Sheree; Gullick, Janice; Ballard, Jacqueline; Perry, Lin

    2018-03-08

    To discuss the international experience of clinical research support for noninvestigator roles and to propose a new pathway for Australia, to promote a sustainable research support workforce capable of delivering high-quality clinical research. Noninvestigator research support roles are currently characterized by an ad hoc approach to training, with limited role delineation and perceived professional isolation with implications for study completion rates and participant safety. A focused approach to developing and implementing research support pathways has improved patient recruitment, study completion, job satisfaction, and research governance. The Queensland and New South Wales state-based Nurses' Awards, the Australian Qualifications Framework, and a University Professional (Research) Staff Award. Research nurses in the clinical environment improve study coordination, adherence to study protocol, patient safety, and clinical care. A career pathway that guides education and outlines position descriptions and skill sets would enhance development of the research support workforce. This pathway could contribute to changing the patient outcomes through coordination and study completion of high-quality research. A wide consultative approach is required to determine a cost-effective and feasible approach to implementation and evaluation of the proposed pathway. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  7. Proposed Food (Control of Irradiation) Regulations 1990

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1990-08-01

    The paper summarizes proposals UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Proposals for part of a comprehensive range of controls applying to premises using sources of ionising radiation in the processing of food. (UK)

  8. Clinical Research Environment in India: Challenges and Proposed Solutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burt, Tal; Sharma, Pooja; Dhillon, Savita; Manchanda, Mukul; Mittal, Sanjay; Trehan, Naresh

    2014-11-01

    India has compelling need and keen aspirations for indigenous clinical research. Notwithstanding this need and previously reported growth the expected expansion of Indian clinical research has not materialized. We reviewed the scientific literature, lay press reports, and ClinicalTrials.gov data for information and commentary on projections, progress, and impediments associated with clinical trials in India. We also propose targeted solutions to identified challenges. The Indian clinical trial sector grew by (+) 20.3% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) between 2005 and 2010 and contracted by (-) 14.6% CAGR between 2010 and 2013. Phase-1 trials grew by (+) 43.5% CAGR from 2005-2013, phase-2 trials grew by (+) 19.8% CAGR from 2005-2009 and contracted by (-) 12.6% CAGR from 2009-2013, and phase-3 trials grew by (+) 13.0% CAGR from 2005-2010 and contracted by (-) 28.8% CAGR from 2010-2013. This was associated with a slowing of the regulatory approval process, increased media coverage and activist engagement, and accelerated development of regulatory guidelines and recuperative initiatives. We propose the following as potential targets for restorative interventions: Regulatory overhaul (leadership and enforcement of regulations, resolution of ambiguity in regulations, staffing, training, guidelines, and ethical principles [e.g., compensation]).Education and training of research professionals, clinicians, and regulators.Public awareness and empowerment. After a peak in 2009-2010, the clinical research sector in India appears to be experiencing a contraction. There are indications of challenges in regulatory enforcement of guidelines; training of clinical research professionals; and awareness, participation, partnership, and the general image amongst the non-professional media and public. Preventative and corrective principles and interventions are outlined with the goal of realizing the clinical research potential in India.

  9. Opioid detoxification : from controlled clinical trial to clinical practice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dijkstra, Boukje A G; De Jong, Cor A J; Wensing, Michel; Krabbe, Paul F M; van der Staak, Cees P F

    2010-01-01

    Controlled clinical trials have high internal validity but suffer from difficulties in external validity. This study evaluates the generalizability of the results of a controlled clinical trial on rapid detoxification in the everyday clinical practice of two addiction treatment centers. The results

  10. Proposed ICDRG Classification of the Clinical Presentation of Contact Allergy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pongpairoj, Korbkarn; Ale, Iris; Andersen, Klaus Ejner

    2016-01-01

    The International Contact Dermatitis Research Group proposes a classification for the clinical presentation of contact allergy. The classification is based primarily on the mode of clinical presentation. The categories are direct exposure/contact dermatitis, mimicking or exacerbation of preexisting....../mucosal symptoms, oral contact dermatitis, erythroderma/exfoliative dermatitis, minor forms of presentation, and extracutaneous manifestations....

  11. Management Control Systems and Clinical Experience of Managers in Public Hospitals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naranjo-Gil, David

    2018-01-01

    Healthcare authorities are encouraging managers in hospitals to acquire clinical experience and knowledge in order to better carry out and coordinate healthcare service delivery. The main objective of this paper is to analyse how the clinical experience of hospital managers is related to public health institutions’ performance. It is proposed that the effect of the clinical experience on operative and financial organizational performance is indirect through the mediating variables of perceived utility of management information and horizontal management control system. This paper analyses how these variables impact hospital performance through the data from a survey sent to 364 hospital managers in Brazil. The results show that managers’ clinical experience is related to higher perceived utility of historical, financial, short-term, and internal information, but not with horizontal control adoption in hospitals. Furthermore, our results show that, in hospitals, perceived utility of forecasted, non-financial, long-term, and external managerial information positively affects hospitals’ financial performance, while adoption of horizontal control management positively affects operational performance. Through showing evidence that clinical background could explain the differences not only in hospital service management but also in information capabilities and management control processes, this study offer meaningful implications for healthcare authorities and hospital managers involved in the development and implementation of strategies in the health sector. PMID:29673192

  12. EPA proposes options for control of industrial radioactivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1989-01-01

    The US Environmental Protection Agency on February 28 proposed four alternative approaches for controlling radionuclides from a dozen industrial sources. The proposal outlines four alternatives for regulating toxic air pollutant. The proposal is designed to elicit comment on such regulatory issues as: What are acceptable health risks? What are appropriate criteria for establishing a margin of safety? What are the technological feasibility and the costs of regulatory controls? How should uncertainty by considered? EPA intends to use the approach finally selected as the framework for future hazardous-air pollutant-control decisions. Industry uses hundreds of distinct radionuclides in solid, liquid and gaseous forms. Industrial radionuclide emissions occur either as a result of an inability to contain the radioactive materials or as an unintended consequence of other activity, such as radionuclide emissions from mining or milling

  13. Proposed Diagnostic Criteria for the DSM-5 of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in Female Adolescents: Diagnostic and Clinical Correlates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tina In-Albon

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI is included as conditions for further study in the DSM-5. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the proposed diagnostic criteria and the diagnostic and clinical correlates for the validity of a diagnostic entity. The authors investigated the characteristics of NSSI disorder and the proposed diagnostic criteria. A sample of 73 female inpatient adolescents and 37 nonclinical adolescents (aged 13 to 19 years was recruited. Patients were classified into 4 groups (adolescents with NSSI disorder, adolescents with NSSI without impairment/distress, clinical controls without NSSI, and nonclinical controls. Adolescents were compared on self-reported psychopathology and diagnostic cooccurrences. Results indicate that adolescents with NSSI disorder have a higher level of impairment than adolescents with other mental disorders without NSSI. Most common comorbid diagnoses were major depression, social phobia, and PTSD. There was some overlap of adolescents with NSSI disorder and suicidal behaviour and borderline personality disorder, but there were also important differences. Results further suggest that the proposed DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for NSSI are useful and necessary. In conclusion, NSSI is a highly impairing disorder characterized by high comorbidity with various disorders, providing further evidence that NSSI should be a distinct diagnostic entity.

  14. Management Control Systems and Clinical Experience of Managers in Public Hospitals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rogério Joao Lunkes

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Healthcare authorities are encouraging managers in hospitals to acquire clinical experience and knowledge in order to better carry out and coordinate healthcare service delivery. The main objective of this paper is to analyse how the clinical experience of hospital managers is related to public health institutions’ performance. It is proposed that the effect of the clinical experience on operative and financial organizational performance is indirect through the mediating variables of perceived utility of management information and horizontal management control system. This paper analyses how these variables impact hospital performance through the data from a survey sent to 364 hospital managers in Brazil. The results show that managers’ clinical experience is related to higher perceived utility of historical, financial, short-term, and internal information, but not with horizontal control adoption in hospitals. Furthermore, our results show that, in hospitals, perceived utility of forecasted, non-financial, long-term, and external managerial information positively affects hospitals’ financial performance, while adoption of horizontal control management positively affects operational performance. Through showing evidence that clinical background could explain the differences not only in hospital service management but also in information capabilities and management control processes, this study offer meaningful implications for healthcare authorities and hospital managers involved in the development and implementation of strategies in the health sector.

  15. 77 FR 35407 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request: Clinical Mythteries: A Video Game About Clinical Trials

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-13

    ...In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, for opportunity for public comment on proposed data collection projects, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects to be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Proposed Collection: Title: Clinical Mythteries: A Video Game About Clinical Trials. Type of Information Collection Request: NEW. Need and Use of Information Collection: New England Research Institutes as a contractor for the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute is planning to create an engaging, informational ``serious video game'' for adolescents about clinical studies which: (1) Incorporates core learning objectives; and (2) dispels misconceptions. Two types of information collection are planned: usability testing to understand game-play/usability. This information will be collected by focus group and will be digitally recorded 90 minute groups. A pre/post randomized trial to measure change in knowledge. This information will be collected electronically through on-line questionnaire. The game will be incorporated with a larger initiative to provide information about clinical research (http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/ childrenandclinicalstudies/index.php). Frequency of Response: Once. Affected Public: Individuals. Type of Respondents: Adolescents--aged 8- 14. The annual reporting burden is as follows: Estimated Number of Respondents: 6,148; Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1; Average Burden Hours Per Response: 1.321; and Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours Requested: 370. The annualized cost to respondents is estimated at: $3,700. There are no Capital Costs to report. The Operating Costs to collect this information is estimated at $38,642.

  16. Proposal of Wireless Traffic Control Schemes for Wireless LANs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hiraguri, Takefumi; Ichikawa, Takeo; Iizuka, Masataka; Kubota, Shuji

    This paper proposes two traffic control schemes to support the communication quality of multimedia streaming services such as VoIP and audio/video over IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN systems. The main features of the proposed scheme are bandwidth control for each flow of the multimedia streaming service and load balancing between access points (APs) of the wireless LAN by using information of data link, network and transport layers. The proposed schemes are implemented on a Linux machine which is called the wireless traffic controller (WTC). The WTC connects a high capacity backbone network and an access network to which the APs are attached. We evaluated the performance of the proposed WTC and confirmed that the communication quality of the multimedia streaming would be greatly improved by using this technique.

  17. Quality Control Assays for Clinical-Grade Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells: Validation Strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radrizzani, Marina; Soncin, Sabrina; Bolis, Sara; Lo Cicero, Viviana; Andriolo, Gabriella; Turchetto, Lucia

    2016-01-01

    The present chapter focuses on the validation of the following analytical methods for the control of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) for cell therapy clinical trials: Microbiological control for cellular product Endotoxin assay Mycoplasma assay Cell count and viability Immunophenotype Clonogenic potential (CFU-F assay) In our lab, these methods are in use for product release, process control or control of the biological starting materials. They are described in detail in the accompanying Chapter 19.For each method, validation goals and strategy are presented, and a detailed experimental scheme is proposed.

  18. Proposed general amendments to the atomic energy control regulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-01-01

    Canada's Atomic Energy Control Act defines the powers and responsibilities of the Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB). Among these is to make regulations to control the development, application and use of atomic energy. In these proposed general amendments to the Atomic Energy Control Regulations substantial changes are proposed in the designation of the authority of AECB staff, exemptions from licensing, international safeguards, duties of licensees and atomic radiation workers, security of information, and provision for hearings. The scope of the control of atomic energy has been redefined as relating to matters of health, safety, security, international safeguards, and the protection of the environment

  19. A proposed clinical decision support architecture capable of supporting whole genome sequence information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welch, Brandon M; Loya, Salvador Rodriguez; Eilbeck, Karen; Kawamoto, Kensaku

    2014-04-04

    Whole genome sequence (WGS) information may soon be widely available to help clinicians personalize the care and treatment of patients. However, considerable barriers exist, which may hinder the effective utilization of WGS information in a routine clinical care setting. Clinical decision support (CDS) offers a potential solution to overcome such barriers and to facilitate the effective use of WGS information in the clinic. However, genomic information is complex and will require significant considerations when developing CDS capabilities. As such, this manuscript lays out a conceptual framework for a CDS architecture designed to deliver WGS-guided CDS within the clinical workflow. To handle the complexity and breadth of WGS information, the proposed CDS framework leverages service-oriented capabilities and orchestrates the interaction of several independently-managed components. These independently-managed components include the genome variant knowledge base, the genome database, the CDS knowledge base, a CDS controller and the electronic health record (EHR). A key design feature is that genome data can be stored separately from the EHR. This paper describes in detail: (1) each component of the architecture; (2) the interaction of the components; and (3) how the architecture attempts to overcome the challenges associated with WGS information. We believe that service-oriented CDS capabilities will be essential to using WGS information for personalized medicine.

  20. Effect of nonsurgical periodontal treatment on clinical response and glycemic control in type 2 diabetic patients with periodontitis: Controlled clinical trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ajitha Kanduluru

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (type 2 DM and chronic periodontitis are common chronic diseases in adults in the world population. Once periodontal disease is established, the chronic nature of this infection may contribute to worsening of diabetic status leading to more severe diabetes-related complications. It has been proposed that the relation of periodontitis and diabetes is bidirectional. Objectives: The objective was to compare the clinical response and glycemic control in type 2 DM patients with periodontitis, before and after the nonsurgical periodontal treatment with controls. Materials and Methods: A total 70 type 2 DM patients with chronic generalized moderate periodontitis was divided into 2 groups. Treatment group (35 received one stage full mouth scaling and root planning plus oral hygiene instructions; the control group (35 received only oral hygiene instructions. At baseline, 1 st month and 3 rd month, the clinical periodontal parameters (plaque index [PI], gingival index [GI], pocket depth [PD], clinical attachment loss [CAL], gingival recession [GR], and bleeding on probing [BOP] and glycemic parameters (fasting blood sugar [FBS], and postprandial blood sugar [PPBS] were recorded, whereas the glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c was recorded only at baseline and 3rd month. The collected data were subjected to statistical analysis. Results: When comparing the mean scores of clinical parameters for both the groups, there was a significant difference in all clinical parameters, that is, mean PI, GI, BOP, PD, CAL scores except mean GR, whereas for the glycemic parameters, there was a significant difference in mean FBS; PPBS values and no significant difference in mean percentage of HbA1c for treatment group at 3 rd month follow-up. Conclusion: Findings of the present study showed that nonsurgical periodontal treatment resulted in lower glycemic levels and the reduction of clinical parameters of periodontal infection, confirming the

  1. Clinical ethics and the role of clinical ethics committees: proposals for a revival. Commentary.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrini, Carlo; Ricciardi, Walter

    2017-01-01

    The issue addressed in the paper published by the Italian National Bioethics Committee (NBC) entitled "Clinical ethics committees", is highly significant for many reasons. One of these is the fact that the ethics committees charged with assessing clinical trials have so much responsibility and such a heavy work-load that they have little time available for other tasks such as engaging directly with patients "at the bedside", as a result of which the role of committees responsible for assessing clinical cases is especially important. According to the NBC, the opinions of clinical ethics committees should be formulated jointly and are non-binding. The NBC offers practical proposals not only for the Italian context. While the Italian National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità - ISS) is not involved directly in treating patients, its role in providing guidance is crucial to the national health service and it has always paid special attention to these issues.

  2. The concept of control of COPD in clinical practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soler-Cataluña JJ

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Juan José Soler-Cataluña,1,2 Bernardino Alcázar-Navarrete,3 Marc Miravitlles2,4 1Pneumology Department, Hospital Arnau de Vilanova, Valencia, Spain; 2CIBER de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES, 3Respiratory Department, Hospital de Alta Resolucion, Granada, Spain; 4Pneumology Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain Abstract: Treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD requires a personalized approach according to the clinical characteristics of the patients, the level of severity, and the response to the different therapies. Furthermore, patients with the same level of severity measured by the degree of airflow obstruction or even with multidimensional indices may have very different symptoms and limitations for daily activities. The concept of control has been extensively developed in asthma but has not been defined in COPD. Here, we propose a definition of COPD control based on the concepts of impact and stability. Impact is a cross-sectional concept that can be measured by questionnaires such as the COPD Assessment Test or the Clinical COPD Questionnaire. Alternatively, impact can be assessed by the degree of dyspnea, the use of rescue medication, the level of physical activity, and sputum color. Stability is a longitudinal concept that requires the absence of exacerbations and deterioration in the aforementioned variables or in the COPD Assessment Test or Clinical COPD Questionnaire scores. Control is defined by low impact (adjusted for severity and stability. The concept of control in COPD can be useful in the decision making regarding an increase or decrease in medication in the stable state. Keywords: COPD, control, CAT, CCQ, exacerbations, prognosis

  3. A Proposed Clinical Decision Support Architecture Capable of Supporting Whole Genome Sequence Information

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brandon M. Welch

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Whole genome sequence (WGS information may soon be widely available to help clinicians personalize the care and treatment of patients. However, considerable barriers exist, which may hinder the effective utilization of WGS information in a routine clinical care setting. Clinical decision support (CDS offers a potential solution to overcome such barriers and to facilitate the effective use of WGS information in the clinic. However, genomic information is complex and will require significant considerations when developing CDS capabilities. As such, this manuscript lays out a conceptual framework for a CDS architecture designed to deliver WGS-guided CDS within the clinical workflow. To handle the complexity and breadth of WGS information, the proposed CDS framework leverages service-oriented capabilities and orchestrates the interaction of several independently-managed components. These independently-managed components include the genome variant knowledge base, the genome database, the CDS knowledge base, a CDS controller and the electronic health record (EHR. A key design feature is that genome data can be stored separately from the EHR. This paper describes in detail: (1 each component of the architecture; (2 the interaction of the components; and (3 how the architecture attempts to overcome the challenges associated with WGS information. We believe that service-oriented CDS capabilities will be essential to using WGS information for personalized medicine.

  4. Propose Reactor Control and Monitoring System for RTP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohd Sabri Minhat; Izhar Abu Hussin; Mohd Idris Taib; Mohd Khairulezwan Abdul Manan; Nurfarhana Ayuni Joha

    2011-01-01

    Reactor control and monitoring system is a one of the important features used in reactor. The control and monitoring must come together to provide safety, excellent performance and reliable in nuclear reactor technology application. Objectives of this technical paper are to design and propose reactor control system and reactor monitoring system in Research Reactor (RTP) for Reactor Upgrading Project. (author)

  5. Proposed torque optimized behavior for digital speed control of induction motors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Metwally, H.M.B.; El-Shewy, H.M.; El-Kholy, M.M. [Zagazig Univ., Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Zagazig (Egypt); Abdel-Kader, F.E. [Menoufyia Univ., Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Menoufyia (Egypt)

    2002-09-01

    In this paper, a control strategy for speed control of induction motors with field orientation is proposed. The proposed method adjusts the output voltage and frequency of the converter to operate the motor at the desired speed with maximum torque per ampere at all load torques keeping the torque angle equal to 90 deg. A comparison between the performance characteristics of a 2 hp induction motor using three methods of speed control is presented. These methods are the proposed method, the direct torque control method and the constant V/f method. The comparison showed that better performance characteristics are obtained using the proposed speed control strategy. A computer program, based on this method, is developed. Starting from the motor parameters, the program calculates a data set for the stator voltage and frequency required to obtain maximum torque per ampere at any motor speed and load torque. This data set can be used by the digital speed control system of induction motors. (Author)

  6. PROPOSAL OF GUIDELINE FOR CLINICAL TRIAL PROTOCOLS WITH HERBAL DRUGS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Migdacelys Arboláez Estrada.

    2007-04-01

    Full Text Available SUMMARYCuba has extensive experience about herbal drugs, however only a few products get to the clinical phase of drug development. Our objective was to design new guidelines for clinical trials with herbal drugs.A detailed bibliographic search about regulatory aspects about clinical trials in Cuba and the world was done for development of the guideline. The guideline's proposed format includes: 1 Index, including the classification of the content. 2 Summary, 3 Fifteen chapters, related to the clinical trials. The guideline also propose the inclusion of annexes.A new guideline containing 15 chapters allows for writing more clear and detailed clinical trial protocols. The guideline contains the information required to guide the research staff who is interested in the validation of herbal drugs pharmacological activations from the perspective of clinical trials. RESUMEN Cuba tiene experiencia extensa sobre plantas medicinales, aunque solo algunos productos llegan a una fase clínica del desarrollo. Nuestro objetivo fué diseñar una nueva guía para ensayos clínicos con plantas medicinales.Hemos realizado una detallada búsqueda bibliográfica sobre aspectos reguladores de ensayos clínicos en Cuba y el resto del mundo para el desarrollo de la guía. El formato propuesto de la guia incluye: 1 Índice, incluyendo la clasificación de los contenidos. 2 Resumen, 3 Quince capítulos, relacionados con los ensayos clínicos. La guía también propone la inclusión de anexos.La nueva guía que contiene 15 capítulos que orientan la redacción de protocolos de ensayos clínicos más claros y más detallados. La guía contiene la información requerida para orientar al personal investigador interesado en la validación de la actividad farmacológica de las plantas medicinales desde la perspectiva de los ensayos clínicos.

  7. Proposed Federal Gun-Control Amendment. Student Forum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mertz, Gayle; Mertz, David

    1995-01-01

    Presents an outline for a student-run forum on a proposed federal gun control amendment. Procedures include mandatory reading assignments and researching the issue. Students role-play fictional representative characters and later facilitate discussions. Concludes with a vote on the amendment. (MJP)

  8. 77 FR 41431 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request: Impact of Clinical Research Training and Medical Education...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-13

    ... Request: Impact of Clinical Research Training and Medical Education at the Clinical Center on Physician Careers in Academia and Clinical Research SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2... approval. Proposed Collection Title: The Impact of Clinical Research Training and Medical Education at the...

  9. Design control for clinical translation of 3D printed modular scaffolds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hollister, Scott J; Flanagan, Colleen L; Zopf, David A; Morrison, Robert J; Nasser, Hassan; Patel, Janki J; Ebramzadeh, Edward; Sangiorgio, Sophia N; Wheeler, Matthew B; Green, Glenn E

    2015-03-01

    The primary thrust of tissue engineering is the clinical translation of scaffolds and/or biologics to reconstruct tissue defects. Despite this thrust, clinical translation of tissue engineering therapies from academic research has been minimal in the 27 year history of tissue engineering. Academic research by its nature focuses on, and rewards, initial discovery of new phenomena and technologies in the basic research model, with a view towards generality. Translation, however, by its nature must be directed at specific clinical targets, also denoted as indications, with associated regulatory requirements. These regulatory requirements, especially design control, require that the clinical indication be precisely defined a priori, unlike most academic basic tissue engineering research where the research target is typically open-ended, and furthermore requires that the tissue engineering therapy be constructed according to design inputs that ensure it treats or mitigates the clinical indication. Finally, regulatory approval dictates that the constructed system be verified, i.e., proven that it meets the design inputs, and validated, i.e., that by meeting the design inputs the therapy will address the clinical indication. Satisfying design control requires (1) a system of integrated technologies (scaffolds, materials, biologics), ideally based on a fundamental platform, as compared to focus on a single technology, (2) testing of design hypotheses to validate system performance as opposed to mechanistic hypotheses of natural phenomena, and (3) sequential testing using in vitro, in vivo, large preclinical and eventually clinical tests against competing therapies, as compared to single experiments to test new technologies or test mechanistic hypotheses. Our goal in this paper is to illustrate how design control may be implemented in academic translation of scaffold based tissue engineering therapies. Specifically, we propose to (1) demonstrate a modular platform approach

  10. Understanding the dispensary workflow at the Birmingham Free Clinic: a proposed framework for an informatics intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Arielle M; Herbert, Mary I; Douglas, Gerald P

    2016-02-19

    The Birmingham Free Clinic (BFC) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA is a free, walk-in clinic that serves medically uninsured populations through the use of volunteer health care providers and an on-site medication dispensary. The introduction of an electronic medical record (EMR) has improved several aspects of clinic workflow. However, pharmacists' tasks involving medication management and dispensing have become more challenging since EMR implementation due to its inability to support workflows between the medical and pharmaceutical services. To inform the design of a systematic intervention, we conducted a needs assessment study to identify workflow challenges and process inefficiencies in the dispensary. We used contextual inquiry to document the dispensary workflow and facilitate identification of critical aspects of intervention design specific to the user. Pharmacists were observed according to contextual inquiry guidelines. Graphical models were produced to aid data and process visualization. We created a list of themes describing workflow challenges and asked the pharmacists to rank them in order of significance to narrow the scope of intervention design. Three pharmacists were observed at the BFC. Observer notes were documented and analyzed to produce 13 themes outlining the primary challenges pharmacists encounter during dispensation at the BFC. The dispensary workflow is labor intensive, redundant, and inefficient when integrated with the clinical service. Observations identified inefficiencies that may benefit from the introduction of informatics interventions including: medication labeling, insufficient process notification, triple documentation, and inventory control. We propose a system for Prescription Management and General Inventory Control (RxMAGIC). RxMAGIC is a framework designed to mitigate workflow challenges and improve the processes of medication management and inventory control. While RxMAGIC is described in the context of the BFC

  11. Application of superconducting coils to VAR control in electric power systems: a proposal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boenig, H.J.; Hassenzahl, W.V.

    1979-11-01

    During the last eight years, static VAR-control systems with thyristor-controlled, room-temperature reactors have been used in electrical systems for voltage control and system stabilization. In this proposal, we describe a new static VAR-control system that uses an asymmetrically controlled Graetz bridge and a superconducting dc coil. Preliminary studies indicate that the proposed system will have lower overall losses and that its capital cost and electrical characteristics are comparable to those of a conventional system. Three- and four-year programs for developing the electronic circuitry and superconducting coils for VAR control, culminating in the installation and testing of an approx. 40-MVAR system, are proposed

  12. Program grants for black lung clinics--PHS. Notice of proposed rulemaking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1983-11-01

    The Public Health Service proposed to revise the regulations governing the grants program for black lung clinics established under section 427(a) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. The revision is in keeping with the Department of Health and Human Services' desire to remove as many programmatic burdens and restrictions from grantees as possible, while maintaining program integrity.

  13. Proposal of inspection methodology for environment radiological control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martins, Nadia Soido Falcao

    2005-01-01

    The Radiation Protection and Dosimetry Institute (IRD) of the Brazilian Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN) is in charge of verifying that the self-monitoring operator is effective to control the radiological quality of environmental around the nuclear facilities and carried out in accordance with the regulatory requirements. While a long time, the verification of compliance was kept by the conduction of large scale monitoring programs around all the authorized installations. The IRD decided to reformulate its performance behavior, starting another kind of control program, due to the number increase of nuclear installations and the diversity of activities conducted by the operators. This program, so-called Monitoring Control Program (PCM) is a regulatory activity developed by the Environmental Impact Assessment Service (SEAIA) of IRD and has the aim of check the effectiveness of authorized self-control. Actually the regulatory control of environmental radiological integrity around the authorized nuclear installation essentially depends on the effectiveness of regulatory inspections fulfilled by the SEAIA/IRD. Due to the implementation of modern practices of management in the IRD, specially the quality management system on regulatory inspection activities, emerged the need of unify these actions. It was also necessary to establish standard procedures required for inspection conduction. This work proposes one methodology for the inspections of environmental radiological control suitable to assure the compliance and effectiveness of environmental and effluent monitoring programs conducted by the operator, through the systematic verification of compliance and data quality assessment. The proposed methodology seeks to attend the appeals for high control standards of environment protection and public health. Here, we presented as products of this work: The inspection handbook and checklists for inspections; one framework for sampling, handling, recording and reporting of

  14. [Rethinking clinical research in surgical oncology. From comic opera to quality control].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evrard, Serge

    2016-01-01

    The evidence base for the effectiveness of surgical interventions is relatively poor and data from large, randomized prospective studies are rare with often a poor quality. Many efforts have been made to increase the number of high quality randomized trials in surgery and theoretical proposals have been put forward to improve the situation, but practical implementation of these proposals is seriously lacking. The consequences of this policy are not trivial; with very few patients included in surgical oncology trials, this represents wasted opportunity for advances in cancer treatment. In this review, we cover the difficulties inherent to clinical research in surgical oncology, such as quality control, equipoise, accrual, and funding and promote alternative designs to the randomized controlled trial. Although the classic randomized controlled trial has a valid but limited place in surgical oncology, other prospective designs need to be promoted as a new deal. This new deal not only implicates surgeons but also journal editors, tender jury, as well as regulatory bodies to cover legal gaps currently surrounding surgical innovation. Copyright © 2015 Société Française du Cancer. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  15. Clinical trials recruitment planning: A proposed framework from the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Grant D; Bull, Jonca; Johnston McKee, Kelly; Mahon, Elizabeth; Harper, Beth; Roberts, Jamie N

    2018-03-01

    Patient recruitment is widely recognized as a key determinant of success for clinical trials. Yet a substantial number of trials fail to reach recruitment goals-a situation that has important scientific, financial, ethical, and policy implications. Further, there are important effects on stakeholders who directly contribute to the trial including investigators, sponsors, and study participants. Despite efforts over multiple decades to identify and address barriers, recruitment challenges persist. To advance a more comprehensive approach to trial recruitment, the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative (CTTI) convened a project team to examine the challenges and to issue actionable, evidence-based recommendations for improving recruitment planning that extend beyond common study-specific strategies. We describe our multi-stakeholder effort to develop a framework that delineates three areas essential to strategic recruitment planning efforts: (1) trial design and protocol development, (2) trial feasibility and site selection, and (3) communication. Our recommendations propose an upstream approach to recruitment planning that has the potential to produce greater impact and reduce downstream barriers. Additionally, we offer tools to help facilitate adoption of the recommendations. We hope that our framework and recommendations will serve as a guide for initial efforts in clinical trial recruitment planning irrespective of disease or intervention focus, provide a common basis for discussions in this area and generate targets for further analysis and continual improvement. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. [Clinical judgment is a schema. Conceptual proposals and training perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagels, Marc

    2017-06-01

    Clinical judgment is a critical concept for the development of nursing and nursing education. Its theoretical origins are multiple and its definition is not yet consensus. The analysis of the scientific and professional literature shows heterogeneous and dispersed points of views, notably on the role of intuition, on its cognitive and metacognitive dimensions, and on its proximity to other concepts. Between professional stakes and epistemological constructions, clinical judgment is still an emerging concept.To overcome the obstacle and contribute to the theoretical effort, we will argue that clinical judgment must be analyzed as a schema. It presents all the characteristics : diagnosis and information necessary for reasoning, rational decision-making process, metacognitive control and evaluation of decision-making. Perspectives then open to better understand the nursing activity.In conclusion, recommendations for developing clinical judgment in training will be presented.

  17. Describing qualitative research undertaken with randomised controlled trials in grant proposals: a documentary analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drabble, Sarah J; O'Cathain, Alicia; Thomas, Kate J; Rudolph, Anne; Hewison, Jenny

    2014-02-18

    There is growing recognition of the value of conducting qualitative research with trials in health research. It is timely to reflect on how this qualitative research is presented in grant proposals to identify lessons for researchers and research commissioners. As part of a larger study focusing on how to maximise the value of undertaking qualitative research with trials, we undertook a documentary analysis of proposals of funded studies. Using the metaRegister of Controlled Trials (mRCT) database we identified trials funded in the United Kingdom, ongoing between 2001 and 2010, and reporting the use of qualitative research. We requested copies of proposals from lead researchers. We extracted data from the proposals using closed and open questions, analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis respectively. 2% (89/3812) of trials in the mRCT database described the use of qualitative research undertaken with the trial. From these 89 trials, we received copies of 36 full proposals, of which 32 met our inclusion criteria. 25% used less than a single paragraph to describe the qualitative research. The aims of the qualitative research described in these proposals focused mainly on the intervention or trial conduct. Just over half (56%) of the proposals included an explicit rationale for conducting the qualitative research with the trial, the most frequent being to optimise implementation into clinical practice or to interpret trial findings. Key information about methods, expertise and resources was missing in a large minority of proposals, in particular sample size, type of analysis, and non-personnel resources. 28% specifically stated that qualitative researchers would conduct the qualitative research. Our review of proposals of successfully funded studies identified good practice but also identified limited space given to describing the qualitative research, with an associated lack of attention to the rationale for doing the qualitative research and

  18. Proposed clinical case definition for cytomegalovirus-immune recovery retinitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruiz-Cruz, Matilde; Alvarado-de la Barrera, Claudia; Ablanedo-Terrazas, Yuria; Reyes-Terán, Gustavo

    2014-07-15

    Cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis has been extensively described in patients with advanced or late human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease under ineffective treatment of opportunistic infection and antiretroviral therapy (ART) failure. However, there is limited information about patients who develop active cytomegalovirus retinitis as an immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) after successful initiation of ART. Therefore, a case definition of cytomegalovirus-immune recovery retinitis (CMV-IRR) is proposed here. We reviewed medical records of 116 HIV-infected patients with CMV retinitis attending our institution during January 2003-June 2012. We retrospectively studied HIV-infected patients who had CMV retinitis on ART initiation or during the subsequent 6 months. Clinical and immunological characteristics of patients with active CMV retinitis were described. Of the 75 patients under successful ART included in the study, 20 had improvement of CMV retinitis. The remaining 55 patients experienced CMV-IRR; 35 of those developed CMV-IRR after ART initiation (unmasking CMV-IRR) and 20 experienced paradoxical clinical worsening of retinitis (paradoxical CMV-IRR). Nineteen patients with CMV-IRR had a CD4 count of ≥50 cells/µL. Six patients with CMV-IRR subsequently developed immune recovery uveitis. There is no case definition for CMV-IRR, although this condition is likely to occur after successful initiation of ART, even in patients with high CD4 T-cell counts. By consequence, we propose the case definitions for paradoxical and unmasking CMV-IRR. We recommend close follow-up of HIV-infected patients following ART initiation. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  19. A Reactive Blended Learning Proposal for an Introductory Control Engineering Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendez, Juan A.; Gonzalez, Evelio J.

    2010-01-01

    As it happens in other fields of engineering, blended learning is widely used to teach process control topics. In this paper, the inclusion of a reactive element--a Fuzzy Logic based controller--is proposed for a blended learning approach in an introductory control engineering course. This controller has been designed in order to regulate the…

  20. Quality control of radiation therapy in clinical trials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kramer, S.; Lustig, R.; Grundy, G.

    1983-01-01

    The RTOG is a group of participating institutions which has a major interest in furthering clinical radiation oncology. They have formulated protocols for clinical investigation in which radiation therapy is the major modality of treatment. In addition, other modalities, such as chemotherapy, radiation sensitizers, and hyperthermia, are used in combined approach to cancer. Quality control in all aspects of patient management is necessary to insure quality data. These areas include evaluation of pathology, physics, and dosimetry, and clinical patient data. Quality control is both time consuming and expensive. However, by dividing these tasks into various levels and time frames, by using computerized data-control mechanisms, and by employing appropriate levels of ancillary personnel expertise, quality control can improve compliance and decrease the cost of investigational trials

  1. New proposal on the development of machine protection functions for ITER diagnostics control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamamoto, Tsuyoshi; Yatsuka, Eiichi; Hatae, Takaki; Takeuchi, Masaki; Kitazawa, Sin-iti; Ogawa, Hiroaki; Kawano, Yasunori; Itami, Kiyoshi; Ota, Kazuya; Hashimoto, Yasunori; Nakamura, Kitaru; Sugie, Tatsuo

    2016-01-01

    There is a need to develop ITER instrumentation and control (I and C) systems with high reliabilities. Interlock systems that activate machine protection functions are implemented on robust wired-logic systems such as programmable logic controllers (PLCs). We herein propose a software tool that generates program code templates for the control systems using PLC logic. This tool decreases careless mistakes by developers and increases reliability of the program codes. A large-scale engineering database has been implemented in the ITER project. To derive useful information from this database, we propose adding semantic data to it using the Resource Description Framework format. In our novel proposal for the ITER diagnostic control system, a guide words generator that analyzes the engineering data by inference is applied to the hazard and operability study. We validated the methods proposed in this paper by applying them to the preliminary design for the I and C system of the ITER edge Thomson scattering system. (author)

  2. Describing qualitative research undertaken with randomised controlled trials in grant proposals: a documentary analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background There is growing recognition of the value of conducting qualitative research with trials in health research. It is timely to reflect on how this qualitative research is presented in grant proposals to identify lessons for researchers and research commissioners. As part of a larger study focusing on how to maximise the value of undertaking qualitative research with trials, we undertook a documentary analysis of proposals of funded studies. Methods Using the metaRegister of Controlled Trials (mRCT) database we identified trials funded in the United Kingdom, ongoing between 2001 and 2010, and reporting the use of qualitative research. We requested copies of proposals from lead researchers. We extracted data from the proposals using closed and open questions, analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis respectively. Results 2% (89/3812) of trials in the mRCT database described the use of qualitative research undertaken with the trial. From these 89 trials, we received copies of 36 full proposals, of which 32 met our inclusion criteria. 25% used less than a single paragraph to describe the qualitative research. The aims of the qualitative research described in these proposals focused mainly on the intervention or trial conduct. Just over half (56%) of the proposals included an explicit rationale for conducting the qualitative research with the trial, the most frequent being to optimise implementation into clinical practice or to interpret trial findings. Key information about methods, expertise and resources was missing in a large minority of proposals, in particular sample size, type of analysis, and non-personnel resources. 28% specifically stated that qualitative researchers would conduct the qualitative research. Conclusions Our review of proposals of successfully funded studies identified good practice but also identified limited space given to describing the qualitative research, with an associated lack of attention to the rationale for

  3. Applying Statistical Process Control to Clinical Data: An Illustration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfadt, Al; And Others

    1992-01-01

    Principles of statistical process control are applied to a clinical setting through the use of control charts to detect changes, as part of treatment planning and clinical decision-making processes. The logic of control chart analysis is derived from principles of statistical inference. Sample charts offer examples of evaluating baselines and…

  4. Clinical relevance of the proposed sexual addiction diagnostic criteria: relation to the Sexual Addiction Screening Test-Revised.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carnes, Patrick J; Hopkins, Tiffany A; Green, Bradley A

    2014-01-01

    The present article examines and compares the various diagnostic rubrics proposed to codify symptoms of sexual addiction, and then briefly summarizes the ongoing controversy on whether sexual addiction is a valid construct. Using the diagnostic criteria proposed by , the prevalence rate of each criterion is examined in terms of scores on the Sexual Addiction Screening Test-Revised scales (). Differences in diagnostic criteria endorsement associated with sex, sexual orientation, and setting were also explored. Results from a clinical sample of men and women seeking treatment for sexual addiction demonstrated clinical relevance of the criteria, in that all but 3 criteria are endorsed at more than 50% of participants screening positive for sexual addiction on the Sexual Addiction Screening Test-Revised. Sex differences were also noted for endorsement rates of several of the criteria. Finally, several proposed criteria may pose a higher clinical threshold and thus be utilized by clinicians to identify patients with increased pathology. Results are discussed in the context of existing diagnostic frameworks across etiological perspectives.

  5. 75 FR 45572 - Oil Pollution Prevention; Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule-Proposed...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-03

    ... Oil Pollution Prevention; Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule--Proposed... Federal Regulations is proposed to be amended as follows: PART 112--OIL POLLUTION PREVENTION 1. The... certain facilities must prepare or amend their Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plans...

  6. Characteristics of funding of clinical trials: cross-sectional survey and proposed guidance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hakoum, Maram B; Jouni, Nahla; Abou-Jaoude, Eliane A; Hasbani, Divina Justina; Abou-Jaoude, Elias A; Lopes, Luciane Cruz; Khaldieh, Mariam; Hammoud, Mira Zein; Al-Gibbawi, Mounir; Anouti, Sirine; Guyatt, Gordon; Akl, Elie A

    2017-10-05

    To provide a detailed and current characterisation of funding of a representative sample clinical trials. We also aimed to develop guidance for standardised reporting of funding information. We addressed the extent to which clinical trials published in 2015 in any of the 119 Core Clinical Journals included a statement on the funding source (eg, whether a not-for-profit organisation was supported by a private-for-profit organisation), type of funding, amount and role of funder. We used a stepwise approach to develop a guidance and an instrument for standardised reporting of funding information. Of 200 trials, 178 (89%) included a funding statement, of which 171 (96%) reported being funded. Funding statements in the 171 funded trials indicated the source in 100%, amount in 1% and roles of funders in 50%. The most frequent sources were governmental (58%) and private-for-profit (40%). Of 54 funding statements in which the source was a not-for-profit organisation, we found evidence of undisclosed support of those from private-for-profit organisation(s) in 26 (48%). The most frequently reported roles of funders in the 171 funded trials related to study design (42%) and data analysis, interpretation or management (41%). Of 139 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) addressing pharmacological or surgical interventions, 29 (21%) reported information on the supplier of the medication or device. The proposed guidance addresses both the funding information that RCTs should report and the reporting process. Attached to the guidance is a fillable PDF document for use as an instrument for standardised reporting of funding information. Although the majority of RCTs report funding, there is considerable variability in the reporting of funding source, amount and roles of funders. A standardised approach to reporting of funding information would address these limitations. Future research should explore the implications of funding by not-for-profit organisations that are supported by for

  7. Proposed diagnostic criteria for internet addiction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tao, Ran; Huang, Xiuqin; Wang, Jinan; Zhang, Huimin; Zhang, Ying; Li, Mengchen

    2010-03-01

    The objective of this study was to develop diagnostic criteria for internet addiction disorder (IAD) and to evaluate the validity of our proposed diagnostic criteria for discriminating non-dependent from dependent internet use in the general population. This study was conducted in three stages: the developmental stage (110 subjects in the survey group; 408 subjects in the training group), where items of the proposed diagnostic criteria were developed and tested; the validation stage (n = 405), where the proposed criteria were evaluated for criterion-related validity; and the clinical stage (n = 150), where the criteria and the global clinical impression of IAD were evaluated by more than one psychiatrist to determine inter-rater reliability. The proposed internet addiction diagnostic criteria consisted of symptom criterion (seven clinical symptoms of IAD), clinically significant impairment criterion (functional and psychosocial impairments), course criterion (duration of addiction lasting at least 3 months, with at least 6 hours of non-essential internet usage per day) and exclusion criterion (exclusion of dependency attributed to psychotic disorders). A diagnostic score of 2 + 1, where the first two symptoms (preoccupation and withdrawal symptoms) and at least one of the five other symptoms (tolerance, lack of control, continued excessive use despite knowledge of negative effects/affects, loss of interests excluding internet, and use of the internet to escape or relieve a dysphoric mood) was established. Inter-rater reliability was 98%. Our findings suggest that the proposed diagnostic criteria may be useful for the standardization of diagnostic criteria for IAD.

  8. A proposed protocol for hand and table sanitizing in chiropractic clinics and education institutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Marion Willard; Ramcharan, Michael; Floyd, Rod; Globe, Gary; Ndetan, Harrison; Williams, Ronald; Ivie, Ronald

    2009-01-01

    Abstract Objective By nature, chiropractic is a hands-on profession using manipulation applied to the joints with direct skin-to-skin contacts. Chiropractic tables are designed with a face piece to accommodate the prone patient's head in a neutral position and hand rests to allow for relaxed shoulders and upper spine so treatment is facilitated. The purpose of this article is to present a proposed guideline for hand and treatment table surface sanitizing for the chiropractic profession that is evidence-based and can easily be adopted by teaching institutions and doctors in the field. Methods A review of the chiropractic literature demonstrated that pathogenic microbes are present on treatment tables in teaching clinics at multiple facilities, yet no standardized protocols exist in the United States regarding table sanitizing and hand hygiene in chiropractic clinics or education institutions. This article reviews the scientific literature on the subject by using several search engines, databases, and specific reviews of documents pertaining to the topic including existing general guidelines. Results The literature has several existing guidelines that the authors used to develop a proposed protocol for hand and table sanitizing specific to the chiropractic profession. Recommendations were developed and are presented on hand hygiene and table sanitizing procedures that could lower the risk of infection for both clinical personnel and patients in chiropractic facilities. Conclusion This article offers a protocol for hand and table sanitizing in chiropractic clinics and education institutions. The chiropractic profession should consider adoption of these or similar measures and disseminate them to teaching clinics, institutions, and private practitioners. PMID:19646384

  9. Methodological aspects of clinical trials in tinnitus: A proposal for an international standard

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landgrebe, Michael; Azevedo, Andréia; Baguley, David; Bauer, Carol; Cacace, Anthony; Coelho, Claudia; Dornhoffer, John; Figueiredo, Ricardo; Flor, Herta; Hajak, Goeran; van de Heyning, Paul; Hiller, Wolfgang; Khedr, Eman; Kleinjung, Tobias; Koller, Michael; Lainez, Jose Miguel; Londero, Alain; Martin, William H.; Mennemeier, Mark; Piccirillo, Jay; De Ridder, Dirk; Rupprecht, Rainer; Searchfield, Grant; Vanneste, Sven; Zeman, Florian; Langguth, Berthold

    2013-01-01

    Chronic tinnitus is a common condition with a high burden of disease. While many different treatments are used in clinical practice, the evidence for the efficacy of these treatments is low and the variance of treatment response between individuals is high. This is most likely due to the great heterogeneity of tinnitus with respect to clinical features as well as underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. There is a clear need to find effective treatment options in tinnitus, however, clinical trials differ substantially with respect to methodological quality and design. Consequently, the conclusions that can be derived from these studies are limited and jeopardize comparison between studies. Here, we discuss our view of the most important aspects of trial design in clinical studies in tinnitus and make suggestions for an international methodological standard in tinnitus trials. We hope that the proposed methodological standard will stimulate scientific discussion and will help to improve the quality of trials in tinnitus. PMID:22789414

  10. Implementation of programmable logic controller for proposed new instrumentation and control system of RTP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohd Khairulezwan Abdul Manan; Mohd Idris Taib; Mohd Dzul Aiman Aslan

    2010-01-01

    Reactor Monitoring System is one of very important part of Reactor Instrumentation and Control system. Current monitoring system is using analog system whereby all circuits are discrete circuit and all displays and indicators are not digitalized. The proposed new system will use using a Commercial Off-The-Shelf, state of the art, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system such as Programmable Logic Controller as well as Computer System. The implementations of Programmable Logic Controller are used for Data Acquisition System and as a sub-system for Computer System where all the activities involved are stored for operation record and report as well as use for research purposes. Programmable Logic Controller receives galvanised or optically isolated signal from Reactor Protection System. Programmable Logic Controller also receives signal from other parameters as a digital and analog input related to reactor system. (author)

  11. An immodest proposal: pay equity for nursing faculty who do clinical teaching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boughn, S

    1992-05-01

    Pay equity, the concept of equal pay for equal or comparable work, will continue to be of paramount importance to women as the 20th century draws to a close. While it might have been anticipated that women in academic settings would enjoy pay equity, clinical teaching in nursing education provides a model for gender discrimination as related to women's work. Elements of proposal development and a case study for contesting pay inequity are presented.

  12. Lupus community panel proposals for optimising clinical trials: 2018

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merrill, Joan T; Manzi, Susan; Aranow, Cynthia; Askenase, Anca; Bruce, Ian; Chakravarty, Eliza; Chong, Ben; Costenbader, Karen; Dall’Era, Maria; Ginzler, Ellen; Hanrahan, Leslie; Kalunian, Ken; Merola, Joseph; Raymond, Sandra; Rovin, Brad; Saxena, Amit; Werth, Victoria P

    2018-01-01

    Formidable impediments stand in the way of treatment development for lupus. These include the unwieldy size of current trials, international competition for scarce patients, complex outcome measures and a poor understanding of these outcomes in the world at large. The heterogeneity of the disease itself coupled to superimposition of variegated background polypharmacy has created enough immunological noise to virtually ensure the failure of lupus treatment trials, leaving an understandable suspicion that at least some of the results in testing failed drugs over the years may not have been negative, but merely uninterpretable. The authors have consulted with many clinical trial investigators, biopharmaceutical developers and stakeholders from government and voluntary sectors. This paper examines the available evidence that supports workable trial designs and proposes approaches to improve the odds of completing interpretable treatment development programs for lupus. PMID:29657738

  13. Celiac Patients: A Randomized, Controlled Clinical Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giuseppe Mazzarella

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available A lifelong gluten-free diet (GFD is mandatory for celiac disease (CD but has poor compliance, justifying novel strategies. We found that wheat flour transamidation inhibited IFN-γ secretion by intestinal T cells from CD patients. Herein, the primary endpoint was to evaluate the ability of transamidated gluten to maintain GFD CD patients in clinical remission. Secondary endpoints were efficacy in prevention of the inflammatory response and safety at the kidney level, where reaction products are metabolized. In a randomized single blinded, controlled 90-day trial, 47 GFD CD patients received 3.7 g/day of gluten from nontransamidated (12 or transamidated (35 flour. On day 15, 75% and 37% of patients in the control and experimental groups, respectively, showed clinical relapse (=0.04 whereas intestinal permeability was mainly altered in the control group (50% versus 20%, =0.06. On day 90, 0 controls and 14 patients in the experimental group completed the challenge with no variation of antitransglutaminase IgA (=0.63, Marsh-Oberhuber grading (=0.08, or intestinal IFN-γ mRNA (>0.05. Creatinine clearance did not vary after 90 days of treatment (=0.46. In conclusion, transamidated gluten reduced the number of clinical relapses in challenged patients with no changes of baseline values for serological/mucosal CD markers and an unaltered kidney function.

  14. High sensitivity and specificity in proposed clinical diagnostic criteria for anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Alvin C C; Mohammad, Shekeeb S; Pillai, Sekhar C; Tantsis, Esther; Jones, Hannah; Ho, Reena; Lim, Ming; Hacohen, Yael; Vincent, Angela; Dale, Russell C

    2017-12-01

    To determine the validity of the proposed clinical diagnostic criteria for anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis in paediatric patients. The diagnostic criteria for anti-NMDAR encephalitis proposed by Graus et al. (2016) use clinical features and conventional investigations to facilitate early immunotherapy before antibody status is available. The criteria are satisfied if patients develop four out of six symptom groups within 3 months, together with at least one abnormal investigation (electroencephalography/cerebrospinal fluid) and reasonable exclusion of other disorders. We evaluated the validity of the criteria using a retrospective cohort of paediatric patients with encephalitis. Twenty-nine patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis and 74 comparison children with encephalitis were included. As expected, the percentage of patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis who fulfilled the clinical criteria increased over time. During the hospital inpatient admission, most patients (26/29, 90%) with anti-NMDAR encephalitis fulfilled the criteria, significantly more than the comparison group (3/74, 4%) (panti-NMDAR encephalitis was 2 weeks from first symptom onset (range 1-6). The sensitivity of the criteria was 90% (95% confidence interval 73-98) and the specificity was 96% (95% confidence interval 89-99). The proposed diagnostic criteria for anti-NMDAR encephalitis have good sensitivity and specificity. Incomplete criteria do not exclude the diagnosis. The proposed clinical diagnostic criteria for anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis by Graus et al. (2016) have high sensitivity and specificity in paediatric patients. The median time of fulfilling the criteria in patients with anti-NMDAR was 2 weeks from first symptom onset. © 2017 Mac Keith Press.

  15. [Equality in clinical practice. Proposals for patients, professionals and managers and policies to limit discrimination].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soler-González, J; Fernández de Sanmamed, M J; Gérvas, J

    2015-01-01

    To make feasible and practical proposals to improve equality in the course of clinical care during the patient-provider encounter. Design: A focus group study was conducted with a qualitative approach from the perspective of reducing health inequalities in the clinic. Setting: A classroom discussion focused on equality in clinical work. Subjects: 98 professionals from several countries. Measurement tools: An analysis of the responses was performed, grouped by themes interpreted by analysts, and restructured to provide consistency and uniformity to responses given. Data were collected using a questionnaire with open answers, allowing free-form answers to three general questions that addressed improving equality from the perspective of the professional themselves, patients, and health policy managers. No saturation horizon of analytical discourses was set, to understand that from this subjective prioritization of opinion there is no possibility that discourses reached saturation. Responses were added to the 3 principal axes, recommending that professionals be aware of their discriminatory ability. Patients were asked to trust their health professionals and that they should be assigned to a professional. It was also proposed that managers provide information systems, help reduce health inequalities, and encourage professional freedom. The paper presents concrete measures to promote improved equality in clinics during the delivery of health care. Copyright © 2014 SECA. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  16. Advanced and controlled drug delivery systems in clinical disease management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brouwers, JRBJ

    1996-01-01

    Advanced and controlled drug delivery systems are important for clinical disease management. In this review the most important new systems which have reached clinical application are highlighted. Microbiologically controlled drug delivery is important for gastrointestinal diseases like ulcerative

  17. Leveraging workflow control patterns in the domain of clinical practice guidelines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaiser, Katharina; Marcos, Mar

    2016-02-10

    Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) include recommendations describing appropriate care for the management of patients with a specific clinical condition. A number of representation languages have been developed to support executable CPGs, with associated authoring/editing tools. Even with tool assistance, authoring of CPG models is a labor-intensive task. We aim at facilitating the early stages of CPG modeling task. In this context, we propose to support the authoring of CPG models based on a set of suitable procedural patterns described in an implementation-independent notation that can be then semi-automatically transformed into one of the alternative executable CPG languages. We have started with the workflow control patterns which have been identified in the fields of workflow systems and business process management. We have analyzed the suitability of these patterns by means of a qualitative analysis of CPG texts. Following our analysis we have implemented a selection of workflow patterns in the Asbru and PROforma CPG languages. As implementation-independent notation for the description of patterns we have chosen BPMN 2.0. Finally, we have developed XSLT transformations to convert the BPMN 2.0 version of the patterns into the Asbru and PROforma languages. We showed that although a significant number of workflow control patterns are suitable to describe CPG procedural knowledge, not all of them are applicable in the context of CPGs due to their focus on single-patient care. Moreover, CPGs may require additional patterns not included in the set of workflow control patterns. We also showed that nearly all the CPG-suitable patterns can be conveniently implemented in the Asbru and PROforma languages. Finally, we demonstrated that individual patterns can be semi-automatically transformed from a process specification in BPMN 2.0 to executable implementations in these languages. We propose a pattern and transformation-based approach for the development of CPG models

  18. Reporting results from whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing in clinical practice: a proposal for Canada?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zawati, Ma'n H; Parry, David; Thorogood, Adrian; Nguyen, Minh Thu; Boycott, Kym M; Rosenblatt, David; Knoppers, Bartha Maria

    2014-01-01

    This article proposes recommendations for the use of whole-genome and whole-exome (WGS/WES) sequencing in clinical practice, endorsed by the board of directors of the Canadian College of Medical Geneticists. The publication of statements and recommendations by several international and national organisations on clinical WGS/WES has prompted a need for Canadian-specific guidance. A multi-disciplinary group consisting of lawyers, ethicists, genetic researchers, and clinical geneticists was assembled to review existing guidelines on WGS/WES and identify provisions relevant to the Canadian context. Definitions were provided to orient the recommendations and to minimize confusion with other recommendations. Recommendations include the following: WGS/WES should be used in a judicious and cost-efficient manner; WGS/WES should be used to answer a clinical question; and physicians need to explain to adult patients the nature of the results that could arise, so as to allow them to make informed choices over whether to take the test and which results they wish to receive. Recommendations are also provided for WGS/WES in the pediatric context, and for when results implicate patients' family members. These recommendations are only a proposal to be developed into comprehensive Canadian-based guidelines. They aim to promote discussion about the reporting of WGS/WES results, and to encourage the ethical implementation of these new technologies in the clinical setting.

  19. Publishing descriptions of non-public clinical datasets: proposed guidance for researchers, repositories, editors and funding organisations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hrynaszkiewicz, Iain; Khodiyar, Varsha; Hufton, Andrew L; Sansone, Susanna-Assunta

    2016-01-01

    Sharing of experimental clinical research data usually happens between individuals or research groups rather than via public repositories, in part due to the need to protect research participant privacy. This approach to data sharing makes it difficult to connect journal articles with their underlying datasets and is often insufficient for ensuring access to data in the long term. Voluntary data sharing services such as the Yale Open Data Access (YODA) and Clinical Study Data Request (CSDR) projects have increased accessibility to clinical datasets for secondary uses while protecting patient privacy and the legitimacy of secondary analyses but these resources are generally disconnected from journal articles-where researchers typically search for reliable information to inform future research. New scholarly journal and article types dedicated to increasing accessibility of research data have emerged in recent years and, in general, journals are developing stronger links with data repositories. There is a need for increased collaboration between journals, data repositories, researchers, funders, and voluntary data sharing services to increase the visibility and reliability of clinical research. Using the journal Scientific Data as a case study, we propose and show examples of changes to the format and peer-review process for journal articles to more robustly link them to data that are only available on request. We also propose additional features for data repositories to better accommodate non-public clinical datasets, including Data Use Agreements (DUAs).

  20. Mapping the coverage of security controls in cyber insurance proposal forms

    OpenAIRE

    Woods, D; Agrafiotis, I; Nurse, JRC; Creese, S

    2017-01-01

    Policy discussions often assume that wider adoption of cyber insurance will promote information security best practice. However, this depends on the process that applicants need to go through to apply for cyber insurance. A typical process would require an applicant to fill out a proposal form, which is a self-assessed questionnaire. In this paper, we examine 24 proposal forms, offered by insurers based in the UK and the US, to determine which security controls are present in the ...

  1. Proposed Objective Odor Control Test Methodology for Waste Containment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vos, Gordon

    2010-01-01

    The Orion Cockpit Working Group has requested that an odor control testing methodology be proposed to evaluate the odor containment effectiveness of waste disposal bags to be flown on the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle. As a standardized "odor containment" test does not appear to be a matter of record for the project, a new test method is being proposed. This method is based on existing test methods used in industrial hygiene for the evaluation of respirator fit in occupational settings, and takes into consideration peer reviewed documentation of human odor thresholds for standardized contaminates, industry stardnard atmostpheric testing methodologies, and established criteria for laboratory analysis. The proposed methodology is quantitative, though it can readily be complimented with a qualitative subjective assessment. Isoamyl acetate (IAA - also known at isopentyl acetate) is commonly used in respirator fit testing, and there are documented methodologies for both measuring its quantitative airborne concentrations. IAA is a clear, colorless liquid with a banana-like odor, documented detectable smell threshold for humans of 0.025 PPM, and a 15 PPB level of quantation limit.

  2. Quality control of software in dissimilar systems using a common clinical data base

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Erickson, J.J.; Price, R.R.; Touya, J.J.; Kronenberg, M.W.; Pederson, R.; Rollo, F.D.

    1980-01-01

    For a long time there has been widespread interest in the quality control of diagnostic instrumentation. The increasing dependence on computational systems for clinical results makes it imperative that methods for quality control of diagnostic software be developed. This paper proposes a method based on the use of a collection of patient studies for which the results have been corroborated by independent methods. The data set will be distributed in a format requiring no special handling by the system being tested and will appear identical to studies actually collected by the host system. An example of the use of a preliminary version of the data set for comparison of two systems is shown. The comparison shows that analyses performed on the two systems agree very well and can be reliably compared for follow-up studies of a patient

  3. Assessing and reporting heterogeneity in treatment effects in clinical trials: a proposal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kent David M

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Mounting evidence suggests that there is frequently considerable variation in the risk of the outcome of interest in clinical trial populations. These differences in risk will often cause clinically important heterogeneity in treatment effects (HTE across the trial population, such that the balance between treatment risks and benefits may differ substantially between large identifiable patient subgroups; the "average" benefit observed in the summary result may even be non-representative of the treatment effect for a typical patient in the trial. Conventional subgroup analyses, which examine whether specific patient characteristics modify the effects of treatment, are usually unable to detect even large variations in treatment benefit (and harm across risk groups because they do not account for the fact that patients have multiple characteristics simultaneously that affect the likelihood of treatment benefit. Based upon recent evidence on optimal statistical approaches to assessing HTE, we propose a framework that prioritizes the analysis and reporting of multivariate risk-based HTE and suggests that other subgroup analyses should be explicitly labeled either as primary subgroup analyses (well-motivated by prior evidence and intended to produce clinically actionable results or secondary (exploratory subgroup analyses (performed to inform future research. A standardized and transparent approach to HTE assessment and reporting could substantially improve clinical trial utility and interpretability.

  4. 75 FR 80066 - Quality Control Requirements for Direct Endorsement Lenders; Notice of Proposed Information...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-21

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT [Docket No. FR-5380-N-50] Quality Control Requirements... information: Title of Proposal: Quality Control Requirements for Direct Endorsement Lenders. OMB Control... a result, DE lenders will be responsible for conducting quality control on TPO originations of FHA...

  5. A controlled clinical trial of implant-retained mandibular overdentures : Clinical aspects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boerrigter, EM; VanOort, RP; Raghoebar, GM; Stegenga, B; Schoen, PJ; Boering, G

    In a controlled clinical trial, treatment effects of mandibular overdentures on two different implant-systems in edentulous patients were compared one year after insertion of the new dentures. The implant-systems used were the Branemark system (Bra) and the IMZ-system. Treatment was randomly

  6. [Critical role of clinical laboratories in hospital infection control].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yagi, Tetsuya

    2010-11-01

    The hospital infection control and prevention is recognized to be more and more important according to the advances in modern medical treatment and care. Clinical microbiology laboratory play critical roles in the hospital infection control as a member of infection control team (ICT). They are the first in a hospital to identify outbreak of MRSA in NICU and molecular epidemiological analysis of the isolates lead proper intervention of ICT to the concerned ward. From a viewpoint of infectious disease specialist, rapid and precise microbiological information is essential for the appropriate diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases. Each medical technologist need to make efforts to understand the characteristics of the examinations for infectious diseases and send out information useful for clinical practices. In our hospital, with the participation of all members of medical technologists, rapid reporting system was developed for blood culture examinations, which greatly contribute to the appropriate treatment of bloodstream infections. Collaborations of clinical microbiology laboratory with other members of ICT realize high quality hospital infection control. They also need to be aware of themselves as good practitioners of infection control measures to prevent hospital infections.

  7. Attitudes toward Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trials of Patients with Schizophrenia in Japan.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Norio Sugawara

    Full Text Available Although the use of placebo in clinical trials of schizophrenia patients is controversial because of medical and ethical concerns, placebo-controlled clinical trials are commonly used in the licensing of new drugs.The objective of this study was to assess the attitudes toward placebo-controlled clinical trials among patients with schizophrenia in Japan.Using a cross-sectional design, we recruited patients (n = 251 aged 47.7±13.2 (mean±SD with a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder who were admitted to six psychiatric hospitals from December 2013 to March 2014. We employed a 14-item questionnaire specifically developed to survey patients' attitudes toward placebo-controlled clinical trials.The results indicated that 33% of the patients would be willing to participate in a placebo-controlled clinical trial. Expectations for improvement of disease, a guarantee of hospital treatment continuation, and encouragement by family or friends were associated with the willingness to participate in such trials, whereas a belief of additional time required for medical examinations was associated with non-participation.Fewer than half of the respondents stated that they would be willing to participate in placebo-controlled clinical trials. Therefore, interpreting the results from placebo-controlled clinical trials could be negatively affected by selection bias.

  8. 78 FR 71532 - Amendments to Material Control and Accounting Regulations and Proposed Guidance for Fuel Cycle...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-29

    ... Accounting Regulations and Proposed Guidance for Fuel Cycle Facility Material Control and Accounting Plans... material control and accounting (MC&A) of special nuclear material (SNM) and the proposed guidance... and how the NRC will review and inspect these plans. DATES: The public meeting will be held on...

  9. Exploring the context for effective clinical governance in infection control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halton, Kate; Hall, Lisa; Gardner, Anne; MacBeth, Deborough; Mitchell, Brett G

    2017-03-01

    Effective clinical governance is necessary to support improvements in infection control. Historically, the focus has been on ensuring that infection control practice and policy is based on evidence, and that there is use of surveillance and auditing for self-regulation and performance feedback. There has been less exploration of how contextual and organizational factors mediate an infection preventionists (IP's) ability to engage with evidence-based practice and enact good clinical governance. A cross sectional Web-based survey of IPs in Australia and New Zealand was undertaken. Questions focused on engagement in evidence-based practice and perceptions about the context, culture, and leadership within the infection control team and organization. Responses were mapped against dimensions of Scally and Donaldson's clinical governance framework. Three hundred surveys were returned. IPs appear well equipped at an individual level to undertake evidence-based practice. The most serious set of perceived challenges to good clinical governance related to a lack of leadership or active resistance to infection control within the organization. Additional challenges included lack of information technology solutions and poor access to specialist expertise and financial resources. Focusing on strengthening contextual factors at the organizational level that otherwise undermine capacity to implement evidence-based practice is key to sustaining current infection control successes and promoting further practice improvements. Copyright © 2017 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Studies and Proposals for an Automatic Crystal Control System

    CERN Document Server

    Drobychev, Gleb; Khruschinsky, A A; Korzhik, Mikhail; Missevitch, Oleg; Oriboni, André; Peigneux, Jean-Pierre; Schneegans, Marc

    1997-01-01

    This document presents the status of the studies for an Automatic Crystal Control System ( ACCOS) performed since autumn 1995 for the CMS collaboration. Evaluation of a startstop method for light yield, light uniformity and decay time measurements of PbWO4 crystals is presented, as well as the first results obtained with a compact double-beam spectrophotometer for transverse transmission. Various overall schemes are proposed for an integrated set-up including crystal dimension measurement. The initial financial evaluationperformed is also given.

  11. Proposed quality control protocol of a dual energy bone densitometer from Spanish protocol for quality control of radiology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saez, F.; Benito, M. A.; Collado, P.; Saez, M.

    2011-01-01

    In this paper we propose additional testing to complete the tests by the Spanish Protocol for Quality Control of Diagnostic Radiology, taking into account the particular characteristics of these units, and including these tests in the estimation of patient dose dose assessment area. There is also the possibility to independently verify the quality control tests that are done automatically.

  12. A proposed protocol for remote control of automated assessment devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kissock, P.S.; Pritchard, D.A.

    1996-01-01

    Systems and devices that are controlled remotely are becoming more common in security systems in the US Air Force and other government agencies to provide protection of valuable assets. These systems reduce the number of needed personnel while still providing a high level of protection. However, each remotely controlled device usually has its own communication protocol. This limits the ability to change devices without changing the system that provides the communications control to the device. Sandia is pursuing a standard protocol that can be used to communicate with the different devices currently in use, or may be used in the future, in the US Air Force and other government agencies throughout the security community. Devices to be controlled include intelligent pan/tilt mounts, day/night video cameras, thermal imaging cameras, and remote data processors. Important features of this protocol include the ability to send messages of varying length, identify the sender, and more importantly, control remote data processors. This paper describes the proposed public domain protocol, features, and examples of use. The authors hope to elicit comments from security technology developers regarding format and use of remotely controlled automated assessment devices

  13. Counter-proposal: A Multi-Agent Negotiation Protocol for Resolving Resource Contention in Open Control Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Jan Corfixen; Jørgensen, Bo Nørregaard

    2010-01-01

    The resource contention problem in control systems based on software agents occurs when agents with different goals compete with each other, to control a shared resource. In this paper we propose the counter-proposal protocol, a negotiation protocol that resolves the resource contention problem...

  14. 75 FR 7627 - Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-22

    .... (``Defendants'') under the pre-treatment requirements of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Clean Water... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Notice is hereby given that on February 16, 2010, a proposed Consent Decree was filed...

  15. Is it all about the self? The effect of self-control depletion on ultimatum game proposers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halali, Eliran; Bereby-Meyer, Yoella; Ockenfels, Axel

    2013-01-01

    In the ultimatum-game, as in many real-life social exchange situations, the selfish motive to maximize own gains conflicts with fairness preferences. In the present study we manipulated the availability of cognitive-control resources for ultimatum-game proposers to test whether preference for fairness is a deliberative cognitive-controlled act or an automatic act. In two experiments we found that a shortage of cognitive control (ego depletion) led proposers in the ultimatum game (UG) to propose significantly more equal split offers than non-depleted proposers. These results can be interpreted as resulting from an automatic concern for fairness, or from a greater fear of rejection, which would be in line with a purely self-interested response. To separate these competing explanations, in Experiment 2 we conducted a dictator-game in which the responder cannot reject the offer. In contrast to the increased fairness behavior demonstrated by depleted ultimatum-game proposers, we found that depleted dictator-game allocators chose the equal split significantly less often than non-depleted allocators. These results indicate that fairness preferences are automatically driven among UG proposers. The automatic fair behavior, however, at least partially reflects concern about self-interest gain. We discuss different explanations for these results. PMID:23781182

  16. Participants' perception of pharmaceutical clinical research: a cross-sectional controlled study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    González-Saldivar G

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Gerardo González-Saldivar,1 René Rodríguez-Gutiérrez,2 José Luis Viramontes-Madrid,3 Alejandro Salcido-Montenegro,2 Kevin Erick Gabriel Carlos-Reyna,2 Andrés Marcelo Treviño-Alvarez,2 Neri Alejandro Álvarez-Villalobos,4 José Gerardo González-González2 1Ophthalmology Department, 2Endocrinology Division, Hospital Universitario “Dr. José E. González”, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey, Nuevo León, 3Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, Morelos, 4Medical Statistics Department, Hospital Universitario “Dr. José E. González”, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico Background: There is scarce scientific information assessing participants’ perception of pharmaceutical research in developed and developing countries concerning the risks, safety, and purpose of clinical trials.Methods: To assess the perception that 604 trial participants (cases and 604 nonparticipants (controls of pharmaceutical clinical trials have about pharmaceutical clinical research, we surveyed participants with one of four chronic diseases from 12 research sites throughout Mexico.Results: Participation in clinical trials positively influences the perception of pharmaceutical clinical research. More cases (65.4% than controls (50.7% perceived that the main purpose of pharmaceutical research is to cure more diseases and to do so more effectively. In addition, more cases considered that there are significant benefits when participating in a research study, such as excellent medical care and extra free services, with this being the most important motivation to participate for both groups (cases 52%, controls 54.5%. We also found a sense of trust in their physicians to deal with adverse events, and the perception that clinical research is a benefit to their health, rather than a risk. More controls believed that clinical trial participants’ health is put at risk

  17. Proposal of inspection methodology for environment radiological control; Proposta de metodologia de inspecao para controle radiologico ambiental

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martins, Nadia Soido Falcao

    2005-07-01

    The Radiation Protection and Dosimetry Institute (IRD) of the Brazilian Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN) is in charge of verifying that the self-monitoring operator is effective to control the radiological quality of environmental around the nuclear facilities and carried out in accordance with the regulatory requirements. While a long time, the verification of compliance was kept by the conduction of large scale monitoring programs around all the authorized installations. The IRD decided to reformulate its performance behavior, starting another kind of control program, due to the number increase of nuclear installations and the diversity of activities conducted by the operators. This program, so-called Monitoring Control Program (PCM) is a regulatory activity developed by the Environmental Impact Assessment Service (SEAIA) of IRD and has the aim of check the effectiveness of authorized self-control. Actually the regulatory control of environmental radiological integrity around the authorized nuclear installation essentially depends on the effectiveness of regulatory inspections fulfilled by the SEAIA/IRD. Due to the implementation of modern practices of management in the IRD, specially the quality management system on regulatory inspection activities, emerged the need of unify these actions. It was also necessary to establish standard procedures required for inspection conduction. This work proposes one methodology for the inspections of environmental radiological control suitable to assure the compliance and effectiveness of environmental and effluent monitoring programs conducted by the operator, through the systematic verification of compliance and data quality assessment. The proposed methodology seeks to attend the appeals for high control standards of environment protection and public health. Here, we presented as products of this work: The inspection handbook and checklists for inspections; one framework for sampling, handling, recording and reporting of

  18. Maintenance of medical nuclear equipment. A proposal for quality control in radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Becker, Paulo H.B.

    1996-01-01

    A project of quality control in radiotherapy that is been implemented by Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria from Brazilian National Energy Commission (CNEN) in cooperation with International Atomic Energy Agency is described. The establishment of a laboratory for the maintenance of medical dosemeters is proposed

  19. The Asthma Control Questionnaire as a clinical trial endpoint

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Barnes, P J; Casale, T B; Dahl, Ronald

    2014-01-01

    these component endpoints; however, there is no consensus on the optimal instrument for use in clinical trials. The Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) has been shown to be a valid, reliable instrument that allows accurate and reproducible assessment of asthma control that compares favourably with other commonly...

  20. Vertigo in childhood: proposal for a diagnostic algorithm based upon clinical experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casani, A P; Dallan, I; Navari, E; Sellari Franceschini, S; Cerchiai, N

    2015-06-01

    The aim of this paper is to analyse, after clinical experience with a series of patients with established diagnoses and review of the literature, all relevant anamnestic features in order to build a simple diagnostic algorithm for vertigo in childhood. This study is a retrospective chart review. A series of 37 children underwent complete clinical and instrumental vestibular examination. Only neurological disorders or genetic diseases represented exclusion criteria. All diagnoses were reviewed after applying the most recent diagnostic guidelines. In our experience, the most common aetiology for dizziness is vestibular migraine (38%), followed by acute labyrinthitis/neuritis (16%) and somatoform vertigo (16%). Benign paroxysmal vertigo was diagnosed in 4 patients (11%) and paroxysmal torticollis was diagnosed in a 1-year-old child. In 8% (3 patients) of cases, the dizziness had a post-traumatic origin: 1 canalolithiasis of the posterior semicircular canal and 2 labyrinthine concussions, respectively. Menière's disease was diagnosed in 2 cases. A bilateral vestibular failure of unknown origin caused chronic dizziness in 1 patient. In conclusion, this algorithm could represent a good tool for guiding clinical suspicion to correct diagnostic assessment in dizzy children where no neurological findings are detectable. The algorithm has just a few simple steps, based mainly on two aspects to be investigated early: temporal features of vertigo and presence of hearing impairment. A different algorithm has been proposed for cases in which a traumatic origin is suspected.

  1. The clinical relevance of advanced artificial feedback in the control of a multi-functional myoelectric prosthesis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Markovic, Marko; Schweisfurth, Meike A.; Engels, Leonard F.

    2018-01-01

    . Nonetheless, the benefits of feedback in prosthetics are still debated. The lack of consensus is likely due to the complex nature of sensory feedback during prosthesis control, so that its effectiveness depends on multiple factors (e.g., task complexity, user learning). METHODS: We evaluated the impact...... of these factors with a longitudinal assessment in six amputee subjects, using a clinical setup (socket, embedded control) and a range of tasks (box and blocks, block turn, clothespin and cups relocation). To provide feedback, we have proposed a novel vibrotactile stimulation scheme capable of transmitting...... multiple variables from a multifunction prosthesis. The subjects wore a bracelet with four by two uniformly placed vibro-tactors providing information on contact, prosthesis state (active function), and grasping force. The subjects also completed a questionnaire for the subjective evaluation...

  2. Proposed learning strategies of medical students in a clinical rotation in obstetrics and gynecology: a descriptive study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deane, Richard P; Murphy, Deirdre J

    2016-01-01

    Medical students face many challenges when learning within clinical environments. How students plan to use their time and engage with learning opportunities is therefore critical, as it may be possible to highlight strategies that optimize the learning experience at an early stage in the rotation. The aim of the study was to describe the learning drivers and proposed learning strategies of medical students for a clinical rotation in obstetrics and gynecology. A descriptive study of personal learning plans completed by students at the start of their clinical rotation in obstetrics and gynecology was undertaken. Data relating to students' learning strategies were obtained from the personal learning plans completed by students. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were used. The desire to obtain a good examination result was the most significant reason why the rotation was important to students (n=67/71, 94%). Students struggled to create a specific and practical learning outcome relevant to their career interest. Target scores of students were significantly higher than their reported typical scores (Plearning resource during the rotation. Bedside tutorials were rated as likely to be the most useful learning activity and small group learning activities were rated as likely to be more useful than lectures. Most students intended to study the course material linked to their clinical program rather than the classroom-based tutorial program. The main learning driver for medical students was academic achievement, and the proposed learning strategy favored by medical students was linking their study plans to clinical activities. Medical educators should consider strategies that foster more intrinsic drivers of student learning and more student-oriented learning resources and activities.

  3. Analysis of the new architecture proposal for the CMM control system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heikkilae, L.; Saarinen, H.; Aha, L.; Viinikainen, M.; Mattila, J.; Hahto, A.; Siuko, M.; Semeraro, L.

    2011-01-01

    While developing divertor remote handling maintenance systems at the Divertor Test Platform 2 facility, some risks and sensitivity points related to the Cassette Multifunctional Mover control system software were discovered and evaluated. The control system architecture has to simultaneously fulfill the demanding ITER remote handling requirements and to face new requirements being uncovered during the trials. Especially evolving non-functional requirements such as reliability and safety have an effect on the control system architecture as it is getting more mature. An evaluation of the implications from architectural decisions is necessary before implementation efforts, as an architecture left to develop without evaluation may lead to a dead end and therefore soaring development costs. After studying existing architecture analysis methods an analysis method was developed to gain confidence to carry out the proposed changes.

  4. Control of anxiety through music in a head and neckoutpatient clinic: a randomized clinical trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariana Alves Firmeza

    Full Text Available Abstract OBJECTIVE Evaluating the effectiveness of a musical intervention in reducing anxiety and vital parameters in people suffering from head and neck cancer. METHOD A randomized controlled clinical trial, performed in a head and neck outpatient clinic with 40 participants, subdivided into two groups (intervention and control.The classicalmusic“Spring” from The Four Seasons by Vivaldi was used as an intervention.The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI was used as the data collectioninstrument,along with an inventory of socio-demographic and clinical data. Student'st-test was used to verify intragroup and intergroup statistical significance. RESULTS Participants presented a statistically significant reduction in levels of perceived anxiety (t= 12.68; p<0.001,as well as blood pressure levels (t = 4.56; p<0.001; pulse (t = 6.15; p<0.001 and respiratory rate (t = 5.10; p<0.001. CONCLUSION Music has proven to be an effective non-pharmacological therapeutic resource in managinganxiety in an outpatient setting for people with cancer, as well as in reducing blood pressure, pulse and respiratory rate. Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials: RBR-7W4YJJ

  5. Clinical neurofeedback: case studies, proposed mechanism, and implications for pediatric neurology practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Legarda, Stella B; McMahon, Doreen; Othmer, Siegfried; Othmer, Sue

    2011-08-01

    Trends in alternative medicine use by American health care consumers are rising substantially. Extensive literature exists reporting on the effectiveness of neurofeedback in the treatment of autism, closed head injury, insomnia, migraine, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, epilepsy, and posttraumatic stress disorder. We speculated that neurofeedback might serve as a therapeutic modality for patients with medically refractory neurological disorders and have begun referring patients to train with clinical neurofeedback practitioners. The modality is not always covered by insurance. Confident their child's medical and neurological needs would continue to be met, the parents of 3 children with epilepsy spectrum disorder decided to have their child train in the modality. The children's individual progress following neurofeedback are each presented here. A proposed mechanism and practice implications are discussed.

  6. Voltage and Frequency Control for Future Power Systems: the ELECTRA IRP Proposal

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    D’hulst, R.; Merino Fernandez, J.; Rikos, E.

    2015-01-01

    In this paper a high level functional architecture for frequency and voltage control for the future (2030+) power system is presented. The proposal suggests a decomposition of the present organization of power system operation into a ”web of cells”. Each cell in this web is managed by a single...

  7. The use of dreams in the clinical context: convergencies and divergencies: an interdisciplinary proposal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischbein, Susana Vinocur

    2011-04-01

    This paper aims to define some unexpected convergences and foreseeable divergences regarding the conceptualization of dreams and their use as a research tool, specifically in clinical practice with non-neurotic patients. It includes a concise review of different lines of thought on the vicissitudes of dreams throughout the history of psychoanalysis: from their initial conception up to their use to examine transference and relational aspects in the context of a psychoanalytic process. The idea of the merely evacuative function of dreams from patients in certain diagnostic categories is discussed and compared with that of their potential communicative value. Lastly, the essay sets forth an interdisciplinary semiotic-pragmatic approach to the function of dreams and their clinical and technical use in the context of the intersubjective dynamic field. Based on the hypothesis that dreams related in the session are communicative signs, this proposal argues their significance as a symbolic matrix that generates processes of psychic semiosis. To do so, it combines certain lines of psychoanalytic thought with ideas coming from C. S. Peirce's analytic semiotics. Clinical material is included to illustrate this viewpoint. Copyright © 2011 Institute of Psychoanalysis.

  8. Cardiovascular Topics Blood pressure control at a hospital day clinic ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    1999-02-01

    Feb 1, 1999 ... control in a hospital day clinic population receiving cal- cium channel ... we had showed poor control of blood pressure in this hospital-based population .... Assessment of com- .... Program are obering: 19 almost half of newly treated hyper- tensives will di ... blood pressure control and quality of life. There is ...

  9. Should we reconsider the routine use of placebo controls in clinical research?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Avins Andrew L

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Modern clinical-research practice favors placebo controls over usual-care controls whenever a credible placebo exists. An unrecognized consequence of this preference is that clinicians are more limited in their ability to provide the benefits of the non-specific healing effects of placebos in clinical practice. Methods We examined the issues in choosing between placebo and usual-care controls. We considered why placebo controls place constraints on clinicians and the trade-offs involved in the choice of control groups. Results We find that, for certain studies, investigators should consider usual-care controls, even if an adequate placebo is available. Employing usual-care controls would be of greatest value for pragmatic trials evaluating treatments to improve clinical care and for which threats to internal validity can be adequately managed without a placebo-control condition. Conclusions Intentionally choosing usual-care controls, even when a satisfactory placebo exists, would allow clinicians to capture the value of non-specific therapeutic benefits that are common to all interventions. The result could be more effective, patient-centered care that makes the best use of both specific and non-specific benefits of medical interventions.

  10. Should we reconsider the routine use of placebo controls in clinical research?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avins, Andrew L; Cherkin, Daniel C; Sherman, Karen J; Goldberg, Harley; Pressman, Alice

    2012-04-27

    Modern clinical-research practice favors placebo controls over usual-care controls whenever a credible placebo exists. An unrecognized consequence of this preference is that clinicians are more limited in their ability to provide the benefits of the non-specific healing effects of placebos in clinical practice. We examined the issues in choosing between placebo and usual-care controls. We considered why placebo controls place constraints on clinicians and the trade-offs involved in the choice of control groups. We find that, for certain studies, investigators should consider usual-care controls, even if an adequate placebo is available. Employing usual-care controls would be of greatest value for pragmatic trials evaluating treatments to improve clinical care and for which threats to internal validity can be adequately managed without a placebo-control condition. Intentionally choosing usual-care controls, even when a satisfactory placebo exists, would allow clinicians to capture the value of non-specific therapeutic benefits that are common to all interventions. The result could be more effective, patient-centered care that makes the best use of both specific and non-specific benefits of medical interventions.

  11. Controlled clinical studies of homeopathy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathie, Robert T

    2015-10-01

    Observations about controlled clinical trials expressed by Max Haidvogl in the book Ultra High Dilution (1994) have been appraised from a perspective two decades later. The present commentary briefly examines changes in homeopathy research evidence since 1994 as regards: the published number of randomised controlled trials (RCTs), the use of individualised homeopathic intervention, the 'proven efficacy of homeopathy', and the quality of the evidence. The commentary reflects the details of RCTs that are available in a recently published literature review and by scrutiny of systematic reviews of RCTs in homeopathy. The homeopathy RCT literature grew by 309 records in the 18 years that immediately followed Haidvogl's article, with more than a doubling of the proportion that investigated individualised homeopathy. Discounting one prior publication, the entire systematic review literature on homeopathy RCTs post-dates 1994. A total of 36 condition-specific systematic reviews have been identified in the peer-reviewed literature: 16 of them reported positive, or tentatively positive, conclusions about homeopathy's clinical effectiveness; the other 20 were negative or non-conclusive. Reviews typically have been restricted in the strength of their conclusions by the low quality of the original RCT evidence. Three comprehensive systematic reviews concluded, cautiously, that homeopathy may differ from placebo; a fourth such review reached negative conclusions. A recent high-quality meta-analysis concluded that medicines prescribed in individualised homeopathic treatment may have small, specific, effects. Despite important growth in research activity since 1994, concerns about study quality limit the interpretation of available RCT data. The question whether homeopathic intervention differs from placebo awaits decisive answer. Copyright © 2015 The Faculty of Homeopathy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. [Adequacy of clinical interventions in patients with advanced and complex disease. Proposal of a decision making algorithm].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ameneiros-Lago, E; Carballada-Rico, C; Garrido-Sanjuán, J A; García Martínez, A

    2015-01-01

    Decision making in the patient with chronic advanced disease is especially complex. Health professionals are obliged to prevent avoidable suffering and not to add any more damage to that of the disease itself. The adequacy of the clinical interventions consists of only offering those diagnostic and therapeutic procedures appropriate to the clinical situation of the patient and to perform only those allowed by the patient or representative. In this article, the use of an algorithm is proposed that should serve to help health professionals in this decision making process. Copyright © 2014 SECA. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  13. 76 FR 23615 - Notice of Submission of Proposed Information Collection to OMB; Quality Control Requirements for...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-27

    ... Proposed Information Collection to OMB; Quality Control Requirements for Direct Endorsement Lenders AGENCY... proposal. This information is collected from Direct Endorsement lenders in order to meet FHA's quality... Lenders. OMB Approval Number: 2502-Pending. Form Numbers: None. Description of the Need for the...

  14. Proposal for a revised definition of dilated cardiomyopathy, hypokinetic non-dilated cardiomyopathy, and its implications for clinical practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pinto, Yigal M; Elliott, Perry M; Arbustini, Eloisa

    2016-01-01

    In this paper the Working Group on Myocardial and Pericardial Disease proposes a revised definition of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in an attempt to bridge the gap between our recent understanding of the disease spectrum and its clinical presentation in relatives, which is key for early diagnosis...

  15. 77 FR 2601 - 30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: DS-4164 OMB Control #1405-XXXX

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-18

    ... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 7753] 30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: DS-4164 OMB Control 1405-XXXX ACTION: Notice of request for public comment and submission to OMB of proposed collection of information. SUMMARY: The Department of State has submitted the following information...

  16. A Plutocratic Proposal: an ethical way for rich patients to pay for a place on a clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masters, Alexander; Nutt, Dominic

    2017-11-01

    Many potential therapeutic agents are discarded before they are tested in humans. These are not quack medications. They are drugs and other interventions that have been developed by responsible scientists in respectable companies or universities and are often backed up by publications in peer-reviewed journals. These possible treatments might ease suffering and prolong the lives of innumerable patients, yet they have been put aside. In this paper, we outline a novel mechanism-the Plutocratic Proposal-to revive such neglected research and fund early phase clinical trials. The central idea of the Proposal is that any patient who rescues a potential therapeutic agent from neglect by funding early phase clinical trials (either entirely or in large part) should be offered a place on the trial. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  17. Micro ball lightning and its accelerator proposed to control natural phenomena

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsumoto, Taka-aki

    2002-01-01

    Micro Ball Lightning (BL) was recently discovered in laboratory. It was also observed during natural phenomena such as volcanic eruption and earthquake. This paper described a brief review of micro BL observed in laboratory as well as during two natural phenomena. Being based on a hypothesis of that those natural phenomena could have been caused by explosive reactions of micro BL, a potential accelerator of micro BL was proposed to control the natural phenomena. (author)

  18. Organisation of a clinical trial unit--a proposal

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gluud, C; Sørensen, T I

    1998-01-01

    to cover investments, core staff, and running costs, but excluding housing costs and costs of randomised clinical trials that do not originate from trial coordination. In return, such a unit should be able to mount and launch 6-7 multicenter randomised clinical trials during a 5 year period, corresponding...

  19. Phase I (or phase II) dose-ranging clinical trials: proposal of a two-stage Bayesian design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zohar, Sarah; Chevret, Sylvie

    2003-02-01

    We propose a new design for phase I (or phase II) dose-ranging clinical trials aiming at determining a dose of an experimental treatment to satisfy safety (respectively efficacy) requirements, at treating a sufficiently large number of patients to estimate the toxicity (respectively failure) probability of the dose level with a given reliability, and at stopping the trial early if it is likely that no dose is safe (respectively efficacious). A two-stage design was derived from the Continual Reassessment Method (CRM), with implementation of Bayesian criteria to generate stopping rules. A simulation study was conducted to compare the operating characteristics of the proposed two-stage design to those reached by the traditional CRM. Finally, two applications to real data sets are provided.

  20. A Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial Comparing Efficacy, Safety ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial Comparing Efficacy, Safety and Cost Effectiveness of Lornoxicam with Diclofenac Sodium in Patients of Osteoarthritis Knee. ... All patients were assessed with visual analogue scale and 100 meter walking test before starting of therapy, at 15 days and at 1, 2 and 3 months of therapy.

  1. Process control analysis of IMRT QA: implications for clinical trials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pawlicki, Todd; Rice, Roger K; Yoo, Sua; Court, Laurence E; McMillan, Sharon K; Russell, J Donald; Pacyniak, John M; Woo, Milton K; Basran, Parminder S; Boyer, Arthur L; Bonilla, Claribel

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this study is two-fold: first is to investigate the process of IMRT QA using control charts and second is to compare control chart limits to limits calculated using the standard deviation (σ). Head and neck and prostate IMRT QA cases from seven institutions in both academic and community settings are considered. The percent difference between the point dose measurement in phantom and the corresponding result from the treatment planning system (TPS) is used for analysis. The average of the percent difference calculations defines the accuracy of the process and is called the process target. This represents the degree to which the process meets the clinical goal of 0% difference between the measurements and TPS. IMRT QA process ability defines the ability of the process to meet clinical specifications (e.g. 5% difference between the measurement and TPS). The process ability is defined in two ways: (1) the half-width of the control chart limits, and (2) the half-width of ±3σ limits. Process performance is characterized as being in one of four possible states that describes the stability of the process and its ability to meet clinical specifications. For the head and neck cases, the average process target across institutions was 0.3% (range: -1.5% to 2.9%). The average process ability using control chart limits was 7.2% (range: 5.3% to 9.8%) compared to 6.7% (range: 5.3% to 8.2%) using standard deviation limits. For the prostate cases, the average process target across the institutions was 0.2% (range: -1.8% to 1.4%). The average process ability using control chart limits was 4.4% (range: 1.3% to 9.4%) compared to 5.3% (range: 2.3% to 9.8%) using standard deviation limits. Using the standard deviation to characterize IMRT QA process performance resulted in processes being preferentially placed in one of the four states. This is in contrast to using control charts for process characterization where the IMRT QA processes were spread over three of the

  2. Access control based on attribute certificates for medical intranet applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mavridis, I; Georgiadis, C; Pangalos, G; Khair, M

    2001-01-01

    Clinical information systems frequently use intranet and Internet technologies. However these technologies have emphasized sharing and not security, despite the sensitive and private nature of much health information. Digital certificates (electronic documents which recognize an entity or its attributes) can be used to control access in clinical intranet applications. To outline the need for access control in distributed clinical database systems, to describe the use of digital certificates and security policies, and to propose the architecture for a system using digital certificates, cryptography and security policy to control access to clinical intranet applications. We have previously developed a security policy, DIMEDAC (Distributed Medical Database Access Control), which is compatible with emerging public key and privilege management infrastructure. In our implementation approach we propose the use of digital certificates, to be used in conjunction with DIMEDAC. Our proposed access control system consists of two phases: the ways users gain their security credentials; and how these credentials are used to access medical data. Three types of digital certificates are used: identity certificates for authentication; attribute certificates for authorization; and access-rule certificates for propagation of access control policy. Once a user is identified and authenticated, subsequent access decisions are based on a combination of identity and attribute certificates, with access-rule certificates providing the policy framework. Access control in clinical intranet applications can be successfully and securely managed through the use of digital certificates and the DIMEDAC security policy.

  3. 75 FR 17942 - Notice of Proposed Information Collection for Public Comment on the Quality Control for Rental...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-08

    ... Information Collection for Public Comment on the Quality Control for Rental Assistance Subsidy Determinations... respondent burden (e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses). Title of Proposal: Quality Control... covered by the Public Housing and Section 8 housing subsidies. The Quality Control process involves...

  4. Active Video Game Exercise Training Improves the Clinical Control of Asthma in Children: Randomized Controlled Trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomes, Evelim L. F. D.; Carvalho, Celso R. F.; Peixoto-Souza, Fabiana Sobral; Teixeira-Carvalho, Etiene Farah; Mendonça, Juliana Fernandes Barreto; Stirbulov, Roberto; Sampaio, Luciana Maria Malosá; Costa, Dirceu

    2015-01-01

    Objective The aim of the present study was to determine whether aerobic exercise involving an active video game system improved asthma control, airway inflammation and exercise capacity in children with moderate to severe asthma. Design A randomized, controlled, single-blinded clinical trial was carried out. Thirty-six children with moderate to severe asthma were randomly allocated to either a video game group (VGG; N = 20) or a treadmill group (TG; n = 16). Both groups completed an eight-week supervised program with two weekly 40-minute sessions. Pre-training and post-training evaluations involved the Asthma Control Questionnaire, exhaled nitric oxide levels (FeNO), maximum exercise testing (Bruce protocol) and lung function. Results No differences between the VGG and TG were found at the baseline. Improvements occurred in both groups with regard to asthma control and exercise capacity. Moreover, a significant reduction in FeNO was found in the VGG (p video game had a positive impact on children with asthma in terms of clinical control, improvementin their exercise capacity and a reductionin pulmonary inflammation. Trial Registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01438294 PMID:26301706

  5. Active Video Game Exercise Training Improves the Clinical Control of Asthma in Children: Randomized Controlled Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomes, Evelim L F D; Carvalho, Celso R F; Peixoto-Souza, Fabiana Sobral; Teixeira-Carvalho, Etiene Farah; Mendonça, Juliana Fernandes Barreto; Stirbulov, Roberto; Sampaio, Luciana Maria Malosá; Costa, Dirceu

    2015-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to determine whether aerobic exercise involving an active video game system improved asthma control, airway inflammation and exercise capacity in children with moderate to severe asthma. A randomized, controlled, single-blinded clinical trial was carried out. Thirty-six children with moderate to severe asthma were randomly allocated to either a video game group (VGG; N = 20) or a treadmill group (TG; n = 16). Both groups completed an eight-week supervised program with two weekly 40-minute sessions. Pre-training and post-training evaluations involved the Asthma Control Questionnaire, exhaled nitric oxide levels (FeNO), maximum exercise testing (Bruce protocol) and lung function. No differences between the VGG and TG were found at the baseline. Improvements occurred in both groups with regard to asthma control and exercise capacity. Moreover, a significant reduction in FeNO was found in the VGG (p video game had a positive impact on children with asthma in terms of clinical control, improvement in their exercise capacity and a reduction in pulmonary inflammation. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01438294.

  6. Involving clinical librarians at the point of care: results of a controlled intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aitken, Elizabeth M; Powelson, Susan E; Reaume, Renée D; Ghali, William A

    2011-12-01

    To measure the effect of including a clinical librarian in the health care team on medical residents and clinical clerks. In 2009, medical residents and clinical clerks were preassigned to one of two patient care teams (intervention and control). Each team had a month-long rotation on the general medicine teaching unit. The clinical librarian joined the intervention team for morning intake, clinical rounding, or an afternoon patient list review, providing immediate literature searches, formal group instruction, informal bedside teaching, and/or individual mentoring for use of preappraised resources and evidence-based medicine search techniques. Both intervention and control teams completed pre and post surveys comparing their confidence levels and awareness of resources as well as their self-reported use of evidence for making patient care decisions. The nonintervention team was surveyed as the control group. The clinical librarian intervention had a significant positive effect on medical trainees' self-reported ability to independently locate and evaluate evidence resources to support patient care decisions. Notably, 30 of 34 (88%) reported having changed a treatment plan based on skills taught by the clinical librarian, and 27 of 34 (79%) changed a treatment plan based on the librarian's mediated search support. Clinical librarians on the care team led to positive effects on self-reported provider attitudes, provider information retrieval tendencies, and, notably, clinical decision making. Future research should evaluate economic effects of widespread implementation of on-site clinical librarians.

  7. Definition of delayed cerebral ischemia after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage as an outcome event in clinical trials and observational studies: proposal of a multidisciplinary research group.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vergouwen, Mervyn D I; Vermeulen, Marinus; van Gijn, Jan; Rinkel, Gabriel J E; Wijdicks, Eelco F; Muizelaar, J Paul; Mendelow, A David; Juvela, Seppo; Yonas, Howard; Terbrugge, Karel G; Macdonald, R Loch; Diringer, Michael N; Broderick, Joseph P; Dreier, Jens P; Roos, Yvo B W E M

    2010-10-01

    In clinical trials and observational studies there is considerable inconsistency in the use of definitions to describe delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. A major cause for this inconsistency is the combining of radiographic evidence of vasospasm with clinical features of cerebral ischemia, although multiple factors may contribute to DCI. The second issue is the variability and overlap of terms used to describe each phenomenon. This makes comparisons among studies difficult. An international ad hoc panel of experts involved in subarachnoid hemorrhage research developed and proposed a definition of DCI to be used as an outcome measure in clinical trials and observational studies. We used a consensus-building approach. It is proposed that in observational studies and clinical trials aiming to investigate strategies to prevent DCI, the 2 main outcome measures should be: (1) cerebral infarction identified on CT or MRI or proven at autopsy, after exclusion of procedure-related infarctions; and (2) functional outcome. Secondary outcome measure should be clinical deterioration caused by DCI, after exclusion of other potential causes of clinical deterioration. Vasospasm on angiography or transcranial Doppler can also be used as an outcome measure to investigate proof of concept but should be interpreted in conjunction with DCI or functional outcome. The proposed measures reflect the most relevant morphological and clinical features of DCI without regard to pathogenesis to be used as an outcome measure in clinical trials and observational studies.

  8. Evaluation of tuberculosis diagnostics in children: 1. Proposed clinical case definitions for classification of intrathoracic tuberculosis disease. Consensus from an expert panel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graham, Stephen M; Ahmed, Tahmeed; Amanullah, Farhana; Browning, Renee; Cardenas, Vicky; Casenghi, Martina; Cuevas, Luis E; Gale, Marianne; Gie, Robert P; Grzemska, Malgosia; Handelsman, Ed; Hatherill, Mark; Hesseling, Anneke C; Jean-Philippe, Patrick; Kampmann, Beate; Kabra, Sushil Kumar; Lienhardt, Christian; Lighter-Fisher, Jennifer; Madhi, Shabir; Makhene, Mamodikoe; Marais, Ben J; McNeeley, David F; Menzies, Heather; Mitchell, Charles; Modi, Surbhi; Mofenson, Lynne; Musoke, Philippa; Nachman, Sharon; Powell, Clydette; Rigaud, Mona; Rouzier, Vanessa; Starke, Jeffrey R; Swaminathan, Soumya; Wingfield, Claire

    2012-05-15

    There is a critical need for improved diagnosis of tuberculosis in children, particularly in young children with intrathoracic disease as this represents the most common type of tuberculosis in children and the greatest diagnostic challenge. There is also a need for standardized clinical case definitions for the evaluation of diagnostics in prospective clinical research studies that include children in whom tuberculosis is suspected but not confirmed by culture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A panel representing a wide range of expertise and child tuberculosis research experience aimed to develop standardized clinical research case definitions for intrathoracic tuberculosis in children to enable harmonized evaluation of new tuberculosis diagnostic technologies in pediatric populations. Draft definitions and statements were proposed and circulated widely for feedback. An expert panel then considered each of the proposed definitions and statements relating to clinical definitions. Formal group consensus rules were established and consensus was reached for each statement. The definitions presented in this article are intended for use in clinical research to evaluate diagnostic assays and not for individual patient diagnosis or treatment decisions. A complementary article addresses methodological issues to consider for research of diagnostics in children with suspected tuberculosis.

  9. Evaluation of Tuberculosis Diagnostics in Children: 1. Proposed Clinical Case Definitions for Classification of Intrathoracic Tuberculosis Disease. Consensus From an Expert Panel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graham, Stephen M.; Ahmed, Tahmeed; Amanullah, Farhana; Browning, Renee; Cardenas, Vicky; Casenghi, Martina; Cuevas, Luis E.; Gale, Marianne; Gie, Robert P.; Grzemska, Malgosia; Handelsman, Ed; Hatherill, Mark; Hesseling, Anneke C.; Jean-Philippe, Patrick; Kampmann, Beate; Kabra, Sushil Kumar; Lienhardt, Christian; Lighter-Fisher, Jennifer; Madhi, Shabir; Makhene, Mamodikoe; Marais, Ben J.; McNeeley, David F.; Menzies, Heather; Mitchell, Charles; Modi, Surbhi; Mofenson, Lynne; Musoke, Philippa; Nachman, Sharon; Powell, Clydette; Rigaud, Mona; Rouzier, Vanessa; Starke, Jeffrey R.; Swaminathan, Soumya; Wingfield, Claire

    2012-01-01

    There is a critical need for improved diagnosis of tuberculosis in children, particularly in young children with intrathoracic disease as this represents the most common type of tuberculosis in children and the greatest diagnostic challenge. There is also a need for standardized clinical case definitions for the evaluation of diagnostics in prospective clinical research studies that include children in whom tuberculosis is suspected but not confirmed by culture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A panel representing a wide range of expertise and child tuberculosis research experience aimed to develop standardized clinical research case definitions for intrathoracic tuberculosis in children to enable harmonized evaluation of new tuberculosis diagnostic technologies in pediatric populations. Draft definitions and statements were proposed and circulated widely for feedback. An expert panel then considered each of the proposed definitions and statements relating to clinical definitions. Formal group consensus rules were established and consensus was reached for each statement. The definitions presented in this article are intended for use in clinical research to evaluate diagnostic assays and not for individual patient diagnosis or treatment decisions. A complementary article addresses methodological issues to consider for research of diagnostics in children with suspected tuberculosis. PMID:22448023

  10. [Post-marketing reevaluation for potential quality risk and quality control in clinical application of traditional Chinese medicines].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hong-jiao; He, Li-yun; Liu, Bao-yan

    2015-06-01

    The effective quality control in clinical practices is an effective guarantee for the authenticity and scientificity of the findings. The post-marketing reevaluation for traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) focuses on the efficacy, adverse reaction, combined medication and effective dose of drugs in the market by expanded clinical trials, and requires a larger sample size and a wider range of patients. Therefore, this increases the difficulty of quality control in clinical practices. With the experience in quality control in clinical practices for the post-marketing reevaluation for Kangbingdu oral for cold, researchers in this study reviewed the study purpose, project, scheme design and clinical practice process from an overall point of view, analyzed the study characteristics of the post-marketing reevaluation for TCMs and the quality control risks, designed the quality control contents with quality impacting factors, defined key review contents and summarized the precautions in clinical practices, with the aim to improve the efficiency of quality control of clinical practices. This study can provide reference to clinical units and quality control-related personnel in the post-marketing reevaluation for TCMs.

  11. Proposing a clinical quantification framework of macro-linguistic structures in aphasic narratives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anthony Pak Hin Kong

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Background Analysis of aphasic narratives can be a challenge for clinicians. Previous studies have mainly employed measures that categorized speech samples at the word level. They included quantification of the use and misuse of different word classes, presence and absence of narrative contents and errors, paraphasias, and perseverations, as well as morphological structures and errors within a narrative. In other words, a great amount of research has been conducted in the aphasiology literature focusing on micro-linguistic structures of oral narratives. Aspects of macro- linguistic structures, such as the analysis of content information by a speaker, consistency of using cohesive devices to present information within a narrative, and order of presenting information necessary to form a coherent discourse, have not been extensively investigated. The current investigation proposes a clinical analytic system to target three aspects of macro-linguistic structures in narratives among speakers with aphasia. Specifically, (1 the presence of search events (i.e., the mentioning of key events that allow the listener to understand; Capilouto, Wright, &Wagovich, 2006 within a narrative, (2 the sequence of the mentioned events, and (3 the informativeness (i.e., the fulfillment of lexical items that allow the user to understand what the event is detailing of the event contents, were focused in the proposed framework. Method Ten controls transcripts from were selected from the AphasiaBank (MacWhinney, Fromm, Forbes, & Holland, 2011. Three narrative tasks, including sequential picture description of ‘Refused Umbrella’, procedural narrative of making a ‘Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich’, and telling of ‘Cinderella’ story, were used to establish normative data for the basis of analysis. Specifically, the Search Events (e and Informative Words (i used by at least 70% of the speakers were listed for each genre. The sequential order of mentioning the

  12. Utilizing measure-based feedback in control-mastery theory: A clinical error.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snyder, John; Aafjes-van Doorn, Katie

    2016-09-01

    Clinical errors and ruptures are an inevitable part of clinical practice. Often times, therapists are unaware that a clinical error or rupture has occurred, leaving no space for repair, and potentially leading to patient dropout and/or less effective treatment. One way to overcome our blind spots is by frequently and systematically collecting measure-based feedback from the patient. Patient feedback measures that focus on the process of psychotherapy such as the Patient's Experience of Attunement and Responsiveness scale (PEAR) can be used in conjunction with treatment outcome measures such as the Outcome Questionnaire 45.2 (OQ-45.2) to monitor the patient's therapeutic experience and progress. The regular use of these types of measures can aid clinicians in the identification of clinical errors and the associated patient deterioration that might otherwise go unnoticed and unaddressed. The current case study describes an instance of clinical error that occurred during the 2-year treatment of a highly traumatized young woman. The clinical error was identified using measure-based feedback and subsequently understood and addressed from the theoretical standpoint of the control-mastery theory of psychotherapy. An alternative hypothetical response is also presented and explained using control-mastery theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  13. Hemozoin Inhibition and Control of Clinical Malaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chibueze Peter Ihekwereme

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Malaria has a negative impact on health and social and economic life of residents of endemic countries. The ultimate goals of designing new treatment for malaria are to prevent clinical infection, reduce morbidity, and decrease mortality. There are great advances in the understanding of the parasite-host interaction through studies by various scientists. In some of these studies, attempts were made to evaluate the roles of malaria pigment or toxins in the pathogenesis of malaria. Hemozoin is a key metabolite associated with severe malaria anemia (SMA, immunosuppression, and cytokine dysfunction. Targeting of this pigment may be necessary in the design of new therapeutic products against malaria. In this review, the roles of hemozoin in the morbidity and mortality of malaria are highlighted as an essential target in the quest for effective control of clinical malaria.

  14. Proposed American National Standard ANS 8.22: Nuclear criticality safety based on limiting and controlling moderators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bullington, J.S.

    1996-01-01

    This proposed standard features guidance for dealing with the combination of fissile material and moderators in moderator control areas. The main points include nuclear criticality safety practices, encompassing administrative practices and process evaluations, and engineering practices, encompassing moderator control area barriers, equipment and containers, penetrations, fire prevention and suppression, and active engineered controls. Four appendixes follow the standard; the subject of these appendixes are typical moderating materials, potential sources of moderators, moderator control measurements, and engineered barriers to control moderators

  15. 78 FR 79328 - Amendments to Material Control and Accounting Regulations and Proposed Guidance for Fuel Cycle...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-30

    ..., 72, 74, and 150 [NRC-2009-0096 and NRC-2013-0195] RIN 3150-AI61 Amendments to Material Control and Accounting Regulations and Proposed Guidance for Fuel Cycle Facility Material Control and Accounting Plans... of this document. NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may access...

  16. Clinical validation of the C-VAT 2.0 assessment tool for gaming disorder: A sensitivity analysis of the proposed DSM-5 criteria and the clinical characteristics of young patients with 'video game addiction'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Rooij, Antonius J; Schoenmakers, Tim M; van de Mheen, Dike

    2017-01-01

    Clinicians struggle with the identification of video gaming problems. To address this issue, a clinical assessment tool (C-VAT 2.0) was developed and tested in a clinical setting. The instrument allows exploration of the validity of the DSM-5 proposal for 'internet gaming disorder'. Using C-VAT 2.0, the current study provides a sensitivity analysis of the proposed DSM-5 criteria in a clinical youth sample (13-23years old) in treatment for video gaming disorder (N=32). The study also explores the clinical characteristics of these patients. The patients were all male and reported spending extensive amounts of time on video games. At least half of the patients reported playing online games (n=15). Comorbid problems were common (n=22) and included (social) anxiety disorders, PDD NOS, ADHD/ADD, Parent-Child relationship problem, and various types of depressive mood problems. The sensitivity of the test was good: results further show that the C-VAT correctly identified 91% of the sample at the proposed cut-off score of at least 5 out of 9 of the criteria. As our study did not include healthy, extreme gamers, we could not assess the specificity of the tool: future research should make this a priority. Using the proposed DSM-5 cut-off score, the C-VAT 2.0 shows preliminary validity in a sample of gamers in treatment for gaming disorder, but the discriminating value of the instrument should be studied further. In the meantime, it is crucial that therapists try to avoid false positives by using expert judgment of functional impairment in each case. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Description and status update on GELLO: a proposed standardized object-oriented expression language for clinical decision support.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sordo, Margarita; Boxwala, Aziz A; Ogunyemi, Omolola; Greenes, Robert A

    2004-01-01

    A major obstacle to sharing computable clinical knowledge is the lack of a common language for specifying expressions and criteria. Such a language could be used to specify decision criteria, formulae, and constraints on data and action. Al-though the Arden Syntax addresses this problem for clinical rules, its generalization to HL7's object-oriented data model is limited. The GELLO Expression language is an object-oriented language used for expressing logical conditions and computations in the GLIF3 (GuideLine Interchange Format, v. 3) guideline modeling language. It has been further developed under the auspices of the HL7 Clinical Decision Support Technical Committee, as a proposed HL7 standard., GELLO is based on the Object Constraint Language (OCL), because it is vendor-independent, object-oriented, and side-effect-free. GELLO expects an object-oriented data model. Although choice of model is arbitrary, standardization is facilitated by ensuring that the data model is compatible with the HL7 Reference Information Model (RIM).

  18. Outbreak of resistant Acinetobacter baumannii- measures and proposal for prevention and control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romanelli, Roberta Maia de Castro; Jesus, Lenize Adriana de; Clemente, Wanessa Trindade; Lima, Stella Sala Soares; Rezende, Edna Maria; Coutinho, Rosane Luiza; Moreira, Ricardo Luiz Fontes; Neves, Francelli Aparecida Cordeiro; Brás, Nelma de Jesus

    2009-10-01

    Acinetobacter baumannii colonization and infection, frequent in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients, is commonly associated with high morbimortality. Several outbreaks due to multidrug-resistant (MDR) A. baumanii have been reported but few of them in Brazil. This study aimed to identify risk factors associated with colonization and infection by MDR and carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii strains isolated from patients admitted to the adult ICU at HC/UFMG. A case-control study was performed from January 2007 to June 2008. Cases were defined as patients colonized or infected by MDR/carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii, and controls were patients without MDR/carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii isolation, in a 1:2 proportion. For statistical analysis, due to changes in infection control guidelines, infection criteria and the notification process, this study was divided into two periods. During the first period analyzed, from January to December 2007, colonization or infection by MDR/carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii was associated with prior infection, invasive device utilization, prior carbapenem use and clinical severity. In the multivariate analysis, prior infection and mechanical ventilation proved to be statistically significant risk factors. Carbapenem use showed a tendency towards a statistical association. During the second study period, from January to June 2008, variables with a significant association with MDR/carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii colonization/infection were catheter utilization, carbapenem and third-generation cephalosporin use, hepatic transplantation, and clinical severity. In the multivariate analysis, only CVC use showed a statistical difference. Carbapenem and third-generation cephalosporin use displayed a tendency to be risk factors. Risk factors must be focused on infection control and prevention measures considering A. baumanni dissemination.

  19. Outbreak of resistant Acinetobacter baumannii: measures and proposal for prevention and control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roberta Maia de Castro Romanelli

    Full Text Available Acinetobacter baumannii colonization and infection, frequent in Intensive Care Unit (ICU patients, is commonly associated with high morbimortality. Several outbreaks due to multidrug-resistant (MDR A. baumanii have been reported but few of them in Brazil. This study aimed to identify risk factors associated with colonization and infection by MDR and carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii strains isolated from patients admitted to the adult ICU at HC/UFMG. A case-control study was performed from January 2007 to June 2008. Cases were defined as patients colonized or infected by MDR/carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii, and controls were patients without MDR/carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii isolation, in a 1:2 proportion. For statistical analysis, due to changes in infection control guidelines, infection criteria and the notification process, this study was divided into two periods. During the first period analyzed, from January to December 2007, colonization or infection by MDR/carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii was associated with prior infection, invasive device utilization, prior carbapenem use and clinical severity. In the multivariate analysis, prior infection and mechanical ventilation proved to be statistically significant risk factors. Carbapenem use showed a tendency towards a statistical association. During the second study period, from January to June 2008, variables with a significant association with MDR/carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii colonization/infection were catheter utilization, carbapenem and third-generation cephalosporin use, hepatic transplantation, and clinical severity. In the multivariate analysis, only CVC use showed a statistical difference. Carbapenem and third-generation cephalosporin use displayed a tendency to be risk factors. Risk factors must be focused on infection control and prevention measures considering A. baumanni dissemination.

  20. Automating Construction of Machine Learning Models With Clinical Big Data: Proposal Rationale and Methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Gang; Stone, Bryan L; Johnson, Michael D; Tarczy-Hornoch, Peter; Wilcox, Adam B; Mooney, Sean D; Sheng, Xiaoming; Haug, Peter J; Nkoy, Flory L

    2017-08-29

    To improve health outcomes and cut health care costs, we often need to conduct prediction/classification using large clinical datasets (aka, clinical big data), for example, to identify high-risk patients for preventive interventions. Machine learning has been proposed as a key technology for doing this. Machine learning has won most data science competitions and could support many clinical activities, yet only 15% of hospitals use it for even limited purposes. Despite familiarity with data, health care researchers often lack machine learning expertise to directly use clinical big data, creating a hurdle in realizing value from their data. Health care researchers can work with data scientists with deep machine learning knowledge, but it takes time and effort for both parties to communicate effectively. Facing a shortage in the United States of data scientists and hiring competition from companies with deep pockets, health care systems have difficulty recruiting data scientists. Building and generalizing a machine learning model often requires hundreds to thousands of manual iterations by data scientists to select the following: (1) hyper-parameter values and complex algorithms that greatly affect model accuracy and (2) operators and periods for temporally aggregating clinical attributes (eg, whether a patient's weight kept rising in the past year). This process becomes infeasible with limited budgets. This study's goal is to enable health care researchers to directly use clinical big data, make machine learning feasible with limited budgets and data scientist resources, and realize value from data. This study will allow us to achieve the following: (1) finish developing the new software, Automated Machine Learning (Auto-ML), to automate model selection for machine learning with clinical big data and validate Auto-ML on seven benchmark modeling problems of clinical importance; (2) apply Auto-ML and novel methodology to two new modeling problems crucial for care

  1. Impact of implementing electronic clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis, control and treatment of cardiovascular risk factors: A pre-post controlled study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comin, Eva; Catalan-Ramos, Arantxa; Iglesias-Rodal, Manuel; Grau, Maria; Del Val, Jose Luis; Consola, Alicia; Amado, Ester; Pons, Angels; Mata-Cases, Manel; Franzi, Alicia; Ciurana, Ramon; Frigola, Eva; Cos, Xavier; Davins, Josep; Verdu-Rotellar, Jose M

    To evaluate the impact of computerized clinical practice guidelines on the management, diagnosis, treatment, control, and follow-up of the main cardiovascular risk factors: hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Pre-post controlled study. Catalonia, autonomous community located in north-eastern Spain. Individuals aged 35-74 years assigned to general practitioners of the Catalan Health Institute. The intervention group consisted of individuals whose general practitioners had accessed the computerized clinical practice guidelines at least twice a day, while the control group consisted of individuals whose general practitioner had never accessed the computerized clinical practice guidelines platform. The Chi-squared test was used to detect significant differences in the follow-up, control, and treatment variables for all three disorders (hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, and type 2 diabetes mellitus) between individuals assigned to users and non-users of the computerized clinical practice guidelines, respectively. A total of 189,067 patients were included in this study, with a mean age of 56 years (standard deviation 12), and 55.5% of whom were women. Significant differences were observed in hypertension management, treatment and control; type 2 diabetes mellitus management, treatment and diagnoses, and the management and control of hypercholesterolaemia in both sexes. Computerized clinical practice guidelines are an effective tool for the control and follow-up of patients diagnosed with hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and hypercholesterolaemia. The usefulness of computerized clinical practice guidelines to diagnose and adequately treat individuals with these disorders remains unclear. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  2. Clinical evaluation of an automatic blood pressure controller during cardiac surgery

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meijers, R.H.A.M.; Schmartz, D.; Cantraine, F.R.L.; Barvais, L.; d Hollander, A.A.; Blom, J.A.

    1997-01-01

    During surgery, computers can be of great use to support the anesthesiologist in providing task automation. In this paper we describe a closed loop blood pressure controller and show the results of its clinical evalua- tion.Methods. The controller is based on a simple and robust

  3. Clinical validation of the C-VAT 2.0 assessment tool for gaming disorder: a sensitivity analysis of the proposed DSM-5 criteria and the clinical characteristics of young patients with ‘video game addiction’.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rooij, A.J. van; Schoenmakers, T.M.; Mheen, D. van de

    2017-01-01

    Aims: Clinicians struggle with the identification of video gaming problems. To address this issue, a clinical assessment tool (C-VAT 2.0) was developed and tested in a clinical setting. The instrument allows exploration of the validity of the DSM-5 proposal for ‘internet gaming disorder’. Method:

  4. Can current analytical quality performance of UK clinical laboratories support evidence-based guidelines for diabetes and ischaemic heart disease?--A pilot study and a proposal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jassam, Nuthar; Yundt-Pacheco, John; Jansen, Rob; Thomas, Annette; Barth, Julian H

    2013-08-01

    The implementation of national and international guidelines is beginning to standardise clinical practice. However, since many guidelines have decision limits based on laboratory tests, there is an urgent need to ensure that different laboratories obtain the same analytical result on any sample. A scientifically-based quality control process will be a pre-requisite to provide this level of analytical performance which will support evidence-based guidelines and movement of patients across boundaries while maintaining standardised outcomes. We discuss the finding of a pilot study performed to assess UK clinical laboratories readiness to work to a higher grade quality specifications such as biological variation-based quality specifications. Internal quality control (IQC) data for HbA1c, glucose, creatinine, cholesterol and high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol were collected from UK laboratories participating in the Bio-Rad Unity QC programme. The median of the coefficient of variation (CV%) of the participating laboratories was evaluated against the CV% based on biological variation. Except creatinine, the other four analytes had a variable degree of compliance with the biological variation-based quality specifications. More than 75% of the laboratories met the biological variation-based quality specifications for glucose, cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol. Slightly over 50% of the laboratories met the analytical goal for HBA1c. Only one analyte (cholesterol) had a performance achieving the higher quality specifications consistent with 5σ. Our data from IQC do not consistently demonstrate that the results from clinical laboratories meet evidence-based quality specifications. Therefore, we propose that a graded scale of quality specifications may be needed at this stage.

  5. The clinical relevance of advanced artificial feedback in the control of a multi-functional myoelectric prosthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markovic, Marko; Schweisfurth, Meike A; Engels, Leonard F; Bentz, Tashina; Wüstefeld, Daniela; Farina, Dario; Dosen, Strahinja

    2018-03-27

    To effectively replace the human hand, a prosthesis should seamlessly respond to user intentions but also convey sensory information back to the user. Restoration of sensory feedback is rated highly by the prosthesis users, and feedback is critical for grasping in able-bodied subjects. Nonetheless, the benefits of feedback in prosthetics are still debated. The lack of consensus is likely due to the complex nature of sensory feedback during prosthesis control, so that its effectiveness depends on multiple factors (e.g., task complexity, user learning). We evaluated the impact of these factors with a longitudinal assessment in six amputee subjects, using a clinical setup (socket, embedded control) and a range of tasks (box and blocks, block turn, clothespin and cups relocation). To provide feedback, we have proposed a novel vibrotactile stimulation scheme capable of transmitting multiple variables from a multifunction prosthesis. The subjects wore a bracelet with four by two uniformly placed vibro-tactors providing information on contact, prosthesis state (active function), and grasping force. The subjects also completed a questionnaire for the subjective evaluation of the feedback. The tests demonstrated that feedback was beneficial only in the complex tasks (block turn, clothespin and cups relocation), and that the training had an important, task-dependent impact. In the clothespin relocation and block turn tasks, training allowed the subjects to establish successful feedforward control, and therefore, the feedback became redundant. In the cups relocation task, however, the subjects needed some training to learn how to properly exploit the feedback. The subjective evaluation of the feedback was consistently positive, regardless of the objective benefits. These results underline the multifaceted nature of closed-loop prosthesis control as, depending on the context, the same feedback interface can have different impact on performance. Finally, even if the closed

  6. The efficacy and safety of a proposed herbal moisturising cream for dry skin and itch relief: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial--study protocol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Dong-Hyo; Seo, Eun-Sung; Hong, Jin-Tae; Lee, Gang-Tai; You, Young-Kyoung; Lee, Kun-Kook; Jo, Ga-Won; Kim, Nam-Kwen

    2013-11-25

    Moisturisers prevent and treat dry skin. They can also protect sensitive skin, improve skin tone and texture, and mask imperfections. Herbal medicines or their extracts have been available as topical formulations and cosmetics. Arctium lappa L. (Asteraceae) has been used to treat inflammatory disorders and various skin problems. It could be a candidate herbal medicine for treating dry skin condition.This study aims to establish the efficacy and safety of a proposed herbal moisturising cream containing Arctium lappa L. seed extract, which has been approved by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for use in cosmetics. This study is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study with two parallel groups (proposed herbal moisturising cream vs. placebo cream). We will recruit 66 healthy male and female participants, aged 20 to 65 years, who have been diagnosed with dry skin conditions. Participants will be randomly allocated to receive either the proposed herbal moisturising cream or a placebo cream for four weeks. Each participant will be examined for signs and symptoms before and after using the cream. Skin hydration, sebum (oily secretion) levels and transepidermal water loss (TEWL; constitutive loss of water from the skin surface) will be assessed. Participants will also be asked to fill out a health-related quality of life questionnaire. Safety will be assessed using blood tests, urine analysis, a pregnancy test, and the assessment of vital signs. This trial will utilise high-quality methodologies in accordance with both consolidated standards for reporting trials guidelines and the guidelines for clinical trials of cosmetics products that are aimed at expressions and advertisement approval in Korea. It will evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of a proposed herbal moisturising cream containing Arctium lappa L. seed extract to treat dry skin conditions and provide itch relief. Moreover, we will also employ health-related quality of life

  7. The efficacy and safety of a proposed herbal moisturising cream for dry skin and itch relief: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial- study protocol

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background Moisturisers prevent and treat dry skin. They can also protect sensitive skin, improve skin tone and texture, and mask imperfections. Herbal medicines or their extracts have been available as topical formulations and cosmetics. Arctium lappa L. (Asteraceae) has been used to treat inflammatory disorders and various skin problems. It could be a candidate herbal medicine for treating dry skin condition. This study aims to establish the efficacy and safety of a proposed herbal moisturising cream containing Arctium lappa L. seed extract, which has been approved by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for use in cosmetics. Methods/Designs This study is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study with two parallel groups (proposed herbal moisturising cream vs. placebo cream). We will recruit 66 healthy male and female participants, aged 20 to 65 years, who have been diagnosed with dry skin conditions. Participants will be randomly allocated to receive either the proposed herbal moisturising cream or a placebo cream for four weeks. Each participant will be examined for signs and symptoms before and after using the cream. Skin hydration, sebum (oily secretion) levels and transepidermal water loss (TEWL; constitutive loss of water from the skin surface) will be assessed. Participants will also be asked to fill out a health-related quality of life questionnaire. Safety will be assessed using blood tests, urine analysis, a pregnancy test, and the assessment of vital signs. Discussion This trial will utilise high-quality methodologies in accordance with both consolidated standards for reporting trials guidelines and the guidelines for clinical trials of cosmetics products that are aimed at expressions and advertisement approval in Korea. It will evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of a proposed herbal moisturising cream containing Arctium lappa L. seed extract to treat dry skin conditions and provide itch relief. Moreover, we will also employ

  8. Glycemic control in the infectious diseases ward; role of clinical pharmacist interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farsaei, Shadi; Karimzadeh, Iman; Elyasi, Sepideh; Hatamkhani, Shima; Khalili, Hossein

    2014-04-15

    Hyperglycemia is one of the most frequent metabolic complications in hospitalized patients. Increased risk of infection following hyperglycemia has been reported in hospitalized patients and infections may also cause insulin resistance which complicates the control of blood glucose level. In this study the impact of the clinical pharmacist interventions on the glycemic control in patients admitted to infectious diseases ward has been evaluated. We conducted a prospective, pre-post interventional study among patients with hyperglycemia. The clinical pharmacist-led multidisciplinary team managed the glycemic profile of patients according to an established insulin protocol commonly used in internal wards. Clinical pharmacists reviewed patients' medical charts for proper insulin administration, evaluated nurses' technique for insulin injection and blood glucose measurement, and educated patients about symptoms of hypoglycemia and the importance of adherence to different aspects of their glycemic management. The percentage of controlled random blood sugar increased from 13.8% in the pre-intervention to 22.3% in the post-intervention group (p value percentage of controlled fasting blood sugars in the post-intervention group was non-significantly higher than in the pre-intervention group. Pharmacists and additional health care providers from other departments such as nursing and dietary departments need to be devoted to glycemic control service. Collaborative practice agreement between physicians is necessary to promote this service and help to increase the use of such services in different settings for diabetes control.

  9. Clinical pharmacists on medical care of pediatric inpatients: a single-center randomized controlled trial.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chuan Zhang

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To explore the best interventions and working patterns of clinical pharmacists in pediatrics and to determine the effectiveness of clinical pharmacists in pediatrics. METHODS: We conducted a randomized controlled trial of 160 pediatric patients with nerve system disease, respiratory system disease or digestive system disease, who were randomly allocated into two groups, with 80 in each group. Interventions by clinical pharmacists in the experimental group included answering questions of physicians and nurses, giving advice on treating patients, checking prescriptions and patient counseling at discharge. In the control group, patients were treated without clinical pharmacist interventions. RESULTS: Of the 109 interventions provided by clinical pharmacists during 4 months, 47 were consultations for physicians and nurses, 31 were suggestions of treatment, with 30 accepted by physicians (96.77% and 31 were medical errors found in 641 prescriptions. Five adverse drug reactions were submitted to the adverse drug reaction monitoring network, with three in the experimental group and two in the control group. The average length of stay (LOS for patients with respiratory system diseases in the experimental group was 6.45 days, in comparison with 10.83 days in the control group, which was statistically different (p value<0.05; Average drug compliance rate in the experimental group was 81.41%, in comparison with 70.17% of the control group, which was statistically different (p value<0.05. Cost of drugs and hospitalization and rate of readmission in two weeks after discharge in the two groups were not statistically different. CONCLUSION: Participation by clinical pharmacists in the pharmacotherapy of pediatric patients can reduce LOS of patients with respiratory system disease and improve compliance rate through discharge education, showing no significant effects on prevention of ADR, reduction of cost of drugs and hospitalization and readmission

  10. Energy consumption control automation using Artificial Neural Networks and adaptive algorithms: Proposal of a new methodology and case study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benedetti, Miriam; Cesarotti, Vittorio; Introna, Vito; Serranti, Jacopo

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • A methodology to enable energy consumption control automation is proposed. • The methodology is based on the use of Artificial Neural Networks. • A method to control the accuracy of the model over time is proposed. • Two methods to enable automatic retraining of the network are proposed. • Retraining methods are evaluated on their accuracy over time. - Abstract: Energy consumption control in energy intensive companies is always more considered as a critical activity to continuously improve energy performance. It undoubtedly requires a huge effort in data gathering and analysis, and the amount of these data together with the scarceness of human resources devoted to Energy Management activities who could maintain and update the analyses’ output are often the main barriers to its diffusion in companies. Advanced tools such as software based on machine learning techniques are therefore the key to overcome these barriers and allow an easy but accurate control. This type of systems is able to solve complex problems obtaining reliable results over time, but not to understand when the reliability of the results is declining (a common situation considering energy using systems, often undergoing structural changes) and to automatically adapt itself using a limited amount of training data, so that a completely automatic application is not yet available and the automatic energy consumption control using intelligent systems is still a challenge. This paper presents a whole new approach to energy consumption control, proposing a methodology based on Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) and aimed at creating an automatic energy consumption control system. First of all, three different structures of neural networks are proposed and trained using a huge amount of data. Three different performance indicators are then used to identify the most suitable structure, which is implemented to create an energy consumption control tool. In addition, considering that

  11. Active Video Game Exercise Training Improves the Clinical Control of Asthma in Children: Randomized Controlled Trial.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Evelim L F D Gomes

    Full Text Available The aim of the present study was to determine whether aerobic exercise involving an active video game system improved asthma control, airway inflammation and exercise capacity in children with moderate to severe asthma.A randomized, controlled, single-blinded clinical trial was carried out. Thirty-six children with moderate to severe asthma were randomly allocated to either a video game group (VGG; N = 20 or a treadmill group (TG; n = 16. Both groups completed an eight-week supervised program with two weekly 40-minute sessions. Pre-training and post-training evaluations involved the Asthma Control Questionnaire, exhaled nitric oxide levels (FeNO, maximum exercise testing (Bruce protocol and lung function.No differences between the VGG and TG were found at the baseline. Improvements occurred in both groups with regard to asthma control and exercise capacity. Moreover, a significant reduction in FeNO was found in the VGG (p < 0.05. Although the mean energy expenditure at rest and during exercise training was similar for both groups, the maximum energy expenditure was higher in the VGG.The present findings strongly suggest that aerobic training promoted by an active video game had a positive impact on children with asthma in terms of clinical control, improvement in their exercise capacity and a reduction in pulmonary inflammation.Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01438294.

  12. Proposal of many-party controlled teleportation for multi-qubit entangled W state

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Huang Zhi-Ping; Li Hong-Cai

    2005-01-01

    A scheme of M-party controlled teleportation for one N-qubit entangled W state via (N-1) Einstein-PodolskyRosen (EPR) pairs and one (M+2)-qubit Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state is proposed. We achieve the teleportation in such a way that M agents can execute the Hadamard transformation, perform the measurement on their qubits and inform the receiver of their measurements. Then we discuss that the receiver cannot fully recover the state from the sender if one agent does not co-operate with him.

  13. Full-mouth disinfection as a therapeutic protocol for type-2 diabetic subjects with chronic periodontitis: twelve-month clinical outcomes: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Vanessa R; Lima, Jadson A; Miranda, Tamires S; Gonçalves, Tiago E D; Figueiredo, Luciene C; Faveri, Marcelo; Duarte, Poliana M

    2013-02-01

    The aim of this randomized controlled clinical trial was to evaluate the clinical effects of chlorhexidine (CHX) application in a full-mouth disinfection (FMD) protocol in poorly controlled type-2 diabetic subjects with generalized chronic periodontitis. Thirty-eight subjects were randomly assigned into FMD group (n=19): full-mouth scaling and root planing (FMSRP) within 24 h + local application of CHX gel + CHX rinses for 60 days or Control group (n = 19): FMSRP within 24 h + local application of placebo gel + placebo rinses for 60 days. Clinical parameters, glycated haemoglobin and fasting plasma glucose were assessed at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months post-therapies. All clinical parameters improved significantly at 3, 6 and 12 months post-therapies for both groups (p clinical parameters, and glycemic condition at any time-point (p > 0.05). The treatments did not differ with respect to clinical parameters, including the primary outcome variable (i.e. changes in clinical attachment level in deep pockets), for up to 12 months post-treatments. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

  14. Contribution of family social support to the metabolic control of people with diabetes mellitus: A randomized controlled clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomes, Lilian Cristiane; Coelho, Anna Claudia Martins; Gomides, Danielle Dos Santos; Foss-Freitas, Maria Cristina; Foss, Milton César; Pace, Ana Emilia

    2017-08-01

    This randomized controlled clinical trial aimed to evaluate the contribution of family social support to the clinical/metabolic control of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease that requires continuous care in order for individuals to reach glycemic control, the primordial goal of treatment. Family social support is essential to the development of care skills and their maintenance. However, there are few studies that investigate the contribution of family social support to diabetes control. The study was developed between June 2011 and May 2013, and included 164 people who were randomized using simple randomization. The intervention group differed from the control group in that it included a family caregiver, who was recognized by the patient as a source of social support. The educational interventions received by people with diabetes mellitus were used as the basis of the education provided through telephone calls to patients' family members and caregivers, and their purpose was to encourage dialogue between the patients and their relatives about the topics related to diabetes. Regarding the clinical impact, the results showed that there was a greater reduction in blood pressure and glycated hemoglobin in the intervention group than in the control group, showing a positive effect on the control of the disease. Families should be incorporated into the care of people with diabetes mellitus and especially in health care programs, in particular those that can promote different forms of social support to strengthen the bond between family members. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. A proposal for off-grid photovoltaic systems with non-controllable loads using fuzzy logic

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yahyaoui, Imene; Sallem, Souhir; Kamoun, M.B.A.; Tadeo, Fernando

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • An energy management system is proposed for off-grid PV systems, based on fuzzy logic. • The proposal guarantees the energy balance and battery protection. • The approach is demonstrated using data measured at the target location. - Abstract: A fuzzy-logic based methodology is proposed and evaluated for energy management in off-grid installations with photovoltaic panels as the source of energy and a limited storage capacity in batteries. The decision on the connection or disconnection of components is based on fuzzy rules on the basis of the Photovoltaic Panel Generation measurement, the measured power required by the load, and the estimation of the stored energy in the batteries (this last is obtained from the estimation of the Depth-of-Discharge). The algorithm aims to ensure the system’s autonomy by controlling the switches linking the system components with respect to a multi-objective management criterion developed from the requirements (supply of the load, protection of the battery, etc.). Detailed tests of the proposed system are carried out using data (irradiation, temperature, power consumption, etc.) measured in a household at the target area at several days of the year. The results demonstrate that the proposed approach achieves the objectives of system autonomy, battery protection and power supply stability. Compared with a basic algorithm, the proposed algorithm is not sensitive to sudden changes in atmospheric parameters and avoids overcharging the battery

  16. 76 FR 70829 - Proposed Information Collection (Architect-Engineer Fee Proposal) Activity; Comment Request

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-15

    ... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS [OMB Control No. 2900-0208] Proposed Information Collection (Architect--Engineer Fee Proposal) Activity; Comment Request AGENCY: Veterans Health Administration.... Architect--Engineer Fee Proposal, VA Form 10-6298. b. Daily Log (Contract Progress Report--Formal Contract...

  17. Evaluation of criteria for clinical control in a prospective, international, multicenter study of patients with COPD

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Miravitlles, Marc; Sliwinski, Pawel; Rhee, Chin Kook

    2018-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The concept of clinical control in COPD has been developed to help in treatment decisions, but it requires validation in prospective studies. METHOD: This international, multicenter, prospective study aimed to validate the concept of control in COPD [control = stability (no...... exacerbations or impairment in CAT scores) + low impact (low level of symptoms)]. Data from the screening visit was used to: investigate the level of control, compare characteristics of patients according to the control status, and perform a sensitivity analysis of the levels of control using either clinical...... criteria or questionnaires (COPD Assessment Test -CAT- or Clinical COPD Questionnaire -CCQ-). RESULTS: A total of 314 patients were analysed, mean age was 68.5 years and mean FEV1 was 52.6% of predicted. According to the prespecified criteria 21% of patients were classified as controlled, all of them...

  18. Family physician clinical inertia in glycemic control among patients with type 2 diabetes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bralić Lang, Valerija; Bergman Marković, Biserka; Kranjčević, Ksenija

    2015-02-05

    Many patients with diabetes do not achieve target values. One of the reasons for this is clinical inertia. The correct explanation of clinical inertia requires a conjunction of patient with physician and health care system factors. Our aim was to determine the rate of clinical inertia in treating diabetes in primary care and association of patient, physician, and health care setting factors with clinical inertia. This was a national, multicenter, observational, cross-sectional study in primary care in Croatia. Each family physician (FP) provided professional data and collected clinical data on 15-25 type 2 diabetes (T2DM) patients. Clinical inertia was defined as a consultation in which treatment change based on glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels was indicated but did not occur. A total of 449 FPs (response rate 89.8%) collected data on 10275 patients. Mean clinical inertia per FP was 55.6% (SD ±26.17) of consultations. All of the FPs were clinically inert with some patients, and 9% of the FPs were clinically inert with all patients. The main factors associated with clinical inertia were: higher percentage of HbA1c, oral anti-diabetic drug initiated by diabetologist, increased postprandial glycemia and total cholesterol, physical inactivity of patient, and administration of drugs other than oral antidiabetics. Clinical inertia in treating patients with T2DM is a serious problem. Patients with worse glycemic control and those whose therapy was initiated by a diabetologist experience more clinical inertia. More research on causes of clinical inertia in treating patients with T2DM should be conducted to help achieve more effective diabetes control.

  19. 77 FR 75670 - Importer of Controlled Substances; Notice of Registration; Fisher Clinical Services,Inc.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-12-21

    ... Registration; Fisher Clinical Services,Inc. By Notice dated September 20, 2012, and published in the Federal Register on October 2, 2012, 77 FR 60143, Fisher Clinical Services, Inc., 7554 Schantz Road, Allentown... that the registration of Fisher Clinical Services, Inc., to import the basic class of controlled...

  20. 78 FR 23958 - Importer of Controlled Substances: Notice of Registration; Fisher Clinical Services, Inc.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-23

    ... Registration; Fisher Clinical Services, Inc. By Notice dated November 27, 2012, and published in the Federal Register on December 5, 2012, 77 FR 72409, Fisher Clinical Services, Inc., 7554 Schantz Road, Allentown... the registration of Fisher Clinical Services, Inc., to import the basic class of controlled substance...

  1. 78 FR 5497 - Importer of Controlled Substances; Notice of Registration; Fisher Clinical Services, Inc.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-25

    ... Registration; Fisher Clinical Services, Inc. By Notice dated November 1, 2012, and published in the Federal Register on November 9, 2012, 77 FR 67396, Fisher Clinical Services, Inc., 7554 Schantz Road, Allentown... the registration of Fisher Clinical Services, Inc., to import the basic class of controlled substance...

  2. 77 FR 11136 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request; a Multi-Center International Hospital-Based Case-Control...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-24

    ... proposed projects to be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval... conclusively established and the identification of the key, functional alleles in gene regions associated with... underlying genetic structure. A multidisciplinary case- control study of lymphoma in Asia, where lymphoma...

  3. Proposing a Novel, Three-level Definition of Periodontitis 
using Probing Depth, Clinical Attachment Loss and Bleeding on Probing: Analysis of a Rural Chinese Population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pei, Xi Yan; He, Lu; Ouyang, Xiang Ying

    To propose a novel, three-level (severe, moderate, mild) case definition using probing depth (PD), clinical attachment loss (CAL) and bleeding on probing (BOP) for epidemiologic studies on periodontitis. Case definitions (DEF) 1-30 with PD, CAL and BOP were made. Based on data from epidemiologic research in Chengde (Hebei Province, China) in 1992, prevalence of periodontitis by DEF1-30 was calculated and compared with a reference (definitions by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/American Academy of Periodontology in 2012). Sensitivity, specificity, Youden Index, Cohen's kappa coefficient (CKC) and the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) were calculated for the definitions selected. DEF1 and DEF18 for periodontitis, DEF2, DEF3, DEF19 for moderate and severe periodontitis, and DEF5, DEF13, DEF14, DEF21 and DEF25 for severe periodontitis, which were similar for estimation of periodontitis prevalence compared with the reference, were selected. DEF18 for periodontitis, DEF19 for moderate and severe periodontitis, and DEF5 for severe periodontitis were selected because they showed higher values for the Youden Index, CKC and AUC, and formed a three-level definition. A novel three-level case classification of periodontitis using three parameters of PD, CAL and BOP was proposed. The estimated periodontitis prevalence according to the novel proposed definition is close to the prevalence according to the CDC/AAP definition.

  4. Standardized patients in audiology: a proposal for a new method of evaluating clinical competence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dinsmore, Brooke Freeman; Bohnert, Carrie; Preminger, Jill E

    2013-05-01

    While accrediting organizations require AuD programs to provide evidence that their students are able to demonstrate knowledge and competencies in specific content areas, there are no generally accepted mechanisms for the assessment and the measurement of these proficiencies. We propose that AuD programs consider developing standardized patient (SP) cases in order to develop consistent summative assessment programs within and across universities. The purpose of this article is to provide a framework for establishing SP programs to evaluate competencies in AuD students by detailing the history of SP cases and their use, developing a rationale for this method of assessment, and outlining the steps for writing and implementing SP cases. Literature review. SPs have been used to assess clinical competence in medical students for over 50 yr. The prevalence of SP assessment in allied health professions (e.g., dentistry, psychology, pharmacy) has increased over the last two decades but has only gained a limited following in audiology. SP assessment has been implemented in medical education using the Objective Structured Clinical Examination, a multistation, timed exam that uses fictional cases to assess students' clinical abilities. To date, only one published report has been completed that evaluates the use of SPs to assess clinical abilities in audiology students. This article expands upon the work of English et al (2007) and their efforts to use SPs to evaluate counseling abilities. To this end, we describe the steps necessary to write a case, procedures to determine performance requirements, and the need to develop remediation plans. As an example, we include a case that we have developed in order to evaluate vestibular assessment and patient communication skills. Utilizing SP assessment in audiology education would provide useful means to evaluate competence in a uniform way. Future research is necessary to develop reliable and valid cases that may be implemented

  5. Heart rate control with adrenergic blockade: Clinical outcomes in cardiovascular medicine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Feldman

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available David Feldman1, Terry S Elton2, Doron M Menachemi3, Randy K Wexler41Heart Failure/Transplant and VAD Programs, Minneapolis Heart Institute, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; 2Division of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA; 3Heart Failure Services, Edith Wolfson Medical Center, The Heart Institute, Sakler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Holon, Israel; 4Department of Clinical Family Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USAAbstract: The sympathetic nervous system is involved in regulating various cardiovascular parameters including heart rate (HR and HR variability. Aberrant sympathetic nervous system expression may result in elevated HR or decreased HR variability, and both are independent risk factors for development of cardiovascular disease, including heart failure, myocardial infarction, and hypertension. Epidemiologic studies have established that impaired HR control is linked to increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. One successful way of decreasing HR and cardiovascular mortality has been by utilizing β-blockers, because their ability to alter cell signaling at the receptor level has been shown to mitigate the pathogenic effects of sympathetic nervous system hyperactivation. Numerous clinical studies have demonstrated that β-blocker-mediated HR control improvements are associated with decreased mortality in postinfarct and heart failure patients. Although improved HR control benefits have yet to be established in hypertension, both traditional and vasodilating β-blockers exert positive HR control effects in this patient population. However, differences exist between traditional and vasodilating β-blockers; the latter reduce peripheral vascular resistance and exert neutral or positive effects on important metabolic parameters. Clinical evidence suggests that attainment of HR control is an important treatment objective for patients with cardiovascular

  6. Assessing clinically meaningful treatment effects in controlled trials: chronic migraine as an example.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dodick, David W; Turkel, Catherine C; DeGryse, Ronald E; Diener, Hans-Christoph; Lipton, Richard B; Aurora, Sheena K; Nolan, Marissa E; Silberstein, Stephen D

    2015-02-01

    In addition to headache, persons with chronic migraine (CM) experience multiple symptoms, both ictal and interictal, that may contribute to their suffering. Translating clinical trial results into practice requires assessment of the results' clinical meaningfulness. When examining treatment benefit in this disabled patient population, multiple headache-symptom measures should be considered to fully reflect clinical relevance. Currently, only onabotulinumtoxinA is approved specifically for headache prophylaxis in adults with CM. Topiramate is the only other therapeutic agent with double-blind, placebo-controlled evidence in this population. Herein we evaluate the clinical meaningfulness of onabotulinumtoxinA and topiramate as headache prophylaxis in CM by comparing primary endpoints from the placebo-controlled, double-blind phase of the Phase 3 REsearch Evaluating Migraine Prophylaxis Therapy (PREEMPT) clinical program and the topiramate clinical trial (frequency of headache days [primary endpoint in PREEMPT; secondary in topiramate trial] and migraine/migrainous days [primary in topiramate trial, or "migraine/probable-migraine days"; secondary in PREEMPT]). Additionally, outcome measures such as responder rates, health-related quality of life, discontinuation rates, safety, and tolerability profiles are important clinical considerations. The clinical data indicate that statistically significant, clinically relevant treatment benefits exist for both onabotulinumtoxinA and topiramate. These data support these treatments as meaningful headache prophylaxis in adults with CM. CM is a chronic pain condition. We sought to determine the clinical relevance of recent trials in this disabled population. Clinical data indicate that statistically significant, clinically relevant treatment benefits exist for both onabotulinumtoxinA and topiramate, and support use of these treatments as meaningful headache prophylaxis in CM. Copyright © 2015 American Pain Society. Published

  7. Role of the clinical microbiology laboratory in infection control - a Danish perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kolmos, H J

    2001-01-01

    for standardization and documentation of quality. Currently a national standard for infection control is being prepared. It consists of a main standard defining requirements for the management system and 12 subsidiary standards defining requirements for specific areas of infection control. Adoption of the standard...... will undoubtedly require additional resources for infection control at a local level, and some organizational changes may also be needed. Infection control should be maintained as an integrated part of clinical microbiology....

  8. A randomised, controlled clinical study on total hip arthroplasty using 4 different bearings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Borgwardt, Arne; Zerahn, Bo; Fabricius, Sandra D

    2017-01-01

    PURPOSE: To compare 4 different bearings in total hip arthroplasty (THA) in a randomised controlled clinical study on clinical performance. METHODS: 393 patients with osteoarthritis of the hip or avascular necrosis were included and allocated to 1 of the head-and-cup couples zirconia...

  9. Quality control of the translation of the laboratory research into clinical practice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Denekamp, J.

    1997-01-01

    This paper discusses the biological basis of new treatment strategies that are being introduced into the clinic in the form of controlled clinical trials. There is an increasing awareness of the need for quality assurance in the design, execution and analysis of these trials. However there is little awareness of the need to critically assess the biological basis of the trial design, to ensure that no other biological principles have been contravened in the attempt to optimise just one of the many parameters that determine the differential in sensitivity between tumours and normal tissues. Some examples are given of the changes that have recently occurred in the laboratory interpretation of both the mechanism of action and the therapeutic gain of several novel approaches. If these are not considered, the carefully controlled clinical trials may be wasted, because of being based on an incomplete consideration of all the interconnected biological factors. (author)

  10. 78 FR 46371 - Importer of Controlled Substances; Notice of Registration; Almac Clinical Services, Inc.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-07-31

    ... Register on April 19, 2013, 78 FR 23594, Almac Clinical Services, Inc., (ACSI), 25 Fretz Road, Souderton... registration of Almac Clinical Services, Inc., (ACSI) to import the basic classes of controlled substances is..., conventions, or protocols in effect on May 1, 1971. DEA has investigated Almac Clinical Services, Inc., (ACSI...

  11. A randomized, controlled clinical trial: the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on generalized anxiety disorder among Chinese community patients: protocol for a randomized trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wong Samuel YS

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Research suggests that an eight-week Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT program may be effective in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorders. Our objective is to compare the clinical effectiveness of the MBCT program with a psycho-education programme and usual care in reducing anxiety symptoms in people suffering from generalized anxiety disorder. Methods A three armed randomized, controlled clinical trial including 9-month post-treatment follow-up is proposed. Participants screened positive using the Structure Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID for general anxiety disorder will be recruited from community-based clinics. 228 participants will be randomly allocated to the MBCT program plus usual care, psycho-education program plus usual care or the usual care group. Validated Chinese version of instruments measuring anxiety and worry symptoms, depression, quality of life and health service utilization will be used. Our primary end point is the change of anxiety and worry score (Beck Anxiety Inventory and Penn State Worry Scale from baseline to the end of intervention. For primary analyses, treatment outcomes will be assessed by ANCOVA, with change in anxiety score as the baseline variable, while the baseline anxiety score and other baseline characteristics that significantly differ between groups will serve as covariates. Conclusions This is a first randomized controlled trial that compare the effectiveness of MBCT with an active control, findings will advance current knowledge in the management of GAD and the way that group intervention can be delivered and inform future research. Unique Trail Number (assigned by Centre for Clinical Trails, Clinical Trials registry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong: CUHK_CCT00267

  12. Use of historical control data for assessing treatment effects in clinical trials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viele, Kert; Berry, Scott; Neuenschwander, Beat; Amzal, Billy; Chen, Fang; Enas, Nathan; Hobbs, Brian; Ibrahim, Joseph G.; Kinnersley, Nelson; Lindborg, Stacy; Micallef, Sandrine; Roychoudhury, Satrajit; Thompson, Laura

    2014-01-01

    Clinical trials rarely, if ever, occur in a vacuum. Generally, large amounts of clinical data are available prior to the start of a study, particularly on the current study’s control arm. There is obvious appeal in using (i.e., ‘borrowing’) this information. With historical data providing information on the control arm, more trial resources can be devoted to the novel treatment while retaining accurate estimates of the current control arm parameters. This can result in more accurate point estimates, increased power, and reduced type I error in clinical trials, provided the historical information is sufficiently similar to the current control data. If this assumption of similarity is not satisfied, however, one can acquire increased mean square error of point estimates due to bias and either reduced power or increased type I error depending on the direction of the bias. In this manuscript, we review several methods for historical borrowing, illustrating how key parameters in each method affect borrowing behavior, and then, we compare these methods on the basis of mean square error, power and type I error. We emphasize two main themes. First, we discuss the idea of ‘dynamic’ (versus ‘static’) borrowing. Second, we emphasize the decision process involved in determining whether or not to include historical borrowing in terms of the perceived likelihood that the current control arm is sufficiently similar to the historical data. Our goal is to provide a clear review of the key issues involved in historical borrowing and provide a comparison of several methods useful for practitioners. PMID:23913901

  13. Use of historical control data for assessing treatment effects in clinical trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viele, Kert; Berry, Scott; Neuenschwander, Beat; Amzal, Billy; Chen, Fang; Enas, Nathan; Hobbs, Brian; Ibrahim, Joseph G; Kinnersley, Nelson; Lindborg, Stacy; Micallef, Sandrine; Roychoudhury, Satrajit; Thompson, Laura

    2014-01-01

    Clinical trials rarely, if ever, occur in a vacuum. Generally, large amounts of clinical data are available prior to the start of a study, particularly on the current study's control arm. There is obvious appeal in using (i.e., 'borrowing') this information. With historical data providing information on the control arm, more trial resources can be devoted to the novel treatment while retaining accurate estimates of the current control arm parameters. This can result in more accurate point estimates, increased power, and reduced type I error in clinical trials, provided the historical information is sufficiently similar to the current control data. If this assumption of similarity is not satisfied, however, one can acquire increased mean square error of point estimates due to bias and either reduced power or increased type I error depending on the direction of the bias. In this manuscript, we review several methods for historical borrowing, illustrating how key parameters in each method affect borrowing behavior, and then, we compare these methods on the basis of mean square error, power and type I error. We emphasize two main themes. First, we discuss the idea of 'dynamic' (versus 'static') borrowing. Second, we emphasize the decision process involved in determining whether or not to include historical borrowing in terms of the perceived likelihood that the current control arm is sufficiently similar to the historical data. Our goal is to provide a clear review of the key issues involved in historical borrowing and provide a comparison of several methods useful for practitioners. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  14. Maternal Control Behavior and Locus of Control: Examining Mechanisms in the Relation between Maternal Anxiety Disorders and Anxiety Symptomatology in Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becker, Kimberly D.; Ginsburg, Golda S.; Domingues, Janine; Tein, Jenn-Yun

    2010-01-01

    This study tested components of a proposed model of child anxiety and examined the mediational roles of (1) maternal control behavior, (2) maternal external locus of control, and (3) child external locus of control in the association between maternal and child anxiety. Thirty-eight clinically anxious mothers and 37 nonanxious mothers participated…

  15. Reliability of digital ulcer definitions as proposed by the UK Scleroderma Study Group: A challenge for clinical trial design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, Michael; Tracey, Andrew; Bhushan, Monica; Chakravarty, Kuntal; Denton, Christopher P; Dubey, Shirish; Guiducci, Serena; Muir, Lindsay; Ong, Voon; Parker, Louise; Pauling, John D; Prabu, Athiveeraramapandian; Rogers, Christine; Roberts, Christopher; Herrick, Ariane L

    2018-06-01

    The reliability of clinician grading of systemic sclerosis-related digital ulcers has been reported to be poor to moderate at best, which has important implications for clinical trial design. The aim of this study was to examine the reliability of new proposed UK Scleroderma Study Group digital ulcer definitions among UK clinicians with an interest in systemic sclerosis. Raters graded (through a custom-built interface) 90 images (80 unique and 10 repeat) of a range of digital lesions collected from patients with systemic sclerosis. Lesions were graded on an ordinal scale of severity: 'no ulcer', 'healed ulcer' or 'digital ulcer'. A total of 23 clinicians - 18 rheumatologists, 3 dermatologists, 1 hand surgeon and 1 specialist rheumatology nurse - completed the study. A total of 2070 (1840 unique + 230 repeat) image gradings were obtained. For intra-rater reliability, across all images, the overall weighted kappa coefficient was high (0.71) and was moderate (0.55) when averaged across individual raters. Overall inter-rater reliability was poor (0.15). Although our proposed digital ulcer definitions had high intra-rater reliability, the overall inter-rater reliability was poor. Our study highlights the challenges of digital ulcer assessment by clinicians with an interest in systemic sclerosis and provides a number of useful insights for future clinical trial design. Further research is warranted to improve the reliability of digital ulcer definition/rating as an outcome measure in clinical trials, including examining the role for objective measurement techniques, and the development of digital ulcer patient-reported outcome measures.

  16. Recognizing and managing a deteriorating patient: a randomized controlled trial investigating the effectiveness of clinical simulation in improving clinical performance in undergraduate nursing students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stayt, Louise Caroline; Merriman, Clair; Ricketts, Barry; Morton, Sean; Simpson, Trevor

    2015-11-01

    To report the results of a randomized controlled trial which explored the effectiveness of clinical simulation in improving the clinical performance of recognizing and managing an adult deteriorating patient in hospital. There is evidence that final year undergraduate nurses may lack knowledge, clinical skills and situation awareness required to manage a deteriorating patient competently. The effectiveness of clinical simulation as a strategy to teach the skills required to recognize and manage the early signs of deterioration needs to be evaluated. This study was a two centre phase II single, randomized, controlled trial with single blinded assessments. Data were collected in July 2013. Ninety-eight first year nursing students were randomized either into a control group, where they received a traditional lecture, or an intervention group where they received simulation. Participants completed a pre- and postintervention objective structured clinical examination. General Perceived Self Efficacy and Self-Reported Competency scores were measured before and after the intervention. Student satisfaction with teaching was also surveyed. The intervention group performed significantly better in the post-objective structured clinical examination. There was no significant difference in the postintervention General Perceived Self Efficacy and Self-Reported Competency scores between the control and intervention group. The intervention group was significantly more satisfied with their teaching method. Simulation-based education may be an effective educational strategy to teach nurses the skills to effectively recognize and manage a deteriorating patient. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Overview: clinical and physiological comparison of meditation with other self-control strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shapiro, D H

    1982-03-01

    In 1977 the American Psychiatric Association called for a critical examination of the clinical effectiveness of meditation. The author provides a review of the literature bearing on clinical and physiological comparisons of meditation with other self-control strategies. He begins by providing a definition of mediation and then cites the literature comparing mediation with such self-regulation strategies as biofeedback, hypnosis, and progressive relaxation. He pays particular attention to the "uniqueness" of mediation as a clinical intervention strategy a well as the adverse effects of meditation. Finally, he offers suggestions and guidelines for future research.

  18. How to improve the teaching of clinical reasoning: a narrative review and a proposal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Henk G; Mamede, Sílvia

    2015-10-01

    The development of clinical reasoning (CR) in students has traditionally been left to clinical rotations, which, however, often offer limited practice and suboptimal supervision. Medical schools begin to address these limitations by organising pre-clinical CR courses. The purpose of this paper is to review the variety of approaches employed in the teaching of CR and to present a proposal to improve these practices. We conducted a narrative review of the literature on teaching CR. To that end, we searched PubMed and Web of Science for papers published until June 2014. Additional publications were identified in the references cited in the initial papers. We used theoretical considerations to characterise approaches and noted empirical findings, when available. Of the 48 reviewed papers, only 24 reported empirical findings. The approaches to teaching CR were shown to vary on two dimensions. The first pertains to the way the case information is presented. The case is either unfolded to students gradually - the 'serial-cue' approach - or is presented in a 'whole-case' format. The second dimension concerns the purpose of the exercise: is its aim to help students acquire or apply knowledge, or is its purpose to teach students a way of thinking? The most prevalent approach is the serial-cue approach, perhaps because it tries to directly simulate the diagnostic activities of doctors. Evidence supporting its effectiveness is, however, lacking. There is some empirical evidence that whole-case, knowledge-oriented approaches contribute to the improvement of students' CR. However, thinking process-oriented approaches were shown to be largely ineffective. Based on research on how expertise develops in medicine, we argue that students in different phases of their training may benefit from different approaches to the teaching of CR. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. The Individualized Quality Control Plan - Coming Soon to Clinical Microbiology Laboratories Everywhere!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Nancy

    2015-11-15

    As of January 1, 2016, microbiology laboratories can choose to adopt a new quality control option, the Individualized Quality Control Plan (IQCP), under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA). This voluntary approach increases flexibility for meeting regulatory requirements and provides laboratories the opportunity to customize QC for their testing in their unique environments and by their testing personnel. IQCP is an all-inclusive approach to quality based on risk management to address potential errors in the total testing process. It includes three main steps, (1) performing a risk assessment, (2) developing a QC plan, and (3) monitoring the plan through quality assessment. Resources are available from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Society for Microbiology, Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, and accrediting organizations, such as the College of American Pathologists and Joint Commission, to assist microbiology laboratories implementing IQCP.

  20. Are specialist outreach clinics for orthodontic consultation effective? A randomised controlled trial

    OpenAIRE

    Mandall, Nicola; O'Brien, K.

    2001-01-01

    Objective To develop outreach clinics for orthodontic consultation and evaluate their costs and effectiveness. Design Single centre randomised controlled trial with random allocation of referred patients to outreach or main base consultation appointments. Setting One hospital orthodontic department and three community health centre clinics in Greater Manchester. Subjects 324 patients who were referred for orthodontic treatment. Main outcome measures The outcome of consultation, the cost and d...

  1. Randomized, controlled clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of pulsed signal therapy in dogs with osteoarthritis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sullivan, Meghan O; Gordon-Evans, Wanda J; Knap, Kim E; Evans, Richard B

    2013-04-01

    To evaluate the efficacy of pulsed signal therapy (PST) in reducing pain and increasing function in dogs with osteoarthritis (OA) using a randomized, blinded, controlled clinical trial. Randomized, controlled, blinded clinical trial. Adult dogs (n = 60) with moderate-to-severe clinical signs of OA. Dogs were randomized by age into 2 groups: dogs ≥ 9 years and dogs Goniometry and gait analysis were performed, and the Canine Brief Pain Inventory (CBPI) questionnaire was given to the owners to fill out without supervision. Outcome measures were repeated at the end of treatment (Day 11) and 6 weeks after beginning treatment (Day 42). The PST group performed significantly better than the control group as measured by the CBPI Severity and Interference scores (P Veterinary Surgeons.

  2. Temperature-Controlled Delivery of Radiofrequency Energy in Fecal Incontinence: A Randomized Sham-Controlled Clinical Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Visscher, Arjan P; Lam, Tze J; Meurs-Szojda, Maria M; Felt-Bersma, Richelle J F

    2017-08-01

    Controlled delivery of radiofrequency energy has been suggested as treatment for fecal incontinence. The aim of this study was to determine whether the clinical response to the radiofrequency energy procedure is superior to sham in patients with fecal incontinence. This was a randomized sham-controlled clinical trial from 2008 to 2015. This study was conducted in an outpatient clinic. Forty patients with fecal incontinence in whom maximal conservative management had failed were randomly assigned to receiving either radiofrequency energy or sham procedure. Fecal incontinence was measured using the Vaizey incontinence score (range, 0-24). The impact of fecal incontinence on quality of life was measured by using the fecal incontinence quality-of-life score (range, 1-4). Measurements were performed at baseline and at 6 months. Anorectal function was evaluated using anal manometry and anorectal endosonography at baseline and at 3 months. At baseline, Vaizey incontinence score was 16.8 (SD 2.9). At t = 6 months, the radiofrequency energy group improved by 2.5 points on the Vaizey incontinence score compared with the sham group (13.2 (SD 3.1), 15.6 (SD 3.3), p = 0.02). The fecal incontinence quality-of-life score at t = 6 months was not statistically different. Anorectal function did not show any alteration. Patients with severe fecal incontinence were included in the study, thus making it difficult to generalize the results. Both radiofrequency energy and sham procedure improved the fecal incontinence score, the radiofrequency energy procedure more than sham. Although statistically significant, the clinical impact for most of the patients was negligible. Therefore, the radiofrequency energy procedure should not be recommended for patients with fecal incontinence until patient-related factors associated with treatment success are known. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/A373.

  3. Female Gynecologists and Their Birth Control Clinics: Eugenics in Practice in 1920s-1930s China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    David, Mirela

    2018-01-01

    Yang Chao Buwei, the first Chinese translator of Margaret Sanger's What Every Girl Should Know, was the first female gynecologist to open up a birth control clinic in China. By the 1930s, other female gynecologists, like Guo Taihua, had internalized and combined national and eugenic concerns of race regeneration to focus on the control of women's reproduction. This symbiosis between racial regeneration and birth control is best seen in Yang Chongrui's integration of birth control into her national hygiene program. This article traces the efforts of pioneer gynecologists in giving contraceptive advice at their birth control clinics, which they framed as a humanitarian effort to ease the reproductive burden of working-class women. It also examines their connections with Sanger's international birth control movement, and their advocacy of contraception as practitioners, translators, and educators. The author argues that these Chinese female gynecologists not only borrowed, but adapted, Western scientific knowledge to Chinese social conditions through their writings and translations and in their clinical work.

  4. Individualized Quality Control Plan (IQCP): Is It Value-Added for Clinical Microbiology?

    OpenAIRE

    Sharp, Susan E.; Miller, Melissa B.; Hindler, Janet

    2015-01-01

    The Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) recently published their Individualized Quality Control Plan (IQCP [https://www.cms.gov/regulations-and-guidance/legislation/CLIA/Individualized_Quality_Control_Plan_IQCP.html]), which will be the only option for quality control (QC) starting in January 2016 if laboratories choose not to perform Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CLIA) [U.S. Statutes at Large 81(1967):533] default QC. Laboratories will no longer be able to use “equivalent ...

  5. An artificial neural network estimation of gait balance control in the elderly using clinical evaluations.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vipul Lugade

    Full Text Available The use of motion analysis to assess balance is essential for determining the underlying mechanisms of falls during dynamic activities. Clinicians evaluate patients using clinical examinations of static balance control, gait performance, cognition, and neuromuscular ability. Mapping these data to measures of dynamic balance control, and the subsequent categorization and identification of community dwelling elderly fallers at risk of falls in a quick and inexpensive manner is needed. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that given clinical measures, an artificial neural network (ANN could determine dynamic balance control, as defined by the interaction of the center of mass (CoM with the base of support (BoS, during gait. Fifty-six elderly adults were included in this study. Using a feed-forward neural network with back propagation, combinations of five functional domains, the number of hidden layers and error goals were evaluated to determine the best parameters to assess dynamic balance control. Functional domain input parameters included subject characteristics, clinical examinations, cognitive performance, muscle strength, and clinical balance performance. The use of these functional domains demonstrated the ability to quickly converge to a solution, with the network learning the mapping within 5 epochs, when using up to 30 hidden nodes and an error goal of 0.001. The ability to correctly identify the interaction of the CoM with BoS demonstrated correlation values up to 0.89 (P<.001. On average, using all clinical measures, the ANN was able to estimate the dynamic CoM to BoS distance to within 1 cm and BoS area to within 75 cm2. Our results demonstrated that an ANN could be trained to map clinical variables to biomechanical measures of gait balance control. A neural network could provide physicians and patients with a cost effective means to identify dynamic balance issues and possible risk of falls from routinely collected clinical

  6. Application of indices Cp and Cpk to improve quality control capability in clinical biochemistry laboratories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ming-Shu; Wu, Ming-Hsun; Lin, Chih-Ming

    2014-04-30

    The traditional criteria for acceptability of analytic quality may not be objective in clinical laboratories. To establish quality control procedures intended to enhance Westgard multi-rules for improving the quality of clinical biochemistry tests, we applied the Cp and Cpk quality-control indices to monitor tolerance fitting and systematic variation of clinical biochemistry test results. Daily quality-control data of a large Taiwanese hospital in 2009 were analyzed. The test items were selected based on an Olympus biochemistry machine and included serum albumin, aspartate aminotransferase, cholesterol, glucose and potassium levels. Cp and Cpk values were calculated for normal and abnormal levels, respectively. The tolerance range was estimated with data from 50 laboratories using the same instruments and reagents. The results showed a monthly trend of variation for the five items under investigation. The index values of glucose were lower than those of the other items, and their values were usually quality control, but also for revealing inter-laboratory qualitycontrol capability differences.

  7. Clinical Cell Therapy Guidelines for Neurorestoration (IANR/CANR 2017)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Hongyun; Young, Wise; Chen, Lin; Feng, Shiqing; Zoubi, Ziad M. Al; Sharma, Hari Shanker; Saberi, Hooshang; Moviglia, Gustavo A.; He, Xijing; Muresanu, Dafin F.; Sharma, Alok; Otom, Ali; Andrews, Russell J.; Al-Zoubi, Adeeb; Bryukhovetskiy, Andrey S.; Chernykh, Elena R.; Domańska-Janik, Krystyna; Jafar, Emad; Johnson, W. Eustace; Li, Ying; Li, Daqing; Luan, Zuo; Mao, Gengsheng; Shetty, Ashok K.; Siniscalco, Dario; Skaper, Stephen; Sun, Tiansheng; Wang, Yunliang; Wiklund, Lars; Xue, Qun; You, Si-Wei; Zheng, Zuncheng; Dimitrijevic, Milan R.; Masri, W. S. El; Sanberg, Paul R.; Xu, Qunyuan; Luan, Guoming; Chopp, Michael; Cho, Kyoung-Suok; Zhou, Xin-Fu; Wu, Ping; Liu, Kai; Mobasheri, Hamid; Ohtori, Seiji; Tanaka, Hiroyuki; Han, Fabin; Feng, Yaping; Zhang, Shaocheng; Lu, Yingjie; Zhang, Zhicheng; Rao, Yaojian; Tang, Zhouping; Xi, Haitao; Wu, Liang; Shen, Shunji; Xue, Mengzhou; Xiang, Guanghong; Guo, Xiaoling; Yang, Xiaofeng; Hao, Yujun; Hu, Yong; Li, Jinfeng; AO, Qiang; Wang, Bin; Zhang, Zhiwen; Lu, Ming; Li, Tong

    2018-01-01

    Cell therapy has been shown to be a key clinical therapeutic option for central nervous system diseases or damage. Standardization of clinical cell therapy procedures is an important task for professional associations devoted to cell therapy. The Chinese Branch of the International Association of Neurorestoratology (IANR) completed the first set of guidelines governing the clinical application of neurorestoration in 2011. The IANR and the Chinese Association of Neurorestoratology (CANR) collaborated to propose the current version “Clinical Cell Therapy Guidelines for Neurorestoration (IANR/CANR 2017)”. The IANR council board members and CANR committee members approved this proposal on September 1, 2016, and recommend it to clinical practitioners of cellular therapy. These guidelines include items of cell type nomenclature, cell quality control, minimal suggested cell doses, patient-informed consent, indications for undergoing cell therapy, contraindications for undergoing cell therapy, documentation of procedure and therapy, safety evaluation, efficacy evaluation, policy of repeated treatments, do not charge patients for unproven therapies, basic principles of cell therapy, and publishing responsibility. PMID:29637817

  8. Home blood pressure monitoring and self-titration of antihypertensive medications: Proposed patient selection criteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, James R

    2016-05-01

    Recent studies have demonstrated that home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM), coupled with self-titration of medications is a viable intervention to control hypertension. There are currently no established criteria to evaluate patients for inclusion in such a program. The purpose of this discussion is to propose criteria for determining if a patient is appropriate to participate in a program of HBPM and self-titration. Inclusion criteria for two self-titration trials were examined, and additional factors in clinical practice were identified and discussed. Additional selection criteria were proposed to support the decision to enroll a patient in an antihypertensive self-titration program. Inclusion criteria from self-titration trials provide a reasonable starting point for choosing appropriate patients in clinical practice, but additional research is necessary. Adaptation of these criteria and consideration of the identified factors can be used to develop decision support instruments. Such instruments should be evaluated for effectiveness and reliability prior to use in clinical practice. HBPM combined with self-titration is an effective patient-centered approach for hypertension management. Decision support instruments to determine appropriate patients are necessary for safe and effective use in clinical practice. ©2015 American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

  9. Relations of Anxiety Sensitivity, Control Beliefs, and Maternal Over-Control to Fears in Clinic-Referred Children with Specific Phobia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kane, Elisabeth J; Braunstein, Kara; Ollendick, Thomas H; Muris, Peter

    2015-07-01

    The relations of fear to anxiety sensitivity, control beliefs, and maternal overprotection were examined in 126 7- to 13-year-old clinically referred children with specific phobias. Results indicated that anxiety sensitivity and control beliefs were significant predictors of children's fear levels, accounting for approximately 48% of the total variance. Unexpectedly, age, gender, and maternal overprotection did not emerge as significant predictors of fear in the overall sample. In subsequent analyses, anxiety sensitivity was found to be a consistent, significant predictor for both girls and boys, for both younger and older children, and for children with and without an additional anxiety disorder diagnosis. Control beliefs were only a significant predictor for girls, younger children, and children with an additional anxiety diagnosis. Maternal overprotection was not a significant predictor for any group. Children with an additional anxiety disorder diagnosis had higher levels of fear, anxiety sensitivity, and maternal overprotection, as well as lower levels of control beliefs than the non-additional anxiety disorder subgroup. Future directions and clinical implications are explored.

  10. Effect of controlled-release PeriochipTM on clinical and microbiological parameters in patients of chronic periodontitis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Komal Puri

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: The aim of the present study was to evaluate and compare the clinical and microbiological effectiveness of Periochip TM as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP with SRP alone in patients with chronic periodontitis. Materials and Methods: This randomized, split mouth, 3-month clinical and microbiological trial included 30 sites in 15 patients aged 30-50 years diagnosed with chronic periodontitis. In each patient, two bilateral pockets probing 5-7 mm were randomly assigned to test and control groups. The test group received SRP plus Periochip TM , whereas the control group received SRP alone. Clinical indices and anaerobic culture analysis was done at baseline, 1 month, and 3 months interval. Total bacterial count and analysis of four major periodontopathogenic bacteria Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg, Prevotella intermedia (Pi, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (Aa, and Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn was done. Results: Significant improvement was obtained in all clinical variables in the test group as compared to the control group over the study period. Total colony counts were significantly reduced in the test group as compared to control over the period of time. At baseline Aa was recovered from 4 test group sites and 5 control group sites, Pg from 15 test group and 14 control group sites, Pi from 5 test group and 2 control group sites, Fn from 7 test and 7 control group sites. At 3 months, Aa was recovered from 1 test group and 4 control group sites, Pg from 4 test group and 8 control group sites, Pi from 1 test group and 1 control group site, Fn from 3 test and 4 control group sites. Conclusion: Periochip TM placement as an adjunct to SRP, showed promising results, when compared to SRP alone. Healthy microflora can be maintained for a longer period of time and delay in the repopulation by periodontopathic microorganisms was observed.

  11. Clinical outcomes of immediate/early loading of dental implants. A literature review of recent controlled prospective clinical studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sennerby, L; Gottlow, J

    2008-06-01

    Two previous reviews have evaluated the clinical outcomes of immediate/early loading of dental implants based on studies published until 2005.(1,2) The aim of the present paper was to review controlled clinical studies on the subject published since 2005 including at least 10 patients in each group followed for at least one year in function. Six comparative studies were found and none of these showed any differences in survival rates or marginal bone loss after one to five years. Most authors used specified inclusion criteria to avoid known risk factors such as soft bone, short implants and bruxism. Data from one randomized study in the edentulous maxilla showed no differences between early and delayed loading in consecutive clinical routine cases including short implants and soft bone. Three additional studies comparing different surfaces or implant designs under immediate loading were reviewed. No differences between implants with a moderately rough or smooth surface topography were observed. The data add to the previous bulk of evidence that various designs of implants can be loaded shortly after their placement in both the mandible and the maxilla. However, one study reported on marginal bone loss around a novel one-piece implant design leading to implant failure which was not seen for control two-piece implants.(3).

  12. 77 FR 67396 - Importer of Controlled Substances; Notice of Application, Fisher Clinical Services, Inc.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-09

    ... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Drug Enforcement Administration Importer of Controlled Substances; Notice of Application, Fisher Clinical Services, Inc. Pursuant to Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations 1301.34(a), this is notice that on August 20, 2012, Fisher Clinical Services, Inc., 7554 Schantz Road, [[Page 67397...

  13. 77 FR 60143 - Importer of Controlled Substances; Notice of Application; Fisher Clinical Services, Inc.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-02

    ... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Drug Enforcement Administration Importer of Controlled Substances; Notice of Application; Fisher Clinical Services, Inc. Pursuant to Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations 1301.34(a), this is notice that on July 18, 2012, Fisher Clinical Services, Inc., 7554 Schantz Road, Allentown...

  14. 77 FR 72409 - Importer of Controlled Substances; Notice of Application; Fisher Clinical Services, Inc.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-12-05

    ... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Drug Enforcement Administration Importer of Controlled Substances; Notice of Application; Fisher Clinical Services, Inc. Pursuant to Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations 1301.34 (a), this is notice that on October 16, 2012, Fisher Clinical Services, Inc., 7554 Schantz Road, Allentown...

  15. 78 FR 59064 - Importer of Controlled Substances; Notice of Application; Fisher Clinical Services, Inc.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-25

    ... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Drug Enforcement Administration Importer of Controlled Substances; Notice of Application; Fisher Clinical Services, Inc. Pursuant to Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1301.34 (a), this is notice that on June 21, 2013, Fisher Clinical Services, Inc., 7554 Schantz Road, Allentown...

  16. Parenting clinically anxious versus healthy control children aged 4-12 years

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Sluis, C.M.; van Steensel, F.J.A.; Bögels, S.M.

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated whether parenting behaviors differed between parents of 68 clinically anxious children and 106 healthy control children aged 4-12 years. The effects of parent gender, child gender and child age on parenting were explored. Mothers and fathers completed a questionnaire to

  17. Proposed Radiation Control Act: discussion paper

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1989-01-01

    The history and nature of the present NSW Radioactive Substances Act passed in 1957 is outlined. The direction of reform is suggested and some options for changes presented. These include the extension of controls to cover non-ionising radiation, the introduction of controls over the mining and milling of radioactive ores, and improved licensing provisions. Professional and public comment is sought

  18. Tactile acuity and lumbopelvic motor control in patients with back pain and healthy controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luomajoki, H; Moseley, G L

    2011-04-01

    Voluntary lumbopelvic control is compromised in patients with back pain. Loss of proprioceptive acuity is one contributor to decreased control. Several reasons for decreased proprioceptive acuity have been proposed, but the integrity of cortical body maps has been overlooked. We investigated whether tactile acuity, a clear clinical signature of primary sensory cortex organisation, relates to lumbopelvic control in people with back pain. Forty-five patients with back pain and 45 age- and sex-matched healthy controls participated in this cross-sectional study. Tactile acuity at the back was assessed using two-point discrimination (TPD) threshold in vertical and horizontal directions. Voluntary motor control was assessed using an established battery of clinical tests. Patients performed worse on the voluntary lumbopelvic tasks than healthy controls did (p<0.001). TPD threshold was larger in patients (mean (SD)=61 (13) mm) than in healthy controls (44 (10) mm). Moreover, larger TPD threshold was positively related to worse performance on the voluntary lumbopelvic tasks (Pearson's r=0.49; p<0.001). Tactile acuity, a clear clinical signature of primary sensory cortex organisation, relates to voluntary lumbopelvic control. This relationship raises the possibility that the former contributes to the latter, in which case training tactile acuity may aid recovery and assist in achieving normal motor performance after back injury.

  19. Assuring Quality Control of Clinical Education in Multiple Clinical Affiliates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Judith A.

    A plan was developed to assure equivalency of clinical education among the medical laboratory technician (MLT) programs affiliated with Sandhills Community College. The plan was designed by faculty to monitor the quality of clinical courses offered by the clinical affiliates. The major strategies were to develop competencies, slide/tape modules, a…

  20. Difficult-to-control hypertension: identification of clinical predictors and use of ICT-based integrated care to facilitate blood pressure control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Visco, Valeria; Finelli, Rosa; Pascale, Antonietta Valeria; Mazzeo, Pietro; Ragosa, Nicola; Trimarco, Valentina; Illario, Maddalena; Ciccarelli, Michele; Iaccarino, Guido

    2018-05-01

    Difficult-to-control (DTC) hypertension represents a burden in real life that can be partially solved through identification of the characteristics of clinical patterns and tailoring antihypertensive strategies, including ICT-enabled integrated care (ICT-IC). In the quest for clinical predictors of DTC hypertension, we screened 482 hypertensive patients who were consecutively referred to the departmental hypertension clinic. Following a data quality check, patients were divided into controlled (C, 49.37%) and uncontrolled (UC, 50.63%) groups based on their systolic blood pressure (BP) at follow-up. We then performed statistical analysis on the demographic, clinical, laboratory, and ultrasound data and observed that older age, female sex, higher BP levels, and a family history of hypertension were predictors of DTC hypertension. We then developed a pilot service of ICT-IC, including weekly home visits by nurses and patient education on self-monitoring of BP, heart rate, body weight, and oxygen saturation using 3G-connected devices. Self-monitored data were transmitted to the hospital servers on the electronic chart of the patient for remote assessment by the hospital hypertension specialists. A total of 20 UC patients (M/F = 10/10; age: 72.04 ± 2.17 years) were enrolled to verify the efficacy of BP control without changes in medical treatment. After 1 month of the ICT-IC program, BP was reduced both at the office assessment (systolic BP (SBP): 162.40 ± 2.23 mm Hg, beginning of the program vs. 138.20 ± 4.26 mm Hg at 1 month, p ICT-IC is a feasible therapeutic strategy to achieve BP control.

  1. Stock Versus CAD/CAM Customized Zirconia Implant Abutments - Clinical and Patient-Based Outcomes in a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schepke, Ulf; Meijer, Henny J. A.; Kerdijk, Wouter; Raghoebar, Gerry M.; Cune, Marco

    BackgroundSingle-tooth replacement often requires a prefabricated dental implant and a customized crown. The benefits of individualization of the abutment remain unclear. PurposeThis randomized controlled clinical trial aims to study potential benefits of individualization of zirconia implant

  2. A controlled clinical trial of implant-retained mandibular overdentures : 10 years' results of clinical aspects and aftercare of IMZ implants and Branemark implants

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meijer, HJA; Raghoebar, GM; Van't Hof, MA; Visser, A

    The aim of this prospective randomized controlled clinical trial was to evaluate the clinical outcomes and prosthetic aftercare of edentulous patients with a mandibular overdenture retained by two IMZ implants or two Branemark implants during a 10-year period. Patients were allocated to the IMZ

  3. The role of clinical toxicologists and poison control centers in public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sutter, Mark E; Bronstein, Alvin C; Heard, Stuart E; Barthold, Claudia L; Lando, James; Lewis, Lauren S; Schier, Joshua G

    2010-06-01

    Poison control centers and clinical toxicologists serve many roles within public health; however, the degree to which these entities collaborate is unknown. The objective of this survey was to identify successful collaborations of public health agencies with clinical toxicologists and poison control centers. Four areas including outbreak identification, syndromic surveillance, terrorism preparedness, and daily public health responsibilities amenable to poison control center resources were assessed. An online survey was sent to the directors of poison control centers, state epidemiologists, and the most senior public health official in each state and selected major metropolitan areas. This survey focused on three areas: service, structure within the local or state public health system, and remuneration. Questions regarding remuneration and poison control center location within the public health structure were asked to assess if these were critical factors of successful collaborations. Senior state and local public health officials were excluded because of a low response rate. The survey was completed in October 2007. A total of 111 respondents, 61 poison control centers and 50 state epidemiologists, were eligible for the survey. Sixty-nine (62%) of the 111 respondents, completed and returned the survey. Thirty-three (54%) of the 61 poison control centers responded, and 36 of the 50 state epidemiologists (72%) responded. The most frequent collaborations were terrorism preparedness and epidemic illness reporting. Additional collaborations also exist. Important collaborations exist outside of remuneration or poison control centers being a formal part of the public health structure. Poison control centers have expanded their efforts to include outbreak identification, syndromic surveillance, terrorism preparedness, and daily public health responsibilities amenable to poison control center resources. Collaboration in these areas and others should be expanded. Published

  4. 77 FR 50162 - Importer of Controlled Substances; Notice of Registration; Almac Clinical Services, Inc.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-20

    ... Register on April 26, 2012, 77 FR 24985, Almac Clinical Services, Inc., (ACSI), 25 Fretz Road, Souderton... that the registration of Almac Clinical Services, Inc. (ACSI) to import the basic classes of controlled..., Inc. (ACSI) to ensure that the company's registration is consistent with the public interest. The...

  5. Ior-CEA-1: Labelling, quality control and clinical evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pimentel, G.J.

    1998-01-01

    Within the Co-ordinated Programme on Labelling, Quality Control and Evaluation of Monoclonal Antibodies, the IAEA has made a great effort to expand efficient labelling methods, mainly those with radioisotopes which have been used for radioimmunoscintigraphy. In this sense, more recently 99 Tc m has been mostly employed in the majority of the investigations due to its ideal physical characteristics. Efficient labelling of monoclonal antibodies depends on a number of factors including the method and way of the label incorporation into the protein. During the last years several direct labelling approaches have been developed, which led to attain simple and inexpensive methods for medical practice, as well as safe and stable techniques which bring accurate and good quality images. Accordingly, this paper describes the results obtained during last five years which come from the comparison among different labelling systems, passing through the quality control to test the labelled monoclonal stability and the protein bioreactivity, to continue in the clinical evaluation of ior-CEA-1, as well as the evaluation of other antibodies. Up to now we have evaluated more than 70 patients with the anti-CEA monoclonal antibody (ior-CEA-1), examined in different clinical assays such as: pilot, phase I-II and extensive phase III-IV trials, whose results are encouraging. It confirms that the employed labelling approach was safe and adequate

  6. Effects of Intensive Control of Glycemia on Clinical Kidney Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes Patients Compared with Standard Control: A Meta-Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisco Herrera-Gómez

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: Association between poor control of glycemia and the onset of microvascular complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM patients is a hard issue. However, it seems that the impact of pharmacological treatment is important only in early stages of diabetic nephropathy. We sought to examine whether intensive glycemic control is associated with improvement of clinical Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD outcomes compared to standard glycemic control.Methods: Meta-analysis of published and unpublished randomized controlled trials (RCT and post-hoc analysis of RCTs comparing anti-diabetic drugs and/or insulin (intensive control vs. dietary measures (standard control for relevant outcomes related to progression of CKD clinically manifest was undertaken. Summary estimates obtained by random effects model and funnel plots for assessing reporting bias are presented.Results: Our analysis was based on four RCTs representing 27,391 adult T2DM patients with CKD from around the world. The pooled OR for the outcomes of doubling of serum creatinine and need of dialysis were, respectively, of 0.98 with 95% confidence interval (95% CI 0.81–1.19, and 0.84 with 95% CI 0.69–1.02. The pooled OR for the outcome of death from kidney failure was 0.62 with 95% CI 0.39–0.98. Clinical differences between studies were not translated in statistical heterogeneity. Reporting bias may be present.Conclusions: Intensive glycemic control has an effect on death from kidney failure compared to standard glycemic control. Better comprehension of glycemic control effects on both T2DM patients with and without CKD is important for individualization of these two treatment modalities.

  7. Value-based HR practices, i-deals and clinical error control with CSR as a moderator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luu, Tuan; Rowley, Chris; Siengthai, Sununta; Thanh Thao, Vo

    2017-05-08

    Purpose Notwithstanding the rising magnitude of system factors in patient safety improvement, "human factors" such as idiosyncratic deals (i-deals) which also contribute to the adjustment of system deficiencies should not be neglected. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of value-based HR practices in catalyzing i-deals, which then influence clinical error control. The research further examines the moderating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the effect of value-based HR practices on i-deals. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected from middle-level clinicians from hospitals in the Vietnam context. Findings The research results confirmed the effect chain from value-based HR practices through i-deals to clinical error control with CSR as a moderator. Originality/value The HRM literature is expanded through enlisting i-deals and clinical error control as the outcomes of HR practices.

  8. Risk factors for pulmonary tuberculosis: a clinic-based case control study in The Gambia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adegbola Richard A

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The tuberculosis (TB epidemic in Africa is on the rise, even in low-HIV prevalence settings. Few studies have attempted to identify possible reasons for this. We aimed to identify risk factors for pulmonary tuberculosis in those attending a general outpatients clinic in The Gambia, a sub-Saharan African country with relatively low HIV prevalence in the community and in TB patients. Methods We conducted a case control study at the Medical Research Council Outpatients' clinic in The Gambia. Pulmonary TB cases were at least 15 years old, controls were age and sex matched clinic attendees. Participants were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Results 100 sputum smear positive TB cases and 200 clinic controls were recruited. HIV prevalence was 6.1% in cases and 3.3% in controls. Multivariable assessment of host factors showed that risk of TB was increased among the Jola ethnic group and smokers, and decreased in those in a professional occupation. Assessment of environmental factors showed an increased risk with household crowding, history of household exposure to a known TB case, and absence of a ceiling in the house. In a combined multivariable host-environment model, the risk of TB increased with crowding, exposure to a known TB case, as well as amongst the Jola ethnic group. Conclusion In The Gambia, household crowding and past household exposure to a known TB case are the standout risk factors for TB disease. Further research is needed to identify why risk of TB seems to differ according to ethnicity.

  9. Impact of implementing electronic clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis, control and treatment of cardiovascular risk factors: A pre-post controlled study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eva Comin

    2017-08-01

    Conclusions: Computerized clinical practice guidelines are an effective tool for the control and follow-up of patients diagnosed with hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and hypercholesterolaemia. The usefulness of computerized clinical practice guidelines to diagnose and adequately treat individuals with these disorders remains unclear.

  10. Patient-controlled encrypted genomic data: an approach to advance clinical genomics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Trakadis Yannis J

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The revolution in DNA sequencing technologies over the past decade has made it feasible to sequence an individual’s whole genome at a relatively low cost. The potential value of the information generated by genomic technologies for medicine and society is enormous. However, in order for exome sequencing, and eventually whole genome sequencing, to be implemented clinically, a number of major challenges need to be overcome. For instance, obtaining meaningful informed-consent, managing incidental findings and the great volume of data generated (including multiple findings with uncertain clinical significance, re-interpreting the genomic data and providing additional counselling to patients as genetic knowledge evolves are issues that need to be addressed. It appears that medical genetics is shifting from the present “phenotype-first” medical model to a “data-first” model which leads to multiple complexities. Discussion This manuscript discusses the different challenges associated with integrating genomic technologies into clinical practice and describes a “phenotype-first” approach, namely, “Individualized Mutation-weighed Phenotype Search”, and its benefits. The proposed approach allows for a more efficient prioritization of the genes to be tested in a clinical lab based on both the patient’s phenotype and his/her entire genomic data. It simplifies “informed-consent” for clinical use of genomic technologies and helps to protect the patient’s autonomy and privacy. Overall, this approach could potentially render widespread use of genomic technologies, in the immediate future, practical, ethical and clinically useful. Summary The “Individualized Mutation-weighed Phenotype Search” approach allows for an incremental integration of genomic technologies into clinical practice. It ensures that we do not over-medicalize genomic data but, rather, continue our current medical model which is based on serving

  11. The clinical value of Huangqi injection in the treatment of leucopenia: a meta-analysis of clinical controlled trials.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Changsong Zhang

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Huangqi injection is derived from Astragalus membranaceus root. In China, recent reports of Huangqi injection for the treatment of leucopenia have emerged. However, a systematic review of these reports has not been performed. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis of clinical controlled trials to assess the clinical value of Huangqi injection in the treatment of leucopenia. METHODS: We searched the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM, Wanfang Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI, Chinese Scientific Journals Full-text Database (VIP, as well as PubMed and EMBASE to collect the data about trials of Huangqi injection for treating leucopenia. A meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.2 software. RESULTS: A total of 13 studies involving 841 patients were included in this study. The overall study quality was lower according to the Jadad scale. The meta-analysis showed that experimentally treated patients experienced greater therapeutic efficacy and lower white blood cell counts than control groups treated with Western medicine (P < 0.05. No publication bias was evident, according to Egger's test. CONCLUSIONS: The validity of this meta-analysis was limited by the overall poor quality of the included studies. Huangqi injection may have potential clinical value in the treatment of leucopenia, but confirmation with rigorously well-designed multi-center trials is needed.

  12. Presence of radioactivity in a sewage system: a proposal for radioactivity control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Serradell, Vicente; Ballesteros, Luisa; Ortiz, Josefina

    2008-01-01

    Most hospitals use radioisotopes in diagnostics and to a lesser extent in therapy. The liquid residues thus generated are usually subjected to treatment before being discharged into the sewage system. Nevertheless, a certain amount of these residues escape from the treatment system and are poured directly into the sewer. In addition, other radioactive products used for research and industrial purposes may also be disposed of in the same way. The waste waters in many sewage systems can therefore be expected to be radiologically contaminated and the need for at least a basic control system in such situations seems obvious. When designing a procedure to measure radioactivity, certain conditions should be borne in mind: 1) The control program has to be simple and inexpensive; 2) Samples must be taken from the appropriate places; 3) Short life radionuclides will probably be present in significant amounts, so that specific recipes should be prepared; 4) Iodine is also frequently present. Special precautions should be taken to keep it in solution. In recent years, the Environmental Radioactivity Laboratory of the Universidad Politecnica de Valencia (Spain) has carried out a series of tests on the Valencia city sewage system and sewage treatment plant in order to design a permanent program to control radioactive contamination of the city's sewage system. This paper presents a proposal which we believe can provide the answer to this problem. (author)

  13. Machine learning algorithms for the creation of clinical healthcare enterprise systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandal, Indrajit

    2017-10-01

    Clinical recommender systems are increasingly becoming popular for improving modern healthcare systems. Enterprise systems are persuasively used for creating effective nurse care plans to provide nurse training, clinical recommendations and clinical quality control. A novel design of a reliable clinical recommender system based on multiple classifier system (MCS) is implemented. A hybrid machine learning (ML) ensemble based on random subspace method and random forest is presented. The performance accuracy and robustness of proposed enterprise architecture are quantitatively estimated to be above 99% and 97%, respectively (above 95% confidence interval). The study then extends to experimental analysis of the clinical recommender system with respect to the noisy data environment. The ranking of items in nurse care plan is demonstrated using machine learning algorithms (MLAs) to overcome the drawback of the traditional association rule method. The promising experimental results are compared against the sate-of-the-art approaches to highlight the advancement in recommendation technology. The proposed recommender system is experimentally validated using five benchmark clinical data to reinforce the research findings.

  14. Effect of clinical parameters on the control of myoelectric robotic prosthetic hands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atzori, Manfredo; Gijsberts, Arjan; Castellini, Claudio; Caputo, Barbara; Hager, Anne-Gabrielle Mittaz; Elsig, Simone; Giatsidis, Giorgio; Bassetto, Franco; Müller, Henning

    2016-01-01

    Improving the functionality of prosthetic hands with noninvasive techniques is still a challenge. Surface electromyography (sEMG) currently gives limited control capabilities; however, the application of machine learning to the analysis of sEMG signals is promising and has recently been applied in practice, but many questions still remain. In this study, we recorded the sEMG activity of the forearm of 11 male subjects with transradial amputation who were mentally performing 40 hand and wrist movements. The classification performance and the number of independent movements (defined as the subset of movements that could be distinguished with >90% accuracy) were studied in relationship to clinical parameters related to the amputation. The analysis showed that classification accuracy and the number of independent movements increased significantly with phantom limb sensation intensity, remaining forearm percentage, and temporal distance to the amputation. The classification results suggest the possibility of naturally controlling up to 11 movements of a robotic prosthetic hand with almost no training. Knowledge of the relationship between classification accuracy and clinical parameters adds new information regarding the nature of phantom limb pain as well as other clinical parameters, and it can lay the foundations for future "functional amputation" procedures in surgery.

  15. BADERI: an online database to coordinate handsearching activities of controlled clinical trials for their potential inclusion in systematic reviews.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pardo-Hernandez, Hector; Urrútia, Gerard; Barajas-Nava, Leticia A; Buitrago-Garcia, Diana; Garzón, Julieth Vanessa; Martínez-Zapata, María José; Bonfill, Xavier

    2017-06-13

    Systematic reviews provide the best evidence on the effect of health care interventions. They rely on comprehensive access to the available scientific literature. Electronic search strategies alone may not suffice, requiring the implementation of a handsearching approach. We have developed a database to provide an Internet-based platform from which handsearching activities can be coordinated, including a procedure to streamline the submission of these references into CENTRAL, the Cochrane Collaboration Central Register of Controlled Trials. We developed a database and a descriptive analysis. Through brainstorming and discussion among stakeholders involved in handsearching projects, we designed a database that met identified needs that had to be addressed in order to ensure the viability of handsearching activities. Three handsearching teams pilot tested the proposed database. Once the final version of the database was approved, we proceeded to train the staff involved in handsearching. The proposed database is called BADERI (Database of Iberoamerican Clinical Trials and Journals, by its initials in Spanish). BADERI was officially launched in October 2015, and it can be accessed at www.baderi.com/login.php free of cost. BADERI has an administration subsection, from which the roles of users are managed; a references subsection, where information associated to identified controlled clinical trials (CCTs) can be entered; a reports subsection, from which reports can be generated to track and analyse the results of handsearching activities; and a built-in free text search engine. BADERI allows all references to be exported in ProCite files that can be directly uploaded into CENTRAL. To date, 6284 references to CCTs have been uploaded to BADERI and sent to CENTRAL. The identified CCTs were published in a total of 420 journals related to 46 medical specialties. The year of publication ranged between 1957 and 2016. BADERI allows the efficient management of handsearching

  16. The use of placebo control in clinical trials: An overview of the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The use of placebo control in clinical trials: An overview of the ethical issues involved for the protection of human research participants. ... A placebo looks exactly like the experimental drugs in every respect both in appearance and wrappings ...

  17. Controlled outcome studies of child clinical hypnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adinolfi, Barbara; Gava, Nicoletta

    2013-09-01

    Background Hypnosis is defined as "as an interaction in which the hypnotist uses suggested scenarios ("suggestions") to encourage a person's focus of attention to shift towards inner experiences". Aim of the work The focus of this review is to summarize the findings of controlled outcome studies investigating the potential of clinical hypnosis in pediatric populations. We will examine the following themes: anesthesia, acute and chronic pain, chemotherapy-related distress, along with other specific medical issues. Results Hypnosis is an effective method to reduce pain and anxiety before, during and after the administration of anesthetics, during local dental treatments, invasive medical procedures and in burn children. Hypnosis can be successfully used to manage recurrent headaches, abdominal pain, irritable bowel syndrome and chemotherapy-related distress. Hypnosis has an important role in managing symptoms and improving the quality of life of children suffering from asthma and cystic fibrosis and in facilitating the treatment of insomnia in school-age children. Finally, hypnosis can be effectively used for the treatment of some habitual disorders such as nocturnal enuresis and dermatologic conditions, including atopic dermatitis and chronic eczema Conclusions Clinical hypnosis seems to be a useful, cheap and side-effects free tool to manage fear, pain and several kinds of stressful experiences in pediatric populations. Children who receive self-hypnosis trainings achieve significantly greater improvements in their physical health, quality of life, and self-esteem.

  18. Randomized Clinical Trial of Lansoprazole for Poorly Controlled Asthma in Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holbrook, Janet T.; Wise, Robert A.; Gold, Benjamin D.; Blake, Kathryn; Brown, Ellen D.; Castro, Mario; Dozor, Allen J.; Lima, John; Mastronarde, John G.; Sockrider, Marianna; Teague, W. Gerald

    2013-01-01

    Context Asymptomatic gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is prevalent in children with asthma. It is not known whether treatment of GER with a proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) improves asthma control. Objective To determine whether lansoprazole is effective in reducing asthma symptoms in children without overt GER. Design, Setting, and Patients A multicenter, randomized, masked, placebo controlled, parallel clinical trial comparing lansoprazole to placebo in children with poor asthma control on inhaled corticosteroid treatment conducted at 18 academic clinical centers. Participants were followed for 24 weeks. A subgroup had an esophageal pH study before randomization. Intervention Children received either lansoprazole (15 mg daily lansoprazole and placebo groups, respectively (P=0.12). There were no detectable treatment differences in secondary outcomes (mean (95% CI) for FEV1(0.00 (−0.08, 0.08)), asthma quality of life (−0.1 (−0.4, 0.1) or episodes of poor asthma control, hazard ratio of 1.18 (95% CI 0.91, 1.53). Among the 115 children with esophageal pH studies, the prevalence of GER was 43%. In the subgroup with a positive pH study, no treatment effect for lansoprazole versus placebo was observed for any asthma outcome. Children treated with lansoprazole reported more upper respiratory infections (63% vs 49%, P=0.02), sore throats (52% vs 39%, P=0.02), and bronchitis (7% vs 2%, P=0.05). Conclusion Among children with poorly controlled asthma without symptoms of GER who were using inhaled corticosteroids, the addition of lansoprazole, as compared to placebo, did not improve symptoms nor lung function but was associated with increased adverse events. PMID:22274684

  19. Atmospheric pollution problems and control proposals associated with solid waste management in China: A review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tian, Hezhong; Gao, Jiajia; Hao, Jiming; Lu, Long; Zhu, Chuanyong; Qiu, Peipei

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Air pollution problems generated in MSW management processes in China are presented. ► Both quantity and composition of MSW generation in China are identified. ► The status of different methods for MSW treatment and disposal are reviewed. ► Some comprehensive control proposals for improving MSW management are proposed. -- Abstract: Along with population growth, rapid urbanization and industrialization process, the volume of municipal solid waste (MSW) generation in China has been increasing sharply in the past 30 years and the total amount of MSW yields will continue to increase. Nowadays, due to global warming warrants particular attention throughout the world, a series of air pollutants (including greenhouse gases, odorous gases, PCDD/Fs, heavy metals, PM, etc.) discharged from waste disposal and treatment processes have become one of the new significant emerging air pollution sources, which arousing great concerns about their adverse effects on surrounding ambient air quality and public health. At present, the overall safely disposed ratio of the collected MSW in China is reported at approximately 78% in 2010, and there are mainly three types of MSW disposal methods practiced in China, including landfill, composting and incineration. The characteristics of air pollutants and greenhouse gases discharge vary substantially among different MSW disposal methods. By presenting a thorough review of MSW generation in China and providing a summarization of the current status of MSW disposal methods practices, this review article makes an integrated overview analysis of existing air pollution problems associated with MSW collection, separation, and disposal processes. Furthermore, some comprehensive control proposals to prevent air pollution for improving MSW management of China in the future are put forward

  20. Atmospheric pollution problems and control proposals associated with solid waste management in China: A review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tian, Hezhong, E-mail: hztian@bnu.edu.cn [State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China); Gao, Jiajia [State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China); Hao, Jiming [School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Lu, Long; Zhu, Chuanyong; Qiu, Peipei [State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China)

    2013-05-15

    Highlights: ► Air pollution problems generated in MSW management processes in China are presented. ► Both quantity and composition of MSW generation in China are identified. ► The status of different methods for MSW treatment and disposal are reviewed. ► Some comprehensive control proposals for improving MSW management are proposed. -- Abstract: Along with population growth, rapid urbanization and industrialization process, the volume of municipal solid waste (MSW) generation in China has been increasing sharply in the past 30 years and the total amount of MSW yields will continue to increase. Nowadays, due to global warming warrants particular attention throughout the world, a series of air pollutants (including greenhouse gases, odorous gases, PCDD/Fs, heavy metals, PM, etc.) discharged from waste disposal and treatment processes have become one of the new significant emerging air pollution sources, which arousing great concerns about their adverse effects on surrounding ambient air quality and public health. At present, the overall safely disposed ratio of the collected MSW in China is reported at approximately 78% in 2010, and there are mainly three types of MSW disposal methods practiced in China, including landfill, composting and incineration. The characteristics of air pollutants and greenhouse gases discharge vary substantially among different MSW disposal methods. By presenting a thorough review of MSW generation in China and providing a summarization of the current status of MSW disposal methods practices, this review article makes an integrated overview analysis of existing air pollution problems associated with MSW collection, separation, and disposal processes. Furthermore, some comprehensive control proposals to prevent air pollution for improving MSW management of China in the future are put forward.

  1. Quality of Control of Clinical-Biochemical Laboratories – Serbian Case

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vinko Peric

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available In the last 20 years in medical laboratories, numerous activities regarding quality and accreditation system were taken. Approach to this problem in European countries is different, so the task of the Accreditation Work Group of the Confederation of European societies for clinical chemistry (EC 4 to help the efforts to harmonize this issue. External quality control in clinical-chemical laboratories imposed the need for the implementation of quality management system. »Good laboratory practice« and its principles were adopted by nominated bodies, both international and national. In the beginning, the standard ISO 9001 was applied for certification and for accreditation EN 45001 and ISO Guide 25, which are prepared for testing and calibration laboratories. Standard ISO 17025 is the successor of the previous documents and for now it is a reference for mentioned laboratories. Accreditation Work Group of the Confederation of European societies for clinical chemistry (EC 4 made an amendment of the requirements for medical laboratories, which this standard describes. Standard draft ISO 15189 was adopted on February 2003 as a final version with requirements for medical laboratories.

  2. Incorporating Topic Assignment Constraint and Topic Correlation Limitation into Clinical Goal Discovering for Clinical Pathway Mining

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiao Xu

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Clinical pathways are widely used around the world for providing quality medical treatment and controlling healthcare cost. However, the expert-designed clinical pathways can hardly deal with the variances among hospitals and patients. It calls for more dynamic and adaptive process, which is derived from various clinical data. Topic-based clinical pathway mining is an effective approach to discover a concise process model. Through this approach, the latent topics found by latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA represent the clinical goals. And process mining methods are used to extract the temporal relations between these topics. However, the topic quality is usually not desirable due to the low performance of the LDA in clinical data. In this paper, we incorporate topic assignment constraint and topic correlation limitation into the LDA to enhance the ability of discovering high-quality topics. Two real-world datasets are used to evaluate the proposed method. The results show that the topics discovered by our method are with higher coherence, informativeness, and coverage than the original LDA. These quality topics are suitable to represent the clinical goals. Also, we illustrate that our method is effective in generating a comprehensive topic-based clinical pathway model.

  3. Error Control Techniques for Efficient Multicast Streaming in UMTS Networks: Proposals andPerformance Evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michele Rossi

    2004-06-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we introduce techniques for efficient multicast video streaming in UMTS networks where a video content has to be conveyed to multiple users in the same cell. Efficient multicast data delivery in UMTS is still an open issue. In particular, suitable solutions have to be found to cope with wireless channel errors, while maintaining both an acceptable channel utilization and a controlled delivery delay over the wireless link between the serving base station and the mobile terminals. Here, we first highlight that standard solutions such as unequal error protection (UEP of the video flow are ineffective in the UMTS systems due to its inherent large feedback delay at the link layer (Radio Link Control, RLC. Subsequently, we propose a local approach to solve errors directly at the UMTS link layer while keeping a reasonably high channel efficiency and saving, as much as possible, system resources. The solution that we propose in this paper is based on the usage of the common channel to serve all the interested users in a cell. In this way, we can save resources with respect to the case where multiple dedicated channels are allocated for every user. In addition to that, we present a hybrid ARQ (HARQ proactive protocol that, at the cost of some redundancy (added to the link layer flow, is able to consistently improve the channel efficiency with respect to the plain ARQ case, by therefore making the use of a single common channel for multicast data delivery feasible. In the last part of the paper we give some hints for future research, by envisioning the usage of the aforementioned error control protocols with suitably encoded video streams.

  4. 77 FR 24985 - Importer of Controlled Substances; Notice of Application; Almac Clinical Services, Inc., (ACSI)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-26

    ... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Drug Enforcement Administration Importer of Controlled Substances; Notice of Application; Almac Clinical Services, Inc., (ACSI) Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 958(i), the Attorney General shall... on March 5, 2012, Almac Clinical Services, Inc., (ACSI), 25 Fretz Road, Souderton, Pennsylvania 18964...

  5. Peer assisted learning in the clinical setting: an activity systems analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Bennett, Deirdre; O?Flynn, Siun; Kelly, Martina

    2014-01-01

    Peer assisted learning (PAL) is a common feature of medical education. Understanding of PAL has been based on processes and outcomes in controlled settings, such as clinical skills labs. PAL in the clinical setting, a complex learning environment, requires fresh evaluation. Socio-cultural theory is proposed as a means to understand educational interventions in ways that are practical and meaningful. We describe the evaluation of a PAL intervention, introduced to support students? transition i...

  6. Standards for the culture and quality control of umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal cells for neurorestorative clinical application (2017

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ao Q

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Qiang Ao,1,* Juan Xiao,2,3,* Yanqiu Yu,4 Gengsheng Mao,2 Qingyan Zou,5 Wenyong Gao,2,3 Hongyun Huang2,3 On behalf of Neurorestoratology Professional Committee of Chinese Medical Doctor Association (Chinese Association of Neurorestoratology 1Department of Tissue Engineering, China Medical University, Shen Yang, 2Institute of Neurorestoratology, General Hospital of Armed Police Forces, Beijing, 3Cell Therapy Center, Beijing Hongtianji Neuroscience Academy, Beijing, 4Department of Pathophysiology, China Medical University, Shen Yang, 5Guangdong 999 Brain Hospital, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Formulating common standards for the culture and quality control of umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs is crucial for the standardization of clinical neurorestorative therapy. But to date, there have been no standardized guidelines for the culture and quality control of MSCs in neurorestorative clinical application. Based on a relatively comprehensive review of published clinical studies as well as the existing methods of MSC culture and quality control, the Chinese Association of Neurorestoratology has developed standards for the culture and quality control of umbilical cord MSCs which possess the potential in neurorestorative clinical application. These guidelines include standardized training and management procedures for laboratory operators; standardized use and management of materials and equipment; standardized collection, culture and proliferation of umbilical cord MSCs; standardized management for cell preservation, transport and related safeguard measures; as well as standardization of a clean environment, routine maintenance and related tests and examinations and so on. These guidelines represent the minimum required standards for the culture and quality control of umbilical cord MSCs for potential use in current neurorestorative clinical therapy, and will be further

  7. A controlled clinical trial of implantretained mandibular overdentures : 10 years’ results of clinical aspects and aftercare of IMZ implants and Bra°nemark implants

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meijer, Henny J.A.; Raghoebar, Gerry M.; Van’t Hof, Martin A.; Visser, Anita

    2004-01-01

    The aim of this prospective randomized controlled clinical trial was to evaluate the clinical outcomes and prosthetic aftercare of edentulous patients with a mandibular overdenture retained by two IMZ implants or two Bra°nemark implants during a 10-year period. Patients were allocated to the IMZ

  8. Design of clinical trials involving multiple hypothesis tests with a common control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schou, I Manjula; Marschner, Ian C

    2017-07-01

    Randomized clinical trials comparing several treatments to a common control are often reported in the medical literature. For example, multiple experimental treatments may be compared with placebo, or in combination therapy trials, a combination therapy may be compared with each of its constituent monotherapies. Such trials are typically designed using a balanced approach in which equal numbers of individuals are randomized to each arm, however, this can result in an inefficient use of resources. We provide a unified framework and new theoretical results for optimal design of such single-control multiple-comparator studies. We consider variance optimal designs based on D-, A-, and E-optimality criteria, using a general model that allows for heteroscedasticity and a range of effect measures that include both continuous and binary outcomes. We demonstrate the sensitivity of these designs to the type of optimality criterion by showing that the optimal allocation ratios are systematically ordered according to the optimality criterion. Given this sensitivity to the optimality criterion, we argue that power optimality is a more suitable approach when designing clinical trials where testing is the objective. Weighted variance optimal designs are also discussed, which, like power optimal designs, allow the treatment difference to play a major role in determining allocation ratios. We illustrate our methods using two real clinical trial examples taken from the medical literature. Some recommendations on the use of optimal designs in single-control multiple-comparator trials are also provided. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  9. 78 FR 23594 - Importer of Controlled Substances, Notice of Application, Almac Clinical Services, Inc., (ACSI)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-19

    ... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Drug Enforcement Administration Importer of Controlled Substances, Notice of Application, Almac Clinical Services, Inc., (ACSI) Pursuant to Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations 1301.34(a), this is notice that on March 5, 2013, Almac Clinical Services, Inc., (ACSI), 25 Fretz Road, Souderton...

  10. Can active music-making ameliorate neglect? An assessor-blind, within-subject, controlled clinical trial

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bodak, Rebeka; Mazhari-Jensen, Daniel; Evald, Lars

    -aligned instrument from the stroke survivor’s right side into their left neglected space; the control involves playing novel rhythmic patterns on a single drum at midline. We hypothesise that the stroke survivors will perform better after the intervention than after the control on clinical neglect tests......Neglect often manifests following a right hemisphere stroke, and it is a strong predictor of poor rehabilitation outcome. Although many neglect interventions exist, systematic reviews repeatedly highlight that they yield limited clinical effectiveness and that there is little to no evidence of any...... functional gains. Drawing on recent successful case study pilot work, the aim of the present study is to investigate the impact of an active music-making intervention compared with a control. Stroke survivors with a diagnosis of neglect will be invited to participate in an assessor-blind, within...

  11. Implementing self sustained quality control procedures in a clinical laboratory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khatri, Roshan; K C, Sanjay; Shrestha, Prabodh; Sinha, J N

    2013-01-01

    Quality control is an essential component in every clinical laboratory which maintains the excellence of laboratory standards, supplementing to proper disease diagnosis, patient care and resulting in overall strengthening of health care system. Numerous quality control schemes are available, with combinations of procedures, most of which are tedious, time consuming and can be "too technical" whereas commercially available quality control materials can be expensive especially for laboratories in developing nations like Nepal. Here, we present a procedure performed at our centre with self prepared control serum and use of simple statistical tools for quality assurance. The pooled serum was prepared as per guidelines for preparation of stabilized liquid quality control serum from human sera. Internal Quality Assessment was performed on this sample, on a daily basis which included measurement of 12 routine biochemical parameters. The results were plotted on Levey-Jennings charts and analysed with quality control rules, for a period of one month. The mean levels of biochemical analytes in self prepared control serum were within normal physiological range. This serum was evaluated every day along with patients' samples. The results obtained were plotted on control charts and analysed using common quality control rules to identify possible systematic and random errors. Immediate mitigation measures were taken and the dispatch of erroneous reports was avoided. In this study we try to highlight on a simple internal quality control procedure which can be performed by laboratories, with minimum technology, expenditure, and expertise and improve reliability and validity of the test reports.

  12. Design of clinical trials Phase I and II with radiopharmaceuticals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giannone, C.A.; Soroa, V.E.

    2015-01-01

    We presented some usual designs for clinical studies in Phase I and Phase II. For Phase I we considered the 3 + 3 Classic design, designs with accelerated titration and those with dose escalation schemes with overdose control (EWOC). For Phase II designs with efficacy outcomes are presented. The design proposed by Fleming is discussed as well as those with inclusion of patients in two stages: Gehan’s design and the Optimal two–stage Simon’s design. We also discussed the design of combined endpoints of efficacy and safety of Bryant and Day with an application example of therapeutically Lu-177. Finally some proposals for phase II trials with control group are considered. (authors) [es

  13. Top-down control of arousal and sleep: Fundamentals and clinical implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krone, Lukas; Frase, Lukas; Piosczyk, Hannah; Selhausen, Peter; Zittel, Sulamith; Jahn, Friederike; Kuhn, Marion; Feige, Bernd; Mainberger, Florian; Klöppel, Stefan; Riemann, Dieter; Spiegelhalder, Kai; Baglioni, Chiara; Sterr, Annette; Nissen, Christoph

    2017-02-01

    Mammalian sleep emerges from attenuated activity in the ascending reticular arousal system (ARAS), the main arousal network of the brain. This system originates in the brainstem and activates the thalamus and cortex during wakefulness via a well-characterized 'bottom-up' pathway. Recent studies propose that a less investigated cortico-thalamic 'top-down' pathway also regulates sleep. The present work integrates the current evidence on sleep regulation with a focus on the 'top-down' pathway and explores the potential to translate this information into clinically relevant interventions. Specifically, we elaborate the concept that arousal and sleep continuity in humans can be modulated by non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques that increase or decrease cortical excitability. Based on preclinical studies, the modulatory effects of the stimulation are thought to extend to subcortical arousal networks. Further exploration of the 'top-down' regulation of sleep and its modulation through non-invasive brain stimulation techniques may contribute to the development of novel treatments for clinical conditions of disrupted arousal and sleep, which are among the major health problems worldwide. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. ChronQC: a quality control monitoring system for clinical next generation sequencing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tawari, Nilesh R; Seow, Justine Jia Wen; Perumal, Dharuman; Ow, Jack L; Ang, Shimin; Devasia, Arun George; Ng, Pauline C

    2018-05-15

    ChronQC is a quality control (QC) tracking system for clinical implementation of next-generation sequencing (NGS). ChronQC generates time series plots for various QC metrics to allow comparison of current runs to historical runs. ChronQC has multiple features for tracking QC data including Westgard rules for clinical validity, laboratory-defined thresholds and historical observations within a specified time period. Users can record their notes and corrective actions directly onto the plots for long-term recordkeeping. ChronQC facilitates regular monitoring of clinical NGS to enable adherence to high quality clinical standards. ChronQC is freely available on GitHub (https://github.com/nilesh-tawari/ChronQC), Docker (https://hub.docker.com/r/nileshtawari/chronqc/) and the Python Package Index. ChronQC is implemented in Python and runs on all common operating systems (Windows, Linux and Mac OS X). tawari.nilesh@gmail.com or pauline.c.ng@gmail.com. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

  15. Clinical predictors of rectal lymphogranuloma venereum infection: results from a multicentre case–control study in the UK

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pallawela, S N S; Sullivan, A K; Macdonald, N; French, P; White, J; Dean, G; Smith, A; Winter, A J; Mandalia, S; Alexander, S; Ison, C; Ward, H

    2014-01-01

    Objective Since 2003, over 2000 cases of lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) have been diagnosed in the UK in men who have sex with men (MSM). Most cases present with proctitis, but there are limited data on how to differentiate clinically between LGV and other pathology. We analysed the clinical presentations of rectal LGV in MSM to identify clinical characteristics predictive of LGV proctitis and produced a clinical prediction model. Design A prospective multicentre case–control study was conducted at six UK hospitals from 2008 to 2010. Cases of rectal LGV were compared with controls with rectal symptoms but without LGV. Methods Data from 98 LGV cases and 81 controls were collected from patients and clinicians using computer-assisted self-interviews and clinical report forms. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to compare symptoms and signs. Clinical prediction models for LGV were compared using receiver operating curves. Results Tenesmus, constipation, anal discharge and weight loss were significantly more common in cases than controls. In multivariate analysis, tenesmus and constipation alone were suggestive of LGV (OR 2.98, 95% CI 0.99 to 8.98 and 2.87, 95% CI 1.01 to 8.15, respectively) and that tenesmus alone or in combination with constipation was a significant predictor of LGV (OR 6.97, 95% CI 2.71 to 17.92). The best clinical prediction was having one or more of tenesmus, constipation and exudate on proctoscopy, with a sensitivity of 77% and specificity of 65%. Conclusions This study indicates that tenesmus alone or in combination with constipation makes a diagnosis of LGV in MSM presenting with rectal symptoms more likely. PMID:24687130

  16. 75 FR 16024 - Proposed Amendment of Norton Sound Low and Control 1234L Offshore Airspace Areas; Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-31

    ... aspects of the proposal. Communications should identify both docket numbers (FAA Docket No. FAA-2010-0071....'' The postcard will be date/time stamped and returned to the commenter. All communications received on... Tooksook Bay; within 74 miles of Elim and Manokotak, and within 72.5 miles of Red Dog. The Control 1234L...

  17. Parenting clinically anxious versus healthy control children aged 4-12 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Sluis, C M; van Steensel, F J A; Bögels, S M

    2015-05-01

    This study investigated whether parenting behaviors differed between parents of 68 clinically anxious children and 106 healthy control children aged 4-12 years. The effects of parent gender, child gender and child age on parenting were explored. Mothers and fathers completed a questionnaire to assess parenting behaviors in for children hypothetically anxious situations. Results showed that parents of clinically anxious children reported more anxiety-enhancing parenting (reinforcement of dependency and punishment) as well as more positive parenting (positive reinforcement). For the clinical sample, fathers reported using more modeling/reassurance than mothers, and parents reported using more force with their 4-7-year-olds than with their 8-12-year-olds. No interaction effects were found for child gender with child anxiety status on parenting. Results indicate that for intervention, it is important to measure parenting behaviors, and to take into account father and mother differences and the age of the child. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Control of muscle relaxation during anesthesia: a novel approach for clinical routine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stadler, Konrad S; Schumacher, Peter M; Hirter, Sibylle; Leibundgut, Daniel; Bouillon, Thomas W; Glattfelder, Adolf H; Zbinden, Alex M

    2006-03-01

    During general anesthesia drugs are administered to provide hypnosis, ensure analgesia, and skeletal muscle relaxation. In this paper, the main components of a newly developed controller for skeletal muscle relaxation are described. Muscle relaxation is controlled by administration of neuromuscular blocking agents. The degree of relaxation is assessed by supramaximal train-of-four stimulation of the ulnar nerve and measuring the electromyogram response of the adductor pollicis muscle. For closed-loop control purposes, a physiologically based pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic model of the neuromuscular blocking agent mivacurium is derived. The model is used to design an observer-based state feedback controller. Contrary to similar automatic systems described in the literature this controller makes use of two different measures obtained in the train-of-four measurement to maintain the desired level of relaxation. The controller is validated in a clinical study comparing the performance of the controller to the performance of the anesthesiologist. As presented, the controller was able to maintain a preselected degree of muscle relaxation with excellent precision while minimizing drug administration. The controller performed at least equally well as the anesthesiologist.

  19. Benchmarking Distance Control and Virtual Drilling for Lateral Skull Base Surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voormolen, Eduard H J; Diederen, Sander; van Stralen, Marijn; Woerdeman, Peter A; Noordmans, Herke Jan; Viergever, Max A; Regli, Luca; Robe, Pierre A; Berkelbach van der Sprenkel, Jan Willem

    2018-01-01

    Novel audiovisual feedback methods were developed to improve image guidance during skull base surgery by providing audiovisual warnings when the drill tip enters a protective perimeter set at a distance around anatomic structures ("distance control") and visualizing bone drilling ("virtual drilling"). To benchmark the drill damage risk reduction provided by distance control, to quantify the accuracy of virtual drilling, and to investigate whether the proposed feedback methods are clinically feasible. In a simulated surgical scenario using human cadavers, 12 unexperienced users (medical students) drilled 12 mastoidectomies. Users were divided into a control group using standard image guidance and 3 groups using distance control with protective perimeters of 1, 2, or 3 mm. Damage to critical structures (sigmoid sinus, semicircular canals, facial nerve) was assessed. Neurosurgeons performed another 6 mastoidectomy/trans-labyrinthine and retro-labyrinthine approaches. Virtual errors as compared with real postoperative drill cavities were calculated. In a clinical setting, 3 patients received lateral skull base surgery with the proposed feedback methods. Users drilling with distance control protective perimeters of 3 mm did not damage structures, whereas the groups using smaller protective perimeters and the control group injured structures. Virtual drilling maximum cavity underestimations and overestimations were 2.8 ± 0.1 and 3.3 ± 0.4 mm, respectively. Feedback methods functioned properly in the clinical setting. Distance control reduced the risks of drill damage proportional to the protective perimeter distance. Errors in virtual drilling reflect spatial errors of the image guidance system. These feedback methods are clinically feasible. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Design of a multi-arm randomized clinical trial with no control arm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magaret, Amalia; Angus, Derek C; Adhikari, Neill K J; Banura, Patrick; Kissoon, Niranjan; Lawler, James V; Jacob, Shevin T

    2016-01-01

    Clinical trial designs that include multiple treatments are currently limited to those that perform pairwise comparisons of each investigational treatment to a single control. However, there are settings, such as the recent Ebola outbreak, in which no treatment has been demonstrated to be effective; and therefore, no standard of care exists which would serve as an appropriate control. For illustrative purposes, we focused on the care of patients presenting in austere settings with critically ill 'sepsis-like' syndromes. Our approach involves a novel algorithm for comparing mortality among arms without requiring a single fixed control. The algorithm allows poorly-performing arms to be dropped during interim analyses. Consequently, the study may be completed earlier than planned. We used simulation to determine operating characteristics for the trial and to estimate the required sample size. We present a potential study design targeting a minimal effect size of a 23% relative reduction in mortality between any pair of arms. Using estimated power and spurious significance rates from the simulated scenarios, we show that such a trial would require 2550 participants. Over a range of scenarios, our study has 80 to 99% power to select the optimal treatment. Using a fixed control design, if the control arm is least efficacious, 640 subjects would be enrolled into the least efficacious arm, while our algorithm would enroll between 170 and 430. This simulation method can be easily extended to other settings or other binary outcomes. Early dropping of arms is efficient and ethical when conducting clinical trials with multiple arms. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Medical Devices; Immunology and Microbiology Devices; Classification of the Assayed Quality Control Material for Clinical Microbiology Assays. Final order.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-07-27

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, Agency, or we) is classifying the assayed quality control material for clinical microbiology assays into class II (special controls). The special controls that will apply to the device are identified in this order and will be part of the codified language for the assayed quality control material for clinical microbiology assays' classification. The Agency is classifying the device into class II (special controls) to provide a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness of the device.

  2. Clinical target volume for rectal cancer. Preoperative radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lorchel, F.; Bossel, J.F.; Baron, M.H.; Goubard, O.; Bartholomot, B.; Mantion, G.; Pelissier, E.P.; Maingon, P.

    2001-01-01

    The total meso-rectal excision allows the marked increase of the local control rate in rectal cancer. Therefore, the meso-rectal space is the usual field for the spread of rectal cancer cells. It could therefore be considered as the clinical target volume in the preoperative plan by the radiation oncologist. We propose to identify the mesorectum on anatomical structures of a treatment-position CT scan. (authors)

  3. Proposed clinical trial studying the pharmacokinetics of B.S.H

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harkness, W.F.J.

    1988-01-01

    There has been considerable interest in BNCT at Oxford for several years, which has been facilitated by the proximity of the clinical Departments of Neurosurgery and Radiotherapy as well as the Radiobiology unit and the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell. Each unit has been collaborating over this time with the end objective of a therapeutic facility at Harwell. In the Department of Neurosurgery, they are about to embark on a clinical study of the pharmacokinetics of a boron compound. This is a non-therapeutic trial as they cannot offer a neutron facility at Harwell as yet. Full approval of the Ethical Committee has been granted

  4. Prenatal Pregnancy Complications and Psychiatric Symptoms: Children with ASD versus Clinic Controls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tudor, Megan E.; DeVincent, Carla J.; Gadow, Kenneth D.

    2012-01-01

    The current study examined the association between prenatal pregnancy complications (PPC) and childhood psychiatric symptoms in children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and non-ASD children who were referred to a psychiatric clinic (Controls). Parents completed a "DSM-IV"-referenced rating scale and developmental history questionnaire.…

  5. Clinical importance of achieving biochemical control with medical therapy in adult patients with acromegaly

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christofides, Elena A

    2016-01-01

    In acromegaly, achieving biochemical control (growth hormone [GH] level acromegaly is challenging because it is rooted in observing subtle clinical manifestations, and it is typical for acromegaly to evolve for up to 10 years before it is recognized. This results in chronic exposure to elevated levels of GH and IGF-1 and delay in patients receiving appropriate treatment, which consequently increases mortality risk. In this review, the clinical impact of elevated GH and IGF-1 levels, the effectiveness of current therapies, and the potential role of novel treatments for acromegaly will be discussed. Clinical burden of acromegaly and benefits associated with management of GH and IGF-1 levels will be reviewed. Major treatment paradigms in acromegaly include surgery, medical therapy, and radiotherapy. With medical therapies, such as somatostatin analogs, dopamine agonists, and GH receptor antagonists, a substantial proportion of patients achieve reduced GH and normalized IGF-1 levels. In addition, signs and symptoms, quality of life, and comorbidities have also been reported to improve to varying degrees in patients who achieve biochemical control. Currently, there are several innovative therapies in development to improve patient outcomes, patient use, and access. Timely biochemical control of acromegaly ensures that the patient can ultimately improve morbidity and mortality from this disease and its extensive consequences. PMID:27471378

  6. Patient Engagement in Randomized Controlled Tai Chi Clinical Trials among the Chronically Ill.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Dongsheng; Kong, Weihong; Jiang, Joanna J

    2017-01-01

    Physicians encounter various symptom-based complaints each day. While physicians strive to support patients with chronic illnesses, evidence indicates that patients who are actively involved in their health care have better health outcomes and sometimes lowers costs. This article is to analyze how patient engagement is described when complex interventions such as Tai Chi were delivered in Randomized Controlled clinical Trials (RCTs). It reviews the dynamic patient- physician relationship in chronic illness management and to illustrate the patient engagement process, using Tai Chi as an example intervention. RCTs are considered the gold standard in clinical research. This study is a qualitative analysis of RCTs using Tai Chi as an intervention. A systematic literature search was performed to identify quality randomized controlled clinical trials that investigated the effects of Tai Chi. Selected clinical trials were classified according to research design, intervention style, patient engagement, and outcomes. Patient engagement was classified based on levels of patient participation, compliance, and selfmanagement. The chronic health conditions included in this paper are Parkinson's disease, polyneuropathy, hypertension, stroke, chronic insomnia, chronic heart failure, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, central obesity, depression, deconditioning in the elderly, or being pre-clinically disabled. We found that patient engagement, as a concept, was not well defined in literature. It covers a wide range of related terms, such as patient involvement, participation, shared decision- making, patient activation, adherence, compliance, and self-management. Tai Chi, as a very complex practice system, is to balance all aspects of a patient's life; however, the level of patient engagement is difficult to describe using conventional clinical trial design. To accurately illustrate the effect of a complex intervention, novel research design must explore ways to measure patient

  7. Conducting clinical trials in Singapore.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woo, K T

    1999-04-01

    All clinical trials in Singapore will now have to conform to the Medicines (Clinical Trials) Amended Regulations 1998 and the Singapore Good Clinical Practice (GCP) Guidelines 1998. The Medical Clinical Research Committee (MCRC) has been established to oversee the conduct of clinical drug trials in Singapore and together with the legislations in place, these will ensure that clinical trials conducted in Singapore are properly controlled and the well-being of trial subjects are safe guarded. All clinical drug trials require a Clinical Trial Certificate from the MCRC before the trial can proceed. The hospital ethics committee (EC) vets the application for a trial certificate before it is sent to MCRC. The drug company sponsoring the trial has to indemnify the trial investigators and the hospital for negligence arising from the trial. The MCRC, apart from ensuring the safety of trial subjects, has to provide continuing review of the clinical trial and monitors adverse events in the course of the trial. The EC will conduct continuing review of clinical trials. When a non-drug clinical trial is carried out, the EC will ensure that the proposed protocol addresses ethical concerns and meets regulatory requirements for such trials. There is great potential for pharmaceutical Research & Development (R&D) in Singapore. We must develop our skills and infrastructure in clinical trials to enable Singapore to be a regional hub for R&D of drugs in Asia.

  8. A revised glossary of terms most commonly used by clinical electroencephalographers and updated proposal for the report format of the EEG findings : Revision 2017

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kane, Nick; Acharya, Jayant; Benickzy, Sandor; Caboclo, Luis; Finnigan, Simon; Kaplan, Peter W.; Shibasaki, Hiroshi; Pressler, Ronit; van Putten, Michel J.A.M.

    2017-01-01

    This glossary includes the terms most commonly used in clinical EEG. It is based on the previous proposals (Chatrian et al., 1974; Noachtar et al., 1999) and includes terms necessary to describe the EEG and to generate the EEG report. All EEG phenomena should be described as precisely as possible in

  9. Neurorestorative clinical application standards for the culture and quality control of olfactory ensheathing cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiao J

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Juan Xiao,1,2 Lin Chen,3 Gengsheng Mao,1 Wenyong Gao,1,2 Ming Lu,4 Xijing He,5 Hongyun Huang1,2 On behalf of the Neurorestoratology Professional Committee of Chinese Medical Doctors Association (Chinese Association of Neurorestoratology 1Institute of Neurorestoratology, The General Hospital of Chinese People’s Armed Police Forces, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Cell Therapy Center, Beijing Hongtianji Neuroscience Academy, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Neurosurgery, Tsinghua University Yuquan Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Neurosurgery, 163 Hospital of PLA (Second Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan Province, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Orthopedics, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xian, Shanxi Provine, People’s Republic of China Abstract: Olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs are a novel type of glial cell that can perform and promote many neurorestorative processes in vivo after transplant. To date, dozens of preclinical and clinical studies have confirmed that OECs have unique restoring effects in animal models and human subjects with neurological degeneration or damage, such as spinal cord injury, stroke, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, and motor neuron disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. To ensure the safety and effectiveness of clinical applications utilizing this type of cell, it is important to standardize cell-culture and quality-control processes. Based on a comprehensive review of published clinical studies, as well as existing methods of OEC culture and quality control currently utilized by hospitals and biomedical enterprises, the Chinese Association of Neurorestoratology has developed a set of standards for the culture and quality control of olfactory ensheathing cells for use in clinical applications. These guidelines include standardized training and management procedures for

  10. On model selections for repeated measurement data in clinical studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zou, Baiming; Jin, Bo; Koch, Gary G; Zhou, Haibo; Borst, Stephen E; Menon, Sandeep; Shuster, Jonathan J

    2015-05-10

    Repeated measurement designs have been widely used in various randomized controlled trials for evaluating long-term intervention efficacies. For some clinical trials, the primary research question is how to compare two treatments at a fixed time, using a t-test. Although simple, robust, and convenient, this type of analysis fails to utilize a large amount of collected information. Alternatively, the mixed-effects model is commonly used for repeated measurement data. It models all available data jointly and allows explicit assessment of the overall treatment effects across the entire time spectrum. In this paper, we propose an analytic strategy for longitudinal clinical trial data where the mixed-effects model is coupled with a model selection scheme. The proposed test statistics not only make full use of all available data but also utilize the information from the optimal model deemed for the data. The performance of the proposed method under various setups, including different data missing mechanisms, is evaluated via extensive Monte Carlo simulations. Our numerical results demonstrate that the proposed analytic procedure is more powerful than the t-test when the primary interest is to test for the treatment effect at the last time point. Simulations also reveal that the proposed method outperforms the usual mixed-effects model for testing the overall treatment effects across time. In addition, the proposed framework is more robust and flexible in dealing with missing data compared with several competing methods. The utility of the proposed method is demonstrated by analyzing a clinical trial on the cognitive effect of testosterone in geriatric men with low baseline testosterone levels. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  11. Information systems as a quality management tool in clinical laboratories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmitz, Vanessa; Rosecler Bez el Boukhari, Marta

    2007-11-01

    This article describes information systems as a quality management tool in clinical laboratories. The quality of laboratory analyses is of fundamental importance for health professionals in aiding appropriate diagnosis and treatment. Information systems allow the automation of internal quality management processes, using standard sample tests, Levey-Jennings charts and Westgard multirule analysis. This simplifies evaluation and interpretation of quality tests and reduces the possibility of human error. This study proposes the development of an information system with appropriate functions and costs for the automation of internal quality control in small and medium-sized clinical laboratories. To this end, it evaluates the functions and usability of two commercial software products designed for this purpose, identifying the positive features of each, so that these can be taken into account during the development of the proposed system.

  12. Information systems as a quality management tool in clinical laboratories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmitz, Vanessa; Boukhari, Marta Rosecler Bez el

    2007-01-01

    This article describes information systems as a quality management tool in clinical laboratories. The quality of laboratory analyses is of fundamental importance for health professionals in aiding appropriate diagnosis and treatment. Information systems allow the automation of internal quality management processes, using standard sample tests, Levey-Jennings charts and Westgard multirule analysis. This simplifies evaluation and interpretation of quality tests and reduces the possibility of human error. This study proposes the development of an information system with appropriate functions and costs for the automation of internal quality control in small and medium-sized clinical laboratories. To this end, it evaluates the functions and usability of two commercial software products designed for this purpose, identifying the positive features of each, so that these can be taken into account during the development of the proposed system

  13. Image registration assessment in radiotherapy image guidance based on control chart monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xia, Wenyao; Breen, Stephen L

    2018-04-01

    Image guidance with cone beam computed tomography in radiotherapy can guarantee the precision and accuracy of patient positioning prior to treatment delivery. During the image guidance process, operators need to take great effort to evaluate the image guidance quality before correcting a patient's position. This work proposes an image registration assessment method based on control chart monitoring to reduce the effort taken by the operator. According to the control chart plotted by daily registration scores of each patient, the proposed method can quickly detect both alignment errors and image quality inconsistency. Therefore, the proposed method can provide a clear guideline for the operators to identify unacceptable image quality and unacceptable image registration with minimal effort. Experimental results demonstrate that by using control charts from a clinical database of 10 patients undergoing prostate radiotherapy, the proposed method can quickly identify out-of-control signals and find special cause of out-of-control registration events.

  14. The impact of electronic education on metabolic control indicators in patients with diabetes who need insulin: a randomised clinical control trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moattari, Marzieh; Hashemi, Maryam; Dabbaghmanesh, Mohammad H

    2013-01-01

    To determine the impact of electronic education on metabolic control indicators in patients with diabetes who were insulin dependent. Education can play an important role in controlling diabetes. Electronic (web-based, telehealth) education may be an efficient way to improve the patients' ability to control this disease. Randomised clinical control study. The participants in this clinical study were 48 insulin-dependent patients referred to diabetes centres in Shiraz, Iran. Serum concentrations of haemoglobin A(1C) , fasting blood sugar, triglycerides and high-density and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were measured. Then the participants were divided randomly into control and experimental groups (n = 24). Participants in the experimental group received a specially designed electronic education programme for twelve weeks. The main components of the programme were a consultation service, quick answers to patients' questions, contact with the healthcare team and educational materials. At the end of the intervention period, all serum values were measured again in both groups. The data were compared using spss v 13·5 software. Serum concentrations of haemoglobin A(1C) (p education programme was useful in lowering two metabolic indicators of diabetes. Electronic education can be associated with increased health and patient satisfaction, and can eliminate the need to train personnel. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  15. A Novel Percutaneous Electrode Implant for Improving Robustness in Advanced Myoelectric Control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janne M. Hahne

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Despite several decades of research, electrically powered hand and arm prostheses are still controlled with very simple algorithms that process the surface electromyogram (EMG of remnant muscles to achieve control of one prosthetic function at a time. More advanced machine learning methods have shown promising results under laboratory conditions. However, limited robustness has largely prevented the transfer of these laboratory advances to clinical applications. In this paper, we introduce a novel percutaneous EMG electrode to be implanted chronically with the aim of improving the reliability of EMG detection in myoelectric control. The proposed electrode requires a minimally invasive procedure for its implantation, similar to a cosmetic micro-dermal implant. Moreover, being percutaneous, it does not require power and data telemetry modules. Four of these electrodes were chronically implanted in the forearm of an able-bodied human volunteer for testing their characteristics. The implants showed significantly lower impedance and greater robustness against mechanical interference than traditional surface EMG electrodes used for myoelectric control. Moreover, the EMG signals detected by the proposed systems allowed more stable control performance across sessions in different days than that achieved with classic EMG electrodes. In conclusion, the proposed implants may be a promising interface for clinically available prostheses.

  16. Embodied and exbodied mind in clinical psychology. A proposal for a psycho-social interpretation of mental disorders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zatti, Alberto; Zarbo, Cristina

    2015-01-01

    A brief theoretical review of the current state of the art of embodiment research in clinical psychology has been expounded in order to highlight the key role that embodied conceptualization has on the understanding and explanation of several mental disorders, such as eating disorders, schizophrenia and depression. Evidence has suggested that mental disorders may be explained as disturbances of embodiment, from the disembodiment to the hyperembodiment. In order to understand how some clinical conditions are affected by cultural models, we propose and define a new framework called Exbodiment, complementary to the Embodiment approach to cognition. Mental disorder is strictly related to the subject-culture interaction that may be explained as a two way process in which embodiment and exbodiment are complementary points of view. In this perspective, embodiment may be seen as the “top-down” process, while exbodiment the “bottom-up” one. The introduction of exbodiment conceptualization highlights how subject is both receiver and interpreter of social influence. Subject is the target of a cultural pressure and, at the same time, enacts its own embodied culture in world. Exbodiment conceptualization may help clinicians to better understand and explain the role of culture in the onset and maintenance of mental disorders. PMID:25784894

  17. EMBODIED AND EXBODIED MIND IN CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY. A PROPOSAL FOR A PSYCHO-SOCIAL INTERPRETATION OF MENTAL DISORDERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alberto eZatti

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available A brief theoretical review of the current state of the art of embodiment research in clinical psychology has been expounded in order to highlight the key role that embodied conceptualization has on the understanding and explanation of several mental disorders, such as eating disorders, schizophrenia and depression. Evidence has suggested that mental disorders may be explained as disturbances of embodiment, from the disembodiment to the hyperembodiment. In order to understand how some clinical conditions are affected by cultural models, we propose and define a new framework called Exbodiment, complementary to the Embodiment approach to cognition. Mental disorder is strictly related to the subject-culture interaction that may be explained as a two way process in which embodiment and exbodiment are complementary points of view. In this perspective, embodiment may be seen as the top-down process, while exbodiment the bottom-up one. The introduction of exbodiment conceptualization highlights how subject is both receiver and interpreter of social influence. Subject is the target of a cultural pressure and, at the same time, enacts its own embodied culture in world. Exbodiment conceptualization may help clinicians to better understand and explain the role of culture in the onset and maintenance of mental disorders.

  18. Statistical inference on censored data for targeted clinical trials under enrichment design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Chen-Fang; Lin, Jr-Rung; Liu, Jen-Pei

    2013-01-01

    For the traditional clinical trials, inclusion and exclusion criteria are usually based on some clinical endpoints; the genetic or genomic variability of the trial participants are not totally utilized in the criteria. After completion of the human genome project, the disease targets at the molecular level can be identified and can be utilized for the treatment of diseases. However, the accuracy of diagnostic devices for identification of such molecular targets is usually not perfect. Some of the patients enrolled in targeted clinical trials with a positive result for the molecular target might not have the specific molecular targets. As a result, the treatment effect may be underestimated in the patient population truly with the molecular target. To resolve this issue, under the exponential distribution, we develop inferential procedures for the treatment effects of the targeted drug based on the censored endpoints in the patients truly with the molecular targets. Under an enrichment design, we propose using the expectation-maximization algorithm in conjunction with the bootstrap technique to incorporate the inaccuracy of the diagnostic device for detection of the molecular targets on the inference of the treatment effects. A simulation study was conducted to empirically investigate the performance of the proposed methods. Simulation results demonstrate that under the exponential distribution, the proposed estimator is nearly unbiased with adequate precision, and the confidence interval can provide adequate coverage probability. In addition, the proposed testing procedure can adequately control the size with sufficient power. On the other hand, when the proportional hazard assumption is violated, additional simulation studies show that the type I error rate is not controlled at the nominal level and is an increasing function of the positive predictive value. A numerical example illustrates the proposed procedures. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  19. ADAP: A Divorce Assessment Proposal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreiro, Beverly Webster; And Others

    1986-01-01

    Proposed guidelines for mental health clinicians in assessing clients' divorce-related concerns. Current empirical information on factors affecting individual and family adjustment after divorce is organized into a practical format for clinical application. Details a comprehensive assessment that will help the clinician to understand the client's…

  20. Clinical and neurobiological effects of aerobic exercise in dental phobia: A randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindenberger, Brigitt L; Plag, Jens; Schumacher, Sarah; Gaudlitz, Katharina; Bischoff, Sophie; Bobbert, Thomas; Dimeo, Fernando; Petzold, Moritz B; Kirschbaum, Clemens; Dudás, Zsuzsa; Ströhle, Andreas

    2017-11-01

    Physical activity has shown to be effective in anxiety disorders. For specific phobia, no studies are available that systematically examined the effects of an aerobic exercise intervention on phobic fear within a randomized-controlled design. Therefore, we investigated the acute effect of a standardized aerobic training on clinical symptoms of dental phobia as well as on stress-related neurobiological markers. Within a crossover design, 30 patients with dental phobia (mean age: 34.1 years; mean score of the Dental Anxiety Scale: 18.8) underwent two minor dental interventions separated by 7 days. Dental treatment was performed after 30 min of physical activity at either 20% VO 2 max (control) or 70% VO 2 max (intervention), respectively. To control for habituation, patients were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions prior to the first intervention. Moreover, saliva samples were collected at five times in order to determine changes in salivary cortisol (sC) and alpha-amylase (sAA) due to treatment. In comparison to baseline, aerobic exercise within 70% VO 2 max significantly reduced clinical anxiety and sC concentrations before, during, and after the dental treatment. In contrast, the control condition led to decreased sAA levels at different time points of measurement. Habituation occurred at the second study day, independent of the order. Our study provides evidence for an effect of moderate-intense exercise on clinical symptoms and sC in patients with dental phobia. Therefore, acute aerobic exercise might be a simple and low-cost intervention to reduce disorder-specific phobic fear. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  1. Antiviral Drug Research Proposal Activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa Injaian

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available The development of antiviral drugs provides an excellent example of how basic and clinical research must be used together in order to achieve the final goal of treating disease. A Research Oriented Learning Activity was designed to help students to better understand how basic and clinical research can be combined toward a common goal. Through this project students gained a better understanding of the process of scientific research and increased their information literacy in the field of virology. The students worked as teams to research the many aspects involved in the antiviral drug design process, with each student becoming an "expert" in one aspect of the project. The Antiviral Drug Research Proposal (ADRP culminated with students presenting their proposals to their peers and local virologists in a poster session. Assessment data showed increased student awareness and knowledge of the research process and the steps involved in the development of antiviral drugs as a result of this activity.

  2. Reliability of diagnostic imaging techniques in suspected acute appendicitis: proposed diagnostic protocol

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cura del, J. L.; Oleaga, L.; Grande, D.; Vela, A. C.; Ibanez, A. M.

    2001-01-01

    To study the utility of ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) in case of suspected appendicitis. To determine the diagnostic yield in terms of different clinical contexts and patient characteristics. to assess the costs and benefits of introducing these techniques and propose a protocol for their use. Negative appendectomies, complications and length of hospital stay in a group of 152 patients with suspected appendicitis who underwent ultrasound and CT were compared with those of 180 patients who underwent appendectomy during the same time period, but had not been selected for the first group: these patients costs for each group were calculated. In the first group, the diagnostic value of the clinical signs was also evaluated. The reliability of the clinical signs was limited, while the results with ultrasound and CT were excellent. The incidence of negative appendectomy was 9.6% in the study group and 12.2% in the control group. Moreover, there were fewer complications and a shorter hospital stay in the first group. Among men, however, the rate of negative appendectomy was lower in the control group. The cost of using ultrasound and CT in the management of appendicitis was only slightly higher than that of the control group. Although ultrasound and CT are not necessary in cases in which the probability of appendicitis is low or in men presenting clear clinical evidence, the use of these techniques is indicated in the remaining cases in which appendicitis is suspected. In children, ultrasound is the technique of choice. In all other patients, if negative results are obtained with one of the two techniques, the other should be performed. (Author) 49 refs

  3. A realistic closed-form radiobiological model of clinical tumor-control data incorporating intertumor heterogeneity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roberts, Stephen A.; Hendry, Jolyon H.

    1998-01-01

    Purpose: To investigate the role of intertumor heterogeneity in clinical tumor control datasets and the relationship to in vitro measurements of tumor biopsy samples. Specifically, to develop a modified linear-quadratic (LQ) model incorporating such heterogeneity that it is practical to fit to clinical tumor-control datasets. Methods and Materials: We developed a modified version of the linear-quadratic (LQ) model for tumor control, incorporating a (lagged) time factor to allow for tumor cell repopulation. We explicitly took into account the interpatient heterogeneity in clonogen number, radiosensitivity, and repopulation rate. Using this model, we could generate realistic TCP curves using parameter estimates consistent with those reported from in vitro studies, subject to the inclusion of a radiosensitivity (or dose)-modifying factor. We then demonstrated that the model was dominated by the heterogeneity in α (tumor radiosensitivity) and derived an approximate simplified model incorporating this heterogeneity. This simplified model is expressible in a compact closed form, which it is practical to fit to clinical datasets. Using two previously analysed datasets, we fit the model using direct maximum-likelihood techniques and obtained parameter estimates that were, again, consistent with the experimental data on the radiosensitivity of primary human tumor cells. This heterogeneity model includes the same number of adjustable parameters as the standard LQ model. Results: The modified model provides parameter estimates that can easily be reconciled with the in vitro measurements. The simplified (approximate) form of the heterogeneity model is a compact, closed-form probit function that can readily be fitted to clinical series by conventional maximum-likelihood methodology. This heterogeneity model provides a slightly better fit to the datasets than the conventional LQ model, with the same numbers of fitted parameters. The parameter estimates of the clinically

  4. Effects of selenium on short-term control of hyperthyroidism due to Graves' disease treated with methimazole: results of a randomized clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leo, M; Bartalena, L; Rotondo Dottore, G; Piantanida, E; Premoli, P; Ionni, I; Di Cera, M; Masiello, E; Sassi, L; Tanda, M L; Latrofa, F; Vitti, P; Marcocci, C; Marinò, M

    2017-03-01

    In spite of previous conflicting results, an adjuvant role of selenium in the treatment of Graves' disease (GD) hyperthyroidism has been proposed. To address this issue, a randomized clinical trial was carried out aimed at investigating whether selenium is beneficial on the short-term control of GD hyperthyroidism treated with methimazole (MMI). Thirty newly diagnosed hyperthyroid GD patients were randomly assigned to treatment with: (i) MMI or (ii) MMI plus selenium. Primary outcomes were: control of hyperthyroidism and clinical and biochemical manifestations of hyperthyroidism [heart rate, cholesterol, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), hyperthyroidism symptoms] at 90 days. Baseline features of the two groups did not differ. Serum selenium at baseline was similar in the two groups and within the recommended range to define selenium sufficiency. Selenium increased with treatment in the MMI-selenium group and became significantly higher than in the MMI group. Serum malondialdehyde, a marker of oxidative stress, was similar in the two groups and decreased significantly with treatment, with no difference between groups. Administration of MMI was followed by a reduction of FT 3 and FT 4 , with no difference between groups. Heart rate, SHBG and symptoms of hyperthyroidism decreased, whereas total cholesterol increased in both groups with no difference between groups. Our study, carried out in a selenium-sufficient cohort of GD patients, failed to show an adjuvant role of selenium in the short-term control of hyperthyroidism. However, selenium might be beneficial in patients from selenium-deficient areas, as well as in the long-term outcome of antithyroid treatment.

  5. Parotid salivary parameters in bulimic patients – a controlled clinical trial.

    OpenAIRE

    Elżbieta Paszyńska; Agnieszka Słopień; Monika Węglarz; Roger W.A. Linden

    2015-01-01

    Objectives The aim of this study was to determine whether patients with purging-type bulimia and/or non-bulimic patients, treated with serotonin reuptake inhibitor SI-5-HT (fluoxetine), have dental erosion and changes in selected buffer components of parotid saliva (bicarbonates, phosphates, urea), compared with the healthy population. Methods A controlled clinical trial was designed for three, age-matched, female groups of 94 patients: 1) bulimic patients treated with fluoxetin...

  6. The accuracy and clinical feasibility of a new Bayesian-based closed-loop control system for propofol administration using the bispectral index as a controlled variable

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    De Smet, Tom; Struys, Michel M. R. F.; Neckebroek, Martine M.; Van den Hauwe, Kristof; Bonte, Sjoert; Mortier, Eric P.

    2008-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Closed-loop control of the hypnotic component of anesthesia has been proposed in an attempt to optimize drug delivery. Here, we introduce a newly developed Bayesian-based, patient-individualized, model-based, adaptive control method for bispectral index (BIS) guided propofol infusion

  7. Reduction of missed appointments at an urban primary care clinic: a randomised controlled study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Calmy Alexandra

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Missed appointments are known to interfere with appropriate care and to misspend medical and administrative resources. The aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of a sequential intervention reminding patients of their upcoming appointment and to identify the profile of patients missing their appointments. Methods We conducted a randomised controlled study in an urban primary care clinic at the Geneva University Hospitals serving a majority of vulnerable patients. All patients booked in a primary care or HIV clinic at the Geneva University Hospitals were sent a reminder 48 hrs prior to their appointment according to the following sequential intervention: 1. Phone call (fixed or mobile reminder; 2. If no phone response: a Short Message Service (SMS reminder; 3. If no available mobile phone number: a postal reminder. The rate of missed appointment, the cost of the intervention, and the profile of patients missing their appointment were recorded. Results 2123 patients were included: 1052 in the intervention group, 1071 in the control group. Only 61.7% patients had a mobile phone recorded at the clinic. The sequential intervention significantly reduced the rate of missed appointments: 11.4% (n = 122 in the control group and 7.8% (n = 82 in the intervention group (p 1year (OR 2.2; CI: 1.15-4.2, substance abuse (2.09, CI 1.21-3.61, and being an asylum seeker (OR 2.73: CI 1.22-6.09. Conclusion A practical reminder system can significantly increase patient attendance at medical outpatient clinics. An intervention focused on specific patient characteristics could further increase the effectiveness of appointment reminders.

  8. [On-site quality control of acupuncture randomized controlled trial: design of content and checklist of quality control based on PICOST].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hong-Jiao; He, Li-Yun; Liu, Zhi-Shun; Sun, Ya-Nan; Yan, Shi-Yan; Liu, Jia; Zhao, Ye; Liu, Bao-Yan

    2014-02-01

    To effectively guarantee quality of randomized controlld trial (RCT) of acupuncture and develop reasonable content and checklist of on-site quality control, influencing factors on quality of acupuncture RCT are analyzed and scientificity of quality control content and feasibility of on-site manipulation are put into overall consideration. Based on content and checklist of on-site quality control in National 11th Five-Year Plan Project Optimization of Comprehensive Treatment Plan for TCM in Prevention and Treatment of Serious Disease and Clinical Assessment on Generic Technology and Quality Control Research, it is proposed that on-site quality control of acupuncture RCT should be conducted with PICOST (patient, intervention, comparison, out come, site and time) as core, especially on quality control of interveners' skills and outcome assessment of blinding, and checklist of on-site quality control is developed to provide references for undertaking groups of the project.

  9. Effect of aromatherapy massage on menopausal symptoms: a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darsareh, Fatemeh; Taavoni, Simin; Joolaee, Soodabeh; Haghani, Hamid

    2012-09-01

    Menopause is a significant event in most women's lives because it marks the end of a woman's natural reproductive life. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of aromatherapy massage on menopausal symptoms. A randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted at a menopausal clinic at a gynecology hospital in Tehran. The study population comprised 90 women who were assigned to an aromatherapy massage group, a placebo massage group, or a control group. Each participant in the aromatherapy massage group received 30-minute aromatherapy treatment sessions twice a week for 4 weeks with aroma oil, whereas participants in the placebo massage group received the same treatment with plain oil. No treatment was provided to participants in the control group. The outcome measures in this study were menopausal symptoms, as obtained through the Menopause Rating Scale. The mean baseline level of the menopausal score did not differ among all groups. However, after eight sessions of intervention, the Menopause Rating Scale score differed significantly among the three groups (P aromatherapy massage group and the placebo massage group had a lower menopausal score than the control group (P aromatherapy massage and the placebo massage groups were compared, the menopausal score for the aromatherapy massage group was found to be significantly lower (P aromatherapy massage were effective in reducing menopausal symptoms. However, aromatherapy massage was more effective than only massage.

  10. Glucose control and diabetic neuropathy: lessons from recent large clinical trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ang, Lynn; Jaiswal, Mamta; Martin, Catherine; Pop-Busui, Rodica

    2014-01-01

    Diabetic peripheral and autonomic neuropathies are common complications of diabetes with broad spectrums of clinical manifestations and high morbidity. Studies using various agents to target the pathways implicated in the development and progression of diabetic neuropathy were promising in animal models. In humans, however, randomized controlled studies have failed to show efficacy on objective measures of neuropathy. The complex anatomy of the peripheral and autonomic nervous systems, the multitude of pathogenic mechanisms involved, and the lack of uniformity of neuropathy measures have likely contributed to these failures. To date, tight glycemic control is the only strategy convincingly shown to prevent or delay the development of neuropathy in patients with type 1 diabetes and to slow the progression of neuropathy in some patients with type 2 diabetes. Lessons learned about the role of glycemic control on distal symmetrical polyneuropathy and cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy are discussed in this review.

  11. Proposal of a clinical typing system and generation of a prognostic model in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma from Southern China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Peng; Chen, Cui; Chen, Xin-Lin; Cheng, Yi-Kan; Zeng, Lei; Zeng, Zhi-Jian; Liu, Li-Zhi; Su, Yong; Gu, Mo-Fa

    2014-01-01

    To propose a novel clinical typing classification focusing on the distinct progression patterns of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), to supplement our knowledge of the clinical-biological behavior, to provide useful knowledge for treatment planning, and to contribute to basic research in NPC. 632 consecutive patients were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed according to the novel typing system. We considered that NPC can be divided into 5 types as follows: limited (L), ascending (A), descending (D) ascending- descending (mixed) (AD), and distant metastasis types (M). The distribution of these clinical types, their association with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) serology and prognostic value were explored. 55 (8.70%), 59 (9.34%), 177 (28.01%), 321 (50.79%) and 20 (3.16%) patients were classified as Type L, A, D, AD and M, respectively. EBV (VCA)-IgA titers, EBV early antigen (EA)-IgA serum titers, and capsid antigen lg(EBV DNA) were positively associated with the clinical typing (pTypes L, A, D, AD and M were 100, 100, 95.10, 88.20 and 59.30%, respectively (ptype, which were independent predictors of OS (multivariate Cox proportional model). The prognostic model stratified patients into 4 risk subgroups. The 3-year OS rates of the low, intermediate, high and extremely high risk groups were 99.5, 90.0, 85.5 and 53.2%, respectively (ptyping system and prognostic model can supplement TNM classification, and may help design novel treatment strategies, evaluate risk stratification and investigate the varied biological characteristics of NPC.

  12. Exploring the Proposed DSM-5 Criteria in a Clinical Sample

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taheri, Azin; Perry, Adrienne

    2012-01-01

    The proposed DSM-5 criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) depart substantially from the previous DSM-IV criteria. In this file review study of 131 children aged 2-12, previously diagnosed with either Autistic Disorder or Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), 63% met the new DSM-5 ASD criteria, including 81%…

  13. Detecting the simulation profile in MMPI-2: A proposal based on research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guadalupe Sánchez Crespo

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to offer a profile detector of the falsifications that could be done to the MMPI-2. We propose minimal changes in the reversed order of the direct punctuations of L y K and the addition of four new specific scales: Odecp, Ds-r, S, F-K. Two groups were used: a control group, composed by normal and clinical subgroups who answered to the MMPI-2 according to standard procedure, and an experimental group, composed by three subgroups with different answer instructions: to give a good image, a bad image or an inconsistent answer. The result is a profile with the proposed scales of validity that initially allow the detection of different falsifications by the subjects when answering the MMPI-2 test.

  14. A sterile-female technique proposed for control of Striga hermonthica and other intractable weeds: Advantages, shortcomings, and risk management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weeds have posed intractable challenges to farmers since the dawn of agriculture. This article describes in detail a proposed control strategy based on the introduction of genes conferring female-sterility into the genomes of intractable target weeds. Spread of these genes through target populations...

  15. Economic Model Predictive Control of Bihormonal Artificial Pancreas System Based on Switching Control and Dynamic R-parameter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Fengna; Wang, Youqing

    2017-11-01

    Blood glucose (BG) regulation is a long-term task for people with diabetes. In recent years, more and more researchers have attempted to achieve automated regulation of BG using automatic control algorithms, called the artificial pancreas (AP) system. In clinical practice, it is equally important to guarantee the treatment effect and reduce the treatment costs. The main motivation of this study is to reduce the cure burden. The dynamic R-parameter economic model predictive control (R-EMPC) is chosen to regulate the delivery rates of exogenous hormones (insulin and glucagon). It uses particle swarm optimization (PSO) to optimize the economic cost function and the switching logic between insulin delivery and glucagon delivery is designed based on switching control theory. The proposed method is first tested on the standard subject; the result is compared with the switching PID and the switching MPC. The effect of the dynamic R-parameter on improving the control performance is illustrated by comparing the results of the EMPC and the R-EMPC. Finally, the robustness tests on meal change (size and timing), hormone sensitivity (insulin and glucagon), and subject variability are performed. All results show that the proposed method can improve the control performance and reduce the economic costs. The simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm on improving the tracking performance, enhancing robustness, and reducing economic costs. The method proposed in this study owns great worth in practical application.

  16. The Relations Between Temperament, Character, and Executive Functions in Children With ADHD and Clinical Controls

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Drechsler, Renate; Zulauf Logoz, Marina; Walitza, Susanne

    2017-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the overlap between executive functions and temperament as measured by two questionnaires and to examine characteristic profiles in children with ADHD and clinical controls. METHOD: Parents of 111 clinically referred children, half of whom...... were diagnosed with ADHD and half with other or no diagnoses, completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) and the Cloninger Junior Temperament and Character Inventory (JTCI). RESULTS: Factor analysis of both instruments resulted in three common factors representing aspects...... disorder (CD/ODD) but not ADHD accounted for problems in BRIEF Emotional Control and Self-Monitor and JTCI low Cooperativeness. CONCLUSION: The two instruments only partially overlap and may complement each other....

  17. [Prevention of intrauterine adhesion with auto-crosslinked hyaluronic acid gel: a prospective, randomized, controlled clinical study].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Songshu; Wan, Yajun; Zou, Fangjun; Ye, Mingzhu; Deng, Henan; Ma, Jiezhi; Wei, Yingying; Tan, Chen; Xue, Min

    2015-01-01

    To evaluate the efficacy and safety of auto-crosslinked hyaluronic acid (HA) gel for preventing intrauterine adhesion (IUA) after hysteroscopic adhesiolysis. A prospective, randomized, double blinded and controlled clinical trial (level I) was performed. According to American Fertility Society (AFS) scoring system, 120 patients (treatment group: 60 cases, control group: 60 cases) with moderate to severe IUA were enrolled. Upon completion of adhesiolysis, a Foley balloon catheter was first introduced into the uterine cavity and then 3 ml of auto-crosslinked HA gel for patients in the treatment group; patients in the control group, however, only received Foley balloon catheter. Second-look hysteroscopic examination was performed to all patients at 3 months postoperatively for evaluation of IUA. Primary endpoint was the reduction rate of IUA at 3 months after surgery. The secondary endpoints include total AFS score, score of each individual AFS category. At 3 months after surgery, auto-crosslinked HA gel resulted in significantly higher effective rate for reduction of adhesion, the effective rate were 76% (42/55) and 48% (27/56) respectively (P = 0.000 9); the total AFS score of treatment group was 2.1 ± 1.1, and significantly lower than that of control group (3.7 ± 2.5, P = 0.000 8). Application of auto-crosslinked HA gel after surgery significantly enhanced the improvement for each individual patient with regard to their adhesive type and menstrual pattern (P = 0.037 8, P = 0.000 4). The treatment group had significantly lower proportion of patients with moderate to severe adhesive stages than that of control group [13% (7/55) versus 38% (21/56), P = 0.000 6]. No adverse events and complications were observed. Auto-crosslinked HA gel coule be able to reduce IUA, decrease adhesion severity, and improve menopause postoperatively. This absorbable auto-crosslinked HA gel is proposed as a barrier for preventing IUA after intrauterine procedures.

  18. Clinical predictors of rectal lymphogranuloma venereum infection: results from a multicentre case-control study in the U.K.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pallawela, S N S; Sullivan, A K; Macdonald, N; French, P; White, J; Dean, G; Smith, A; Winter, A J; Mandalia, S; Alexander, S; Ison, C; Ward, H

    2014-06-01

    Since 2003, over 2000 cases of lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) have been diagnosed in the U.K. in men who have sex with men (MSM). Most cases present with proctitis, but there are limited data on how to differentiate clinically between LGV and other pathology. We analysed the clinical presentations of rectal LGV in MSM to identify clinical characteristics predictive of LGV proctitis and produced a clinical prediction model. A prospective multicentre case-control study was conducted at six U.K. hospitals from 2008 to 2010. Cases of rectal LGV were compared with controls with rectal symptoms but without LGV. Data from 98 LGV cases and 81 controls were collected from patients and clinicians using computer-assisted self-interviews and clinical report forms. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to compare symptoms and signs. Clinical prediction models for LGV were compared using receiver operating curves. Tenesmus, constipation, anal discharge and weight loss were significantly more common in cases than controls. In multivariate analysis, tenesmus and constipation alone were suggestive of LGV (OR 2.98, 95% CI 0.99 to 8.98 and 2.87, 95% CI 1.01 to 8.15, respectively) and that tenesmus alone or in combination with constipation was a significant predictor of LGV (OR 6.97, 95% CI 2.71 to 17.92). The best clinical prediction was having one or more of tenesmus, constipation and exudate on proctoscopy, with a sensitivity of 77% and specificity of 65%. This study indicates that tenesmus alone or in combination with constipation makes a diagnosis of LGV in MSM presenting with rectal symptoms more likely. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  19. Muscle dysmorphia: a critical review of the proposed criteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, B

    2001-01-01

    While body-image related disorders such as anorexia nervosa have focused on thinness, only recently have clinical criteria for a disorder that centers around muscularity--muscle dysmorphia--been proposed. An individual affected by muscle dysmorphia is overly concerned with his or her degree of muscularity. This preoccupation is manifested in the individual's behavior (excessive weight lifting, excessive attention to diet, social impairment). This article examines the historical aspects and proposed criteria for muscle dysmorphia and contrasts them with those of anorexia nervosa. While the authors of the proposed criteria have suggested that muscle dysmorphia be classified as a subcategory of body dysmorphic disorder, both the historical and clinical aspects of this syndrome are more consistent with its classification as an obsessive-compulsive disorder.

  20. WeChat Public Account Use Improves Clinical Control of Cough-Variant Asthma: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Yuan; Lin, Shi-Hua; Zhu, Ding; Xu, Feng; Chen, Zhi-Hua; Shen, Hua-Hao; Li, Wen

    2018-03-14

    BACKGROUND WeChat is a convenient and popular social medium, and it seems to be an appropriate platform for education and management of patients. This study sought to identify usefulness in clinical control of cough-variant asthma (CVA). MATERIAL AND METHODS A randomized controlled trial was conducted among 80 CVA patients. After being assigned to either the traditional group (TG) or the WeChat group (WG), they received the same inhalation therapy, but patients in WG received additional education and instruction via our public account on the WeChat application. Questionnaires on asthma and chronic cough, data on pulmonary function, blood-related items, follow-up adherence, and Emergency Department (ED) visits were collected at the initial visit and at 3 months. RESULTS A total of 67 participants completed the trial for analysis. FEV1/predicted and FEV1/FVC were significantly increased in WG (pWeChat as part of treatment and management of CVA can help patients learn about their disease and medications, as well as improve disease control and therapy outcomes.

  1. The Epidemiology, Clinical Characteristic,Transmission Potential and Control Measures of Zika Virus Infection%The Epidemiology,Clinical Characteristic,Transmission Potential and Control Measures of Zika Virus Infection

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    ALOTAIBIABDULLAHSAUDM; ALANAZIMANSOURRASHEDM; AHMADMEESAQ

    2017-01-01

    Zika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging mosquito born positive standard RNA arbovirus of Flaviviriadae family.Zika virus has been identified sporadically in human in Africa and Asia;however,clinically consequential Zika virus disease had not been documented before to the recent outbreak in the America in 2015.It is rapidly spread across the America and its devastating outcomes for pregnant women and infants.Prior to outbreak of America,Zika virus outbreaks occurred in Yap Island in Micronesia in 2007 and in French Polynesia in 2013.The World Health Organisation (WHO) declarer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on February 1,2016.Because of the continuous geographicexpansion of both the virus and its mosquito vectors,ZIKV poses a serious threat to public health aroundthe globe.This review summarizes a fast growing body of literature on the history,epidemiology,transmission,clinical presentation and control measures to prevent the transmission of Zika virus.

  2. Proposed Rectal Dose Constraints for Patients Undergoing Definitive Whole Pelvic Radiotherapy for Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chan, Linda W.; Xia Ping; Gottschalk, Alexander R.; Akazawa, Michelle; Scala, Matthew; Pickett, Barby M.S.; Hsu, I-C.; Speight, Joycelyn; Roach, Mack

    2008-01-01

    Purpose: Although several institutions have reported rectal dose constraints according to threshold toxicity, the plethora of trials has resulted in multiple, confusing dose-volume histogram recommendations. A set of standardized, literature-based constraints for patients undergoing whole pelvic radiotherapy (RT) for prostate cancer would help guide the practice of prostate RT. The purpose of this study was to develop these constraints, demonstrate that they are achievable, and assess the corresponding rectal toxicity. Methods and Materials: An extensive literature search identified eight key studies relating dose-volume histogram data to rectal toxicity. A correction factor was developed to address differences in the anatomic definition of the rectum across studies. The dose-volume histogram constraints recommended by each study were combined to generate the constraints. The data from all patients treated with definitive intensity-modulated RT were then compared against these constraints. Acute rectal toxicity was assessed. Results: A continuous, proposed rectal dose-constraint curve was generated. Intensity-modulated RT not only met this constraint curve, but also was able to achieve at least 30-40% lower dose to the rectum. The preliminary clinical results were also positive: 50% of patients reported no acute bowel toxicity, 33% reported Grade 1 toxicity, and 17% reported Grade 2 toxicity. No patients reported Grade 3-4 acute rectal toxicity. Conclusions: In this study, we developed a set of proposed rectal dose constraints. This allowed for volumetric assessment of the dose-volume relationship compared with single dose-volume histogram points. Additional research will be performed to validate this threshold as a class solution for rectal dose constraints

  3. Pragmatic controlled clinical trials in primary care: the struggle between external and internal validity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Birtwhistle Richard

    2003-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Controlled clinical trials of health care interventions are either explanatory or pragmatic. Explanatory trials test whether an intervention is efficacious; that is, whether it can have a beneficial effect in an ideal situation. Pragmatic trials measure effectiveness; they measure the degree of beneficial effect in real clinical practice. In pragmatic trials, a balance between external validity (generalizability of the results and internal validity (reliability or accuracy of the results needs to be achieved. The explanatory trial seeks to maximize the internal validity by assuring rigorous control of all variables other than the intervention. The pragmatic trial seeks to maximize external validity to ensure that the results can be generalized. However the danger of pragmatic trials is that internal validity may be overly compromised in the effort to ensure generalizability. We are conducting two pragmatic randomized controlled trials on interventions in the management of hypertension in primary care. We describe the design of the trials and the steps taken to deal with the competing demands of external and internal validity. Discussion External validity is maximized by having few exclusion criteria and by allowing flexibility in the interpretation of the intervention and in management decisions. Internal validity is maximized by decreasing contamination bias through cluster randomization, and decreasing observer and assessment bias, in these non-blinded trials, through baseline data collection prior to randomization, automating the outcomes assessment with 24 hour ambulatory blood pressure monitors, and blinding the data analysis. Summary Clinical trials conducted in community practices present investigators with difficult methodological choices related to maintaining a balance between internal validity (reliability of the results and external validity (generalizability. The attempt to achieve methodological purity can

  4. Impulse control disorders in Parkinson's disease: clinical characteristics and implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leeman, Robert F; Potenza, Marc N

    2011-04-01

    Impulse control disorders (ICDs), specifically those related to excessive gambling, eating, sex and shopping, have been observed in a subset of people with Parkinson's disease (PD). Although some initial case reports claimed that dopamine replacement therapies, particularly dopamine agonists, cause ICDs, more recent, larger and better controlled studies indicate a more complicated picture. While dopamine replacement therapy use is related to ICDs, other vulnerabilities, some related to PD and/or its treatment directly and others seemingly unrelated to PD, have also been associated with ICDs in PD. This suggests a complex etiology with multiple contributing factors. As ICDs occur in a sizable minority of PD patients and can be associated with significant distress and impairment, further investigation is needed to identify factors that can predict who may be more likely to develop ICDs. Clinical implications are discussed and topics for future research are offered.

  5. Assessment of Newly Proposed Clinical Criteria to Identify HNF1A MODY in Patients with an Initial Diagnosis of Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Malgorzata Grzanka

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The most common form of maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY is caused by mutations in the hepatocyte nuclear factor 1A (HNF1A gene. However, most HNF1A mutation-carriers are initially misdiagnosed with type 1 (T1DM or type 2 (T2DM diabetes mellitus; hence, they often receive nonoptimal treatment. The aim of our study was to test newly proposed clinical criteria for the identification of HNF1A MODY in patients with a diagnosis of T1DM or T2DM. To achieve this, the following criteria to preselect patients for screening were used: for T1DM: TDIR (total daily insulin requirement > 0.3 IU of insulin/kg and the percentage of basal insulin > 30% of TDIR; for T2DM: sulphonylurea- (SU- based oral treatment (monotherapy or combined with Metformin > 15 years and BMI < 30 kg/m2. We reviewed the clinical data of 140 patients with T1DM and 524 clinically diagnosed with T2DM. On the basis of these criteria, we found a HNF1A mutation in 1 out of 2 individuals with a diagnosis of T1DM and 1 out of 11 selected individuals with a diagnosis of T2DM. We believe that the simplicity of the proposed criteria might prove useful in clinical practice, as an alternative to more time-consuming classical diagnostic techniques.

  6. Assessment of Newly Proposed Clinical Criteria to Identify HNF1A MODY in Patients with an Initial Diagnosis of Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grzanka, Malgorzata; Matejko, Bartlomiej; Szopa, Magdalena; Kiec-Wilk, Beata; Malecki, Maciej T; Klupa, Tomasz

    2016-01-01

    The most common form of maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) is caused by mutations in the hepatocyte nuclear factor 1A (HNF1A) gene. However, most HNF1A mutation-carriers are initially misdiagnosed with type 1 (T1DM) or type 2 (T2DM) diabetes mellitus; hence, they often receive nonoptimal treatment. The aim of our study was to test newly proposed clinical criteria for the identification of HNF1A MODY in patients with a diagnosis of T1DM or T2DM. To achieve this, the following criteria to preselect patients for screening were used: for T1DM: TDIR (total daily insulin requirement) > 0.3 IU of insulin/kg and the percentage of basal insulin > 30% of TDIR; for T2DM: sulphonylurea- (SU-) based oral treatment (monotherapy or combined with Metformin) > 15 years and BMI < 30 kg/m(2). We reviewed the clinical data of 140 patients with T1DM and 524 clinically diagnosed with T2DM. On the basis of these criteria, we found a HNF1A mutation in 1 out of 2 individuals with a diagnosis of T1DM and 1 out of 11 selected individuals with a diagnosis of T2DM. We believe that the simplicity of the proposed criteria might prove useful in clinical practice, as an alternative to more time-consuming classical diagnostic techniques.

  7. The Role of Serotonin (5-HT) in Behavioral Control: Findings from Animal Research and Clinical Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanchez, CL; Biskup, CS; Herpertz, S; Gaber, TJ; Kuhn, CM; Hood, SH

    2015-01-01

    The neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine both have a critical role in the underlying neurobiology of different behaviors. With focus on the interplay between dopamine and serotonin, it has been proposed that dopamine biases behavior towards habitual responding, and with serotonin offsetting this phenomenon and directing the balance toward more flexible, goal-directed responding. The present focus paper stands in close relationship to the publication by Worbe et al. (2015), which deals with the effects of acute tryptophan depletion, a neurodietary physiological method to decrease central nervous serotonin synthesis in humans for a short period of time, on the balance between hypothetical goal-directed and habitual systems. In that research, acute tryptophan depletion challenge administration and a following short-term reduction in central nervous serotonin synthesis were associated with a shift of behavioral performance towards habitual responding, providing further evidence that central nervous serotonin function modulates the balance between goal-directed and stimulus-response habitual systems of behavioral control. In the present focus paper, we discuss the findings by Worbe and colleagues in light of animal experiments as well as clinical implications and discuss potential future avenues for related research. PMID:25991656

  8. Proposals for changes in radiation protection standards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bowker, K.W.

    1990-01-01

    The International Commission on Radiological Protection has proposed changes to its recommendations on radiation protection standards. The proposed new control regime would distinguish between planned, potential and pre-existing exposure situations and between occupational, medical and public exposures. The proposals are expected to be published formally later this year. (author)

  9. 'Serial review on clinical PET tracers'. Manufacturing and quality control of positron emitting radiopharmaceuticals produced by in-house cyclotron

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saji, Hideo

    2009-01-01

    In order to establish PET diagnosis as a routine clinical tool, manufacture's compliance with regulations under the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) principle for PET radiopharmaceuticals is necessary. For this purpose, the Sub-committee on Medical Application of Positron Emitting Radionuclides, Medical Science and Pharmaceutical Committee of Japan Radioisotopes Association has proposed 'Standards for Compounds Labeled with Emitting Radionuclides Approved as Established Techniques for Medical Use'. This guideline includes the general notices, general rules for preparations, general tests for the quality control, quality of each PET agents, guideline for manufacturing environment and manufacturing process at manufacturing facilities of PET agents. Each facility should have a committee and establish an internal system to account for manufacturing compounds labeled with positron emitting radionuclides produced in the facility, and compile standards by referring to the 'Established Standard Techniques of Labeling Compounds with Emitting Radionuclides for use as Radiopharmaceuticals: approved by the Subcommittee on Medical Application of Cyclotron-Produced Radionuclides (revised in 2009)', in order to maintain the quality of radiopharmaceuticals. (author)

  10. Clinical correlates of between-limb synchronization of standing balance control and falls during inpatient stroke rehabilitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mansfield, Avril; Mochizuki, George; Inness, Elizabeth L; McIlroy, William E

    2012-01-01

    Stroke-related sensorimotor impairment potentially contributes to impaired balance. Balance measures that reveal underlying limb-specific control problems, such as a measure of the synchronization of both lower limbs to maintain standing balance, may be uniquely informative about poststroke balance control. This study aimed to determine the relationships between clinical measures of sensorimotor control, functional balance, and fall risk and between-limb synchronization of balance control. The authors conducted a retrospective chart review of 100 individuals with stroke admitted to inpatient rehabilitation. Force plate-based measures were obtained while standing on 2 force plates, including postural sway (root mean square of anteroposterior and mediolateral center of pressure [COP]), stance load asymmetry (percentage of body weight borne on the less-loaded limb), and between-limb synchronization (cross-correlation of the COP recordings under each foot). Clinical measures obtained were motor impairment (Chedoke-McMaster Stroke Assessment), plantar cutaneous sensation, functional balance (Berg Balance Scale), and falls experienced in rehabilitation. Synchronization was significantly related to motor impairment and prospective falls, even when controlling for other force plate-based measures of standing balance control (ie, postural sway and stance load symmetry). Between-limb COP synchronization for standing balance appears to be a uniquely important index of balance control, independent of postural sway and load symmetry during stance.

  11. Clinical application of CT-controlled stereotactic aspiration for intracerebral hematoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Weijian; Zhuge Qichuan; Zheng Rongyuan; Guo Xianzhong; Zhong Ming; Wu Jinsen; Qu Xuanxing

    2002-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate the clinical application of CT-controlled stereotactic aspiration for intracerebral hematoma. Methods: CT-guided stereotactic system was installed on the CT bed, and checked against a standard of the coordinate. According to controlled CT scan, the target can be adjusted at any time in the operation. 860 patients with cerebral hematoma underwent CT-controlled stereotactic aspiration. Of the 860 cases, basal ganglion hematoma was present in 408, thalamus and posterior limb of internal capsule hematoma in 136, cerebral lobe hematoma in 261, cerebellar hematoma in 5, ventricular hemorrhage in 10, midbrain and pons hemorrhage in 37, and medulla hemorrhage in 3. Results: Easy drainage of hematoma by aspiration was achieved in 586 cases, stickiness of hematoma with clearing away more than 50% was performed in 202 and less than 50% in 68. The operation duration ranged from 25 to 120 minutes (average 45 minutes). 693 cases survived and 167 cases died. According to the evaluation by active day life (ADL) after 3 months in survivors, ADL 1-2, ADL 3, ADL 4 and ADL 5 results were achieved in 378 cases, 166 cases, 107 cases, and 28 cases, respectively. In addition, 14 cases were lost beyond recall. Conclusion: CT-controlled stereotactic aspiration for intracerebral hematoma is a handy, less invasive, and safe procedure with high accuracy and curative effect, it is worth while popularizing the procedure

  12. Proposing an adaptive mutation to improve XCSF performance to classify ADHD and BMD patients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadatnezhad, Khadijeh; Boostani, Reza; Ghanizadeh, Ahmad

    2010-12-01

    There is extensive overlap of clinical symptoms observed among children with bipolar mood disorder (BMD) and those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Thus, diagnosis according to clinical symptoms cannot be very accurate. It is therefore desirable to develop quantitative criteria for automatic discrimination between these disorders. This study is aimed at designing an efficient decision maker to accurately classify ADHD and BMD patients by analyzing their electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. In this study, 22 channels of EEGs have been recorded from 21 subjects with ADHD and 22 individuals with BMD. Several informative features, such as fractal dimension, band power and autoregressive coefficients, were extracted from the recorded signals. Considering the multimodal overlapping distribution of the obtained features, linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was used to reduce the input dimension in a more separable space to make it more appropriate for the proposed classifier. A piecewise linear classifier based on the extended classifier system for function approximation (XCSF) was modified by developing an adaptive mutation rate, which was proportional to the genotypic content of best individuals and their fitness in each generation. The proposed operator controlled the trade-off between exploration and exploitation while maintaining the diversity in the classifier's population to avoid premature convergence. To assess the effectiveness of the proposed scheme, the extracted features were applied to support vector machine, LDA, nearest neighbor and XCSF classifiers. To evaluate the method, a noisy environment was simulated with different noise amplitudes. It is shown that the results of the proposed technique are more robust as compared to conventional classifiers. Statistical tests demonstrate that the proposed classifier is a promising method for discriminating between ADHD and BMD patients.

  13. Photobiomodulation versus light-emitting diode (LED) therapy in the treatment of temporomandibular disorder: study protocol for a randomized, controlled clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langella, Luciana G; Silva, Paula F C; Costa-Santos, Larissa; Gonçalves, Marcela L L; Motta, Lara J; Deana, Alessandro M; Fernandes, Kristianne P S; Mesquita-Ferrari, Raquel A; Bussadori, Sandra Kalil

    2018-01-26

    Temporomandibular disorder (TMD) is described as a subgroup of orofacial pain with a set of signs and symptoms that involve the temporomandibular joint, masticatory muscles, ears, and neck. TMD can occur unilaterally or bilaterally and approximately 70% of the population is affected with at least one sign. The disorder progresses with orofacial pain, muscle pain involving the masticatory and cervical muscles, joint noises (clicks and pops), joint block, mandibular dysfunction, and headache. The etiology can be abnormal occlusion and/or posture, trauma involving local tissues, repetitive microtrauma, parafunctional habits, and an increase in emotional stress. Studies have demonstrated that phototherapy is an efficient option for the treatment of TMD, leading to improvements in pain and orofacial function. The aim of the proposed study is to compare the effects of two sources of photobiomodulation in individuals with TMD. A randomized, controlled, double-blind, clinical trial is proposed, which will involve 80 individuals aged 18-65 years allocated to either a laser group or light-emitting diode (LED) group submitted to 12 sessions of phototherapy. The Research Diagnostic Criteria for TMDs will be used to evaluate all participants. Pain will be measured using the visual analog scale and maximum vertical mandibular movement will be determined with the aid of digital calipers. This study compares the effects of two modalities of laser therapy on the pain and orofacial function of patients with TMD dysfunction. Photobiomodulation and LED therapy are treatment options for reducing the inflammatory process and pain as well as inducing the regeneration of the target tissue. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03257748 . Registered on 8 August 2017.

  14. Comparing Two Exercise Programmes for the Management of Lateral Elbow Tendinopathy (Tennis Elbow/Lateral Epicondylitis—A Controlled Clinical Trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dimitrios Stasinopoulos

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Aim: To compare the effectiveness of supervised exercise programme as proposed by Stasinopoulos and colleagues with home exercise programme as proposed by Pienimaki and his coworkers in the treatment of lateral elbow tendinopathy. Design: Controlled clinical trial. Setting: Physiotherapy and rehabilitation centre. Participants: This trial was carried out with 60 patients, who had lateral elbow tendinopathy. Intervention: Group A (n = 30 had received supervised exercise programme, once per day for 4 weeks. Group B (n = 30 was treated with home exercise programme four to six times daily for 8 weeks. Outcome measures: pain, using a visual analogue scale, function, using a visual analogue scale for elbow function and the pain-free grip strength. Patients were evaluated at baseline, at the end of treatment (week 12, and 3 months (week 24 after the end of treatment. Results: Both the supervised and home exercise programme were found to be significantly effective in the reduction of pain and in the improvement of functional status. The supervised exercise programme resulted in significantly different improvement in comparison to those who received home exercise programme. Conclusion: A specific supervised exercise programme is superior to a specific home exercise programme in reducing pain and improving function in patients with LET at the end of the treatment and at the 3 month follow-up. Further research is needed to confirm our results.

  15. Clinical characteristics of impulse control and related disorders in Chinese Parkinson's disease patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yu; He, An Qi; Li, Lin; Chen, Wei; Liu, Zhen Guo

    2017-05-18

    Impulse control and related disorders (ICRDs) are clinically complications in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the clinical characteristics of ICRDs in Chinese PD patients were rarely reported. We aimed to explore the prevalence and the clinical profile of ICRDs in Chinese patients with PD. 142 Chinese PD patients were consecutively enrolled. The symptoms of ICRDs were assessed with the Questionnaire for Impulsive-Compulsive Disorders. The clinical characteristics of patients with ICRDs and without ICRDs were compared. ICRDs were present in 31% of our patients. The most common ICRDs were compulsive medication use (11.3%) and punding (9.2%); the least frequent were walkabout (1.4%). Variables independently associated with ICRDs were earlier onset of the disease (≤55 years), severe cognitive impairment (MMSE 10-20), the dose of dopamine agonist (>1 mg/d) and dyskinesia. ICRDs was commonly found in Chinese PD patients. Earlier onset of the disease, the dose of dopamine agonist, severe cognitive impairment and dyskinesia are independent factors associated with ICRDs. Our results will be benefit for clinicians to assess the risk of developing ICRDs before delivering dopaminergic medication.

  16. An approach to quality and performance control in a computer-assisted clinical chemistry laboratory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Undrill, P E; Frazer, S C

    1979-01-01

    A locally developed, computer-based clinical chemistry laboratory system has been in operation since 1970. This utilises a Digital Equipment Co Ltd PDP 12 and an interconnected PDP 8/F computer. Details are presented of the performance and quality control techniques incorporated into the system. Laboratory performance is assessed through analysis of results from fixed-level control sera as well as from cumulative sum methods. At a simple level the presentation may be considered purely indicative, while at a more sophisticated level statistical concepts have been introduced to aid the laboratory controller in decision-making processes. PMID:438340

  17. Comparison of bupivacaine, ropivacaine and levobupivacaine with sufentanil for patient-controlled epidural analgesia during labor: a randomized clinical trial

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    WANG Li-zhong; CHANG Xiang-yang; LIU Xia; HU Xiao-xia; TANG Bei-lei

    2010-01-01

    Background Ropivacaine and levobupivacaine have been introduced into obstetric analgesic practice with the proposed advantages of causing less motor block and toxicity compared with bupivacaine. However, it is still controversial whether both anesthetics are associated with any clinical benefit relative to bupivacaine for labor analgesia. This study aimed to compare the analgesic efficacy, motor block and side effects of bupivacaine, ropivacaine and levobupivacaine at lower concentrations for patient-controlled epidural labor analgesia. Methods Four hundred and fifty nulliparous parturients were enrolled in this randomized clinical trial. A concentration of 0.05%, 0.075%, 0.1%, 0.125% or 0.15% of either bupivacaine (Group B), ropivacaine (Group R) or levobupivacaine (Group L) with sufentanil 0.5 μg/ml was epidurally administered by patient-controlled analgesia mode. Effective analgesia was defined as a visual analogue scale score was ≤30 mm. The relative median potency for each local anesthetic was calculated using a probit regression model. Parturients demographics, sensory and motor blockade, obstetric data, maternal side effects, hourly volumes of local anesthetic used, and others were also noted. Results There were no significant differences among groups in the numbers of effective analgesia, pain scores, hourly local anesthetic amount used, sensory and motor blockade, labor duration and mode of delivery, side effects and maternal satisfaction (P >0.05). The relative median potency was bupivacaine/ropivacaine: 0.828 (0.602-1.091), bupivacaine/levobupivacaine: 0.845 (0.617-1.12), ropivacaine/levobupivacaine: 1.021 (0.774-1.354), respectively. However, a significantly less number of effective analgesia and higher hourly local anesthetic use were observed in the concentration of 0.05% than those of ≥0.1% within each group (P<0.05). Conclusions Using patient-controlled epidural analgesia, lower concentrations of bupivacaine, ropivacaine and levobupivacaine

  18. Cervix cancer: clinical aspects of tumoral control and radiotherapy treatment time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petitto, J.V.

    1994-01-01

    The author analyzed 35 patients with recurrence or residual tumor at the end of the radiotherapy program. These patients were selected out of a group of 338 patients cervix cancer who had also undergone on the same radiotherapy program. Those patients were compared with control group of 30 patients without clinical evidence of the disease, from the same group of 338 patients. It has studied the clinical results considering the total radiotherapy time to developed the radiation program and factors that could modify the time for a longer program, and also modify the final survival results. No significant difference was shown in this study, but it should be taken in consideration the total radiotherapy time, because this is a factor that could change the final results if the time would be longer than what was shown in this work. (author). 26 refs, 10 tabs

  19. Disciplined Decision Making in an Interdisciplinary Environment: Some Implications for Clinical Applications of Statistical Process Control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hantula, Donald A.

    1995-01-01

    Clinical applications of statistical process control (SPC) in human service organizations are considered. SPC is seen as providing a standard set of criteria that serves as a common interface for data-based decision making, which may bring decision making under the control of established contingencies rather than the immediate contingencies of…

  20. Additive Effect of Plasma Rich in Growth Factors With Guided Tissue Regeneration in Treatment of Intrabony Defects in Patients With Chronic Periodontitis: A Split-Mouth Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ravi, Sheethalan; Malaiappan, Sankari; Varghese, Sheeja; Jayakumar, Nadathur D; Prakasam, Gopinath

    2017-09-01

    Periodontal regeneration can be defined as complete restoration of lost periodontal tissues to their original architecture and function. A variety of treatment modalities have been proposed to achieve it. Plasma rich in growth factors (PRGF) is a concentrated suspension of growth factors that promotes restoration of lost periodontal tissues. The objective of the present study is to assess the effect of PRGF associated with guided tissue regeneration (GTR) versus GTR only in the treatment of intrabony defects (IBDs) in patients with chronic periodontitis (CP). Patients with CP (n = 14) with 42 contralateral 2- and 3-walled defects were randomly assigned to test (PRGF+GTR) and control (GTR alone) treatment groups. Clinical and radiographic assessments performed at baseline and after 6 months were: 1) gingival index (GI), 2) probing depth (PD), 3) clinical attachment level (CAL), 4) radiologic defect depth, and 5) bone fill. Comparison of parameters measured at baseline and after 6 months showed mean PD reduction of 3.37 ± 1.62 mm in the control group (P <0.001) and 4.13 ± 1.59 mm in the test group (P <0.001). There was a significant difference in mean change in CAL (P <0.001) in the control group (5.42 ± 1.99) and the test group (5.99 ± 1.77). Mean change in GI was 1.89 ± 0.32 and 1.68 ± 0.58 in the control group and test group, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P <0.001). When compared between groups, clinical parameters did not show any statistically significant variations. Mean radiographic bone fill was 1.06 ± 0.81 and 1.0 ± 0.97 in the control group and test group, respectively. However, the difference was not statistically significant. PRGF with GTR, as well as GTR alone, was effective in improving clinical and radiographic parameters of patients with CP at the 6-month follow-up. There was no additive effect of PRGF when used along with GTR in the treatment of IBDs in patients with CP in terms of both clinical and

  1. Adjunctive sarcosine plus benzoate improved cognitive function in chronic schizophrenia patients with constant clinical symptoms: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Chun-Yuan; Liang, Sun-Yuan; Chang, Yue-Cune; Ting, Shuo-Yen; Kao, Ching-Ling; Wu, Yu-Hsin; Tsai, Guochuan E; Lane, Hsien-Yuan

    2017-08-01

    Objectives Hypofunction of NMDA receptor is implicated in the pathophysiology, particularly cognitive impairment, of schizophrenia. Sarcosine, a glycine transporter I (GlyT-1) inhibitor, and sodium benzoate, a d-amino acid oxidase (DAAO) inhibitor, can both enhance NMDA receptor-mediated neurotransmission. We proposed simultaneously inhibiting DAAO and GlyT-1 may be more effective than inhibition of either in improving the cognitive and global functioning of schizophrenia patients. Methods This study compared add-on sarcosine (2 g/day) plus benzoate (1 g/day) vs. sarcosine (2 g/day) for the clinical symptoms, as well as the cognitive and global functioning, of chronic schizophrenia patients in a 12-week, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial. Participants were measured with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale every 3 weeks. Seven cognitive domains, recommended by the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia Committee, were measured at weeks 0 and 12. Results Adjunctive sarcosine plus benzoate, but not sarcosine alone, improved the cognitive and global functioning of patients with schizophrenia, even when their clinical symptoms had not improved. Conclusions This finding suggests N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor-enhancement therapy can improve the cognitive function of patients with schizophrenia, further indicating this pro-cognitive effect can be primary without improvement in clinical symptoms.

  2. MiDAS ENCORE: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial Report of 6-Month Results.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Staats, Peter S; Benyamin, Ramsin M

    2016-02-01

    Patients suffering from neurogenic claudication due to lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) often experience moderate to severe pain and significant functional disability. Neurogenic claudication results from progressive degenerative changes in the spine, and most often affects the elderly. Both the MILD® procedure and epidural steroid injections (ESIs) offer interventional pain treatment options for LSS patients experiencing neurogenic claudication refractory to more conservative therapies. MILD provides an alternative to ESIs via minimally invasive lumbar decompression. Prospective, multi-center, randomized controlled clinical trial. Twenty-six US interventional pain management centers. To compare patient outcomes following treatment with either MILD (treatment group) or ESIs (active control group) in LSS patients with neurogenic claudication and verified ligamentum flavum hypertrophy. This prospective, multi-center, randomized controlled clinical trial includes 2 study arms with a 1-to-1 randomization ratio. A total of 302 patients were enrolled, with 149 randomized to MILD and 153 to the active control. Six-month follow-up has been completed and is presented in this report. In addition, one year follow-up will be conducted for patients in both study arms, and supplementary 2 year outcome data will be collected for patients in the MILD group only. Outcomes are assessed using the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), numeric pain rating scale (NPRS) and Zurich Claudication Questionnaire (ZCQ). Primary efficacy is the proportion of ODI responders, tested for statistical superiority of the MILD group versus the active control group. ODI responders are defined as patients achieving the validated Minimal Important Change (MIC) of =10 point improvement in ODI from baseline to follow-up. Similarly, secondary efficacy includes proportion of NPRS and ZCQ responders using validated MIC thresholds. Primary safety is the incidence of device or procedure-related adverse events in each

  3. Neurocognitive function in clinically stable individuals with long-term bipolar I disorder: Comparisons with schizophrenia patients and controls

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pei-Yun Lin

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available This study compared the levels of the five domains of neurocognitive function—executive function, attention, memory, verbal comprehension, and perceptual organization—among clinically stable individuals with long-term bipolar I disorder, individuals with long-term schizophrenia, and a group of controls. We recruited a total of 93 clinically stable individuals with bipolar I disorder, 94 individuals with schizophrenia, and 106 controls in this study. Their neurocognitive function was measured using a series of neurocognitive function tests: the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Third Edition (WAIS-III, Line Cancellation Test, Visual Form Discrimination, Controlled Oral Word Association Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Continuous Performance Task, and Wechsler Memory Scale—Third Edition. Neurocognitive function was compared among the three groups through a multivariate analysis of variance. The results indicated that when the effect of age was controlled, clinically stable individuals with bipolar I disorder and those with schizophrenia demonstrated poor neurocognitive function on all tests except for the WAIS-III Similarity and Information and the Line Cancellation Test. The individuals with bipolar I disorder had similar levels of neurocognitive function compared with the schizophrenia group, but higher levels of neurocognitive function on the WAIS-III Comprehension, Controlled Oral Word Association Test, and Wechsler Memory Scale—Third Edition Auditory Immediate and Delayed Index and Visual Immediate and Delayed Index. The conclusions of this study suggest that compared with controls, individuals with long-term bipolar I disorder and those with long-term schizophrenia have poorer neurocognitive function, even when clinically stable. Individuals with long-term bipolar I disorder and those with long-term schizophrenia have similar levels of deficits in several domains of neurocognitive function.

  4. Proposals for the use of reference materials and for the development of in-house quality control materials for food analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ihnat, Milan

    2002-01-01

    A summary is presented of factors to be considered in the development of food-based in-house quality control materials to augment available Reference Materials and for frequent, concerted data quality control. Some guidelines are offered regarding approaches to the many considerations required for such an endeavour. Preliminary draft recommendations containing a sequence of steps has been compiled as a starting proposal for a food quality control material development scheme, for a range of natural matrices and measurands. In addition, information on the selection and utilization of Certified Reference Materials and procedures for performance interpretation and corrective action is provided. (author)

  5. A Data-driven Concept Schema for Defining Clinical Research Data Needs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hruby, Gregory W.; Hoxha, Julia; Ravichandran, Praveen Chandar; Mendonça, Eneida A.; Hanauer, David A; Weng, Chunhua

    2016-01-01

    OBJECTIVES The Patient, Intervention, Control/Comparison, and Outcome (PICO) framework is an effective technique for framing a clinical question. We aim to develop the counterpart of PICO to structure clinical research data needs. METHODS We use a data-driven approach to abstracting key concepts representing clinical research data needs by adapting and extending an expert-derived framework originally developed for defining cancer research data needs. We annotated clinical trial eligibility criteria, EHR data request logs, and data queries to electronic health records (EHR), to extract and harmonize concept classes representing clinical research data needs. We evaluated the class coverage, class preservation from the original framework, schema generalizability, schema understandability, and schema structural correctness through a semi-structured interview with eight multidisciplinary domain experts. We iteratively refined the schema based on the evaluations. RESULTS Our data-driven schema preserved 68% of the 63 classes from the original framework and covered 88% (73/82) of the classes proposed by evaluators. Class coverage for participants of different backgrounds ranged from 60% to 100% with a median value of 95% agreement among the individual evaluators. The schema was found understandable and structurally sound. CONCLUSIONS Our proposed schema may serve as the counterpart to PICO for improving the research data needs communication between researchers and informaticians. PMID:27185504

  6. Student nurse dyads create a community of learning: proposing a holistic clinical education theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruth-Sahd, Lisa A

    2011-11-01

    This paper is a report of a qualitative study of students' experiences of cooperative learning in the clinical setting. Although cooperative learning is often used successfully in the classroom, it has not been documented in the clinical setting with sophomore nursing students being paired with other sophomore nursing students. Using a grounded theory methodology a sample of 64 participants (32 student nurse dyads, eight clinical groups, in two different acute care institutions) were observed on their first day in the clinical setting while working as cooperative partners. Interviews were also conducted with students, patients and staff preceptors. Data were collected in the fall of 2008, spring and fall of 2009 and the spring of 2010 using semi-structured interviews and reflective surveys. Data were analysed using the constant comparative method. A holistic clinical education theory for student nurses was identified from the data. This theory includes a reciprocal relationship among five categories relevant to a community of learning: supportive clinical experience; improved transition into practice; enhanced socialization into the profession; increased accountability and responsibility; and emergence of self-confidence as a beginning student nurse. The use of student dyads creates a supportive learning environment while students were able to meet the clinical learning objectives. Cooperative learning in the clinical setting creates a community of learning while instilling very early in the education process the importance of teamwork. This approach to clinical instruction eases the transition from the classroom to the clinical learning environment, and improves patient outcomes. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  7. Optimizing clinical trial supply requirements: simulation of computer-controlled supply chain management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, Magnus; Byrom, Bill; Dowlman, Nikki; McEntegart, Damian

    2004-01-01

    Computer-controlled systems are commonly used in clinical trials to control dispensing and manage site inventories of trial supplies. Typically such systems are used with an interactive telephone or web system that provide an interface with the study site. Realizing the maximum savings in medication associated with this approach has, in the past, been problematic as it has been difficult to fully estimate medication requirements due to the complexities of these algorithms and the inherent variation in the clinical trial recruitment process. We describe the traditional and automated methods of supplying sites. We detail a simulation approach that models the automated system. We design a number of simulation experiments using this model to investigate the supply strategy properties that influence medication overage and other strategy performance metrics. The computer-controlled medication system gave superior performance to the traditional method. In one example, a 75% overage of wasted medication in the traditional system was associated with higher supply failure than an automated system strategy with an overage of 47%. In a further example, we demonstrate that the impact of using a country stratified as opposed to site stratified scheme affects the number of deliveries and probability of supply failures more than the amount of drug wasted with respective increases of 20, 2300 and 4%. Medication savings with automated systems are particularly significant in repeat dispensing designs. We show that the number of packs required can fall by as much as 50% if one uses a predictive medication algorithm. We conclude that a computer-controlled supply chain enables medication savings to be realized and that it is possible to quantify the distribution of these savings using a simulation model. The simulation model can be used to optimize the prestudy medication supply strategy and for midstudy monitoring using real-time data contained in the study database.

  8. Process-based project proposal risk management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alok Kumar

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available We all are aware of the organizational omnipresence. Projects within the organizations are ubiquitous too. Projects achieve their goals successfully if they are planned, scheduled, controlled and implemented well. The project lifecycle of initiating, planning, scheduling, controlling and implementing are very well-planned by project managers and the organizations. Successful projects have well-developed risk management plans to deal with situations impacting projects. Like any other organisation, a university does try to access funds for different purposes too. For such organisations, running a project is not the issue, rather getting a project proposal approved to fund a project is the key. Project proposal processing is done by the nodal office in every organisation. Usually, these nodal offices help in administration and submission of a project proposal for accessing funds. Seldom are these nodal project offices within the organizations facilitate a project proposal approval by proactively reaching out to the project managers. And as project managers prepare project proposals, little or no attention is made to prepare a project proposal risk plan so as to maximise project acquisition. Risk plans are submitted while preparing proposals but these risk plans cater to a requirement to address actual projects upon approval. Hence, a risk management plan for project proposal is either missing or very little effort is made to treat the risks inherent in project acquisition. This paper is an integral attempt to highlight the importance of risk treatment for project proposal stage as an extremely important step to preparing the risk management plan made for projects corresponding to their lifecycle phases. Several tools and techniques have been proposed in the paper to help and guide either the project owner (proposer or the main organisational unit responsible for project management. Development of tools and techniques to further enhance project

  9. Persistent complex bereavement disorder: clinical utility and classification of the category proposed for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimizu, Kanako; Kikuchi, Senichiro; Kobayashi, Toshiyuki; Kato, Satoshi

    2017-01-01

    Persistent complex bereavement disorder (PCBD) was proposed as a bereavement-related clinical category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition, which included the disorder among conditions for further study. This is an independent clinical category in which intense yearning for the deceased continues for at least 12 months. However, the diagnostic features are still inconclusive. We suggest a variation of PCBD for making category from our clinical experiences. We presented two representative case studies in which grief caused by bereavement was observed as the root of the pathological condition. We examined the disorder's pathological conditions, diagnoses, and appropriate treatments based on the cases we experienced. Both cases involved elderly women who lost their spouse through illness and experienced prolonged grief for an extended period, resulting in hospital admission. Based on the two cases, we believe that PCBD can also include a psychotic type with hallucinations as a major symptom. While studying PCBD, we took into account specific cultural characteristics of Japanese people and their present day social environment. Such cases would be suggestive when determining the PCBD clinical category in the future. PCBD is considered to be clinically very useful, especially in an extremely aged society as seen in developed countries, including Japan. © 2016 The Authors. Psychogeriatrics © 2016 Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.

  10. The significance of clinical experience on learning outcome from resuscitation training-a randomised controlled study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Morten Lind; Lippert, Freddy; Hesselfeldt, Rasmus

    2008-01-01

    CONTEXT: The impact of clinical experience on learning outcome from a resuscitation course has not been systematically investigated. AIM: To determine whether half a year of clinical experience before participation in an Advanced Life Support (ALS) course increases the immediate learning outcome...... and retention of learning. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a prospective single blinded randomised controlled study of the learning outcome from a standard ALS course on a volunteer sample of the entire cohort of newly graduated doctors from Copenhagen University. The outcome measurement was ALS...... immediately following graduation. RESULTS: Invitation to participate was accepted by 154/240 (64%) graduates and 117/154 (76%) completed the study. There was no difference between the intervention and control groups with regard to the immediate learning outcome. The intervention group had significantly higher...

  11. Randomized controlled clinical trial on the efficacy of fosfomycin trometamol for uncomplicated gonococcal urethritis in men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Z; He, C; Yan, S; Ke, Y; Tang, W

    2016-06-01

    We assessed the efficacy of fosfomycin trometamol in treating uncomplicated gonococcal urethritis in men. We conducted an open randomized controlled trial in 152 consecutive men with any main complaints suggestive of uncomplicated gonococcal urethritis in Dujiangyan Medical Center between 1 September 2013 and 31 August 2015. In total, 126 patients completed all aspects of this study. Sixty were provided therapy with fosfomycin trometamol 3 g orally on days 1, 3 and 5 in the intervention group; the other 61 were provided ceftriaxone 250 mg intramuscularly plus azithromycin 1 g orally simultaneously as a single dose in the control group. The primary outcomes involved clinical and microbiologic cure on days 7 and 14 after receipt of all the study medications. At the day 7 follow-up visit, all the 121 participants had complete resolution of clinical symptoms and signs. In addition, five patients (two in the intervention group and three in the control group) discontinued intervention because of unsuccessful treatment. After receipt of all the study medications, these five patients still had urethral purulent discharge and were switched to other unknown treatment regimens by other doctors. The bacterial smears and cultures of urethral or urine specimens in the 121 patients who completed all aspects of the study were negative on a test-of-cure visit. In the per-protocol analysis, both clinical and microbiologic cure were experienced by 96.8% (60/62 patients) in the intervention group and 95.3% (61/64 patients) in the control group. There were no recurrences at the day 14 test-of-cure visit. This trial indicates that fosfomycin trometamol exhibits excellent efficacy for treatment of uncomplicated gonococcal urethritis in men. Serious adverse effects are rare. Copyright © 2016 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Semi-spontaneous oral text production: measurements in clinical practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lind, Marianne; Kristoffersen, Kristian Emil; Moen, Inger; Simonsen, Hanne Gram

    2009-12-01

    Functionally relevant assessment of the language production of speakers with aphasia should include assessment of connected speech production. Despite the ecological validity of everyday conversations, more controlled and monological types of texts may be easier to obtain and analyse in clinical practice. This article discusses some simple measurements for the analysis of semi-spontaneous oral text production by speakers with aphasia. Specifically, the measurements are related to the production of verbs and nouns, and the realization of different sentence types. The proposed measurements should be clinically relevant, easily applicable, and linguistically meaningful. The measurements have been applied to oral descriptions of the 'Cookie Theft' picture by eight monolingual Norwegian speakers, four with an anomic type of aphasia and four without any type of language impairment. Despite individual differences in both the clinical and the non-clinical group, most of the measurements seem to distinguish between speakers with and without aphasia.

  13. Glycaemic control and associated factors among patients with diabetes at public health clinics in Johor, Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahmood, M I; Daud, Faiz; Ismail, Aniza

    2016-06-01

    To determine the prevalence of glycaemic control and factors associated with poor glycaemic control [glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) ≥6.5%] among patients with type 2 diabetes treated in public health clinics in Johor, Malaysia. Cross-sectional study. A review of all patients aged over 18 years and with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes for >1 year. The National Diabetic Registry was used as the database for attendees at public health clinics in Johor Bahru between January and December 2013. A required sample of 660 was calculated, and a random sampling method was applied to acquire patient information across the 13 public health clinics in Johor Bahru. All relevant information (e.g. HbA1c, type of treatment and other parameters for glycaemic control) were abstracted from the registry. Sixty-eight percent of 706 patients had HbA1c >6.5%, and mean HbA1c was 7.8%. Younger patients (72.3%) had poorer glycaemic control than older patients (63.0%), and most patients with poor glycaemic control were obese (79.2%). Approximately 31.7% of patients did not achieve the target blood pressure 5 years), body mass index (obese), type of treatment (diet therapy vs combination therapy) and abnormal lipid profile were significantly associated with increased odds of HbA1C >6.5%. More than half (68%) of the patients with diabetes had HbA1c >6.5%. This highlights the importance of providing organized care to manage patients with diabetes in the primary care setting, such as weight reduction programmes, proper prescribing treatment, and age- and gender-specific groups to ensure good glycaemic control. Copyright © 2015 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. 78 FR 60885 - Proposed Collection; 60-Day Notice Request: Application Process for Clinical Research Training...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-02

    ... Notice Request: Application Process for Clinical Research Training and Medical Education at the Clinical... Research Training and Medical Education, NIH Clinical Center, 10 Center Drive, MSC 1158, Bethesda, MD 20892... Process for Clinical Research Training and Medical Education at the Clinical Center and its Impact on...

  15. Randomized controlled dissemination study of community-to-clinic navigation to promote CRC screening: Study design and implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larkey, Linda; Szalacha, Laura; Herman, Patricia; Gonzalez, Julie; Menon, Usha

    2017-02-01

    Regular screening facilitates early diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) and reduction of CRC morbidity and mortality. Screening rates for minorities and low-income populations remain suboptimal. Provider referral for CRC screening is one of the strongest predictors of adherence, but referrals are unlikely among those who have no clinic home (common among poor and minority populations). This group randomized controlled study will test the effectiveness of an evidence based tailored messaging intervention in a community-to-clinic navigation context compared to no navigation. Multicultural, underinsured individuals from community sites will be randomized (by site) to receive CRC screening education only, or education plus navigation. In Phase I, those randomized to education plus navigation will be guided to make a clinic appointment to receive a provider referral for CRC screening. Patients attending clinic appointments will continue to receive navigation until screened (Phase II) regardless of initial arm assignment. We hypothesize that those receiving education plus navigation will be more likely to attend clinic appointments (H1) and show higher rates of screening (H2) compared to those receiving education only. Phase I group assignment will be used as a control variable in analysis of screening follow-through in Phase II. Costs per screening achieved will be evaluated for each condition and the RE-AIM framework will be used to examine dissemination results. The novelty of our study design is the translational dissemination model that will allow us to assess the real-world application of an efficacious intervention previously tested in a randomized controlled trial. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  16. A hospital-wide clinical findings dictionary based on an extension of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bréant, C; Borst, F; Campi, D; Griesser, V; Momjian, S

    1999-01-01

    The use of a controlled vocabulary set in a hospital-wide clinical information system is of crucial importance for many departmental database systems to communicate and exchange information. In the absence of an internationally recognized clinical controlled vocabulary set, a new extension of the International statistical Classification of Diseases (ICD) is proposed. It expands the scope of the standard ICD beyond diagnosis and procedures to clinical terminology. In addition, the common Clinical Findings Dictionary (CFD) further records the definition of clinical entities. The construction of the vocabulary set and the CFD is incremental and manual. Tools have been implemented to facilitate the tasks of defining/maintaining/publishing dictionary versions. The design of database applications in the integrated clinical information system is driven by the CFD which is part of the Medical Questionnaire Designer tool. Several integrated clinical database applications in the field of diabetes and neuro-surgery have been developed at the HUG.

  17. Technical Note: Cortical thickness and density estimation from clinical CT using a prior thickness-density relationship

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Humbert, Ludovic, E-mail: ludohumberto@gmail.com [Galgo Medical, Barcelona 08036 (Spain); Hazrati Marangalou, Javad; Rietbergen, Bert van [Orthopaedic Biomechanics, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven 5600 MB (Netherlands); Río Barquero, Luis Miguel del [CETIR Centre Medic, Barcelona 08029 (Spain); Lenthe, G. Harry van [Biomechanics Section, KU Leuven–University of Leuven, Leuven 3001 (Belgium)

    2016-04-15

    Purpose: Cortical thickness and density are critical components in determining the strength of bony structures. Computed tomography (CT) is one possible modality for analyzing the cortex in 3D. In this paper, a model-based approach for measuring the cortical bone thickness and density from clinical CT images is proposed. Methods: Density variations across the cortex were modeled as a function of the cortical thickness and density, location of the cortex, density of surrounding tissues, and imaging blur. High resolution micro-CT data of cadaver proximal femurs were analyzed to determine a relationship between cortical thickness and density. This thickness-density relationship was used as prior information to be incorporated in the model to obtain accurate measurements of cortical thickness and density from clinical CT volumes. The method was validated using micro-CT scans of 23 cadaver proximal femurs. Simulated clinical CT images with different voxel sizes were generated from the micro-CT data. Cortical thickness and density were estimated from the simulated images using the proposed method and compared with measurements obtained using the micro-CT images to evaluate the effect of voxel size on the accuracy of the method. Then, 19 of the 23 specimens were imaged using a clinical CT scanner. Cortical thickness and density were estimated from the clinical CT images using the proposed method and compared with the micro-CT measurements. Finally, a case-control study including 20 patients with osteoporosis and 20 age-matched controls with normal bone density was performed to evaluate the proposed method in a clinical context. Results: Cortical thickness (density) estimation errors were 0.07 ± 0.19 mm (−18 ± 92 mg/cm{sup 3}) using the simulated clinical CT volumes with the smallest voxel size (0.33 × 0.33 × 0.5 mm{sup 3}), and 0.10 ± 0.24 mm (−10 ± 115 mg/cm{sup 3}) using the volumes with the largest voxel size (1.0 × 1.0 × 3.0 mm{sup 3}). A trend for the

  18. Technical Note: Cortical thickness and density estimation from clinical CT using a prior thickness-density relationship

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Humbert, Ludovic; Hazrati Marangalou, Javad; Rietbergen, Bert van; Río Barquero, Luis Miguel del; Lenthe, G. Harry van

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: Cortical thickness and density are critical components in determining the strength of bony structures. Computed tomography (CT) is one possible modality for analyzing the cortex in 3D. In this paper, a model-based approach for measuring the cortical bone thickness and density from clinical CT images is proposed. Methods: Density variations across the cortex were modeled as a function of the cortical thickness and density, location of the cortex, density of surrounding tissues, and imaging blur. High resolution micro-CT data of cadaver proximal femurs were analyzed to determine a relationship between cortical thickness and density. This thickness-density relationship was used as prior information to be incorporated in the model to obtain accurate measurements of cortical thickness and density from clinical CT volumes. The method was validated using micro-CT scans of 23 cadaver proximal femurs. Simulated clinical CT images with different voxel sizes were generated from the micro-CT data. Cortical thickness and density were estimated from the simulated images using the proposed method and compared with measurements obtained using the micro-CT images to evaluate the effect of voxel size on the accuracy of the method. Then, 19 of the 23 specimens were imaged using a clinical CT scanner. Cortical thickness and density were estimated from the clinical CT images using the proposed method and compared with the micro-CT measurements. Finally, a case-control study including 20 patients with osteoporosis and 20 age-matched controls with normal bone density was performed to evaluate the proposed method in a clinical context. Results: Cortical thickness (density) estimation errors were 0.07 ± 0.19 mm (−18 ± 92 mg/cm"3) using the simulated clinical CT volumes with the smallest voxel size (0.33 × 0.33 × 0.5 mm"3), and 0.10 ± 0.24 mm (−10 ± 115 mg/cm"3) using the volumes with the largest voxel size (1.0 × 1.0 × 3.0 mm"3). A trend for the cortical thickness and

  19. The Role of Clinical and Instrumented Outcome Measures in Balance Control of Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neeta Kanekar

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. The aim of the study was to investigate differences in balance control between individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS and healthy control subjects using clinical scales and instrumented measures of balance and determine relationships between balance measures, fatigue, and disability levels in individuals with MS with and without a history of falls. Method. Twelve individuals with MS and twelve healthy controls were evaluated using the Berg Balance and Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scales, Modified Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction on Balance, and Limits of Stability Tests as well as Fatigue Severity Scale and Barthel Index. Results. Mildly affected individuals with MS had significant balance performance deficits and poor balance confidence levels (P<0.05. MS group had higher sway velocities and diminished stability limits (P<0.05, significant sensory impairments, high fatigue and disability levels (P<0.05. Sway velocity was a significant predictor of balance performance and the ability to move towards stability limits for the MS group. For the MS-fallers group, those with lower disability levels had faster movement velocities and better balance performance. Conclusion. Implementation of both clinical and instrumented tests of balance is important for the planning and evaluation of treatment outcomes in balance rehabilitation of people with MS.

  20. Parkinson's Impulse-Control Scale for the Severity Rating of Impulse-Control Behaviors in Parkinson's Disease: A Semistructured Clinical Assessment Tool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okai, David; Askey-Jones, Sally; Mack, Joel; Martin, Anne; Chaudhuri, Kallol Ray; Samuel, Michael; David, Anthony S; Brown, Richard G

    2016-01-01

    Impulse-control behaviors (ICBs) are increasingly recognized in Parkinson's disease (PD) as drug-related effects of dopaminergic mediation that occur in 15% to 35% of patients with PD. The authors describe the design and evaluation of a new, clinician-rated severity scale for the assessment of syndromal and subsyndromal forms of impulse-control disorders (ICDs), simple (punding) and complex (hobbyism) repetitive behaviors, and compulsive overuse of medication (dopamine dysregulation syndrome). The Parkinson's Impulse-Control Scale (PICS), the first PD-specific, semistructured interview to cover the full range of PD-related ICBs, is described along with initial evidence on its clinimetric properties including interrater reliability, discriminant validity and sensitivity to change. A convenience sample of PD patients with ICBs and those without were administered a semistructured interview (n = 92). The scale distinguished between those with and without clinically detected ICBs and between patients with syndromal ICD and subsyndromal ICB (receiver operating characteristic areas under the curve, 92%-95%). Cutoff values were suggested, and substantial agreement was reported on weighted kappa (Κ) values for clinician-clinician rating of severity (Κ = 0.92). Significant improvements were detected on the scale after a randomized controlled trial of cognitive-behavioral therapy and medication adjustment ( t [22] = 5.47; P < 0.001). The PICS appears to be a reliable measure of the full range of PD ICBs with good levels of interrater reliability. It may provide a useful measure to assess the severity of ICBs and monitor change in clinical and research settings; although, given the specialized centers used for recruitment of this sample, further psychometric evaluation is required.

  1. Pathological features and proposed diagnostic criteria of porcine periweaning failure-to-thrive syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Y; Harding, J C S

    2015-05-01

    Porcine periweaning failure-to-thrive syndrome (PFTS) is a clinical syndrome characterized by anorexia and progressive debilitation of newly weaned pigs. The objectives of the current case-control study were to describe the histopathologic features of PFTS in North America and test for selected pathogens in case and control pigs on 8 farms allegedly fulfilling the clinical definition of PFTS. Based on observations during farm visits, 5 farms fully met the case definition (PFTS farms), whereas 3 farms only partially fulfilled the definition (NON-PFTS farms). Necropsy and histopathologic examination were performed on case (n = 8 or 9) and control (n = 4) pigs from each farm. Superficial gastritis, which was mainly localized in the fundus and characterized by attenuation of superficial foveolar cells, was significantly more frequent in case pigs from PFTS farms compared with all the other pigs (odds ratio [OR], 16.7). The same was found for thymic atrophy (OR, 30.1) and small intestinal (SI) villous atrophy in the duodenum (OR, 28.7), jejunum (OR, 67.4), and ileum (OR, 56.3). All pigs with PFTS had at least 2 of these 3 lesions: gastritis, thymic atrophy, and SI villous atrophy. PFTS was not associated with any relevant porcine pathogen tested. We propose the diagnosis of PFTS be based on the fulfillment of the clinical case definition, the presence of the above lesions, and exclusion of other common swine diseases and pathogens. However, PFTS can be ruled out if debilitated pigs do not have at least 2 of the above 3 lesions. © The Author(s) 2014.

  2. Randomized controlled clinical trial of long-term chemo-mechanical caries removal using PapacarieTM gel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lara Jansiski MOTTA

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: Compare the effectiveness of PapacarieTM gel for the chemo-mechanical removal of carious lesions on primary teeth to conventional caries removal with a low-speed bur with regard to execution time, clinical aspects and radiographic findings. Material and Methods: A randomized controlled clinical trial with a split-mouth design was carried out. The sample was composed of 20 children aged four to seven years, in whom 40 deciduous teeth were randomly divided into two groups: chemo-mechanical caries removal with PapacarieTM and removal of carious dentin with a low-speed bur. Each child underwent both procedures and served as his/her own control. Restorations were performed with glass ionomer cement. The time required to perform the procedure was also analyzed. The patients underwent longitudinal clinical and radiographic follow-up of the restorations. Results: No statistically significant difference between groups was found regarding the time required to perform the procedures and the radiographic follow up. Statistically significant differences between groups were found in the clinical evaluation at 6 and 18 months after treatment. Conclusion: PapacarieTM is as effective as the traditional method for the removal of carious dentin on deciduous teeth, but offers the advantages of the preservation of sound dental tissue as well as the avoidance of sharp rotary instruments and local anesthesia.

  3. [Clinical studies on Frubienzyme in a controlled double-blind trial].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raus, I

    1976-10-07

    In a controlled clinical trial Frubienzym (throat lozenges with 5 mg lysozyme, 2 mg papaine and 200 I.U. bacitracin) or placebo have been given to 100 patients with pharyngitis and/or tonsillitis for 4 days. Under treatment with Frubienzym reddening, swelling, matter and mucus in the throat, coughing, swelling and pain of lymphatic ganglions and pain of swallowing vanished more quickly than under placebo. The differences were significant (p less than 0,05, p less than 0,001 or even p less than 0,001; U-test of Wilcoxon, Man and Whitney). There were no side effects which could be attributed to Frubienzym.

  4. Oral and Topical Antibiotics for Clinically Infected Eczema in Children: A Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial in Ambulatory Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Francis, Nick A; Ridd, Matthew J; Thomas-Jones, Emma; Butler, Christopher C; Hood, Kerenza; Shepherd, Victoria; Marwick, Charis A; Huang, Chao; Longo, Mirella; Wootton, Mandy; Sullivan, Frank

    2017-03-01

    Eczema may flare because of bacterial infection, but evidence supporting antibiotic treatment is of low quality. We aimed to determine the effect of oral and topical antibiotics in addition to topical emollient and corticosteroids in children with clinically infected eczema. We employed a 3-arm, blinded, randomized controlled trial in UK ambulatory care. Children with clinical, non-severely infected eczema were randomized to receive oral and topical placebos (control), oral antibiotic (flucloxacillin) and topical placebo, or topical antibiotic (fusidic acid) and oral placebo, for 1 week. We compared Patient Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM) scores at 2 weeks using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). We randomized 113 children (40 to control, 36 to oral antibiotic, and 37 to topical antibiotic). Mean (SD) baseline Patient Oriented Eczema Measure scores were 13.4 (5.1) for the control group, 14.6 (5.3) for the oral antibiotic group, and 16.9 (5.5) for the topical antibiotic group. At baseline, 104 children (93%) had 1 or more of the following findings: weeping, crusting, pustules, or painful skin. Mean (SD) POEM scores at 2 weeks were 6.2 (6.0) for control, 8.3 (7.3) for the oral antibiotic group, and 9.3 (6.2) for the topical antibiotic group. Controlling for baseline POEM score, neither oral nor topical antibiotics produced a significant difference in mean (95% CI) POEM scores (1.5 [-1.4 to 4.4] and 1.5 [-1.6 to 4.5] respectively). There were no significant differences in adverse effects and no serious adverse events. We found rapid resolution in response to topical steroid and emollient treatment and ruled out a clinically meaningful benefit from the addition of either oral or topical antibiotics. Children seen in ambulatory care with mild clinically infected eczema do not need treatment with antibiotics. © 2017 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.

  5. Efficacy of 8- and 4-Session Mindfulness-Based Interventions in a Non-clinical Population: A Controlled Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demarzo, Marcelo; Montero-Marin, Jesus; Puebla-Guedea, Marta; Navarro-Gil, Mayte; Herrera-Mercadal, Paola; Moreno-González, Sergio; Calvo-Carrión, Sandra; Bafaluy-Franch, Laura; Garcia-Campayo, Javier

    2017-01-01

    Background: Many attempts have been made to abbreviate mindfulness programmes in order to make them more accessible for general and clinical populations while maintaining their therapeutic components and efficacy. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of an 8-week mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) programme and a 4-week abbreviated version for the improvement of well-being in a non-clinical population. Method: A quasi-experimental, controlled, pilot study was conducted with pre-post and 6-month follow-up measurements and three study conditions (8- and 4-session MBI programmes and a matched no-treatment control group, with a sample of 48, 46, and 47 participants in each condition, respectively). Undergraduate students were recruited, and mindfulness, positive and negative affect, self-compassion, resilience, anxiety, and depression were assessed. Mixed-effects multi-level analyses for repeated measures were performed. Results: The intervention groups showed significant improvements compared to controls in mindfulness and positive affect at the 2- and 6-month follow-ups, with no differences between 8- vs. 4-session programmes. The only difference between the abbreviated MBI vs. the standard MBI was found in self-kindness at 6 months, favoring the standard MBI. There were marginal differences in anxiety between the controls vs. the abbreviated MBI, but there were differences between the controls vs. the standard MBI at 2- and 6-months, with higher levels in the controls. There were no differences in depression between the controls vs. the abbreviated MBI, but differences were found between the controls vs. the standard MBI at 2- and 6-months, favoring the standard MBI. There were no differences with regard to negative affect and resilience. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first study to directly investigate the efficacy of a standard 8-week MBI and a 4-week abbreviated protocol in the same population. Based on our findings, both programmes

  6. Efficacy of 8- and 4-Session Mindfulness-Based Interventions in a Non-clinical Population: A Controlled Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcelo Demarzo

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Background: Many attempts have been made to abbreviate mindfulness programmes in order to make them more accessible for general and clinical populations while maintaining their therapeutic components and efficacy. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of an 8-week mindfulness-based intervention (MBI programme and a 4-week abbreviated version for the improvement of well-being in a non-clinical population.Method: A quasi-experimental, controlled, pilot study was conducted with pre-post and 6-month follow-up measurements and three study conditions (8- and 4-session MBI programmes and a matched no-treatment control group, with a sample of 48, 46, and 47 participants in each condition, respectively. Undergraduate students were recruited, and mindfulness, positive and negative affect, self-compassion, resilience, anxiety, and depression were assessed. Mixed-effects multi-level analyses for repeated measures were performed.Results: The intervention groups showed significant improvements compared to controls in mindfulness and positive affect at the 2- and 6-month follow-ups, with no differences between 8- vs. 4-session programmes. The only difference between the abbreviated MBI vs. the standard MBI was found in self-kindness at 6 months, favoring the standard MBI. There were marginal differences in anxiety between the controls vs. the abbreviated MBI, but there were differences between the controls vs. the standard MBI at 2- and 6-months, with higher levels in the controls. There were no differences in depression between the controls vs. the abbreviated MBI, but differences were found between the controls vs. the standard MBI at 2- and 6-months, favoring the standard MBI. There were no differences with regard to negative affect and resilience.Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first study to directly investigate the efficacy of a standard 8-week MBI and a 4-week abbreviated protocol in the same population. Based on our findings, both

  7. Proposal for the development of IRMA kits for prostate specific antigen, PSA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abdul, A.B.

    1997-01-01

    The following are the major objectives of this research proposal: (1) To establish a protocol for biotinylation of monoclonal antibody, mabs or polyclonal antibody against the antigen, PSA. This shall include the purifying procedure using size exclusion chromatography on HPLC for use in binding assays to determine its binding capacity with PSA. (2) To establish an immunoassay protocol for IRMAs, using the technique of immobilizing the capture mabs on solid phase (surfaces of polystyrene) and the radioiodine labeled streptavidin-biotinylated bridge system. This will include optimization of the assay design and a Quality Control Assessment with the inclusion of standards derived from the Agency and subsequent work to determine its sensitivity (Minimum Detection Limit) and working range (the phenomenon of Hooke's Effect). An in-house quality control would also be useful to determine the assay's suitability for screening the tumour marker from patient samples obtained from neighboring hospitals (such as the Science University of Malaysia Hospital and the National University Hospital) and private clinical pathology laboratory (such as the Pantai Medical Centre) which compare concurrently the results with existing commercial immunoassay kits (RIA/IRMA). These work and that described earlier in (1) shall be done entirely at MINT. (3) To perform an external coordinated external Quality Control Assurance Programme with other research institutes (such as the Department of Immunology, Medical faculty, Science University of Malaysia and government hospitals) in Malaysia on several batches of the IRMA kits (produced at MINT and proven to be suitable for screening PSA in human serum from in-house Quality Control data, as mentioned earlier in (2)). This coordinated work shall include analyzing and documenting all values obtained from a group of patient's sample in clinical conditions such as batch to batch variation, inter and intra-assay variations and mean values for negative

  8. Clinical Research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Irene

    2016-01-01

    This paper is about the logic of problem solving and the production of scientific knowledge through the utilisation of clinical research perspective. Ramp-up effectiveness, productivity, efficiency and organizational excellence are topics that continue to engage research and will continue doing so...... for years to come. This paper seeks to provide insights into ramp-up management studies through providing an agenda for conducting collaborative clinical research and extend this area by proposing how clinical research could be designed and executed in the Ramp- up management setting....

  9. Viruses vector control proposal: genus Aedes emphasis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nelson Nogueira Reis

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The dengue fever is a major public health problem in the world. In Brazil, in 2015, there were 1,534,932 cases, being 20,320 cases of severe form, and 811 deaths related to this disease. The distribution of Aedes aegypti, the vector, is extensive. Recently, Zika and Chikungunya viruses had arisen, sharing the same vector as dengue and became a huge public health issue. Without specific treatment, it is urgently required as an effective vector control. This article is focused on reviewing vector control strategies, their effectiveness, viability and economical impact. Among all, the Sterile Insect Technique is highlighted as the best option to be adopted in Brazil, once it is largely effectively used in the USA and Mexico for plagues related to agribusiness.

  10. Divalproex Sodium for the Treatment of PTSD and Conduct Disordered Youth: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steiner, Hans; Saxena, Kirti S.; Carrion, Victor; Khanzode, Leena A.; Silverman, Melissa; Chang, Kiki

    2007-01-01

    We examined the efficacy of divalproex sodium (DVP) for the treatment of PTSD in conduct disorder, utilizing a previous study in which 71 youth were enrolled in a randomized controlled clinical trial. Twelve had PTSD. Subjects (all males, mean age 16, SD 1.0) were randomized into high and low dose conditions. Clinical Global Impression (CGI)…

  11. Pulmonary rehabilitation in lymphangioleiomyomatosis: a controlled clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Araujo, Mariana S; Baldi, Bruno G; Freitas, Carolina S G; Albuquerque, André L P; Marques da Silva, Cibele C B; Kairalla, Ronaldo A; Carvalho, Celso R F; Carvalho, Carlos R R

    2016-05-01

    Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a cystic lung disease frequently associated with reduced exercise capacity. The aim of this study was to assess safety and efficacy of pulmonary rehabilitation in LAM.This controlled clinical trial included 40 patients with LAM and a low physical activity level. The pulmonary rehabilitation programme comprised 24 aerobic and muscle strength training sessions and education. The primary outcome was exercise capacity (endurance time during a constant work rate exercise test). Secondary outcomes included health-related quality of life (St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ)), 6-min walking distance (6MWD), dyspnoea, peak oxygen consumption (V'O2 ), daily physical activity (pedometer), symptoms of anxiety and depression, lung function and peripheral muscle strength (one-repetition maximum).The baseline characteristics were well balanced between the groups. The pulmonary rehabilitation group exhibited improvements in the following outcomes versus controls: endurance time (median (interquartile range) 169 (2-303) s versus -33 (-129-39) s; p=0.001), SGRQ (median (interquartile range) -8 (-16-2) versus 2 (-4-5); p=0.002) and 6MWD (median (interquartile range) 59 (13-81) m versus 20 (-12-30) m; p=0.002). Dyspnoea, peak V'O2 , daily physical activity and muscle strength also improved significantly. No serious adverse events were observed.Pulmonary rehabilitation is a safe intervention and improves exercise capacity, dyspnoea, daily physical activity, quality of life and muscle strength in LAM. Copyright ©ERS 2016.

  12. A literature review of applied adaptive design methodology within the field of oncology in randomised controlled trials and a proposed extension to the CONSORT guidelines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mistry, Pankaj; Dunn, Janet A; Marshall, Andrea

    2017-07-18

    The application of adaptive design methodology within a clinical trial setting is becoming increasingly popular. However the application of these methods within trials is not being reported as adaptive designs hence making it more difficult to capture the emerging use of these designs. Within this review, we aim to understand how adaptive design methodology is being reported, whether these methods are explicitly stated as an 'adaptive design' or if it has to be inferred and to identify whether these methods are applied prospectively or concurrently. Three databases; Embase, Ovid and PubMed were chosen to conduct the literature search. The inclusion criteria for the review were phase II, phase III and phase II/III randomised controlled trials within the field of Oncology that published trial results in 2015. A variety of search terms related to adaptive designs were used. A total of 734 results were identified, after screening 54 were eligible. Adaptive designs were more commonly applied in phase III confirmatory trials. The majority of the papers performed an interim analysis, which included some sort of stopping criteria. Additionally only two papers explicitly stated the term 'adaptive design' and therefore for most of the papers, it had to be inferred that adaptive methods was applied. Sixty-five applications of adaptive design methods were applied, from which the most common method was an adaptation using group sequential methods. This review indicated that the reporting of adaptive design methodology within clinical trials needs improving. The proposed extension to the current CONSORT 2010 guidelines could help capture adaptive design methods. Furthermore provide an essential aid to those involved with clinical trials.

  13. Anomalies in target-controlled infusion: an analysis after 20 years of clinical use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engbers, F H M; Dahan, A

    2018-05-01

    Although target-controlled infusion has been in use for more than two decades, its benefits are being obscured by anomalies in clinical practice caused by a number of important problems. These include: a variety of pharmacokinetic models available in open target-controlled infusion systems, which often confuse the user; the extrapolation of anthropomorphic data which provokes anomalous adjustments of dosing by such systems; and the uncertainty of regulatory requirements for the application of target-controlled infusion which causes uncontrolled exploitation of drugs and pharmacokinetic models in target-controlled infusion devices. Comparison of performance of pharmacokinetic models is complex and mostly inconclusive. However, a specific behaviour of a model in a target-controlled infusion system that is neither intended nor supported by scientific data can be considered an artefact or anomaly. Several of these anomalies can be identified in the current commercially available target-controlled infusion systems and are discussed in this review. © 2018 The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.

  14. Clinical and microbiological effects of levofloxacin in the treatment of chronic periodontitis: a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pradeep, Avani R; Singh, Sonender P; Martande, Santosh S; Naik, Savitha B; N, Priyanka; Kalra, Nitish; Suke, Deepak K

    2015-08-01

    The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical and microbiological effect of systemic levofloxacin (LFX) as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP) in patients with chronic periodontitis (CP). Sixty-five patients with CP were randomly divided into a test (n = 33, SRP and LFX 500 mg, once daily [o.d.]) and a control group (n = 32, SRP and placebo, o.d.). Plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), percentage of sites with bleeding on probing (%BoP), probing depth (PD), and clinical attachment level (CAL) were recorded at baseline, 10 days, and 1-, 3-, and 6-month intervals. The percentage of sites positive for Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (A. actinomycetemcomitans), Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Tannerella forsythia were recorded at baseline and at 3 and 6 months. Patients receiving LFX showed statistically-significant improvements in mean PD and CAL. The intergroup difference in PI, GI, and%BoP was not significant at any interval. There was a reduction in the percentage of sites positive for periodontopathic bacteria over the duration of the study in both groups, and a statistically-significant reduction in the number of sites positive for A. actinomycetemcomitans in the LFX group (P < 0.001). Levofloxacin was found to significantly improve the clinical and microbiological parameters in CP individuals. © 2014 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  15. A proposal of criteria for the classification of systemic sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nadashkevich, Oleg; Davis, Paul; Fritzler, Marvin J

    2004-11-01

    Sensitive and specific criteria for the classification of systemic sclerosis are required by clinicians and investigators to achieve higher quality clinical studies and approaches to therapy. A clinical study of systemic sclerosis patients in Europe and Canada led to a set of criteria that achieve high sensitivity and specificity. Both clinical and laboratory investigations of patients with systemic sclerosis, related conditions and diseases with clinical features that can be mistaken as part of the systemic sclerosis spectrum were undertaken. Laboratory investigations included the detection of autoantibodies to centromere proteins, Scl-70 (topoisomerase I), and fibrillarin (U3-RNP). Based on the investigation of 269 systemic sclerosis patients and 720 patients presenting with related and confounding conditions, the following set of criteria for the classification of systemic sclerosis was proposed: 1) autoantibodies to: centromere proteins, Scl-70 (topo I), fibrillarin; 2) bibasilar pulmonary fibrosis; 3) contractures of the digital joints or prayer sign; 4) dermal thickening proximal to the wrists; 5) calcinosis cutis; 6) Raynaud's phenomenon; 7) esophageal distal hypomotility or reflux-esophagitis; 8) sclerodactyly or non-pitting digital edema; 9) teleangiectasias. The classification of definite SSc requires at least three of the above criteria. Criteria for the classification of systemic sclerosis have been proposed. Preliminary testing has defined the sensitivity and specificity of these criteria as high as 99% and 100%, respectively. Testing and validation of the proposed criteria by other clinical centers is required.

  16. Clinical trial optimization: Monte Carlo simulation Markov model for planning clinical trials recruitment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbas, Ismail; Rovira, Joan; Casanovas, Josep

    2007-05-01

    The patient recruitment process of clinical trials is an essential element which needs to be designed properly. In this paper we describe different simulation models under continuous and discrete time assumptions for the design of recruitment in clinical trials. The results of hypothetical examples of clinical trial recruitments are presented. The recruitment time is calculated and the number of recruited patients is quantified for a given time and probability of recruitment. The expected delay and the effective recruitment durations are estimated using both continuous and discrete time modeling. The proposed type of Monte Carlo simulation Markov models will enable optimization of the recruitment process and the estimation and the calibration of its parameters to aid the proposed clinical trials. A continuous time simulation may minimize the duration of the recruitment and, consequently, the total duration of the trial.

  17. Proposals for Enhancing Frequency Control in Weak and Isolated Power Systems: Application to the Wind-Diesel Power System of San Cristobal Island-Ecuador

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danny Ochoa

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Wind-diesel hybridization has been emerging as common practice for electricity generation in many isolated power systems due to its reliability and its contribution in mitigating environmental issues. However, the weakness of these kind of power systems (due to their small inertia makes the frequency regulation difficult, particularly under high wind conditions, since part of the synchronous generation has to be set offline for ensuring a suitable tracking of the power demand. This reduces the power system’s ability to absorb wind power variations, leading to pronounced grid frequency fluctuations under normal operating conditions. This paper proposes some corrective actions aimed at enhancing the frequency control capability in weak and isolated power systems: a procedure for evaluating the system stability margin intended for readjusting the diesel-generator control gains, a new wind power curtailment strategy, and an inertial control algorithm implemented in the wind turbines. These proposals are tested in the San Cristobal (Galapagos Islands-Ecuador hybrid wind-diesel power system, in which many power outages caused by frequency relays tripping were reported during the windiest season. The proposals benefits have been tested in a simulation environment by considering actual operating conditions based on measurement data recorded at the island.

  18. Online learning versus blended learning of clinical supervisee skills with pre-registration nursing students: A randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCutcheon, Karen; O'Halloran, Peter; Lohan, Maria

    2018-06-01

    The World Health Organisation amongst others recognises the need for the introduction of clinical supervision education in health professional education as a central strategy for improving patient safety and patient care. Online and blended learning methods are growing exponentially in use in higher education and the systematic evaluation of these methods will aid understanding of how best to teach clinical supervision. The purpose of this study was to test whether undergraduate nursing students who received clinical supervisee skills training via a blended learning approach would score higher in terms of motivation and attitudes towards clinical supervision, knowledge of clinical supervision and satisfaction of learning method, when compared to those students who received an online only teaching approach. A post-test-only randomised controlled trial. Participants were a total of 122 pre-registration nurses enrolled at one United Kingdom university, randomly assigned to the online learning control group (n = 60) or the blended learning intervention group (n = 62). The blended learning intervention group participated in a face-to-face tutorial and the online clinical supervisee skills training app. The online learning control group participated in an online discussion forum and the same online clinical supervisee skills training app. The outcome measures were motivation and attitudes using the modified Manchester Clinical Supervision Scale, knowledge using a 10 point Multiple Choice Questionnaire and satisfaction using a university training evaluation tool. Statistical analysis was performed using independent t-tests to compare the differences between the means of the control group and the intervention group. Thematic analysis was used to analyse responses to open-ended questions. All three of our study hypotheses were confirmed. Participants who received clinical supervisee skills training via a blended learning approach scored higher in terms of motivation

  19. 75 FR 62543 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request; National Evaluation of the Clinical and Translational...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-12

    ... comment on proposed data collection projects, the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects to be submitted to... academic medical centers and their research partners, increasing the efficiency of the research process...

  20. Information-sharing to promote informed choice in prenatal screening in the spirit of the SOGC clinical practice guideline: a proposal for an alternative model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanstone, Meredith; Kinsella, Elizabeth Anne; Nisker, Jeff

    2012-03-01

    The 2011 SOGC clinical practice guideline "Prenatal Screening for Fetal Aneuploidy in Singleton Pregnancies" recommends that clinicians offer prenatal screening to all pregnant women and provide counselling in a non-directive manner. Non-directive counselling is intended to facilitate autonomous decision-making and remove the clinician's views regarding a particular course of action. However, recent research in genetic counselling raises concerns that non-directive counselling is neither possible nor desirable, and that it may not be the best way to facilitate informed choice. We propose an alternative model of information-sharing specific to prenatal screening that combines attributes of the models of informative decision-making and shared decision-making. Our proposed model is intended to provide clinicians with a strategy to communicate information about prenatal screening in a way that facilitates a shared deliberative process and autonomous decision-making. Our proposed model may better prepare a pregnant woman to make an informed choice about participating in prenatal screening on the basis of her consideration of the medical information provided by her clinician and her particular circumstances and values.

  1. Failures during Load-Frequency Control Maneuvers in an Upgraded Hydropower Plant: Causes, Identification of Causes and Solution Proposals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan I. Pérez-Díaz

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this paper is to investigate the cause of several unexpected high amplitude oscillations that occurred in the surge tank water level of a real hydropower plant during secondary load-frequency control (LFC maneuvers, after the replacement of the turbine runner, and to propose solutions that allow the power plant to continue providing secondary LFC in a safe and reliable manner. For this purpose, a simulation model has been developed and calibrated from data gathered during several on-site tests. Two different solutions are proposed in order to cope with the observed problem: using a state-dependent load change rate limiter or modifying the hydro turbine governor gains; the turbine governor remains the same as before the runner replacement. The proposed solutions are tested against a set of realistic secondary LFC signals by means of simulations and compared to each other as a function of the probability that the surge tank water level descends below a minimum safe level and the quality of the secondary LFC response. The results presented in the paper demonstrate the validity of the methodology proposed to determine the state-dependent ramp limit, as well as its effectiveness to prevent the surge tank drawdown and to provide clear insight into the trade-off between response quality and power plant safety.

  2. Using Guasha to treat musculoskeletal pain: A systematic review of controlled clinical trials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Choi Sun-Mi

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Guasha is a therapeutic method for pain management using tools to scrape or rub the surface of the body to relieve blood stagnation. This study aims to systematically review the controlled clinical trials on the effectiveness of using Guasha to treat musculoskeletal pain. Methods We searched 11 databases (without language restrictions: MEDLINE, Allied and Complementary Medicine (AMED, EMBASE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL, Korean Studies Information (KSI, DBPIA, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI, KoreaMed, Research Information Service System (RISS, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI and the Cochrane Library. The search strategy was Guasha (OR scraping AND pain. Risk of bias was assessed with the Cochrane criteria (i.e. sequence generation, blinding, incomplete outcome measures and allocation concealment. Results Five randomized controlled trials (RCTs and two controlled clinical trials (CCTs were included in the present study. Two RCTs compared Guasha with acupuncture in terms of effectiveness, while the other trials compared Guasha with no treatment (1 trial, acupuncture (4 trials, herbal injection (1 trial and massage or electric current therapy (1 trial. While two RCTs suggested favorable effects of Guasha on pain reduction and response rate, the quality of these RCTs was poor. One CCT reported beneficial effects of Guasha on musculoskeletal pain but had low methodological quality. Conclusion Current evidence is insufficient to show that Guasha is effective in pain management. Further RCTs are warranted and methodological quality should be improved.

  3. A comparative evaluation of the efficacy of probiotic and chlorhexidine mouthrinses on clinical inflammatory parameters of gingivitis: A randomized controlled clinical study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Purnima Vidyesh Nadkerny

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: The aim of our clinical trial was to assess and compare the antiplaque and anti-inflammatory potential of a probiotic mouthwash with 0.2% chlorhexidine and saline. Materials and Methods: A randomized parallel group study was designed for a period of 4 weeks on 45 systemically healthy subjects between 20 and 30 years having chronic gingivitis. The study population was divided into three groups. Group A - 15 subjects were advised experimental (probiotic mouthwash. Group B - 15 subjects were advised positive control (chlorhexidine mouthwash and Group C - 15 subjects into a negative control group (normal saline. Oral prophylaxis was done for all groups at baseline. After the proper oral hygiene instructions, all the three groups were instructed to rinse their mouth with 10 ml of their respective mouthrinse, undiluted for 1 min twice daily, 30 min after brushing. Clinical parameters such as plaque index (PI, gingival index (GI, and oral hygiene index simplified (OHI-S were assessed at baseline, 2 weeks and 4 weeks, respectively. Results: At day 28, the PI, GI, and OHI-S were significantly reduced by all treatment modalities ranking probiotic and chlorhexidine is greater than saline. Conclusion: The probiotic mouthrinses tested was effectively used as an adjunct to mechanical plaque control in the prevention of plaque and gingivitis. Thus, the probiotic mouthrinse has a great therapeutic potential.

  4. Epidemiologic and clinical updates on impulse control disorders: a critical review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Altamura, A. Carlo; Allen, Andrea; Marazziti, Donatella; Hollander, Eric

    2006-01-01

    The article reviews the current knowledge about the impulse control disorders (ICDs) with specific emphasis on epidemiological and pharmacological advances. In addition to the traditional ICDs present in the DSM-IV—pathological gambling, trichotillomania, kleptomania, pyromania and intermittent explosive disorder—a brief description of the new proposed ICDs—compulsive–impulsive (C–I) Internet usage disorder, C–I sexual behaviors, C–I skin picking and C–I shopping—is provided. Specifically, the article summarizes the phenomenology, epidemiology and comorbidity of the ICDs. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between ICDs and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Finally, current pharmacological options for treating ICDs are presented and discussed. PMID:16960655

  5. New clinical validation method for automated sphygmomanometer: a proposal by Japan ISO-WG for sphygmomanometer standard.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shirasaki, Osamu; Asou, Yosuke; Takahashi, Yukio

    2007-12-01

    Owing to fast or stepwise cuff deflation, or measuring at places other than the upper arm, the clinical accuracy of most recent automated sphygmomanometers (auto-BPMs) cannot be validated by one-arm simultaneous comparison, which would be the only accurate validation method based on auscultation. Two main alternative methods are provided by current standards, that is, two-arm simultaneous comparison (method 1) and one-arm sequential comparison (method 2); however, the accuracy of these validation methods might not be sufficient to compensate for the suspicious accuracy in lateral blood pressure (BP) differences (LD) and/or BP variations (BPV) between the device and reference readings. Thus, the Japan ISO-WG for sphygmomanometer standards has been studying a new method that might improve validation accuracy (method 3). The purpose of this study is to determine the appropriateness of method 3 by comparing immunity to LD and BPV with those of the current validation methods (methods 1 and 2). The validation accuracy of the above three methods was assessed in human participants [N=120, 45+/-15.3 years (mean+/-SD)]. An oscillometric automated monitor, Omron HEM-762, was used as the tested device. When compared with the others, methods 1 and 3 showed a smaller intra-individual standard deviation of device error (SD1), suggesting their higher reproducibility of validation. The SD1 by method 2 (P=0.004) significantly correlated with the participant's BP, supporting our hypothesis that the increased SD of device error by method 2 is at least partially caused by essential BPV. Method 3 showed a significantly (P=0.0044) smaller interparticipant SD of device error (SD2), suggesting its higher interparticipant consistency of validation. Among the methods of validation of the clinical accuracy of auto-BPMs, method 3, which showed the highest reproducibility and highest interparticipant consistency, can be proposed as being the most appropriate.

  6. A proposal for teaching basic clinical skills for mastery: the case against vertical integration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benbassat, Jochanan; Baumal, Reuben

    2007-01-01

    The authors argue that medical school faculty should (1) make a distinction among competencies that they feel need to be taught for mastery (i.e., at a level of proficiency expected from a practicing physician) and those that should be taught at lower levels of proficiency, and (2) impart the former competencies in single teaching units. The authors propose that the skills that students should be expected to master include patient interviewing, physical examination, patient counseling on health promotion and disease prevention (HP/DP), and self-directed learning. The concepts of a hypothetical teaching unit that aims to impart these skills are described. By the end of this unit, the students would be expected to (1) examine simulated and real patients to detect risk indicators and physical findings for the diseases that are the most common causes of death in the patient's gender and age group, and to look for risk indicators and physical findings for diseases where early diagnosis and treatment have been shown to reduce mortality for such patients, and (2) provide counseling for lifestyle changes and future clinical examinations. The authors believe that the objective of acquiring an ability to counsel a patient on HP/DP at the level of competence of a practicing physician will motivate students to acquire the skills of patient interviewing, physical examination, and self-directed learning more effectively than would a succession of reinforcements of these subjects throughout the curriculum.

  7. Uniting Control Lyapunov and Control Barrier Functions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Romdlony, Zakiyullah; Jayawardhana, Bayu

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, we propose a nonlinear control design for solving the problem of stabilization with guaranteed safety. The design is based on the merging of a Control Lyapunov Function and a Control Barrier Function. The proposed control method allows us to combine the design of a stabilizer based on

  8. Randomized, controlled clinical study to evaluate efficacy of novel indigenously designed controlled release flurbiprofen gel system for management of periodontal diseases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neeraj C Deshpande

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: This randomized, controlled clinical study was planned to evaluate the use of anti-inflammatory drug flurbiprofen in the form of locally delivered controlled release gel in the treatment of periodontal disease. Materials and Methods: The flurbiprofen gel was indigenously prepared in the concentration of 0.3%. The 30 patients with localized periodontal pockets measuring ≥5 mm were randomly divided into three groups. The groups received flurbiprofen gel, flurbiprofen gel after prophylaxis, and placebo gel after oral prophylaxis, respectively. The clinical parameters for plaque and gingival inflammation were evaluated at baseline, 7 th day, and 14 th day. Results: The results of the study suggested the statistically significant ( P < 0.05 improvement in the gingival status of the patients with the use of flurbiprofen gel as an adjunct to scaling and root planing as compared to oral prophylaxis or gel alone. Conclusion: The data demonstrated that the additional use of local drug delivery of flurbiprofen through gel media enhances the positive effects of scaling and root planing and helps in faster resolution of the inflammation.

  9. A Proposed Molecular Mechanism of High-Dose Vitamin D3 Supplementation in Prevention and Treatment of Preeclampsia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zabul, Piotr; Wozniak, Michal; Slominski, Andrzej T; Preis, Krzysztof; Gorska, Magdalena; Korozan, Marek; Wieruszewski, Jan; Zmijewski, Michal A; Zabul, Ewa; Tuckey, Robert; Kuban-Jankowska, Alicja; Mickiewicz, Wieslawa; Knap, Narcyz

    2015-06-09

    A randomized prospective clinical study performed on a group of 74 pregnant women (43 presenting with severe preeclampsia) proved that urinary levels of 15-F(2t)-isoprostane were significantly higher in preeclamptic patients relative to the control (3.05 vs. 2.00 ng/mg creatinine). Surprisingly enough, plasma levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 in both study groups were below the clinical reference range with no significant difference between the groups. In vitro study performed on isolated placental mitochondria and placental cell line showed that suicidal self-oxidation of cytochrome P450scc may lead to structural disintegration of heme, potentially contributing to enhancement of oxidative stress phenomena in the course of preeclampsia. As placental cytochrome P450scc pleiotropic activity is implicated in the metabolism of free radical mediated arachidonic acid derivatives as well as multiple Vitamin D3 hydroxylations and progesterone synthesis, we propose that Vitamin D3 might act as a competitive inhibitor of placental cytochrome P450scc preventing the production of lipid peroxides or excess progesterone synthesis, both of which may contribute to the etiopathogenesis of preeclampsia. The proposed molecular mechanism is in accord with the preliminary clinical observations on the surprisingly high efficacy of high-dose Vitamin D3 supplementation in prevention and treatment of preeclampsia.

  10. Using clinical indicators to facilitate quality improvement via the accreditation process: an adaptive study into the control relationship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chuang, Sheuwen; Howley, Peter P; Hancock, Stephen

    2013-07-01

    The aim of the study was to determine accreditation surveyors' and hospitals' use and perceived usefulness of clinical indicator reports and the potential to establish the control relationship between the accreditation and reporting systems. The control relationship refers to instructional directives, arising from appropriately designed methods and efforts towards using clinical indicators, which provide a directed moderating, balancing and best outcome for the connected systems. Web-based questionnaire survey. Australian Council on Healthcare Standards' (ACHS) accreditation and clinical indicator programmes. Seventy-three of 306 surveyors responded. Half used the reports always/most of the time. Five key messages were revealed: (i) report use was related to availability before on-site investigation; (ii) report use was associated with the use of non-ACHS reports; (iii) a clinical indicator set's perceived usefulness was associated with its reporting volume across hospitals; (iv) simpler measures and visual summaries in reports were rated the most useful; (v) reports were deemed to be suitable for the quality and safety objectives of the key groups of interested parties (hospitals' senior executive and management officers, clinicians, quality managers and surveyors). Implementing the control relationship between the reporting and accreditation systems is a promising expectation. Redesigning processes to ensure reports are available in pre-survey packages and refined education of surveyors and hospitals on how to better utilize the reports will support the relationship. Additional studies on the systems' theory-based model of the accreditation and reporting system are warranted to establish the control relationship, building integrated system-wide relationships with sustainable and improved outcomes.

  11. Impact of clinic follow-up visits on body weight control in people with prediabetes or diabetes mellitus: Japanese nonelderly cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ono, Sachiko; Ono, Yosuke; Matsui, Hiroki; Yasunaga, Hideo

    2017-09-01

    Body weight control is considered essential for the management of diabetes mellitus. Clinicians have an important role in educating and guiding patients with diabetes to control their body weight. The aim of the present study was to clarify if clinic visits influenced body weight control of people with prediabetes or diabetes mellitus. To examine whether individuals with diabetes mellitus who visit clinics show better weight control. We used a large Japanese database (Japan Medical Data Center, Tokyo, Japan) of screening for lifestyle disease linked with administrative claim data to retrospectively identify people with prediabetes or diabetes mellitus based on their fasting plasma glucose and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) concentration. We collected data on their baseline characteristics (including age, sex, body mass index and disease history) and their lifestyles. We used propensity-score inverse probability of treatment weighted generalized estimating equations to examine the association between clinic visits and change in body mass index. Between 2013 and 2014, we identified 11004 individuals with prediabetes or diabetes. The proportions visiting clinics after the first diagnosis made at screening was 27.8%. Clinic visit was significantly associated with lower body mass index after adjustment for baseline patient characteristics a year after first screening (-0.17 kg/m2; 95% confidence interval, -0.22 to -0.12). In Japanese people found to have prediabetes or diabetes during an annual health screen, those who visited clinics after their first diagnosis were likely to have better body weight control. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  12. Immediate effect of nonspecific mandibular mobilization on postural control in subjects with temporomandibular disorder: a single-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amaral, Ana P; Politti, Fabiano; Hage, Yasmin E; Arruda, Eric E C; Amorin, Cesar F; Biasotto-Gonzalez, Daniela A

    2013-01-01

    Temporomandibular disorder (TMD) is considered multifactorial and is defined as a group of pain conditions characterized by functional stomatognathic system alterations, which may be affected by or related disrupted postural control. Assess the immediate effect of nonspecific mandibular mobilization (NMM) on the postural control of subjects diagnosed or not with TMD. A simple-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial was performed involving 50 subjects of both genders assigned to two groups: the TMD group and the control group. TMD was diagnosed according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD). A stabilometric assessment was performed by testing subjects in a quiet stance on a dual force platform under two visual conditions (eyes open and eyes closed). The Center of Pressure (CoP)-related variables analyzed were displacement, amplitude, speed of anterior-posterior (AP) and medial-lateral (ML) displacements and CoP sway area. The mean values of each variable were compared, considering the accepted significance value of ppostural control in patients with TMD.

  13. Comparing attentional control and intrusive thoughts in obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and non clinical population.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehri Moradi

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Attention is an important factor in information processing; obsessive- compulsive disorder (OCD and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD are two main emotional disorders with a chronic course. This research examined the relationship among attentional control and intrusive thoughts (worry, rumination and obsession in these disorders. It was hypothesized that attentional control is a common factor in OCD and GAD. In addition, we compared worry, rumination and obsession among OCD, GAD and non- clinical participants.The research sample included three groups: OCD (n = 25, GAD (n = 30 and non- clinical samples (n = 56. Data were collected using the Attentional Control Scale (ACS, Rumination Response Scale (RRS, Pennsylvania State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI, Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI, Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28. Data were analyzed using MANOVA and MANCOVA by SPSS-17.Multivariate Analysis of Variance revealed that the OCD and GAD groups reported greater deficits in attentional control, higher obsessive-compulsive symptoms, rumination, worry, anxiety and depression compared to the control group.This research indicated a great attentional deficit in obsessive- compulsive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. However, no significant difference was found between these two disorders.

  14. Bringing explicit insight into cognitive psychology features during clinical reasoning seminars: a prospective, controlled study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nendaz, Mathieu R; Gut, Anne M; Louis-Simonet, Martine; Perrier, Arnaud; Vu, Nu V

    2011-04-01

    Facets of reasoning competence influenced by an explicit insight into cognitive psychology features during clinical reasoning seminars have not been specifically explored. This prospective, controlled study, conducted at the University of Geneva Faculty of Medicine, Switzerland, assessed the impact on sixth-year medical students' patient work-up of case-based reasoning seminars, bringing them explicit insight into cognitive aspects of their reasoning. Volunteer students registered for our three-month Internal Medicine elective were assigned to one of two training conditions: standard (control) or modified (intervention) case-based reasoning seminars. These seminars start with the patient's presenting complaint and the students must ask the tutor for additional clinical information to progress through case resolution. For this intervention, the tutors made each step explicit to students and encouraged self-reflection on their reasoning processes. At the end of their elective, students' performances were assessed through encounters with two standardized patients and chart write-ups. Twenty-nine students participated, providing a total of 58 encounters. The overall differences in accuracy of the final diagnosis given to the patient at the end of the encounter (control 63% vs intervention 74%, p = 0.53) and of the final diagnosis mentioned in the patient chart (61% vs 70%, p = 0.58) were not statistically significant. The students in the intervention group significantly more often listed the correct diagnosis among the differential diagnoses in their charts (75% vs 97%, p = 0.02). This case-based clinical reasoning seminar intervention, designed to bring students insight into cognitive features of their reasoning, improved aspects of diagnostic competence.

  15. The barriers and motivators to learning infection control in clinical placements: interviews with midwifery students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ward, Deborah J

    2013-05-01

    To investigate the barriers to and motivators for learning infection prevention and control as identified by midwifery students. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 15 undergraduate midwifery students within one large university. Data were analysed using Framework Analysis. Barriers to good clinical practice were identified by students which were concordant with previous literature related to reasons for non-compliance with infection control precautions. Issues such as competing demands specific to midwifery were also identified. Factors which act as barriers to learning good practice in placements included conflicting information and practices from different staff and placement areas and staff attitudes towards students who tried to comply with precautions. Motivators to good practice included the perceived vulnerability of infants to infection, the role modelling of good practice to new mothers and the monitoring of practice. This study demonstrated that midwifery students perceive barriers and motivators to learning infection prevention and control in their clinical placements. Many of the barriers identified are related to the attitudes and practices of qualified staff. Some of the motivators are related specifically to midwifery practice. Midwives need to be aware of the effects of what is observed in practice on midwifery students and how their practices and attitudes can influence learning both positively and negatively. As healthcare-associated infection and poor compliance with precautions are a global problem, this research should be of benefit to midwives and midwifery educators worldwide in terms of addressing barriers and ensuring better clinical education. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Flow control in s-shaped air intake diffuser of gas turbine using proposed energy promoters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jessam Raed A.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an experimental and numerical investigation of the flow control in an air intake S-shaped diffuser with and without energy promoters. The S-shaped diffuser had an area ratio 3.1and turning angle of 45°/45°. The proposed energy promoter was named as stream line sheet energy promoter. Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation was performed through commercial ANSYS-FLUENT 16.2 software. The measurements were made inside annular subsection, 45° from 360° of the complete annular shape of the diffuser, at Reynolds number 5.8×104 and turbulence intensity 4.1%. Results for the bare S-shaped diffuser (without energy promoters showed the flow structures within the S-shaped diffuser were dominated by counter-rotating vortices and boundary layer separation especially in the outer surface. The combination of the adverse pressure gradient at the first bend of outer surface and upstream low momentum wakes caused the boundary layer to separate early. The combinations of proposed energy promoters were installed on the inner and outer surfaces at three installation planes. The use of energy promoters resulting in significantly decreased the outer surface boundary layer separation with consequential improving the static pressure coefficient and reduction of total pressure losses

  17. Proposed Rule for Control of Air Pollution From New Motor Vehicles: Proposed Heavy-Duty Engine and Vehicle Standards and Highway Diesel Fuel Sulfur Control Requirements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rule summary, CFR citations and additional resources concerning proposed new emission standards that will begin to take effect in 2007 and corresponding diesel fuel requirements that take effect in 2006.

  18. Improvement of the quality control program of the clinical dosimeters calibration laboratory of the IPEN/CNEN-SP

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Damatto, Willian B.; Potiens, Maria da Penha A.; Vivolo, Vitor, E-mail: wbdamatto@ipen.br, E-mail: mppotiens@ipen.br, E-mail: vivolo@ipen.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2013-07-01

    A set of clinical dosimeters (thimble ionization chamber coupled to an electrometer) commonly used in radiotherapy in Brazil and sent to the Calibration Laboratory of IPEN were under several tests and analysis parameters for the dosimeters behaviour were established, specifying their sensitivities and operating characteristics. Applied tests were: repeatability, reproducibility and current leakage. Thus it was possible to determine the most common defects found in these equipment and the actions that could be taken to prevent it (clinical dosimeters quality control programs). The behaviour of 167 dosimeters was analyzed and in this study, 62 of them have been tested. The main problem detected during calibration tests was current leakage, i.e. electronic noise. The tests were applied to the routine measurements at the Calibration Laboratory implementing an ideal calibration procedure. New calibration criteria were established following international recommendations. Therefore, it was made the improvement of the quality control programme of the clinical dosimeters calibration laboratory, benefiting the users of such equipment with better consistent calibration measurements. (author)

  19. Improvement of the quality control program of the clinical dosimeters calibration laboratory of the IPEN/CNEN-SP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Damatto, Willian B.; Potiens, Maria da Penha A.; Vivolo, Vitor

    2013-01-01

    A set of clinical dosimeters (thimble ionization chamber coupled to an electrometer) commonly used in radiotherapy in Brazil and sent to the Calibration Laboratory of IPEN were under several tests and analysis parameters for the dosimeters behaviour were established, specifying their sensitivities and operating characteristics. Applied tests were: repeatability, reproducibility and current leakage. Thus it was possible to determine the most common defects found in these equipment and the actions that could be taken to prevent it (clinical dosimeters quality control programs). The behaviour of 167 dosimeters was analyzed and in this study, 62 of them have been tested. The main problem detected during calibration tests was current leakage, i.e. electronic noise. The tests were applied to the routine measurements at the Calibration Laboratory implementing an ideal calibration procedure. New calibration criteria were established following international recommendations. Therefore, it was made the improvement of the quality control programme of the clinical dosimeters calibration laboratory, benefiting the users of such equipment with better consistent calibration measurements. (author)

  20. Current quality assurance concepts and considerations for quality control of in-clinic biochemistry testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lester, Sally; Harr, K E; Rishniw, Mark; Pion, Paul

    2013-01-15

    Quality assurance is an implied concept inherent in every consumer's purchase of a product or service. In laboratory testing, quality assurance encompasses preanalytic (sampling, transport, and handling prior to testing), analytic (measurement), and postanalytic (reporting and interpretation) factors. Quality-assurance programs require that procedures are in place to detect errors in all 3 components and that the procedures are characterized by both documentation and correction of errors. There are regulatory bodies that provide mandatory standards for and regulation of human medical laboratories. No such regulations exist for veterinary laboratory testing. The American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology (ASVCP) Quality Assurance and Laboratory Standards Committee was formed in 1996 in response to concerns of ASVCP members about quality assurance and quality control in laboratories performing veterinary testing. Guidelines for veterinary laboratory testing have been developed by the ASVCP. The purpose of this report was to provide an overview of selected quality-assurance concepts and to provide recommendations for quality control for in-clinic biochemistry testing in general veterinary practice.

  1. [Qilin Pills for idiopathic oligoasthenospermia: A multi-centered randomized double-blind controlled clinical trial].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mao, Jia-Ming; Jiang, Hui; Wang, Chuan-Hang; Ning, Ke-Qin; Liu, Ji-Hong; Yang, Shu-Wen; Li, Hai-Song; Zhou, Shao-Hu; Zhang, Zhi-Chao; Xu, Ji-Xiu; Huang, Yong-Han

    2017-03-01

    To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Qilin Pills in the treatment of oligoasthenospermia in infertile men. This multi-centered randomized double-blind controlled clinical trial included 216 infertile males with oligoasthenospermia, 108 in the trial group and the other 108 in the control, the former treated with Qilin Pills at the dose of 6 g tid while the latter with Wuziyanzong Pills at 6 g bid, both for 12 weeks. We examined the total sperm count, sperm motility and the count of progressively motile sperm of the patients before and at 4, 8 and 12 weeks after medication and evaluated the safety of the drug based on the adverse events and the laboratory results of blood and urine routine examinations and liver and kidney function tests. Compared with the baseline, the patients in the trial group showed a significant time-dependent improvement after 4, 8 and 12 weeks of medication in sperm motility (21.75% vs 27.54%, 29.04% and 32.95%, P Pills can evidently improve the semen quality of oligoasthenospermia patients with no obvious adverse events.

  2. Modeling tumor control probability for spatially inhomogeneous risk of failure based on clinical outcome data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lühr, Armin; Löck, Steffen; Jakobi, Annika

    2017-01-01

    PURPOSE: Objectives of this work are (1) to derive a general clinically relevant approach to model tumor control probability (TCP) for spatially variable risk of failure and (2) to demonstrate its applicability by estimating TCP for patients planned for photon and proton irradiation. METHODS AND ...

  3. A gesture-controlled projection display for CT-guided interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mewes, A; Saalfeld, P; Riabikin, O; Skalej, M; Hansen, C

    2016-01-01

    The interaction with interventional imaging systems within a sterile environment is a challenging task for physicians. Direct physician-machine interaction during an intervention is rather limited because of sterility and workspace restrictions. We present a gesture-controlled projection display that enables a direct and natural physician-machine interaction during computed tomography (CT)-based interventions. Therefore, a graphical user interface is projected on a radiation shield located in front of the physician. Hand gestures in front of this display are captured and classified using a leap motion controller. We propose a gesture set to control basic functions of intervention software such as gestures for 2D image exploration, 3D object manipulation and selection. Our methods were evaluated in a clinically oriented user study with 12 participants. The results of the performed user study confirm that the display and the underlying interaction concept are accepted by clinical users. The recognition of the gestures is robust, although there is potential for improvements. The gesture training times are less than 10 min, but vary heavily between the participants of the study. The developed gestures are connected logically to the intervention software and intuitive to use. The proposed gesture-controlled projection display counters current thinking, namely it gives the radiologist complete control of the intervention software. It opens new possibilities for direct physician-machine interaction during CT-based interventions and is well suited to become an integral part of future interventional suites.

  4. Clinical Effects of Lactobacillus rhamnosus in Non-Surgical Treatment of Chronic Periodontitis: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial With 1-Year Follow-Up.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morales, Alicia; Carvajal, Paola; Silva, Nora; Hernandez, Marcela; Godoy, Claudia; Rodriguez, Gonzalo; Cabello, Rodrigo; Garcia-Sesnich, Jocelyn; Hoare, Anilei; Diaz, Patricia I; Gamonal, Jorge

    2016-08-01

    Probiotics are living microorganisms that provide beneficial effects for the host when administered in proper quantities. The aim of this double-masked placebo-controlled parallel-arm randomized clinical trial is to evaluate the clinical effects of a Lactobacillus rhamnosus SP1-containing probiotic sachet as an adjunct to non-surgical therapy. Twenty-eight systemically healthy volunteers with chronic periodontitis were recruited and monitored clinically at baseline and 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after therapy. Clinical parameters measured included plaque accumulation, bleeding on probing, probing depths (PDs), and clinical attachment loss. Patients received non-surgical therapy, including scaling and root planing (SRP), and were assigned randomly to a test (SRP + probiotic, n = 14) or control (SRP + placebo, n = 14) group. The intake, once a day for 3 months, of an L. rhamnosus SP1 probiotic sachet commenced after the last session of SRP. Both test and control groups showed improvements in clinical parameters at all time points evaluated. However, the test group showed greater reductions in PD than the control. Also, at initial visits and after 1-year follow-up, the test group showed a statistically significant reduction in the number of participants with PD ≥6 mm, indicating a reduced need for surgery, in contrast to the placebo group. The results of this trial indicate that oral administration of L. rhamnosus SP1 resulted in similar clinical improvements compared with SRP alone.

  5. [A proposal for introduction of Europeristat-compatible information system aiming a unified quality control of obstetrical and perinatological care in Hungary].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berkő, Péter

    2016-05-01

    It is a regrettable deficiency in the Hungarian healthcare that the culture and the system of quality control of cure have not been formed (except for a few subspecialties, units or wards). If hospital wards do not have a national, professionally unified and modern information system presenting the most important quantity and quality indicators of their medicinal activity annually, a stable basis for definition of future tasks is absent. The author puts forward a proposal for the establishment of the information systems for different professional fields. On the basis of experience of perinatological information system operating for over 3 decades in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, he also proposes introduction of a nationally unified, Europeristat-compatible information system following Tauffer-statistics which may serve as a uniform quality control of obstetrics and perinatological care, as well as introduction of its base, the dataform "TePERA" (Form of Obstetrics and Perinatological Care Risk).

  6. External beam radiation for retinoblastoma: Results, patterns of failure, and a proposal for treatment guidelines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hernandez, J. Carlos; Brady, Luther W.; Shields, Jerry A.; Shields, Carol L.; Potter, Patrick de; Karlsson, Ulf L.; Markoe, Arnold M.; Amendola, Beatriz E.; Singh, Arun

    1996-01-01

    Purpose: To analyze treatment results and patterns of failure following external beam radiation for retinoblastoma and propose treatment guidelines according to specific clinical variables. Methods and Materials: We analyzed 27 patients (34 eyes) with retinoblastoma who received external beam radiation as initial treatment at Hahnemann University Hospital from October 1980 to December 1991 and have been followed for at least 1 year. Of the 34 eyes, 14 were Groups I-II (Reese-Ellsworth classification), 7 were Group III, and 13 were Groups IV-V. Doses ranged from 34.5-49.5 Gy (mean 44.3 Gy, median 45 Gy) in 1.5-2.0 Gy fractions generally delivered through anterior and lateral wedged pair fields. Results: At a mean follow up of 35.2 months (range 12-93 months), local tumor control was obtained in 44% (15 out of 34) of eyes with external beam radiation alone. Salvage therapy (plaque brachytherapy, cryotherapy, and/or photocoagulation) controlled an additional 10 eyes (29.5%), so that overall ocular survival has been 73.5%. Local tumor control with external beam radiotherapy alone was obtained in 78.5% (11 out of 14) of eyes in Groups I-II, but in only 20% (4 out of 20) of eyes in Groups III-V. A total of 67 existing tumors were identified prior to treatment in the 34 treated eyes and local control with external beam radiation alone was obtained in 87% (46 out of 53) of tumors measuring 15 mm or less and in 50% (7 out of 14) of tumors measuring more than 15 mm. When analyzing patterns of failure in the 19 eyes that relapsed, a total of 28 failure sites were identified and consisted of progression of vitreous seeds in seven instances (25% of failure sites) recurrences from previously existing tumors in 10 instances (36% of failure sites) and development of new tumors in previously uninvolved retina in 11 instances (39% of failure sites). Conclusions: 1) We find that external beam radiation to a dose of 45 Gy in fractions of 1.5 to 2.0 Gy provides adequate tumor control

  7. Bipolar Disorder and Immune Dysfunction: Epidemiological Findings, Proposed Pathophysiology and Clinical Implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joshua D. Rosenblat

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Bipolar disorder (BD is strongly associated with immune dysfunction. Replicated epidemiological studies have demonstrated that BD has high rates of inflammatory medical comorbidities, including autoimmune disorders, chronic infections, cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders. Cytokine studies have demonstrated that BD is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation with further increases in pro-inflammatory cytokine levels during mood episodes. Several mechanisms have been identified to explain the bidirectional relationship between BD and immune dysfunction. Key mechanisms include cytokine-induced monoamine changes, increased oxidative stress, pathological microglial over-activation, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA axis over-activation, alterations of the microbiome-gut-brain axis and sleep-related immune changes. The inflammatory-mood pathway presents several potential novel targets in the treatment of BD. Several proof-of-concept clinical trials have shown a positive effect of anti-inflammatory agents in the treatment of BD; however, further research is needed to determine the clinical utility of these treatments. Immune dysfunction is likely to only play a role in a subset of BD patients and as such, future clinical trials should also strive to identify which specific group(s of BD patients may benefit from anti-inflammatory treatments.

  8. Investigations on colour dependent photo induced microactuation effect of FSMA and proposing suitable mechanisms to control the effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bagchi, A.; Sarkar, S.; Mukhopadhyay, P. K.

    2018-02-01

    Three different coloured focused laser beams were used to study the photo induced microactuation effect found in some ferromagnetic shape memory alloys. Besides trying to uncover the basic causes of this unique and as yet unexplained effect, these studies are to help find other conditions to further characterize the effect for practical use. In this study some mechanisms have been proposed to control the amplitude of actuation of the sample. Control of the actuation of the FSMA sample both linearly with the help of a continuously variable neutral density filter as well periodically with the help of a linear polarizer was achieved. Statistical analysis of the experimental data was also done by applying ANOVA studies on the data to conclusively provide evidence in support of the relationship between the actuation of the sample and the various controlling factors. This study is expected to pave the way to implement this property of the sample in fabricating and operating useful micro-mechanical systems in the near future.

  9. What is "grazing"? Reviewing its definition, frequency, clinical characteristics, and impact on bariatric surgery outcomes, and proposing a standardized definition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conceição, Eva M; Mitchell, James E; Engel, Scott G; Machado, Paulo P P; Lancaster, Kathryn; Wonderlich, Stephen A

    2014-01-01

    Grazing, characterized by a repetitive eating pattern, has received increased attention among bariatric surgery patients. However, different definitions and terminology have been used, preventing the accurate measurement of this phenomenon and comparison of data across studies. To review existing definitions and associated clinical features of grazing among different samples and to propose a standardized definition that will allow for consistency in future work. University and Clinical Research Institute. Of the 39 studies found, 9 provided an original definition and 12 provided data of its association with weight outcomes. Six were studies of nonbariatric surgery populations. Based on this literature review, the most common criteria used in previous studies to define grazing were included in a survey that was sent to 24 individuals who have published work in the field. These experts were asked to provide their opinion on what should constitute grazing. Grazing is a frequent behavior in the bariatric surgery population as well as in eating disordered and community samples. Its association with psychopathology is not clear, but its negative impact on weight outcomes after bariatric surgery generally has been supported. Survey data provided a consensus regarding the definition of grazing as an eating behavior characterized by the repetitive eating (more than twice) of small/modest amounts of food in an unplanned manner, with what we characterize as compulsive and noncompulsive subtypes. Given the clinical relevance of grazing among bariatric surgery patients, a unique definition is crucial to better study its associated features and impact on different populations. Copyright © 2014 American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. All rights reserved.

  10. Quality of glycaemic control in ambulatory diabetics at the out-patient clinic of Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Otieno, C F; Kariuki, M; Ng'ang'a, L

    2003-08-01

    Treatment of diabetes mellitus is based on the evidence that lowering blood glucose as close to normal range as possible is a primary strategy for reducing or preventing complications or early mortality from diabetes. This suggests poorer glycaemic control would be associated with excess of diabetes-related morbidity and mortality. This presumption is suspected to reach high proportions in developing countries where endemic poverty abets poor glycaemic control. There is no study published on Kenyan patients with diabetes mellitus about their glycaemic control as an audit of diabetes care. To determine the glycaemic control of ambulatory diabetic patients. Cross-sectional study on each clinic day of a randomly selected sample of both type 1 and 2 diabetic patients. Kenyatta National Hospital. Over a period of six months, January 1998 to June 1998. During routine diabetes care in the clinic, mid morning random blood sugar and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) were obtained. A total of 305 diabetic patients were included, 52.8% were females and 47.2% were males. 58.3% were on Oral Hypoglycaemic Agent (OHA) only, 22.3% on insulin only; 9.2% on OHA and insulin and 4.6% on diet only. 39.5% had mean HbA1c or = 8%. Patients on diet-only therapy had the best mean HbA1c = 7.04% while patients on OHA-only had the worst mean HbA1c = 9.06%. This difference was significant (p=0.01). The former group, likely, had better endogenous insulin production. The influence of age, gender and duration of diabetes on the level of glycaemic control observed did not attain statistically significant proportions. The majority of ambulatory diabetic patients attending the out-patient diabetic clinic had poor glycaemic control. The group with the poorest level of glycaemic control were on OHA-only, while best control was observed amongst patients on diet-only, because of possible fair endogenous insulin production. Poor glycaemic control was presumed to be due to sub-optimal medication and

  11. Glycaemic Control among Patients with Diabetes in Primary Care Clinics in Jamaica, 1995 and 2012

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MA Harris

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To compare the quality of care received by patients with diabetes in public primary care clinics in 2012 with that reported in 1995. Methods: Patient records were audited at six randomly selected Type III health centres in the South East Health Region of Jamaica. The 2012 audit data were compared with published data from a similar audit conducted in 1995. Quality of care measures included timely screening tests and counselling of the patients. Fasting and postprandial glucose tests were used to assess glycaemic control. Results: Two hundred and forty-two patient records were analysed in 2012, and 185 in 1995. In 2012, 88% of patients were weighed within the last year compared with 43% in 1995. Advice on physical activity increased from 1% to 60% and on dietary practices from 6% to 79%. No patient had done the HBA1C in 1995 compared to 38% in 2012. In 1995, 66% had blood glucose measured at a laboratory during the last year while in 2012, 60% had a laboratory test and 90% were tested at the clinic by glucometer. Blood pressure control increased from 19% in 1995 to 41% in 2012 (p < 0.001. Poor glucose control was recorded among 61% of patients in 1995 compared with 68% in 2012. Conclusions: There was no improvement in glycaemic control. Health providers and patients must work together to improve patient outcomes. This will involve closer patient monitoring, treatment intensification where indicated, and the adoption of lifestyle practices that can lead to better control.

  12. Proposed Diagnostic Criteria for Smartphone Addiction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Yu-Hsuan; Chiang, Chih-Lin; Lin, Po-Hsien; Chang, Li-Ren; Ko, Chih-Hung; Lee, Yang-Han; Lin, Sheng-Hsuan

    2016-01-01

    Global smartphone penetration has led to unprecedented addictive behaviors. The aims of this study are to develop diagnostic criteria of smartphone addiction and to examine the discriminative ability and the validity of the diagnostic criteria. We developed twelve candidate criteria for characteristic symptoms of smartphone addiction and four criteria for functional impairment caused by excessive smartphone use. The participants consisted of 281 college students. Each participant was systematically assessed for smartphone-using behaviors by psychiatrist's structured diagnostic interview. The sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of the candidate symptom criteria were analyzed with reference to the psychiatrists' clinical global impression. The optimal model selection with its cutoff point of the diagnostic criteria differentiating the smartphone addicted subjects from non-addicted subjects was then determined by the best diagnostic accuracy. Six symptom criteria model with optimal cutoff point were determined based on the maximal diagnostic accuracy. The proposed smartphone addiction diagnostic criteria consisted of (1) six symptom criteria, (2) four functional impairment criteria and (3) exclusion criteria. Setting three symptom criteria as the cutoff point resulted in the highest diagnostic accuracy (84.3%), while the sensitivity and specificity were 79.4% and 87.5%, respectively. We suggested determining the functional impairment by two or more of the four domains considering the high accessibility and penetration of smartphone use. The diagnostic criteria of smartphone addiction demonstrated the core symptoms "impaired control" paralleled with substance related and addictive disorders. The functional impairment involved multiple domains provide a strict standard for clinical assessment.

  13. Proposed Diagnostic Criteria for Smartphone Addiction.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu-Hsuan Lin

    Full Text Available Global smartphone penetration has led to unprecedented addictive behaviors. The aims of this study are to develop diagnostic criteria of smartphone addiction and to examine the discriminative ability and the validity of the diagnostic criteria.We developed twelve candidate criteria for characteristic symptoms of smartphone addiction and four criteria for functional impairment caused by excessive smartphone use. The participants consisted of 281 college students. Each participant was systematically assessed for smartphone-using behaviors by psychiatrist's structured diagnostic interview. The sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of the candidate symptom criteria were analyzed with reference to the psychiatrists' clinical global impression. The optimal model selection with its cutoff point of the diagnostic criteria differentiating the smartphone addicted subjects from non-addicted subjects was then determined by the best diagnostic accuracy.Six symptom criteria model with optimal cutoff point were determined based on the maximal diagnostic accuracy. The proposed smartphone addiction diagnostic criteria consisted of (1 six symptom criteria, (2 four functional impairment criteria and (3 exclusion criteria. Setting three symptom criteria as the cutoff point resulted in the highest diagnostic accuracy (84.3%, while the sensitivity and specificity were 79.4% and 87.5%, respectively. We suggested determining the functional impairment by two or more of the four domains considering the high accessibility and penetration of smartphone use.The diagnostic criteria of smartphone addiction demonstrated the core symptoms "impaired control" paralleled with substance related and addictive disorders. The functional impairment involved multiple domains provide a strict standard for clinical assessment.

  14. Clinical features of adolescents with deliberate self-harm: A case control study in Lisbon, Portugal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diogo F Guerreiro

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available Diogo F Guerreiro, Ema L Neves, Rita Navarro, Raquel Mendes, Ana Prioste, Diana Ribeiro, Tiago Lila, António Neves, Mónica Salgado, Nazaré Santos, Daniel SampaioYouth Suicide Study Group (NES, The Hospital Santa Maria, Psychiatry Department, Lisbon Faculty of Medicine, PortugalAbstract: Deliberate self-harm (DSH among adolescents is a high-risk condition for suicide. The aim of the present study is to describe the characteristic clinical features of adolescents with DSH according to our local context (Lisbon, Portugal, using easily available information from clinical settings. A case control study was constructed from a sample of 100 adolescents (aged 12 to 21 years. The sample was divided into two groups: adolescents with and without DSH. Case files were examined and data was completed by clinical interviews. Demographic, psychosocial, and psychopathological data were assessed and compared. Ninety-eight subjects completed the protocol. The DSH group was associated with the following: suicidal ideation or suicidal behavior as consultation motive, emergency room referral, previous follow-up attempts, suicidal ideation, psychosocial difficulties, or lack of therapeutic goals. There was a nonsignificant trend towards diagnosis of depression in the DSH group. These results reflect our clinical practice with adolescents and add data about teenagers who self-harm to the literature. Prevention and early recognition of DSH (and frequently associated depression in adolescents are essential and could be life-saving measures. An integrated approach, which takes into account psychosocial difficulties, family dysfunction, and negative expectations, seems to be of great importance.Keywords: deliberate self-harm, suicide, adolescents, suicide risk, case control

  15. Clinical and psychological moderators of the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on persistent pain in women treated for primary breast cancer - explorative analyses from a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johannsen, M; O'Toole, M S; O'Connor, M; Jensen, A B; Zachariae, R

    2017-02-01

    Mindfulness-based intervention has been found efficacious in reducing persistent pain in women treated for breast cancer. Little, however, is known about possible moderators of the effect. We explored clinical and psychological moderators of the effect on pain intensity previously found in a randomized controlled trial of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) with women treated for breast cancer with persistent pain. A total of 129 women treated for breast cancer reporting persistent pain were randomized to MBCT or a wait-list control. The primary outcome of pain intensity (11-point numeric rating scale) was measured at baseline, post-intervention, three, and six months follow-up. Proposed clinical moderators included age, axillary lymph node dissection (ALND), radiotherapy, and endocrine treatment. Psychological moderators included psychological distress [the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)], the adult attachment dimensions anxiety and avoidance [the Experiences in Close Relationships Short Form (the ECR-SF)], and alexithymia [the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20)]. Multi-level models were used to test moderation effects over time, i.e. time × group × moderator. Only attachment avoidance (p = 0.03, d = 0.36) emerged as a statistically significant moderator. Higher levels of attachment avoidance predicted a larger effect of MBCT in reducing pain intensity compared with lower levels attachment avoidance. None of the remaining psychological or clinical moderators reached statistical significance. However, based on the effect size, radiotherapy (p = 0.075, d = 0.49) was indicated as a possible clinical moderator of the effect, with radiotherapy being associated with a smaller effect of MBCT on pain intensity over time compared with no radiotherapy. Attachment avoidance, and potentially radiotherapy, may be clinically relevant factors for identifying the patients who may benefit most from MBCT as a pain intervention. Due to

  16. Clinical relevance of surgical site infection as defined by the criteria of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henriksen, N A; Meyhoff, C S; Wetterslev, J

    2010-01-01

    Surgical site infection (SSI) is a common complication after abdominal surgery and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria are commonly used for diagnosis and surveillance. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether SSI diagnosed according to CDC is clinically relevant (C...... a suitable standard definition for monitoring and identifying SSI, even if some cases of less clinically significant superficial SSI are included.......Surgical site infection (SSI) is a common complication after abdominal surgery and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria are commonly used for diagnosis and surveillance. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether SSI diagnosed according to CDC is clinically relevant...... hospital stay or referral to an intensive care unit for SSI. The rate of CRSSI was 38 of 54 (70%) in patients with CDC-diagnosed SSI and none in patients without a CDC-diagnosed SSI. Sixty-one percent of the CDC-diagnosed SSIs were superficial, of which 48% were considered clinically relevant...

  17. [Analysis of the results of the 2010 External Quality Control Program of the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruiz de Gopegui Bordes, Enrique; Serrano, M del Remedio Guna; Orta Mira, Nieves; Ovies, María Rosario; Poveda, Marta; Cardona, Concepción Gimeno

    2011-12-01

    The External Quality Control Program of the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology includes controls for bacteriology, serology, mycology, parasitology, mycobacteria, virology and molecular microbiology. This article presents the most important conclusions and lessons of the 2010 controls. As a whole, the results obtained in 2010 confirm the excellent skill and good technical standards found in previous years. However, erroneous results can be obtained in any laboratory and in clinically relevant determinations. The results of this program highlight the need to implement both internal and external controls to ensure maximal quality of microbiological tests(1). Copyright © 2011 Elsevier España S.L. All rights reserved.

  18. [Brief discussion on acupuncture technique "controlling Qihai to regulate blood pressure" proposed by academician SHI Xuemin].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Liang; Xu, Xifa; Liu, Jian; Fan, Xiaonong

    2017-08-12

    According to Qihai theory, academician SHI Xuemin established the acupuncture technique "controlling Qihai to regulate blood pressure" which focused on Renying (ST 9), and achieved favorable effects in clinical application. In this paper, based on the Qihai theory, from aspects of Yuan qi , Zong qi , Ying qi and Wei qi and relations among qi , blood and veins in TCM, and cardiac output, sympathetic nerve activity and blood vessels in modern medicine, the understanding on hypertension was explained. As a result, both TCM and modern medicine had consistency in the understanding of hypertension, reflecting the scientificity and practicability of this acupuncture technique. Besides, according to Qihai theory and "wind leading to vertigo" theory, academician SHI Xuemin brought forward the key pathogenesis of hypertension was "dysfunction of Qihai ", and the acupoint selected Renying (ST 9), Quchi (LI 11), Hegu (LI 4), Zusanli (ST 36) and Taichong (LR 3). At the same time, the operation specification of each acupoint was mainly discussed, and the references of acupoint selection was explained based on TCM theory and modern clinical research.

  19. 76 FR 63355 - Proposed Information Collection (Prevalence and Clinical course of Depression Among patients with...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-12

    ...: Prevalence and Clinical Course of Depression Among Patients with Heart Failure, VA HSR&D, Nursing Research... hospitalization and outpatient care, and to understand the temporal relationship between clinical depression... (Prevalence and Clinical course of Depression Among patients with Heart Failure); Comment Request AGENCY...

  20. Brain control of volitional ankle tasks in people with chronic stroke and in healthy individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beaulieu, L D; Massé-Alarie, H; Brouwer, B; Schneider, C

    2014-03-15

    This study explored the relationships between motor cortical control of ankle dorsiflexors and clinical impairments of volitional ankle dorsiflexion in people with chronic stroke. Eighteen persons with stroke and 14 controls were evaluated. Clinical tools were used to assess ankle dorsiflexion amplitude and isometric strength. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the primary motor cortex (M1) tested the functional integrity of cortical circuits controlling the tibialis anterior (TA). All clinical scores and most TMS outcomes were impaired in people with chronic stroke. The lower clinical scores were related to the reduction of the strength of corticospinal projections onto spinal motoneurons. Concurrent TMS and clinical testing in chronic stroke provided original data demonstrating relationships between the integrity of cortical and corticospinal components of TA motor control and volitional ankle tasks. Our study proposes that volitional ankle mobilization in chronic stroke may be explained by the residual abnormal M1 circuits which may be responsive for rehabilitation intervention. This should be confirmed in longitudinal studies with larger samples to determine whether TMS outcomes associated with lower limb muscles are predictive of clinical changes or vice versa. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Can the Hazard Assessment and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system be used to design process-based hygiene concepts?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hübner, N-O; Fleßa, S; Haak, J; Wilke, F; Hübner, C; Dahms, C; Hoffmann, W; Kramer, A

    2011-01-01

    Recently, the HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) concept was proposed as possible way to implement process-based hygiene concepts in clinical practice, but the extent to which this food safety concept can be transferred into the health care setting is unclear. We therefore discuss possible ways for a translation of the principles of the HACCP for health care settings. While a direct implementation of food processing concepts into health care is not very likely to be feasible and will probably not readily yield the intended results, the underlying principles of process-orientation, in-process safety control and hazard analysis based counter measures are transferable to clinical settings. In model projects the proposed concepts should be implemented, monitored, and evaluated under real world conditions.

  2. Improvements in cognition, quality of life, and physical performance with clinical Pilates in multiple sclerosis: a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Küçük, Fadime; Kara, Bilge; Poyraz, Esra Çoşkuner; İdiman, Egemen

    2016-03-01

    [Purpose] The aim of this study was to determine the effects of clinical Pilates in multiple sclerosis patients. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty multiple sclerosis patients were enrolled in this study. The participants were divided into two groups as the clinical Pilates and control groups. Cognition (Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite), balance (Berg Balance Scale), physical performance (timed performance tests, Timed up and go test), tiredness (Modified Fatigue Impact scale), depression (Beck Depression Inventory), and quality of life (Multiple Sclerosis International Quality of Life Questionnaire) were measured before and after treatment in all participants. [Results] There were statistically significant differences in balance, timed performance, tiredness and Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite tests between before and after treatment in the clinical Pilates group. We also found significant differences in timed performance tests, the Timed up and go test and the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite between before and after treatment in the control group. According to the difference analyses, there were significant differences in Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite and Multiple Sclerosis International Quality of Life Questionnaire scores between the two groups in favor of the clinical Pilates group. There were statistically significant clinical differences in favor of the clinical Pilates group in comparison of measurements between the groups. Clinical Pilates improved cognitive functions and quality of life compared with traditional exercise. [Conclusion] In Multiple Sclerosis treatment, clinical Pilates should be used as a holistic approach by physical therapists.

  3. PROPOSAL OF A CLINICAL CARE PATHWAY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF ACUTE UPPER GASTROINTESTINAL BLEEDING.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franco, Matheus Cavalcante; Nakao, Frank Shigueo; Rodrigues, Rodrigo; Maluf-Filho, Fauze; Paulo, Gustavo Andrade de; Libera, Ermelindo Della

    2015-12-01

    Upper gastrointestinal bleeding implies significant clinical and economic repercussions. The correct establishment of the latest therapies for the upper gastrointestinal bleeding is associated with reduced in-hospital mortality. The use of clinical pathways for the upper gastrointestinal bleeding is associated with shorter hospital stay and lower hospital costs. The primary objective is the development of a clinical care pathway for the management of patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding, to be used in tertiary hospital. It was conducted an extensive literature review on the management of upper gastrointestinal bleeding, contained in the primary and secondary information sources. The result is a clinical care pathway for the upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with evidence of recent bleeding, diagnosed by melena or hematemesis in the last 12 hours, who are admitted in the emergency rooms and intensive care units of tertiary hospitals. In this compact and understandable pathway, it is well demonstrated the management since the admission, with definition of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, passing through the initial clinical treatment, posterior guidance for endoscopic therapy, and referral to rescue therapies in cases of persistent or rebleeding. It was also included the care that must be taken before hospital discharge for all patients who recover from an episode of bleeding. The introduction of a clinical care pathway for patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding may contribute to standardization of medical practices, decrease in waiting time for medications and services, length of hospital stay and costs.

  4. Ubiquitous Multicriteria Clinic Recommendation System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Toly

    2016-05-01

    Advancements in information, communication, and sensor technologies have led to new opportunities in medical care and education. Patients in general prefer visiting the nearest clinic, attempt to avoid waiting for treatment, and have unequal preferences for different clinics and doctors. Therefore, to enable patients to compare multiple clinics, this study proposes a ubiquitous multicriteria clinic recommendation system. In this system, patients can send requests through their cell phones to the system server to obtain a clinic recommendation. Once the patient sends this information to the system, the system server first estimates the patient's speed according to the detection results of a global positioning system. It then applies a fuzzy integer nonlinear programming-ordered weighted average approach to assess four criteria and finally recommends a clinic with maximal utility to the patient. The proposed methodology was tested in a field experiment, and the experimental results showed that it is advantageous over two existing methods in elevating the utilities of recommendations. In addition, such an advantage was shown to be statistically significant.

  5. Best strategies to implement clinical pathways in an emergency department setting: study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jabbour, Mona; Curran, Janet; Scott, Shannon D; Guttman, Astrid; Rotter, Thomas; Ducharme, Francine M; Lougheed, M Diane; McNaughton-Filion, M Louise; Newton, Amanda; Shafir, Mark; Paprica, Alison; Klassen, Terry; Taljaard, Monica; Grimshaw, Jeremy; Johnson, David W

    2013-05-22

    The clinical pathway is a tool that operationalizes best evidence recommendations and clinical practice guidelines in an accessible format for 'point of care' management by multidisciplinary health teams in hospital settings. While high-quality, expert-developed clinical pathways have many potential benefits, their impact has been limited by variable implementation strategies and suboptimal research designs. Best strategies for implementing pathways into hospital settings remain unknown. This study will seek to develop and comprehensively evaluate best strategies for effective local implementation of externally developed expert clinical pathways. We will develop a theory-based and knowledge user-informed intervention strategy to implement two pediatric clinical pathways: asthma and gastroenteritis. Using a balanced incomplete block design, we will randomize 16 community emergency departments to receive the intervention for one clinical pathway and serve as control for the alternate clinical pathway, thus conducting two cluster randomized controlled trials to evaluate this implementation intervention. A minimization procedure will be used to randomize sites. Intervention sites will receive a tailored strategy to support full clinical pathway implementation. We will evaluate implementation strategy effectiveness through measurement of relevant process and clinical outcomes. The primary process outcome will be the presence of an appropriately completed clinical pathway on the chart for relevant patients. Primary clinical outcomes for each clinical pathway include the following: Asthma--the proportion of asthmatic patients treated appropriately with corticosteroids in the emergency department and at discharge; and Gastroenteritis--the proportion of relevant patients appropriately treated with oral rehydration therapy. Data sources include chart audits, administrative databases, environmental scans, and qualitative interviews. We will also conduct an overall process

  6. Improved participants' understanding of research information in real settings using the SIDCER informed consent form: a randomized-controlled informed consent study nested with eight clinical trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koonrungsesomboon, Nut; Tharavanij, Thipaporn; Phiphatpatthamaamphan, Kittichet; Vilaichone, Ratha-Korn; Manuwong, Sudsayam; Curry, Parichat; Siramolpiwat, Sith; Punchaipornpon, Thanachai; Kanitnate, Supakit; Tammachote, Nattapol; Yamprasert, Rodsarin; Chanvimalueng, Waipoj; Kaewkumpai, Ruchirat; Netanong, Soiphet; Kitipawong, Peerapong; Sritipsukho, Paskorn; Karbwang, Juntra

    2017-02-01

    This study aimed to test the applicability and effectiveness of the principles and informed consent form (ICF) template proposed by the Strategic Initiative for Developing Capacity in Ethical Review (SIDCER) across multiple clinical trials involving Thai research participants with various conditions. A single-center, randomized-controlled study nested with eight clinical trials was conducted at Thammasat University Hospital, Thailand. A total of 258 participants from any of the eight clinical trials were enrolled and randomly assigned to read either the SIDCER ICF (n = 130) or the conventional ICF (n = 128) of the respective trial. Their understanding of necessary information was assessed using the post-test questionnaire; they were allowed to consult a given ICF while completing the questionnaire. The primary endpoint was the proportion of the participants who had the post-test score of ≥80%, and the secondary endpoint was the total score of the post-test. The proportion of the participants in the SIDCER ICF group who achieved the primary endpoint was significantly higher than that of the conventional ICF group (60.8 vs. 41.4%, p = 0.002). The total score of the post-test was also significantly higher among the participants who read the SIDCER ICF than those who read the conventional ICF (83.3 vs. 76.0%, p study demonstrated that the SIDCER ICF was applicable and effective to improve Thai research participants' understanding of research information in diverse clinical trials. Using the SIDCER ICF methodology, clinical researchers can improve the quality of ICFs for their trials.

  7. Clinical audits: who does control what? European guide lines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jarvinen, H.

    2009-01-01

    The E.C. directive 97/43/EURATOM (M.E.D.-directive) introduced the concept of Clinical Audit for the assessment of medical radiological practices (diagnostic radiology, nuclear medicine and radiotherapy). The European Commission started in June 2007 a special project to review in detail the status of implementation of Clinical audits in Member States and to prepare European Guidance on Clinical Audits for diagnostic radiology, nuclear medicine and radiotherapy. The purpose of this E.C. project is to provide clear and comprehensive information and guidance on the procedures and criteria for clinical audits in all radiological practices, in order to improve the implementation of Article 6.4 of the M.E.D.-directive. The guidance should be flexible and enable the member States to adopt the model of clinical audit with respect to their national legislation and administrative provisions. By definition, clinical audit is a systematic examination or review of medical radiological procedures. It seeks to improve the quality and the outcome of patient care through structured review whereby radiological practices, procedures and results are examined against agreed standards for good medical radiological procedures. Modifications of the practices are implemented where indicated and new standards applied if necessary. The general objectives of clinical audit should be: to improve the quality of patient care, to promote the effective use of resources, to enhance the provision and organization of clinical services, to further professional education and training. Clinical audits must be at the same time internal (set by the management of the department) and external (set by external auditors at the department). It must not be confused with other evaluation activities such inspections, accreditation or quality system certifications. Clinical audits should address structure, process and outcome such the unit mission, quality assurance, dosimetry and treatments follow-up. The recent

  8. Adaptive control of 5 DOF upper-limb exoskeleton robot with improved safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Hao-Bo; Wang, Jian-Hui

    2013-11-01

    This paper studies an adaptive control strategy for a class of 5 DOF upper-limb exoskeleton robot with a special safety consideration. The safety requirement plays a critical role in the clinical treatment when assisting patients with shoulder, elbow and wrist joint movements. With the objective of assuring the tracking performance of the pre-specified operations, the proposed adaptive controller is firstly designed to be robust to the model uncertainties. To further improve the safety and fault-tolerance in the presence of unknown large parameter variances or even actuator faults, the adaptive controller is on-line updated according to the information provided by an adaptive observer without additional sensors. An output tracking performance is well achieved with a tunable error bound. The experimental example also verifies the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme. © 2013 ISA. Published by ISA. All rights reserved.

  9. Topical glyceryl trinitrate treatment of chronic patellar tendinopathy : a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Steunebrink, Mirjam; Zwerver, Johannes; Brandsema, Ruben; Groenenboom, Petra; van den Akker-Scheek, Inge; Weir, Adam

    Objectives To assess if continuous topical glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) treatment improves outcome in patients with chronic patellar tendinopathy when compared with eccentric training alone. Methods Randomised double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial comparing a 12-week programme of using a GTN

  10. Treatment of chronic tension-type headache with botulinum toxin: a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Padberg, M.; de Bruijn, S. F. T. M.; de Haan, R. J.; Tavy, D. L. J.

    2004-01-01

    Botulinum toxin is increasingly advocated as effective treatment in chronic tension-type headache. We conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial to prove efficacy of botulinum toxin in chronic tension-type headache. Patients were randomly assigned to receive botulinum toxin (maximum

  11. Impact of a Multifaceted and Clinically Integrated Training Program in Evidence-Based Practice on Knowledge, Skills, Beliefs and Behaviour among Clinical Instructors in Physiotherapy: A Non-Randomized Controlled Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olsen, Nina Rydland; Bradley, Peter; Espehaug, Birgitte; Nortvedt, Monica Wammen; Lygren, Hildegunn; Frisk, Bente; Bjordal, Jan Magnus

    2015-01-01

    Physiotherapists practicing at clinical placement sites assigned the role as clinical instructors (CIs), are responsible for supervising physiotherapy students. For CIs to role model evidence-based practice (EBP) they need EBP competence. The aim of this study was to assess the short and long term impact of a six-month multifaceted and clinically integrated training program in EBP on the knowledge, skills, beliefs and behaviour of CIs supervising physiotherapy students. We invited 37 CIs to participate in this non-randomized controlled study. Three self-administered questionnaires were used pre- and post-intervention, and at six-month follow-up: 1) The Adapted Fresno test (AFT), 2) the EBP Belief Scale and 3) the EBP Implementation Scale. The analysis approach was linear regression modeling using Generalized Estimating Equations. In total, 29 CIs agreed to participate in the study: 14 were invited to participate in the intervention group and 15 were invited to participate in the control group. One in the intervention group and five in the control group were lost to follow-up. At follow-up, the group difference was statistically significant for the AFT (mean difference = 37, 95% CI (15.9 -58.1), p students.

  12. Stock Versus CAD/CAM Customized Zirconia Implant Abutments – Clinical and Patient‐Based Outcomes in a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meijer, Henny J.A.; Kerdijk, Wouter; Raghoebar, Gerry M.; Cune, Marco

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Background Single‐tooth replacement often requires a prefabricated dental implant and a customized crown. The benefits of individualization of the abutment remain unclear. Purpose This randomized controlled clinical trial aims to study potential benefits of individualization of zirconia implant abutments with respect to preservation of marginal bone level and several clinical and patient‐based outcome measures. Material and Methods Fifty participants with a missing premolar were included and randomly assigned to standard (ZirDesign, DentsplySirona Implants, Mölndal, Sweden) or computer aided design/computer aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) customized (Atlantis, DentsplySirona Implants, Mölndal, Sweden) zirconia abutment therapy. Peri‐implant bone level (primary outcome), Plaque‐index, calculus formation, bleeding on probing, gingiva index, probing pocket depth, recession, appearance of soft tissues and patients' contentment were assessed shortly after placement and one year later. Results No implants were lost and no complications related to the abutments were observed. Statistically significant differences between stock and CAD/CAM customized zirconia abutments could not be demonstrated for any of the operationalized variables. Conclusion The use of a CAD/CAM customized zirconia abutment in single tooth replacement of a premolar is not associated with an improvement in clinical performance or patients' contentment when compared to the use of a stock zirconia abutment. PMID:27476829

  13. 78 FR 7437 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request (60-Day FRN); The Clinical Trials Reporting Program (CTRP...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-01

    ... for public comment on proposed data collection projects, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects to be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget... proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) The...

  14. Poor anticoagulation control in patients taking warfarin at a tertiary and districtlevel prothrombin clinic in Cape Town South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I Ebrahim

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Background. Warfarin is the most commonly used anticoagulant for both primary and secondary prevention of thromboembolism. For anticoagulation efficacy, the international normalised ratio (INR needs to be within the therapeutic range for at least 65% of time on warfarin.Objectives. To describe INR control in patients on long-term warfarin and identified predictors of good INR control at two dedicated warfarin follow-up clinics in Cape Town, South Africa (SA.Methods. We reviewed clinical records of patients in care at the INR clinics at Mitchell’s Plain Community Health Centre and Groote Schuur Hospital. We included patients who had been on warfarin therapy for at least 27 months and excluded patients with <6 months of INR monitoring data or a >70-day gap between INR tests in the calculation period, and if >25% of follow-up time was at an alternative site. The time in therapeutic range (TTR over 180 days using the Rosendaal method was calculated, and we categorised INR control as good if the TTR was ≥65%. We constructed a multivariate logistic regression model to identify associations with good INR control.Results. We included 363 patients, with a median age of 55 years (interquartile range (IQR 44 - 64, of whom 65.6% were women. The most common indications for warfarin were valvular heart disease (45.7% and atrial fibrillation (25.1%. The mean TTR was 47%, with only 91/363 patients having good INR control. In a multivariate model adjusted for age, sex, clinic and target INR, patients aged ≥55 years were more likely to have good INR control than younger patients (adjusted odds ratio 1.69, 95% confidence interval 1.03 - 2.79. Poorly controlled patients had more frequent INR monitoring than those with good INR control, with a median of 8 INRs (IQR 6 - 10 v. 6 INRs (IQR 5 - 8 in the 180-day period (p<0.0001.Conclusions. Only 25.1% of patients in our study achieved good INR control, despite regular INR monitoring. There is an

  15. ORGANIZATION AND PLANNING IN CHILDREN WITH ADHD: EVALUATION AND PROPOSAL OF A STIMULATION PROGRAM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Josefina Rubiales

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD is a neurobiological disorder of a complex and heterogeneous origin characterized by a persistent pattern of inattention, hyperactivity and / or impulsivity. Is one of the most common neurobehavioral disorders in childhood and adolescence, and one of the main reasons for consultation because of difficulties in school performance, behavior problems, difficulties of living at home and with peers, involvement in self-esteem and aggressiveness. The primary deficit is associated with executive dysfunction, among which is the organization and planning. The aim of this study was to compare the performance in organization and planning of children with and without a diagnosis of ADHD and submit a stimulation proposal according to their needs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The clinical sample comprised 16 children diagnosed with ADHD and the control sample of 32 children without a diagnosis, in both cases 8 to 14 years old and from the city of Mar del Plata (Argentina. The instruments used to evaluate the organization and planning has been the subtest Torres of Mexico Child Neuropsychological Battery (ENI, and cubes subtests Construction, Completion and Management Object Test Story Weschler Intelligence for children and adolescents. The proposed treatment includes 8 sessions of stimulation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Children with ADHD have greater difficulty in planning and organizational skills than the children of the control sample, from which it establishes a estimulation proposal, whose originality and advantage is accentuated in the ecological validity the process.

  16. Implementation of the Ohio College Library Center's Proposed Serials Control Subsystem at the University of South Florida Library: Some Preliminary Considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Twitchell, Anne; Sprehn, Mary

    An evaluation of the Ohio College Library Center's (OCLC) proposed Serials Control Subsystem was undertaken to determine what effect the system would have on the operation of the Serials Department at the University of South Florida (USF) Library. The system would consist of three components: 1) claiming--identifying missing issues and generating…

  17. 75 FR 57470 - Clinical Center; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Customer and Other Partners Satisfaction...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-21

    ... Collection; Comment Request; Customer and Other Partners Satisfaction Surveys SUMMARY: In compliance with the... Satisfaction Surveys. Type of Information Collection Request: Extension request. Need and Use of Information... evaluate the satisfaction of various Clinical Center customers and other partners with Clinical Center...

  18. Five-year review of an international clinical research-training program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suemoto, Claudia Kimie; Ismail, Sherine; Corrêa, Paulo César Rodrigues Pinto; Khawaja, Faiza; Jerves, Teodoro; Pesantez, Laura; Germani, Ana Claudia Camargo Gonçalves; Zaina, Fabio; dos Santos, Augusto Cesar Soares; de Oliveira Ferreira, Ricardo Jorge; Singh, Priyamvada; Paulo, Judy Vicente; Matsubayashi, Suely Reiko; Vidor, Liliane Pinto; Andretta, Guilherme; Tomás, Rita; Illigens, Ben MW; Fregni, Felipe

    2015-01-01

    The exponential increase in clinical research has profoundly changed medical sciences. Evidence that has accumulated in the past three decades from clinical trials has led to the proposal that clinical care should not be based solely on clinical expertise and patient values, and should integrate robust data from systematic research. As a consequence, clinical research has become more complex and methods have become more rigorous, and evidence is usually not easily translated into clinical practice. Therefore, the instruction of clinical research methods for scientists and clinicians must adapt to this new reality. To address this challenge, a global distance-learning clinical research-training program was developed, based on collaborative learning, the pedagogical goal of which was to develop critical thinking skills in clinical research. We describe and analyze the challenges and possible solutions of this course after 5 years of experience (2008–2012) with this program. Through evaluation by students and faculty, we identified and reviewed the following challenges of our program: 1) student engagement and motivation, 2) impact of heterogeneous audience on learning, 3) learning in large groups, 4) enhancing group learning, 5) enhancing social presence, 6) dropouts, 7) quality control, and 8) course management. We discuss these issues and potential alternatives with regard to our research and background. PMID:25878518

  19. Five-year review of an international clinical research-training program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suemoto, Claudia Kimie; Ismail, Sherine; Corrêa, Paulo César Rodrigues Pinto; Khawaja, Faiza; Jerves, Teodoro; Pesantez, Laura; Germani, Ana Claudia Camargo Gonçalves; Zaina, Fabio; Dos Santos, Augusto Cesar Soares; de Oliveira Ferreira, Ricardo Jorge; Singh, Priyamvada; Paulo, Judy Vicente; Matsubayashi, Suely Reiko; Vidor, Liliane Pinto; Andretta, Guilherme; Tomás, Rita; Illigens, Ben Mw; Fregni, Felipe

    2015-01-01

    The exponential increase in clinical research has profoundly changed medical sciences. Evidence that has accumulated in the past three decades from clinical trials has led to the proposal that clinical care should not be based solely on clinical expertise and patient values, and should integrate robust data from systematic research. As a consequence, clinical research has become more complex and methods have become more rigorous, and evidence is usually not easily translated into clinical practice. Therefore, the instruction of clinical research methods for scientists and clinicians must adapt to this new reality. To address this challenge, a global distance-learning clinical research-training program was developed, based on collaborative learning, the pedagogical goal of which was to develop critical thinking skills in clinical research. We describe and analyze the challenges and possible solutions of this course after 5 years of experience (2008-2012) with this program. Through evaluation by students and faculty, we identified and reviewed the following challenges of our program: 1) student engagement and motivation, 2) impact of heterogeneous audience on learning, 3) learning in large groups, 4) enhancing group learning, 5) enhancing social presence, 6) dropouts, 7) quality control, and 8) course management. We discuss these issues and potential alternatives with regard to our research and background.

  20. Notification: FY 2017 Update of Proposed Key Management Challenges and Internal Control Weaknesses Confronting the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jan 5, 2017. The EPA OIG is beginning work to update for fiscal year 2017 its list of proposed key management challenges and internal control weaknesses confronting the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB).

  1. PROPOSAL OF A CLINICAL CARE PATHWAY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF ACUTE UPPER GASTROINTESTINAL BLEEDING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matheus Cavalcante FRANCO

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Background - Upper gastrointestinal bleeding implies significant clinical and economic repercussions. The correct establishment of the latest therapies for the upper gastrointestinal bleeding is associated with reduced in-hospital mortality. The use of clinical pathways for the upper gastrointestinal bleeding is associated with shorter hospital stay and lower hospital costs. Objective - The primary objective is the development of a clinical care pathway for the management of patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding, to be used in tertiary hospital. Methods - It was conducted an extensive literature review on the management of upper gastrointestinal bleeding, contained in the primary and secondary information sources. Results - The result is a clinical care pathway for the upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with evidence of recent bleeding, diagnosed by melena or hematemesis in the last 12 hours, who are admitted in the emergency rooms and intensive care units of tertiary hospitals. In this compact and understandable pathway, it is well demonstrated the management since the admission, with definition of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, passing through the initial clinical treatment, posterior guidance for endoscopic therapy, and referral to rescue therapies in cases of persistent or rebleeding. It was also included the care that must be taken before hospital discharge for all patients who recover from an episode of bleeding. Conclusion - The introduction of a clinical care pathway for patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding may contribute to standardization of medical practices, decrease in waiting time for medications and services, length of hospital stay and costs.

  2. [The future of clinical laboratory database management system].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kambe, M; Imidy, D; Matsubara, A; Sugimoto, Y

    1999-09-01

    To assess the present status of the clinical laboratory database management system, the difference between the Clinical Laboratory Information System and Clinical Laboratory System was explained in this study. Although three kinds of database management systems (DBMS) were shown including the relational model, tree model and network model, the relational model was found to be the best DBMS for the clinical laboratory database based on our experience and developments of some clinical laboratory expert systems. As a future clinical laboratory database management system, the IC card system connected to an automatic chemical analyzer was proposed for personal health data management and a microscope/video system was proposed for dynamic data management of leukocytes or bacteria.

  3. Clinical spectrum of impulse control disorders in Parkinson's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weintraub, Daniel; David, Anthony S; Evans, Andrew H; Grant, Jon E; Stacy, Mark

    2015-02-01

    Impulse control disorders (ICDs), including compulsive gambling, buying, sexual behavior, and eating, are a serious and increasingly recognized psychiatric complication in Parkinson's disease (PD). Other impulsive-compulsive behaviors (ICBs) have been described in PD, including punding (stereotyped, repetitive, purposeless behaviors) and dopamine dysregulation syndrome (DDS; compulsive PD medication overuse). ICDs have been most closely related to the use of dopamine agonists (DAs), perhaps more so at higher doses; in contrast, DDS is primarily associated with shorter-acting, higher-potency dopaminergic medications, such as apomorphine and levodopa. Possible risk factors for ICDs include male sex, younger age and younger age at PD onset, a pre-PD history of ICDs, and a personal or family history of substance abuse, bipolar disorder, or gambling problems. Given the paucity of treatment options and potentially serious consequences, it is critical for PD patients to be monitored closely for development of ICDs as part of routine clinical care. © 2014 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

  4. Clinical classification criteria for nonspecific low back pain: A Delphi-survey of clinical experts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dewitte, Vincent; De Pauw, Robby; De Meulemeester, Kayleigh; Peersman, Wim; Danneels, Lieven; Bouche, Katie; Roets, Arne; Cagnie, Barbara

    2018-04-01

    Nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP) is a common problem. Attempts have been made to classify NSLBP patients into homogenous subgroups. Classification systems based on identifying the underlying mechanism(s) driving the disorder are clinically useful to guide specific interventions. To establish consensus among experts regarding clinical criteria suggestive of a dominance of 'articular', 'myofascial', 'neural', 'central', and 'sensorimotor control' dysfunction patterns (DPs) in NSLBP patients. A 2-phase sequential design of a focus group and Delphi-study. A focus group with 10 academic experts was organized to elaborate on the different DPs discernible in LBP patients. Consecutively, a 3-round online Delphi-survey was designed to obtain consensual symptoms and physical examination findings for the 5 DPs resulting from the focus group. Fifteen musculoskeletal physical therapists from Belgium and the Netherlands experienced in assessing and treating LBP patients completed the Delphi-survey. Respectively, 34 (response rate, 100.0%), 20 (58.8%) and 15 (44.12%) respondents replied to rounds 1, 2 and 3. Twenty-two 'articular', 20 'myofascial', 21 'neural', 18 'central' and 11 'sensorimotor control' criteria reached a predefined ≥80% consensus level. For example, after round 2, 85.0% of the Delphi-experts agreed to identify 'referred pain below the knee' as a subjective examination criterion suggestive for a predominant 'neural DP'. These indicators suggestive of a clinical dominance of the proposed DPs could help clinicians to assess and diagnose NSLBP patients. Future reliability and validity testing is needed to determine how these criteria may help to improve physical therapy outcome for NSLBP patients. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. 78 FR 35285 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Public Comment Request

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-12

    ... training, administrative and organizational structures, clinical service, challenges, innovations, costs... for public comment on proposed data collection projects (Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork... 20857. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain...

  6. Effectiveness of a mobile cooperation intervention during the clinical practicum of nursing students: a parallel group randomized controlled trial protocol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strandell-Laine, Camilla; Saarikoski, Mikko; Löyttyniemi, Eliisa; Salminen, Leena; Suomi, Reima; Leino-Kilpi, Helena

    2017-06-01

    The aim of this study was to describe a study protocol for a study evaluating the effectiveness of a mobile cooperation intervention to improve students' competence level, self-efficacy in clinical performance and satisfaction with the clinical learning environment. Nursing student-nurse teacher cooperation during the clinical practicum has a vital role in promoting the learning of students. Despite an increasing interest in using mobile technologies to improve the clinical practicum of students, there is limited robust evidence regarding their effectiveness. A multicentre, parallel group, randomized, controlled, pragmatic, superiority trial. Second-year pre-registration nursing students who are beginning a clinical practicum will be recruited from one university of applied sciences. Eligible students will be randomly allocated to either a control group (engaging in standard cooperation) or an intervention group (engaging in mobile cooperation) for the 5-week the clinical practicum. The complex mobile cooperation intervention comprises of a mobile application-assisted, nursing student-nurse teacher cooperation and a training in the functions of the mobile application. The primary outcome is competence. The secondary outcomes include self-efficacy in clinical performance and satisfaction with the clinical learning environment. Moreover, a process evaluation will be undertaken. The ethical approval for this study was obtained in December 2014 and the study received funding in 2015. The results of this study will provide robust evidence on mobile cooperation during the clinical practicum, a research topic that has not been consistently studied to date. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. [BALANCED SCORECARD AS A MANAGEMENT TOOL IN CLINICAL NUTRITION].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutiérrez López, Cristina; Mauriz, Jose L; Culebras, Jesús M

    2015-07-01

    Nowadays, balanced scorecards have updated traditional management systems in the business sector. In this way, Kaplan and Norton propose performance measurement through several perspectives with a logical sequence: internal processes and learning impact client services, so that financial performance is affected. The aim of the present paper is to analyze the main characteristics of balanced scorecard when it is applied to non-for-profit companies and, specifically to the health sector in the clinical nutrition field. This model improves the economic vision of management with clinical indicators that represent healthcare professional's perspective. The balanced scorecard would allow a proper monitoring and tracking system for the main healthcare indicators. This contributes to a better control in comparison with standards that are associated with adequate quality assistance. Owing to the role of management accounting and cost calculations, the definition of healthcare professionals as clients or users, and clinical results relevance, it is necessary to adapt the balanced scorecard to the specific characteristics of the clinical field, redefining both perspectives and indicators. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

  8. A Proposed Molecular Mechanism of High-Dose Vitamin D3 Supplementation in Prevention and Treatment of Preeclampsia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Piotr Zabul

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available A randomized prospective clinical study performed on a group of 74 pregnant women (43 presenting with severe preeclampsia proved that urinary levels of 15-F2t-isoprostane were significantly higher in preeclamptic patients relative to the control (3.05 vs. 2.00 ng/mg creatinine. Surprisingly enough, plasma levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 in both study groups were below the clinical reference range with no significant difference between the groups. In vitro study performed on isolated placental mitochondria and placental cell line showed that suicidal self-oxidation of cytochrome P450scc may lead to structural disintegration of heme, potentially contributing to enhancement of oxidative stress phenomena in the course of preeclampsia. As placental cytochrome P450scc pleiotropic activity is implicated in the metabolism of free radical mediated arachidonic acid derivatives as well as multiple Vitamin D3 hydroxylations and progesterone synthesis, we propose that Vitamin D3 might act as a competitive inhibitor of placental cytochrome P450scc preventing the production of lipid peroxides or excess progesterone synthesis, both of which may contribute to the etiopathogenesis of preeclampsia. The proposed molecular mechanism is in accord with the preliminary clinical observations on the surprisingly high efficacy of high-dose Vitamin D3 supplementation in prevention and treatment of preeclampsia.

  9. Cascade control of superheated steam temperature with neuro-PID controller.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jianhua; Zhang, Fenfang; Ren, Mifeng; Hou, Guolian; Fang, Fang

    2012-11-01

    In this paper, an improved cascade control methodology for superheated processes is developed, in which the primary PID controller is implemented by neural networks trained by minimizing error entropy criterion. The entropy of the tracking error can be estimated recursively by utilizing receding horizon window technique. The measurable disturbances in superheated processes are input to the neuro-PID controller besides the sequences of tracking error in outer loop control system, hence, feedback control is combined with feedforward control in the proposed neuro-PID controller. The convergent condition of the neural networks is analyzed. The implementation procedures of the proposed cascade control approach are summarized. Compared with the neuro-PID controller using minimizing squared error criterion, the proposed neuro-PID controller using minimizing error entropy criterion may decrease fluctuations of the superheated steam temperature. A simulation example shows the advantages of the proposed method. Copyright © 2012 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. A web-based clinical trial management system for a sham-controlled multicenter clinical trial in depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durkalski, Valerie; Wenle Zhao; Dillon, Catherine; Kim, Jaemyung

    2010-04-01

    Clinical trial investigators and sponsors invest vast amounts of resources and energy into conducting trials and often face daily challenges with data management, project management, and data quality control. Rather than waiting months for study progress reports, investigators need the ability to use real-time data for the coordination and management of study activities across all study team members including site investigators, oversight committees, data and safety monitoring boards, and medical safety monitors. Web-based data management systems are beginning to meet this need but what distinguishes one system from the other are user needs/requirements and cost. To illustrate the development and implementation of a web-based data and project management system for a multicenter clinical trial designed to test the superiority of repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation versus sham for the treatment of patients with major depression. The authors discuss the reasons for not using a commercially available system for this study and describe the approach to developing their own web-based system for the OPT-TMS study. Timelines, effort, system architecture, and lessons learned are shared with the hope that this information will direct clinical trial researchers and software developers towards more efficient, user-friendly systems. The developers use a combination of generic and custom application code to allow for the flexibility to adapt the system to the needs of the study. Features of the system include: central participant registration and randomization; secure data entry at the site; participant progress/study calendar; safety data reporting; device accounting; monitor verification; and user-configurable generic reports and built-in customized reports. Hard coding was more time-efficient to address project-specific issues compared with the effort of creating a generic code application. As a consequence of this strategy, the required maintenance of the system is

  11. The effectiveness of a clinically integrated e-learning course in evidence-based medicine: A cluster randomised controlled trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arvanitis Theodoros N

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background To evaluate the educational effects of a clinically integrated e-learning course for teaching basic evidence-based medicine (EBM among postgraduates compared to a traditional lecture-based course of equivalent content. Methods We conducted a cluster randomised controlled trial in the Netherlands and the UK involving postgraduate trainees in six obstetrics and gynaecology departments. Outcomes (knowledge gain and change in attitude towards EBM were compared between the clinically integrated e-learning course (intervention and the traditional lecture based course (control. We measured change from pre- to post-intervention scores using a validated questionnaire assessing knowledge (primary outcome and attitudes (secondary outcome. Results There were six clusters involving teaching of 61 postgraduate trainees (28 in the intervention and 33 in the control group. The intervention group achieved slightly higher scores for knowledge gain compared to the control, but these results were not statistically significant (difference in knowledge gain: 3.5 points, 95% CI -2.7 to 9.8, p = 0.27. The attitudinal changes were similar for both groups. Conclusion A clinically integrated e-learning course was at least as effective as a traditional lecture based course and was well accepted. Being less costly than traditional teaching and allowing for more independent learning through materials that can be easily updated, there is a place for incorporating e-learning into postgraduate EBM curricula that offer on-the-job training for just-in-time learning. Trial registration Trial registration number: ACTRN12609000022268.

  12. Impact of National Institutes of Health Gastrointestinal PROMIS Measures in Clinical Practice: Results of a Multicenter Controlled Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almario, Christopher V; Chey, William D; Khanna, Dinesh; Mosadeghi, Sasan; Ahmed, Shahzad; Afghani, Elham; Whitman, Cynthia; Fuller, Garth; Reid, Mark; Bolus, Roger; Dennis, Buddy; Encarnacion, Rey; Martinez, Bibiana; Soares, Jennifer; Modi, Rushaba; Agarwal, Nikhil; Lee, Aaron; Kubomoto, Scott; Sharma, Gobind; Bolus, Sally; Spiegel, Brennan M R

    2016-11-01

    The National Institutes of Health (NIH) created the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) to allow efficient, online measurement of patient-reported outcomes (PROs), but it remains untested whether PROMIS improves outcomes. Here, we aimed to compare the impact of gastrointestinal (GI) PROMIS measures vs. usual care on patient outcomes. We performed a pragmatic clinical trial with an off-on study design alternating weekly between intervention (GI PROMIS) and control arms at one Veterans Affairs and three university-affiliated specialty clinics. Adults with GI symptoms were eligible. Intervention patients completed GI PROMIS symptom questionnaires on an e-portal 1 week before their visit; PROs were available for review by patients and their providers before and during the clinic visit. Usual care patients were managed according to customary practices. Our primary outcome was patient satisfaction as determined by the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems questionnaire. Secondary outcomes included provider interpersonal skills (Doctors' Interpersonal Skills Questionnaire (DISQ)) and shared decision-making (9-item Shared Decision Making Questionnaire (SDM-Q-9)). There were 217 and 154 patients in the GI PROMIS and control arms, respectively. Patient satisfaction was similar between groups (P>0.05). Intervention patients had similar assessments of their providers' interpersonal skills (DISQ 89.4±11.7 vs. 89.8±16.0, P=0.79) and shared decision-making (SDM-Q-9 79.3±12.4 vs. 79.0±22.0, P=0.85) vs. This is the first controlled trial examining the impact of NIH PROMIS in clinical practice. One-time use of GI PROMIS did not improve patient satisfaction or assessment of provider interpersonal skills and shared decision-making. Future studies examining how to optimize PROs in clinical practice are encouraged before widespread adoption.

  13. The effect of vitamin D on primary dysmenorrhea with vitamin D deficiency: a randomized double-blind controlled clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moini, Ashraf; Ebrahimi, Tabandeh; Shirzad, Nooshin; Hosseini, Reihaneh; Radfar, Mania; Bandarian, Fatemeh; Jafari-Adli, Shahrzad; Qorbani, Mostafa; Hemmatabadi, Mahboobeh

    2016-06-01

    Dysmenorrhea is common among women of reproductive age. This study aim was to investigate the effect of vitamin D (vit D) supplementation in treatment of primary dysmenorrhea with vit D deficiency. A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted on 60 women with primary dysmenorrhea and vit D deficiency referred to our clinic at Arash Women's Hospital from September 2013 to December 2014. Eligible women were randomly assigned into treatment and control groups (30 in each group). Individuals in the treatment group received 50 000 IU oral vit D and the control group received placebo weekly for eight weeks. After two months of treatment, there was a significant difference in serum vit D concentration between the two groups (p dysmenorrhea and vit D deficiency could improve pain intensity.

  14. Velocity control of a secondary controlled closed-loop hydrostatic transmission system using an adaptive fuzzy sliding mode controller

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Do, Hoang Thinh; Ahn, Kyoung Kwan [University of Ulsan, Ulsan (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-03-15

    A secondary-controlled hydrostatic transmission system (SC-HST), which considered being an energy-saving system, can recuperate most of the lost vehicle kinetic energy in decelerating and braking time and it shows advantage in fuel economy improvement of vehicle. Almost secondary control units (SCU) in SC-HST inherently contain nonlinear characteristics such as dead-zone input. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain precise position or velocity control by conventional linear controllers. This problem limits the application of SC-HST in industry and mobile vehicle. This paper gives a description of SC-HST and proposes an adaptive fuzzy sliding mode controller (AFSMC) for velocity control of SCU. Experiments were carried out in the condition of disturbance load by using both the proposed controller and PID controller for the comparison and evaluation of the effectiveness of the proposed controller. The experimental results showed that the proposed controller was excellent from the standpoints of performance and stability for the velocity control of SC-HST.

  15. Proposed Terminology and Classification of Pre-Malignant Neoplastic Conditions: A Consensus Proposal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Valent

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Cancer evolution is a step-wise non-linear process that may start early in life or later in adulthood, and includes pre-malignant (indolent and malignant phases. Early somatic changes may not be detectable or are found by chance in apparently healthy individuals. The same lesions may be detected in pre-malignant clonal conditions. In some patients, these lesions may never become relevant clinically whereas in others, they act together with additional pro-oncogenic hits and thereby contribute to the formation of an overt malignancy. Although some pre-malignant stages of a malignancy have been characterized, no global system to define and to classify these conditions is available. To discuss open issues related to pre-malignant phases of neoplastic disorders, a working conference was organized in Vienna in August 2015. The outcomes of this conference are summarized herein and include a basic proposal for a nomenclature and classification of pre-malignant conditions. This proposal should assist in the communication among patients, physicians and scientists, which is critical as genome-sequencing will soon be offered widely for early cancer-detection.

  16. Prospective double blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial of the pectoral nerves (Pecs) block type II

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Versyck, B.; Geffen, G.J. van; Houwe, P. Van

    2017-01-01

    STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim of this clinical trial was to test the hypothesis whether adding the pectoral nerves (Pecs) block type II to the anesthetic procedure reduces opioid consumption during and after breast surgery. DESIGN: A prospective randomized double blind placebo-controlled study. SETTING:

  17. 76 FR 53359 - Proposed Establishment of Class E Airspace; Nashville, AR

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-26

    ...-0497; Airspace Docket No. 11-ASW-4] Proposed Establishment of Class E Airspace; Nashville, AR AGENCY... action proposes to establish Class E airspace at Nashville, AR. Controlled airspace is necessary to... approach procedures at Howard County Airport, Nashville, AR. Controlled airspace is needed for the safety...

  18. Multi-professional clinical medication reviews in care homes for the elderly: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial with cost effectiveness analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sach Tracey

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Evidence demonstrates that measures are needed to optimise therapy and improve administration of medicines in care homes for older people. The aim of this study is to determine the clinical and cost effectiveness of a novel model of multi-professional medication review. Methods A cluster randomised controlled trial design, involving thirty care homes. In line with current practice in medication reviews, recruitment and consent will be sought from general practitioners and care homes, rather than individual residents. Care homes will be segmented according to size and resident mix and allocated to the intervention arm (15 homes or control arm (15 homes sequentially using minimisation. Intervention homes will receive a multi-professional medication review at baseline and at 6 months, with follow-up at 12 months. Control homes will receive usual care (support they currently receive from the National Health Service, with data collection at baseline and 12 months. The novelty of the intervention is a review of medications by a multi-disciplinary team. Primary outcome measures are number of falls and potentially inappropriate prescribing. Secondary outcome measures include medication costs, health care resource use, hospitalisations and mortality. The null hypothesis proposes no difference in primary outcomes between intervention and control patients. The primary outcome variable (number of falls will be analysed using a linear mixed model, with the intervention specified as a fixed effect and care homes included as a random effect. Analyses will be at the level of the care home. The economic evaluation will estimate the cost-effectiveness of the intervention compared to usual care from a National Health Service and personal social services perspective. The study is not measuring the impact of the intervention on professional working relationships, the medicines culture in care homes or the generic health-related quality of life of

  19. The Detroit Young Adult Asthma Project: Proposal for a Multicomponent Technology Intervention for African American Emerging Adults With Asthma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacDonell, Karen; Naar, Sylvie; Gibson-Scipio, Wanda; Bruzzese, Jean-Marie; Wang, Bo; Brody, Aaron

    2018-05-07

    Racial and ethnic minority youth have poorer asthma status than white youth, even after controlling for socioeconomic variables. Proper use of asthma controller medications is critical in reducing asthma mortality and morbidity. The clinical consequences of poor asthma management include increased illness complications, excessive functional morbidity, and fatal asthma attacks. There are significant limitations in research on interventions to improve asthma management in racial minority populations, particularly minority adolescents and young adults, although illness management tends to deteriorate after adolescence during emerging adulthood, the unique developmental period beyond adolescence but before adulthood. The objective of the pilot study was to test the feasibility, acceptability, and signals of efficacy of an intervention targeting adherence to controller medication in African American youth (ages 18-29) with asthma. All elements of the protocol were piloted in a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)-funded pilot study (1R34HL107664 MacDonell). Results suggested feasibility and acceptability of the protocol as well as proof of concept. We are now ready to test the intervention in a larger randomized clinical trial. The proposed study will include 192 African American emerging adults with moderate to severe persistent asthma and low controller medication adherence recruited from clinic, emergency department, and community settings. Half of the sample will be randomized to receive a multicomponent technology-based intervention targeting adherence to daily controller medication. The multicomponent technology-based intervention consists of 2 components: (1) 2 sessions of computer-delivered motivational interviewing targeting medication adherence and (2) individualized text messaging focused on medication adherence between the sessions. Text messages will be individualized based on ecological momentary assessment. The remaining participants will

  20. When "altering brain function" becomes "mind control".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koivuniemi, Andrew; Otto, Kevin

    2014-01-01

    Functional neurosurgery has seen a resurgence of interest in surgical treatments for psychiatric illness. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) technology is the preferred tool in the current wave of clinical experiments because it allows clinicians to directly alter the functions of targeted brain regions, in a reversible manner, with the intent of correcting diseases of the mind, such as depression, addiction, anorexia nervosa, dementia, and obsessive compulsive disorder. These promising treatments raise a critical philosophical and humanitarian question. "Under what conditions does 'altering brain function' qualify as 'mind control'?" In order to answer this question one needs a definition of mind control. To this end, we reviewed the relevant philosophical, ethical, and neurosurgical literature in order to create a set of criteria for what constitutes mind control in the context of DBS. We also outline clinical implications of these criteria. Finally, we demonstrate the relevance of the proposed criteria by focusing especially on serendipitous treatments involving DBS, i.e., cases in which an unintended therapeutic benefit occurred. These cases highlight the importance of gaining the consent of the subject for the new therapy in order to avoid committing an act of mind control.

  1. A nonrandomized controlled clinical pilot trial on 8 wk of intermittent fasting (24 h/wk).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kessler, Christian S; Stange, Rainer; Schlenkermann, Maike; Jeitler, Michael; Michalsen, Andreas; Selle, Antonia; Raucci, Franca; Steckhan, Nico

    2018-02-01

    The aim of the study was to evaluate whether intermittent fasting (IF) is an effective preventive measure, and whether it is feasible for healthy volunteers under every day conditions. A nonrandomized controlled clinical trial on IF was performed with healthy volunteers over a period of 8 wk, and a subsequent 4-mo follow-up. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, after 8 wk, and after 6 mo. Volunteers who were not interested in fasting served as a control group. Participants in the fasting group were asked to continue their regular nutritional habits on the nonfasting days, whereas the control group maintained their habitual nutrition throughout the whole period. Outcomes included changes of metabolic parameters (insulin, glucose, insulin resistance, insulin-like growth factor-1, brain-derived neurotropic factor, lipids, liver enzymes, hemoglobin A1c) and coagulation markers; bioelectrical impedance analysis; body mass index; abdominal girth; blood pressure; general quality of life (five-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index [WHO-5] questionnaire), as well as mood and anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS], Profile of Mood States, Flourishing-Scale, visual analog scale, Likert scales). The intervention consisted of a fasting day, which was repeated every week for 8 wk, with abstinence from solid food between 00:00 and 23:59 at minimum and a maximum caloric intake of 300 kcal on each fasting day. A per-protocol analysis was performed. P < 0.05 was considered significant. Thirty-six volunteers were included; 22 allocated themselves to the fasting group, and 14 to the control group. Thirty-three data sets were included in the final analysis. Although significant in-group changes were observed in both groups for a number of outcomes after 8 wk and 6 mo, no significant between-group differences were observed for any outcome other than overall body fat mass after 8 wk as well as for the HADS total score and the WHO-5 total score after 6

  2. Hydrogen Gas Inhalation Treatment in Acute Cerebral Infarction: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Study on Safety and Neuroprotection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ono, Hirohisa; Nishijima, Yoji; Ohta, Shigeo; Sakamoto, Masaki; Kinone, Kazunori; Horikosi, Tohru; Tamaki, Mituyuki; Takeshita, Hirosi; Futatuki, Tomoko; Ohishi, Wataru; Ishiguro, Taichi; Okamoto, Saori; Ishii, Shou; Takanami, Hiroko

    2017-11-01

    Molecular hydrogen (H 2 ) acts as a therapeutic antioxidant. Inhalation of H 2 gas (1-4%) was effective for the improvement of cerebral infarction in multiple animal experiments. Thus, for actual applications, a randomized controlled clinical study is desired to evaluate the effects of inhalation of H 2 gas. Here, we evaluate the H 2 treatment on acute cerebral infarction. Through this randomized controlled clinical study, we assessed the safety and effectiveness of H 2 treatment in patients with cerebral infarction in an acute stage with mild- to moderate-severity National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores (NIHSS = 2-6). We enrolled 50 patients (25 each in the H 2 group and the control group) with a therapeutic time window of 6 to 24 hours. The H 2 group inhaled 3% H 2 gas (1 hour twice a day), and the control group received conventional intravenous medications for the initial 7 days. The evaluations included daily vital signs, NIHSS scores, physical therapy indices, weekly blood chemistry, and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans over the 2-week study period. The H 2 group showed no significant adverse effects with improvements in oxygen saturation. The following significant effects were found: the relative signal intensity of MRI, which indicated the severity of the infarction site, NIHSS scores for clinically quantifying stroke severity, and physical therapy evaluation, as judged by the Barthel Index. H 2 treatment was safe and effective in patients with acute cerebral infarction. These results suggested a potential for widespread and general application of H 2 gas. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Development and Clinical Application of a Precise Temperature-Control Device as an Alternate for Conventional Moxibustion Therapy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shin Takayama

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Moxibustion therapy has been used in East Asian medicine for more than a thousand years. However, there are some problems associated with this therapy in clinical practice. These problems include lack of control over the treatment temperature, emission of smoke, and uneven temperature distribution over the treatment region. In order to resolve these problems, we developed a precise temperature-control device for use as an alternate for conventional moxibustion therapy. In this paper, we describe the treatment of a single patient with paralytic ileus that was treated with moxibustion. We also describe an evaluation of temperature distribution on the skin surface after moxibustion therapy, the development of a heat-transfer control device (HTCD, an evaluation of the HTCD, and the clinical effects of treatment using the HTCD. The HTCD we developed can heat the skin of the treatment region uniformly, and its effect may be equivalent to conventional moxibustion, without the emission of smoke and smell. This device can be used to treat ileus, abdominal pain, and coldness of abdomen in place of conventional moxibustion in modern hospitals.

  4. Complementary religious and spiritual interventions in physical health and quality of life: A systematic review of randomized controlled clinical trials.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juliane Piasseschi de Bernardin Gonçalves

    Full Text Available To examine whether religious and spiritual interventions (RSIs can promote physical health and quality of life in individuals.The following databases were used to conduct a systematic review: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cochrane, and Scielo. Randomized controlled trials that evaluated RSIs regarding physical health outcomes and/or quality of life in English, Spanish or Portuguese were included. RSI protocols performed at a distance (i.e. intercessory prayer or for psychiatric disorders were excluded. This study consisted of two phases: (a reading titles and abstracts, and (b assessing the full articles and their methodological quality using the Cochrane Back Review Group scale.In total, 7,070 articles were identified in the search, but 6884 were excluded in phase 1 because they were off topic or repeated in databases. Among the 186 articles included in phase 2, 140 were excluded because they did not fit the inclusion criteria and 16 did not have adequate randomization process. Thus, a final selection of 30 articles remained. The participants of the selected studies were classified in three groups: chronic patients (e.g., cancer, obesity, pain, healthy individuals and healthcare professionals. The outcomes assessed included quality of life, physical activity, pain, cardiac outcomes, promotion of health behaviors, clinical practice of healthcare professionals and satisfaction with protocols. The divergence concerning scales and protocols proposed did not allow a meta-analysis. RSIs as a psychotherapy approach were performed in 40% of the studies, and the control group was more likely to use an educational intervention (56.7%. The results revealed small effect sizes favoring RSIs in quality of life and pain outcomes and very small effects sizes in physical activity, promotion of health behaviors and clinical practice of health professionals compared with other complementary strategies. Other outcomes, such as cardiac measures

  5. Comparative clinical study using laser and LED-therapy for orofacial pain relief: dentin hypersensitivity and cervicogenic headache

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lizarelli, Rosane F. Z.; Pizzo, Renata C. A.; Florez, Fernando L. E.; Grecco, Clovis; Speciali, Jose G.; Bagnato, Vanderlei S.

    2015-06-01

    Considering several clinical situations, low intensity laser therapy has been widely applied in pain relief or analgesia mechanism. With the advent of new LED-based (light emitting diode) light sources, the need of further clinical experiments aiming to compare the effectiveness among them is paramount. The LED system therapeutic use can be denominated as LEDT - Light Emitting Diode Therapy. This study proposed two clinical evaluations of pain relief effect: to dentin hypersensitivity and to cervicogenic headache using different sources of lasers (low and high intensity) and light emitting diodes (LEDs), one emitting at the spectral band of red (630+/- 5nm) and the other one at infrared band (880+/- 5nm). Two different clinical studies were performed and presented interesting results. Considering dentin hypersensitivity, red and infrared led were so effective than the control group (high intensity laser system); by the other side, considering cervicogenic headache, control group (infrared laser) was the best treatment in comparison to red and infrared led system.

  6. Clinical relevance of specific cognitive complaints in determining Mild Cognitive Impairment from Cognitively Normal States in a study of Healthy Elderly Controls

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marina Avila Villanueva

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Subjective memory complaints in the elderly have been suggested as an early sign of dementia. This study aims at investigating whether specific cognitive complaints are more useful than others to discriminate Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI by examining the dimensional structure of the Everyday Memory Questionnaire (EMQ.Material and Methods: A sample of community-dwelling elderly individuals was recruited (766 controls and 78 MCI. The Everyday Memory Questionnaire (EMQ was administered to measure self-perception of cognitive complaints. All participants also underwent a comprehensive clinical and neuropsychological battery. Combined exploratory factor analysis and item response theory were performed to identify the underlying structure of the EMQ. Furthermore, logistic regression analyses were conducted to study whether single cognitive complaints were able to predict MCI.Results: A suitable five-factor solution was found. Each factor focused on a different cognitive domain. Interestingly, just three of them, namely forgetfulness of immediate information, executive functions and prospective memory proved to be effective in distinguishing between cognitively healthy individuals and MCI. Based on these results we propose a shortened EMQ version comprising 10 items (EMQ-10.Discussion: Not all cognitive complaints have the same clinical relevance. Only subjective complaints on specific cognitive domains are able to discriminate MCI. We encourage clinicians to the EMQ-10 as a useful tool to quantify and monitor the progression of individuals who report cognitive complaints.

  7. Methodical principles of assessment of financial compensation for clinical trial volunteer participants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Ye. Dobrova

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Due to the necessity to obtain the reliable results of a clinical trial and to distribute it to the general population of patients the problem of recruiting the adequate number of individuals to participate in the study as objects of observation in the group receiving the investigational medicinal product or as a member of the control group should to be solved. Aim of study. The aim of our study was to research and to justify practically the methodological approaches to determining financial compensation for participation of volunteers in the clinical trials and the appropriate methods of its calculation. Material and methods. For the purpose of determining the baseline factors for calculating the hourly compensation the survey of healthy volunteers and of expert professionals as well as the analysis of its results have been done. Questioning healthy volunteers regarding their attitudes towards inconvenience and discomfort during participation in clinical trials was held at the Ukrainian clinical research centers. Survey participants number was 99, they were healthy volunteers who took part in the first phase clinical trial or bioequivalence studies. The expert survey included questioning of the 193 professionals from Ukrainian clinical research centers, CRO, pharmaceutical manufacturers – research sponsors and collaborators State Expert Center Ministry of Health of Ukraine, who were involved in the planning, organization, implementation and evaluation of clinical trials as well as their regulatory control. Results of study. Using the method of pairwise comparisons and iterative refinement procedures the collective estimate of experts questionnaire results has been performed, by the results of which the nine indicators have been identified and the importance of each of them as units of discomfort have been established. Motivational factors of voluntary participation in clinical trials have been studied. Motivation system for

  8. Clinical and sonographic risk factors and complications of shoulder dystocia - a case-control study with parity and gestational age matched controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parantainen, Jukka; Palomäki, Outi; Talola, Nina; Uotila, Jukka

    2014-06-01

    To examine the clinical risk factors and complications of shoulder dystocia today and to evaluate ultrasound methods predicting it. Retrospective, matched case-control study at a University Hospital with 5000 annual deliveries. The study population consisted of 152 deliveries complicated by shoulder dystocia over a period of 8.5 years (January 2004-June 2012) and 152 controls matched for gestational age and parity. The data was collected from the medical records of mothers and children and analyzed by conditional logistic regression. Incidences and odds ratios were calculated for risk factors and complications. Antenatal ultrasound data was analyzed when available by conditional logistic regression to test for significant differences between study groups. Birthweight (OR 12.1 for ≥4000 g; 95% CI 4.18-35.0) and vacuum extraction (OR 3.98; 95% CI 1.25-12.7) remained the most significant clinical risk factors. Only a trend of an association of pregestational or gestational diabetes was noticed (OR 1.87; 95% CI 0.997-3.495, probability of type II error 51%). Of the complications of shoulder dystocia the incidence of brachial plexus palsies was high (40%). Antenatal ultrasound method based on the difference between abdominal and biparietal diameters had a significant difference between cases and controls. The impact of diabetes as a risk factor has diminished, which may reflect improved screening and treatment. Antenatal ultrasound methods are showing some promise, but the predictive value of ultrasound alone is probably low. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  9. A patent extension proposal to end the underrepresentation of women in clinical trials and secure meaningful drug guidance for women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hathaway, Cynthia

    2012-01-01

    Historically, women have been systematically excluded from or underrepresented in human clinical trials of new drugs. Due to fundamental physiological differences between women and men with regard to how drugs work in the human body, testing of drugs in men alone can both deny women the full benefit of a drug and cause them to suffer from increased adverse side effects. Attempts to reform drug development law and agency practices to resolve this problem have met with only partial success. Proposed herein is a patent term extension and for studies in women, modeled upon the pediatric patent term extension, but with several key differences intended to reduce the cost to the public and fund auxiliary programs to address off-patent medicines as well. Such an extension would incentivize this research and provide meaningful guidance to women and their physicians.

  10. [Formula: see text]Official Position of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology (AACN): Guidelines for Practicum Training in Clinical Neuropsychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Aaron P; Roper, Brad L; Slomine, Beth S; Morrison, Chris; Greher, Michael R; Janusz, Jennifer; Larson, Jennifer C; Meadows, Mary-Ellen; Ready, Rebecca E; Rivera Mindt, Monica; Whiteside, Doug M; Willment, Kim; Wodushek, Thomas R

    2015-01-01

    Practical experience is central to the education and training of neuropsychologists, beginning in graduate school and extending through postdoctoral fellowship. However, historically, little attention has been given to the structure and requirements of practicum training in clinical neuropsychology. A working group of senior-level neuropsychologists, as well as a current postdoctoral fellow, all from a diverse range of settings (The AACN Practicum Guidelines Workgroup), was formed to propose guidelines for practicum training in clinical neuropsychology. The Workgroup reviewed relevant literature and sought input from professional organizations involved in education and training in neuropsychology. The proposed guidelines provide a definition of practicum training in clinical neuropsychology, detail entry and exit criteria across competencies relevant to practicum training in clinical neuropsychology, and discuss the relationship between doctoral training programs and practicum training sites. The proposed guidelines also provide a methodology for competency-based evaluation of clinical neuropsychology practicum trainees and outline characteristics and features that are integral to an effective training environment. Although the guidelines discussed below may not be implemented in their entirety across all clinical neuropsychology practicum training sites, they are consistent with the latest developments in competency-based education.

  11. Alpha lipoic acid efficacy in burning mouth syndrome. A controlled clinical trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palacios-Sánchez, Begoña; Cerero-Lapiedra, Rocío; Llamas-Martínez, Silvia; Esparza-Gómez, Germán

    2015-01-01

    Background A double-blind placebo-controlled trial was conducted in order to evaluate the efficacy of alpha lipoic acid (ALA) and determine the statistical significance of the outcome variables. Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is defined as an oral burning sensation in the absence of clinical signs which could justify the syndrome. Recent studies suggest the existence of neurological factors as a possible cause of the disease. Material and Methods 60 patients with BMS, in two groups: case group with 600 mg/day and placebo as control group; with follow up of 2 months. Results 64% of ALA patients reported some level of improvement, with a level of maintenance of 68.75% one month after treatment. 27.6% of the placebo group also demonstrated some reduction in BMS symptoms. Conclusions Long-term evolution and the intensity of symptoms are variables that reduce the probability of improvement with ALA treatment. Key words: Burning mouth syndrome, neuropathy, alpha lipoic acid. PMID:26034927

  12. Photodynamic therapy as an adjunct to non-surgical periodontal treatment: a randomized, controlled clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christodoulides, Nicos; Nikolidakis, Dimitris; Chondros, Panagiotis; Becker, Jürgen; Schwarz, Frank; Rössler, Ralf; Sculean, Anton

    2008-09-01

    Recent preclinical and clinical data have suggested a potential benefit of photodynamic therapy (PDT) in the treatment of periodontitis. However, there are very limited data from controlled clinical trials evaluating the effect of PDT in the treatment of periodontitis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and microbiologic effects of the adjunctive use of PDT to non-surgical periodontal treatment. Twenty-four subjects with chronic periodontitis were randomly treated with scaling and root planing followed by a single episode of PDT (test) or scaling and root planing alone (control). Full-mouth plaque score (FMPS), full-mouth bleeding score (FMBS), probing depth (PD), gingival recession, and clinical attachment level (CAL) were measured at baseline and 3 and 6 months after therapy. Primary outcome variables were changes in PD and CAL. Microbiologic evaluation of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (previously Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans), Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Tannerella forsythia (previously T. forsythensis), Treponema denticola, Parvimonas micra (previously Peptostreptococcus micros or Micromonas micros), Fusobacterium nucleatum, Campylobacter rectus, Eubacterium nodatum, Eikenella corrodens, and Capnocytophaga spp. was performed at baseline and 3 and 6 months following therapy by using a commercially available polymerase chain reaction test. At 3 and 6 months after treatment, there were no statistically significant differences between the groups with regard to CAL, PD, FMPS, or microbiologic changes. At 3 and 6 months, a statistically significantly greater improvement in FMBS was found in the test group. The additional application of a single episode of PDT to scaling and root planing failed to result in an additional improvement in terms of PD reduction and CAL gain, but it resulted in a significantly higher reduction in bleeding scores compared to scaling and root planing alone.

  13. Minnesota Impulse Disorders Interview (MIDI): Validation of a structured diagnostic clinical interview for impulse control disorders in an enriched community sample.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chamberlain, Samuel R; Grant, Jon E

    2018-05-08

    Disorders of impulsivity are common, functionally impairing, and highly relevant across different clinical and research settings. Few structured clinical interviews for the identification and diagnosis of impulse control disorders exist, and none have been validated in a community sample in terms of psychometric properties. The Minnesota Impulse control disorders Interview (MIDI v2.0) was administered to an enriched sample of 293 non-treatment seeking adults aged 18-35 years, recruited using media advertisements in two large US cities. In addition to the MIDI, participants undertook extended clinical interview for other mental disorders, the Barratt impulsiveness questionnaire, and the Padua obsessive-compulsive inventory. The psychometric properties of the MIDI were characterized. In logistic regression, the MIDI showed good concurrent validity against the reference measures (versus gambling disorder interview, p  0.05). Test re-test reliability was excellent (0.95). The MIDI has good psychometric properties and thus may be a valuable interview tool for clinical and research studies involving impulse control disorders. Further research is needed to better understanding the optimal diagnostic classification and neurobiology of these neglected disorders. Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Construction of ethics in clinical research: clinical trials registration

    OpenAIRE

    C. A. Caramori

    2007-01-01

    Scientific development that has been achieved through decades finds in clinical research a great possibility of translating findings to human health application. Evidence given by clinical trials allows everyone to have access to the best health services. However, the millionaire world of pharmaceutical industries has stained clinical research with doubt and improbability. Study results (fruits of controlled clinical trials) and scientific publications (selective, manipulated and with wrong c...

  15. Microcephaly and Zika virus: Neuroradiological aspects, clinical findings and a proposed framework for early evaluation of child development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cicuto Ferreira Rocha, Nelci Adriana; de Campos, Ana Carolina; Cicuto Ferreira Rocha, Fellipe; Pereira Dos Santos Silva, Fernanda

    2017-11-01

    As the recent outbreak of microcephaly cases caused by Zika virus has been declared a global health emergency, providing assessment guidelines for multidisciplinary teams providing early developmental screening and stimulation to infants with microcephaly is much needed. Thus, the aim of this manuscript is to provide an overview on what is known about neuroradiological aspects and clinical findings in infants with microcephaly caused by Zika virus and to propose a framework for early evaluation of child development. The keywords "Zika virus" and "microcephaly" were searched in PubMed database for articles published from incept to May 2017. These texts were reviewed, and the ones addressing neuroradiological and clinical findings in infants were selected. Recommendations for early assessment were made based on the International Classification of Functionality Disability and Health (ICF) model. The database search yielded 599 publications and 36 were selected. The studies detected microcephaly with diffuse brain malformations and calcifications, ventriculomegaly, optic nerve hypoplasia, macular atrophy, cataracts, impaired visual and hearing function, arthrogryposis, spasticity, hyperreflexia, irritability, tremors, and seizures, but very little is known about early development. Early assessments were described based on the ICF domains (Body Function and Structures, Activities and Participation and Contextual factors). Studies published showed abnormal brain, optic, neurologic and orthopedic findings, but very little is known about other aspects of functioning in infants with microcephaly caused by Zika virus. The biopsychosocial model based on the ICF paradigm provides an adequate framework to describe the condition of the infant with microcephaly receiving rehabilitative efforts to minimize disability. Efforts towards early identification of developmental delays should be taken within the first six months of life. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Model simulations of potential contribution of the proposed Huangpu Gate to flood control in the Lake Taihu basin of China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Hanghui; Liu, Shuguang; Ye, Jianchun; Yeh, Pat J.-F.

    2017-10-01

    The Lake Taihu basin (36 895 km2), one of the most developed regions in China located in the hinterland of the Yangtze River Delta, has experienced increasing flood risk. The largest flood in history occurred in 1999 with a return period estimate of 200 years, considerably larger than the current capacity of the flood defense with a design return period of 50 years. Due to its flat saucer-like terrain, the capacity of the flood control system in this basin depends on flood control infrastructures and peripheral tidal conditions. The Huangpu River, an important river of the basin connecting Lake Taihu upstream and Yangtze River estuaries downstream, drains two-fifths of the entire basin. Since the water level in the Huangpu River is significantly affected by the high tide conditions in estuaries, constructing an estuary gate is considered an effective solution for flood mitigation. The main objective of this paper is to assess the potential contributions of the proposed Huangpu Gate to the flood control capacity of the basin. To achieve this goal, five different scenarios of flooding conditions and the associated gate operations are considered by using numerical model simulations. Results of quantitative analyses show that the Huangpu Gate is effective for evacuating floodwaters. It can help to reduce both peak values and duration of high water levels in Lake Taihu to benefit surrounding areas along the Taipu Canal and the Huangpu River. The contribution of the gate to the flood control capacity is closely associated with its operation modes and duration. For the maximum potential contribution of the gate, the net outflow at the proposed site is increased by 52 %. The daily peak level is decreased by a maximum of 0.12 m in Lake Taihu, by maxima of 0.26-0.37 and 0.46-0.60 m in the Taipu Canal and the Huangpu River, respectively, and by 0.05-0.39 m in the surrounding areas depending on the local topography. It is concluded that the proposed Huangpu Gate can reduce

  17. Development of a real-time clinical decision support system upon the Web MVC-based architecture for prostate cancer treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Hsueh-Chun; Wu, Hsi-Chin; Chang, Chih-Hung; Li, Tsai-Chung; Liang, Wen-Miin; Wang, Jong-Yi Wang

    2011-03-08

    A real-time clinical decision support system (RTCDSS) with interactive diagrams enables clinicians to instantly and efficiently track patients' clinical records (PCRs) and improve their quality of clinical care. We propose a RTCDSS to process online clinical informatics from multiple databases for clinical decision making in the treatment of prostate cancer based on Web Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture, by which the system can easily be adapted to different diseases and applications. We designed a framework upon the Web MVC-based architecture in which the reusable and extractable models can be conveniently adapted to other hospital information systems and which allows for efficient database integration. Then, we determined the clinical variables of the prostate cancer treatment based on participating clinicians' opinions and developed a computational model to determine the pretreatment parameters. Furthermore, the components of the RTCDSS integrated PCRs and decision factors for real-time analysis to provide evidence-based diagrams upon the clinician-oriented interface for visualization of treatment guidance and health risk assessment. The resulting system can improve quality of clinical treatment by allowing clinicians to concurrently analyze and evaluate the clinical markers of prostate cancer patients with instantaneous clinical data and evidence-based diagrams which can automatically identify pretreatment parameters. Moreover, the proposed RTCDSS can aid interactions between patients and clinicians. Our proposed framework supports online clinical informatics, evaluates treatment risks, offers interactive guidance, and provides real-time reference for decision making in the treatment of prostate cancer. The developed clinician-oriented interface can assist clinicians in conveniently presenting evidence-based information to patients and can be readily adapted to an existing hospital information system and be easily applied in other chronic diseases.

  18. Examination of Individual Differences in Outcomes from a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial Comparing Formal and Informal Individual Auditory Training Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Sherri L.; Saunders, Gabrielle H.; Chisolm, Theresa H.; Frederick, Melissa; Bailey, Beth A.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if patient characteristics or clinical variables could predict who benefits from individual auditory training. Method: A retrospective series of analyses were performed using a data set from a large, multisite, randomized controlled clinical trial that compared the treatment effects of at-home…

  19. Noninteracting control of nonlinear systems based on relaxed control

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jayawardhana, B.

    2010-01-01

    In this paper, we propose methodology to solve noninteracting control problem for general nonlinear systems based on the relaxed control technique proposed by Artstein. For a class of nonlinear systems which cannot be stabilized by smooth feedback, a state-feedback relaxed control can be designed to

  20. The effect of active video games on cognitive functioning in clinical and non-clinical populations: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanmore, Emma; Stubbs, Brendon; Vancampfort, Davy; de Bruin, Eling D; Firth, Joseph

    2017-07-01

    Physically-active video games ('exergames') have recently gained popularity for leisure and entertainment purposes. Using exergames to combine physical activity and cognitively-demanding tasks may offer a novel strategy to improve cognitive functioning. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to establish effects of exergames on overall cognition and specific cognitive domains in clinical and non-clinical populations. We identified 17 eligible RCTs with cognitive outcome data for 926 participants. Random-effects meta-analyses found exergames significantly improved global cognition (g=0.436, 95% CI=0.18-0.69, p=0.001). Significant effects still existed when excluding waitlist-only controlled studies, and when comparing to physical activity interventions. Furthermore, benefits of exergames where observed for both healthy older adults and clinical populations with conditions associated with neurocognitive impairments (all p<0.05). Domain-specific analyses found exergames improved executive functions, attentional processing and visuospatial skills. The findings present the first meta-analytic evidence for effects of exergames on cognition. Future research must establish which patient/treatment factors influence efficacy of exergames, and explore neurobiological mechanisms of action. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. PID control with robust disturbance feedback control

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kawai, Fukiko; Vinther, Kasper; Andersen, Palle

    2015-01-01

    Disturbance Feedback Control (DFC) is a technique, originally proposed by Fuji Electric, for augmenting existing control systems with an extra feedback for attenuation of disturbances and model errors. In this work, we analyze the robustness and performance of a PID-based control system with DFC...... and performance (if such gains exist). Finally, two different simulation case studies are evaluated and compared. Our numerical studies indicate that better performance can be achieved with the proposed method compared with a conservatively tuned PID controller and comparable performance can be achieved when...... compared with an H-infinity controller....

  2. Model predictive control for a thermostatic controlled system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shafiei, Seyed Ehsan; Rasmussen, Henrik; Stoustrup, Jakob

    2013-01-01

    This paper proposes a model predictive control scheme to provide temperature set-points to thermostatic controlled cooling units in refrigeration systems. The control problem is formulated as a convex programming problem to minimize the overall operating cost of the system. The foodstuff temperat......This paper proposes a model predictive control scheme to provide temperature set-points to thermostatic controlled cooling units in refrigeration systems. The control problem is formulated as a convex programming problem to minimize the overall operating cost of the system. The foodstuff...

  3. Chaos control via a simple fractional-order controller

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tavazoei, Mohammad Saleh; Haeri, Mohammad

    2008-01-01

    In this Letter, we propose a fractional-order controller to stabilize the unstable fixed points of an unstable open-loop system. Also, we show that this controller has strong ability to eliminate chaotic oscillations or reduce them to regular oscillations in the chaotic systems. This controller has simple structure and is designed very easily. To determine the control parameters, one needs only a little knowledge about the plant and therefore, the proposed controller is a suitable choice in the control of uncertain chaotic systems

  4. Proposal for a revised definition of dilated cardiomyopathy, hypokinetic non-dilated cardiomyopathy, and its implications for clinical practice : a position statement of the ESC working group on myocardial and pericardial diseases

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pinto, Yigal M.; Elliott, Perry M.; Arbustini, Eloisa; Adler, Yehuda; Anastasakis, Aris; Boehm, Michael; Duboc, Denis; Gimeno, Juan; de Groote, Pascal; Imazio, Massimo; Heymans, Stephane; Klingel, Karin; Komajda, Michel; Limongelli, Giuseppe; Linhart, Ales; Mogensen, Jens; Moon, James; Pieper, Petronella G.; Seferovic, Petar M.; Schueler, Stephan; Zamorano, Jose L.; Caforio, Alida L. P.; Charron, Philippe

    2016-01-01

    In this paper the Working Group on Myocardial and Pericardial Disease proposes a revised definition of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in an attempt to bridge the gap between our recent understanding of the disease spectrum and its clinical presentation in relatives, which is key for early diagnosis

  5. Implementing guidelines: Proposed definitions of neuropsychology services in pediatric oncology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baum, Katherine T; Powell, Stephanie K; Jacobson, Lisa A; Gragert, Marsha N; Janzen, Laura A; Paltin, Iris; Rey-Casserly, Celiane M; Wilkening, Greta N

    2017-08-01

    Several organizations have published guidelines for the neuropsychological care of survivors of childhood cancer. However, there is limited consensus in how these guidelines are applied. The model of neuropsychology service delivery is further complicated by the variable terminology used to describe recommended services. In an important first step to translate published guidelines into clinical practice, this paper proposes definitions for specific neuropsychological processes and services, with the goal of facilitating consistency across sites to foster future clinical program development and to clarify clinical practice guidelines. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. Randomized Controlled Trial of Antiseptic Hand Hygiene Methods in an Outpatient Surgery Clinic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Therattil, Paul J; Yueh, Janet H; Kordahi, Anthony M; Cherla, Deepa V; Lee, Edward S; Granick, Mark S

    2015-12-01

    Outpatient wound care plays an integral part in any plastic surgery practice. However, compliance with hand hygiene measures has shown to be low, due to skin irritation and lack of time. The objective of this trial was to determine whether single-use, long-acting antiseptics can be as effective as standard multiple-use hand hygiene methods in an outpatient surgical setting. A prospective, randomized controlled trial was performed in the authors' outpatient plastic surgery clinic at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ to compare the efficacy of an ethyl alcohol-based sanitizer (Avagard D Instant Hand Aniseptic, 3M Health Care, St. Paul, MN), a benzalkonium chloride-based sanitizer (Soft & Shield, Bioderm Technologies, Inc, Trenton, NJ, distributed by NAPP Technologies, Hackensack, NJ ), and soap and- water handwashing. Subjects included clinic personnel, who were followed throughout the course of a 3-hour clinic session with hourly hand bacterial counts taken. During the course of the trial, 95 subjects completed the clinic session utilizing 1 of the hand hygiene methods (36 ethyl alcohol-based sanitizer, 38 benzalkonium chloride-based sanitizer, and 21 soap-and-water handwashing). There was no difference between hand bacterial counts using the different methods at 4 hourly time points (P greater than 0.05). Hand bacterial counts increased significantly over the 3-hour clinic session with the ethyl alcohol-based sanitizer (9.24 to 21.90 CFU, P less than 0.05), benzalkonium chloride-based sanitizer (6.69 to 21.59 CFU, P less than 0.05), and soap-and-water handwashing (8.43 to 22.75 CFU, P less than 0.05). There does not appear to be any difference in efficacy between single-use, long-acting sanitizer, and standard multiple-use hand hygiene methods. Hand bacterial counts increased significantly over the course of the 3-hour clinic session regardless of the hand hygiene measure used. Hand condition of subjects was improved with the ethyl alcohol

  7. Clinical outcomes of elite controllers, viremic controllers, and long-term nonprogressors in the US Department of Defense HIV natural history study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okulicz, Jason F; Marconi, Vincent C; Landrum, Michael L; Wegner, Scott; Weintrob, Amy; Ganesan, Anuradha; Hale, Braden; Crum-Cianflone, Nancy; Delmar, Judith; Barthel, Vincent; Quinnan, Gerald; Agan, Brian K; Dolan, Matthew J

    2009-12-01

    Durable control of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) replication and lack of disease progression in the absence of antiretroviral therapy were studied in a military cohort of 4586 subjects. We examined groups of elite controllers (ie, subjects with plasma HIV RNA levels of <50 copies/mL; prevalence, 0.55% [95% confidence interval {CI}, 0.35%-0.80%]), viremic controllers (ie, subjects with plasma HIV RNA levels of 50-2000 copies/mL; prevalence, 3.34% [95% CI, 2.83%-3.91%]), and subjects with a lack of disease progression (ie, long-term nonprogressors [LTNPs]) through 7 years of follow-up (LTNP7s; prevalence, 3.32% [95% CI, 2.70%-4.01%]) or 10 years of follow-up (LTNP10s; prevalence, 2.04% [95% CI, 1.52%-2.68%]). For elite and viremic controllers, spontaneous virologic control was established early and was typically observed when the initial viral load measurement was obtained within 1 year of estimated seroconversion. Elite controllers had favorable time to development of AIDS (P=.048), a CD4 cell count of 350 cells/microL (P= .009), and more-stable CD4 cell trends, compared with viremic controllers. LTNPs defined by 10-year versus 7-year criteria had a longer survival time (P=.001), even after adjustment for differing periods of invulnerability (P= .042). Definitions of controllers and LTNPs describe distinct populations whose differing clinical outcomes improve with the stringency of criteria, underscoring the need for comparability between study populations.

  8. The Effect of Control-released Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor in Wound Healing: Histological Analyses and Clinical Application

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shigeru Matsumoto, MD

    2013-09-01

    Conclusions: These findings suggest that control-released bFGF using gelatin sheet is effective for promoting wound healing. Such therapeutic strategy was considered to offer several clinical advantages including rapid healing and reduction of the dressing change with less patient discomfort.

  9. [Clinical Management: Basics and organization].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torres, Juan; Mingo, Carlos

    2015-01-01

    Many strategies have been proposed over the last years to ensure the Health Care System sustainability, mainly after the recent global economic crisis. One of the most attractive approaches is clinical management, which is a way of organizing health care units based on active participation of professionals who receive the transference of responsibilities dispoto achieve the objectives with the mission of ensuring a proper patient centered care, taking into consideration the rational use of resources (Efficiency) For the start up of Health Care structures based on clinical management, it is necessary a previous management culture within the departments involved and the center's executive board. Furthermore, to achieve the objectives proposed various tools must be used, such as evidence based medicine, clinical practice variability analysis, process management, in addition of quality and safety strategies. The units involved have to propose a management plan that will result in a management contract with the center's executive board. This agreement will establish some activity, expense and quality objectives that will be quantifiable through various indicators. Risk transference to the unit must include certain budget allocation and incentive decision capacity. Clinical management must not be employed as a savings tool from the part of macro and meso management. There is not a health care structure based on clinical management that have a general character for all health care organizations, existing a great variability in the adoption of various organizational formulas, so that every center must perform its own analysis and decide the most adequate model. In our country there are many clinical management experiences, although there is a long way to go.

  10. Clinical coaching in primary care: Capable of improving control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus?

    Science.gov (United States)

    González-Guajardo, Eduardo Enrique; Salinas-Martínez, Ana María; Botello-García, Antonio; Mathiew-Quiros, Álvaro

    2016-06-01

    Few clinical coaching studies are both endorsed by real cases and focused on reducing suboptimal diabetes control. We evaluated the effectiveness of coaching on improving type 2 diabetes goals after 3 years of implementation in primary care. A cross-sectional study with follow up was conducted during 2008-2011. Coaching consisted of guiding family doctors to improve their clinical abilities, and it was conducted by a medical doctor trained in skill building, experiential learning, and goal setting. Effectiveness was assessed by means of fasting plasma glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin outcomes. The main analysis consisted of 1×3 and 2×3 repeated measures ANOVAs. A significant coaching×time interaction was observed, indicating that the difference in glucose between primary care units with and without coaching increased over time (Wilks' lambda multivariate test, PCoaching increased 1.4 times (95%CI 1.3, 1.5) the possibility of reaching the fasting glucose goal after controlling for baseline values. There was also a significant improvement in glycosylated hemoglobin (Bonferroni-corrected p-value for pairwise comparisons, Pcoaching was found to be worth the effort to improve type 2 diabetes control in primary care. Copyright © 2015 Primary Care Diabetes Europe. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. [Validation of a brief screening scale evaluating praxic abilities for use in memory clinics. Evaluation in 419 controls, 127 mild cognitive impairment and 320 demented patients].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahieux-Laurent, F; Fabre, C; Galbrun, E; Dubrulle, A; Moroni, C

    2009-01-01

    The aim of this study was to build a brief clinical scale evaluating praxic abilities of the upper limbs for use in memory clinics and to produce norms. The scale includes three subtests: symbolic gestures (five gestures), pantomimes (five gestures) and imitation of meaningless gestures (eight gestures). Data were collected in a sample of 419 normal subjects. Sensitivity and specificity were established from their comparison to data collected from 320 demented patients. A group of 127 patients with mild cognitive impairment was also studied. Cut-off scores were proposed based on the fifth percentile observed in three classes of age and three levels of education. The specificity was high. Sensitivity was higher for imitation of meaningless gestures than for pantomimes and the least for symbolic gestures. The group of patients with mild cognitive impairment was half-way between demented patients and normal subjects. The proposed scale meets its initial aims of brevity and high specificity. It can easily be used in memory clinics and identifies apraxia in dementia patients. It therefore usefully contributes to clinical diagnosis.

  12. Output Power Control of Wind Turbine Generator by Pitch Angle Control using Minimum Variance Control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senjyu, Tomonobu; Sakamoto, Ryosei; Urasaki, Naomitsu; Higa, Hiroki; Uezato, Katsumi; Funabashi, Toshihisa

    In recent years, there have been problems such as exhaustion of fossil fuels, e. g., coal and oil, and environmental pollution resulting from consumption. Effective utilization of renewable energies such as wind energy is expected instead of the fossil fuel. Wind energy is not constant and windmill output is proportional to the cube of wind speed, which cause the generated power of wind turbine generators (WTGs) to fluctuate. In order to reduce fluctuating components, there is a method to control pitch angle of blades of the windmill. In this paper, output power leveling of wind turbine generator by pitch angle control using an adaptive control is proposed. A self-tuning regulator is used in adaptive control. The control input is determined by the minimum variance control. It is possible to compensate control input to alleviate generating power fluctuation with using proposed controller. The simulation results with using actual detailed model for wind power system show effectiveness of the proposed controller.

  13. Validation of a proposal for evaluating hospital infection control programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, Cristiane Pavanello Rodrigues; Lacerda, Rúbia Aparecida

    2011-02-01

    To validate the construct and discriminant properties of a hospital infection prevention and control program. The program consisted of four indicators: technical-operational structure; operational prevention and control guidelines; epidemiological surveillance system; and prevention and control activities. These indicators, with previously validated content, were applied to 50 healthcare institutions in the city of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil, in 2009. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the hospitals and indicator scores, and Cronbach's α coefficient was used to evaluate the internal consistency. The discriminant validity was analyzed by comparing indicator scores between groups of hospitals: with versus without quality certification. The construct validity analysis was based on exploratory factor analysis with a tetrachoric correlation matrix. The indicators for the technical-operational structure and epidemiological surveillance presented almost 100% conformity in the whole sample. The indicators for the operational prevention and control guidelines and the prevention and control activities presented internal consistency ranging from 0.67 to 0.80. The discriminant validity of these indicators indicated higher and statistically significant mean conformity scores among the group of institutions with healthcare certification or accreditation processes. In the construct validation, two dimensions were identified for the operational prevention and control guidelines: recommendations for preventing hospital infection and recommendations for standardizing prophylaxis procedures, with good correlation between the analysis units that formed the guidelines. The same was found for the prevention and control activities: interfaces with treatment units and support units were identified. Validation of the measurement properties of the hospital infection prevention and control program indicators made it possible to develop a tool for evaluating these programs

  14. Presumed Cases of Mumps in Pregnancy: Clinical and Infection Control Implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Svjetlana Lozo

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Recently, a mumps outbreak in New York and New Jersey was reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC. Subsequently, the dissemination of the disease was rapid, and, from June 28th 2009 through January 29th 2010, a total of 1,521 cases of mumps were reported in New York and New Jersey. Seven presumed cases occurred in pregnant women cared for at our institution. Mumps diagnosis as per the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene was based on clinical manifestations, particularly parotitis. Prior immunizations with mumps vaccine and negative IgM were not adequate to rule out mumps infections. All of our seven patients had exposure to mumps in either their household or their community, and some of the them had symptoms of mumps. Due to the difficulties in interpreting serologies of these patients, their cases led to a presumed diagnosis of mumps. The diagnosis of mumps lead to the isolation of patients and health care personnel that were in contact with them. In this paper, we detail the presenting findings, diagnostic dilemmas and infection control challenges associated with presumed cases of mumps in pregnancy.

  15. Multiple large solar lentigos on the upper back as clinical markers of past severe sunburn: a case-control study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Derancourt, C; Bourdon-Lanoy, E; Grob, J-J; Guillaume, J-C; Bernard, P; Bastuji-Garin, S

    2007-01-01

    Multiple solar lentigos commonly seen on the upper back and shoulders of adults are classically considered as a sign of photodamage, although epidemiological studies are scarce. To assess whether these lesions are clinical markers of past severe sunburn. A case-control study in two outpatient dermatology clinics in French university hospitals. Past episodes of moderate and severe sunburn were compared between 145 adult patients with multiple solar lentigos on the upper back and 145 matched controls. In multivariate analysis adjusted for potential confounders, recalled episodes of sunburn during childhood, adolescence and adulthood were independently associated with the presence of multiple solar lentigos (adjusted odds ratios, 95% confidence intervals: 2.3 (1.1-5.2) and 28.1 (10.4-75.6) for moderate and severe sunburn, respectively). Multiple solar lentigos on the upper back and shoulders of adults are potential clinical markers of past severe sunburn which may thus be used to identify a population at higher risk of developing cutaneous malignant melanoma.

  16. 77 FR 14531 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Web-Based Assessment of the NHLBI Clinical Studies Support...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-12

    ... (PRCs) have become an important quality standard in clinical trials and research involving human... study protocols developed under NHLBI funded Clinical Trial Networks. These committees are composed of... research areas. The NHLBI is charged with ensuring the highest quality of each Institute-funded clinical...

  17. 12 CFR 225.24 - Procedures for other nonbanking proposals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM BANK HOLDING COMPANIES AND CHANGE IN BANK CONTROL (REGULATION Y) Regulations... listed activities. A bank holding company seeking to acquire or control voting securities or assets of a..., internal controls and risk management systems that will be utilized in the conduct of the proposed...

  18. Yoga for generalized anxiety disorder: design of a randomized controlled clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofmann, Stefan G; Curtiss, Joshua; Khalsa, Sat Bir S; Hoge, Elizabeth; Rosenfield, David; Bui, Eric; Keshaviah, Aparna; Simon, Naomi

    2015-09-01

    Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a common disorder associated with significant distress and interference. Although cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to be the most effective form of psychotherapy, few patients receive or have access to this intervention. Yoga therapy offers another promising, yet under-researched, intervention that is gaining increasing popularity in the general public, as an anxiety reduction intervention. The purpose of this innovative clinical trial protocol is to investigate the efficacy of a Kundalini Yoga intervention, relative to CBT and a control condition. Kundalini yoga and CBT are compared with each other in a noninferiority test and both treatments are compared to stress education training, an attention control intervention, in superiority tests. The sample will consist of 230 individuals with a primary DSM-5 diagnosis of GAD. This randomized controlled trial will compare yoga (N=95) to both CBT for GAD (N=95) and stress education (N=40), a commonly used control condition. All three treatments will be administered by two instructors in a group format over 12 weekly sessions with four to six patients per group. Groups will be randomized using permuted block randomization, which will be stratified by site. Treatment outcome will be evaluated bi-weekly and at 6month follow-up. Furthermore, potential mediators of treatment outcome will be investigated. Given the individual and economic burden associated with GAD, identifying accessible alternative behavioral treatments will have substantive public health implications. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Effect of intralesional platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment on clinical and ultrasonographic parameters in equine naturally occurring superficial digital flexor tendinopathies - a randomized prospective controlled clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geburek, Florian; Gaus, Moritz; van Schie, Hans T M; Rohn, Karl; Stadler, Peter M

    2016-09-07

    Regenerative and anti-inflammatory effects on tendinopathies have been attributed to blood-derived biologicals. To date the evidence for the efficacy of autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment of naturally occurring equine tendinopathies is limited. The purpose of this placebo-controlled clinical trial was to describe the effect of a single treatment of equine superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) disease with PRP on clinical and ultrasonographic parameters. Twenty horses with naturally occurring tendinopathies of forelimb SDFTs were randomly assigned to the PRP-treated group (n = 10) or control group (n = 10) after clinical and ultrasonographic examination. The SDFTs received an intralesional treatment with autologous PRP or were injected with saline, respectively (day 0). All horses participated in a standardized exercise programme and were re-examined clinically, with B-mode ultrasonography (5 times at regular intervals) and ultrasound tissue characterization (week 12 and 24 after treatment) until week 24. Long-term performance was estimated via telephone inquiry. Compared to day 0, lameness decreased significantly by week 8 after treatment with PRP and by week 12 in the control group. Ultrasonographically there was no difference in the summarized cross sectional area between the groups at any time point. Ultrasound tissue characterization showed that echo types representing disorganized matrix decreased significantly throughout the observation period in the PRP-treated group. Echo type II, representing discontinuous fascicles, not yet aligned into lines of stress was significantly higher 24 weeks after PRP treatment. Eighty percent of the PRP treated horses reached their previous or a higher level of performance after 12 months compared to 50 % in the CG. After 24 months these proportions were 60 % and 50 %, respectively. A single intralesional treatment with PRP up to 8 weeks after onset of clinical signs of tendinopathy contributes

  20. The effect of student self-video of performance on clinical skill competency: a randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maloney, Stephen; Storr, Michael; Morgan, Prue; Ilic, Dragan

    2013-03-01

    Emerging technologies and student information technology literacy are enabling new methods of teaching and learning for clinical skill performance. Facilitating experiential practice and reflection on performance through student self-video, and exposure to peer benchmarks, may promote greater levels of skill competency. This study examines the impact of student self-video on the attainment of clinical skills. A total of 60 Physiotherapy students (100%) consented to participate in the randomised controlled trial. One group (50%) was taught a complex clinical skill with regular practical tutoring, whilst the other group (50%) supplemented the tutoring with a self-video task aimed at promoting reflection on performance. Student skill performance was measured in an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). Students also completed an anonymous questionnaire, which explored their perception of their learning experiences. Students received significantly higher scores in the OSCE when the examined clinical skill had been supplemented with a self-video of performance task (P = 0.048). Descriptive analysis of the questionnaires relating to student perceptions on the teaching methods identified that the self-video of performance task utilised contributed to improvement in their clinical performance and their confidence for future clinical practice. Students identified a number of aspects of the submission process that contributed to this perception of educational value. The novel results of this study demonstrate that greater clinical skill competency is achieved when traditional tutoring methods are supplemented with student self-video of performance tasks. Additional benefits included the ability of staff and students to monitor longitudinal performance, and an increase in feedback opportunities.

  1. ASVCP quality assurance guidelines: control of preanalytical, analytical, and postanalytical factors for urinalysis, cytology, and clinical chemistry in veterinary laboratories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gunn-Christie, Rebekah G; Flatland, Bente; Friedrichs, Kristen R; Szladovits, Balazs; Harr, Kendal E; Ruotsalo, Kristiina; Knoll, Joyce S; Wamsley, Heather L; Freeman, Kathy P

    2012-03-01

    In December 2009, the American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology (ASVCP) Quality Assurance and Laboratory Standards committee published the updated and peer-reviewed ASVCP Quality Assurance Guidelines on the Society's website. These guidelines are intended for use by veterinary diagnostic laboratories and veterinary research laboratories that are not covered by the US Food and Drug Administration Good Laboratory Practice standards (Code of Federal Regulations Title 21, Chapter 58). The guidelines have been divided into 3 reports: (1) general analytical factors for veterinary laboratory performance and comparisons; (2) hematology, hemostasis, and crossmatching; and (3) clinical chemistry, cytology, and urinalysis. This particular report is one of 3 reports and documents recommendations for control of preanalytical, analytical, and postanalytical factors related to urinalysis, cytology, and clinical chemistry in veterinary laboratories and is adapted from sections 1.1 and 2.2 (clinical chemistry), 1.3 and 2.5 (urinalysis), 1.4 and 2.6 (cytology), and 3 (postanalytical factors important in veterinary clinical pathology) of these guidelines. These guidelines are not intended to be all-inclusive; rather, they provide minimal guidelines for quality assurance and quality control for veterinary laboratory testing and a basis for laboratories to assess their current practices, determine areas for improvement, and guide continuing professional development and education efforts. © 2012 American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology.

  2. 76 FR 6815 - Proposed Information Collection, OMB Control Number 1004-NEW

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-08

    ... resource protection and recreation goals set forth in the RMPs, BLM must gather accurate data regarding... about visitors' demographics and visitors' views on facilities, conflicts, existing and proposed... determine changes in visitor characteristics, including demographics, usage, user conflicts, and...

  3. Arch therapy clinical case of electrons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Larrinaga Cortina, Eduardo Francisco; Rodriguez Velorio, Ceferina; Alonso Samper, Jose Luis

    2009-01-01

    From 1998 to 2006, the Ministry of Public Health of the Republic of Cuba maintained a balanced collaboration with the Social Security Fund (CCSS) of the Republic of Costa Rica with the objective of providing professional services in radiotherapy. As part of the Cuban mission in the 2003-2005 period was conducted clinic design and implementation of a dynamic rotational technique with electron beams for treatment of a neoplastic lesion from the neuro ectoderm early in the first linear accelerator belonging to the CCSS and installed in Hospital Mexico, San Jose. The objective was to achieve locoregional control of the lesion by treatment Radiant surgical bed in the chest wall. We discuss different options settings for the treatment values arch therapy the best choice taking into account the cylindrical geometry of the treatment area and the superficiality of its location. For the determination of the absolute dose used Khan's recommendations. Treatment planning was done following the methodology suggested by Podgorsak et al. We performed a quality control of patient-specific planning and dosimetry in anthropomorphic dummy radiographic, resulting in isodose distribution of very good uniformity in the area of clinical interest. The electron arch therapy technique proved to be superior to alternative proposals for the treatment of superficial lesions with cylindrical symmetry frankly, with regard to dose homogeneity in the target volume and lower dose in critical organs. (author)

  4. Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial of Bilayer Ceramic and Metal-Ceramic Crown Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esquivel-Upshaw, Josephine; Rose, William; Oliveira, Erica; Yang, Mark; Clark, Arthur E.; Anusavice, Kenneth

    2013-01-01

    Purpose Analyzing the clinical performance of restorative materials is important, as there is an expectation that these materials and procedures will restore teeth and do no harm. The objective of this research study was to characterize the clinical performance of metal-ceramic crowns, core ceramic crowns, and core ceramic/veneer ceramic crowns based on 11 clinical criteria. Materials and Methods An IRB-approved, randomized, controlled clinical trial was conducted as a single-blind pilot study. The following three types of full crowns were fabricated: (1) metal-ceramic crown (MC) made from a Pd-Au-Ag-Sn-In alloy (Argedent 62) and a glass-ceramic veneer (IPS d.SIGN veneer); (2) non-veneered (glazed) lithium disilicate glass-ceramic crown (LDC) (IPS e.max Press core and e.max Ceram Glaze); and (3) veneered lithia disilicate glass-ceramic crown (LDC/V) with glass-ceramic veneer (IPS Empress 2 core and IPS Eris). Single-unit crowns were randomly assigned. Patients were recalled for each of 3 years and were evaluated by two calibrated clinicians. Thirty-six crowns were placed in 31 patients. A total of 12 crowns of each of the three crown types were studied. Eleven criteria were evaluated: tissue health, marginal integrity, secondary caries, proximal contact, anatomic contour, occlusion, surface texture, cracks/chips (fractures), color match, tooth sensitivity, and wear (of crowns and opposing enamel). Numerical rankings ranged from 1 to 4, with 4 being excellent, and 1 indicating a need for immediate replacement. Statistical analysis of the numerical rankings was performed using a Fisher’s exact test. Results There was no statistically significant difference between performance of the core ceramic crowns and the two veneered crowns at year 1 and year 2 (p > 0.05). All crowns were rated either as excellent or good for each of the clinical criteria; however, between years 2 and 3, gradual roughening of the occlusal surface occurred in some of the ceramic-ceramic crowns

  5. An accurate reactive power control study in virtual flux droop control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Aimeng; Zhang, Jia

    2017-12-01

    This paper investigates the problem of reactive power sharing based on virtual flux droop method. Firstly, flux droop control method is derived, where complicated multiple feedback loops and parameter regulation are avoided. Then, the reasons for inaccurate reactive power sharing are theoretically analyzed. Further, a novel reactive power control scheme is proposed which consists of three parts: compensation control, voltage recovery control and flux droop control. Finally, the proposed reactive power control strategy is verified in a simplified microgrid model with two parallel DGs. The simulation results show that the proposed control scheme can achieve accurate reactive power sharing and zero deviation of voltage. Meanwhile, it has some advantages of simple control and excellent dynamic and static performance.

  6. Clinical and radiological results of patients treated with three treatment modalities for overdentures on implants of the ITI (R) Dental Implant System - A randomized controlled clinical trial

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wismeijer, D; van Waas, MAJ; Mulder, J; Vermeeren, JIJF; Kalk, W

    In a randomized controlled clinical trial carried out at the Ignatius teaching hospital in Breda, The Netherlands, 110 edentulous patients with severe mandibular bone loss were treated with implants of the ITI(R) Dental Implant System using 3 different treatment strategies: a mandibular overdenture

  7. Clinical significance of a proposed lymphoscintigrpahic functional grade system in patients with extremity lymphedema of stage i

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Joan Young; Hwang, Ji Hye; Kim, Dong Ik; Cho, Young Seok; Lee, Su Jin; Choi, Yong; Choe, Yeam Seong; Lee, Kyung Han; Kim, Byung Tae

    2005-01-01

    We proposed a new lymphoscintigrpahic functional grade (LGr) system in extremity lymphedema, and investigated the association between the LGr and a long-term response to physical therapy in patients with extremity lymphedema of stage I. The subjects were 20 patients with unilateral extremity lymphedema of stage I, who underwent pre-treatment extremity lymphoscintigraphy using Tc-99m antimony sulfur colloid, and were treated by complex decongestive physical therapy (CDPT). A proposed lymphoscintigrpahic functional grade system consisted of LGr 0 to LGr 4 according to the ilioinguinal nodal uptake, amount of dermal backflow, and uptake pattern of main and collateral lymphatics : LGr 0 = normal, LGr 1 = decreased lymphatic function without dermal backflow, LGr 2 = decreased lymphatic function with dermal backflow, LGr 3 = non - visualization of main lymphatics with dermal backflow, and LGr 4 = no significant lymphatic transport from injection site. LGr 2 was divided into 2A and 2B based on the amount of dermal backflow. A physician who is a lymphedema specialist determined the long-term outcome to CDPT with normalized response (NR), good response (GR) and poor response (PR) based on the change of edema volume reduction, skin status and occurrence of dermatolymphangioadenitis after the clinical follow-up for more than 1 year. Therapeutic responses were NR in 2 patients. GR in 9 patients and PR in 9 patients. Baseline LGrs were 1 in 7 patients, 2A in 4 patients, 2B in 5 patients, 3 in 2 patients, and 4 in 2 patients. There was a significant relationship between therapeutic response and LGr (p=0.003). In other words, 10 of 11 patients (91%) with LGr 1 or 2A showed NR. or GR. On the contrary, 8 of 9 patients (89%) with LGr 2B, 3 or 4 showed PR. Patients with unilateral extremity lymphedema of stage I had different lymphoscintigrpahic functional grades. This grade system may be useful to predict the response to physical therapy in such patients

  8. Clinical significance of a proposed lymphoscintigrpahic functional grade system in patients with extremity lymphedema of stage i

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choi, Joan Young; Hwang, Ji Hye; Kim, Dong Ik; Cho, Young Seok; Lee, Su Jin; Choi, Yong; Choe, Yeam Seong; Lee, Kyung Han; Kim, Byung Tae [Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2005-07-01

    We proposed a new lymphoscintigrpahic functional grade (LGr) system in extremity lymphedema, and investigated the association between the LGr and a long-term response to physical therapy in patients with extremity lymphedema of stage I. The subjects were 20 patients with unilateral extremity lymphedema of stage I, who underwent pre-treatment extremity lymphoscintigraphy using Tc-99m antimony sulfur colloid, and were treated by complex decongestive physical therapy (CDPT). A proposed lymphoscintigrpahic functional grade system consisted of LGr 0 to LGr 4 according to the ilioinguinal nodal uptake, amount of dermal backflow, and uptake pattern of main and collateral lymphatics : LGr 0 = normal, LGr 1 = decreased lymphatic function without dermal backflow, LGr 2 = decreased lymphatic function with dermal backflow, LGr 3 = non - visualization of main lymphatics with dermal backflow, and LGr 4 = no significant lymphatic transport from injection site. LGr 2 was divided into 2A and 2B based on the amount of dermal backflow. A physician who is a lymphedema specialist determined the long-term outcome to CDPT with normalized response (NR), good response (GR) and poor response (PR) based on the change of edema volume reduction, skin status and occurrence of dermatolymphangioadenitis after the clinical follow-up for more than 1 year. Therapeutic responses were NR in 2 patients. GR in 9 patients and PR in 9 patients. Baseline LGrs were 1 in 7 patients, 2A in 4 patients, 2B in 5 patients, 3 in 2 patients, and 4 in 2 patients. There was a significant relationship between therapeutic response and LGr (p=0.003). In other words, 10 of 11 patients (91%) with LGr 1 or 2A showed NR. or GR. On the contrary, 8 of 9 patients (89%) with LGr 2B, 3 or 4 showed PR. Patients with unilateral extremity lymphedema of stage I had different lymphoscintigrpahic functional grades. This grade system may be useful to predict the response to physical therapy in such patients.

  9. Closed loop kinesthetic feedback for postural control rehabilitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vérité, Fabien; Bachta, Wael; Morel, Guillaume

    2014-01-01

    Postural control rehabilitation may benefit from the use of smart devices providing biofeedback. This approach consists of increasing the patients perception of their postural state. Namely, postural state is monitored and fed back in real time to the patients through one or more sensory channels. This allows implementing rehabilitation exercises where the patients control their posture with the help of additional sensory inputs. In this paper, a closed loop control of the Center-Of-Pressure (CoP) based on kinesthetic feedback is proposed as a new form of biofeedback. The motion of a one Degree of Freedom (DoF) translational device, lightly touched by the patient's forefinger, is servoed to the patient's CoP position extracted from the measurements of a force plate on which he/she stands. As a result, the patient's CoP can be controllably displaced. A first set of experiments is used to prove the feasibility of this closed-loop control under ideal conditions favoring the perception of the kinesthetic feedback, while the subject is totally unaware of the context. A second set of experiments is then proposed to evaluate the robustness of this approach under experimental conditions that are more realistic with regards to the clinical context of a rehabilitation program involving biofeedback-based exercises.

  10. Proposed Terminology and Classification of Pre-Malignant Neoplastic Conditions: A Consensus Proposal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valent, Peter; Akin, Cem; Arock, Michel; Bock, Christoph; George, Tracy I; Galli, Stephen J; Gotlib, Jason; Haferlach, Torsten; Hoermann, Gregor; Hermine, Olivier; Jäger, Ulrich; Kenner, Lukas; Kreipe, Hans; Majeti, Ravindra; Metcalfe, Dean D; Orfao, Alberto; Reiter, Andreas; Sperr, Wolfgang R; Staber, Philipp B; Sotlar, Karl; Schiffer, Charles; Superti-Furga, Giulio; Horny, Hans-Peter

    2017-12-01

    Cancer evolution is a step-wise non-linear process that may start early in life or later in adulthood, and includes pre-malignant (indolent) and malignant phases. Early somatic changes may not be detectable or are found by chance in apparently healthy individuals. The same lesions may be detected in pre-malignant clonal conditions. In some patients, these lesions may never become relevant clinically whereas in others, they act together with additional pro-oncogenic hits and thereby contribute to the formation of an overt malignancy. Although some pre-malignant stages of a malignancy have been characterized, no global system to define and to classify these conditions is available. To discuss open issues related to pre-malignant phases of neoplastic disorders, a working conference was organized in Vienna in August 2015. The outcomes of this conference are summarized herein and include a basic proposal for a nomenclature and classification of pre-malignant conditions. This proposal should assist in the communication among patients, physicians and scientists, which is critical as genome-sequencing will soon be offered widely for early cancer-detection. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Levo-α-acetylmethadol (LAAM induced QTc-prolongation - results from a controlled clinical trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wieneke H

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Due to potential proarrhythmic side-effects levo-α-Acetylmethadol (LAAM is currently not available in EU countries as maintenance drug in the treatment of opiate addiction. However, recent studies and meta-analyses underline the clinical advantages of LAAM with respect to the reduction of heroin use. Thus a reappraisal of LAAM has been demanded. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relative impact of LAAM on QTc-interval, as a measure of pro-arrhythmic risk, in comparison to methadone, the current standard in substitution therapy. Methods ECG recordings were analysed within a randomized, controlled clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and tolerability of maintenance treatment with LAAM compared with racemic methadone. Recordings were done at two points: 1 during a run-in period with all patients on methadone and 2 24 weeks after randomisation into methadone or LAAM treatment group. These ECG recordings were analysed with respect to QTc-values and QTc-dispersion. Mean values as well as individual changes compared to baseline parameters were evaluated. QTc-intervals were classified according to CPMP-guidelines. Results Complete ECG data sets could be obtained in 53 patients (31 LAAM-group, 22 methadone-group. No clinical cardiac complications were observed in either group. After 24 weeks, patients receiving LAAM showed a significant increase in QTc-interval (0.409 s ± 0.022 s versus 0.418 s ± 0.028 s, p = 0.046, whereas no significant changes could be observed in patients remaining on methadone. There was no statistically significant change in QTc-dispersion in either group. More patients with borderline prolonged and prolonged QTc-intervals were observed in the LAAM than in the methadone treatment group (n = 7 vs. n = 1; p = 0.1. Conclusions In this controlled trial LAAM induced QTc-prolongation in a higher degree than methadone. Given reports of severe arrhythmic events, careful ECG-monitoring is recommended

  12. Adjunctive Effects of A Piscean Collagen-Based Controlled-Release Chlorhexidine Chip in the Treatment of Chronic Periodontitis: A Clinical and Microbiological Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    John, Priya; Lazarus, Flemingson; Selvam, Arul; Prabhuji, Munivenkatappa Lakshmaiah Venkatesh

    2015-01-01

    Introduction PerioChip a bovine origin gelatine based CHX chip has shown beneficial effects in the management of Chronic Periodontitis. A new fish collagen based CHX chip similar to PerioChip is currently available; however this product has not been thoroughly researched. Aim The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a new Piscean collagen-based controlled-release chlorhexidine chip (CHX chip) as an adjunctive therapy to scaling and root planing (SRP). Settings and Design The study was conducted as a randomised, split-mouth, controlled clinical trial at Krishnadevaraya College of Dental Sciences, Bangalore, India. Materials and Methods In a split–mouth study involving 20 sites in 10 patients with chronic periodontitis, control sites received scaling and root planing and test sites received scaling and root planing (SRP) and the intrapocket CHX chip placement as an adjunct. Subgingival plaque samples were collected from both control and test sites at baseline, 11 days and 11 weeks and the anaerobic colony count were assessed. Clinical parameters that were recorded at baseline and 11 weeks were gingival index, Plaque index, Probing pocket depth (PPD), and Clinical attachment level (CAL). Plaque index was recorded additionally at 11 days. Results In the test group there was a statistically significant reduction in the total anaerobic colony count, gingival index and plaque scores from baseline as compared to control sites at all time intervals. An additional 0.8mm reduction in mean probing pocket depth was noted in the test group. Gain in Clinical attachment level was comparable in both groups. Conclusion The adjunctive use of the new collagen-based CHX chip yielded significant antimicrobial benefit accompanied by a reduction in probing depth and a clinical attachment level gain as compared to SRP alone. This suggests that it may be a useful treatment option of nonsurgical periodontal treatment of chronic periodontitis. PMID:26155567

  13. Promoting consumer empowerment through entrepreneurship: a proposal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prince, Jonathan D

    2007-01-01

    In order to promote life control, this proposal suggests strategies to help people who use community mental health services to access small loans or "microcredit" for entrepreneurship in self-help groups.

  14. Chemically modified tetracyclines an emerging host modulator in chronic periodontitis patients: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alyousef, Abdullah A; Divakar, Darshan Devang; Muzaheed

    2017-09-01

    Although periodontal diseases are caused by some of the specific pathogens, most of the tissue damage is caused by the host reaction to disease and not actually by the infections. Therefore, host modulatory therapy (HMT) has advanced benefit for the treatment of periodontitis, which works basically by reducing tissue destruction and regeneration in periodontium by altering the critical aspects of host response regulation and up regulating defensive regenerative responses. The present study was conducted with the goal to test an innovative therapeutic option using chemically modified tetracycline in patients affected with generalized, moderate and severe chronic periodontitis. We assumed that CMT might have the potential to provoke an assessable clinical result and pharmacologically impede the level inflammatory flow. CMT (incyclinide) treated group had significantly higher CAL (clinical attachment) values than Placebo Control suggesting an improved CAL in CMT treatment. Host modulation therapy width incyclinide can be as an adjunct to conventional nonsurgical therapies without antimicrobial resistance. Progress was noticed in the clinical parameters but not the serum CRP level in our study establishing the role of CMTs in controlling chronic periodontitis. Also CMT treatment indicates its role in anti-inflammatory process as it inhibited IL-12 and TNF alpha but IL-10 level was not affected. However, more randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials with large sample size are required in order to authenticate the usage of CMTs in chronic periodontitis treatment. Based on this understanding, exploration of the novel, low-cost synthetic inhibitors that can be used as potential therapeutic agents, has been tested. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Equal Opportunity for Children (A Proposal for Licensed Parenthood).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogers, Cosby S.; Hicks, Mary W.

    A theoretical proposal for a government-sponsored system of licensed parenthood is suggested, based on the premise that overpopulation, child abuse, and emotional, intellectual, and physical handicaps in children could be controlled through legislation. The three-part legislative proposal for licensed parenthood outlined would include: (1)…

  16. 7 CFR 3406.16 - Scope of a research proposal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... initiative(s) for which they have prepared their proposals. (a) Studies and experimentation in food and... constituents from or adding desirable ones to food products. (iii) Propose and evaluate ways to enhance... development (e.g., exploitation of new technologies by small rural businesses). (iv) Identify control factors...

  17. International veterinary epilepsy task force consensus proposal : diagnostic approach to epilepsy in dogs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    De Risio, Luisa; Bhatti, Sofie; Muñana, Karen; Penderis, Jacques; Stein, Veronika; Tipold, Andrea; Berendt, Mette; Farqhuar, Robyn; Fischer, Andrea; Long, Sam; Mandigers, Paul J J; Matiasek, Kaspar; Packer, Rowena M A; Pakozdy, Akos; Patterson, Ned; Platt, Simon; Podell, Michael; Potschka, Heidrun; Batlle, Martí Pumarola; Rusbridge, Clare; Volk, Holger A

    2015-01-01

    This article outlines the consensus proposal on diagnosis of epilepsy in dogs by the International Veterinary Epilepsy Task Force. The aim of this consensus proposal is to improve consistency in the diagnosis of epilepsy in the clinical and research settings. The diagnostic approach to the patient

  18. Primary control of upper gingiva and hard palate squamous cell carcinoma. A clinical evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beppu, Takeshi; Mitani, Hiroki; Kawabata, Kazuyoshi

    2005-01-01

    The primary control of upper gingiva and hard palate squamous cell carcinoma was evaluated clinically. From 1985 to 1999, there were 51 cases that received definitive treatment in our hospital with a primary control rate of 70.6%. The primary control rates according to treatment modality were: 73.3% for surgery alone (69.2% for partial maxillectomy, 80% for total maxillectomy); 71.4% for definitive radiation therapy; and 68% for combined surgery and radiation therapy. The primary control rates according to the T stage were: 85.7% for T1; 60% for T2; 77.8% for T3; and 80% for T4. In general, primary control was better when the tumor was located anteriorly rather than posterolaterally in the oral cavity. Frequent recurrent sites following the operation were the infratemporal fossa and/or the pterygopalatine fossa, especially when the tumor had been located posterolaterally. In such cases, a salvage operation was often impossible, and the uncontrollable primary lesion progressed and caused death. Therefore, when the tumor is located posterolaterally, and especially if it has invaded deeply into the infratemporal fossa and the pterygopalatine fossa, it is vitally important to properly plan the surgical approach and to ensure a good visual operative field. (author)

  19. A Combined Control Chart for Identifying Out–Of–Control Points in Multivariate Processes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marroquín–Prado E.

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available The Hotelling's T2 control chart is widely used to identify out–of–control signals in multivariate processes. However, this chart is not sensitive to small shifts in the process mean vec tor. In this work we propose a control chart to identify out–of–control signals. The proposed chart is a combination of Hotelling's T2 chart, M chart proposed by Hayter et al. (1994 and a new chart based on Principal Components. The combination of these charts identifies any type and size of change in the process mean vector. Us ing simulation and the Average Run Length (ARL, the performance of the proposed control chart is evaluated. The ARL means the average points within control before an out–of–control point is detected, The results of the simulation show that the proposed chart is more sensitive that each one of the three charts individually

  20. Stock management in hospital pharmacy using chance-constrained model predictive control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jurado, I; Maestre, J M; Velarde, P; Ocampo-Martinez, C; Fernández, I; Tejera, B Isla; Prado, J R Del

    2016-05-01

    One of the most important problems in the pharmacy department of a hospital is stock management. The clinical need for drugs must be satisfied with limited work labor while minimizing the use of economic resources. The complexity of the problem resides in the random nature of the drug demand and the multiple constraints that must be taken into account in every decision. In this article, chance-constrained model predictive control is proposed to deal with this problem. The flexibility of model predictive control allows taking into account explicitly the different objectives and constraints involved in the problem while the use of chance constraints provides a trade-off between conservativeness and efficiency. The solution proposed is assessed to study its implementation in two Spanish hospitals. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. A controllability approach to the control of a class of chaotic systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bowong, Samuel; Moukam Kakmeni, F.M.; Tchawoua, Clement; Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste

    2003-10-01

    In this paper the exponential control problem for a class of chaotic systems with affine dependence on the control is addressed and solved by the controllability approach. It is shown that the controllability approach in conjunction with Lyapunov Direct Method yields a promising way of controlling chaotic dynamics. The proposed strategy is an input-output control scheme which comprises a state estimator and an exponential linearizing feedback. The proposed output feedback controller allows chaos suppression and can be applied to a large class of chaotic systems. Explicit expression of the control time is given. Computer simulations confirm the feasibility of the proposed approach. (author)

  2. Robust Sliding Mode Control Based on GA Optimization and CMAC Compensation for Lower Limb Exoskeleton

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, Yi; Du, Zhi-jiang; Wang, Wei-dong; Dong, Wei

    2016-01-01

    A lower limb assistive exoskeleton is designed to help operators walk or carry payloads. The exoskeleton is required to shadow human motion intent accurately and compliantly to prevent incoordination. If the user's intention is estimated accurately, a precise position control strategy will improve collaboration between the user and the exoskeleton. In this paper, a hybrid position control scheme, combining sliding mode control (SMC) with a cerebellar model articulation controller (CMAC) neural network, is proposed to control the exoskeleton to react appropriately to human motion intent. A genetic algorithm (GA) is utilized to determine the optimal sliding surface and the sliding control law to improve performance of SMC. The proposed control strategy (SMC_GA_CMAC) is compared with three other types of approaches, that is, conventional SMC without optimization, optimal SMC with GA (SMC_GA), and SMC with CMAC compensation (SMC_CMAC), all of which are employed to track the desired joint angular position which is deduced from Clinical Gait Analysis (CGA) data. Position tracking performance is investigated with cosimulation using ADAMS and MATLAB/SIMULINK in two cases, of which the first case is without disturbances while the second case is with a bounded disturbance. The cosimulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy which can be employed in similar exoskeleton systems. PMID:27069353

  3. Medicare program; acquisition, protection and disclosure of utilization and quality control peer review organization (PRO) information--HCFA. Proposed rule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1984-04-16

    This proposal would govern the acquisition, protection and disclosure of information obtained or generated by Utilization and Quality Control Peer Review Organizations (PROs). The Peer Review Improvement Act of 1982 authorizes PROs to acquire information necessary to fulfill their duties and functions, places limits on the disclosure of PRO information, and establishes penalties for unauthorized disclosure. These regulations would implement the PROs' statutory right of access to necessary information and set forth their responsibilities to assure that information once acquired is adequately safeguarded, and used only for proper purposes.

  4. Improvements in cognition, quality of life, and physical performance with clinical Pilates in multiple sclerosis: a randomized controlled trial

    OpenAIRE

    K???k, Fadime; Kara, Bilge; Poyraz, Esra ?o?kuner; ?diman, Egemen

    2016-01-01

    [Purpose] The aim of this study was to determine the effects of clinical Pilates in multiple sclerosis patients. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty multiple sclerosis patients were enrolled in this study. The participants were divided into two groups as the clinical Pilates and control groups. Cognition (Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite), balance (Berg Balance Scale), physical performance (timed performance tests, Timed up and go test), tiredness (Modified Fatigue Impact scale), depression ...

  5. Development of a real-time clinical decision support system upon the web mvc-based architecture for prostate cancer treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liang Wen-Miin

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background A real-time clinical decision support system (RTCDSS with interactive diagrams enables clinicians to instantly and efficiently track patients' clinical records (PCRs and improve their quality of clinical care. We propose a RTCDSS to process online clinical informatics from multiple databases for clinical decision making in the treatment of prostate cancer based on Web Model-View-Controller (MVC architecture, by which the system can easily be adapted to different diseases and applications. Methods We designed a framework upon the Web MVC-based architecture in which the reusable and extractable models can be conveniently adapted to other hospital information systems and which allows for efficient database integration. Then, we determined the clinical variables of the prostate cancer treatment based on participating clinicians' opinions and developed a computational model to determine the pretreatment parameters. Furthermore, the components of the RTCDSS integrated PCRs and decision factors for real-time analysis to provide evidence-based diagrams upon the clinician-oriented interface for visualization of treatment guidance and health risk assessment. Results The resulting system can improve quality of clinical treatment by allowing clinicians to concurrently analyze and evaluate the clinical markers of prostate cancer patients with instantaneous clinical data and evidence-based diagrams which can automatically identify pretreatment parameters. Moreover, the proposed RTCDSS can aid interactions between patients and clinicians. Conclusions Our proposed framework supports online clinical informatics, evaluates treatment risks, offers interactive guidance, and provides real-time reference for decision making in the treatment of prostate cancer. The developed clinician-oriented interface can assist clinicians in conveniently presenting evidence-based information to patients and can be readily adapted to an existing hospital

  6. [Clinical and psychopathological factors associated with impulse control disorders in Parkinson's disease].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sáez-Francàs, N; Martí Andrés, G; Ramírez, N; de Fàbregues, O; Álvarez-Sabín, J; Casas, M; Hernández-Vara, J

    2016-05-01

    Impulse control disorders (ICD) constitute a complication that may arise during the course of Parkinson's disease (PD). Several factors have been linked to the development of these disorders, and their associated severe functional impairment requires specific and multidisciplinary management. The objective of this study was to evaluate the frequency of ICDs and the clinical and psychopathological factors associated with the appearance of these disorders. Cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical study of a sample of 115 PD patients evaluated to determine the presence of an ICD. Clinical scales were administered to assess disease severity, personality traits, and presence of psychiatric symptoms at the time of evaluation. Of the 115 patients with PD, 27 (23.48%) displayed some form of ICD; hypersexuality, exhibited by 14 (12.2%), and binge eating, present in 12 (10.1%), were the most common types. Clinical factors associated with ICD were treatment with dopamine agonists (OR: 13.39), earlier age at disease onset (OR: 0.92), and higher score on the UPDRS-I subscale; psychopathological factors with a significant association were trait anxiety (OR: 1.05) and impulsivity (OR: 1.13). ICDs are frequent in PD, and treatment with dopamine agonists is the most important risk factor for these disorders. High impulsivity and anxiety levels at time of evaluation, and younger age at disease onset, were also linked to increased risk. However, presence of these personality traits prior to evaluation did not increase risk of ICD. Copyright © 2015 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  7. MRI quality control tools for procedures and analyses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Di Nallo, A.M.; Ortenzia, O.; Benassi, M.; D'Arienzo, M.; Coniglio, D.

    2006-01-01

    Quality control in MRI includes acceptance tests on the installation of a new scanner and tests representative of the system's performance during clinical practice.The first tests are time consuming and carried out to evaluate the agreement of the system with the prescribed procurement specifications. The second tests identify the equipment malfunction requiring maintenance are not time consuming and are suited to a busy clinical scanner. The paper evaluates the feasibility of the AAPM protocols and proposes procedures and practical tools to achieve this purpose.The MRI images, captured from the scanner and transferred in DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) format by a local network, are analyzed by computerized worksheets and commercial software

  8. Effect of Objective Structured Clinical Examination on Nursing Students' Clinical Skills

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seyedeh Narjes Mousavizadeh

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Considering the daily increasing changes in clinical training approaches, the necessity of using new evaluation methods in proportion with these approaches is also becoming more and more obvious for measuring all of the cognitive, emotional and psychomotor dimensions of students. The present study was designed and conducted for reviewing the effect of objective structured clinical examination method on the clinical skills of nursing students. In this quasi-experimental study, 48 nursing students have participated that were randomly assigned to two groups of intervention and control. The intervention group students were evaluated at the end of educational period of their clinical skills and principles course using objective structured clinical examination (OSCE. The OSCE included five core skills in this course: assessing and fulfilling patients’ basic needs, dressing up, injectable drug therapy, noninjectable drug therapy, infection control. The control group students were evaluated using the routine method. Both groups of students were followed up in the next semester and were compared in terms of learning enhancement in these five skills. Evaluation of procedures was based on valid and reliable check-lists made by the researcher. Results were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (Chi-square, independent and paired T tests. The mean score of the final evaluation in the intervention group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P= 0.000. Final evaluation scores of the intervention group students showed a better performance than their previous semester (P= 0.000, while the final evaluation scores of the control group students showed a lack of progress in their skills (P<0.05. It seems that this evaluation method also is a support for students' learning and resulted in improvement of clinical skills among them. Accordingly, it is recommended that nursing education centers apply this method to assess students

  9. Clinical competence of biopsychosocially trained physicians and controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adler, Rolf H; Minder, Christoph E

    2012-07-25

    To assess and compare clinical observations and interpretations by physicians trained in biopsychosocial internal medicine (group A) and a control group (C) of physicians with no such special training. A verbatim first-interview of a 36-year old woman, seen for consultation by RHA, was presented to both groups (A, trained physicians: n = 30, and C, controls: n = 29). The patient's symptoms included: shaky knees, strange sensations in the abdomen and chest, insecurity and dizziness. The symptoms had begun before her final nursing- exam and exacerbated on her mother's 60th birthday two months later. The patient's mother is the sole caretaker for the patient's sister, who also attended the birthday party. The patient's sister is 19 and had been diagnosed with storage disease and is wheelchair-bound. The doctors were asked to record their observations and interpretations while reviewing the case report. Group A-physicians mentioned and interpreted the physician-patient relationship and the patient's body language as described in the case report more often (p = 0.002, Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney rank sum test (RS)), mentioned physical symptoms more often (p = 0.0099, Fisher's exact test (FE)) and more often interpreted illness settings with respect to the patient's fear and guilt (Fisher's exact test, p = 0.007 and p = 0.015). A precise integrative diagnosis (life events leading to stress, the latter evoking fear and guilt, leading to symptoms of the fight-flight reaction) was suggested by 7 of group A and 4 of group C. Extensive laboratory work-up and requests for consultations were more frequently asked for by the C group (p = 0.048, RS). Residency training in biopsychosocial medicine in an Internal Medicine Department increased sensitivity to and interpretation of biological and psychosocial data many years after the training and decreased the extent of work-up and consultation costs. However it only tended to enhance psychosomatic conceptualisation with respect to anxiety

  10. Treatment of helicobacter pylori infection; a controlled randomized comparative clinical trial

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mehmood, A.; Usmanghani, K.; Mohiuddin, E.; Akram, M.

    2010-01-01

    Helicobacter pylori induces chronic inflammation of the underlying gastric mucosa and is strongly linked to the development of duodenal and gastric carcinoma. A study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of Pylorex, a herbal formulation, for treatment of H. pylori infection as compared to triple allopathic therapy (Omeprazole, Amoxicillin, Metronidazole). The therapeutic evaluations of these medicines were conducted on 97 clinically and immunologically diagnosed cases of H. pylori infection. H. pylori was eradicated in 16 (32.6%) out of 49 patients by the use of triple allopathic therapy (Control drugs), and in 9 (18.7%) out of 48 patients by the use of Pylorex (Test drug). Pylorex possesses a therapeutic value for the treatment of H. pylori associated symptoms but the eradication rate is superior in triple allopathic therapy. (author)

  11. Practices, patients and (imperfect data - feasibility of a randomised controlled clinical drug trial in German general practices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hummers-Pradier Eva

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Randomised controlled clinical (drug trials supply high quality evidence for therapeutic strategies in primary care. Until now, experience with drug trials in German general practice has been sparse. In 2007/2008, the authors conducted an investigator-initiated, non-commercial, double-blind, randomised controlled pilot trial (HWI-01 to assess the clinical equivalence of ibuprofen and ciprofloxacin in the treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI. Here, we report the feasibility of this trial in German general practices and the implementation of Good Clinical Practice (GCP standards as defined by the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH in mainly inexperienced general practices. Methods This report is based on the experience of the HWI-01 study conducted in 29 German general practices. Feasibility was defined by 1 successful practice recruitment, 2 sufficient patient recruitment, 3 complete and accurate data collection and 4 appropriate protection of patient safety. Results The final practice recruitment rate was 18%. In these practices, 79 of 195 screened UTI patients were enrolled. Recruitment differed strongly between practices (range 0-12, mean 2.8 patients per practice and was below the recruitment goal of approximately 100 patients. As anticipated, practice nurses became the key figures in the screening und recruitment of patients. Clinical trial demands, in particular for completing symptom questionnaires, documentation of source data and reporting of adverse events, did not agree well with GPs' documentation habits and required support from study nurses. In many cases, GPs and practice staff seemed to be overwhelmed by the amount of information and regulations. No sudden unexpected serious adverse reactions (SUSARs were observed during the trial. Conclusions To enable drug trials in general practice, it is necessary to adapt the setup of clinical research infrastructure to the needs of GPs and

  12. Protocol study for a randomised, controlled, double-blind, clinical trial involving virtual reality and anodal transcranial direct current stimulation for the improvement of upper limb motor function in children with Down syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopes, Jamile Benite Palma; Grecco, Luanda André Collange; Moura, Renata Calhes Franco de; Lazzari, Roberta Delasta; Duarte, Natalia de Almeida Carvalho; Miziara, Isabela; Melo, Gileno Edu Lameira de; Dumont, Arislander Jonathan Lopes; Galli, Manuela; Santos Oliveira, Claudia

    2017-08-11

    Down syndrome results in neuromotor impairment that affects selective motor control, compromising the acquisition of motor skills and functional independence. The aim of the proposed study is to evaluate and compare the effects of multiple-monopolar anodal transcranial direct current stimulation and sham stimulation over the primary motor cortex during upper limb motor training involving virtual reality on motor control, muscle activity, cerebral activity and functional independence. A randomised, controlled, double-blind, clinical trial is proposed. The calculation of the sample size will be defined based on the results of a pilot study involving the same methods. The participants will be randomly allocated to two groups. Evaluations will be conducted before and after the intervention as well as 1 month after the end of the intervention process. At each evaluation, three-dimensional analysis of upper limb movement muscle activity will be measured using electromyography, cerebral activity will be measured using an electroencephalogram system and intellectual capacity will be assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. Virtual reality training will be performed three times a week (one 20 min session per day) for a total of 10 sessions. During the protocol, transcranial stimulation will be administered concomitantly to upper limb motor training. The results will be analysed statistically, with a p value≤0.05 considered indicative of statistical significance. The present study received approval from the Institutional Review Board of Universidade Nove de Julho (Sao Paulo,Brazil) under process number 1.540.113 and is registered with the Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (N° RBR3PHPXB). The participating institutions have presented a declaration of participation. The volunteers will be permitted to drop out of the study at any time with no negative repercussions. The results will be published and will contribute evidence regarding the use of

  13. A cluster randomized controlled trial of a clinical pathway for hospital treatment of heart failure: study design and population

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gardini Andrea

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The hospital treatment of heart failure frequently does not follow published guidelines, potentially contributing to the high morbidity, mortality and economic cost of this disorder. Consequently the development of clinical pathways has the potential to reduce the current variability in care, enhance guideline adherence, and improve outcomes for patients. Despite enthusiasm and diffusion, the widespread acceptance of clinical pathways remain questionable because very little prospective controlled data demonstrated their effectiveness. The Experimental Prospective Study on the Effectiveness and Efficiency of the Implementation of Clinical Pathways was designed in order to conduct a rigorous evaluation of clinical pathways in hospital treatment of acute heart failure. The primary objective of the trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of clinical pathways for hospital treatment of heart failure in Italian hospitals. Methods/design Two-arm, cluster-randomized trial. 14 community hospitals were randomized either to arm 1 (clinical pathway: appropriate use of practice guidelines and supplies of drugs and ancillary services, new organization and procedures, patient education, etc. or to arm 2 (no intervention, usual care. 424 patients sample (212 in each group, 80% of power at the 5% significance level (two-sided. The primary outcome measure is in-hospital mortality. We will also analyze the impact of the clinical pathways comparing the length and the appropriateness of the stay, the rate of unscheduled readmissions, the customers' satisfaction and the costs treating the patients with the pathways and with the current practice along all the observation period. The quality of the care will be assessed by monitoring the use of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures during hospital stay and by measuring key quality indicators at discharge. Discussion This paper examines the design of the evaluation of a complex

  14. Clinical Orofacial Examination in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: International Consensus-based Recommendations for Monitoring Patients in Clinical Practice and Research Studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoustrup, Peter; Twilt, Marinka; Spiegel, Lynn; Kristensen, Kasper Dahl; Koos, Bernd; Pedersen, Thomas Klit; Küseler, Annelise; Cron, Randy Q; Abramowicz, Shelly; Verna, Carlalberta; Peltomäki, Timo; Alstergren, Per; Petty, Ross; Ringold, Sarah; Nørholt, Sven Erik; Saurenmann, Rotraud K; Herlin, Troels

    2017-03-01

    To develop international consensus-based recommendations for the orofacial examination of patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), for use in clinical practice and research. Using a sequential phased approach, a multidisciplinary task force developed and evaluated a set of recommendations for the orofacial examination of patients with JIA. Phase 1: A Delphi survey was conducted among 40 expert physicians and dentists with the aim of identifying and ranking the importance of items for inclusion. Phase 2: The task force developed consensus about the domains and items to be included in the recommendations. Phase 3: A systematic literature review was performed to assess the evidence supporting the consensus-based recommendations. Phase 4: An independent group of orofacial and JIA experts were invited to assess the content validity of the task force's recommendations. Five recommendations were developed to assess the following 5 domains: medical history, orofacial symptoms, muscle and temporomandibular joint function, orofacial function, and dentofacial growth. After application of data search criteria, 56 articles were included in the systematic review. The level of evidence for the 5 recommendations was derived primarily from descriptive studies, such as cross-sectional and case-control studies. Five recommendations are proposed for the orofacial examination of patients with JIA to improve the clinical practice and aid standardized data collection for future studies. The task force has formulated a future research program based on the proposed recommendations.

  15. Proposal for the award of an industrial services contract for software support for industrial controls

    CERN Document Server

    2000-01-01

    This document concerns the award of an Industrial Services contract for software support for industrial controls. Following a market survey carried out among 68 firms in twelve Member States, a call for tenders (IT-2711/ST) was sent on 12 April 2000 to nine firms and five consortia in eight Member States. By the closing date, CERN had received seven tenders from two firms and five consortia in six Member States. The Finance Committee is invited to agree to the negotiation of a contract with the firm GTD (ES), the lowest bidder, for an initial period of three years from 1 October 2000, for a total amount not exceeding 4 500 000 Swiss francs, not subject to revision. The contract will include an option for two one-year extensions beyond the initial three-year period. The firm has indicated the following distribution by country of the contract value covered by this adjudication proposal: ES?100%.

  16. Quality control of parasitology stool examination in Tabriz clinical laboratories

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    shahram Khademvatan

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of quality control program was to make doctors and laboratory personnel trust in laboratory results and consequently increasing confidence in laboratory achievements. The quality assurance means raising the level of quality in all tests that lead to raising the level of work efficiency and laboratories including minimum expense for society and minimum time for lab personnel. This study aimed to assess and determine the accuracy and precision of results in Tabriz medical diagnostic laboratories. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, 790 stool samples were selected randomly and tested by standard methods.Student t- test, SPSS software and sensitivity and accuracy formulas were used for data analysis. Results: The sensitivity was 62%, 22% and 8% with 95% confidence intervals for worm's eggs, protozoan cysts and trophozoite detection respectively. Conclusion: To elevate quality assurance in clinical diagnostic laboratory, monitoring and check of the laboratories by standard methods continually should be done.

  17. 76 FR 62047 - Proposed Information Collection Requests

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-06

    ... Heightened Cash Monitoring 2 (HCM2). OMB Control Number: 1845-0089. Agency Form Number(s): N/A. Frequency of... payment for Reimbursement or Heightened Cash Monitoring 2 claims. Copies of the proposed information...

  18. Deep Dyspareunia in Endometriosis: A Proposed Framework Based on Pain Mechanisms and Genito-Pelvic Pain Penetration Disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yong, Paul J

    2017-10-01

    Endometriosis is a common chronic disease affecting 1 in 10 women of reproductive age, with half of women with endometriosis experiencing deep dyspareunia. A review of research studies on endometriosis indicates a need for a validated question or questionnaire for deep dyspareunia. Moreover, placebo-controlled randomized trials have yet to demonstrate a clear benefit for traditional treatments of endometriosis for the outcome of deep dyspareunia. The reason some patients might not respond to traditional treatments is the multifactorial nature of deep dyspareunia in endometriosis, which can include comorbid conditions (eg, interstitial cystitis and bladder pain syndrome) and central sensitization underlying genito-pelvic pain penetration disorder. In general, there is a lack of a framework that integrates these multifactorial causes to provide a standardized approach to deep dyspareunia in endometriosis. To propose a clinical framework for deep dyspareunia based on a synthesis of pain mechanisms with genito-pelvic pain penetration disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. Narrative review after literature search with the terms (endometriosis AND dyspareunia) OR (dyspareunia AND deep) and after analysis of placebo-controlled randomized trials. Deep dyspareunia presence or absence or deep dyspareunia severity on a numeric rating scale or visual analog scale. Four types of deep dyspareunia are proposed in women with endometriosis: type I that is directly due to endometriosis; type II that is related to a comorbid condition; type III in which genito-pelvic pain penetration disorder is primary; and type IV that is secondary to a combination of types I to III. Four types of deep dyspareunia in endometriosis are proposed, which can be used as a framework in research studies and in clinical practice. Research trials could phenotype or stratify patients by each type. The framework also could give rise to more personalized

  19. 76 FR 5302 - Proposed Amendment of Class E Airspace; Terre Haute, IN

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-31

    ...-1034; Airspace Docket No. 10-AGL-22] Proposed Amendment of Class E Airspace; Terre Haute, IN AGENCY... action proposes to amend Class E airspace at Terre Haute, IN. Controlled airspace is necessary to... (POINT-IN-SPACE) SIAP at Union Hospital Heliport, Terre Haute, IN. Controlled airspace is needed for the...

  20. Comparing clinical efficacy of Symbicort versus Pulmicort in reducing asthma symptom and improving its control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Emami

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Recently, higher efficacy of the combination of long-acting beta2-adrenoceptor agonist and inhaled corticosteroids on controlling asthma symptoms has been hypothesized. This study aimed to examine the clinical effects of the combination of Budesonide with formoterol (Symbicort and Budesonide (Pulmicort alone in persistent asthma. Materials and Methods: In a randomized double-blinded clinical trial, 76 patients with definite diagnosis of moderate-to-severe asthma were randomized to receive Pulmicort 180 mcg/inhalation two puffs twice daily, or receive Symbicort 80/4.5 mg/inhalation two puffs twice daily, or receive Symbicort 160/4.5 mg/inhalation two puffs twice daily for 3 months. All participants were initially evaluated by spirometry for assessing respiratory parameters and also the level of asthma control was assessed by Asthma Control Test (ACT. Results: More significant improvement in spirometry parameters, including forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1, forced vital capacity (FVC, FEV1/FVC ratio, as well as in peak expiratory flow (PEF in both groups of Symbicort with the regimens 80/4.5 mg/inhalation or 160/4.5 mg/inhalation 2 puffs twice daily compared with Pulmicort group, ACT score was significantly improved in Symbicort group with the regimens 160/4.5 mg/inhalation compared with both Symbicort groups with lower dosage and Pulmicort group . Response to treatment in PEF parameter and also in ACT level was significantly more in those who received Symbicort with the regimens 160/4.5 mg/inhalation compared with other two interventional groups adjusted for gender and age. Conclusion: Symbicort with the regimens 160/4.5 mg/inhalation has higher efficacy in reducing asthma symptom and improving its control compared with low doses of this drug and with Pulmicort.

  1. Randomized controlled clinical trial comparing two dental implants with different neck configurations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanz-Martín, Ignacio; Sanz-Sánchez, Ignacio; Noguerol, Fernando; Cok, Susy; Ortiz-Vigón, Alberto; Sanz, Mariano

    2017-06-01

    Peri-implant bone levels can vary according to the implant neck macro-design and the implant-abutment interface. To compare the changes in soft and hard tissues when using a one-piece implant with a machined collar (TG) versus a two-piece implant with a progressive platform widening and a platform switching connection (SP). Partially edentulous patients willing to receive one or two implants in the posterior maxilla or mandible were randomized to the control (TG) or to the test group (SP). Final prostheses were delivered after 12 months. Radiographic measurements of interproximal bone levels (primary outcome) were assessed at implant loading and 1-year postloading. Clinical, patient related outcomes and adverse events were assessed at loading and after 6 and 12 months. Sixty-one implants were placed in 47 patients, 37 patients (18 in the TG group and 19 in the SP group), and 47 implants (23 TG and 24 SP) completed the 24-months follow up. At the patient level, a significantly greater bone resorption from baseline to implant loading was observed in the SP group (-0.42 ± 0.45 vs -0.07 ± 0.45; P = .001*), while from loading to the final visit, the TG group had significantly greater bone loss than the SP group (-0.26 ± 0.22 vs -0.11 ± 0.2; P = .020*). At 24 months after surgery, there were no significant differences between both groups (control: 0.33 ± 0.49 vs test: 0.53 ± 0.53; P = .230). Similarly, no significant differences were observed for the secondary outcomes. Both types of implant reported high survival rates and similar bone level changes, clinical parameters, and patient related outcomes after 12 months of loading. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. 76 FR 30299 - Proposed Establishment of Class E Airspace; Kayenta, AZ

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-25

    ...-0393; Airspace Docket No. 11-AWP-2] Proposed Establishment of Class E Airspace; Kayenta, AZ AGENCY... action proposes to establish Class E Airspace at Kayenta Airport, Kayenta, AZ. Controlled airspace is...) standard instrument approach procedures at Kayenta Airport. The FAA is proposing this action to enhance the...

  3. 76 FR 16813 - Proposed Information Collection; OMB Control Number 1024-0038

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-25

    ... 1993 Government Performance and Results Act, as amended. This request for OMB approval includes local... Report'' that includes the Cumulative Products Table (which compares actual to proposed performance), a.... This set of information collections has an impact on State, tribal, and local governments that wish to...

  4. Tracking Control Based on Control Allocation with an Innovative Control Effector Aircraft Application

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chaoyang Dong

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a control allocation method for the tracking control problem of a class of morphing aircraft with special actuators which are different from the conventional actuation surfaces. This design of actuators can bring about some potential advantages to the flight vehicles; however, due to the integral constraints, the desired control cannot be performed accurately; therefore, it leads to undesirable tracking errors, so influencing the performance of the system. Because the system could be control allocated, based on the designed cost function that describes the tracking errors, the cuckoo search algorithm (CSA is introduced to search for the optimum solution within the calculated actuator execution commands that are equivalent to the desired commands. Several improvement measures are proposed for boosting the efficiency of the CSA and ensuring reasonable solutions. Simulation results show that the proposed control allocation method is necessary and effective, and the improvement measures are helpful in obtaining the optimum solution.

  5. Robust, Optimal, Predictive, and Integrated Road Traffic Control : Research proposal

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van de Weg, G.S.; Hegyi, A.; Hoogendoorn, S.P.

    2014-01-01

    The development of control strategies for traffic lights, ramp metering installations, and variable speed limits to improve the throughput of road traffic networks can contribute to a more efficient use of road networks. In this project, a hierarchical controller will be developed for the

  6. Clinical effectiveness of combined virtual reality and robot assisted fine hand motion rehabilitation in subacute stroke patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Xianwei; Naghdy, Fazel; Naghdy, Golshah; Du, Haiping

    2017-07-01

    Robot-assisted therapy is regarded as an effective and reliable method for the delivery of highly repetitive rehabilitation training in restoring motor skills after a stroke. This study focuses on the rehabilitation of fine hand motion skills due to their vital role in performing delicate activities of daily living (ADL) tasks. The proposed rehabilitation system combines an adaptive assist-as-needed (AAN) control algorithm and a Virtual Reality (VR) based rehabilitation gaming system (RGS). The developed system is described and its effectiveness is validated through clinical trials on a group of eight subacute stroke patients for a period of six weeks. The impact of the training is verified through standard clinical evaluation methods and measuring key kinematic parameters. A comparison of the pre- and post-training results indicates that the method proposed in this study can improve fine hand motion rehabilitation training effectiveness.

  7. PROPOSAL OF VOIVODESHIP ROAD SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME

    OpenAIRE

    Tomasz SZCZURASZEK; Jan KEMPA

    2016-01-01

    The article presents a proposal of the ‘GAMBIT KUJAWSKO-POMORSKI’ Road Safety Improvement Programme. The main idea of the Programme is to establish and initiate systems that will be responsible for the most important areas of activity within road safety, including road safety control, supervision, and management systems in the whole Voivodeship. In total, the creation and start of nine such systems has been proposed, namely: the Road Safety Management, the Integrated Road Rescue Service, the ...

  8. Phase and gain control policies for robust active vibration control of flexible structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, K; Ichchou, M N; Scorletti, G; Mieyeville, F

    2013-01-01

    The interest of this paper is to develop a general and systematic robust control methodology for active vibration control of flexible structures. For this purpose, first phase and gain control policies are proposed to impose qualitative frequency-dependent requirements on the controller to consider a complete set of control objectives. Then the proposed control methodology is developed by employing phase and gain control policies in the dynamic output feedback H ∞  control: according to the set of control objectives, phase and gain control policies incorporate necessary weighting functions and determine them in a rational and systematic way; on the other hand, with the appropriate weighting functions efficient H ∞  control algorithms can automatically realize phase and gain control policies and generate a satisfactory H ∞  controller. The proposed control methodology can be used for both SISO and MIMO systems with collocated or non-collocated sensors and actuators. In this paper, it is validated on a non-collocated piezoelectric cantilever beam. Both numerical simulations and experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control methodology. (paper)

  9. Clinical and pathologic factors predictive of biochemical control following post-prostatectomy irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stromberg, Jannifer S.; Ziaja, Ellen L.; Horwitz, Eric M.; Vicini, Frank A.; Brabbins, Donald S.; Dmuchowski, Carl F.; Gonzalez, Jose; Martinez, Alvaro A.

    1996-01-01

    Purpose/Objective: Indications for post-prostatectomy radiation therapy are not well defined. We reviewed our experience treating post-prostatectomy patients with external beam irradiation to assess clinical and pathologic factors predictive of biochemical control. Materials and Methods: Between 1/87 and 3/93, 61 patients received post-operative tumor bed irradiation with a median dose of 59.4 Gy (50.4 - 68 Gy). Median follow-up was 4.1 years (7.6 months - 8.3 years) from irradiation. Patients were treated for the following reasons: 1) adjuvantly, within 6 months of surgery for extracapsular extension, seminal vesicle involvement, or positive surgical margins (n=38); 2) persistently elevated PSA post-operatively (n=2); 3) rising PSA >6 months after surgery (n=9); and 4) biopsy proven local recurrence (n=12). No patients had known nodal or metastatic disease. All patients had post-radiation PSA data available. Biochemical control was the endpoint studied using Kaplan-Meier life table analysis. Biochemical control was defined as the ability to maintain an undetectable PSA ( 4 and ≤1 0, >10 and ≤20, and > 20 ng/ml. The 3 year actuarial rates of biochemical control were 100% for group 1, 66.7% for group 2, 61.5% for group 3, and 28.6% for group 4. Pre-RT PSA values were also evaluated. Univariate Cox models indicated lower presurgical and pre-RT PSA values were predictive of biochemical control (p=0.017, p 6 months after surgery (group 3), the 3 year actuarial rate of biochemical control was 55.6%. The 3 year actuarial rate of biochemical control for patients treated for a biopsy proven recurrence (group 4) was 8.3%. By pair-wise log rank test, the rates of biochemical control were significantly different between groups 1 and 3 (p=0.036), groups 1 and 4 (p<0.001), and groups 3 and 4 (p=0.009). Conclusion: Biochemical control was achieved in approximately half of the patients treated with post-operative prostatic fossa irradiation. Elevated presurgical and pre

  10. Analysis and Thoughts about the Negative Results of International Clinical Trials on Acupuncture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Yan-jing; Wang, Xiao-hong; Li, Chen; Liu, Wan-ning

    2015-01-01

    An increasing number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture have proved the clinical benefits of acupuncture; however, there are some results that have shown negative results or placebo effects. The paper carried out an in-depth analysis on 33 RCTs in the 2011 SCI database, the quality of the reports was judged according to Jadad scores, and the “Necessary Information Included in Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA 2010)” was taken as the standard to analyze the rationality of the therapeutic principle. The difference between the methodology (Jadad) scores of the two types of research reports did not constitute statistical significance (P > 0.05). The studies with negative results or placebo effects showed the following deficiencies with respect to intervention details: (1) incompletely rational acupoint selection; (2) inconsistent ability of acupuncturists; (3) negligible needling response to needling; (4) acupuncture treatment frequency too low in most studies; and (5) irrational setting of placebo control. Thus, the primary basis for the negative results or placebo effects of international clinical trials on acupuncture is not in the quality of the methodology, but in noncompliance with the essential requirements proposed by acupuncture theory in terms of clinical manipulation details. PMID:26161126

  11. Protocol for a randomised controlled trial for Reducing Arthritis Fatigue by clinical Teams (RAFT) using cognitive-behavioural approaches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hewlett, S; Ambler, N; Almeida, C; Blair, P S; Choy, E; Dures, E; Hammond, A; Hollingworth, W; Kirwan, J; Plummer, Z; Rooke, C; Thorn, J; Tomkinson, K; Pollock, J

    2015-08-06

    Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) fatigue is distressing, leading to unmanageable physical and cognitive exhaustion impacting on health, leisure and work. Group cognitive-behavioural (CB) therapy delivered by a clinical psychologist demonstrated large improvements in fatigue impact. However, few rheumatology teams include a clinical psychologist, therefore, this study aims to examine whether conventional rheumatology teams can reproduce similar results, potentially widening intervention availability. This is a multicentre, randomised, controlled trial of a group CB intervention for RA fatigue self-management, delivered by local rheumatology clinical teams. 7 centres will each recruit 4 consecutive cohorts of 10-16 patients with RA (fatigue severity ≥ 6/10). After consenting, patients will have baseline assessments, then usual care (fatigue self-management booklet, discussed for 5-6 min), then be randomised into control (no action) or intervention arms. The intervention, Reducing Arthritis Fatigue by clinical Teams (RAFT) will be cofacilitated by two local rheumatology clinicians (eg, nurse/occupational therapist), who will have had brief training in CB approaches, a RAFT manual and materials, and delivered an observed practice course. Groups of 5-8 patients will attend 6 × 2 h sessions (weeks 1-6) and a 1 hr consolidation session (week 14) addressing different self-management topics and behaviours. The primary outcome is fatigue impact (26 weeks); secondary outcomes are fatigue severity, coping and multidimensional impact, quality of life, clinical and mood status (to week 104). Statistical and health economic analyses will follow a predetermined plan to establish whether the intervention is clinically and cost-effective. Effects of teaching CB skills to clinicians will be evaluated qualitatively. Approval was given by an NHS Research Ethics Committee, and participants will provide written informed consent. The copyrighted RAFT package will be freely available. Findings

  12. 76 FR 49769 - Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-11

    ... in Organizational Structure. Agency form number: FR Y-10E. OMB control number: 7100-0297. Frequency... OMB control numbers to collection of information requests and requirements conducted or sponsored by... control number. Request for Comment on Information Collection Proposal The following information...

  13. Impact of a Multifaceted and Clinically Integrated Training Program in Evidence-Based Practice on Knowledge, Skills, Beliefs and Behaviour among Clinical Instructors in Physiotherapy: A Non-Randomized Controlled Study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nina Rydland Olsen

    Full Text Available Physiotherapists practicing at clinical placement sites assigned the role as clinical instructors (CIs, are responsible for supervising physiotherapy students. For CIs to role model evidence-based practice (EBP they need EBP competence. The aim of this study was to assess the short and long term impact of a six-month multifaceted and clinically integrated training program in EBP on the knowledge, skills, beliefs and behaviour of CIs supervising physiotherapy students.We invited 37 CIs to participate in this non-randomized controlled study. Three self-administered questionnaires were used pre- and post-intervention, and at six-month follow-up: 1 The Adapted Fresno test (AFT, 2 the EBP Belief Scale and 3 the EBP Implementation Scale. The analysis approach was linear regression modeling using Generalized Estimating Equations.In total, 29 CIs agreed to participate in the study: 14 were invited to participate in the intervention group and 15 were invited to participate in the control group. One in the intervention group and five in the control group were lost to follow-up. At follow-up, the group difference was statistically significant for the AFT (mean difference = 37, 95% CI (15.9 -58.1, p < 0.001 and the EBP Beliefs scale (mean difference = 8.1, 95% CI (3.1 -13.2, p = 0.002, but not for the EBP Implementation scale (mean difference = 1.8. 95% CI (-4.5-8.1, p = 0.574. Comparing measurements over time, we found a statistically significant increase in mean scores related to all outcome measures for the intervention group only.A multifaceted and clinically integrated training program in EBP was successful in improving EBP knowledge, skills and beliefs among CIs. Future studies need to ensure long-term EBP behaviour change, in addition to assessing CIs' abilities to apply EBP knowledge and skills when supervising students.

  14. Association of Escherichia coli J5-specific serum antibody responses with clinical mastitis outcome for J5 vaccinate and control dairy cattle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, David J; Mallard, Bonnie A; Burton, Jeanne L; Schukken, Ynte H; Grohn, Yrjo T

    2009-02-01

    Dairy cattle in two commercial Holstein herds were randomly selected to be vaccinated twice with J5, at approximately 60 days and 28 days before the expected calving date, or to be untreated controls. Based on whether milk production changed following clinical mastitis or whether cows were culled or died within 30 days after onset, 51 mastitis cases were classified as severe or mild. J5-specific antibody responses were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay of all 32 severe and 19 mild cases. The amounts of J5-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM), IgG1, and IgG2 antibodies in sera from the 27 J5 vaccinates were compared with those of the 24 controls. At drying off (before J5 vaccination), all cows had similar amounts of J5-specific antibody. Immediately after calving (approximately 28 days after the second vaccination), J5 vaccinates had significantly higher production of J5-specific IgG1 and IgG2 than controls. When cows were tested following clinical mastitis, none of the three antibody classes differed significantly between the controls and the vaccinates. Vaccinates that contracted Escherichia coli mastitis had 75% less milk loss than controls. The cows that contracted clinical mastitis later in lactation, the unvaccinated controls, and those infected with E. coli had more milk loss following mastitis. The hazards of being culled for all reasons and of being culled for mastitis were significantly lower for J5 vaccinates. Vaccination with J5 was associated with protection against milk production loss and culling following clinical mastitis, and it was also significantly associated with changes in J5-specific IgM, IgG1, and IgG2 antibodies in sera of vaccinated cows.

  15. Aloe vera gel and cesarean wound healing; a randomized controlled clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molazem, Zahra; Mohseni, Fatemeh; Younesi, Masoumeh; Keshavarzi, Sareh

    2014-08-31

    Failure in complete healing of the wound is one of the probable complications of cesarean. The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of dressing with aloe vera gel in healing of cesarean wound. This prospective randomized double-blind clinical trial was conducted on 90 women who had undergone cesarean operation in Amir-al-Momenin hospital (Gerash, Iran). The participants were randomly divided into two groups each containing 45 patients. In one group, the wound was dressed with aloe vera gel, while simple dressing was used in the control group. Wound healing was assessed 24 hours and 8 days after the cesarean operation using REEDA scale. The data were analyzed through Chi-square and t-test. The participants' mean age was 27.56±4.20 in the aloe vera group and 26.62±4.88 in the control group, but the difference was not statistically significant. However, a significant difference was found between the two groups concerning body mass index, heart rate, and systolic blood pressure (Paloe vera group and 35 ones in the control group had obtained a zero score 24 hours after the operation. These measures were respectively obtained as 42 and 41eight days after the operation. According to the findings of this study, the women are recommended to be informed regarding the positive effects of dressing with aloe vera gel.

  16. Standardization of calibration of clinic dosemeters using electric currents and charges

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peres, Marcos Antonio de Lima

    1999-09-01

    Clinical dosimeters used in radiotherapy are calibrated in Latin American countries, including Brazil, as a complete 'system, i.e., ionization chamber and electrometer together. Some countries, as European ones, and USA calibrate them by component, i.e., ionisation chamber apart from electrometer. This method is more advantageous than the previous one, since it makes possible the automation of the calibration process, allowing the acquisition of data related to the chamber and the electrometer measurements independently, as well as the substitution of one of the components, in case of failure. This work proposes a method for standardisation of low intensity electric charge and currents in order to implement electric calibration of electrometers. This will make possible the implementation of a by components calibration technique, by components, of clinical dosimeters in Brazil. The results obtained with the calibration by components prove that the proposed method of standardisation of low electric charges and currents is viable. The difficulties found for the generation and measurement of low intensity electric charges and currents and the procedures adopted for the calibration by components are presented. Additionally, a current source was built to yield reference electric charges that will make possible the quality control clinical dosimeters. This source will also allow the user to identify the defective components of the dosimeters, through a simple verification test. (author)

  17. Use of the i2b2 research query tool to conduct a matched case-control clinical research study: advantages, disadvantages and methodological considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Emilie K; Broder-Fingert, Sarabeth; Tanpowpong, Pornthep; Bickel, Jonathan; Lightdale, Jenifer R; Nelson, Caleb P

    2014-01-30

    A major aim of the i2b2 (informatics for integrating biology and the bedside) clinical data informatics framework aims to create an efficient structure within which patients can be identified for clinical and translational research projects.Our objective was to describe the respective roles of the i2b2 research query tool and the electronic medical record (EMR) in conducting a case-controlled clinical study at our institution. We analyzed the process of using i2b2 and the EMR together to generate a complete research database for a case-control study that sought to examine risk factors for kidney stones among gastrostomy tube (G-tube) fed children. Our final case cohort consisted of 41/177 (23%) of potential cases initially identified by i2b2, who were matched with 80/486 (17%) of potential controls. Cases were 10 times more likely to be excluded for inaccurate coding regarding stones vs. inaccurate coding regarding G-tubes. A majority (67%) of cases were excluded due to not meeting clinical inclusion criteria, whereas a majority of control exclusions (72%) occurred due to inadequate clinical data necessary for study completion. Full dataset assembly required complementary information from i2b2 and the EMR. i2b2 was critical as a query analysis tool for patient identification in our case-control study. Patient identification via procedural coding appeared more accurate compared with diagnosis coding. Completion of our investigation required iterative interplay of i2b2 and the EMR to assemble the study cohort.

  18. Temperature-controlled laser-soldering system and its clinical application for bonding skin incisions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simhon, David; Gabay, Ilan; Shpolyansky, Gregory; Vasilyev, Tamar; Nur, Israel; Meidler, Roberto; Hatoum, Ossama Abu; Katzir, Abraham; Hashmonai, Moshe; Kopelman, Doron

    2015-12-01

    Laser tissue soldering is a method of repairing incisions. It involves the application of a biological solder to the approximated edges of the incision and heating it with a laser beam. A pilot clinical study was carried out on 10 patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Of the four abdominal incisions in each patient, two were sutured and two were laser soldered. Cicatrization, esthetical appearance, degree of pain, and pruritus in the incisions were examined on postoperative days 1, 7, and 30. The soldered wounds were watertight and healed well, with no discharge from these wounds or infection. The total closure time was equal in both methods, but the net soldering time was much shorter than suturing. There was no difference between the two types of wound closure with respect to the pain and pruritus on a follow-up of one month. Esthetically, the soldered incisions were estimated as good as the sutured ones. The present study confirmed that temperature-controlled laser soldering of human skin incisions is clinically feasible, and the results obtained were at least equivalent to those of standard suturing.

  19. Students’ scientific production: a proposal to encourage it.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corrales-Reyes, Ibraín Enrique; Dorta-Contreras, Alberto Juan

    2018-01-31

    The scientific production of medical students in Latin America, is poor and below their potential. The reason for this is the low theoretical and practical knowledge of scientific writing, a low margin for new knowledge generation, a heavy academic and clinical load, and the expected profile of the medical school graduate. In the present short communication, we propose teaching courses in research methodology, scientific writing in English and Spanish, a personalized search for students and mentors with research aptitudes. Also, we propose academic and material stimuli for publishing, rewards for the best papers made by students and the development and support of scientific student journals. Other proposals are the requirement to publish a paper for graduation, and sharing the most outstanding experiences.

  20. Proposed English Standards Promote Aviation Safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chatham, Robert L.; Thomas, Shelley

    2000-01-01

    Discusses the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) Air Navigation's Commission approval of a task to develop minimum skill level requirements in English for air traffic control. The ICAO collaborated with the Defense Language Institute English Language Center to propose a minimum standard for English proficiency for international…