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More than 70 interested colleagues attended the 4(th) Workshop of HUPO's Brain Proteome Project. The project was presented within nine talks mainly focusing on two running pilot studies as well as on data re-processing. A bioinformatics jamboree in Hinxton, UK, and the 5th Workshop taking place in Dublin next February were announced.
The Human Liver Proteome Project (HLPP) is the first initiative of the Human Proteome Organisation (HUPO) to target a human organ/tissue and aims at the establishment of a biological atlas of the liver to advance our understanding of liver functions and to provide the tools to develop new diagnostics and therapeutics for liver diseases. The major achievements of HLPP during its pilot phase (2003-2005) were presented during a one-day workshop held on August 27, 2005, immediately prior to the 4th HUPO World Congress in Munich, Germany. These include (i) the participation of a large number of laboratories worldwide and the initiation of international research collaborations; (ii) the establishment of a management infrastructure and (iii) the development of standard operating procedures and the generation and collection of a first set of expression profile data. A summary of the workshop was subsequently presented by Professor Fuchu He, the Chair of this initiative, during the HUPO 4th Annual World Congress.
The following is the editor's summary of the Pre-symposium workshop on Contemporary Assessment of Technologies presented at the Symposium on Molecular Approaches to Laboratory Diagnosis at San Francisco in February 1995. This workshop was moderated by Dr Joel M. Palefsky, and Dr Michael P. Busch. We have briefly summarized the presentations by: (1) Dr Indira Hewlett of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration entitled 'Technology overview'; (2) Dr John J. Sninsky of Roche Molecular Systems Inc. entitled "Polymerase Chain Reaction'; (3) Dr Terrance Walker of Becton Dickinson Research Center entitled 'Strand Displacement Amplification'; (4) Dr Mickey Urdea of Chiron Corporation entitled 'bDNA assay' and (5) Dr Robert H. Singer of University of Massachussetts Medical Center entitled 'Image analysis of in situ hybridization'. Although it was not possible to list all the references to the primary literature, we have attempted to provide the key references as far as possible.
The sixth international workshop on "Nucleic Acid Amplification Technology for the Detection of Blood Borne Viruses" was held on 5-6 May 1999 at the Istituto Superiore di Sanità in Rome, Italy. The purpose of the workshop was to bring together regulators, blood and plasma product manufacturers, national control agencies, test kits manufacturers and scientists to discuss recent experience as well as regulatory topics related to the use of NAT for the detection of blood borne viruses. Various papers were presented and discussed in 6 sessions.
Elevated lead levels were discovered in blood samples collected from family members where both the father and the mother worked in a radiator repair workshop. The father and mother were found to have blood lead levels of 2.0 and 0.5 mumol/L (41.7 and 10.4 micrograms/dL), respectively. The father's blood lead level was just below the Canadian occupational health and safety intervention level (2.5 mumol/L or 52.1 micrograms/dL). The two children had blood lead levels of 1.0 and 0.8 mumol/L (20.8 and 16.7 micrograms/dL), both of which are in excess of the recommended guideline for intervention in the case of children (0.5 mumol/L or 10.4 micrograms/dL). The exposure of the two children was possibly due to a combination of pathways including exposure at the workshop itself during visits and also the transportation of lead-containing dust to the home environment.
A workshop entitled "NTP Studies: Principles of Dose Selection and Applications to Mechanistic Based Risk Assessment" was held at the 34th Annual Meeting of the Society of Toxicology in Baltimore, Maryland. The purpose of the workshop was to provide an overview of factors currently considered important in the selection of doses for NTP studies, to describe some of the confounding factors that can result from the indiscriminate use of bioassay data in quantitative risk assessment, and to suggest ways in which information from mechanistic studies or studies of biomarkers of exposure or effect might be used to better advantage in risk assessment.
The acceptable daily intake (ADI) for humans was originally developed by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and defined as "an estimate of the amount of a food additive, expressed on a body weight basis, that can be ingested daily over a lifetime without appreciable health risk." JECFA has not provided any firm guidance on how to evaluate excursions of intake above the ADI, but WHO in 1987 stated that "because in most cases, data are extrapolated from life-time animal studies, the ADI relates to life-time use and provides a margin of safety large enough for toxicologists not to be particularly concerned about short-term use at exposure levels exceeding the ADI, providing the average intake over longer periods of time does not exceed it." In discussing short-term intakes in excess of recommended limits, JECFA in 1989 concluded that short-term exposures to levels exceeding the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) for a contaminant is not a cause of concern, provided the individual's intake averaged over longer periods of time does not exceed the level set. JECFA also stated that it was impossible to make a generalization concerning the length of time during which intakes in excess of the PTWI would be toxicologically detrimental. Any detrimental effect would depend upon the nature of the toxicity and the biological half-life of the chemical concerned. JECFA considered intakes of food additives in excess of the ADI less likely to occur and easier to control than in the case of contaminants which are allocated either a PTWI or a tolerable daily intake (TDI). The ILSI Europe Acceptable Daily Intake Task Force together with the Food Chemical Intake Task Force initiated a workshop which took place April 21-23, 1998, in Milan, Italy, in order to help identify what information would be needed, with what precision, and what is already available to evaluate the significance of excursions of intake above the ADI. The specific aims of the workshop were to address the following questions: By how much can the ADI be exceeded? For how long can excursions above the ADI be tolerated with respect to chronic toxicity, accumulation, and mechanisms of toxicity? What methods should be used to estimate intakes so that the estimates are relevant to the ADI? Do the same principles apply to contaminants that have TDI or PTWI values?
The Prevention Research Branch, Division of Clinical Research, of the National Institute of Mental Health held a research workshop on the methodological issues in evaluating preventive interventions using mutual support. This workshop, held in June 1989, was part of an effort to stimulate high-quality research on preventive interventions using mutual support. These interventions include but are not limited to naturally occurring self-help groups. Participants reviewed methodological problems, generated strategies for dealing with these problems, and made recommendations for future research in this area.
This article traces the history of the Annual International Symposium on Respiratory Psychophysiology from its origins in the late 1970s at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London, U.K., to the September 1993 symposium in London, U.K. (sponsored by the Department of Medicine of the Westminster and Charing Cross Medical School), where the formation of the International Society for the Advancement of Respiratory Psychophysiology (ISARP) was announced, along with plans for a new, associated journal, Breathing Research and Therapy. The workshops, symposia, participants, and publications generated since the first formal meeting in 1981 are listed. This article also provides a summary of the 1993 workshops and a request for information concerning membership and future meetings of ISARP.
The use of molecular components from both normal and neoplastic breast tissue as markers for breast tumors has long been recognized as of major potential for breast cancer diagnosis, and has been an area of active research. Recent developments in immunological approaches have further stimulated this field by permitting new specificity in the identification and characterization of such markers. Breast tumor markers are now being explored in immunohistochemistry, radioimaging, immunodiagnosis, and even in attempts at their utilization in therapy. To bring together an update on research in this area, a workshop was held in March at the National Institutes of Health, sponsored by the advisory Breast Cancer Working Group and the Breast Cancer Program of the National Cancer Institutes (Dr. Elizabeth Anderson, Program Director) through the auspices of the Organ Systems Coordinating Center (at Roswell Park Memorial Institute, Dr. Clement Ip, Scientific Administrator). The 1 1/2 day workshop included three sessions: Circulating Tumor Markers, Breast Cancer Antigens, and Estrogen Metabolites and Estrogen-Induced Proteins.
The VI International Workshop on Multiple Myeloma was organised by Professor Kenneth C Anderson, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and held on June 14-18, 1997, in Boston, MA, USA. More than 500 participants from all over the world joined this workshop. Several subjects were introduced and one of the most exciting items of news was the identification of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpes virus in the bone marrow stromal cells of patients with MM. The aim of this overview is to give a glimpse of the subjects discussed and the statements made.
BACKGROUND: The aim of the present investigation was to survey former participants (n=869) of a cadaver workshop using a mail questionnaire to assess the demographic data and the impact of these courses on daily practice. METHODS: The deadline for acceptance of return mail was 60 days. Descriptive statistics were employed for analysis of results. RESULTS: The response rate was 36.7% and the course was judged to be recommendable by 98.2%. The average course attendant was board certified and had spent a mean time of 9+/-6 years in anesthesiology. The highest quality and degree of subsequent practicability in daily routine was attributed to peripheral nerve block training on cadavers. Of the course participants two-thirds performed regional anesthesia procedures more often following attendance. The majority of course attendants had to defray at least a part of the course fee themselves, and one-third was required to invest leisure time to attend. CONCLUSION: Attendance of a cadaver workshop increased knowledge of clinical anatomy and enhanced performance of regional anesthesia procedures. Courses of this format constitute a currently underestimated adjunct to contemporary regional anesthesia education.
BACKGROUND: Reluctance to seek formal help has been seen as a major problem in trying to reduce the prevalence of anxiety and depression. AIMS: The aims of this study were to assess the psychiatric status of those self-referring to psycho-educational Stress and Self-Confidence community workshops using a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) approach. METHOD: Cross-sectional analysis of 196 people who referred themselves to community workshops was carried out using the Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS-R) psychiatric interview and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Spielberger Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T) scale self-report assessments. RESULTS: Over 70% of all self-referrers had an ICD-10 diagnosis. Those without diagnoses had experienced recurrent significant psychological problems and 29.7% had never consulted their General Practitioner (GP) for anxiety/depression problems. Total CIS-R scores and white ethnic group best predicted previous GP consultation. CONCLUSION: Setting up a self-referral system can enable those with diagnosable psychiatric problems, who may otherwise be reluctant to seek help, to come forward. This may have significant public mental health implications.
The methodology and outcome of a hands-on workshop for the evaluation of PACS (picture archiving and communication system) software for a multihospital PACS project are described. The following radiological workstations and web-browser-based image distribution software clients were evaluated as part of a multistep evaluation of PACS vendors in March 2001: Impax DS 3000 V 4.1/Impax Web1000 (Agfa-Gevaert, Mortsel, Belgium); PathSpeed V 8.0/PathSpeed Web (GE Medical Systems, Milwaukee, Wis., USA); ID Report/ID Web (Image Devices, Idstein, Germany); EasyVision DX/EasyWeb (Philips Medical Systems, Eindhoven, Netherlands); and MagicView 1000 VB33a/MagicWeb (Siemens Medical Systems, Erlangen, Germany). A set of anonymized DICOM test data was provided to enable direct image comparison. Radiologists ( n=44) evaluated the radiological workstations and nonradiologists ( n=53) evaluated the image distribution software clients using different questionnaires. One vendor was not able to import the provided DICOM data set. Another vendor had problems in displaying imported cross-sectional studies in the correct stack order. Three vendors (Agfa-Gevaert, GE, Philips) presented server-client solutions with web access. Two (Siemens, Image Devices) presented stand-alone solutions. The highest scores in the class of radiological workstations were achieved by ID Report from Image Devices ( p<0.005). In the class of image distribution clients, the differences were statistically not significant. Questionnaire-based evaluation was shown to be useful for guaranteeing systematic assessment. The workshop was a great success in raising interest in the PACS project in a large group of future clinical users. The methodology used in the present study may be useful for other hospitals evaluating PACS.
Following the successful Comparative Mapping Workshop held at Fraser Island, Australia in 1995, HUGO organized a second workshop of 41 invited participants, held at Toulouse, France on May 3 and 4, 1999. The aim of the conference was to focus on recent developments in genome mapping in a variety of vertebrate species, with particular emphasis on progress in farm animals (cattle, pigs, chickens, sheep, horses, goats, and deer). In addition, representatives from important experimental mammalian and vertebrate organisms (e.g. mice, rats, dogs, fugu, and marsupials) also participated in the meeting. After a rapid overview of developments in the construction and comparison of genome maps in a wide variety of species, discussion focused on how comparative genomics will play a vital role in the genetic dissection of multigenic traits and the characterization of agriculturally important loci in agricultural species. Acceleration of gene discovery with heterologous ESTs (Expressed Sequence Tags) or collections of ESTs was discussed. Recent developments in the construction of cDNA libraries and the efficiency of tools such as whole genome radiation hybrids (RH) and large fragment clone libraries (YACs and in particular BACs) were discussed. Proposed criteria to improve the identification of homologous genes between species and recommendations for nomenclatures were identified. Particular emphasis was placed on how the integration of biological databases could help the scientific community.
The third Biomedical Imaging Research Opportunities Workshop (BIROW III) was held on March 11-12, 2005, in Bethesda, MD. The workshop addressed four areas of imaging that present opportunities for research and development: Multimodality Image-Guided Therapy, Imaging Informatics, Imaging Cell Trafficking, and Technology Improvement and Commercialization. The first three areas were individually addressed in their own plenary sessions, followed by audience discussions that explored research opportunities and challenges. This paper synthesizes these discussions into a strategy for future research directions in biomedical imaging.
The fourth Biomedical Imaging Research Opportunities Workshop (BIROW IV) was held in February, 2006 in Bethesda, Maryland. The workshop explored four promising areas of imaging research: Imaging of rodent models; Imaging in drug development; Imaging of chronic metabolic disease--diabetes; and Image-guided intervention in the 4th dimension--time. These explorations uncovered multiple research opportunities that have the potential of enhancing the discovery of new knowledge, providing more efficient pathways for drug development, yielding improvements in the management of chronic metabolic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, and guiding medical interventions such as surgery, radiation oncology, and ablation therapy. Research challenges were identified in each of these areas of opportunity that must be resolved through scientific exploration and technology development. The meeting concluded with the observation that research in biomedical imaging offers the potential of improving patient care in many ways, and the promise of exciting and rewarding careers to young research aspirants.
BACKGROUND: Sexual history and HIV counseling (SHHIVC) are essential clinical skills. Our project's purpose was to evaluate a standardized patient educational intervention teaching third-year medical students SHHIVC. METHODS: A four-hour standardized patient workshop was delivered to one-half of the class each of three consecutive years at one medical school. Approximately 3.5 weeks later, all students engaged in a standardized patient examination including one station assessing SHHIVC, answered an open-ended written exercise following the standardized patient encounter, and completed a written examination including sexual history and HIV-related questions. RESULTS: Workshop participants scored higher than non-participants on SHHIVC items on the standardized patient station (P < .0001), written exam (P < .0001), and open-ended written exercise after the standardized patient encounter (P = .024). CONCLUSIONS: Our SHHIVC curriculum was associated with students demonstrating better clinical skills on a SHHIVC standardized patient examination station and more SHHIVC knowledge on two measures of medical knowledge than students not participating in the SHHIVC educational intervention.