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PubMed1996

Confession-building, long-distance networks, and the organization of Jesuit science.

The ability of the Society of Jesus to engage in a broad and enduring tradition of scientific activity is here addressed in terms of its programmatic commitment to the consolidation and extension of the Catholic confession (i.e., to a multipronged program of confession-building) and its mastery of the administrative apparatus necessary to operate long-distance networks. The Society's early move into two major apostolates, one in education and the other in the overseas missions, brought Jesuits into regular contact with the educated elites of Europe and at the same time placed the society's missionaries in remote parts of the natural world. The modes of organization of travel and communication required by the Society's long-distance networks (i.e., the training and deployment of reliable agents willing to work under direction in remote locations and capable of providing trustworthy reports and observations to their superiors through regular exchange of correspondence) not only facilitated scientific communication and collaboration within the order, it also provided Jesuits with the resources they needed to engage successfully in 'ministries among the learned'. Evidence of a sustained attempt by Jesuit authors to assume the role of Kulturträger is found in the several genres of scientific publications that dominate the society's scientific corpus. Thus the society's early recognition of the "apostolic value" of scientific publications in recruiting friends and allies among Europe's intellectual elites, I argue, allowed a robust interest in natural knowledge to emerge as a legitimate part of the Jesuit vocation.

Catholicism↗
PubMed2006

Models for the study of whole systems.

This article summarizes a network and complex systems science model for research on whole systems of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) such as homeopathy and traditional Chinese medicine. The holistic concepts of networks and nonlinear dynamical complex systems are well matched to the global and interactive perspectives of whole systems of CAM, whereas the reductionistic science model is well matched to the isolated local organ, cell, and molecular mechanistic perspectives of pharmaceutically based biomedicine. Whole systems of CAM are not drugs with specific actions. The diagnostic and therapeutic approaches of whole systems of CAM produce effects that involve global and patterned shifts across multiple subsystems of the person as a whole. For homeopathy, several characteristics of complex systems, including the probabilistic nature of attractor patterns, variable sensitivity of complex systems to initial conditions, and emergent behaviors in the evolution of a system in its full environmental context over time, could help account for the mixed basic science and controlled clinical trial research findings, in contrast with the consistently positive outcomes of observational studies in the literature. Application of theories and methods from complex systems and network science can open a new era of advances in understanding factors that lead to good versus poor individual global outcome patterns and to rational triage of patients to one type of care over another. The growing reliance on complex systems thinking and systems biology for cancer research affords a unique opportunity to bridge between the CAM and conventional medical worlds with some common language and conceptual models.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed2004

Mapping topics and topic bursts in PNAS.

Scientific research is highly dynamic. New areas of science continually evolve; others gain or lose importance, merge, or split. Due to the steady increase in the number of scientific publications, it is hard to keep an overview of the structure and dynamic development of one's own field of science, much less all scientific domains. However, knowledge of "hot" topics, emergent research frontiers, or change of focus in certain areas is a critical component of resource allocation decisions in research laboratories, governmental institutions, and corporations. This paper demonstrates the utilization of Kleinberg's burst detection algorithm, co-word occurrence analysis, and graph layout techniques to generate maps that support the identification of major research topics and trends. The approach was applied to analyze and map the complete set of papers published in PNAS in the years 1982-2001. Six domain experts examined and commented on the resulting maps in an attempt to reconstruct the evolution of major research areas covered by PNAS.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2006

[Ethics review committees for human research: the challenge of strengthening this process in Colombia].

INTRODUCTION: Ethics committees are a necessary resource to guarantee ethical integrity in human research; they must apply international standards in their ethical evaluation of research projects involving human subjects. OBJECTIVE: The ethics committees for human research of Colombia were characterized, and recommendations for strengthening them were formulated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 2003, 280 groups with research projects involving human subjects were selected from a list of research groups which form part of the science and technology network of Colciencias. (Colciencias is the Colombian national agency that promotes and funds science and technology.) Eighty percent (224) of the projects were associated with 40 institutions, consisting of universities, hospitals, and public or private research centers. Thirty of these institutions had at least one ethics committee for evaluating use of human subjects. A questionnaire was mailed to each of these Committees, requesting information concerning its their compostition, regulations, multidisciplinarity, plurality, representativity and independence. The World Health Organization's Operational Guidelines for Ethic Committees that Evaluate Biomedical Research (TDR/PRD/ETHICS/2000) was used as reference for the analysis. In 5 of the cities, supplemental information was obtained by direct discussions with members of the ethics committees. RESULTS: Twenty-six committees responded to the questionnaire. The results indicated that 47% of the committee members were physicians, but only 23% of the committees had representatives from the community. In 60% of the Committees, members were not independent from the organization in which it was based. Seventy percent had established operating procedures. Lack of national regulations and limited education in research ethics were mentioned as the main drawbacks in providing effective guidance. CONCLUSIONS: These observations led to the conclusion that national guidelines must be established for ethics committees that correspond to international standards. Committee members must be trained before accepting committee responsibilities. Finally, new committees must be created along with the improvement of the currently existing committees for reinforcing and promoting the importance of ethical integrity in research.

Biomedical Research↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Interdisciplinary cooperation of forensic sciences--results of a simulation exercise].

In a workshop held on the occasion of the foundation of the INFW, the Interdisciplinary Network of Forensic Sciences (www.infw.org), 14 scientists from 10 fields of expertise were allotted to 3 teams. Each team had to independently solve the same fictitious forensic case. In this, several corpses or skeletons in varying degrees of decomposition were found in the remains of an old bunker during a large building project. After a set time limit of 45 minutes, the approaches to the task were noted on individual flipcharts by each team. A comparison of the solutions suggested by the three very heterogeneously composed teams revealed a high degree of similarity. However, particularly the "exotic" disciplines developed surprising approaches. The experiment was an interesting and instructive experience for all participants and underscores the necessity of interdisciplinary cooperation in solving complex forensic questions.

Cooperative Behavior↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Interdisciplinary research is key to understanding sex differences: report from the Society for Women's Health Research Meeting on understanding the biology of sex differences.

Progress in sex-based biology, the study of biological and behavioral differences between males and females, and the impact of those differences on health and disease will require collaboration across research disciplines and medical specialties and among all research approaches, from molecular biology to epidemiology. The importance of sex-based biology to healthcare necessitates a bench-to-bedside approach that is built on integration of research findings from studies at the cellular level, in animals, and in human subjects. Barriers to interdisciplinary collaborations are being addressed in a variety of ways by public and private funders. The J.D. and C.T. MacArthur Foundation supports interdisciplinary research networks that address broad questions in health and behavior. The National Institute of Mental Health supports cross-disciplinary research networks investigating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal network. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development offers grants for Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health. The National Science Foundation Directorate for Biological Sciences sponsors Research Coordination Networks in Biological Sciences. Among the challenges faced by interdisciplinary research programs are appropriate peer review, career advancement for young investigators with interdisciplinary training, and acceptance of interdisciplinary research reports by high-quality scientific publications.

Female↗
PubMed1991

Using neural networks to diagnose cancer.

While artificial brains are in the realm of science fiction, artificial neural networks (ANNs) are scientific facts. An artificial neural network is a computational structure modeled somewhat on the neural structure of the brain; both have many highly interconnected processing elements. These biologically inspired processing elements are taught by feeding examples until the results are acceptable. In the past 5 years, neural networks have become successful in providing meaningful second opinions in clinical diagnosis. In our research, a prototype artificial neural network was trained on numeral ultrasound data of 52 actual cases and then correctly identified renal cell carcinoma from renal cysts and other conditions without diagnostic errors. Our nonlinear artificial neural network was trained on software using the standard backpropagation paradigm on a 80386 microcomputer. Our ANN learned from ultrasound data in 52 cases (17 malignant, 30 cysts, and 5 other) at a Memphis hospital. The trained prototype performed without error on 47 cases which were not in the data used for training. This prototype must be validated by extending this study to more cases.

Carcinoma, Renal Cell↗
PubMed2007

Research on attention networks as a model for the integration of psychological science.

As Titchener pointed out more than one hundred years ago, attention is at the center of the psychological enterprise. Attention research investigates how voluntary control and subjective experience arise from and regulate our behavior. In recent years, attention has been one of the fastest growing of all fields within cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience. This review examines attention as characterized by linking common neural networks with individual differences in their efficient utilization. The development of attentional networks is partly specified by genes, but is also open to specific experiences through the actions of caregivers and the culture. We believe that the connection between neural networks, genes, and socialization provides a common approach to all aspects of human cognition and emotion. Pursuit of this approach can provide a basis for psychology that unifies social, cultural, differential, experimental, and physiological areas, and allows normal development to serve as a baseline for understanding various forms of pathology. D.O. Hebb proposed this approach 50 years ago in his volume Organization of Behavior and continued with introductory textbooks that dealt with all of the topics of psychology in a common framework. Use of a common network approach to psychological science may allow a foundation for predicting and understanding human behavior in its varied forms.

Attention↗
PubMed2006

The current status of forensic science laboratory accreditation in Europe.

Forensic science is gaining some solid ground in the area of effective crime prevention, especially in the areas where more sophisticated use of available technology is prevalent. All it takes is high-level cooperation among nations that can help them deal with criminality that adopts a cross-border nature more and more. It is apparent that cooperation will not be enough on its own and this development will require a network of qualified forensic laboratories spread over Europe. It is argued in this paper that forensic science laboratories play an important role in the fight against crime. Another, complimentary argument is that forensic science laboratories need to be better involved in the fight against crime. For this to be achieved, a good level of cooperation should be established and maintained. It is also noted that harmonization is required for such cooperation and seeking accreditation according to an internationally acceptable standard, such as ISO/IEC 17025, will eventually bring harmonization as an end result. Because, ISO/IEC 17025 as an international standard, has been a tool that helps forensic science laboratories in the current trend towards accreditation that can be observed not only in Europe, but also in the rest of the world of forensic science. In the introduction part, ISO/IEC 17025 states that "the acceptance of testing and calibration results between countries should be facilitated if laboratories comply with this international standard and if they obtain accreditation from bodies which have entered into mutual recognition agreements with equivalent bodies in other countries using this international standard." Furthermore, it is emphasized that the use of this international standard will assist in the harmonization of standards and procedures. The background of forensic science cooperation in Europe will be explained by using an existing European forensic science network, i.e. ENFSI, in order to understand the current status of forensic science in Europe better. The Council of Europe and the European Union approaches to forensic science will also be discussed by looking at the legal instruments and documents published by these two European organizations. Data collected from 52 European forensic science laboratories will be examined and findings will be evaluated from a quality assurance and accreditation point of view. The need for harmonization and accreditation in forensic science will be emphasized. The steps that should be taken at the European level for increasing and strengthening the role of European forensic science laboratories in the fight against crime will be given as recommendations in the conclusion.

Accreditation↗
PubMed2001

Scientific collaboration networks. II. Shortest paths, weighted networks, and centrality.

Using computer databases of scientific papers in physics, biomedical research, and computer science, we have constructed networks of collaboration between scientists in each of these disciplines. In these networks two scientists are considered connected if they have coauthored one or more papers together. Here we study a variety of nonlocal statistics for these networks, such as typical distances between scientists through the network, and measures of centrality such as closeness and betweenness. We further argue that simple networks such as these cannot capture variation in the strength of collaborative ties and propose a measure of collaboration strength based on the number of papers coauthored by pairs of scientists, and the number of other scientists with whom they coauthored those papers.

Journal Article↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Software for pest-management science: computer models and databases from the United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service.

We present an overview of USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) computer models and databases related to pest-management science, emphasizing current developments in environmental risk assessment and management simulation models. The ARS has a unique national interdisciplinary team of researchers in surface and sub-surface hydrology, soil and plant science, systems analysis and pesticide science, who have networked to develop empirical and mechanistic computer models describing the behavior of pests, pest responses to controls and the environmental impact of pest-control methods. Historically, much of this work has been in support of production agriculture and in support of the conservation programs of our 'action agency' sister, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly the Soil Conservation Service). Because we are a public agency, our software/database products are generally offered without cost, unless they are developed in cooperation with a private-sector cooperator. Because ARS is a basic and applied research organization, with development of new science as our highest priority, these products tend to be offered on an 'as-is' basis with limited user support except for cooperating R&D relationship with other scientists. However, rapid changes in the technology for information analysis and communication continually challenge our way of doing business.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1988

Biotechnology research in Thailand and applications to the study of animal parasites and their vectors.

Biotechnology research in Thailand owes its origins to the strength in biomedical and life sciences in the academia, and the importance of agriculture in the economy. With growing awareness of the impact of new biotechnology including genetic engineering, biotechnology R & D centres were set up in the universities, and the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and biotechnology was created in 1983. The National Center functions as the center for policy and planning in biotechnology, for support of important research, development and technology transfer projects in designated institutions, and serves to link these institutions with the private sector. The aim is to develop specific biotechnology areas from laboratory stages up to pilot-scale, with emphasis on transfer and utilization of genetic engineering and biotechnology in various fields including public health had on strengthening of basic infrastructure in relevant disciplines. The National Center has 4 affiliated laboratories, including pilot plants, and over 30 projects in 9 institutions in the network. Recently the Science and Technology for Development Program has also devoted a part of its substantial funding to support various biotechnology research projects. With regard to biotechnology research relevant to the study of animal parasites and their vectors, the work in Thailand has up to now concentrated more on the application of new techniques in clinical laboratory and field work than in industrial productions. Specific contributions from the Unit of Parasite Biochemistry, Mahidol University, were given as illustrative examples.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Curriculum of medical informatics and medical technology in the medical faculty.

1. CURRICULUM DESCRIPTION. Twenty years ago, our faculty organized several lessons in a physiology course to inform students about computers. Recently, new courses in informatics were established. In their first year, students take a compulsory course (15 hours=h) of basic computer science (computers databases, networking, and basic non-medical computer software). A special elective course in medical informatics (30h) can be taken in the 4th year (about 20% of students pass tis course). This course includes the following lessons: computers in medicine (2h), scientific information (4h), classification in medicine (2h- including ICD, SNOMED etc.), computer support of clinical decision (2h-calculation principles with demonstration), artificial intelligence (2h), statistical software (2h), hospital information systems (2h), software for practitioners (2h), biosignal and image analysis (4th), computers in pharmacology (2h), computer simulation (2h), support of metabolic care (2h-consultations, risk calculations), and laboratory information systems (2h). The same course, though slightly differences, is used for paramedical students (occupational therapy, health education, and nursing). Medical technology was established in a three year curriculum courses in the 1st year include common courses in electronic devices (60 h), computers and programming (120 h), biophysics (90 h), biomechanics (30 h), and different medical courses (500 h). For the 2nd and 3rd year, 75% of the courses (700 h per year) are technical e.g., medical devices, information systems, signal and picture analysis, laboratory technique, and data protection. 2. CONCLUSION AND PERSPECTIVES. Students of medicine, and some paramedical studies, are able to use computer in their profession after having taken these courses. Bachelors of medical technology find application in biomedical research, hospitals, and medical technology firms.

Curriculum↗
PubMed2001

Scientific collaboration networks. I. Network construction and fundamental results.

Using computer databases of scientific papers in physics, biomedical research, and computer science, we have constructed networks of collaboration between scientists in each of these disciplines. In these networks two scientists are considered connected if they have coauthored one or more papers together. We study a variety of statistical properties of our networks, including numbers of papers written by authors, numbers of authors per paper, numbers of collaborators that scientists have, existence and size of a giant component of connected scientists, and degree of clustering in the networks. We also highlight some apparent differences in collaboration patterns between the subjects studied. In the following paper, we study a number of measures of centrality and connectedness in the same networks.

Journal Article↗