Integrating theory with practice to promote population science.
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Asia↗
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Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.
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Estimation with correlated censored survival data with missing covariates.
Incomplete covariate data are a common occurrence in studies in which the outcome is survival time. Further, studies in the health sciences often give rise to correlated, possibly censored, survival data. With no missing covariate data, if the marginal distributions of the correlated survival times follow a given parametric model, then the estimates using the maximum likelihood estimating equations, naively treating the correlated survival times as independent, give consistent estimates of the relative risk parameters Lipsitz et al. 1994 50, 842-846. Now, suppose that some observations within a cluster have some missing covariates. We show in this paper that if one naively treats observations within a cluster as independent, that one can still use the maximum likelihood estimating equations to obtain consistent estimates of the relative risk parameters. This method requires the estimation of the parameters of the distribution of the covariates. We present results from a clinical trial Lipsitz and Ibrahim (1996b) 2, 5-14 with five covariates, four of which have some missing values. In the trial, the clusters are the hospitals in which the patients were treated.
Journal Article↗
[Thirty years of historical demography in France].
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Data Collection↗
The 'reference trap' revisited: examples of the dangers in using ratios to describe fetoplacental angiogenesis and trophoblast turnover.
Examples of the use of relative or ratio data are to be found throughout biomedical sciences and include such variables as stereological component densities per cell volume (morphology), transport rates per tissue volume or membrane surface (physiology), gold labelling frequencies (immunocytochemistry) and amounts of DNA relative to protein (biochemistry). This report emphasizes the potential pifalls associated with drawing biological conclusions and interpretations from relative data when there has been no attempt to monitor the absolute size of the reference space. This is know as the 'reference trap'. The dangers to interpretation inherent in confining results to such data are illustrated using the sorts of data found in current placental studies on fetoplacental angiogenesis and villous trophoblast turnover but are pertinent to many other areas. Where it is possible to do so, these dangers can be avoided by the simple expedient of estimating the size of the pertinent reference space and using this to calculate absolute values. Sometimes (e.g. when relying on biopsy samples), the size of the reference cannot be determined. In such cases, ratio data must be interpreted with due caution.
Adult↗
"It just goes against the grain." Public understandings of genetically modified (GM) food in the UK.
This paper reports on one aspect of qualitative research on public understandings of food risks, focusing on lay understandings of genetically modified (GM) food in the UK context. A range of theoretical, conceptual, and empirical literature on food, risk, and the public understanding of science are reviewed. The fieldwork methods are outlined and empirical data from a range of lay groups are presented. Major themes include: varying "technical" knowledge of science, the relationship between knowledge and acceptance of genetic modification, the uncertainty of scientific knowledge, genetic modification as inappropriate scientific intervention in "nature", the acceptability of animal and human applications of genetic modification, the appropriate boundaries of scientific innovation, the necessity for GM foods, the uncertainty of risks in GM food, fatalism about avoiding risks, and trust in "experts" to manage potential risks in GM food. Key discussion points relating to a sociological understanding of public attitudes to GM food are raised and some policy implications are highlighted.
Edible Grain↗
GPCRDB: an information system for G protein-coupled receptors.
The GPCRDB is a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) database system aimed at the collection and dissemination of GPCR related data. It holds sequences, mutant data and ligand binding constants as primary (experimental) data. Computationally derived data such as multiple sequence alignments, three dimensional models, phylogenetic trees and two dimensional visualization tools are added to enhance the database's usefulness. The GPCRDB is an EU sponsored project aimed at building a generic molecular class specific database capable of dealing with highly heterogeneous data. GPCRs were chosen as test molecules because of their enormous importance for medical sciences and due to the availability of so much highly heterogeneous data. The GPCRDB is available via the WWW at http://www.gpcr.org/7tm
Computer Communication Networks↗
[S. V. Anichkov--man and scientist (on the centenary of his birth)].
The paper is devoted to a brief review of the research and public activities of Professor Sergeĭ V. Anichkov; the prominent Soviet pharmacologist. He was Hero of Socialist Labour, V. I. Lenin and State Prize winners and Academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences. It also summaries the main biographic data on the scientist and his theoretical and practical achievements in various areas of pharmacology. Great emphasis is laid on S. V. Anichkov's scientific school and his work in the Department of Pharmacology (he was head of the Department from 1948 to 1981), Institute for Experimental Medicine, USSR Academy of Medical Sciences.
History, 20th Century↗
Attitudes to and knowledge about elderly people: a comparative analysis of students of medicine, English and Computer Science and their teachers.
Attitudes to and knowledge about elderly people were assessed in 1091 students and lecturers from the London Hospital Medical College (LHMC), London, UK and the English and Computer Science departments of Queen Mary and Westfield College (QMW), London, UK. General knowledge about elderly people was measured by the Palmore 'Facts about Aging Quiz 1'. Attitudes towards elderly people were measured by the Rosencranz and McNevin Semantic Differential scale. A higher level of knowledge about elderly people was found both in medical students and in medical lecturers compared to their counterparts in the English and Computer Science departments (P < 0.001). The cross-sectional data indicated that medical students developed a significantly increasing knowledge about elderly people as they progressed through their training, in contrast to students of English and Computer Science. Scores on the Rosencranz & McNevin scale indicated that attitudes towards elderly people across all three groups of students and lecturers were similar. The scores obtained for all groups indicated that they held approximately neutral attitudes towards elderly people. A significant correlation (P < 0.001) was found between high levels of knowledge about elderly people, and positive attitudes towards them. The necessity of interventions to improve general attitudes towards and knowledge of elderly people among medical students is questioned. It is suggested that future research should look beyond surveys of general attitudes towards elderly people for the causes of the current lack of interest in geriatric medicine.
Aged↗
A study of the access to the scholarly record from a hospital health science core collection.
This study is an effort to determine possible service performance levels in hospital libraries based on access to the scholarly record of medicine through selected lists of clinical journals and indexing and abstracting journals. The study was designed to test a methodology as well as to provide data for planning and management decisions for health science libraries. Findings and conclusions cover the value of a core collection of journals, length of journal files, performance of certain bibliographic instruments in citation verification, and the implications of study data for library planning and management.
Abstracting and Indexing↗
A situational picture of HIV/AIDS and injection drug use in Vinnitsya, Ukraine.
BACKGROUND: New and explosive HIV epidemics are being witnessed in certain countries of Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, as well as a rapid and dramatic increase in the supply, use, and negative public health consequences of illicit drugs. A majority of registered HIV cases in Ukraine occur among injection drug users (IDUs), large numbers of whom report HIV risk behaviors such as needle sharing. The purpose of this study was to apply the World Health Organization's Rapid Assessment and Response on Injection Drug Use (IDU-RAR) guide to create a situational picture in the Vinnitsya Oblast, Ukraine, a region with very scarce information about the HIV/AIDS and injection drug use (IDU) epidemics. METHODS: The IDU-RAR uses a combination of qualitative data collection techniques commonly employed in social science and evaluation research to quickly depict the extent and nature of the given health problem and propose locally relevant recommendations for improvement. The investigators focused their assessment on the contextual factors, drug use, and intervention and policy components of the IDU-RAR. A combination of network and block sampling techniques was used. Data collection methods included direct observation, review of existing data, structured and unstructured interviews, and focus group discussions. Key informants and locations were visited until no new information was being generated. RESULTS: The number of registered HIV cases in Vinnitsya has increased from 3 (1987-1995) to 860 (1999-10/2004), 57 of whom have already died. Ten percent of annual admissions to the area's Regional Narcological Dispensary were for opiate disorders, and the number of registered IDUs rose by 20% from 1999 to 2000. The level of HIV/AIDS awareness is generally poor among the general population but high among high-risk populations. Both HIV/AIDS and injection drug use carry a strong stigma in the community, even among medical professionals. There was very little evidence of primary HIV/AIDS prevention efforts, and IDU prevention efforts focused on promotion of anti-drug messages in the schools. CONCLUSION: Given that Ukraine has sparse resources to be devoted to this problem, action recommendations should be prioritized, realistic, and initially targeted to persons in greatest need. The following action recommendations are prioritized by the following categories: First priority: Voluntary Counseling and Testing; Second Priority: Prevention and Education; and Third Priority: Harm Reduction and Treatment. They are provided in this sequence based on what response can realistically be implemented first with limited additional resources and can make the greatest immediate impact. The persons at greatest risk, HIV positive persons and IDUs, should be attended to first.
Journal Article↗
Pharmaceutical sciences' manpower supply and internal rate of return.
A pharmacy student has many career options upon graduation. These options include graduate education in one of the pharmaceutical sciences and a retail pharmacy position. The attractive salaries offered by chain pharmacies play an important role in the recent graduate's career decision-making process. The purpose of this study is to provide a comparative assessment of the internal rate of return (IRR) for different pharmaceutical science career options as related to chain-store pharmacist earnings. Additionally, this study analyzes the effect of the IRR on the applicant pool size and composition for graduate study in pharmaceutical sciences. Income/age profiles were developed using public domain income data derived from salary surveys sponsored by professional associations. Based on these income/age profiles, IRRs were estimated for the pharmaceutical science disciplines, clinical pharmacy, pharmaceutics, medicinal chemistry, and pharmacy administration, and further differentiated for industry versus academic careers. The IRRs are the highest for Pharm.D.'s in academic careers (16.0%), followed by pharmaceutical scientists employed by pharmaceutical industry (8.13%). The IRR of pharmaceutical scientists in academia is lower than the return of other financial investment vehicles. Other authors have established a relationship between the IRR of a profession and a rise or decline in the applicant pool. The IRRs calculated here imply that this association can also be observed for the pharmaceutical scientist applicant pool. Low IRRs should result in a declining applicant pool. However, the last decade has shown an increase of 66% in the number of Ph.D.'s granted, while the percentage of Ph.D.'s granted to nonpharmacists or non-Americans has not increased significantly over the same time period.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Career Choice↗
A Dodecanuclear Copper(II) Cage Containing Phosphonate and Pyrazole Ligands This work was supported by a grant from the Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi (V.C.). V.C. is also grateful to the Homi Bhabha Fellowship Council for a fellowship. We thank the DST for funding the National Facility for X-ray Crystallography at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. We thank Prof. Dr. P. K. Bharadwaj for his help in the data collection and X-ray analysis, and Prof. Dr. A. R. Chakravorthy, Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India for the magnetic measurements on 1.
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Journal Article↗
Population dynamics and global change: the need for new conceptual maps.
The author criticizes current approaches to the study of global population problems as typified by the discussions at the International Conference on Population and Development, held in Cairo, Egypt, in 1994. "Current approaches to population: (1) focus too much on humans and not on their interactions over time with populations of other species; (2) focus too much on the number of humans and not on their differential resource use and environmental impact; (3) accept uncritically the assumptions and concepts of industrial society regarding the nature of progress and the neutrality of technologies, markets, and trade. Broader and more integrated approaches are needed to address current international and global realities and trends." Some conceptual datasets that would illustrate a more effective approach to population problems are introduced.
Data Collection↗
China's urban geography.
"In this paper I seek to review recent work on Chinese urban geography and to appraise the development of China's urban geography as a field of study both inside and outside China. The temporal scope will span scholarship finished and published mainly during the 1980s." The focus is on works published in English. The author examines the primary topics of interest, methodologies and theories, and available sources of data.
Asia↗
Data quality and quality control of a population-based cancer registry. Experience in Finland.
Cancer registries should pay great attention to the quality of their data, both in terms of completeness (all cancer patients in the population are registered) and accuracy (data on individual cancer patients must be correct). In addition to technical measures in the data processing, different types of checks and comparisons should be routine practice. Active research policy and ambitious, research-oriented staff with competence in medicine, biostatistics and computer science are essential in terms of maintaining good data quality.
Finland↗
Applying the transtheoretical model to pregnancy and STD prevention: a review of the literature.
PURPOSE: To conduct a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature on the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) and pregnancy and STD prevention. DATA SOURCES: Computer database search (Applied Social Science Index and Abstracts [ASSIA], Biological Abstracts, Criminal Justice Abstracts, CINAHL-Allied Health, Current Contents, Current Index to Journals in Education, Education Index, ERIC, Excerpta Medica, Family Index, Index Medicus, Medline, Multicultural Education Abstracts, PsychInfo, Psychological Abstracts, Research Alert, Social Science Citation Index, Social Work Abstracts, and Sociological Abstracts), and manual journal search. STUDY INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA: All English, peer-reviewed, original articles on the TTM as it relates to pregnancy and STD prevention published prior to December 31, 2001, were included. Editorials, commentaries, thesis/dissertations, unpublished studies, technical reports, and books were not included. DATA EXTRACTION METHODS: Articles were categorized as Intervention, Population (stage distribution), or Validation studies. Within each category, articles were subdivided into groups, summarized, and analyzed. DATA SYNTHESIS: The 32 articles reviewed included 9 intervention studies, 11 population studies, and 12 validation studies. Studies represented a variety of U.S. populations of a broad demographic range. Evidence both for and against criterion-related and construct validity of the TTM was found. MAJOR CONCLUSIONS: Age, partner type, gender, reasons for engaging in safer sex behaviors (i.e., pregnancy vs. disease prevention), self-efficacy, sexual assertiveness, and perceived advantages and disadvantages of condom use were related to stage of change. The use of the TTM to reduce risk of pregnancy and STDs is a relatively new, but important, area of research. However, because of the wide-ranging differences in methodologies and samples, no strong conclusions about its effectiveness can yet be made.
Algorithms↗
Dental assisting experience as a predictor of dental hygiene academic performance.
PURPOSE: Selecting dental hygiene students who ultimately will be successful in their formal education and board examinations is critical to dental hygiene education and the profession. This study examined prior dental assisting experience as a predictor of performance during dental hygiene education as well as on licensure examinations. METHODS: The study included all 132 female students who graduated from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Department of Dental Hygiene, from 1989 through 1993. The prior assisting group (n = 43) consisted of students with at least six months of dental assisting experience as reported by the student and/or previous dentist employers. The nonassisting group (n = 89) had no dental assisting experience prior to admission. Student records were used to compile evaluative data for each subject including: prerequisite college science grade-point average (GPA); dental hygiene GPA at the end of the first year of the program; dental hygiene GPA at the end of the second year; combined GPA for the three semesters of clinical dental hygiene coursework; quality points for specific dental hygiene courses including preclinical dental hygiene instrumentation, dental hygiene clinic I, dental anatomy, and dental materials; and National Board Dental Hygiene Examination Scores and performance on the Southern Regional Board Examination. Student's t-test analysis was used to compare the prerequisite college science GPA for the assisting and nonassisting groups. Multivariate analysis was used for all other measures of comparison. RESULTS: Student's t-test analysis revealed no significant differences in terms of the prerequisite college science GPA as a control for this extraneous variable. The results of multivariate analysis demonstrated that the prior dental assisting group had significantly higher cumulative clinic GPAs as well as clinic I quality points. No significant differences were noted in first-year GPA, cumulative program GPA, dental materials, preclinical dental hygiene instrumentation, dental anatomy quality points, and national and regional board performance. CONCLUSIONS: Dental assisting experience was positively correlated with initial evaluation of clinical performance and with cumulative clinic GPA. This suggests that experience in the oral healthcare delivery system supports the students' clinical skill development. Because there were no significant differences observed on other performance measures, it can be concluded that prior dental assisting experience has a circumscribed predictive value relative to dental hygiene student performance.
Clinical Competence↗
Using national and local data to guide reproductive health programs.
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Adolescent↗