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PubMed2001

The adolescent sexual world and AIDS prevention: a democratic approach to programme design in Zimbabwe.

The main aim of this study was to redress the under-representation of adolescent attitudes in AIDS prevention programme design and to discuss the implications of a democratic sexuality education approach within a health promotion context. The study surveyed the attitudes of adolescents (average age 16 years) on sex-related topics such as culture, marriage, sexual behaviour and sex education, identified similarities and differences in attitudes according to gender and socio-economic environments, and examined sources of students' knowledge of selected sex-related topics. Questionnaires were completed by 3429 secondary school students from different backgrounds. Findings showed significant differences in attitude related to gender and socio-economic settings and also in sources of information. The study drew on a democratic sexuality education approach. Using this approach, adolescents review ideological perspectives and decide which are most appropriate for them as guides in making decisions about their own lives. This type of education is fully consistent with the principles of democratic living and gives guidance to teenagers who are trying to decide how to live a healthy life. Study results suggest that programmers would be well advised to collect information from the adolescents' psycho-social-economic environment and link it with good governance and civil society strategies in developing AIDS prevention programmes that involve the adolescent in making lifestyle decisions. To achieve a more supportive environment for AIDS prevention, this approach can link adolescent attitudes and health promotion action to advocate for public policy reform, gender equality, multi-dimensional partnerships and social marketing.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Applications and uses of resistant starch.

For the past 30 years there has been a steady increase in our knowledge of the sources, uses and physiological effects of resistant starch. However, it has only been in the past decade that the use of ingredients with a high resistant starch content has occurred in foods, initially in Australia but now throughout the world. Foods containing these resistant starch-rich ingredients include not only staple foods, such as bread and breakfast cereals, but also foods designed for those with special physiological or medical needs, such as celiac sensitivity and ulcerative colitis, or for individuals who are seeking to manage energy intake and control weight. Resistant starch has other benefits when compared with traditional sources of dietary fiber in that the preparation and design of foods with additional health benefits have the appearance, taste, and texture characteristics that encourage people to consume these "better for you" foods. As our knowledge of the range of physiological effects that occur through the consumption of resistant starch increases, more applications will be found for their inclusion in an expanding range of foods around the world.

Diet↗
PubMed2006

Origin and funding of the most frequently cited papers in medicine: database analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate changes in the role of academics and the sources of funding for the medical research cited most frequently over the past decade. DESIGN: Database analysis. DATA SOURCES: Web of Knowledge database. METHODS: For each year from 1994 to 2003, articles in the domain of clinical medicine that had been cited most often by the end of 2004 were identified. Changes in authors' affiliations and funding sources were evaluated. RESULTS: Of the 289 frequently cited articles, most had at least one author with a university (76%) or hospital (57%) affiliation, and the proportion of articles with each type of affiliation was constant over time. Government or public funding was most common (60% of articles), followed by industry (36%). The proportion of most frequently cited articles funded by industry increased over time (odds ratio 1.17 per year, P = 0.001) and was equal to the proportion funded by government or public sources by 2001. 65 of the 77 most cited randomised controlled trials received funding from industry, and the proportion increased significantly over time (odds ratio 1.59 per year, P = 0.003). 18 of the 32 most cited trials published after 1999 were funded by industry alone. CONCLUSION: Academic affiliations remain prominent among the authors of the most frequently cited medical research. Such research is increasingly funded by industry, often exclusively so. Academics may be losing control of the clinical research agenda.

Bibliometrics↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Infant care knowledge of primiparous urban mothers.

Because hospitals are discharging postpartum women within 48 hours of delivery, little time is available for maternal baby care instruction. Therefore it is important that any teaching, whether in the hospital or in an outpatient setting, concentrate on topics that provide the greatest benefit to the mother and child. This study provides an initial view of maternal knowledge of well baby care in an attempt to discern topics of common misinformation and misunderstanding. Fifty primiparous, English-speaking mothers were interviewed. The interview consisted of questions dealing with social support for the mother; employment or schooling; source of prior child care knowledge; and knowledge of feeding, diapering, sleeping, calming, bathing, and sickness of newborn infants. The data gathered indicate that although most women report one or more sources of knowledge, several gaps exist in their preparedness. The traditional information presented may overemphasize known areas at the expense of some that have significant consequences for health and safety. Many hospitals offer postpartum classes in bathing. These data indicate that if these programs could be expanded to include more practical information, they would provide a beneficial learning experience at a critical time in a new mother's life.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Female adolescents' knowledge of bone health promotion behaviors and osteoporosis risk factors.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore female adolescents' knowledge about osteoporosis risk factors and the role of dietary calcium and exercise in the prevention of osteoporosis. METHOD: A descriptive survey design was used in this research. SAMPLE: A convenience sample of 107 adolescent girls in grades 6-10 who attended a public school in southwestern Michigan participated in this study. RESULTS: Of 17 questions related to knowledge of osteoporosis risk factors, only 3 of the factors that are most well known to the public (being a woman, having low intake of dairy products, and a lack of adequate exercise) were correctly identified by a majority of the participants. Knowledge of dietary sources of calcium was primarily limited to dairy products. Participants knew that regular exercise was necessary to prevent osteoporosis, but few could identify the weight-bearing exercises most beneficial for promoting bone health. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the knowledge of these adolescents, who are in a crucial period of their lives for accruing bone mineral, had limited knowledge of the risk factors for osteoporosis, calcium-rich foods and dietary calcium requirements, and the type of exercise needed to maximize their bone mineral density. Nurses can work with children, adolescents, their families, and other professionals in interventions to prevent osteoporosis in later years.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

[Knowledge about Helicobacter pylori and antibiotic treatment of peptic ulcer. A model study of information dissemination and implementation of the new knowledge in clinical practice].

Dissemination of information concerning new knowledge on peptic ulcer disease caused by Helicobacter pylori and treatment with antibiotics was surveyed. In 1996 a questionnaire was mailed to 200 gastroenterologists and 200 general practitioners. Physicians enumerate national medical journals as the most frequent source of information about the relationship between Helicobacter pylori and gastrointestinal ulcer. Six years after the first publication in international journals, 44% of the doctors had noticed this relation. Nearly all physicians had introduced antibiotics in treatment af peptic ulcer disease ten to twelve years after first announcement. The gastroenterologists preferred international medical journals whereas general practitioners stated national medical journals were the most important sources of new knowledge. General practitioners lacked knowledge of published guidelines for treatment of peptic ulcer disease.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed2001

Psychosocial aspects of epilepsy in Oman: attitude of health personnel.

PURPOSE: To assess with a questionnaire the awareness and attitudes of the doctors in Oman toward epilepsy. Attitudes of society toward epilepsy have a wide-ranging influence, affecting issues as diverse as compliance with treatment and doctor--patient communication. Recent studies in both developing and developed countries suggest that within the medical profession, there is a lack of knowledge and negative attitudes toward people with epilepsy (PWE). There are no equivalent studies for Oman or the Arab world. METHODS: The questionnaire included queries on the backgrounds of the physicians, including their training and qualifications, the main sources of their knowledge of epilepsy, as well as their perceptions of the attributes and care requirements of PWE. RESULTS: Sixty-two percent (n=121) of those questioned, who were medical personnel working in different regions of Oman, responded. The results suggest that, despite coming from diverse cultural backgrounds and nationalities, the practicing doctors in Oman gained knowledge of epilepsy much earlier than did their counterparts in developed countries. The majority of the respondents thought that PWE have more propensities toward dysfunctional personality and behavioral characteristics than do "normal" people. On questions relating to public image, our respondents opined that, although the general public is negative toward PWE, the realities regarding PWE should be publicized because PWE are capable of having a normal family life and being an integral part of society. CONCLUSIONS: In spite of having an earlier exposure to seizures and sympathetic acceptance of PWE, negative views still persist on matters related to cognitive and behavior domains. It is concluded that a developing country such as Oman must inculcate more realistic perceptions and attitudes among their doctors toward PWE.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Evaluation of internet use in university education by midwifery students.

The aim of our study was to evaluate the use of the medical Internet by midwifery students with analysis of influencing factors and students' preferences. A prospective cross-sectional questionnaire study was carried out with 180 midwifery students. The response rate was 83.8%, 82% use the Internet, and 79.3% use the medical resources in their education. The mean accession to the Web is 5.3 +/- 8.4 times per month. The mean evaluation of information resources for books, journals, conferences and university courses was 6.6 +/- 3.2, 4.8 +/- 3.1, 2.7 +/- 3.0, and 6.8 +/- 3.8, respectively, as measured with the Visual Analogue Scale (p < 0.001). Age did not correlate with Internet use and its evaluation but correlated with a self-evaluation of Internet skills as a user (Rs = -0.20, p = 0.016). The evaluation of the Internet as a source of medical knowledge correlated with self-evaluation of medical search skills (Rs = 0.66, p < 0.001) and user skills (Rs = 0.61, p < 0.001). The medical Internet is used by the majority of midwifery students, but it is still a secondary source of information, after university training and medical books. The higher evaluation of Internet correlated with general computer skills and medical search skills, which suggests the need for education on Internet use by students.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Anisotropy functions for low energy interstitial brachytherapy sources: an EGS4 Monte Carlo study.

Anisotropy functions for low energy interstitial brachytherapy sources are examined. Absolute dose rates around 103Pd seed model 200 and 125I seed models 6702 and 6711 have been estimated by means of the EGS4 Monte Carlo simulation system. The DLC-136/PHOTX cross section library, water molecular form factors, bound Compton scattering and Doppler broadening of the Compton-scattered photon energy were considered in the calculations. Following the formalism developed by the Interstitial Brachytherapy Collaborative Working Group, anisotropy functions, F(r, theta), have been calculated. Our Monte Carlo results were compared against a limited set of measured data selected from the literature and other Monte Carlo results. Binding corrections and phantom material selection have been found to have no influence on the anisotropy function. The accuracy of the geometrical source models used for the Monte Carlo calculations was validated against experimental measurements of in-air relative fluence at 100 cm from the source. More detailed knowledge about the geometrical design of 103Pd seed model 200 is needed in order to improve the agreement with experimentally measured in-air fluence. Values for in-air fluence of 125I model 6702 are sensitive to source position within the inner seed cylinder. Excellent agreement between calculated and measured in-air fluence is found for 125I model 6711. It was observed that using in-air relative fluence at 100 cm from the source to calculate the anisotropy function yields a less anisotropic dose distribution at distances close to the source than full Monte Carlo simulation, in contradiction with experimental data. Our results have estimated statistical uncertainties of 1%-3% at the 1sigma level within clinically relevant regions, but contain systematic uncertainties related to the assumed geometrical details.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2004

Preferences for sexual information resources in patients treated for early-stage prostate cancer with either radical prostatectomy or brachytherapy.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the preferences for sexual information resources of patients before and after definitive treatment for early-stage prostate cancer with either radical prostatectomy (RP) or brachytherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two hundred patients (mean age 64 years) treated with either RP or brachytherapy were recruited from radiation oncology (100) and urology (100) outpatient clinics. Patients completed a survey questionnaire to identify the types of information used, preferred sources of information, knowledge of treatments for erectile dysfunction (ED), effect of sexual function on the treatment decision, and the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) to assess their current level of sexual function. RESULTS: Urologists were identified as the main source of sexual information. Written information, Internet access and videos were identified as preferred sources of information before and after treatment. The effects of treatment on sexual function had no apparent significant influence on the men's definitive treatment choice. Compared with patients in the brachytherapy group, patients in the RP group reported having significantly higher levels of sexual desire (P < 0.001) after treatment, but otherwise the erectile domains of the groups were remarkably similar. Two-thirds of patients wanted more information on the effects of treatment on sexual function, and on available treatments for ED. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the need for physicians to offer patients access to information on the effect of treatment for early-stage prostate cancer on erectile function before and after treatment.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

The early fluidic and optical physics of cytometry.

All forms of cytometry, depend on the basic laws of physics, including those of fluidics, optics, and electronics, most of which were established centuries ago. Flow cytometry depends critically on the fluidics presenting each individual cell with precision to the sensing volume. This is intersected by a high-intensity light source, and light scattering and fluorescence from suitably stained constituents in each cell are captured by the light-collecting optics and measured. The works and observations of Bernoulli and Euler in the 18th century, Reynolds in the 19th century, and Crosland-Taylor in the 20th century in the field of fluid dynamics laid the foundations for hydrodynamic focussing, which is the primary prerequisite for presenting individual cells to the sensing volume. In addition, electrostatic cell sorters must have the ability to generate stable droplet formation in the jet-stream issuing from the flow chamber nozzle. The origins here can be traced to work carried out in the early to mid-19th century by Savart, Magnus, and Thomson. Flow, image, and confocal cytometry are all dependent on the laws of optics, including those of reflection and refraction as well as numerous other optical principles. The observations and works of Socrates, Ptolemy, Snel, and Descartes between about BC 370 and 1637 were of seminal importance in developing the laws of reflection and refraction. In the mid-17th century Hooke illustrated the power of magnifying glasses and microscopy in his Micrographia and Newton was responsible for explaining colours in the spectrum. Huygens, toward the end of the 17th century, put forward the concept of point source light propagation contributing to a wave front. Finally, Thomas Young, early in the 19th century, established the wave form of light from interference patterns. Most people will be familiar with some of these discoveries and the investigators who carried out the work; some people will be familiar with all of these. However, very few people are likely to have had the opportunity and privilege to access the very early works and the original data and manuscripts, or translations thereof, which laid the foundations of physics that enabled our discipline to be established. It is always important for any discipline to remember its roots and to appreciate the seed from which those roots grew, for it is much easier to learn and fully understand when we have a knowledge of the source and the logical progressions that lead from one discovery to the next. This knowledge lends perspective to our current endeavours as the past, after all, created the present, which in turn contributes to the future. In this article, which was presented as an invited lecture at the 9th Canadian Consensus meeting on AIDS, I have attempted to trace the origins of the early work on the physics of fluidics and optics, which laid the foundations.

Flow Cytometry↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Diagrammatic representations for modelling biological knowledge.

The contemporary research and development context in multidisciplinary biology has a serious requirement for integrating knowledge from disparate sources, and facilitating much-needed inter- and intra-disciplinary dialogue. A multiplicity of models arises when pluralistic approaches to modelling are followed, and also when there is not only a requirement to model systems and data, but also knowledge of systems and data. The challenges of addressing this multiplicity do not only include articulating the structure of complex systems, but also placing modelling within the framework of a process as well as a product. The graph representations presented here facilitate dialogue, modelling, clarification and specification of concepts, and the sharing of terms. This paper explores relationships between collections of graph representations. It is hoped that in future, when readers look at a node or a process in a graph, they will have a much deeper appreciation of relationships and context.

Data Display↗
PubMed2005

Bridging the gap between doctors and policymakers: the use of scientific knowledge in local school health care policy in The Netherlands.

BACKGROUND: The decentralization of school health care policy in The Netherlands was followed by an increase in diversity, which was most often not evidence-based. This study aims to clarify the use of scientific knowledge in school health care policy-making processes: multi-actor processes in networks, trying to solve certain problems. METHODS: Case-study design in four Municipal Health Service regions, using documents and half-structured interviews as data sources. RESULTS: Scientific knowledge is used by only 42% of the actors in 58% of decision-making rounds in policy-making processes. 'Recent' regional data on health indicators are used more often than 'established' (inter)national knowledge of theoretical models. Mainly school health professionals use knowledge as a resource to influence the policy process. Other actors (e.g. managers and municipalities) use formal power, money or 'initiative' as their main resources. Powerful actors put forward less scientific knowledge than actors in dependent positions. Individual actors with a combined scientific and political frame of reference put forward knowledge most frequently, especially in complex networks with many actors, more than one powerful actor, more than one arena, more than one dominant resource and more than one dominant frame of reference. CONCLUSION: The use of scientific knowledge in school health care policy-making processes can and must be improved. Liaison officers can bridge the gap between doctors and policymakers, especially in complex policy networks. They combine a scientific and a political frame of reference and act upon scientific knowledge as a resource in their efforts to influence the policy-making process.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

AIDS knowledge and attitudes of pupils attending urban high schools in Israel.

The present study compared AIDS knowledge, attitude and sources of information of 1724 students in three different high schools (academic, vocational and religious) in Holon. Forty-two percent of the students are anxious concerning the possibility of AIDS contamination; they expressed a willingness to be tested for HIV and AIDS. Pupils attending the academic school proved to have the highest knowledge concerning AIDS topics; those in the vocational school placed second; and those in the religious school came last. The knowledge increased with age (p < 0.001). Results indicated that misconceptions were still found in a second decade of that epidemic concerning the following areas: etiology, ways of exposure; symptomatology; and prognosis. Their intolerant attitudes reflect social anxiety and vulnerability to AIDS. The most liberal and comprehensive attitudes toward AIDS patients were presented by pupils attending the academic school and after that came pupils from the vocational school, while pupils in the religious school presented the most conservative and intolerant attitudes. The sources of pupils' information primarily included: the media--TV (92.3%): newspapers (87.6%); and school (66.1%) occupied the third place. It is remarkable that physicians and nurses at school and outside clinics were placed in the seventh (and last) place, as only 25.3% mentioned them at all. Only one third of the pupils agreed to participate as volunteers in medical and rehabilitation centers which help AIDS patients.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2003

HIV/AIDS knowledge and attitudes of STD clinic attendees in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Over the last several years, Russia has experienced dramatic increases in rates of HIV and other sexually transmitted disease (STDs). This study examined HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitudes toward condoms, and sources of information about HIV in a sample of 200 male and 200 female Russian STD clinic patients. Study participants displayed substantial knowledge deficits concerning AIDS and HIV transmission. Superior knowledge was associated with younger age, greater education, positive attitudes toward condoms, having more sources of information about HIV/AIDS, and believing that the government is telling the truth about AIDS. More-positive attitudes toward condoms were associated with having a larger number of information sources, greater HIV/AIDS knowledge, and not being in a steady relationship. Many participants reported not trusting government and media sources of information concerning AIDS. Participants also reported concerns regarding the low quality and high cost of condoms in Russia. Results of the study suggest that interventions designed to increase knowledge and awareness of AIDS among Russians at high risk for HIV are urgently needed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Tools for knowledge acquisition within the NeuroScholar system and their application to anatomical tract-tracing data.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge bases that summarize the published literature provide useful online references for specific areas of systems-level biology that are not otherwise supported by large-scale databases. In the field of neuroanatomy, groups of small focused teams have constructed medium size knowledge bases to summarize the literature describing tract-tracing experiments in several species. Despite years of collation and curation, these databases only provide partial coverage of the available published literature. Given that the scientists reading these papers must all generate the interpretations that would normally be entered into such a system, we attempt here to provide general-purpose annotation tools to make it easy for members of the community to contribute to the task of data collation. RESULTS: In this paper, we describe an open-source, freely available knowledge management system called 'NeuroScholar' that allows straightforward structured markup of the PDF files according to a well-designed schema to capture the essential details of this class of experiment. Although, the example worked through in this paper is quite specific to neuroanatomical connectivity, the design is freely extensible and could conceivably be used to construct local knowledge bases for other experiment types. Knowledge representations of the experiment are also directly linked to the contributing textual fragments from the original research article. Through the use of this system, not only could members of the community contribute to the collation task, but input data can be gathered for automated approaches to permit knowledge acquisition through the use of Natural Language Processing (NLP). CONCLUSION: We present a functional, working tool to permit users to populate knowledge bases for neuroanatomical connectivity data from the literature through the use of structured questionnaires. This system is open-source, fully functional and available for download from [1].

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Development of equipments for determination of BNCT source spectral parameters.

The knowledge of neutron and gamma ray energy spectra can strongly influence the BNCT information about delivered dose to target volume as well as to the surface healthy tissue region. This region is very often decisive to stay within the recommended healthy tissue limit. Modification of neutron Bonner spectrometer to one block i.e. Bonner spectrometer monoblock (BSM) and gamma ray Si semiconductor spectrometer are being developed and verified in real conditions of LVR-15 reactor beam. Test measurements were also carried out in conditions of known standard spectra. The accepted procedure and the first results documenting the sensitivity BSM to different spectra are presented.

Boron Neutron Capture Therapy↗
PubMed2003

Bacterial multicellularity as a possible source of antibiotic resistance.

Knowledge about survival of micro-organisms in stressful situations not only influences the evolutionary theory in a fundamental way, but bears an extraordinary importance in finding a global solution to a very concrete urgent problem of mankind, namely bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Recent in vitro experiments demonstrate that the adaptive mutation process involving transient hypermutators could be one of the most important mechanisms whereby bacterial cells achieve the antibiotic resistance. An effective response of the mutation rates to specific selective conditions and an increasing number of conclusive evidence that bacterial cells are indeed communicative and co-operative organisms lead us to a hypothesis that the emergence of the antibiotic resistant mutants through the so-called adaptive mutation is deeply connected with the multicellular organisation of bacterial cells.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗