Salary survey. U.S. life scientists report rising salaries and high job satisfaction.
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Biological Science Disciplines↗
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Acute low back pain: systematic review of its prognosis.
OBJECTIVES: To describe the course of acute low back pain and sciatica and to identify clinically important prognostic factors for these conditions. DESIGN: Systematic review. DATA SOURCES: Searches of Medline, Embase, Cinahl, and Science Citation Index and iterative searches of bibliographies. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pain, disability, and return to work. RESULTS: 15 studies of variable methodological quality were included. Rapid improvements in pain (mean reduction 58% of initial scores), disability (58%), and return to work (82% of those initially off work) occurred in one month. Further improvement was apparent until about three months. Thereafter levels for pain, disability, and return to work remained almost constant. 73% of patients had at least one recurrence within 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: People with acute low back pain and associated disability usually improve rapidly within weeks. None the less, pain and disability are typically ongoing, and recurrences are common.
Acute Disease↗
Tobacco industry strategies to undermine the 8th World Conference on Tobacco or Health.
OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate that Philip Morris and British American Tobacco Company attempted to initiate a wide ranging campaign to undermine the success of the 8th World Conference on Tobacco or Health held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1992. DATA SOURCES: Publicly available tobacco industry documents housed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Guilford, UK; on-line document websites; and telephone interviews with informed parties. STUDY SELECTION: Those documents determined to be relevant to the companies' campaigns against the 8th World Conference on Tobacco or Health. DATA EXTRACTION: Revision of chapter VIII of the July 2000 WHO report by a committee of experts, entitled: Tobacco company strategies to undermine tobacco control activities at the World Health Organization: report of the committee of experts on tobacco industry documents. DATA SYNTHESIS: Internal documents describe proposed media and science orientated campaigns developed by BAT, Philip Morris, and their consultants to divert attention away from the conference. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: This work shows that the tobacco industry has the resources and vested interest to combat perceived threats in its regional operating markets, in this case its Latin American market. It is important for the worldwide public heath community to become aware of the numerous ways in which the tobacco industry and its front groups can work against international tobacco control meetings, even including the manipulation of or working with other public health groups to oppose tobacco control efforts. Future world conference planners and participants should be aware that the tobacco industry is likely to continue to employ such methodology. There is no reason to think that the industry is paying less attention to such conferences in the present or future. Rather, it is likely the industry will adopt and expand strategies that were successful while abandoning those that were not effective. Required disclosure of financial support by all participants at all tobacco scientific conferences is recommended. For the tobacco control community, we also recommend careful coalition building and networking with other public health groups on the ways tobacco is implicated in other public health issues.
Congresses as Topic↗
Student critical thinking is enhanced by developing exercise prescriptions using online learning modules.
Developing the ability to think critically is an important element of undergraduate physiology education and is influenced by many factors, including the learning environment, the social context of the learning environment, and the instructor's approach to teaching. In this work, we describe online learning modules (OLM) that were designed to promote higher-order critical thinking skills in students enrolled in an upper-division Exercise Testing and Prescription course. The OLM provided students with an online learning environment in which to review clinical physiological details from authentic patient case data and develop exercise prescriptions (ExRx), by requiring students to critically analyze authentic patient case histories and collaborate on computer-based learning activities. On the basis of assessment data, we conclude that the OLM helped exercise science students develop the critical thinking skills necessary for development of effective exercise prescriptions by requiring them to think critically while concurrently reinforcing lecture-presented exercise science content.
Computer-Assisted Instruction↗
Endocrine relationships during human spaceflight.
Human spaceflight is associated with a chronic loss of protein from muscle. The objective of this study was to determine whether changes in urinary hormone excretion could identify a hormonal role for this loss. Urine samples were collected from the crews of two Life Sciences Space Shuttle missions before and during spaceflight. Data are means +/- SE with the number of subjects in parentheses. The first value is the mean preflight measurement, and the second value is the mean inflight measurement. Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) [27.7 +/- 4.4 (9) vs. 25.1 +/- 3.4 (9) ng/day], growth hormone [724 +/- 251 (9) vs. 710 +/- 206 (9) ng/day], insulin-like growth factor I [6.81 +/- 0.62 vs. 6.04 +/- 0.51 (8) nM/day], and C-peptide [44.9 +/- 8.3 (9) vs. 50.7 +/- 10.3 (9) micrograms/day] were unchanged with spaceflight. In contrast, free 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine [791 +/- 159 (9) vs. 371 +/- 41 (9) pg/day, P < 0.05], prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) [1, 064 +/- 391 (8) vs. 465 +/- 146 (8) ng/day, P < 0.05], and its metabolite PGE-M [1,015 +/- 98 (9) vs. 678 +/- 105 (9) ng/day, P < 0. 05] were decreased inflight. The urinary excretion of most hormones returned to their preflight levels during the postflight period, with the exception of ACTH [47.5 +/- 10.3 (9) ng/day], PGE2 [1,433 +/- 327 (8) ng/day], PGF2alpha, [2,786 +/- 313 (8) ng/day], and its metabolite PGF-M [4,814 +/- 402 (9) ng/day], which were all increased compared with the preflight measurement (P < 0.05). There was a trend for urinary cortisol to be elevated inflight [55.3 +/- 5. 9 (9) vs. 72.5 +/- 11.1 micrograms/day, P = 0.27] and postflight [82.7 +/- 8.6 (8) micrograms/day, P = 0.13]. The inflight human data support ground-based in vitro work showing that prostaglandins have a major role in modulating the changes in muscle protein content in response to tension or the lack thereof.
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
Rugby injuries.
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this chapter is to review critically the existing studies on the epidemiology of pediatric rugby injuries and discuss suggestions for injury prevention and further research. DATA SOURCES: Data were sourced from the sports medicine and science literature mainly since 1990, and from a prospective injury surveillance project in rugby undertaken by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney during 2002. Literature searches were performed using Medline and SportsDiscus. MAIN RESULTS: Reported injury rates were between 7 and 18 injuries per 1,000 hours played, with the rate of injuries resulting in loss of playing or training time measured at 6.5-10.6 per 1,000 hours played. Injury rates increased with age and level of qualification. Head injury and concussion accounted for 10-40% of all injuries. In the UNSW study, concussion accounted for 25% of injuries resulting in loss of playing or training time in the under 13 year age group. Upper and lower extremity injuries were equally apportioned, with musculoskeletal injuries being the main type of injury. Fractures were observed in the upper extremity and ankle, and joint/ligament injuries affected the shoulder, knee and ankle. The tackle was associated with around 50% of all injuries. The scrum produced fewer injuries, but is historically associated with spinal cord injury. CONCLUSIONS: Rugby is a contact sport with injury risks related to physical contact, primarily in the tackle. Most injuries affect the musculoskeletal system, with the exception of concussion. Spinal cord injury is rare, but catastrophic. Research is required to understand better injury risks and to reduce the incidence of shoulder, knee and ankle joint injuries, concussion and spinal injury.
Adolescent↗
Female child sexual abuse within the family in a Hungarian County.
BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to analyze the characteristics of intrafamiliar female child sexual abuse and to explore common features that may be utilized as targets for possible methods of prevention. We also described the medical and legal approaches to handling child neglect. METHODS: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study on 52 sexually abused girls under the age of 18 at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical and Health Science Center of Debrecen. We prospectively recorded the data of all cases. Intrafamiliar events were defined if the victim and perpetrator belonged to the same family. Legal outcomes were also recorded. RESULTS: During the 16-year period, 209 cases of sexual abuse were seen in our clinic, 52 of them had been involved in child sexual abuse within the family. This accounts for 25% of adolescent cases. Eighty-six percent of the victims were pupils, 50% of them were between 11 and 14 years of age. The perpetrator was the victim's father in 44%, and the stepfather in 40%. There was a slight difference between the type of abuse among the pre- and postpubertal group of victims, but statistically it was not significant. The abuse occurred on multiple occasions in 52%. The occurrence rate of assault was the highest in the summer season (58%), mostly in the afternoon (42%) and it took place almost exclusively at home (98%). The mother accompanied the victim in 38% of the cases and the police in 40%. Vaginal penetration was the type of abuse in 75%, and sexual perversion in 25%. Six victims were physically injured, the presence of sperm could be confirmed on vulvovaginal smears in 2 cases. One pregnancy conceived. Nine cases were reported to the police and as a result of legal proceedings, 5 perpetrators have been sentenced. CONCLUSION: The majority of crimes take place within the family and are disclosed after multiple episodes. The small proportion of reported sexual assaults is the consequence of the lack of harmony between the Hungarian conditions of emergency care and the criminal law. Prevention calls for attention at all levels of child education, observation at off-school times, early involvement of health professionals, applying standardized medical guidelines and the modification of jurisdiction.
Adolescent↗
Chemoprevention of pancreatic cancer: a review of the molecular pathways involved, and evidence for the potential for chemoprevention.
BACKGROUND: Pancreatic cancer has a poor prognosis. The use of drugs or natural agents which inhibit or slow down tumour growth therefore has important potential in the development of future therapies. METHODS: A literature search of the PubMed and ISI Web of Science databases was undertaken to review the current data available on the alterations in signalling pathways found in pancreatic carcinogenesis, in order to identify sites that could be targeted by chemopreventive agents. Several agents of particular relevance to pancreatic cancer were identified, and their possible mechanisms of action reviewed. RESULTS: Chemopreventive agents such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, green tea constituents, and antioxidants have been shown to target various steps in intracellular signalling pathways, particularly those controlling cell proliferation and survival. Work on cell lines and animal models has shown that some of these agents may be able to modulate the growth of pancreatic tumours. Initial clinical trials of some chemopreventives in pancreatic cancer have been undertaken, and have yielded mixed results, prompting the need for further studies. CONCLUSION: As the molecular pathology of pancreatic cancer becomes better understood, sites of action of chemopreventive substances have been uncovered. Several agents have shown promising results by their ability to inhibit pancreatic carcinogenesis in laboratory studies. If these effects can be successfully translated into human studies then these agents may prove to be valuable adjuvant therapies in the future.
Antineoplastic Agents↗
Are differences in exposure to a multicomponent school-based intervention associated with varying dietary outcomes in adolescents?
Multicomponent interventions are recommended for health behavior change among adolescents. However, it is difficult to disentangle the effects of multiple intervention components. This article reports outcomes associated with varying levels of exposure to a school-based nutrition intervention. Teens Eating for Energy and Nutrition at School (TEENS). Four incremental exposures were possible: (1) control group, (2) school environment interventions only, (3) classroom plus environment interventions, and (4) peer leaders plus classroom plus environment interventions. Pattems suggesting dose response were observed, with peer leaders reporting the largest increases in fruit, vegetable, and lower fat food consumption. Students exposed to classroom plus environment interventions also improved, whereas students exposed only to school environment interventions showed trends toward choosing lower fat foods and declining fruit intake and no change in vegetable intake. Control students' choices remained stable. Future studies may investigate mechanisms for peer leaders' changes, maximizing curriculum effectiveness, and improving environmental interventions.
Adolescent↗
Integration of theory, practitioner standards, literature findings, and baseline data: a case study in planning breast self-examination education.
Delineation of the planning process necessary for designing sound education programs aimed at changes in health behavior continues to be a primary concern of health educators. Careful planning will ultimately maximize the application of existing evidence and identify areas in need of further research and evaluation. This paper discusses the preliminary and refinement planning phases involved in the design of an educational program for a three-year breast self-examination demonstration/evaluation project. The initial phase involved review of empirical data of previous studies, and application of behavioral science theory and standards of professional practice. The refinement phase involved the application of results from a community diagnostic baseline survey of the target population. Factors found to correlate with BSE practice were integrated into the educational strategies: group sessions in classes and informal workshops, a breast exam clinic, and mass media activities.
Breast↗
Planned development and evaluation of AIDS/STD education for secondary school students in The Netherlands: short-term effects.
This study evaluated the effects of an AIDS/STD curriculum for 9th- and 10th-grade students in the Netherlands. Curriculum development was based on (1) theory-based need assessments among students and teachers, (2) pilot testing of data-based and theory-based methods and materials, and (3) cooperation between researchers and students, teachers, and gatekeepers within the school system. Using a quasi-experimental design, program effects on students' attitudes, beliefs, and sexual behavior were compared with those of current AIDS/STD education practice. The results indicated that the experimental curriculum had a stronger favorable impact on students' attitudes and beliefs regarding using condoms consistently. Regarding sexual risk behavior, a differential curriculum effect could be demonstrated. These findings support the contention that current AIDS/STD education can be improved by (1) using empirical data, (2) applying multiple theories from the social sciences, and (3) involving representatives within the school system in the development process.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
Value of pharmaceuticals: ensuring the future of research and development.
OBJECTIVE: To analyze the current situation under which the pharmaceutical industry is criticized for the production of drugs with potential adverse effects, the high prices of medicines, and aggressive marketing practices, and to provide a proposal to rectify the situation. DATA SOURCES: Published books, pharmaceutical journals, Web of Science database using the search terms pharmaceutical, research, development, marketing, cost, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Web site. SUMMARY: Most breakthroughs in the treatment of diseases and prolongation of lives have come about through pharmaceuticals discovered and developed by the pharmaceutical industry. While the process of discovering and developing new pharmaceuticals is lengthy, costly, and lacking any assurance of success, investment in research and development by the U.S. pharmaceutical industry has increased progressively, reaching 51.3 billion dollars in 2005. Yet the annual number of FDA approvals of new molecular entities (NMEs) has gradually decreased over the past 10 years. Additionally, a large part of the patent life of a successful NME is consumed during this lengthy development phase. Few businesses, if any, have such long product gestation lives and risks. For these reasons, the pharmaceutical industry is often in a rush to recoup its investment before the product's patent expires, and this is the root cause of many criticisms against the pharmaceutical industry. To rectify the current situation, a new system is proposed under which innovator pharmaceutical companies would be allowed royalties for their products after the expiration of patents, in a manner similar to the way in which other intellectual properties (such as books, music, films) are protected by copyright. Such a system would allow pharmaceutical companies to continue research on new pharmaceutical products unimpeded by the patent clock. CONCLUSION: Given appropriate legislative or other facilitatory actions, a royalty-based system for the marketing of generic products after the expiration of initial patents has the potential to promote innovation, provide for more thorough clinical studies, reduce prices, and share know-how. In addition, some of the issues related to the so-called aggressive pharmaceutical marketing practices would be resolved.
Biomedical Research↗
Some comments on the nature and use of the concept of psyche in psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychotherapy.
The term psyche is central to the field of mental health and dysfunction. And yet the term is seldom talked about directly, and is seldom elaborated by the professionals who function under its rubric. This article elaborates this term, and sets forth a definition for the purposes of psychology and psychodynamics as science in the sense of the establishment of psychological knowledge. Psyche is defined in this article as a hypothetical construct, as outlined in the classic article in the theory of psychological science by MacCorquodale and Meehl (1948). Psyche is to be distinguished from the concept of mind, which is identified here as a strictly phenomenological (subjective) concept. Use of psyche in this way allows it to be utilized in descriptions of its dynamics (psychodynamics), as a central concept in a science which utilizes phenomenological (subjective rather than objective) data.
Humans↗
The Dolly case, the Polly drug, and the morality of human cloning.
The year 1996 witnessed the cloning of the lamb Dolly, based on the revolutionary somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) technique, developed by researchers from the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland. This fact marked a relevant biotechnoscientific innovation, with probable significant consequences in the field of public health, since in principle it allows for expanding possibilities for the reproductive autonomy of infertile couples and carriers of diseases of mitochondrial origin. This article expounds on 1) the experiment's technical data and the theoretical implications for the biological sciences; 2) the public's perception thereof and the main international documents aimed at the legal and moral regulation of the technique; and 3) the moral arguments for and against cloning, from the point of view of consequentialist moral theory. We conclude that in the current stage of the debate on the morality of cloning, in which there are no cogent deontological arguments either for or against, weighing the probability of risks and benefits is the only reasonable way of dealing with the issue in societies that consider themselves democratic, pluralistic, and tolerant.
Animals↗
Lowering blood pressure to prevent myocardial infarction and stroke: a new preventive strategy.
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the screening performance of measuring blood pressure and other variables in identifying those who will develop, or die from, ischaemic heart disease and stroke. To quantify by how much drugs that lower blood pressure will reduce the risk of ischaemic heart disease and stroke in those designated 'screen positive'. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, Cochrane collaboration and Web of Science databases; Stroke registries; Health Survey for England; Office of National Statistics; BUPA (British United Provident Association) study. REVIEW METHODS: Relevant cohort studies and randomised trials were identified and analysed. Statistical analysis was used to determine drug efficacy and adverse effects. RESULTS: Lowering blood pressure by 5 mmHg diastolic reduces the risk of stroke by an estimated 34% and ischaemic heart disease by 21% from any pre-treatment level; there is no threshold. These estimates, from cohort studies, have been corroborated by the results of randomised trials in persons with high, average and below average levels of blood pressure. In spite of its importance in causing cardiovascular disease blood pressure is a poor predictor of cardiovascular events. Its poor screening performance is illustrated by the findings that in the largest cohort study, persons in the top 10% of the distribution of systolic blood pressure experienced only 21% of all ischaemic heart disease events and 28% of all strokes at a given age. Combining several reversible risk factors adds little to the screening performance of blood pressure alone; for example the 25% of men aged 5564 at highest computed risk (> or =1%) experience only 46% of all ischaemic heart disease events. The main methods of screening should be to identify all persons with a history of cardiovascular disease events (for example identifying patients at the time of hospital discharge following a first myocardial infarction detects 50% of all heart disease deaths in a population at a false positive rate of 12%), and to use a person's age. Identifying everyone with a history of myocardial infarction or stroke in a population and everyone aged 55 or more would include 98% of all deaths from ischaemic heart disease and stroke. The five main categories of blood pressure lowering drugs, thiazides, beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin-II receptor antagonists and calcium channel blockers, significantly reduce blood pressure from all pre-treatment levels though the extent of the blood pressure reduction increased with pre-treatment blood pressure. The reductions were similar at standard dose for the five categories; average reduction was 9.1 systolic and 5 diastolic. The effect of combinations of two drugs on blood pressure was additive. No effect of age was apparent, given blood pressure. There were no serious metabolic consequences of using these drugs in standard dose. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence presented indicates that three drugs in combination may reduce stroke by about two-thirds and ischaemic heart disease by half. The report suggests that the term hypertension should be avoided because it is not a disease and it implies another category (normotensives) who would not benefit from lowering blood pressure. Blood pressure reduction using combinations of safe, well-established drugs is effective in preventing cardiovascular events. It is therefore suggested that such preventive therapy be considered more widely in people who by virtue of existing disease or simply age are at risk of a heart attack or stroke regardless of initial blood pressure.
Antihypertensive Agents↗
Clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of neonatal screening for inborn errors of metabolism using tandem mass spectrometry: a systematic review.
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of tandem mass spectrometry (MS)-based neonatal screening for inborn errors of metabolism (IEM). DATA SOURCES: Fourteen electronic bibliographic databases covering biomedical, science, economic and grey literature, the reference lists of relevant articles and abstracts of conference proceedings and 18 health services research-related resources. REVIEW METHODS: This review is an update of two previous HTA reports of neonatal screening for IEM. These reports have been updated by a systematic review of published research (between 1995 and January 2002) on neonatal screening of inherited metabolic disorders using tandem MS. This was supplemented by a search for economic literature and the application of a modelling exercise to investigate the economics of using tandem MS within a neonatal screening programme in the UK. RESULTS: Evidence from the reviews of IEM found that the UK screening programme for phenylketonuria (PKU) was well established and there was universal agreement that neonatal screening for PKU was justified. Of the many other disorders that can be detected by tandem MS, the best candidate condition for a new screening programme was medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency. For many other IEM that can be detected by tandem MS, robust clinical evidence was limited. Cost-effectiveness analysis using economic modelling indicated that substituting the use of tandem MS for existing technologies for the screening of PKU alone could not be justified. However, results from the economic modelling indicate that the addition of screening for MCAD deficiency as part of a neonatal screening programme for PKU using tandem MS would be economically attractive. Using an operational range of 50,000-60,000 specimens per system per year, the mean incremental cost for PKU and MCAD deficiency screening combined using tandem MS from the model was -23,312 British pounds for each cohort of 100,000 neonates screened. This cost saving is associated with a mean incremental gain of 59 life-years. Additional economic modelling using the available evidence does not support including other inherited metabolic diseases within a neonatal screening programme at present. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence appears to support the introduction of tandem MS into a UK neonatal screening programme for PKU and MCAD deficiency combined. Tandem MS has the potential for simultaneous multi-disease screening using a single analytical technique. Although the marginal cost of extending the programme to include other conditions may be relatively small, the application of this new technology to PKU and MCAD deficiency screening does not imply the wholesale inclusion of all disorders detectable by tandem MS. It is suggested that the primary focus of further research should be on the long-term effectiveness of treatment strategies on adverse outcomes (disabilities and impairments) under conventional management and the potential impact of early diagnosis using tandem MS.
Cohort Studies↗
How Not to be Seen: Predicting Unseen Enzyme Functions using Contrastive Learning.
MOTIVATION: Predicting enzyme function from its sequence is still an unsolved problem in the life sciences. Moreover, with the explosion of annotated genome data, we are inundated with potential enzymatic sequences that have not yet been biochemically characterized. While it is not possible to assign a not-yet-existing label to such a sequence, there is high value in placing the sequence as accurately as possible in known function space. Doing so can help provide more accurate falsifiable hypotheses for experimentalists wishing to characterize enzymes from specific functional families. RESULTS: Here we present a contrastive learning algorithm for predicting enzyme function from sequence. Our method, EnzPlacer, predicts the third, second, and first EC numbers for a protein whose fourth EC number is not in the training corpus. This novel prediction mechanism accurately places a protein sequence within a narrowed-down functional context, even if the precise function remains unknown. AVAILABILITY: EnzPlacer is available from https://github.com/drxiangma/EnzPlacer under a GPL3 license.
Contrastive learning↗
Computer literacy and CSLT requirements.
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Canada↗