Accuracy and self correction of information received from an internet breast cancer list: content analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of false or misleading statements in messages posted by internet cancer support groups and whether these statements were identified as false or misleading and corrected by other participants in subsequent postings. DESIGN: Analysis of content of postings. SETTING: Internet cancer support group Breast Cancer Mailing List. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number of false or misleading statements posted from 1 January to 23 April 2005 and whether these were identified and corrected by participants in subsequent postings. RESULTS: 10 of 4600 postings (0.22%) were found to be false or misleading. Of these, seven were identified as false or misleading by other participants and corrected within an average of four hours and 33 minutes (maximum, nine hours and nine minutes). CONCLUSIONS: Most posted information on breast cancer was accurate. Most false or misleading statements were rapidly corrected by participants in subsequent postings.

CYTOGENETIC AND DNA CONTENT ANALYSIS IN MULTIPLE MYELOMA

In this dissertation, the cytogenetic characteristics of bone marrow cells from 41 multiple myeloma patients were investigated. These cytogenetic data were correlated with the total DNA content as measured by flow cytometry. Both the cytogenetic information and DNA content were then correlated with clinical data to determine if diagnosis and prognosis of multiple myeloma could be improved.^ One hundred percent of the patients demonstrated abnormal chromosome numbers per metaphase. The average chromosome number per metaphase ranged from 42 to 49.9, with a mean of 44.99. The percent hypodiploidy ranged from 0-100% and the percent hyperdiploidy from 0-53%. Detailed cytogenetic analyses were very difficult to perform because of the paucity of mitotic figures and the poor chromosome morphology. Thus, detailed chromosome banding analysis on these patients was impossible.^ Thirty seven percent of the patients had normal total DNA content, whereas 63% had abnormal amounts of DNA (one patient with less than normal amounts and 25 patients with greater than normal amounts of DNA).^ Several clinical parameters were used in the statistical analyses: tumor burden, patient status at biopsy, patient response status, past therapy, type of treatment and percent plasma cells. Only among these clinical parameters were any statistically significant correlations found: pretreatment tumor burden versus patient response, patient biopsy status versus patient response and past therapy versus patient response.^ No correlations were found between percent hypodiploid, diploid, hyperdiploid or DNA content, and the patient response status, nor were any found between those patients with: (a) normal plasma cells, low pretreatment tumor mass burden and more than 50% of the analyzed metaphases with 46 chromosomes; (b) normal amounts of DNA, low pretreatment tumor mass burden and more than 50% of the metaphases with 46 chromosomes; (c) normal amounts of DNA and normal quantities of plasma cells; (d) abnormal amounts of DNA, abnormal amounts of plasma cells, high pretreatment tumor mass burden and less than 50% of the metaphases with 46 chromosomes.^ Technical drawbacks of both cytogenetic and DNA content analysis in these multiple myeloma patients are discussed along with the lack of correlations between DNA content and chromosome number. Refined chromosome banding analysis awaits technical improvements before we can understand which chromosome material (if any) makes up the "extra" amounts of DNA in these patients. None of the correlations tested can be used as diagnostic or prognostic aids for multiple myeloma. ^

A comparative state policy analysis of the adoption of birth defects surveillance legislation

Birth defects are the leading cause of infant mortality in the United States and are a major cause of lifetime disability. However, efforts to understand their causes have been hampered by a lack of population-specific data. During 1990–2004, 22 state legislatures responded to this need by proposing birth defects surveillance legislation (BDSL). The contrast between these states and those that did not pass BDSL provides an opportunity to better understand conditions associated with US public health policy diffusion. ^ This study identifies key state-specific determinants that predict: (1) the introduction of birth defects surveillance legislation (BDSL) onto states' formal legislative agenda, and (2) the successful adoption of these laws. Secondary aims were to interpret these findings in a theoretically sound framework and to incorporate evidence from three analytical approaches. ^ The study begins with a comparative case study of Texas and Oregon (states with divergent BDSL outcomes), including a review of historical documentation and content analysis of key informant interviews. After selecting and operationalizing explanatory variables suggested by the case study, Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) was applied to publically available data to describe important patterns of variation among 37 states. Results from logistic regression were compared to determine whether the two methods produced consistent findings. ^ Themes emerging from the comparative case study included differing budgetary conditions and the significance of relationships within policy issue networks. However, the QCA and statistical analysis pointed to the importance of political parties and contrasting societal contexts. Notably, state policies that allow greater access to citizen-driven ballot initiatives were consistently associated with lower likelihood of introducing BDSL. ^ Methodologically, these results indicate that a case study approach, while important for eliciting valuable context-specific detail, may fail to detect the influence of overarching, systemic variables, such as party competition. However, QCA and statistical analyses were limited by a lack of existing data to operationalize policy issue networks, and thus may have downplayed the impact of personal interactions. ^ This study contributes to the field of health policy studies in three ways. First, it emphasizes the importance of collegial and consistent relationships among policy issue network members. Second, it calls attention to political party systems in predicting policy outcomes. Finally, a novel approach to interpreting state data in a theoretically significant manner (QCA) has been demonstrated.^