Text mining for screening efficiency? Testing within a Cochrane public health review

Background The requirement for dual screening of titles and abstracts to select papers to examine in full text can create a huge workload, not least when the topic is complex and a broad search strategy is required, resulting in a large number of results. An automated system to reduce this burden, while still assuring high accuracy, has the potential to provide huge efficiency savings within the review process. Objectives To undertake a direct comparison of manual screening with a semi‐automated process (priority screening) using a machine classifier. The research is being carried out as part of the current update of a population‐level public health review. Methods Authors have hand selected studies for the review update, in duplicate, using the standard Cochrane Handbook methodology. A retrospective analysis, simulating a quasi‐‘active learning’ process (whereby a classifier is repeatedly trained based on ‘manually’ labelled data) will be completed, using different starting parameters. Tests will be carried out to see how far different training sets, and the size of the training set, affect the classification performance; i.e. what percentage of papers would need to be manually screened to locate 100% of those papers included as a result of the traditional manual method. Results From a search retrieval set of 9555 papers, authors excluded 9494 papers at title/abstract and 52 at full text, leaving 9 papers for inclusion in the review update. The ability of the machine classifier to reduce the percentage of papers that need to be manually screened to identify all the included studies, under different training conditions, will be reported. Conclusions The findings of this study will be presented along with an estimate of any efficiency gains for the author team if the screening process can be semi‐automated using text mining methodology, along with a discussion of the implications for text mining in screening papers within complex health reviews.

Professional spaces for pre-service teachers: sites of reality, imagination and resistance

Questions about the practicum within teacher education tend to focus on the amount of time allocated to it in programs. In this research, we were interested in the quality of the experience rather than assuming ‘more is better’. To understand what is going on and where, this study focussed on the school and specially the departmental office of room as a site for workplace learning. Using qualitative methods we constructed narratives from the data provided by a cohort of four-year bachelor degree pre-service teachers during and following their final major (10 week)practicum experience. Using theories of spatiality to make sense of the data, we found that the narratives revealed stories of spaces where compliance, disappointment were the key features of the practicum, and where resistance through absence (from the departmental office) was an important strategy to manage the experience. This research challenges the ‘more is better’ argument.

Testing times for the implementation of curriculum change: Analysis and extension of a curriculum change model

School curriculum change processes have traditionally been managed internally. However, in Queensland, Australia, as a response to the current high-stakes accountability regime, more and more principals are outsourcing this work to external change agents (ECAs). In 2009, one of the authors (a university lecturer and ECA) developed a curriculum change model (the Controlled Rapid Approach to Curriculum Change (CRACC)), specifically outlining the involvement of an ECA in the initiation phase of a school’s curriculum change process. The purpose of this paper is to extend the CRACC model by unpacking the implementation phase, drawing on data from a pilot study of a single school. Interview responses revealed that during the implementation phase, teachers wanted to be kept informed of the wider educational context; use data to constantly track students; relate pedagogical practices to testing practices; share information between departments and professional levels; and, own whole school performance. It is suggested that the findings would be transferable to other school settings and internal leadership of curriculum change. The paper also strikes a chord of concern – Do the responses from teachers operating in such an accountability regime live their professional lives within this corporate and globalised ideology whether they want to or not?

Secondary lymphoedema following cancer: Association with exercise barriers self-efficacy, and benefits of resistance and aerobic-based exercise

This research provides valuable insight into exercise barriers and prescription for individuals with cancer-related lymphoedema, particularly following breast cancer. Findings from this work demonstrate that by identifying and addressing exercise barriers, exercise confidence improves and, as such, enables longer-term exercise participation. Further, the findings demonstrating similar lymphoedema-related and physical and psychosocial benefits are achieved through participation in either resistance- or aerobic-based exercise highlights that exercise programs can be individualised, taking into consideration participants' interests, without jeopardising a woman's recovery and longer-term function, health, quality of life and survival.

Employee perceptions of alcohol and drug policy effectiveness: Policy features, concerns about drug testing, and the key role of preventative measures

As negative employee attitudes towards alcohol and other drug (AOD) policies may have serious consequences for organizations, the present study examined demographic and attitudinal dimensions leading to employees’ perceptions of AOD policy effectiveness. Survey responses were obtained from 147 employees in an Australian agricultural organization. Three dimensions of attitudes towards AOD policies were examined: knowledge of policy features, attitudes towards testing, and preventative measures such as job design and organizational involvement in community health. Demographic differences were identified, with males and blue-collar employees reporting significantly more negative attitudes towards the AOD policy. Attitude dimensions were stronger predictors of perceptions of policy effectiveness than demographics, and the strongest predictor was preventative measures. This suggests that organizations should do more than design adequate and fair AOD policies, and take a more holistic approach to AOD impairment by engaging in workplace design to reduce AOD use and promote a consistent health message to employees and the community.

Learning to lead: The development and testing of a model of leadership learning

Drawing upon an action learning perspective, we hypothesized that a leader’s learning of project leadership skills would be related to facilitative leadership, team reflexivity, and team performance. Secondly, we proposed that new and experienced leaders would differ in the amount they learn from their current and recent experience as project managers, and in the strength of the relationship between their self-reported learning, facilitative leadership, and team reflexivity. We conducted a 1-year longitudinal study of 50 R&D teams, led by 25 new and 25 experienced leaders, with 313 team members and 22 project customers, collecting both quantitative and qualitative data. We found evidence of a significant impact of the leader’s learning on subsequent facilitative leadership and team performance 8 and 12 months later, suggesting a lag between learning leadership skills and translating these skills into leadership behavior. The findings contribute to an understanding of how leaders consolidate their learned experience into facilitative leadership behavior.

Hip joint stabilization vs. propulsion and resistance in individuals with transfemoral amputation

Joint moments and joint powers are widely used to determine the effects of rehabilitation programs and prosthetic components (e.g., alignments). A complementary analysis of the 3D angle between joint moment and joint angular velocity has been proposed to assess whether the joints are predominantly driven or stabilized.

A conjugative plasmid carrying the carbapenem resistance gene blaOXA-23 in AbaR4 in an extensively resistant GC1 Acinetobacter baumannii isolate

OBJECTIVES: To locate the acquired bla(OXA-23) carbapenem resistance gene in an Australian A. baumannii global clone 1 (GC1) isolate. METHODS: The genome of the extensively antibiotic-resistant GC1 isolate A85 harbouring bla(OXA-23) in Tn2006 was sequenced using Illumina HiSeq, and the reads were used to generate a de novo assembly. PCR was used to assemble relevant contigs. Sequences were compared with ones in GenBank. Conjugation experiments were conducted. RESULTS: The sporadic GC1 isolate A85, recovered in 2003, was extensively resistant, exhibiting resistance to imipenem, meropenem and ticarcillin/clavulanate, to cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones and to the older antibiotics gentamicin, kanamycin and neomycin, sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim and tetracycline. Genes for resistance to older antibiotics are in the chromosome, in an AbaR3 resistance island. A second copy of the ampC gene in Tn6168 confers cephalosporin resistance and the gyrA and parC genes have mutations leading to fluoroquinolone resistance. An 86 335 bp repAci6 plasmid, pA85-3, carrying bla(OXA-23) in Tn2006 in AbaR4, was shown to transfer imipenem, meropenem and ticarcillin/clavulanate resistance into a susceptible recipient. A85 also contains two small cryptic plasmids of 2.7 and 8.7 kb. A85 is sequence type ST126 (Oxford scheme) and carries a novel KL15 capsule locus and the OCL3 outer core locus. CONCLUSIONS: A85 represents a new GC1 lineage identified by the novel capsule locus but retains AbaR3 carrying genes for resistance to older antibiotics. Resistance to imipenem, meropenem and ticarcillin/clavulanate has been introduced into A85 by pA85-3, a repAci6 conjugative plasmid carrying Tn2006 in AbaR4.

Testing and modifying a tool to measure nurses’ beliefs about aromatherapy

Aromatherapy has been found to have some effectiveness in treating conditions such as postoperative nausea and vomiting, however unless clinicians are aware of and convinced by this evidence, it is unlikely they will choose to use it with their patients. The aim of this study was to test and modify an existing tool, Martin and Furnham’s Beliefs About Aromatherapy Scale in order to make it relevant and meaningful for use with a population of nurses and midwives working in an acute hospital setting. A Delphi process was used to modify the tool and then it was tested in a population of nurses and midwives, then exploratory factor analysis was conducted. The modified tool is reliable and valid for measuring beliefs about aromatherapy in this population.

Structural complexity in structural health monitoring: Preliminary experimental modal testing and analysis

Many researchers in the field of civil structural health monitoring have developed and tested their methods on simple to moderately complex laboratory structures such as beams, plates, frames, and trusses. Field work has also been conducted by many researchers and practitioners on more complex operating bridges. Most laboratory structures do not adequately replicate the complexity of truss bridges. This paper presents some preliminary results of experimental modal testing and analysis of the bridge model presented in the companion paper, using the peak picking method, and compares these results with those of a simple numerical model of the structure. Three dominant modes of vibration were experimentally identified under 15 Hz. The mode shapes and order of the modes matched those of the numerical model; however, the frequencies did not match.

A technique for analysing GOOSE packets when testing relays in an IEC 61850-8-1 environment

While the implementation of the IEC 61850 standard has significantly enhanced the performance of communications in electrical substations, it has also increased the complexity of the system. Subsequently, these added elaborations have introduced new challenges in relation to the skills and tools required for the design, test and maintenance of 61850-compatible substations. This paper describes a practical experience of testing a protection relay using a non-conventional test equipment; in addition, it proposes a third party software technique to reveal the contents of the packets transferred on the substation network. Using this approach, the standard objects can be linked and interpreted to what the end-users normally see in the IED and test equipment proprietary software programs.

Performance-Based Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) Acceptance Procedures for In-Place Soil Testing Phase 3

One of the objectives of this study was to evaluate soil testing equipment based on its capability of measuring in-place stiffness or modulus values. As design criteria transition from empirical to mechanistic-empirical, soil test methods and equipment that measure properties such as stiffness and modulus and how they relate to Florida materials are needed. Requirements for the selected equipment are that they be portable, cost effective, reliable, a ccurate, and repeatable. A second objective is that the selected equipment measures soil properties without the use of nuclear materials.The current device used to measure soil compaction is the nuclear density gauge (NDG). Equipment evaluated in this research included lightweight deflectometers (LWD) from different manufacturers, a dynamic cone penetrometer (DCP), a GeoGauge, a Clegg impact soil tester (CIST), a Briaud compaction device (BCD), and a seismic pavement analyzer (SPA). Evaluations were conducted over ranges of measured densities and moistures.Testing (Phases I and II) was conducted in a test box and test pits. Phase III testing was conducted on materials found on five construction projects located in the Jacksonville, Florida, area. Phase I analyses determined that the GeoGauge had the lowest overall coefficient of variance (COV). In ascending order of COV were the accelerometer-type LWD, the geophone-type LWD, the DCP, the BCD, and the SPA which had the highest overall COV. As a result, the BCD and the SPA were excluded from Phase II testing.In Phase II, measurements obtained from the selected equipment were compared to the modulus values obtained by the static plate load test (PLT), the resilient modulus (MR) from laboratory testing, and the NDG measurements. To minimize soil and moisture content variability, the single spot testing sequence was developed. At each location, test results obtained from the portable equipment under evaluation were compared to the values from adjacent NDG, PLT, and laboratory MR measurements. Correlations were developed through statistical analysis. Target values were developed for various soils for verification on similar soils that were field tested in Phase III. The single spot testing sequence also was employed in Phase III, field testing performed on A-3 and A-2-4 embankments, limerock-stabilized subgrade, limerock base, and graded aggregate base found on Florida Department of Transportation construction projects. The Phase II and Phase III results provided potential trend information for future research—specifically, data collection for in-depth statistical analysis for correlations with the laboratory MR for specific soil types under specific moisture conditions. With the collection of enough data, stronger relationships could be expected between measurements from the portable equipment and the MR values. Based on the statistical analyses and the experience gained from extensive use of the equipment, the combination of the DCP and the LWD was selected for in-place soil testing for compaction control acceptance. Test methods and developmental specifications were written for the DCP and the LWD. The developmental specifications include target values for the compaction control of embankment, subgrade, and base materials.

Gendering occupations: Persistence and resistance of gender presumptions about members of particular healthcare professions

In spite of increasing gender diversity in employment roles, presumptions persist about the gender of people employed in particular occupations. Focusing on healthcare data collected in Australia and the United Kingdom within the past decade, we use Conversation Analysis (CA) to identify how presumptions about gender are displayed within social interaction through the use of gender-specific pronouns. We show how gender-specific pronouns are asymmetrically selected on the basis of a referent’s occupations, with gender-unspecified members of traditionally male occupations (e.g. doctors) referred to with masculine pronouns and gender-unspecified members of traditionally female occupations (e.g. nurses) referred to with feminine pronouns. We also explore ways people avoid making such presumptions. Our analysis therefore reveals a state of flux in contemporary social life, with instances in which gender presumptions persist as well as attempts to employ person references that reflect contemporary social dynamics.

Mechanisms of cisplatin resistance: DNA repair and cellular implications

Cisplatin (cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II)), is a platinum based chemotherapeutic employed in the clinic to treat patients with lung, ovarian, colorectal or head and neck cancers. Cisplatin acts to induce tumor cell death via multiple mechanisms. The best characterized mode of action is through irreversible DNA cross-links which activate DNA damage signals leading to cell death via the intrinsic mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. However, the primary issue with cisplatin is that while patients initially respond favorably, sustained cisplatin therapy often yields chemoresistance resulting in therapeutic failure. In this chapter, we review the DNA damage and repair pathways that contribute to cisplatin resistance. We also examine the cellular implications of cisplatin resistance that may lead to selection of subpopulations of cells within a tumor. In better understanding the mechanisms conferring cisplatin resistance, novel targets may be identified to restore drug sensitivity.

Comparative durability study of CFRP strengthened tubular steel members under cold weather

In strengthening systems, the CFRP (Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer) materials typically have excellent resistance against environmental conditions; however, the performance of adhesives between CFRP and steel is generally affected by various environmental conditions such as marine environment, cold and hot weather. This paper presents the comparative durability study of CFRP strengthened tubular steel structures by using two different adhesives such as MBrace saturant and Araldite K630 under four-point bending. The program consisted of testing twelve CFRP strengthened specimens having treated with epoxy based adhesion promoter, untreated surface and one unstrengthened specimen and conditioned under cold weather for 3 and 6 months to determine the environmental durability. The beams were then loaded to failure in quasi-static manner under four-point bending. The structural responses of CFRP strengthened tubular steel beams were compared in terms of failure load, stiffness and modes of failure. The research findings show that the cold weather immersion had adversely affected the durability of CFRP strengthened steel members. Design factor is also proposed to address the short-terms durability performance under cold weather.