Scientific output trends in oral health in Brazil

Objective. To describe dental research trends in Brazil (especially population-based oral health) in the early Twenty-first Century. Methods. The abstracts of studies presented at meetings of the Brazilian Society for Dental Medicine Research (Sociedade Brasileira de Pesquisa Odontologica) from 2001-2006 were assessed in terms of methodological design (aggregate or population-based and individual-based studies, observational and intervention studies, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies); general type (literature review, studies with human subjects, and laboratory studies); and classification into one of the 19 specialty categories recognized by the Brazilian Federal Dentistry Council. Of the 10 406 abstracts presented in this period, 5 203 (50%) were reviewed. Results. Concerning methodological design, 87.5% of the abstracts referred to individual-based studies, whereas 12.5% were of aggregate studies. Concerning the general category, 41.7% referred to studies with human subjects. The remaining abstracts (58.3%) described in vitro (31.1%) or in vivo (23.6%) laboratory research and literature reviews (3.6%). Concerning the Council`s specialty categories, only five had a frequency higher than 10.0%: esthetic dentistry, periodontics, endodontics, pediatric dentistry, and population-based oral health. Conclusions. Brazil`s scientific output in the field of oral health for the period 2001-2006 was balanced, with increasing interest in the area of population-based oral health.

Scientific program of the Radioactive Ion Beams Facility in Brasil (RIBRAS)

The RIBRAS facility (Radioactive Ion Beams in Brasil) is installed in connection with the 8MV Pelletron tandem of the University of Sao Paulo Physics Institute. It consists of two superconducting solenoids which focalize light radioactive secondary beams of low energy, produced by transfer reactions. Recent experimental results include the elastic scattering and transfer reactions of (6)He halo nucleus on (9)Be, (27)Al, (51)V and (120)Sn targets. The elastic scattering and transfer of (8)Li and (7)Be on several targets is also being studied. The transfer reaction (8)Li(p,alpha)(5)He of astrophysical interest was also Studied in the E(cm)=0.2-2.5 MeV energy range.

Experiencing Science in Action: The Use of Exhibition Techniques in Guided Tours to a Scientific Laboratory

The current paper presents a study conducted at CERN, Switzerland, to investigate visitors' and tour guides' use and appreciation of existing panels at visit itinerary points. The results were used to develop a set of recommendations for constructing optimal panels to assist the guides' explanation.

Standardvårdplan ett instrument i palliativvård

Syftet med denna litteraturstudie är att beskriva hur standardvårdplaner, kan vara ett instrument som förbättrar omvårdnadskvalitén för patienter och närstående i sen palliativ fas.Artiklarna söktes via Högskolan Dalarnas bibliotek och Falu lasaretts bibliotek. Artiklar från andra referenser ingår också i studien. Totalt har 17 artiklar använts i resultatredovisningen. Resultatet visar att efter införandet av standardvårdplan förbättrades följande områden; symtomkontrollen, anhörigstöd efter dödsfallet, kommunikation, omvårdnadens standard och evidens. Fokus lades på att prioritera viktiga omvårdnadsåtgärder och det visar sig att standardvårdplanen Integrated Care Pathway (ICP) är ett användbart pedagogiskt instrument vid kvalitetsförbättringar i palliativvård. Negativa synpunkter som framkom var att standardvårdplaner är ett oflexibelt, pappersorienterat, generaliserande instrument och outvecklat för andra diagnoser än cancer.

Metoder och instrument för att mäta följsamheten till hygienföreskrifter : En litteraturöversikt

Syfte: Att genom vetenskaplig litteratur beskriva vilka metoder och instrument somanvänds inom hälso- och sjukvård för att mäta följsamheten tillhygienföreskrifter.Metod: Föreliggande studie har genomförts som en litteraturöversikt. Artiklar söktes viaCinahl, PubMed och Web Of Science.Resultat: Resultatet grundar sig på 14 artiklar. Fem kategorier av metoder beskrevs, medtio tillhörande instrument. I tio av studierna användes manuell observation sommätmetod. Två studier tog upp provtagning på ytor (ATP-mätning) för attutvärdera städrutiner. Även elektronisk observation, självskattning samt intervjubeskrevs. Instrumenten som beskrevs var fyra typer av observationsformulär, tvåtyper av ATP-mätare, två typer av enheter som registrerar elektroniska signaler,ett intervjuformulär samt ett självskattningsformulär.Slutsats: Att mäta följsamheten till hygienregler behöver inte vara svårt eller kostsamt,men kan hjälpa oss i arbetet mot en högre patientsäkerhet. Mätningar kan ge ossen bild av våra svaga punkter i följsamhet till hygienregler. I och med attsynliggöra svagheterna kan vi också arbeta med att förbättra dem.

Supervision as control system : the design of supervision as a regulatory instrument in the social services sector in Sweden

In this article, the prevailing official view of supervision as a regulatory instrument is examined as it applies to the social services sector in Sweden. The study is based on a comparison of the views expressed on the design of supervision as a regulatory instrument by two government commissions, the Supervision Commission and the Commission on Supervision within the Social Services (UTIS), and on the positions taken by the Government regarding the definitions of the concept of supervision proposed by these commissions. The view of supervision as a regulatory instrument expressed in these policy documents is analysed with the help of a theoretical framework describing the components, their functions and the governance characteristics of control systems. In the framework separate interrelated characteristics of the components are identified and summarized into two models of control systems. The analysis shows that supervision in the Swedish social services sector can be described in terms of both a disciplinary and non-disciplinary system. By its system theoretical basis and the identification of interrelated characteristics the study contributes to a broadened understanding of the construction and functions of supervision as a regulatory instrument and of how supervision within the Swedish social sector is meant to be designed.

A Note on Proxy Variables and Instrument Variable Regression

This is a note about proxy variables and instruments for identification of structural parameters in regression models. We have experienced that in the econometric textbooks these two issues are treated separately, although in practice these two concepts are very often combined. Usually, proxy variables are inserted in instrument variable regressions with the motivation they are exogenous. Implicitly meaning they are exogenous in a reduced form model and not in a structural model. Actually if these variables are exogenous they should be redundant in the structural model, e.g. IQ as a proxy for ability. Valid proxies reduce unexplained variation and increases the efficiency of the estimator of the structural parameter of interest. This is especially important in situations when the instrument is weak. With a simple example we demonstrate what is required of a proxy and an instrument when they are combined. It turns out that when a researcher has a valid instrument the requirements on the proxy variable is weaker than if no such instrument exists

Emergency department triage scales and their components : a systematic review of the scientific evidence

Emergency department (ED) triage is used to identify patients' level of urgency and treat them based on their triage level. The global advancement of triage scales in the past two decades has generated considerable research on the validity and reliability of these scales. This systematic review aims to investigate the scientific evidence for published ED triage scales. The following questions are addressed: 1. Does assessment of individual vital signs or chief complaints affect mortality during the hospital stay or within 30 days after arrival at the ED? 2. What is the level of agreement between clinicians' triage decisions compared to each other or to a gold standard for each scale (reliability)? 3. How valid is each triage scale in predicting hospitalization and hospital mortality? A systematic search of the international literature published from 1966 through March 31, 2009 explored the British Nursing Index, Business Source Premier, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and PubMed. Inclusion was limited to controlled studies of adult patients (≥15 years) visiting EDs for somatic reasons. Outcome variables were death in ED or hospital and need for hospitalization (validity). Methodological quality and clinical relevance of each study were rated as high, medium, or low. The results from the studies that met the inclusion criteria and quality standards were synthesized applying the internationally developed GRADE system. Each conclusion was then assessed as having strong, moderately strong, limited, or insufficient scientific evidence. If studies were not available, this was also noted. We found ED triage scales to be supported, at best, by limited and often insufficient evidence. The ability of the individual vital signs included in the different scales to predict outcome is seldom, if at all, studied in the ED setting. The scientific evidence to assess interrater agreement (reliability) was limited for one triage scale and insufficient or lacking for all other scales. Two of the scales yielded limited scientific evidence, and one scale yielded insufficient evidence, on which to assess the risk of early death or hospitalization in patients assigned to the two lowest triage levels on a 5-level scale (validity).

Connecting Scientific Data to Scientific Experiments with Provenance

As scientific workflows and the data they operate on, grow in size and complexity, the task of defining how those workflows should execute (which resources to use, where the resources must be in readiness for processing etc.) becomes proportionally more difficult. While "workflow compilers", such as Pegasus, reduce this burden, a further problem arises: since specifying details of execution is now automatic, a workflow's results are harder to interpret, as they are partly due to specifics of execution. By automating steps between the experiment design and its results, we lose the connection between them, hindering interpretation of results. To reconnect the scientific data with the original experiment, we argue that scientists should have access to the full provenance of their data, including not only parameters, inputs and intermediary data, but also the abstract experiment, refined into a concrete execution by the "workflow compiler". In this paper, we describe preliminary work on adapting Pegasus to capture the process of workflow refinement in the PASOA provenance system.

Análise da produção científica sobre dst/aids na área de enfermagem na base de dados scientific eletronic library online – scielo, no período de 1992 a 2008

O presente estudo trata de uma pesquisa quantitativa e descritiva que teve por objetivo caracterizar as produções científicas na área de enfermagem com os descritores “HIV and enfermagem”, “AIDS and Enfermagem”, “DST and enfermagem”, publicadas na Scientific Eletronic Library Online – SciELO, no período de 1992 à 2008. A amostra constitui-se de 40 publicações, sendo que 38 eram sobre HIV/AIDS e 2 sobre DST em geral. Foi verificado que o número de estudos tem aumentado nos últimos anos o que demonstra interesse por parte dos enfermeiros para pesquisar a temática. O Estado de São Paulo concentra a maior parte dos artigos publicados 85%. Na caracterização das publicações de acordo com a metodologia, 47,5%, eram estudos qualitativos o que pode traduzir a necessidade de identificar através da pesquisa os aspectos subjacentes a essas temáticas. Os sujeitos de estudo em 37,5% dos trabalhos eram mulheres e 57,5% haviam sido desenvolvidos com clientes soropositivos ao HIV/AIDS. Quanto ao objeto de estudo abordado pelos autores, 30% dos trabalhos pesquisaram o conhecimento dos clientes sobre DST/AIDS e 30% sobre a assistência de enfermagem.

The public choice sedition: variations on the theme of scientific warfare

Given a significant element of truth in "Public Choice", a modest element must be found when a similar approach is made to the behavior of economic scientists. Harry Johnson found this in "The Keynesian Revolution and the Monetarist Counter-Revolution". Following him, I find more in the Public Choice "Revolution" itself. The basic visions, assumptions and methods of the latter are appraised within its time-space stream. "Variations on a theme by Buchanan" or "The B- and F-Twist" could have been suggestive subtitles for this paper -- an embrycnic Economics of Knowledge, a complement to the Sociology of Knowledge.