Queensland government agency libraries review : literature review

Dr Gillian Hallam is project leader for the Queensland Government Agency Libraries Review. As an initial step in the project, a literature review was commissioned to guide the research activities and inform the development of options for potential future service delivery models for the Government agency libraries. The review presents an environmental scan and review of the professional and academic literature to consider a range of current perspectives on library and information services. Significant in this review is the focus on the specific issues and challenges impacting on contemporary government libraries and their staff. The review incorporates four key areas: current directions in government administration; trends in government library services; issues in contemporary special libraries; and the skills and competencies of special librarians. Rather than representing an exhaustive review, the research has primarily centred on recent journal articles, conference papers, reports and web resources. Commentary prepared by national and international library associations has also played a role informing this review, as does the relevant State and Federal government documentation and reporting.

Commonwealth government agency libraries review: Literature review

Ongoing financial, administrative, and technological changes present significant challenges and opportunities for government libraries in delivering services to their clients. Determining how government library and information services might best confront these challenges and take advantage of new opportunities is crucial for the future of the sector. The Australian Government Libraries Information Network (AGLIN) has commissioned a review of service delivery models in Commonwealth Government libraries. As an initial step in the project, a literature review was undertaken in order to consider the issues which impact directly on government library service provision today. The literature review builds on and updates the review prepared for the Queensland Government Agency Libraries Review (QGALR) five years ago.

Nurse staffing levels and the incidence of mortality and morbidity in the adult intensive care unit : a literature review

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that nurse staffing levels, among many other factors in the hospital setting, contribute to adverse patient outcomes. Concerns about patient safety and quality of care have resulted in numerous studies being conducted to examine the relationship between nurse staffing levels and the incidence of adverse patient events in both general wards and intensive care units. AIM: The aim of this paper is to review literature published in the previous 10 years which examines the relationship between nurse staffing levels and the incidence of mortality and morbidity in adult intensive care unit patients. METHODS: A literature search from 2002 to 2011 using the MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycINFO, and Australian digital thesis databases was undertaken. The keywords used were: intensive care; critical care; staffing; nurse staffing; understaffing; nurse-patient ratios; adverse outcomes; mortality; ventilator-associated pneumonia; ventilator-acquired pneumonia; infection; length of stay; pressure ulcer/injury; unplanned extubation; medication error; readmission; myocardial infarction; and renal failure. A total of 19 articles were included in the review. Outcomes of interest are patient mortality and morbidity, particularly infection and pressure ulcers. RESULTS: Most of the studies were observational in nature with variables obtained retrospectively from large hospital databases. Nurse staffing measures and patient outcomes varied widely across the studies. While an overall statistical association between increased nurse staffing levels and decreased adverse patient outcomes was not found in this review, most studies concluded that a trend exists between increased nurse staffing levels and decreased adverse events. CONCLUSION: While an overall statistical association between increased nurse staffing levels and decreased adverse patient outcomes was not found in this review, most studies demonstrated a trend between increased nurse staffing levels and decreased adverse patient outcomes in the intensive care unit which is consistent with previous literature. While further more robust research methodologies need to be tested in order to more confidently demonstrate this association and decrease the influence of the many other confounders to patient outcomes; this would be difficult to achieve in this field of research.

Writing an academic literature review

A presentation on how to write an academic literature review for SOES 6018. This module aims to ensure that MSc Oceanography, MSc Marine Science, Policy & Law and MSc Marine Resource Management students are equipped with the skills they need to function as professional marine scientists, in addition to / in conjuction with the skills training in other MSc modules. The module covers training in fieldwork techniques, communication & research skills, IT & data analysis and professional development.

A comparison of patient satisfaction between treatment with conventional complete dentures and overdentures in the elderly: a literature review

Background:It has been stated that mandibular overdentures are more satisfactory than conventional dentures, but problems relating to the use of retrospective ratings, lack of control group and sequential provision of treatment may compromise the findings.Objective:To establish a comparison between treatment with conventional complete dentures and implant-retained overdentures in elderly patients by conducting a literature review.Materials and methods:A search of English language peer-review literature was completed using Medline up to 2008 focusing on evidence-based research. Randomised clinical trials (RCTs) and longitudinal prospective studies were favoured in the review, using a general hierarchical classification. Articles that did not focus exclusively on the comparison of patient satisfaction between complete dentures and overdentures were excluded from further evaluation. The last search was conducted in February 2008. Key terms included quality of life, patient satisfaction, edentulism, complete denture and overdenture.Results:Among the 90 articles found in the initial search, 27 met the inclusion criteria. This included 18 RCTs and eight prospective and one cohort study. Most of the articles stated superiority of the mandibular implant-retained overdenture therapy over the conventional complete denture regarding patient satisfaction and quality of life.Conclusion:Even with implant treatment presenting higher patient satisfaction and improvement of quality of life, it was not possible to establish a direct comparison between the studies due to differences in adopted methodologies.

MTA versus Portland cement: review of literature

Introduction: Both Mineral Trioxide Aggregate (MTA) and Portland cement (PC) have been highlighted because of their favorable biological properties, with extensive applications in Endodontics, including the possibility of using into root canal filling. Objective: This article reviews literature related to MTA and PC comparing their physical, chemical and biological properties, as well as their indications. Literature review: Literature reports studies revealing the similarities between these materials’ properties, including both biocompatibility and bone repair induction. Moreover, there is the need for the development of a root canal sealer based on these materials (MTA and PC). Conclusion: MTA and CP show promissory perspective both in Dentistry and Endodontics.

Interventions for preventing and managing aggressive patients admitted to an acute hospital setting: A systematic review

Background: Violence in health care has been widely reported and health care workers, particularly nurses in acute care settings, are ill-equipped to manage patients who exhibit aggressive traits. Aim: The aim of this systematic review was to establish best practice in the prevention and management of aggressive behaviours in patients admitted to acute hospital settings. Data Sources: An extensive search of the major databases was conducted from 1990 to 2007. The search included published and unpublished studies and papers in English. Review Methods: This review considered any quantitative research study design that evaluated the effectiveness of interventions in the prevention and management of patients who exhibit aggressive behaviours in an acute hospital setting. Each included study was quality assessed by two independent reviewers and data were extracted using the relevant tools developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute. Results: Ten studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. The evidence identified from the studies includes: the benefit of education and training of acute care nurses in aggression management techniques; use of “as required” medications is effective in minimising harm to patients and staff; and that specific interventions such as physical restraint may play a role in managing aggressive behaviours from patients in the acute care setting. Conclusions: This review makes several recommendations for the prevention and management of aggressive behaviours in acute hospital patients. However, due to the lack of high-quality studies conducted in the acute care setting there is huge scope for future research in this area.

Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P) 2015: elaboration and explanation

Protocols of systematic reviews and meta-analyses allow for planning and documentation of review methods, act as a guard against arbitrary decision making during review conduct, enable readers to assess for the presence of selective reporting against completed reviews, and, when made publicly available, reduce duplication of efforts and potentially prompt collaboration. Evidence documenting the existence of selective reporting and excessive duplication of reviews on the same or similar topics is accumulating and many calls have been made in support of the documentation and public availability of review protocols. Several efforts have emerged in recent years to rectify these problems, including development of an international register for prospective reviews (PROSPERO) and launch of the first open access journal dedicated to the exclusive publication of systematic review products, including protocols (BioMed Central's Systematic Reviews). Furthering these efforts and building on the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) guidelines, an international group of experts has created a guideline to improve the transparency, accuracy, completeness, and frequency of documented systematic review and meta-analysis protocols--PRISMA-P (for protocols) 2015. The PRISMA-P checklist contains 17 items considered to be essential and minimum components of a systematic review or meta-analysis protocol.This PRISMA-P 2015 Explanation and Elaboration paper provides readers with a full understanding of and evidence about the necessity of each item as well as a model example from an existing published protocol. This paper should be read together with the PRISMA-P 2015 statement. Systematic review authors and assessors are strongly encouraged to make use of PRISMA-P when drafting and appraising review protocols.

MOOCs: a systematic study of the published literature 2008-2012

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are a recent addition to the range of online learning options. Since 2008, MOOCs have been run by a variety of public and elite universities, especially in North America. Many academics have taken interest in MOOCs recognising the potential to deliver education around the globe on an unprecedented scale; some of these academics are taking a research-oriented perspective and academic papers describing their research are starting to appear in the traditional media of peer reviewed publications. This paper presents a systematic review of the published MOOC literature (2008-2012): Forty-five peer reviewed papers are identified through journals, database searches, searching the Web, and chaining from known sources to form the base for this review. We believe this is the first effort to systematically review literature relating to MOOCs, a fairly recent but massively popular phenomenon with a global reach. The review categorises the literature into eight different areas of interest, introductory, concept, case studies, educational theory, technology, participant focussed, provider focussed, and other, while also providing quantitative analysis of publications according to publication type, year of publication, and contributors. Future research directions guided by gaps in the literature are explored.

Cholesterol-lowering management of stroke : inconsistencies of evidence and practice

Cholesterol-lowering treatment by statins is an important and costly issue; however, its role in stroke has not been well documented. The aim of the present study was to review literature and current practice regarding cholesterol-lowering treatment for stroke patients. A literature review was conducted on lipids in stroke and their management with both statins and diet, including the cost-effectiveness of medical nutrition therapy. Qualifying criteria and prescription procedures of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) were also reviewed. Data on lipid levels and statin prescriptions were analysed for 468 patients admitted to a stroke unit. The literature shows that management with both medication and diet can be effective, especially when combined; however, 60% of patients with an ischaemic event had fasting total cholesterol measures ≥4 mmol/L (n = 231), with only 52% prescribed statins on discharge (n = 120). Hypercholesterolaemia is an underdiagnosed and undertreated risk factor within the stroke population. It appears that the PBS has not kept pace with advances in the evidence in terms of statin use in the stroke population, and review is needed. The present review should address the qualifying criteria for the stroke population and recommendations on referral to dietitians for dietary advice. Cholesterol-lowering treatment for both stroke patients and the wider population is an area that needs awareness raising and review by the PBS, medical practitioners and dietitians. The role of dietary and pharmacological treatments needs to be clearly defined, including adjunct therapy, and the cost-effectiveness of medical nutrition therapy realised.

Understanding past climate variation and environmental change for the future of an iconic landscape – K'gari Fraser Island, Queensland, Australia

The unique combination of landscapes and processes that are present and operate on Fraser Island (K'gari) create a dynamic setting that is capable of recording past environmental events, climate variations and former landscapes. Likewise, its geographic position makes Fraser Island sensitive to those events and processes. Based on optically stimulated luminescence dating, the records archived within the world's largest sand island span a period that has the potential to exceed 750 ka and contain specific records that are of extremely high resolution over the past 40,000 years. This is due to the geographic position of Fraser Island, which lies in the coastal subtropical region of Queensland Australia. Fraser Island is exposed to the open ocean currents of the Coral Sea on the east coast and the waters of Hervey Bay on its western margin and is positioned to receive moisture from the Indo-Australian monsoon, southeast trade winds and experiences occasional tropical and ex-tropical cyclones. We review literature that presents the current level of understanding of sea level change, ecological variation and environmental change on Fraser Island. The previous works illustrate the importance of Fraser Island and may link processes, environments and climates on Fraser Island with global records.

Polymorphisms in the vascular endothelial growth factor gene and the risk of familial endometriosis

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an endothelial cell-specific angiogenic protein suspected to be involved in the pathogenesis of endometriosis by establishing a new blood supply to the human exfoliated endometrium. Several transcription factor-binding sites are found in the VEGF 5'-untranslated region and variation within the region increases the transcriptional activity. Six previous studies which tested between one and three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in samples comprising 105-215 cases and 100-219 controls have produced conflicting evidence for association between the SNPs in the VEGF region and endometriosis. To further investigate the reported association between VEGF variants and endometriosis, we tested the four VEGF polymorphisms (-2578 A/C, rs699947; -460 T/C, rs833061; +405 G/C, rs2010963 and +936 C/T, rs3025039) in a large Australian sample of 958 familial endometriosis cases and 959 controls. We also conducted a literature-based review of all relevant association studies of these VEGF SNPs in endometriosis and performed a meta-analysis. There was no evidence for association between endometriosis and the VEGF polymorphisms genotyped in our study. Combined association results from a meta-analysis did not provide any evidence for either genotypic or allelic association with endometriosis. Our detailed review and meta-analysis of the VEGF polymorphisms suggests that genotyping assay problems may underlie the previously reported associations between VEGF variants and endometriosis.

Erros pré-analíticos em medicina laboratorial: uma revisão sistemática

MENEZES, Patrick Lourenço. Erros pré-analíticos em medicina laboratorial: uma revisão sistemática. 2013. 98 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Saúde, Medicina Laboratorial e Tecnologia Forense) - Instituto de Biologia Roberto Alcântara Gomes, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 2013. A relevância evidente dos erros pré-analíticos como problema de saúde pública fica patente tanto no dano potencial aos pacientes quanto nos custos ao sistema de saúde, ambos desnecessários e evitáveis. Alguns estudos apontam que a fase pré-analítica é a mais vulnerável a erros, sendo responsável por, aproximadamente, 60 a 90% dos erros laboratoriais em consequência da falta orientação aos pacientes sobre os procedimentos que serão realizados no laboratório clínico. Objetivos: Sistematizar as evidências científicas relacionadas aos erros pré-analíticos dos exames laboratoriais de análises clínicas. Método: Uma revisão sistemática foi realizada, buscando as bases de dados do Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), Scopus(que inclui MEDLINE e Embase), ISI Web of Knowledge, SciFinder, Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (Lilacs) (que inclui a Scientific Electronic Library Online SciELO) e o Índice Bibliográfico Espanhol de Ciências de Saúde (IBECS), para artigos publicados entre janeiro de 1990 e junho de 2012 sobre erros de exames laboratoriais que possam ocorrer na fase pré-analítica. Os estudos foram incluídos de acordo com os seguintes exames laboratoriais: hemograma, análise bioquímica do sangue total ou do soro, exames de coagulação sanguínea,uroanálise e exames hematológicos ou bioquímicos em outros materiais e categorizados pelo tipo de erro pré-analítico e pela frequência dos incidentes. Resultados: A busca nas bases de dados bibliográficas resultou no seguinte número de artigos recuperados: 547 na MEDLINE, 229 na Scopus, 110 na ISI, 163 na SciFinder, 228 na Lilacs e 64 na IBECS, perfazendo um total de 1.341 títulos. Ao fim da revisão sistemática, obteve-se um conjunto de 83 artigos para leitura de texto completo, dos quais 14 foram incluídos na revisão. Os estudos abrangeram diferentes tipos de laboratórios, setores técnicos e origem de erros, segundo a fase do processo laboratorial. Discussão: Sete artigos demonstraram erros de pedidos médicos, com uma alta variabilidade nos valores de incidência. Os seis artigos que estudaram erros de coleta de amostra observaram redução deste desfecho. As proporções de eventos adversos relatados e os impactos clínicos variaram, levando a consequências descritas como: erros decorrentes da flebotomia, recoleta de amostras, repetições de exames, atrasos na liberação de resultados de exames e possíveis danos ao paciente. Conclusões: O laboratório deve ter instruções por escrito para cada teste, que descreva o tipo de amostra e procedimento de coleta de amostra. Meios de identificação por código de barras, sistemas robóticos e analíticos reduzem os erros pré-analíticos. A melhoria da fase pré-analítica de testes laboratoriais permanece um desafio para muitos laboratórios clínicos.

Energy efficiency policies: A retrospective examination

We review literature on several types of energy efficiency policies: appliance standards, financial incentive programs, information and voluntary programs, and management of government energy use. For each, we provide a brief synopsis of the relevant programs, along with available existing estimates of energy savings, costs, and cost-effectiveness at a national level. The literature examining these estimates points to potential issues in determining the energy savings and costs, but recent evidence suggests that techniques for measuring both have improved. Taken together, the literature identifies up to four quads of energy savings annually from these programs - at least half of which is attributable to appliance standards and utility-based demand-side management, with possible additional energy savings from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) ENERGY STAR, Climate Challenge, and Section 1605b voluntary programs to reduce carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions. Related reductions in CO 2 and criteria air pollutants may contribute an additional 10% to the value of energy savings above the price of energy itself. Copyright © 2006 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved.