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Innovative Methods (innovative + methods)
Selected AbstractsThe use of transient pressure analysis at the Dounreay Shaft Isolation Project.GEOMECHANICS AND TUNNELLING, Issue 5 2009Die Verwendung der Analyse instationärer Druckentwicklung am Dounreay Schachtabdichtungsprojekt Grouting; Innovative methods; Injektionen; Neue Verfahren Abstract This paper provides an assessment of the use of pressure fall-off data during the Dounreay Shaft Isolation Project. The instrumentation controlling the injection of grout monitors and records both the pressure and the flow rate throughout the process, so pressure fall-off data is collected during any pauses to, and at the end of, each grout injection. The shapes of the pressure fall-off vs time curves have been examined qualitatively and categorised. The fall-off data has also been examined using PanSystem well test software, which creates the pressure change and pressure derivative curves, then attempts to simulate the fall-off curve by iteration after selection of a flow and boundary model chosen from the wide range available. The implications that the shapes of the pressure and derivative curves and the flow and boundary models have for the grout curtain have been examined. The caveats that surround the quantitative use of results from Pan-System analyses for a cement grout rather than a Newtonian fluid are discussed. Diese Veröffentlichung handelt von der Beurteilung des Einsatzes und der Analyse von Daten zum Druckabfall im Zuge der Injektion am Schachtabdichtungsprojekt Dounreay, Schottland, UK. Die Instrumentation der Baustelle war darauf ausgelegt, Messwerte von Druck und Injektionsrate anzuzeigen, aufzuzeichnen und als Diagramm darzustellen. Damit war es möglich, in jeder Injektionsunterbrechung (also bei Rate = Null) und zu jedem Passenende Druckabfalldaten aufzuzeichnen. Die Form dieser Druckabfallkurven gegen die Zeit wurde qualitativ untersucht und kategorisiert. Eine weitere Interpretation dieser Daten erfolgte mittels des Programms "PanSystem". Bei dieser Methodik werden die Druckänderungen über kleine Zeitinkremente errechnet und deren Ableitung über die Zeit in Kurvenform dargestellt. Durch iterative Simulation und Eingabe von Randbedingungen ("boundaries") für das jeweilige Strömungsmodell , ausgewählt aus einer weiten Bandbreite von Möglichkeiten , ergibt sich die Möglichkeit, u. a. die Strömungsdimension, Strömungshindernisse und Reichweite der Injektion zu prognostizieren. Die daraus gezogenen Schlüsse für den Injektionsschirm wurden für die qualitative Abnahme der Arbeiten mitverwendet. In dem vorliegenden Artikel wird auch auf die möglichen Vorbehalte eingegangen, die sich aus den rheologischen Abweichungen von Injektionsmischungen gegenüber einer Newtonschen Flüssigkeit ergeben. [source] Options in Prehospital analgesiaEMERGENCY MEDICINE AUSTRALASIA, Issue 1 2002Meredith L Borland Abstract Background: Prehospital analgesia options for paramedics have been limited due to the difficulty in achieving safe and effective pain relief without compromising transportation to hospital. The present paper identifies the analgesia methods currently available in the prehospital setting so as to evaluate the various options and highlight areas for future research. Methods: A literature review of Medline and Embase databases from 1966 until the present was undertaken. Further hand searching of all the references identified in these papers was also performed. All current literature was analysed and categorized according to one of four levels of evidence using National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia guidelines (1999). Results: There is a paucity of randomized control trials relating to prehospital analgesia. All published literature was level III or IV prospective or retrospective studies. Drug options used included nitrous oxide/oxygen mixtures, intravenous/intramuscular nalbuphine, intravenous tramadol and intravenous pure opiate agonists. Conclusions: The evidence supporting analgesic options in the prehospital setting is limited. There are few published data in this area despite the inadequacy of pain relief being recognized as a weakness in prehospital care. Prehospital analgesia is an area worthy of innovative methods for the administration of safe and effective analgesics without significant impact on transport times. Such methods should be prospectively evaluated in well-constructed trials. [source] Automobility and the Geographies of the CarGEOGRAPHY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 2 2009Peter Merriman The motor car or automobile has had a profound impact on global mobility, settlement patterns, the global economy, and the environment. Transport policy-makers and environmentalists highlight the unsustainable nature of contemporary petrol-car usage, yet despite widespread calls to rethink contemporary automobility and move towards more sustainable forms of public and private travel, it is only in recent years that social scientists have started to examine the social and cultural geography of the motor car, driving and the spaces of the street, road and motorway in any depth. In this article, I outline some of the research which has been undertaken on the geographies and sociologies of the spaces and practices of driving, focusing in particular on the UK. First, the article outlines the major impact the motor car has had on the geographies of road space. It examines how motor roads have shaped our experience of space and place, and outlines studies of their design, inhabitation, and regulation. Second, this article discusses embodied inhabitations of the spaces of the car: how motor cars have been consumed; how they have shaped our embodied apprehensions of our surroundings; and how they facilitate social and cultural relations. Finally, this article concludes by examining the innovative methods which are increasingly being utilised and developed by social scientists to explore the socialities of automotive spaces. [source] What choices should we be able to make about designer babies?HEALTH EXPECTATIONS, Issue 3 2006A Citizens' Jury of young people in South Wales Abstract Background, Young people will increasingly have the option of using new technologies for reproductive decision making but their voices are rarely heard in debates about acceptable public policy in this area. Capturing the views of young people about potentially esoteric topics, such as genetics, is difficult and methodologically challenging. Design, A Citizens' Jury is a deliberative process that presents a question to a group of ordinary people, allows them to examine evidence given by expert witnesses and personal testimonies and arrive at a verdict. This Citizens' Jury explored designer babies in relation to inherited conditions, saviour siblings and sex selection with young people. Participants, Fourteen young people aged 16,19 in Wales. Results, Acceptance of designer baby technology was purpose-specific; it was perceived by participants to be acceptable for preventing inherited conditions and to create a child to save a sibling, but was not recommended for sex selection. Jurors stated that permission should not depend on parents' age, although some measure of suitability should be assessed. Preventing potential parents from going abroad was considered impractical. These young people felt the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority should have members under 20 and that the term ,designer baby' was not useful. Conclusions, Perspectives on the acceptability of this technology were nuanced, and based on implicit value judgements about the extent of individual benefit derived. Young people have valuable and interesting contributions to make to the debate about genetics and reproductive decision making and a variety of innovative methods must be used to secure their involvement in decision-making processes. [source] New school in liver development: Lessons from zebrafish,HEPATOLOGY, Issue 5 2009Jaime Chu There is significant overlap in the genes and pathways that control liver development and those that regulate liver regeneration, hepatic progenitor cell expansion, response to injury, and cancer. Additionally, defects in liver development may underlie some congenital and perinatal liver diseases. Thus, studying hepatogenesis is important for understanding not only how the liver forms, but also how it functions. Elegant work in mice has uncovered a host of transcription factors and signaling molecules that govern the early steps of hepatic specification; however, the inherent difficulty of studying embryogenesis in utero has driven developmental biologists to seek new systems. The rapidly developing vertebrate zebrafish is a favorite model for embryology. The power of forward genetic screens combined with live real-time imaging of development in transparent zebrafish embryos has highlighted conserved processes essential for hepatogenesis and has uncovered some exciting new players. This review presents the advantages of zebrafish for studying liver development, underscoring how studies in zebrafish and mice complement each other. In addition to their value for studying development, zebrafish models of hepatic and biliary diseases are expanding, and using these small, inexpensive embryos for drug screening has become de rigueur. Zebrafish provide a shared platform for developmental biology and translational research, offering innovative methods for studying liver development and disease. The story of hepatogenesis has something for everyone. It involves transcriptional regulation, cell-cell interaction, signaling pathways, control of cell proliferation and apoptosis, plus morphogenic processes that sculpt vasculature, parenchymal cells, and mesenchyme to form the multifaceted liver. Decades of research on liver development in mice and other vertebrates offer valuable lessons in how the multipotent endoderm is programmed to form a functional liver. Of equal importance are insights that have illuminated the mechanisms by which hepatic progenitors are activated in a damaged liver, how the adult liver regenerates, and, possibly, the basis for engineering liver cells in vitro for cell transplantation to sustain patients with liver failure. Moreover, processes that are key to liver development are often co-opted during pathogenesis. Therefore, reviewing hepatogenesis is informative for both basic and translational researchers. In this review, we bring to light the many advantages offered by the tropical freshwater vertebrate zebrafish (Danio rerio) in studying hepatogenesis. By comparing zebrafish and mice, we highlight how work in each system complements the other and emphasize novel paradigms that have been uncovered using zebrafish. Finally, we highlight exciting efforts using zebrafish to model hepatobiliary diseases. (HEPATOLOGY 2009.) [source] The care of older people with dementia in acute hospitalsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OLDER PEOPLE NURSING, Issue 2 2010BA(Hons), DProf, Fiona Cowdell RN cowdell f. (2010) The care of older people with dementia in acute hospitals. International Journal of Older People Nursing 5, 83,92. Aim., To explore the experiences of patients and nursing staff of the care received by older people with dementia in acute hospitals. Background., The prevalence of dementia is steadily increasing as is the number of people with the condition requiring acute hospital care. Significant concerns about the quality of this care have been raised. There is a paucity of knowledge about the views of such care from the perspectives of people with dementia and nurses. Method., An ethnographic approach was used and data were collected thorough observation and interviews in one acute hospital in the United Kingdom. Findings., Findings suggest that care for older people with dementia in acute hospitals is not always optimum although there are clear exceptions. Generally, people with dementia found the delivery of care and the experience of being in hospital distressing as they did not know what was happening and they were often ignored. Nurses strive to give good care but do not always achieve this. Conclusion., Bourdieu's Model of Practice assists in explaining why care is as it is. There is a clear need to improve current practice. Relevance to clinical practice., It is imperative that innovative methods of developing practice are implemented and evaluated. Education alone will not lead to sustained changes in practice. Further research into this subject needs to be undertaken. [source] Beyond skin feel: innovative methods for developing complex sensory profiles with siliconesJOURNAL OF COSMETIC DERMATOLOGY, Issue 1 2006Isabele Van Reeth Summary In today's competitive skin care market, formulators strive to meet consumer demand for products that combine performance with superior esthetics. Although skin feel has always been a key esthetic parameter, consumers increasingly select products based on a more complete sensory experience, including texture, scent, visual esthetics in the container, tactile effects on application, and the performance of active ingredients such as vitamins or sunscreen. [source] Patients' satisfaction with outpatient psychiatric careJOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRIC & MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, Issue 2 2003U. SIPONEN The purpose of this study was to describe patient satisfaction with outpatient psychiatric care in two community care clinics in Finland. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire from 300 outpatients between February and March 2000. A total of 171 patients returned completed questionnaires (response rate 57%). The data analysis was based on descriptive statistics, chi-square test, the Mann,Whitney U -test and the Kruskal,Wallis test. Item homogeneity was analysed using Cronbach alpha coefficient. The results showed that patient satisfaction was highest in areas pertaining to staff and care discussions, and lowest in areas pertaining to information. Patients who considered the wait for treatment to be too long were more dissatisfied with staff, their chance of influencing their own care, and the help they received, compared with patients who considered the wait to be reasonable in length. We can conclude that although patients are quite satisfied with their outpatient treatment in general, the patient information process is not at a satisfactory level at outpatient psychiatric clinics. In the future, more emphasis should be put on developing more innovative methods to increase psychiatric patients' knowledge level regarding their own illness and treatment. [source] Innovative Techniques for Placement of Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Leads in Patients with Limited Venous Access to the HeartPACING AND CLINICAL ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 2 2006BRYAN C. CANNON Background: Because of venous occlusion, intracardiac shunting, previous surgery, or small size placement of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) leads may not be possible using traditional methods. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and describe innovative methods of placing ICD leads. Methods: The records of all patients undergoing ICD implantation at our institution were reviewed to identify patients with nontraditional lead placement. Indications for ICD, method of lead and coil placement, defibrillation thresholds, complications, and follow-up results were reviewed retrospectively. Results: Eight patients (aged 11 months to 29 years) were identified. Six patients with limited venous access to the heart (four extracardiac Fontan, one bidirectional Glenn, one 8 kg 11-month-old) underwent surgical placement of an ICD coil directly into the pericardial sac. A second bipolar lead was placed on the ventricle for sensing and pacing. Two patients with difficult venous access had a standard transvenous ICD lead inserted directly into the right atrium (transatrial approach) and then positioned into the ventricle. All patients had a defibrillation threshold of <20 J, although one patient required placement of a second coil due to an elevated threshold. There have been no complications and two successful appropriate ICD discharges at follow-up (median 22 months, range 5,42 months). Conclusions: Many factors may prohibit transvenous ICD lead placement. Nontraditional surgical placement of subcutaneous ICD leads on the pericardium or the use of a transatrial approach can be effective techniques in these patients. These procedures can be performed at low risk to the patient with excellent defibrillation thresholds. [source] Teaching Instructional Design: An Action Learning ApproachPERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2001Brenda Bannan-Ritland ABSTRACT Many theorists and practitioners are calling for more authentically based teaching approaches in the preparation of instructional designers and performance technologists to address the complexity of the field's practice. Although many innovative methods have been incorporated into the study of instructional design and development and human performance technology, including case studies and applied experiences with collaborative groups, among others, the majority of teaching approaches are limited to the time constraints and format of the traditional university classroom setting. This paper discusses an alternative teaching approach that incorporates action learning principles along with authentic project-based methods into the full-time study of instructional design. The paper reviews action learning principles and highlights the commonalties between these principles and the application of the practice and teaching of the instructional design process in an authentic manner. Finally, the implementation of action learning principles within a graduate program in instructional technology is described. Action learning principles may be applied to many content areas; however, the highly complementary nature of this specific methodology to the teaching and practice of instructional design may have the potential to improve greatly our preparation of professionals in the complex work environments characteristic of this and related disciplines. As a valuable component of performance technology skills, training in instructional design methods based on an action learning approach may have broad implications for both the preparation of instructional designers and performance technologists. [source] Population-based research on occupational and environmental factors for leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: The Northern Germany Leukemia and Lymphoma Study (NLL),AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 4 2008W. Hoffmann MPH Abstract Background The Northern Germany Leukemia and Lymphoma Study (NLL) is a population-based study designed to provide a quantitative basis for investigations into occupational and environmental risk factors for leukemia and lymphoma. Methods All incident cases of leukemia and lymphoma diagnosed between 1/1/1986 and 12/31/1998 in six counties in Northern Germany were actively ascertained. Controls were selected from population registries. Use of pesticides, sources of food supply, time spent at home and work, medical and family history were assessed via face-to-face interview. This self-reported information was used in conjunction with direct environmental measurements of pesticides in household dust and electromagnetic fields (EMFs). In addition, geographical information system (GIS) data were used to derive estimates of environmental exposure to pesticides, EMFs associated with transmission lines, and ionizing radiation from routine nuclear power reactor operations. Occupational exposure assessment was based on lifetime work history. For each job, information on branch of industry, company, job description, and duration of employment were ascertained. Results Fourteen hundred thirty cases and 3041 controls were recruited. Lifetime residential and workplace histories totaled 49,628 addresses. Occupational exposure to pesticides was reported by 15% of the male participants (women: 16%). Four percent of the men (women: 8%) were occupationally exposed to ionizing radiation for ,1 year over their lifetime. Sixty four percent of the participants had lived in the vicinity (20 km) of a nuclear power plant in operation. Conclusions The NLL illustrates the successful application of innovative methods to simultaneously assess occupational and environmental risk factors for leukemia and lymphoma including radiological hazards, pesticides, and EMFs. Am. J. Ind. Med. 51:246,257, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Playing the Stockmarket in Tana TorajaTHE AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 1 2000Robyn Thompson This paper describes the players and the play in a weekly stockmarket in Tana Toraja. South Sulawesi, where up to 600 buffalo bulls are bought and sold for exorbitant prices by any standards. These prices are partly determined by external, global economic forces. The buffaloes are all intended for sacrifice in elaborate funerals. Although contributed by individuals or families they are conceived as part of mana. the common wealth of tongkonan. the origin houses of the Toraja. Live bulls cannot be given away but are able to be lent in ceremonial exchanges at funerals. After sacrifice, their raw meat is distributed to participants in the funeral in a version of potlatch. Bulls mediate all exchange. apart from mundane commodity exchange, and are liquid assets. A mature black bull is an object of general equivalence able to be exchanged as payment for certain symbolic objects. In the past the production, distribution and circulation of buffaloes, both on the hoof and as meat, were controlled by the nobility. Buffaloes were said to be in finite supply. They derived from the Upperworld and accompanied the ancestors of the Toraja nobility to this world and were replenished through the ritual of the ways of the ancestors. Now the advent of the market has democratised buffaloes. There has been a dispersion of wealth and the power that the bulls embody. Any man,noble, commoner or former slave-who has sufficient cash is able to buy and sell buffaloes: to have a share in the stockmarket. The marketplace has become a new field of power play, one where innovative methods are being found for increasing the supply of buffaloes by importing hundreds of inferior quality buffaloes and by a program of artificial insemination which has been instigated by the local government. In the parlance of Wall Street this is a bull market. [source] Towards automatic computer-aided knee surgery by innovative methods for processing the femur surface modelTHE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ROBOTICS AND COMPUTER ASSISTED SURGERY, Issue 3 2010Pietro Cerveri Abstract Background The femoral shaft (FDA) and transepicondylar (TA), anterior,posterior (WL) and posterior condylar (PCL) axes are fundamental quantities in planning knee arthroplasty surgery. As an alternative to the TA, we introduce the anatomical flexion axis (AFA). Obtaining such axes from image data without any manual supervision remains a practical objective. We propose a novel method that automatically computes the axes of the distal femur by processing the femur mesh surface. Methods Surface data were processed by exploiting specific geometric, anatomical and functional properties. Robust ellipse fitting of the two-dimensional (2D) condylar profiles was utilized to determine the AFA alternative to the TA. The repeatability of the method was tested upon 20 femur surfaces reconstructed from CT scans taken on cadavers. Results At the highest surface resolutions, the relative median error in the direction of the FDA, AFA, PCL, WL and TA was < 0.50°, 1.20°, 1.0°, 1.30° and 1.50°, respectively. As expected, at the lowest surface resolution, the repeatability decreased to 1.20°, 2.70°, 3.30°, 3.0° and 4.70°, respectively. The computed directions of the FDA, PCL, WL and TA were in agreement (0.60°, 1.55°, 1.90°, 2.40°) with the corresponding reference parameters manually identified in the original CT images by medical experts and with the literature. Conclusions The proposed method proved that: (a) the AFA can be robustly computed by a geometrical analysis of the posterior profiles of the two condyles and can be considered a useful alternative to the TA; (b) higher surface resolutions leads to higher repeatability of all computed quantities; (c) the TA is less repeatable than the other axes. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Outcome measures in acne vulgaris: systematic reviewBRITISH JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 1 2009H. Barratt Summary Background, Clinical trials require valid and reliable outcome measures to facilitate the interpretation and communication of results, and the secondary use of data for systematic reviews. There are numerous tools available to assess the severity of acne vulgaris in clinical trials, and extensive debate about the merits of these. Objectives, To review the literature about investigator-assessed outcome measures used in clinical trials for acne vulgaris; and to evaluate the measurement properties of these tools. Methods, A systematic literature review was conducted of articles outlining and evaluating investigator-assessed outcome measures for acne. Results, Thirty-one papers met the criteria for inclusion in the literature review, including nine papers proposing a novel means of assessing acne, and five evaluating existing outcome measures. Variable attempts had been made to evaluate these tools. Conclusions, The array of evaluation tools used in acne trials prohibits good secondary analysis of trial data, and complicates the interpretation of study results, potentially compromising clinical care. Existing outcome measures need to be assessed further and agreement reached about which should be used more widely. Other innovative methods of assessing acne should also be explored. [source] A review of p53 expression and mutation in human benign, low malignant potential, and invasive epithelial ovarian tumorsCANCER, Issue 2 2003Leanne M. Kmet M.Sc. Abstract BACKGROUND In the current study, the authors present pooled data from studies that investigated p53 protein expression and/or mutation in human epithelial ovarian tumors. METHODS The English literature in the MEDLINE, PubMed, and Ingenta databases was searched to the end of the year 2000 to identify relevant studies. Data were pooled across eligible studies, and the prevalence of p53 expression and mutation among benign, low malignant potential (LMP), and invasive tumors was determined. Prevalence estimates by tumor histology, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage, and grade also were calculated. RESULTS The pooled prevalence estimate for p53 overexpression among epithelial ovarian carcinomas was 51% (95% confidence intervals [95% CI], 50,53%) compared with 17% (95% CI, 15,20%) among LMP tumors and 7% (95% CI, 5,10%) among benign tumors. p53 mutation prevalence estimates were 45% (95% CI, 42,47%), 5% (95% CI, 2,9%), and 1% (95% CI, 0,5%), respectively, for invasive, LMP, and benign tumors. The prevalence of these p53 abnormalities was found to be associated positively with increasing tumor grade and stage. Differences based on histologic subtype also were found. CONCLUSIONS Although these pooled estimates might appear to offer support for various hypotheses regarding the role of p53 in ovarian carcinoma, the limitations inherent in these data hamper the interpretation of the significance of any of the findings. Future studies will require innovative methods to address the limitations of many previous investigations and more comprehensive investigation into defective tumor suppression mechanisms. Cancer 2003;97:389,404. © 2003 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.11064 [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||