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Wider Dissemination (wider + dissemination)
Selected AbstractsCrucial Issues for Statistics in the Next Two DecadesINTERNATIONAL STATISTICAL REVIEW, Issue 1 2001Nicholas I. Fisher Summary This collection of articles stems from an Invited Paper meeting at the 52nd Session of the ISI in Helsinki, August 1999. The purpose of the session was to explore issues likely to be critical to the long-term survival of the discipline, if not the profession, of Statistics. The contributors in the session have all made outstanding contributions to both the theory and practice of Statistics, and have also had an ongoing interest in the long-term development of the subject. Subsequently, they were given the opportunity to elaborate on their contributions, for wider dissemination. [source] How to run an effective journal club: a systematic reviewJOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 5 2008Y. Deenadayalan BPT IMMP BEHM (MBA) Abstract Background, Health-based journal clubs have been in place for over 100 years. Participants meet regularly to critique research articles, to improve their understanding of research design, statistics and critical appraisal. However, there is no standard process of conducting an effective journal club. We conducted a systematic literature review to identify core processes of a successful health journal club. Method, We searched a range of library databases using established keywords. All research designs were initially considered to establish the body of evidence. Experimental or comparative papers were then critically appraised for methodological quality and information was extracted on effective journal club processes. Results, We identified 101 articles, of which 21 comprised the body of evidence. Of these, 12 described journal club effectiveness. Methodological quality was moderate. The papers described many processes of effective journal clubs. Over 80% papers reported that journal club intervention was effective in improving knowledge and critical appraisal skills. Few papers reported on the psychometric properties of their outcome instruments. No paper reported on the translation of evidence from journal club into clinical practice. Conclusion, Characteristics of successful journal clubs included regular and anticipated meetings, mandatory attendance, clear long- and short-term purpose, appropriate meeting timing and incentives, a trained journal club leader to choose papers and lead discussion, circulating papers prior to the meeting, using the internet for wider dissemination and data storage, using established critical appraisal processes and summarizing journal club findings. [source] Improving the quality of reporting acupuncture interventions: describing the collaboration between STRICTA, CONSORT and the Chinese Cochrane CentreJOURNAL OF EVIDENCE BASED MEDICINE, Issue 1 2009Hugh MacPherson Background First published in 2001, STRICTA (STandards for Reporting Interventions in Controlled Trials of Acupuncture) was designed to expand on the reporting of one item within the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) Statement checklist, the item relating to the intervention. Two recent reviews had found that STRICTA was highly regarded in the field and that there was a need for minor revisions. Objective To revise STRICTA within the CONSORT family of reporting guidelines. Design A collaborative effort involving the STRICTA Group, the CONSORT Group and the Chinese Cochrane Centre was agreed. A consultation process with 47 international experts provided detailed feedback on an initial draft of a revised checklist. These data, along with the two review studies, comprised the documentation for a consensus meeting in Freiburg, Germany in October 2008. A total of 21 participants attended the meeting, bringing their expertise as research methodologists, reporting guideline developers, acupuncturists, physicians and journal editors. Results At the workshop, a revised draft checklist was agreed. There was general consensus that STRICTA should continue to function as a stand-alone guideline as well as an extension to CONSORT. It was agreed that STRICTA should be sufficiently broad to cover all type of clinical studies, from case reports through uncontrolled studies to randomised controlled trials. It was also decided that explanations and examples, as with other CONSORT reporting guidelines, would provide a useful way of supporting the uptake to the new recommendations when published. Discussion The checklist will be subjected to further revision processes in order to further its impact and support wider dissemination. Journals that regularly publish acupuncture trials will be encouraged to adopt the revised STRICTA, include it in their guidelines for authors, and promote the adoption of its recommendations for clinical studies of acupuncture. [source] Lentiviral gene delivery to CNS by spinal intrathecal administration to neonatal miceTHE JOURNAL OF GENE MEDICINE, Issue 4 2006Elena Fedorova Abstract Background Direct injection of lentivectors into the central nervous system (CNS) mostly results in localized parenchymal transgene expression. Intrathecal gene delivery into the spinal canal may produce a wider dissemination of the transgene and allow diffusion of secreted transgenic proteins throughout the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Herein, we analyze the distribution and expression of LacZ and SEAP transgenes following the intrathecal delivery of lentivectors into the spinal canal. Methods Four weeks after intrathecal injection into the spinal canal of newborn mice, the expression of the LacZ gene was assessed by histochemical staining and by in situ polymer chain reaction (PCR). Following the spinal infusion of a lentivector carrying the SEAP gene, levels of enzymatically active SEAP were measured in the CSF, blood serum, and in brain extracts. Results Intrathecal spinal canal delivery of lentivectors to newborn mice resulted in patchy, widely scattered areas of ,-gal expression mostly in the meninges. The transduction of the meningeal cells was confirmed by in situ PCR. Following the spinal infusion of a lentivector carrying the SEAP gene, sustained presence of the reporter protein was detected in the CSF, as well as in blood serum, and brain extracts. Conclusions These findings indicate that intrathecal injections of lentivectors can provide significant levels of transgene expression in the meninges. Unlike intracerebral injections of lentivectors, intrathecal gene delivery through the spinal canal appears to produce a wider diffusion of the transgene. This approach is less invasive and may be useful to address those neurological diseases that benefit from the ectopic expression of soluble factors impermeable to the blood-brain barrier. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||