29 research outputs found
No rubber dam, no root canal treatment
No full text Dental nurse Debra Hackshaw on why a story in the media should serve as a reminder of good protocols to us all </jats:p
Antenatal Screening for Down Syndrome Using Serum Placental Growth Factor with the Combined, Quadruple, Serum Integrated and Integrated Tests
No full textPMCID: PMC3463523This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Incorporating DNA Sequencing into Current Prenatal Screening Practice for Down's Syndrome
No full textPMCID: PMC3604109This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Screening for Future Cardiovascular Disease Using Age Alone Compared with Multiple Risk Factors and Age
No full textThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Overstating the evidence - double counting in meta-analysis and related problems
No full textBackground: The problem of missing studies in meta-analysis has received much attention. Less attention has been paid to the more serious problem of double counting of evidence.
Methods: Various problems in overstating the precision of results from meta-analyses are described and illustrated with examples, including papers from leading medical journals. These problems include, but are not limited to, simple double-counting of the same studies, double counting of some aspects of the studies, inappropriate imputation of results, and assigning spurious precision to individual studies.
Results: Some suggestions are made as to how the quality and reliability of meta-analysis can be improved. It is proposed that the key to quality in meta-analysis lies in the results being transparent and checkable.
Conclusions: Existing quality check lists for meta-analysis do little to encourage an appropriate attitude to combining evidence and to statistical analysis. Journals and other relevant organisations should encourage authors to make data available and make methods explicit. They should also act promptly to withdraw meta-analyses when mistakes are found
[X/Fe] Marks the Spot: Mapping Chemical Azimuthal Variations in the Galactic Disk with APOGEE
No full text© 2024. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licenceChemical cartography of the Galactic disk provides insights into its structure and assembly history over cosmic time. In this work, we use chemical cartography to explore chemical gradients and azimuthal substructure in the Milky Way disk with giant stars from Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) DR17. We confirm the existence of a radial metallicity gradient in the disk of Δ[Fe/H]/ΔR ∼ –0.0678 ± 0.0004 dex kpc−1 and a vertical metallicity gradient of Δ[Fe/H]/ΔZ ∼ −0.164 ± 0.001. We find azimuthal variations (±0.1 dex) on top of the radial metallicity gradient that have been previously established with other surveys. The APOGEE giants show strong correlations with stellar age and the intensity of azimuthal variations in [Fe/H]; young populations and intermediate-aged populations both show significant deviations from the radial metallicity gradient, while older stellar populations show the largest deviations from the radial metallicity gradient. Beyond iron, we show that other elements (e.g., Mg, O) display azimuthal variations at the ±0.05 dex level across the Galactic disk. We illustrate that moving into the orbit-space could help constrain the mechanisms producing these azimuthal metallicity variations in the future. These results suggest that dynamical processes play an important role in the formation of azimuthal metallicity variations.Z.H. thanks Catherine Manea, Maddie Lucey, and Malia Kao for invaluable insight on this project.
K.H. and Z.H. acknowledge support from the National Science Foundation grant AST-2108736 and from the Wootton Center for Astrophysical Plasma Properties funded under the United States Department of Energy collaborative agreement DE-NA0003843. This work was performed in part at Aspen Center for Physics, which is supported by National Science Foundation grant PHY1607611. This work was performed in part at the Simons Foundation Flatiron Institute's Center for Computational Astrophysics during K.H.'s tenure as an IDEA Fellow. This project was developed in part at the Gaia Fete, hosted by the Flatiron Institute Center for Computational Astrophysics in 2022 June. This project was developed in part at the Gaia Hike, a workshop hosted by the University of British Columbia and the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics in 2022 June. This project was developed in part at the 2023 Gaia XPloration, hosted by the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge University. C.L. acknowledges funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No. 852839).
Funding for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey V has been provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Heising-Simons Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the Participating Institutions. SDSS acknowledges support and resources from the Center for High-Performance Computing at the University of Utah. The SDSS website is www.sdss.org.
SDSS is managed by the Astrophysical Research Consortium for the Participating Institutions of the SDSS Collaboration, including the Carnegie Institution for Science, Chilean National Time Allocation Committee (CNTAC) ratified researchers, the Gotham Participation Group, Harvard University, Heidelberg University, The Johns Hopkins University, L'Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP), Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (MPIA Heidelberg), Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik (MPE), Nanjing University, National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC), New Mexico State University, The Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), the Stellar Astrophysics Participation Group, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, University of Arizona, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Toronto, University of Utah, University of Virginia, Yale University, and Yunnan University.
Software: astropy (Astropy Collaboration et al. 2013, 2022), astroNN (H. W. Leung & J. Bovy 2019a), gala (A. Price-Whelan et al. 2020), PyAstronomy (S. Czesla et al. 2019), scipy (P. Virtanen et al. 2020), matplotlib.pyplot (J. D. Hunter 2007), numpy (S. van der Walt et al. 2011).N
Acceptability of dietary and physical activity lifestyle modification for men following radiotherapy or radical prostatectomy for localised prostate cancer: a qualitative investigation
No full text\ua9 2017 The Author(s). Background: The experience and acceptability of lifestyle interventions for men with localised prostate cancer are not well understood, yet lifestyle interventions are increasingly promoted for cancer survivors. We explored the opinions, experiences and perceived acceptability of taking part in nutritional and physical activity interventions amongst men with prostate cancer and their partners; with the ultimate plan to use such information to inform the development of nutritional and physical activity interventions for men with prostate cancer. Methods: Semi-structured interviews with 16 men, and seven partners, undergoing curative surgery or radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Interviews explored experiences of lifestyle interventions, acceptable changes participants would make and perceived barriers and facilitators to change. Interviews were thematically analysed using the framework approach. Results: Men were frequently open to lifestyle modification and family support was considered vital to facilitate change. Health beneficial, clinician endorsed, understandable, enjoyable interventions were perceived as attractive. Barriers included \u27modern\u27 digital technology, poor weather, competing commitments or physical limitations, most notably incontinence following radical prostatectomy. Men were keen to participate in research, with few negative aspects identified. Conclusions: Men are willing to change behaviour but this needs to be supported by clinicians and health professionals facilitating lifestyle change. An \u27intention-behaviour gap\u27, when an intended behaviour does not materialise, may exist. Digital technology for data collection and lifestyle measurement may not be suitable for all, and post-surgery urinary incontinence is a barrier to physical activity. These novel findings should be incorporated into lifestyle intervention development, and implemented clinically
The provision of dietary and physical activity advice for men diagnosed with prostate cancer: a qualitative study of the experiences and views of health care professionals, patients and partners
No full text\ua9 2017 The Author(s) Purpose: To explore the views and experiences of health care professionals (HCPs), men diagnosed with localised prostate cancer and their partners about the provision of advice on diet and physical activity after diagnosis and treatment for localised prostate cancer. Methods: Semi-structured in-depth interviews with ten HCPs (Consultant Urological Surgeons, Uro-Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialists and Allied Health Professionals: see Table 1) and sixteen men diagnosed with localised prostate cancer and seven of their partners. Data from interviews were thematically analysed using the Framework Approach. Results: The men and their partners provided differing accounts to the HCPs and sometimes to each other concerning the provision of advice on diet and physical activity. Some men were unable to recall receiving such advice from HCPs. Factors impacting upon advice-giving included the perceived lack of an evidence base to support dietary and physical activity advice and the credibility of advice providers. The timing of advice provision was a contentious issue as some HCPs believed that patients might not be willing to receive dietary and physical activity advice at the time of diagnosis, whilst others viewed this an opportune time to provide behaviour change information. Patients concurred with the latter opinion. Conclusions: Men and their partners would value nutritional and physical activity advice from their HCP, after a localised prostate cancer diagnosis. Men would prefer to receive this advice at an early stage in their cancer journey and may implement behaviour change if the received advice is clear and evidence-based. HCPs should receive suitable training regarding what information to provide to men and how best to deliver this information
The safety and effectiveness of different methods of ear wax removal: a systematic review and economic evaluation
No full textEar wax (cerumen) is a natural secretion produced to protect the inner ear from dirt and other fragments by moving these particles towards the outer ear. If this process does not happen properly, wax may build up causing blockage in the ear canal and the possibility of impaction. People with a build up of ear wax may suffer from hearing loss, discomfort and, on occasions, infection. It may present problems in assessing hearing, blocking the view of the ear drum during medical examination and interfering with the fitting or function of hearing aids. Although it is thought to affect between 2% and 6% of the population in the England and Wales, some groups may be at a higher risk, such as those using hearing aids or with small ear canals and/or skin conditions. Recurrence is thought to be high among some of these groups. The consequences of the build up of ear wax in the ear canal are thought to be a common reason for consultation and cost in general practice with over 2 million consultations per year in the NHS.Methods of removal of ear wax include drops, flushing with water in general practice, and removal with suction or probes in specialist clinics. The relative safety and benefits of these different methods of removal remains uncertain. This research will systematically review published and unpublished evidence on the clinical and cost effectiveness of different methods for the removal of ear wax. Where appropriate, it will develop an economic model using data from this systematic review and other relevant sources to estimate the relative costs and benefits of different methods. In addition, the project will provide recommendations for future research to try to help answer any remaining areas of uncertainty
Author Correction: The evolution of lung cancer and impact of subclonal selection in TRACERx
No full textCorrection to: Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-05783-5 Published online 12 April 2023.
In the version of the article initially published, the symbols for death (x) and censored (>) were swapped in the graphs in Fig. 1. The figure has now been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article
