173,855 research outputs found
A grammar of sentiment thinking about sentimental jewellery towards making new art about love and loss.
No full textSubmitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the Degree of Doctor of PhilosophyThis practice-led research project explores English and French sentimental jewellery of the Victorian period. ‘Sentimental jewellery’ or ‘message jewellery’ denotes jewellery created to function as a tangible expression of feeling between donor and recipient, mediated through complex narratives relating to its exchange. These artefacts codify emotion through use of complex visual languages, employing the symbolic and coded use of gems, human hair, emblems, words and wordplay. The research has expanded to encompass memorial garments known as ‘widows weeds’. The aims of the research have been threefold: firstly, to add to understanding and interpretation of aspects of Victorian sentimental jewellery and associated craft practices; secondly, to explore the metaphors and narratives inherent within them; thirdly, to test the visual and technical possibilities of knowledge thus gained to address human feeling through art. Outcomes take the form of a body of new artwork and a written thesis, which are designed to be mutually informing. Together, they articulate my response to the project’s central question: can consideration of the ‘grammar of sentiment’ at work in Victorian sentimental jewellery yield new possibilities, through fine art practice, for communicating love and loss in the 21st century? The four artworks that are a main output of the research take the forms of: REGARD:LOVEME, an artist’s book exploring gem codes and wordplay; Plocacosmos, a set of hairworking trials; The Cyanotypes, which reflect upon the materiality and aesthetic of the amatory locket; and Widows Weeds, a large format photographic installation, which considers the materiality and lineage of mourning cloth. Collectively, they explore the typology of the sentimental artefact through development of text/image vocabularies that are conceived as providing a ‘grammar of sentiment’ through which to articulate aspects of human feeling. It is this exploration that constitutes my main contribution to knowledge
Workflow Driven Decision Support Systems: A case of an intra-operative visualization system for surgeons
No full textInadequate visualization during Minimally Invasive Surgeries (MIS) has led several technology research labs to develop decision support systems such as Intra-operative Visualization Systems (IVS). IVS focuses on providing surgeons with real-time imaging support to improve task visualization and navigation. Though exciting, this emerging field also presents challenges in terms of design, development, implementation and integration of various technologies in the surgical workplace. While developing a technically robust IVS which integrates various imaging sources may help visualizing the patient data, it may not serve its true purpose: to adequately support surgeons in making the right decisions. Development of IVS should therefore be not just “technology intensive”; but “Knowledge Intensive Visualization System (KIVS)”. This means that these systems should aim to provide the knowledge to make informed decisions by providing the surgeon with the necessary patient information. This thesis is an example of the role design as a discipline can play in guiding the user-centered technological innovation in the area of medical informatics, especially in the case where the development depends on creating collaborative design between different scientific disciplines: surgical, technological (medical informatics) and design. Visualization of the patient information which supports surgical decision making in KIVS is dependent on knowledge of surgical workflow- which means knowledge of how surgeons solve problems and make decisions while performing the procedure. Surgical workflow depends on a dynamic information flow between the system, the surgeon, the patient, and the surgical team. Surgical workflow is also linked in time over the three surgical phases: pre-operative (before surgery), intra-operative (during surgery), and post-operative (post surgery). This thesis focuses on answering the following research questions: (a) What are the constituents or task boundaries of the surgical workspace that influence the surgical workflow or the surgical problem-solving process? (b) How can the knowledge of the surgical workflow be incorporated into the design of KIVS so as to improve decision-making and thus the performance of the surgeons?(c) In a multidisciplinary development team of surgeons, technology engineers and designers, what steps are required in the KIVS development process to facilitate collaborative design? Based on empirical studies with surgeons, this thesis proposed a design framework called “Workflow-centered design framework”. This framework assists in analyzing the surgical workflow which eventually leads to the development of the knowledge repository of surgical procedure, information and design requirements for the KIVS. This framework has been applied to support workflow driven development of two KIVS prototypes taking a case of upcoming MIS to treat cancer in liver called Radio frequency Ablation (RFA). These prototypes have been developed involving real-time image fusion between imaging modalities such as intra-operative Ultrasound (US) and pre-operative Computerized Tomography (CT) scan. The results from the evaluative study showed significant improvements in the performance of expert intervention radiologists and medical students while performing RFA using KIVS compared to US. In particular, intra-operative planning time and task accuracy of hitting the right tumor in the center showed significant improvement. The findings demonstrated the importance of workflow driven patient data visualization in improving surgical decision making. The framework proposed in this thesis serves as a means to generate the scientific knowledge required to drive user-centered development of KIVS. The contribution of this thesis is at three levels: - The framework proposed in this thesis contributes to design and ergonomics literature as a practical example of application of user centered design to drive innovative technological development of KIVS for complex workspaces such as the surgical theatre. - It contributes to the medical informatics by integrating cognitive theories as a foundation which guides the development of KIVS. - The KIVS prototype serves as a development aid to guide future technological innovation in the area of intra-operative visualization system for RFA and for MIS in general.Product Innovation ManagementIndustrial Design Engineerin
The current application of the Royston-Parmar model for prognostic modeling in health research: a scoping review
No full textAbstract Background Prognostic models incorporating survival analysis predict the risk (i.e., probability) of experiencing a future event over a specific time period. In 2002, Royston and Parmar described a type of flexible parametric survival model called the Royston-Parmar model in Statistics in Medicine, a model which fits a restricted cubic spline to flexibly model the baseline log cumulative hazard on the proportional hazards scale. This feature permits absolute measures of effect (e.g., hazard rates) to be estimated at all time points, an important feature when using the model. The Royston-Parmar model can also incorporate time-dependent effects and be used on different scales (e.g., proportional odds, probit). These features make the Royston-Parmar model attractive for prediction, yet their current uptake for prognostic modeling is unknown. Thus, the objectives were to conduct a scoping review of how the Royston-Parmar model has been applied to prognostic models in health research, to raise awareness of the model, to identify gaps in current reporting, and to offer model building considerations and reporting suggestions for other researchers. Methods Five electronic databases and gray literature indexed in web sources from 2001 to 2016 were searched to identify articles for inclusion in the scoping review. Two reviewers independently screened 1429 articles, and after applying exclusion criteria through a two-step screening process, data from 12 studies were abstracted. Results Since 2001, only 12 studies were identified that used the Royston-Parmar model in some capacity for prognostic modeling, 10 of which used the model as the basis for their prognostic model. The restricted cubic spline varied across studies in the number of interior knots (range 1 to 6), and only three studies reported knot placement. Three studies provided details about the baseline function, with two studies using a figure and the third providing coefficients. However, no studies provided adequate information on their restricted cubic spline to permit others to validate or completely use the model. Conclusions Despite the advantages of the Royston-Parmar model for prognostic models, they are not widely used in health research. Better reporting of details about the restricted cubic spline is needed, so the prognostic model can be used and validated by others. Registration The protocol was registered with Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/r3232/)
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Highlights of Library Automation related documents in the INSPEC
No full textThe paper has attempted to analyse the Library Automation related records in the INSPEC (1969 to July 2004). The growth of Library Automation related literature, country of input, scattering of literature in different publication types, core journals publishing Library Automation related publications, language-wise proportion of the literature, content analysis through keywords/descriptors, availability of URLs (Universal Resource Locator) for full text articles as alternative locations were the main focus of the study. After the year 1984, the literature grows approximately linearly with a growth rate of about 600 items per year. The USA is the predominant publishing country of Library Automation related literature. Journals are the most preferred publication media, followed by Conference/Proceedings-Papers, Book-Chapters, and Reports publications. Most productive journals are: Library Hi Tech, followed by Computers in Libraries, VINE, Information Technology and Libraries, and Program. English articles constitute 91.83% of the total literature. That means the non-English articles constitute only 8.17%. The keyword analysis indicates that the key areas of Library Automation were cataloguing; academic-libraries; information-retrieval; Internet; and information-services. The most occurred URL was http://www.dlib.org/ as alternative locations in the availability notes of Library Automation related records
Speech testing in adult audiology (Parmar et al., 2022)
No full textObjective: The aim of this study was to evaluate hearing health care professionals’ (HHPs) speech testing practices in routine adult audiology services and better understand the facilitators and barriers to speech testing provision.
Design: A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted.
Study Sample: A sample (N = 306) of HHPs from the public (64%) and private (36%) sectors in the United Kingdom completed the survey.
Results: In the United Kingdom, speech testing practice varied significantly between health sectors. Speech testing was carried out during the audiology assessment by 73.4% of private sector HHPs and 20.4% of those from the public sector. During the hearing aid intervention stage, speech testing was carried out by 56.5% and 26.5% of HHPs from the private and public sectors, respectively. Recognized benefits of speech testing included (a) providing patients with relatable assessment information, (b) guiding hearing aid fitting, and (c) supporting a diagnostic test battery. A lack of clinical time was a key barrier to uptake.
Conclusions: Use of speech testing varies in adult audiology. Results from this study found that the percentage of U.K. HHPs making use of speech tests was low compared to that of other countries. HHPs recognized different benefits of speech testing in audiology practice, but the barriers limiting uptake were often driven by factors derived from decision makers rather than clinical rationale. Privately funded HHPs used speech tests more frequently than those working in the public sector where time and resources are under greater pressure and governed by guidance that does not include a recommendation for speech testing. Therefore, the inclusion of speech testing in national clinical guidelines could increase the consistency of use and facilitate the comparison of practice trends across centers.
Supplemental Material S1. A summary of survey study results provided by HHPs in relation to the implementation of speech testing practices in adult audiology across the world.
Supplemental Material S2. Survey: Speech testing in Adult Audiology (UK).
Supplemental Material S3. All survey responses.
Parmar, B. J., Rajasingam, S. L., Bizley, J. K., & Vickers, D. A. (2022). Factors affecting the use of speech testing in adult audiology. American Journal of Audiology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_AJA-21-00233</p
Mitomycin C in highly myopic eyes - Author reply
No full textOphthalmology. 2005 Feb;112(2):208-18; discussion 219.
Mitomycin C modulation of corneal wound healing after photorefractive keratectomy in highly myopic eyes.
Gambato C, Ghirlando A, Moretto E, Busato F, Midena E.
SourceRefractive Surgery Service and Antimetabolite Therapy Research Unit, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
Abstract
PURPOSE: To evaluate the role of topical mitomycin C in corneal wound healing (CWH) after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) in highly myopic eyes.
DESIGN: Prospective, double-masked, randomized clinical trial.
PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-two eyes of 36 patients affected by high (>7 diopters) myopia.
METHODS: In each patient, one eye was randomly assigned to PRK with intraoperative topical 0.02% mitomycin C application, and the fellow eye was treated with a placebo. Postoperatively, mitomycin C-treated eyes received artificial tears (3 times daily, tapered in 3 months), whereas the fellow eye was treated with fluorometholone sodium 2% and artificial tears (3 times daily, tapered in 3 months).
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), contrast sensitivity, manifest refraction, and biomicroscopy. Contrast sensitivity was determined using the Pelli-Robson chart. Corneal confocal microscopy documented CWH.
RESULTS: Mean follow-up was 18 months (range, 12-36). No side effects or toxic effects were documented. At 12-month follow-up examination, UCVAs (logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution) were 0.4+/-0.48 and 0.5+/-0.53 (P = .03) in mitomycin C-treated eyes and corticosteroid-treated eyes, respectively. At 1 year, corneal haze developed in 20% of corticosteroid-treated eyes, versus 0% of mitomycin C-treated eyes. At 12, 24, and 36 months, corneal confocal microscopy showed activated keratocytes and extracellular matrix significantly more evident in untreated eyes (Ps = 0.004, 0.024, and 0.046, respectively).
CONCLUSION: Topical intraoperative application of 0.02% mitomycin C can reduce haze formation in highly myopic eyes undergoing PRK.
Comment in
Ophthalmology. 2006 Feb;113(2):357; author reply 357-8
Bayesian one-step IPD network meta-analysis of time-to-event data using Royston-Parmar models.
No full textNetwork meta-analysis (NMA) combines direct and indirect evidence from trials to calculate and rank treatment estimates. While modelling approaches for continuous and binary outcomes are relatively well developed, less work has been done with time-to-event outcomes. Such outcomes are usually analysed using Cox proportional hazard (PH) models. However, in oncology with longer follow-up time, and time-dependent effects of targeted treatments, this may no longer be appropriate. Network meta-analysis conducted in the Bayesian setting has been increasing in popularity. However, fitting the Cox model is computationally intensive, making it unsuitable for many datasets. Royston-Parmar models are a flexible alternative that can accommodate time-dependent effects. Motivated by individual participant data (IPD) from 37 cervical cancer trials (5922 women) comparing surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, this paper develops an IPD Royston-Parmar Bayesian NMA model for overall survival. We give WinBUGS code for the model. We show how including a treatment-ln(time) interaction can be used to conduct a global test for PH, illustrate how to test for consistency of direct and indirect evidence, and assess within-design heterogeneity. Our approach provides a computationally practical, flexible Bayesian approach to NMA of IPD survival data, which readily extends to include additional complexities, such as non-PH, increasingly found in oncology trials
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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