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At least 703 records · Page 39Linked to original sources

PubMed2002

A jet engine noise measurement and prediction tool.

In this paper, the authors describe an innovative jet engine noise measurement and prediction tool. The tool measures sound-pressure levels and frequency spectra in the far field. In addition, the tool provides predicted results while the measurements are being made. The predictions are based on an existing computational fluid dynamics database coupled to an empirical acoustic radiation model based on the far-field approximation to the Lighthill acoustic analogy. Preliminary tests of this acoustic measurement and prediction tool produced very encouraging results.

Aircraft↗

PubMed2004

Capuchin stone tool use in Caatinga dry forest.

Wild capuchin monkeys inhabiting dry forest were found to customarily use tools as part of their extractive foraging techniques. Tools consisted of twigs and sticks, often modified, which were used to probe for insects and, most frequently, of stones of a variety of sizes and shapes used for cracking and digging. The use of tools for digging has been thought to be restricted to humans. These monkeys, living in a harsh dry habitat, survive food limitation and foraging time constraints through their extensive tool use.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Management of osteoarthritis (OA) with an unsupervised home based exercise programme and/or patient administered assessment tools. A cluster randomised controlled trial with a 2x2 factorial design.

BACKGROUND: Diary recording of pain and disabling activities in osteoarthritis (OA) is widely recommended, but, to our knowledge, its impact on symptoms has not been investigated. Exercise programmes have been shown to be effective when patients are closely supervised by nurses or physiotherapists; however, data are lacking on the efficacy of an unsupervised home based exercise regimen in patients with OA. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of patient administered assessment tools and an unsupervised home based exercise programme alone or in combination in patients with OA. METHODS: The study was a 24 week, open cluster randomised controlled trial with a factorial design. Rheumatologists (n = 867) were assigned to four groups according to the treatment given: standardised tools (ST; n = 220), exercises (EX; n = 213), both tools and exercises (ST+EX; n = 213), or usual care (n = 221). Each rheumatologist was to enroll four patients who met the American College of Rheumatology criteria for OA (three with knee OA, one with hip OA). "Tools" consisted of weekly recording of pain and disabling activities in a diary. A home based exercise programme was performed daily at least four times per week with the aid of videotape and booklet. In addition to exercise and assessment, all patients received 12.5 mg or 25 mg of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug rofecoxib once daily. Outcome variables were: pain (measured on a visual analogue scale, 0-100); Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, function subscale (0-100); and patient assessment of the quality of care (0-100). RESULTS: Overall, 2957 patients with OA (2216 knee, 741 hip) were included. After 24 weeks, both pain and function improved in the ST, EX, ST+EX, and usual care groups (mean (SD) -17 (27), -20 (29), -15 (27), -19 (29); and -11 (19), -12 (19), -10 (19), -11 (20), respectively), without significant differences between groups. However, patients in the EX and ST+EX groups were more likely to agree that their rheumatologist had done his best to preserve their functional and physical activities. CONCLUSION: Although patients' assessments favoured the exercise programme, results from this study failed to demonstrate a short term symptomatic effect of the two non-pharmacological treatments (weekly recording of condition and exercise) in patients with OA concurrently receiving nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

Injury outcome indicators: the development of a validation tool.

BACKGROUND: Researchers have previously expressed concern about some national indicators of injury incidence and have argued that indicators should be validated before their introduction. AIMS: To develop a tool to assess the validity of indicators of injury incidence and to carry out initial testing of the tool to explore consistency on application. METHODS: Previously proposed criteria were shared for comment with members of the International Collaborative Effort on Injury Statistics (ICE) Injury Indicators Group over a period of six months. Immediately after, at a meeting of Injury ICE in Washington, DC in April 2001, revised criteria were agreed over two days of meetings. The criteria were applied, by three raters, to six non-fatal indicators that underpin the national road safety targets for Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Consistency of ratings were judged. CONSENSUS OUTCOME: The development process resulted in a validation tool that comprised criteria relating to: (1) case definition, (2) a focus on serious injury, (3) unbiased case ascertainment, (4) source data for the indicator being representative of the target population, (5) availability of data to generate the indicator, and (6) the existence of a full written specification for the indicator. On application of these criteria to the six road safety indicators, some problems of agreement between raters were identified. CONCLUSION: This paper has presented an early step in the development of a tool for validating injury indicators, as well as some directions that can be taken in its further development.

Accidents, Traffic↗

PubMed2003

Safety culture assessment: a tool for improving patient safety in healthcare organizations.

Increasingly, healthcare organizations are becoming aware of the importance of transforming organizational culture in order to improve patient safety. Growing interest in safety culture has been accompanied by the need for assessment tools focused on the cultural aspects of patient safety improvement efforts. This paper discusses the use of safety culture assessment as a tool for improving patient safety. It describes the characteristics of culture assessment tools presently available and discusses their current and potential uses, including brief examples from healthcare organizations that have undertaken such assessments. The paper also highlights critical processes that healthcare organizations need to consider when deciding to use these tools.

Awareness↗

PubMed2002

Neuroinformatics: the integration of shared databases and tools towards integrative neuroscience.

There is significant interest amongst neuroscientists in sharing neuroscience data and analytical tools. The exchange of neuroscience data and tools between groups affords the opportunity to differently re-analyze previously collected data, encourage new neuroscience interpretations and foster otherwise uninitiated collaborations, and provide a framework for the further development of theoretically based models of brain function. Data sharing will ultimately reduce experimental and analytical error. Many small Internet accessible database initiatives have been developed and specialized analytical software and modeling tools are distributed within different fields of neuroscience. However, in addition large-scale international collaborations are required which involve new mechanisms of coordination and funding. Provided sufficient government support is given to such international initiatives, sharing of neuroscience data and tools can play a pivotal role in human brain research and lead to innovations in neuroscience, informatics and treatment of brain disorders. These innovations will enable application of theoretical modeling techniques to enhance our understanding of the integrative aspects of neuroscience. This article, authored by a multinational working group on neuroinformatics established by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), articulates some of the challenges and lessons learned to date in efforts to achieve international collaborative neuroscience.

Computational Biology↗

PubMed2006

Improvements in the analysis strategy make single nucleotide polymorphism analysis a powerful tool in the detection and characterization of amplified chromosomal regions in human tumors.

OBJECTIVE: Single nucleotide polymorphism analysis (SNP) has recently been proposed as an alternative technique to comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) for defining loss of heterozygosity and gene copy number changes in a single experimental setup. In order to assess the potential of SNP analysis to complement or, ultimately, substitute CGH results, we applied both techniques to five primary tumor samples and two tumor cell lines. This was complemented by dilution experiments based on normal lymphocyte DNA to decipher the lower detection limit for genetic alterations. METHODS/RESULTS: Using an in-house software tool, we demonstrated that SNP analysis permits the generation of chromosomal alteration patterns that largely resemble conventional CGH ratio profiles of a given tumor/cell line. Moreover, compared to CGH, our SNP software tool allows a much more detailed definition of amplicon sizes and involved candidate genes. This advantage even persisted when the technique was applied to DNA with more than 60% of nontumor content. However, the detection of chromosomal losses is severely hampered by the presence of nontumor DNA so that the use of the SNP technique should be limited to tumor samples with more than 80% tumor DNA. CONCLUSION: SNP analysis is a very valuable tool for the detection and characterization of high-level chromosomal amplifications in the vast majority of primary tumor samples. Our software tool improves the analysis of SNP data and the presentation of the results, bridging the gap to existing CGH knowledge (http://bioinformatics.uni-muenster.de, 'Publications and Supplements').

Algorithms↗

PubMed2006

Real-timereflectance confocal microscopy, a noninvasive tool for in vivo quantitative evaluation of comedolysis in the rhino mouse model.

BACKGROUND: Near-infrared reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) is a noninvasive tool that provides real-time images of thin virtual horizontal tissue sections. AIMS/METHODS: We have used a rhino mouse model in combination with topical application of all-trans-retinoic acid and all-trans-retinol to investigate the usefulness of RCM as a noninvasive imaging tool to evaluate comedolysis in vivo and over time. Optical images were correlated with routine histology. RESULTS: Our results demonstrate that RCM in vivo can visualize the process of transformation of utriculi (pseudocomedones) towards a normal-appearing follicular structure during retinoid treatment. The retinoic acid intervention group showed a dose-related response, while the vehicle-treated group did not show utricular changes. CONCLUSIONS: RCM represents a useful tool for in vivo morphological and quantitative evaluation of skin utriculi over time and could be used as an adjunct tool to histopathological techniques for comedolysis studies.

Acne Vulgaris↗

PubMed2006

A psychometric analysis of Project Liberty's adult enhanced services referral tool.

OBJECTIVES: Project Liberty was the first federally funded crisis counseling program to offer evidence-informed treatments to crisis counseling recipients in need of more intensive clinical intervention. The Adult Enhanced Services Referral Tool was developed as a screening instrument for making and monitoring referrals to enhanced services. This study aimed to examine how well the tool functioned for identifying persons who would perceive a need for professional treatment. METHODS: A one-page tool was created that assessed demographic characteristics, risk categories, and psychological reactions to the focal event, September 11, 2001. Psychosocial reactions were assessed by the 12-item SPRINT-E, which is an expanded version of the Short Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Rating Interview (SPRINT). The SPRINT-E was embedded in the Adult Enhanced Services Referral Tool. Data were collected from 788 clients who received crisis counseling between June and October 2003. RESULTS: The SPRINT-E is a unidimensional measure of distress and dysfunction. Internal consistency was excellent for the total sample (alpha=.93) and subsamples. Among the 543 clients offered referral, 71 percent accepted. Among those offered referral, the number of intense reactions (score of 4, quite a bit, or 5, very much) was by far the strongest predictor of referral acceptance. CONCLUSIONS: The SPRINT-E was successfully integrated into the crisis counseling program and provided an apparently successful, empirical basis for referral from counseling to professional treatment. Results of the brief psychological assessment provided a stronger basis for referral to treatment than membership in a risk category (for example, family member of deceased) alone.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Development of the Handicap Assessment and Resource Tool (HART).

An important determinant of whether people can live in community settings is the absence of significant handicap. People with considerable disabilities can live without handicap if they have adequate supports. Handicap, rather than disability, limits peoples' residence options. Disability assessment tools are commonly used to guide where people can live--these assess neither the resources available nor the personal-care handicap present. The Handicap Assessment and Resource Tool (HART) was designed to provide information about the personal-care issues (clothing, hygiene, nutrition, mobility, safety, residence and supports) relevant to choice of residence. The HART was tested by occupational therapists who are frequently expected to provide recommendations regarding disabled clients' residence options. It is a client-centred tool that addresses key occupational performance components of personal care. Pilot testing in hospital and community settings shows the HART is a comprehensive and practical tool that is acceptable to users and clients.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Use of an assessment tool to enhance diabetes educators' ability to identify erectile dysfunction.

An assessment tool to identify erectile dysfunction is useful to diabetes educators in recognizing patients with sexual dysfunction requiring further counseling, education, and treatment. Use of an assessment tool serves as a first step in creating dialogue between diabetes educators and patients living with undiagnosed erectile dysfunction. The assessment tool helps identify underlying causes of erectile dysfunction, its impact on psychological well-being, and identification of treatment and referral needs. The purpose of this article is to discuss the value of assessing erectile dysfunction as a component of comprehensive diabetes care. An example of an erectile dysfunction assessment tool developed in 1991 is presented.

Diabetes Mellitus↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Information oncologic tools produced by the U.S. National Cancer Institute: how much are they known and used? Results of an enquiry in Italy.

A survey was conducted among specialized users in order to establish the level of knowledge and diffusion of four informative tools: Cancerlit, PDQ, Clinprot, Cancergram. A questionnaire was distributed to 975 graduate researchers working in four national cancer research institutes in the north (2), center (1) and south (1) of Italy, as well as to the students of the Postgraduate School of Oncology (Oncology 2nd) of the "La Sapienza" University of Rome. Respondents were 486 (49.8%): only 167 (34.4%) declared to know Cancerlit, 56 (11.5%) PDQ, 10 (2%) Clinprot and 39 (8%) Cancergrams. Moreover, there is a time gap of nearly 6 years between the availability on-line of these tools and the information of its existence by the users. Most of the respondents were in favor of inserting courses on the use of information tools into the University curriculum and of training in the use of the tools.

Databases, Factual↗

PubMed1999

Evaluating the association of two breastfeeding assessment tools with breastfeeding problems and breastfeeding satisfaction.

This pilot study evaluated how the scores from each of two breastfeeding assessment tools correlated with breastfeeding satisfaction and problems. A convenience sample of 30 first-time breastfeeding mothers participated. Mothers were randomly assigned to use either the LATCH or Infant Breastfeeding Assessment Tool (IBFAT). The Maternal Breastfeeding Evaluation Scale (MBFES) and Potential Early Breastfeeding Problem Tool (PEBPT) were used to evaluate the association of the scores of each assessment tool with breastfeeding satisfaction and breastfeeding problems. As scores on the both the LATCH and IBFAT increased, maternal satisfaction scores tended to increase, but not significantly, and breastfeeding problem scores tended to decrease (r = -0.5, p = 0.06 and r = -0.49, p = 0.06; respectively.

Adult↗

PubMed2025

Predictive Validity of Violence Screening Tools in Emergency and Psychiatric Services: A Systematic Review.

Violence against healthcare staff, including a threat or an act of violence toward people during their work, poses a physical and psychological risk to workers internationally. Screening is an important strategy in preventing violence against healthcare professionals. The aim of this systematic review was to synthesize evidence on the predictive validity of risk assessment tools used to screen for violence and aggression risk toward healthcare workers in emergency and psychiatric departments (PD). Primary studies that examined the predictive validity of risk assessment tools for workplace violence were identified via a systematic search of Medline, PsycINFO, Embase, and the Cochrane databases. There were 62 eligible studies, ten of which had a lower risk of bias (RoB). Those studies with high RoB were primarily due to a failure to present calibration measures as part of the analysis. All included studies adopted a longitudinal design and were conducted in PDs. The ten highest-quality studies reported on eight different instruments, four of which showed acceptable to outstanding predictive performance. The Dynamic Appraisal of Situational Aggression and the Brøset Violence Checklist showed the best predictive performance; they were also validated in emergency departments and are best suited for short-term risk prediction. We recommend that the selection of a risk assessment tool should consider the following: (a) the target population, (b) the violence operationalization, and (c) the purpose of the monitoring. We note that the use of a screening tool should be a part of a multicomponent strategy to ensure staff safety.

Humans↗

PubMed2005

Development of an ecological assessment tool for a workplace physical activity program standard.

This project was undertaken to develop a Workplace Physical Activity Assessment Tool to evaluate workplace physical activity programs based on a standard of best practices indicated in the literature and by key stakeholders. The development of the Assessment Tool was structured on an ecological model for health and physical activity promotion and an occupational health and safety audit instrument. The project included a review and synthesis of pertinent literature, expert and stakeholder reviews, interrater reliability appraisals, and workplace consultations over three distinct study phases. The Assessment Tool was received positively by the expert reviewers (i.e., academics, policy makers, and practitioners) and revealed generally high interrater reliability. The Workplace Physical Activity Assessment Tool can be used to plan, implement, and evaluate physical activity programs in the workplace. Recommendations for future research are identified.

Alberta↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Not well known, used little and needed: Canadian chaplains' experiences of published spiritual assessment tools.

What are Canadian chaplains' experiences of published assessment tools? Utilizing a quantitative and qualitative methodology with multiple investigators and theoretical triangulation, this article reports the results of a survey of chaplains in the Canadian Association for Pastoral Practice and Education (CAPPE) and interview results of 15 chaplains in three focus groups. Findings indicated that published spiritual assessment tools are not well know, used little, criticized for being reductionistic and not fitting the clinical situation. Participants noted, however, that spiritual assessment is needed for spiritual care. Thirty percent reported the development of their own tools (not published) and three published tools were mentioned by 50% and more. Discussion, limitations of the research, and suggestions for education, practice, and future research are offered.

Attitude↗

PubMed2005

SeqX: a tool to detect, analyze and visualize residue co-locations in protein and nucleic acid structures.

BACKGROUND: The interacting residues of protein and nucleic acid sequences are close to each other - they are co-located. Structure databases (like Protein Data Bank, PDB and Nucleic Acid Data Bank, NDB) contain all information about these co-locations; however it is not an easy task to penetrate this complex information. We developed a JAVA tool, called SeqX for this purpose. RESULTS: SeqX tool is useful to detect, analyze and visualize residue co-locations in protein and nucleic acid structures. The user: a. selects a structure from PDB; b. chooses an atom that is commonly present in every residues of the nucleic acid and/or protein structure(s). c. defines a distance from these atoms (3-15 A). The SeqX tool detects every residue that is located within the defined distances from the defined "backbone" atom(s); provides a DotPlot-like visualization (Residues Contact Map), and calculates the frequency of every possible residue pairs (Residue Contact Table) in the observed structure. It is possible to exclude +/- 1 to 10 neighbor residues in the same polymeric chain from detection, which greatly improves the specificity of detections (up to 60% when tested on dsDNA). Results obtained on protein structures showed highly significant correlations with results obtained from literature (p < 0.0001, n = 210, four different subsets). The co-location frequency of physico-chemically compatible amino acids is significantly higher than is calculated and expected in random protein sequences (p < 0.0001, n = 80). CONCLUSION: The tool is simple and easy to use and provides a quick and reliable visualization and analyses of residue co-locations in protein and nucleic acid structures. AVAILABILITY AND REQUIREMENTS: http://janbiro.com/Downloads.html SeqX, Java J2SE Runtime Environment 5.0 (available from [see Additional file 1] http://www.sun.com) and at least a 1 GHz processor and with a minimum 256 Mb RAM. Source codes are available from the authors.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2006

TF Target Mapper: a BLAST search tool for the identification of Transcription Factor target genes.

BACKGROUND: In the current era of high throughput genomics a major challenge is the genome-wide identification of target genes for specific transcription factors. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) allows the isolation of in vivo binding sites of transcription factors and provides a powerful tool for examining gene regulation. Crosslinked chromatin is immunoprecipitated with antibodies against specific transcription factors, thus enriching for sequences bound in vivo by these factors in the immunoprecipitated DNA. Cloning and sequencing the immunoprecipitated sequences allows identification of transcription factor target genes. Routinely, thousands of such sequenced clones are used in BLAST searches to map their exact location in the genome and the genes located in the vicinity. These genes represent potential targets of the transcription factor of interest. Such bioinformatics analysis is very laborious if performed manually and for this reason there is a need for developing bioinformatic tools to automate and facilitate it. RESULTS: In order to facilitate this analysis we generated TF Target Mapper (Transcription Factor Target Mapper). TF Target Mapper is a BLAST search tool allowing rapid extraction of annotated information on genes around each hit. It combines sequence cleaning/filtering, pattern searching and BLAST searches with extraction of information on genes located around each BLAST hit and comparisons of the output list of genes or gene ontology IDs with user-implemented lists. We successfully applied and tested TF Target Mapper to analyse sequences bound in vivo by the transcription factor GATA-1. We show that TF Target Mapper efficiently extracted information on genes around ChIPed sequences, thus identifying known (e.g. alpha-globin and zeta-globin) and potentially novel GATA-1 gene targets. CONCLUSION: TF Target Mapper is a very efficient BLAST search tool that allows the rapid extraction of annotated information on the genes around each hit. It can contribute to the comprehensive bioinformatic transcriptome/regulome analysis, by providing insight into the mechanisms of action of specific transcription factors, thus helping to elucidate the pathways these factors regulate.

Amino Acid Sequence↗