Plenary Discussion Research Articles

Second Evidence Aid Conference: Prioritizing Evidence in Disaster Aid

The Second Evidence Aid Conference took place in Brussels, Belgium, in October 2012, jointly organized by Evidence Aid and the Belgian Red Cross-Flanders. It provided an opportunity to build on the discussions from the 2011 First Evidence Aid Conference in Oxford, England, and prioritize the future work of Evidence Aid. Within the plenary presentations, discussions, and small work groups, the more than 80 international participants addressed issues regarding the need, use, and prioritization of evidence. Three parallel workshops focused on the prioritization of research, systematic reviews, and data to be collected during disasters, leading to a suggested prioritization framework and a commitment to identify key areas for evidence in disasters. Working with a wide variety of people and organizations from the disaster and humanitarian sectors, Evidence Aid will take this framework and develop a list of top priority questions in need of research and systematic reviews. Although Evidence Aid will not be able to address all of the research questions that will be identified in this process, it will collect them for sharing with relevant agencies. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2013;7:593-596).

African librarianship rising!

The two African Library Summits are reviewed. Sources for the review are analyses of plenary presentations and discussions, formal feedback from the drill-down session coordinators, and personal observation.

Twenty-Five Years With the Biopsychosocial Model of Low Back Pain—Is It Time to Celebrate? A Report From the Twelfth International Forum for Primary Care Research on Low Back Pain

An integrated review of current knowledge about the biopsychosocial model of back pain for understanding etiology, prognosis, and interventions, as presented at the plenary sessions of the XII International Forum on LBP Research in Primary Care (Denmark; October 17-19, 2012). To evaluate the utility of the model in reference to rising rates of back pain-related disability, by identifying (a) the most promising avenues for future research in biological, psychological, and social approaches, (b) promising combinations of all 3 approaches, and (c) obstacles to effective implementation of biopsychosocial-based research and clinical practice. The biopsychosocial model of back pain has become a dominant model in the conceptualization of the etiology and prognosis of back pain, and has led to the development and testing of many interventions. Despite this back pain remains a leading source of disability worldwide. The review is a synthesis based on the plenary sessions and discussions at the XII International Forum on LBP Research in Primary Care. The presentations included evidence-based reviews of the current state of knowledge in each of the 3 areas (biological, psychological, and social), identification of obstacles to effective implementation and missed opportunities, and identification of the most promising paths for future research. Although there is good evidence for the role of biological, psychological, and social factors in the etiology and prognosis of back pain, synthesis of the 3 in research and clinical practice has been suboptimal. The utility of the biopsychosocial framework cannot be fully assessed until we truly adopt and apply it in research and clinical practice. N/A.

Impact of implant–abutment connection, positioning of the machined collar/microgap, and platform switching on crestal bone level changes. Camlog Foundation Consensus Report.

ObjectivesThe aim of this consensus meeting was to assess the impact of implant–abutment connection, positioning of the machined collar/microgap, and platform switching on crestal bone level changes.Materials and methodsTwo comprehensive systematic reviews were prepared in advance of the meeting. Consensus statements, practical recommendations, and implications for future research were based on within group as well as plenary scrutinization and discussions of these systematic reviews.ResultsPlacing the smooth part of the implant below the alveolar crest may lead to bone loss. Despite a more pronounced bone remodeling, the subcrestal positioning of the microgap may help to retain the bony coverage of the rough surface. Crestal bone remodeling has been observed for either internal and external, or conical and butt–joint connections. There was a trend favoring the platform switching concept to prevent or minimize peri-implant marginal bone loss.ConclusionsFuture research should consider an uniform and comparable study design, either excluding or exactly documenting possible confounding factors.

Gynecologic Cancer InterGroup (GCIG) Endometrial Cancer Clinical Trials Planning Meeting

The second Gynecologic Cancer InterGroup (GCIG) Endometrial Cancer Clinical Trials Planning Meeting was held on December 1, 2012, and included international multidisciplinary representatives of the 24 member groups. The aims were to review recent advances in molecular pathology of endometrial cancer, focusing on molecular-based therapy, and to identify key hypotheses and issues to be addressed through international collaborative clinical trials. Reviews and summaries of current knowledge were presented followed by parallel working group sessions for surgery, adjuvant and systemic therapy, and translational research. Plenary discussions were held to integrate translational and clinical issues, and a final discussion session to agree on key trial concepts. Proposals to take forward on the following trials were agreed: (1) lymphadenectomy to direct adjuvant treatment in women with high-risk endometrial cancer, including a sentinel node substudy; (2) conservative therapy for low-risk endometrial cancers in morbidly obese women with high surgical risks and for fertility-sparing treatment in premenopausal patients; (3) adjuvant therapy for women with early-stage carcinosarcoma. A proposal was made that a GCIG Early Phase Consortium be developed to serve as an international platform for rapid assessment of biomarkers.

The management of iron deficiency in inflammatory bowel disease - an online tool developed by the RAND/UCLA appropriateness method

BackgroundIron deficiency is a common and undertreated problem in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).AimTo develop an online tool to support treatment choice at the patient-specific level.MethodsUsing the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method (RUAM), a European expert panel assessed the appropriateness of treatment regimens for a variety of clinical scenarios in patients with non-anaemic iron deficiency (NAID) and iron deficiency anaemia (IDA). Treatment options included adjustment of IBD medication only, oral iron supplementation, high-/low-dose intravenous (IV) regimens, IV iron plus erythropoietin-stimulating agent (ESA), and blood transfusion. The panel process consisted of two individual rating rounds (1148 treatment indications; 9-point scale) and three plenary discussion meetings.ResultsThe panel reached agreement on 71% of treatment indications. ‘No treatment’ was never considered appropriate, and repeat treatment after previous failure was generally discouraged. For 98% of scenarios, at least one treatment was appropriate. Adjustment of IBD medication was deemed appropriate in all patients with active disease. Use of oral iron was mainly considered an option in NAID and mildly anaemic patients without disease activity. IV regimens were often judged appropriate, with high-dose IV iron being the preferred option in 77% of IDA scenarios. Blood transfusion and IV+ESA were indicated in exceptional cases only.ConclusionsThe RUAM revealed high agreement amongst experts on the management of iron deficiency in patients with IBD. High-dose IV iron was more often considered appropriate than other options. To facilitate dissemination of the recommendations, panel outcomes were embedded in an online tool, accessible via http://ferroscope.com/.

What matters for cultural studies?

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Acknowledgment This paper was first presented as part of the plenary discussion panel “What Matters to Cultural Studies?”, Cultural Studies Association of Australia Conference, December 3–6, 2012. Additional informationNotes on contributorsTom O'reganContact address: School of English, Media Studies & Art History, University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Brisbane, Qld, Australia 4072, Email: t.oregan@uq.edu.au

Holocene land-cover change in Eastern Asia for climate modeling

This workshop was held at Hebei Normal University in China, and contributed to the PAGES Focus 4 theme Land Use and Cover (LUC). A major goal of LUC is to achieve Holocene land-cover reconstructions that can be used for climate modeling and testing hypotheses on past and future effects of anthropogenic land cover on climate. Collaborations initiated between Linnaeus University (Sweden; M.-J Gaillard), University of Hull (Britain, Jane Bunting), Hebei Normal University (China; Q. Xu and Y. Li), the French Institute (Pondicherry, India; A Krishnamurthy) and Lucknow University (India; P. Singh Ranhotra) are in line with the goals of Focus 4-LUC and follow the strategy of the European LUC-relevant LANDCLIM project (Gaillard et al. 2010). The aim of these collaborations is to develop quantitative reconstructions of past vegetation cover in India and China using pollen-vegetation modeling and archaeological/historical data together with other land-cover modelling approaches. The objective of this workshop in China was to initiate the necessary collaborations and activities to make past land-cover reconstructions possible in Eastern Asia. The three major outcomes of the workshop are (i) the building of a large network of experts from Eastern Asia, Europe and USA now working together to understand past changes in land use and land cover in Eastern Asia, (ii) that all existing East Asian pollen databases will be integrated into the NEOTOMA Paleoecology Database by 2014 (coordinated by Eric Grimm, Illinois State University, USA), and (iii) that a review paper will be prepared with the working title “Past land-use and anthropogenic land-cover change in Eastern Asia evaluation of current achievements, potentials and limitations, and future avenues”. It is planned to submit this article this fall. It will include 1) a review of Holocene human-induced vegetation and land-use changes in Eastern Asia based on results presented at the workshop; 2) a discussion of the existing anthropogenic land-cover change scenarios (HYDE, Klein Goldewijk et al. 2010; KK 10, Kaplan et al. 2009) in the light of the reviewed proxy-based knowledge; and 3) a discussion on the implications of these results for future climate modeling and the study of past land cover-climate interactions. These significant outcomes are the result of three intense days of presentations and discussion sessions. During the lectures, results were presented for historical, paleoecological and pollenbased reconstructions; pollen-vegetation relationships; past human-impact studies; and model scenarios of anthropogenic land-cover changes in the past. Some of the conference was also dedicated to reviewing the state of existing pollen databases and more generally, database building. Plenary and group break-out discussions focused on more technical aspects such as improving pollen databases, especially for the East Asian region; planning the review paper; and scientific topics such as the use of pollen-based and historical land-cover reconstructions for the evaluation of model scenarios of past anthropogenic land-cover change (Fig. 1), and the integration of model scenarios with paleoecological or historical reconstructions.

European and global approaches to survey ageing populations and perspectives for joint approaches to measure age-related health outcomes

European and global approaches to survey ageing populations and perspectives for joint approaches to measure age-related health outcomes

Enhancing the informed consent process for critical care research: Strategies from a thromboprophylaxis trial

Critically ill patients lack capacity for decisions about research participation. Consent to enrol these patients in studies is typically obtained from substitute decision-makers. To present strategies that may optimise the process of obtaining informed consent from substitute decision-makers for participation of critically ill patients in trials. We use examples from a randomised trial of heparin thromboprophylaxis in the intensive care unit (PROTECT, clinicaltrials.gov NCT00182143). 3764 patients were randomised, with an informed consent rate of 82%; 90% of consents were obtained from substitute decision-makers. North American PROTECT research coordinators attended three meetings to discuss enrolment: (1) Trial start-up (January 2006); (2) Near trial closure (January 2010); and (3) Post-publication (April 2011). Data were derived from slide presentations, field notes from break-out groups and plenary discussions, then analysed inductively. We derived three phases for the informed consent process: (1) Preparation for the Consent Encounter; (2) The Consent Encounter; and (3) Follow-up to the Consent Encounter. Specific strategies emerged for each phase: Phase 1 (four strategies); Phase 2 (six strategies); and Phase 3 (three strategies). We identified 13 strategies that may improve the process of obtaining informed consent from substitute decision-makers and be generalisable to other settings and studies.

Composing a Core Set of Performance Indicators for Public Mental Health Care: A Modified Delphi Procedure

Public mental health care (PMHC) systems are responsible for the wellbeing of vulnerable groups that cope with complex psychosocial problems. This article describes the development of a set of performance indicators that are feasible, meaningful, and useful to assess the quality of the PMHC system in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Performance indicators were selected from an international inventory and presented to stakeholders of the PMHC system in a modified Delphi procedure. Characteristics of indicators were judged individually, before consensus on a core set was reached during a plenary discussion. Involving stakeholders at early stages of development increases support for quality assessment.

Using a classic paper by Robin Fåhraeus and Torsten Lindqvist to teach basic hemorheology

"The viscosity of the blood in narrow capillary tubes" by Robin Fåhraeus and Torsten Lindqvist (Am J Physiol 96: 562-568, 1931) can be a valuable opportunity for teaching basic hemorheological principles in undergraduate cardiovascular physiology. This classic paper demonstrates that a progressive decline in apparent viscosity occurs when blood flows through glass capillary tubes of diminishing radius, which was later designated as the "Fåhraeus-Lindqvist effect." Subsequent studies have shown that apparent viscosity continues to decline at diameters that correspond to the arteriolar segments of the systemic vascular tree, where the majority of the total peripheral resistance resides and is actively regulated in vivo. The Fåhraeus-Lindqvist effect thus reduces microvascular resistance, thereby maintaining local tissue perfusion at a relatively lower blood pressure. The paper by Fåhraeus and Lindqvist can be used as a platform for a plenary discussion of these concepts as well as of the relationships among hematocrit, vessel diameter, red blood cell deformability, and resistance to blood flow and how these factors may affect the work of the heart.

SP0180 Health professionals workshop session: “I’ve been asked to review a clinical guideline – where do I start?”

The number of Clinical Guidelines (CG) is constantly increasing and the quality of CGs differs largely. For this reason, a critical appraisal with standardized instruments is important.The aims of this...

Exploring the Limits to Observational Diffuse Interstellar Band Studies

AbstractThe status of DIB research (Herbig 1995) has strongly advanced since the DIB conference in Boulder in 1994. In the same year we reported the discovery of two near IR diffuse bands coincident with C60+, that was confirmed in subsequent years. Since then a number of DIB observational studies have been published such as DIB surveys, measurements of DIB families, correlations and environment dependences as well as DIBs in extra-galactic sources. Resolved substructures were measured and compared to predicted rotational contours of large molecules. Polarisation studies provided constraints on possible carrier molecules and upper limits. DIBs carriers have been linked with several classes of organic molecules observed in the interstellar medium, in particular to the UIR bands (assigned to PAHs), the Extended Red Emission (ERE) or the recently detected Anomalous Microwave Emission (AME, assigned to spinning dust). In particular fullerenes and PAHs have been proposed to explain some DIBs and specific molecules were searched for in DIB spectra. DIB carriers could be present in various dehydrogenation and ionization states. Experiments in the laboratory and in space contribute to our understanding of the photo-stability of possible DIB carriers. In summary, the status of DIB research in the last 20 years has strongly advanced. We review DIB observational results and their interpretation and introduce the relevant plenary discussion.

State of play of CME in Europe in 2012: proceedings from the fifth annual meeting of the European CME Forum

One hundred and thirty speakers and delegates met in London for the fifth annual meeting of the European CME Forum which took place on 15 and 16 November 2012. Over the two days, current and future trends in European Continuing Medical Education (CME) were examined, discussed and debated. The meeting employed a mixture of styles: plenary presentations, workshops and panel discussion, but with a high focus on open question-and-answer interaction between speakers and delegates.The predominant target audience comprised people with an interest in European CME including the accreditation bodies, scientific societies, education providers, medical communications agencies and industry supporters.Each interest group had a dedicated meeting on the day before the formal programme; European pharmaceutical company involvement, scientific societies and the Good CME Practice Group which announced that following the publication of its recent work, it was opening its membership to all qualifying providers. A pre-meeting needs assessment was carried out which informed the programme structure and led to a more interactive format.Session themes included the new European Accreditation Council for CME (EACCME) accreditation criteria, e-learning, panel discussions with experts from throughout Europe as well as CME professionals from the USA, Canada, India and Australia.

The Role of Modeling and Simulation in Development and Registration of Medicinal Products: Output From the EFPIA/EMA Modeling and Simulation Workshop

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) hosted a workshop on modeling and simulation (M&S).1 Representatives from industry, academia, and regulatory agencies from Europe and beyond discussed the role of M&S in the development and registration of medicinal products within plenary and breakout sessions (BOS). This manuscript summarizes the plenary discussion (Table 1) focusing on the European perspective. Deliverables from each BOS are included in separate papers.

Discussion: What do Instructors of Statistics Need to Know About Technology, and How Can They Best Be Taught?

Author(s): Molnar, Adam | Abstract: At the 2012 IASE Roundtable, Thursday speakers covered diverse technological subjects in developed and developing countries. They demonstrated that the technological frontier varies based on current position and resources. Complexity and acclimation challenges affect all implementations. Discussion of several papers considered the foundation of statistics, whether data or mathematics made more sense and generated more beauty. Plenary discussion had two major topics – comparative benefits of real and realistic data, and ways to attract students to research in statistics.

The Chennai declaration: A roadmap to tackle the challenge of antimicrobial resistance

"A Roadmap to Tackle the Challenge of Antimicrobial Resistance - A Joint meeting of Medical Societies in India" was organized as a pre-conference symposium of the 2 nd annual conference of the Clinical Infectious Disease Society (CIDSCON 2012) at Chennai on 24 th August. This was the first ever meeting of medical societies in India on issue of tackling resistance, with a plan to formulate a road map to tackle the global challenge of antimicrobial resistance from the Indian perspective. We had representatives from most medical societies in India, eminent policy makers from both central and state governments, representatives of World Health Organization, National Accreditation Board of Hospitals, Medical Council of India, Drug Controller General of India, and Indian Council of Medical Research along with well-known dignitaries in the Indian medical field. The meeting was attended by a large gathering of health care professionals. The meeting consisted of plenary and interactive discussion sessions designed to seek experience and views from a large range of health care professionals and included six international experts who shared action plans in their respective regions. The intention was to gain a broad consensus and range of opinions to guide formation of the road map. The ethos of the meeting was very much not to look back but rather to look forward and make joint efforts to tackle the menace of antibiotic resistance. The Chennai Declaration will be submitted to all stake holders.

Plenary discussion of the conceptual foundations of systems biology

Plenary discussion of the conceptual foundations of systems biology

16th SETAC GLB (Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry German LanguageBranch) Annual meeting held under the main theme “EcoTOXICOlogy andEnvironmental CHEMISTRY: crossing borders” from 18th to 20th September2011 at Landau

This report provides a brief review of the 16th annual meeting ofthe German Language Branch of the Society of Environmental Toxicology andChemistry (SETAC GLB) held from September 18th to 20th 2011 at theUniversity Koblenz-Landau at Campus Landau. The event was organized byCarsten Brühl and Ralf B. Schäfer and many members and students ofthe Institute for Environmental Sciences under the main theme“EcoTOXICOlogy and Environmental CHEMISTRY: Crossing borders”.Almost 300 participants enjoyed the scientific program that included 54 oraland 70 poster presentations under seven session themes. In addition, fourinvited keynote speakers and a plenary discussion on biodiversity withrepresentatives from government, academia and industry provided newinsights. The best oral and poster presentations of the meeting were awardedtogether with the annual young scientist award of SETAC GLB for the bestdiploma and doctoral thesis. The proceedings of the meeting (mostly inGerman) including the program and all abstracts is freely available asSupplemental Material.