Standard Keywords Research Articles

Prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in Iran: a systematic review and Meta-analysis.

To estimate the overall prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in Iran by a systematic review and Meta-analysis. We conducted a search of all published literature on diabetic patients for the prevalence of DR using Web of Sciences, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and national electronic databases SID, Magiran, and Iranmedex from their inception until September 2016 with standard keywords. Pooled estimates of the DR prevalence and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using random effects models. Thirty-one studies involving 23 729 patients with type I and II diabetes were included. The publication bias assumption for prevalence of DR was rejected by Begg and Egger tests (P=0.825, P=0.057, respectively). The results of Cochran test and I2 statistics showed considerable heterogeneity for prevalence of DR (Q=1278.21, d.f.=30, P<0.001 and I2=97.7%). The prevalence of DR, non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) in Iranian diabetic patients were 41.9% (95% CI: 35.6-48.2), 32.2% (95% CI: 28.7-35.8), and 13.2% (95% CI: 8.3-18.1), respectively. The prevalence of DR in Iran appears a little high. NPDR was more common. This study highlights the necessity for DR screening and management in diabetic patients in Iran.

Conflict of Interest Policies at French Medical Schools: Starting from the Bottom.

BackgroundMedical faculties have a role in ensuring that their students are protected from undue commercial influence during their training, and are educated about professional-industry interactions. In North America, many medical faculties have introduced more stringent conflict of interest (COI) policies during the last decade. We asked whether similar steps had been taken in France. We hypothesized that such policies may have been introduced following a 2009–2010 drug safety scandal (benfluorex, Mediator) in which COIs in medicine received prominent press attention.MethodsWe searched the websites of all 37 French Faculties of Medicine in May 2015 for COI policies and curriculum, using standardized keyword searches. We also surveyed all deans of medicine on institutional COI policies and curriculum, based on criteria developed in similar US and Canadian surveys. Personal contacts were also consulted. We calculated a summary score per faculty based on 13 criteria. [range 0–26; higher scores denoting stronger policies]ResultsIn total, we found that 9/37 (24%) of French medical schools had either introduced related curriculum or implemented a COI-related policy. Of these, only 1 (2.5%) had restrictive policies for any category. No official COI policies were found at any of the schools. However, at 2 (5%), informal policies were reported. The maximum score per faculty was 5/26, with 28 (76%) scoring 0.ConclusionThis is the first survey in France to examine COI policies at medical faculties. We found little evidence that protection of medical students from undue commercial influence is a priority, either through institutional policies or education. This is despite national transparency legislation on industry financing of health professionals and limits on gifts. The French National Medical Students Association (ANEMF) has called for more attention to COI in medical education; our results strongly support such a call.

Comparing the Effects of Atorvastatin on LDL Reduction through Systematic Review Method and Meta-Analysis

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;BACKGROUND &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;amp; GOAL: &lt;/strong&gt;LDL is one of the important risk factors that cause cardiovascular diseases. Improving one's lifestyle accompanied by taking medicine can be effective in reducing the amount of LDL. This study aims at comparing the effects of Atorvastatin on reducing LDL using systematic review method and meta-analysis.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;MATERIALS &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;amp; METHODS: &lt;/strong&gt;In this systematic review, Pub Med, Scopus, Elsevier and Google Scholar search engine were applied to do a search within the time span of 2003-2014 using standard key words. Articles which met the entrance criteria were studied. Random effects model was used to integrate the results through meta-analysis. Data were analyzed using Stata software (version 11.1).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;FINDINGS: &lt;/strong&gt;In a systematic review, 11 articles were passed through the process of meta-analysis with a sample size of 3662 individuals and a mean of 333 subjects per study. The rate of LDL reduction was 33.32 milligrams per Deciliter by Atorvastatin. The meta-regression graph based on age showed that in the studies where the age of the sample has been younger, the amount of LDL has been higher and in studies with older sample age, the LDL rate has been lower. The meta-regression graph to BMI showed that people with higher BMI, showed more reduction in LDL and individuals with lower BMI, indicated less LDL reduction.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;CONCLUSION: &lt;/strong&gt;According to the results of the study, LDL reduction takes place better and more quickly in the elderly and fat individuals. Atorvastatin was more effective in reducing the rate of LDL.&lt;/p&gt;

Prevalence of Hypoparathyroidism in Patients with Thalassemia Major in Iran

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Hypoparathyroidism is one the common complications of endocrine in patients with thalassemia major. Several studies have been conducted to report the prevalence of Hypoparathyroidism in patients with thalassemia major in Iran. However, there is no comprehensive assessment of it. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of Hypoparathyroidism in patients with thalassemia major in Iran through systematic review and meta-analysis. METHOD:The present study was conducted based on PRISMA checklist for systematic review and meta-analysis studies. We searched national and international online databases such as Magiran, Iranmedex, SID, Medlib, Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct, Cochrane, Web of Science, Springer, Online library Wiley and Google Scholar for certain standard keywords without time limit until 2016. FINDING:In 19 studies, 3219 patients with thalassemia major were examined. Prevalence of Hypoparathyroidism in patients with thalassemia major in Iran was calculated to be 10 (CI-95: 7-10). Moreover, the percentage for various regions of Iran was different; 14 in the west, 18 in the east, 10 in the north, 12 in the south and 7 in the center of Iran. Prevalence of Hypoparathyroidism in men and women was estimated to be 9 and 14, respectively. CONCLUSIONS:Prevalence of Hypoparathyroidism in patients with thalassemia major in Iran is high. Therefore, new policy and planning are necessary to minimize the complications of endocrine glands including Hypoparathyroidism in patients with thalassemia major in Iran. © 2016, Babol University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.

Maternal Anemia and Pregnancy outcomes: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between maternal anemia during pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes. Materials and Methods This systematic review was conducted in domestic (Sid, Iran.doc, Iran medex and Magiran) and international (PubMed, Science Direct, Cochrane, Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, Springer, Embase, Google scholar) databases from January 1, 1990 to April 10, 2016 with using standard key words Pregnancy, Pregnant women, Hemoglobin/ haemoglobin, Anemia/ anaemia, and Pregnancy outcome. Relative risks (RR) and confidence intervals were extracted from each study. Results Overall 30 studies with a total sample size of 1,194,746 were entered into the final meta-analysis. Maternal anemia in the first trimester showed a significant relationship with low birth weight (RR: 1.28, 95% CI, 1.10 - 1.50, P 0.05) and pre-term birth (RR: 1.35, 95% CI, 0.54 - 3.24, P>0.05). Similarly, maternal anemia in the third trimester has also, no significant relationship with low birth weight (RR: 1.23, 95% CI, 0.97 - 1.55, P>0.05) and pre-term birth (RR: 1.55, 95% CI, 0.83 - 2.88, P>0.05). Conclusion Maternal anemia during pregnancy in the first trimester in particular can be considered as a risk factor for pregnancy outcomes and must be treated as an advance.

“Climate Change” Frames Detection and Categorization Based on Generalized Concepts

The subliminal impact of framing of social, political and environmental issues such as climate change has been studied for a long time in political science and communications research. Media framing offers “interpretative package” for average citizens on how to make sense of climate change and its consequences to their livelihoods, how to deal with its negative impacts, and which mitigation or adaptation policies to support. A line of related work has used bag of words and word-level features to detect frames automatically in text. Such works face limitations since standard keyword based features may not generalize well to accommodate surface variations in text when different keywords are used for similar concepts. In this paper, we develop a new type of textual features that generalize (subject,verb,object) triplets extracted from text, by clustering them into high-level concepts. We utilize these concepts as features to detect frames in text. Our corpus comprises more than 45,000 climate change related sentences. Expert coders annotated those sentences as Frame/Non-Frame and framed sentences were mapped into one of four general frame categories: solution, problem threat, cause, and motivation. Compared to uni-gram and bi-gram based models, classification and clustering using our generalized concepts yielded better discriminating features and a higher accuracy classifier with a 12% boost (i.e. from 74% to 83% in f-measure) and 0.91 clustering purity for Frame/Non-Frame detection.

Library of congress subject heading (LCSH) browsing and natural language searching

ABSTRACTControlled topical vocabularies (CVs) are built into information systems to aid browsing and retrieval of items that may be unfamiliar, but it is unclear how this feature should be integrated with standard keyword searching. Few systems or scholarly prototypes have attempted this, and none have used the most widely used CV, the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), which organizes monograph collections in academic libraries throughout the world. This paper describes a working prototype of a Web application that concurrently allows topic exploration using an outline tree view of the LCSH hierarchy and natural language keyword searching of a real‐world Science and Engineering bibliographic collection. Pilot testing shows the system is functional, and work to fit the complex LCSH structure into a usable hierarchy is ongoing. This study contributes to knowledge of the practical design decisions required when developing linked interactions between topical hierarchy browsing and natural language searching, which promise to facilitate information discovery and exploration.

Development of Children in Iran: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background:In order to gain a better perspective of the developmental status of children in different regions of Iran, this study was carried out to determine the prevalence and the factors impacting child development in Iranian studies.Materials and Methods:Articles published in Iranian and international journals indexed in the SID, PubMed, Scopus and Magiran databases from 2001-2015 were systematically reviewed using standard and sensitive keywords. After evaluating the quality of 155 articles in the initial search, 26 articles were analyzed according to the inclusion criteria. After investigations, meta-analysis was done for six studies and the results were combined using Random Effects model, and the heterogeneity of studies was evaluated using the I2 index. Data analysis was performed using STATA version 11.2.Results:Eagger & Beggs tests, respectively with 0/273 & 0/260 did not confirm the probability of publication bias in the data, but heterogeneity in studies was confirmed (p<0/001). On such basis, the pooled prevalence of developmental disorder based on Random Effect model was calculated to be 0.146, CI (0/107-0/184). The prevalence of developmental disorders in children in the studies reviewed was reported between 7 to 22.4%. The most important risk factors were in SES (Socio Economic Status) and Prenatal, Perinatal, Neonatal &Child groups.Conclusion:More extensive studies and early intervention with respect to causes of developmental delay in children seems necessary.

A systematic review of professional supervision experiences and effects for allied health practitioners working in non-metropolitan health care settings.

IntroductionIn regional, rural, and remote settings, allied health professional supervision is one organizational mechanism designed to support and retain the workforce, provide clinical governance, and enhance service delivery. A systematic approach to evaluating the evidence of the experience and effects of professional supervision for non-metropolitan allied health practitioners and their service delivery is needed.MethodsStudies investigating the experience and effects of professional supervision across 17 allied health disciplines in non-metropolitan health services were systematically searched for using standardized keywords across seven databases. The initial search identified 1,574 references. Of these studies, five met inclusion criteria and were subject to full methodological appraisal by both reviewers. Two studies were primarily qualitative with three studies primarily quantitative in their approach. Studies were appraised using McMaster critical appraisal tools and data were extracted and synthesized.ResultsStudies reported the context specific benefits and challenges of supervision in non-metropolitan areas and the importance of supervision in enhancing satisfaction and support in these areas. Comparison of findings between metropolitan and non-metropolitan settings within one study suggested that allied health in non-metropolitan settings were more satisfied with supervision though less likely to access it and preferred supervision with other non-metropolitan practitioners over access to more experienced supervisors. One study in a regional health service identified the lack of an agreed upon definition and functions of supervision when supervisors from diverse allied health disciplines were surveyed. While methodologically weak, all studies reported positive perceptions of supervision across professionals, supervisors, and managers. This is in accordance with previous research in the wider supervision literature.DiscussionConsidering the large pool of studies retrieved for further investigation, few of these met inclusion criteria demonstrating the paucity of primary research in this area. Increased training, policies, and implementation frameworks to ensure the definition and functions of supervision are agreed upon across the allied health disciplines in non-metropolitan areas is needed. Furthermore, systematic evaluation of supervision implementation in non-metropolitan settings, investigation of the experience and effects of distance based supervision (versus face-to-face), and increased rigor in research studies investigating non-metropolitan allied health profession supervision is needed.

Prevalence of National Responsiveness to HBV Vaccine After 22 Years of Iranian Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI): A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Study

Hepatitis B Virus expanded program on immunization (EPI) started on 1993 in Iran. Most surveys have assessed the level of response to vaccine by measuring the titers of anti-HBs. This meta- analysis aimed to summarize the Iranian published data on the rate of vaccine-responders versus non-responders. Moreover, the impact of variables such as age, gender, type of vaccine, etc. on the levels of responsiveness was evaluated.All published papers on this topic in Iranian and international journals with affiliation of "Iran" were reviewed using standard keywords up to 2014. We included our study to healthy participants with no previous HBV infection and who had already received a complete course of HB vaccine. The estimated prevalence and 95% confidence intervals in 28 eligible articles for HBV vaccine responders (anti-HBs > 10 IU/mL) and non-responders (10 <) were analyzed by random effect method due to between-study heterogeneity.The age of subjects was between 6 months and 15 years old. Overall, 5991 (51.5%) were male and 4571 (48.5%) females. Overall, 80% were responders to vaccine versus 20% nonresponders. With increase in age, the number of responders to vaccine decreased significantly (P = 0.001). There was no strong difference between responders versus nonresponders to vaccine for gender, types of vaccine, ethnicity and living area.The results arose from this meta-analysis highlighted the safety of vaccine and its effectiveness in stimulating immune response of vaccines, despite being different in generation, manufacturers and types. Moreover, there was no substantial difference between Iranian and other international investigations in the rate of nonresponsiveness to HBV vaccine.

From IMGT-ONTOLOGY to IMGT/HighVQUEST for NGS Immunoglobulin (IG) and T cell Receptor (TR) Repertoires in Autoimmune and Infectious Diseases

The analysis of adaptive immune repertoires in autoimmune and infectious diseases represents a fascinating challenge because of the natural huge diversity of the antigen receptors that are the immunoglobulins or antibodies and T cell receptors, expressed by B cells and T cells, respectively. The high throughput analysis resulting from the next generation sequencing technologies offers an invaluable large scale characterization of the expressed repertoires and, consequently, a better understanding of the protective and pathogenic immune responses. IMGT®, the international ImMunoGeneTics information system® (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Montpellier University) is the global reference in immunogenetics and immunoinformatics. By its creation in 1989, IMGT® marked the advent of immunoinformatics, which emerged at the interface between immunogenetics and bioinformatics. IMGT® is specialized in the immunoglobulins or antibodies, T cell receptors, major histocompatibility proteins of humans and other vertebrate species, and in the proteins of the immunoglobulin superfamily and major histocompatibility superfamily of any species. IMGT® has been built on the IMGT-ONTOLOGY axioms and concepts, which bridged the gap between genes, sequences and three-dimensional structures. The concepts include the IMGT® standardized keywords (identification), IMGT® standardized labels (description), IMGT® standardized nomenclature (classification), IMGT unique numbering and IMGT Colliers de Perles (numerotation). IMGT® comprises seven databases, 15,000 pages of web resources and 17 tools, and includes data from fishes to humans, for basic to veterinary, medical and translational research. IMGT/HighV-QUEST, the high throughput version of IMGT/V-QUEST and IMGT/Junction Analysis, created in 2010, is the first and, so far, the only online portal for analysis of the immunoglobulin and T cell receptor repertoires obtained from next generation sequencing. High-quality results contribute to the large scale vision of antigen receptor repertoires and understanding of the adaptive immune responses (protective in vaccination, cancer and infections and pathogenic in autoimmunity) for diagnosis, prognosis and therapy.

Systematic review of effects of current transtibial prosthetic socket designs-Part 1: Qualitative outcomes.

This review is an attempt to untangle the complexity of transtibial prosthetic socket fit, determine the most important characteristic for a successful fitting, and perhaps find some indication of whether a particular prosthetic socket type might be best for a given situation. Further, it is intended to provide directions for future research. We followed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines and used medical subject headings and standard key words to search for articles in relevant databases. No restrictions were made on study design or type of outcome measure. From the obtained search results (n = 1,863), 35 articles were included. The relevant data were entered into a predefined data form that incorporated the Downs and Black risk of bias assessment checklist. Results for the qualitative outcomes (n = 19 articles) are synthesized. Total surface bearing sockets lead to greater activity levels and satisfaction in active persons with amputation, those with a traumatic cause of amputation, and younger persons with amputation than patellar tendon bearing sockets. Evidence on vacuum-assisted suction and hydrostatic sockets is inadequate, and further studies are much needed. To improve the scientific basis for prescription, comparison of and correlation between mechanical properties of interface material, socket designs, user characteristics, and outcome measures should be conducted and reported in future studies.

Systematic review of effects of current transtibial prosthetic socket designs--Part 2: Quantitative outcomes.

This review is an attempt to untangle the complexity of transtibial prosthetic socket fit and perhaps find some indication of whether a particular prosthetic socket type might be best for a given situation. In addition, we identified knowledge gaps, thus providing direction for possible future research. We followed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, using medical subject headings and standard key words to search for articles in relevant databases. No restrictions were made on study design and type of outcome measure used. From the obtained search results (n = 1,863), 35 articles were included. The relevant data were entered into a predefined data form that included the Downs and Black risk of bias assessment checklist. This article presents the results from the systematic review of the quantitative outcomes (n = 27 articles). Trends indicate that vacuum-assisted suction sockets improve gait symmetry, volume control, and residual limb health more than other socket designs. Hydrostatic sockets seem to create less inconsistent socket fittings, reducing a problem that greatly influences outcome measures. Knowledge gaps exist in the understanding of clinically meaningful changes in socket fit and its effect on biomechanical outcomes. Further, safe and comfortable pressure thresholds under various conditions should be determined through a systematic approach.

Immunoglobulins: 25 years of immunoinformatics and IMGT-ONTOLOGY.

IMGT®, the international ImMunoGeneTics information system® (CNRS and Montpellier University) is the global reference in immunogenetics and immunoinformatics. By its creation in 1989, IMGT® marked the advent of immunoinformatics, which emerged at the interface between immunogenetics and bioinformatics. IMGT® is specialized in the immunoglobulins (IG) or antibodies, T cell receptors (TR), major histocompatibility (MH), and IgSF and MhSF superfamilies. IMGT® has been built on the IMGT-ONTOLOGY axioms and concepts, which bridged the gap between genes, sequences and three-dimensional (3D) structures. The concepts include the IMGT® standardized keywords (identification), IMGT® standardized labels (description), IMGT® standardized nomenclature (classification), IMGT unique numbering and IMGT Colliers de Perles (numerotation). IMGT® comprises seven databases, 15,000 pages of web resources and 17 tools. IMGT® tools and databases provide a high-quality analysis of the IG from fish to humans, for basic, veterinary and medical research, and for antibody engineering and humanization. They include, as examples: IMGT/V-QUEST and IMGT/JunctionAnalysis for nucleotide sequence analysis and their high-throughput version IMGT/HighV-QUEST for next generation sequencing, IMGT/DomainGapAlign for amino acid sequence analysis of IG domains, IMGT/3Dstructure-DB for 3D structures, contact analysis and paratope/epitope interactions of IG/antigen complexes, and the IMGT/mAb-DB interface for therapeutic antibodies and fusion proteins for immunological applications (FPIA).

IMGT®, the international ImMunoGeneTics information system® 25 years on.

IMGT®, the international ImMunoGeneTics information system®(http://www.imgt.org) is the global reference in immunogenetics and immunoinformatics. By its creation in 1989 by Marie-Paule Lefranc (Université de Montpellier and CNRS), IMGT® marked the advent of immunoinformatics, which emerged at the interface between immunogenetics and bioinformatics. IMGT® is specialized in the immunoglobulins (IG) or antibodies, T cell receptors (TR), major histocompatibility (MH) and proteins of the IgSF and MhSF superfamilies. IMGT® is built on the IMGT-ONTOLOGY axioms and concepts, which bridged the gap between genes, sequences and 3D structures. The concepts include the IMGT® standardized keywords (identification), IMGT® standardized labels (description), IMGT® standardized nomenclature (classification), IMGT unique numbering and IMGT Colliers de Perles (numerotation). IMGT® comprises 7 databases, 17 online tools and 15 000 pages of web resources, and provides a high-quality and integrated system for analysis of the genomic and expressed IG and TR repertoire of the adaptive immune responses, including NGS high-throughput data. Tools and databases are used in basic, veterinary and medical research, in clinical applications (mutation analysis in leukemia and lymphoma) and in antibody engineering and humanization. The IMGT/mAb-DB interface was developed for therapeutic antibodies and fusion proteins for immunological applications (FPIA). IMGT® is freely available at http://www.imgt.org.

Radiological findings of sexual intercourse related emergency department admissions: a first overview.

ObjectivesSexuality is an essential aspect of human function, well-being and quality of life. Many people have sex without complications. However, there are some people who need to seek emergency medical help for related health problems. The aim of this study was to present a first overview of patients who received a radiological examination related to sexual intercourse based emergency department admission.MethodsOur centralized electronic patient record database was reviewed for patients who had been admitted to our emergency department with an emergency after sexual intercourse between 2000 and 2011. The database was scanned for the standardized key words ‘sexual intercourse’ or ‘coitus’ retrospectively. For all patients identified in the electronic patient record database the radiological examinations were searched for manually in our Radiology Information System, and reviewed by three independent radiologists.ResultsOne hundred and twenty nine out of 445 (29,0%) patients received a radiological examination after immediate emergency department admission related to sexual intercourse. Fifty two out of 129 (40.3%) patients had positive radiological findings while 77 (59.7%) did not. Eighty point seven percent (n = 42) of the radiological findings were a sexual intercourse-associated pathology and 19.2% (n = 10) were considered to be incidental findings. Age and male sex positively correlated with radiological imaging workup (p<0.001, respectively p<0.037). The most common sexual intercourse-associated pathology was headache attributed to cerebrovascular insult (n = 21, 40.3%) followed by epididymitis (n = 7, 16.6%) and obstructive uropathy (n = 5, 11.6%). Of the patients with headache attributed to non-traumatic intracranial hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage (n = 14, 66.6%) was the most common, followed by intracerebral bleeding (n = 4, 19.0%) and one subdural hemorrhage.ConclusionsPathological findings are manifold. Cerebral imaging is the most common type of radiological imaging performed. Further prospective and standardized studies should be performed to better evaluate the significance of radiological imaging in this patient collective with the aim to gain better knowledge on what patients profit from what type of radiological imaging when presenting with a sexual intercourse related emergency.Advances in KnowledgeThe present study provides a first overview on radiological findings of sexual intercourse related emergency department admissions.

Dynamic Query Processing and Optimization in Relational Complex Databases with Keyword Search

Dynamic queries are a novel approach to information seeking that may enable users to cope with information overload. They allow users to see an overview of the database, rapidly explore and conveniently filter out unwanted information. Users fly through information spaces by incrementally adjusting a query while continuously viewing the changing results. The main drawback of a form-based query interface is that it is restrictive. Modern scientific databases and web databases maintain large and heterogeneous data. These real- world databases contain over hundreds or even thousands of relations and attributes. Traditional predefined query forms are not able to satisfy various ad-hoc queries from users on those databases. So a Dynamic Query Form (DQF) system was proposed. Dynamic queries interfaces suggest that they offer a dramatic change from existing methods for querying databases. DQF, a query interface which is capable of dynamically generating query forms for users. Different from traditional document retrieval users in database retrieval are capable of performing different round of actions iteratively by filling in forms and retrieving results based on users desire and conditions at run time. Each iteration consists of two types of user interactions: Query Form Endowment and Query Execution. In Query Form Endowment DQF recommends the user selects the desired form components into the current query form and the form components selected by the user will be in ranked order. In Query Execution the user fills out the current query form and submits a query, DQF executes the query and shows the results and the user provides the feedback about the query results. F-measure value can be used for measuring the goodness of a query form. A comparison between the Customized query form and Dynamic query form can be generated. As an enhancement, the database querying can be formalized by combining the keyword search and forms. Here at query time, a user with a question to be answered issues standard keyword search queries; but instead of returning tuples, the system returns forms relevant to the question. This paper lacks the addressing of multi-criteria decision making. So skyline query concept is used for satisfying the multi-criteria decision making.

Oxime-type acetylcholinesterase reactivators in pregnancy: an overview

Oxime-type acetylcholinesterase reactivators (oxime-AChER) are used as an adjunct in the treatment for organophosphorus anticholinesterase poisoning. Because of the widespread usage and exposure of organophosphorus compounds (OPCs), its poisoning and fatalities is obvious in pregnant women, embryos and fetuses. OPCs irreversibly inhibit acetylcholinesterase (AChE) at nerve synapses. Furthermore, the role of AChE other than neurotransmission termination has been defined in the literature. The growing evidences show that cholinergic mechanisms are involved during growth and development of other organ systems. In contrary to the fact, the data on the use of oxime-AChER in OPC poisoning in pregnancy are scanty. The present review aimed to comprehend the status of oximes in pregnancy in lieu of the published literature. A thorough literature search was performed in January 2013, using ten popular search engines including Medline/PubMed, Google scholar, etc., using nine standard keywords. The search period was set from 1966 to present. The search did not reveal substantial data. No considerable studies were retrieved which could really demonstrate either the beneficial, harmful or even null effect of oxime-AChER usage in pregnancy. Only eighteen relevant articles were obtained for a period of about 47 years. In the literature, there is no report available to demonstrate the risk of using oxime-AChER in pregnancy for the treatment of OPC poisoning. The study reveals that the use of oxime-AChER in pregnancy is largely un-addressed, inconclusive and based on speculation albeit the incidences of OPC poisoning are quite prevalent. Well-designed studies are warranted for a tangible conclusion.

A systematic review and meta‐analysis of clinical variables used in Huntington disease research

Treatment effect in Huntington disease (HD) clinical trials has relied on primary outcome measures such as total motor score or functional rating scales. However, these measures have limited sensitivity, particularly in pre- to early stages of the disease. We performed a systematic review of HD clinical studies to identify endpoints that correlate with disease severity. Using standard HD keywords and terms, we identified 749 published studies from 1993 to 2011 based on the availability of demographic, biochemical, and clinical measures. The average and variability of each measure was abstracted and stratified according to pre-far, pre-close, early, mild, moderate, and severe HD stages. A fixed-effect meta-analysis on selected variables was conducted at various disease stages. A total of 1,801 different clinical variables and treatment outcomes were identified. Unified Huntington Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Motor, UHDRS Independence, and Trail B showed a trend toward separation between HD stages. Other measures, such as UHDRS Apathy, Verbal Fluency, and Symbol Digit, could only distinguish between pre- and early stages of disease and later stages, whereas other measures showed little correlation with increasing HD stages. Using cross-sectional data from published HD clinical trials, we have identified potential endpoints that could be used to track HD disease progression and treatment effect. Longitudinal studies, such as TRACK-HD, are critical for assessing the value of potential markers of disease progression for use in future HD therapeutic trials. A list of variables, references used in this meta-analysis, and database is available at http://www.cmmt.ubc.ca/research/investigators/leavitt/publications.

Capitalizing on Information Organization and Information Visualization for a New-Generation Catalogue

Subject searching is difficult with traditional text-based online public access library catalogues (OPACs), and the next-generation discovery layers are keyword searching and result filtering tools that offer little support for subject browsing. Next-generation OPACs ignore the rich network of relations offered by controlled subject vocabulary, which can facilitate subject browsing. A new generation of OPACs could leverage existing information-organization investments and offer online searchers a novel browsing and searching environment. This is a case study of the design and development of a virtual reality subject browsing and information retrieval tool. The functional prototype shows that the Library of Congress subject headings (LCSH) can be shaped into a useful and usable tree structure serving as a visual metaphor that contains a real world collection from the domain of science and engineering. Formative tests show that users can effectively browse the LCSH tree and carve it up based on their keyword search queries. This study uses a complex information-organization structure as a defining characteristic of an OPAC that goes beyond the standard keyword search model, toward the cutting edge of online search tools.