Catalogue Of Tools Research Articles

8.B. Scientific session: Strengthening health information systems in the European Region

Abstract Strong health information systems (HIS) are essential for robust, evidence-informed policymaking and decision making in all levels of healthcare. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the vital importance of HIS, but also highlighted flaws and weaknesses across HIS in Europe. Common HIS challenges include limited resources and capacity; insufficient coordination and collaboration between HIS stakeholders, leading to fragmentation and problems with interoperability; lack of central governance; and limited use of health information for decision-making. Both at the level of the WHO Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe) and the European Commission, policies and strategies are being implemented to support Member States in strengthening their HIS, thereby improving the availability of high quality, timely data for evidence-informed decision making, both at the country and international level. Supporting the further digitalization of HIS is an important element in this. In 2023, WHO/Europe and the European Commission joined forces in the field of HIS strengthening. This workshop will inform participants about current and future capacity building tools and activities that will be implemented under the umbrella of the EU-funded action ‘Supporting Member States in the WHO European Region in strengthening HIS and boosting health data governance and interoperability’. It will explain the policy as well as situation-on-the-ground contexts in which the action will be implemented. The workshop will start with a (1) presentation by WHO/Europe on the current HIS situation in the Region and what are the main priority areas in WHO’s work for the coming years. After that, (2) the European Commission will give more information on the above-mentioned EU-funded action and the related EU policy landscape, most notably the European Health Data Space (EHDS). Next, (3) WHO/Europe will present their catalogue of capacity building tools and activities, and share experiences with implementing these. Finally, (4) HIS modernization cases with enabling factors and challenges will be presented based on different countries’ real life experiences, illustrating the impact of HIS strengthening activities at the country level. Workshop participants will get a comprehensive overview of available HIS strengthening tools and activities in the European Region. This will help them in selecting and applying tools for strengthening their own national or regional HIS, and ensuring their HIS is prepared for aligning with the EHDS and other important policies and strategies. This will contribute to sustainable and future-proof HIS across Europe. During the workshop, there will be ample time for questions and discussion. In the discussion, participants will be asked whether they have any HIS strengthening needs that are not yet covered in the current package of tools and activities. This will help WHO and the European Commission to further harmonise their efforts with what is needed on the ground. Key messages • Despite investments in HIS following the COVID-19 pandemic, many challenges remain, which are often similar across European countries. • WHO/Europe and the European Commission have joined forces to strengthen HIS and boost health data governance and interoperability, while leveraging EHDS developments.

Implementation of Laboratory Equipment Loan System in SiDal (BigData Laboratory System)

Borrowing and returning equipment for both practicum and research is one of the routine laboratory management activities. Laboratories with a high intensity of borrowing equipment but limited human resources should use an online information system to manage the flow of borrowing so that laboratory activities can run optimally. This research was made based on these problems encountered in laboratory management at the Basic Physics Laboratory (LFD) of Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI). Previously, research was conducted on the development of a laboratory information system named SiDal (Laboratory BigData System). In SiDal, users can access tool data, tool catalog, tool status and tool storage. From the catalog of tools stored in SiDal as a data base, a system for borrowing and returning laboratory equipment was developed and then the application of this system was tested at LFD FPMIPA UPI. Through research and development methods, surveys were conducted through questionnaires and written interviews. From the results of the questionnaire distributed, 52 student respondents from various batches who had accessed SiDal showed that around 90% said that the loan system developed was more effective & practical, which was confirmed from the results of written interviews.

Assembling the RNA therapeutics toolbox.

From the approval of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines to the 2023 Nobel Prize awarded for nucleoside base modifications, RNA therapeutics have entered the spotlight and aretransforming drug development. While the term "RNA therapeutics" has been used in various contexts, this review focuses on treatments that utilize RNA as a component or target RNA for therapeutic effects. We summarize the latest advances in RNA-targeting tools and RNA-based technologies, including but not limited to mRNA, antisense oligos, siRNAs, small molecules and RNA editors. We focus on the mechanisms of current FDA-approved therapeutics but also provide a discussion on the upcoming workforces. The clinical utility of RNA-based therapeutics is enabled not only by the advances in RNA technologies but in conjunction with the significant improvements in chemical modifications and delivery platforms, which are also briefly discussed in the review. We summarize the latest RNA therapeutics based on their mechanisms and therapeutic effects, which include expressing proteins for vaccination and protein replacement therapies, degrading deleterious RNA, modulating transcription and translation efficiency, targeting noncoding RNAs, binding and modulating protein activity and editing RNA sequences and modifications. This review emphasizes the concept of an RNA therapeutic toolbox, pinpointing the readers to all the tools available for their desired research and clinical goals. As the field advances, the catalog of RNA therapeutic tools continues to grow, further allowing researchers to combine appropriate RNA technologies with suitable chemical modifications and delivery platforms to develop therapeutics tailored to their specific clinical challenges.

Developing a Catalogue of Environmental Sustainability Tools to Inform Biomedical Engineering Design Education

Despite the negative impact that the environmental crisis can have on human health, the healthcare sector is a significant contributor of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. However, biomedical engineering design has primarily focused on human safety, with limited attention to environmental sustainability. To address this, we conducted a review of tools to support environmental sustainability analysis and proposed how we think they can support biomedical engineering design education. We conducted a literature search to identify available tools and categorized them according to the biomedical engineering design process taught at the University of British Columbia. We found that there was a lack of tools to support sustainability at early design stages, limiting student’s ability to take a proactive approach to sustainable design. Moving forward, we plan to use this review as a reference tool to guide curriculum improvements for biomedical engineering design courses to include a greater focus on environmental sustainability.

Ethics: Crisis Standards of Care Simulation.

Ethical dilemmas exist with decision-making regarding resource allocations, such as critical care, ventilators and other critical equipment, and pharmaceuticals during pandemics. Triage artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms based on prognostication tools exist to guide these decisions; however, implicit bias may affect the decision-making process leading to deviation from the algorithm recommendations. Conflict within the ethical domain may be affected as well. A knowledge gap was identified within the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AG-ACNP) curriculum regarding ethics in crisis standards of care (CSC) medical decision-making. Incorporating a CSC simulation looked to address this knowledge gap. A simulation-based learning (SBL) experience was designed as a critical access setting where CSC are in place and three diverse, medically complex patients in need of critical care present to the hospital where one critical care bed remains open. Given the complexity of the simulation scenario, a table-top pilot test was selected. Three AG-ACNP fourth-quarter students in their critical care rotation volunteered for the pilot test. Students were provided with the topic, "ethics crisis standards of care" and the article, "A catalogue of tools and variables from crisis and routine care to support decision-making during pandemics" by M. Cardona et al. (2021), to read in advance. Students were provided with the triage AI algorithm (M. Cardona et al., 2021) utilizing prognostication tools to prioritize which patient requires the critical care bed. The expectation was that implicit bias would enter the decision-making process, causing deviation from the triage AI algorithm and moral distress. The debriefing session revealed that students deviated from the triage AI algorithm, experienced implicit bias, moral distress, and utilized clinical judgment and experience to care for all three patients. The pilot test results support that a CSC SBL experience addresses a critical knowledge gap in AG-ACNP education and an SBL experience incorporating ethical decision-making curriculum with standardized patients should be developed and trialed as the next step.

Deep in situ microscopy for real-time analysis of mammalian cell populations in bioreactors

An in situ microscope based on pulsed transmitted light illumination via optical fiber was combined to artificial-intelligence to enable for the first time an online cell classification according to well-known cellular morphological features. A 848 192-image database generated during a lab-scale production process of antibodies was processed using a convolutional neural network approach chosen for its accurate real-time object detection capabilities. In order to induce different cell death routes, hybridomas were grown in normal or suboptimal conditions in a stirred tank reactor, in the presence of substrate limitation, medium addition, pH regulation problem or oxygen depletion. Using such an optical system made it possible to monitor real-time the evolution of different classes of animal cells, among which viable, necrotic and apoptotic cells. A class of viable cells displaying bulges in feast or famine conditions was also revealed. Considered as a breakthrough in the catalogue of process analytical tools, in situ microscopy powered by artificial-intelligence is also of great interest for research.

SiDal Development (Laboratory Big Data System) in Basic Physics Laboratory

Inventory activities for tools and materials, borrowing tools, free laboratory processes and much more, are part of the Education laboratory services, in its function as a support for the Tri Dharma of Higher Education. These activities when carried out with conventional systems, require a long time with less-than-optimal results. To improve laboratory management services, a device data collection system was developed which is contained in a web-based application, called SiDal (Laboratory Big Data System). SiDal is a subsystem of the laboratory management system at the Basic Physics Laboratory of FPMIPA UPI. The aim of developing SiDal is for laboratory services to be more effective and efficient with optimal results. Users can access tool data, tool catalog, tool status and where to store the tool. To see the success of the system, research was carried out using the Research and Development method. Trials of the application of this system were carried out at the Basic Physics Laboratory of FPMIPA UPI by conducting surveys through questionnaires and interviews. From the results of the questionnaire distributed, 68 student respondents from various generations had accessed SiDal. 98.5% of respondents agreed that the implementation of SiDal in the Basic Physics Laboratory provided an increase in laboratory management services. The results obtained will serve as an evaluation and further development of the laboratory management system.

A mapping exercise using automated techniques to develop a search strategy to identify systematic review tools.

The Systematic Review Toolbox aims provide a web-based catalogue of tools that support various tasks within the systematic review and wider evidence synthesis process. Identifying publications surrounding specific systematic review tools is currently challenging, leading to a high screening burden for few eligible records. We aimed to develop a search strategy that could be regularly and automatically run to identify eligible records for the SR Toolbox, thus reducing time on task and burden for those involved. We undertook a mapping exercise to identify the PubMed IDs of papers indexed within the SR Toolbox. We then used the Yale MeSH Analyser and Visualisation of Similarities (VOS) Viewer text-mining software to identify the most commonly used MeSH terms and text words within the eligible records. These MeSH terms and text words were combined using Boolean Operators into a search strategy for Ovid MEDLINE. Prior to the mapping exercise and search strategy development, 81 software tools and 55 'Other' tools were included within the SR Toolbox. Since implementation of the search strategy, 146 tools have been added. There has been an increase in tools added to the toolbox since the search was developed and its corresponding auto-alert in MEDLINE was originally set up. Developing a search strategy based on a mapping exercise is an effective way of identifying new tools to support the systematic review process. Further research could be conducted to help prioritise records for screening to reduce reviewer burden further and to adapt the strategy for disciplines beyond healthcare.

Application of ICT in the co production of social services

Aim/purpose – The purpose of this article was to identify the information and commu- nication technology (ICT) tools fostering the co-production of social services, acknowl- edging that the technological environment is an important contextual condition enhanc- ing the development of co-production. Design/methodology/approach – The method used was systematic literature review (SLR). Findings – As a result of the review, the catalog of solutions and tools offered by infor- mation and communication technologies was presented. The results of the research car- ried out indicate that the co-production of social services is favored by the use of such ICT tools as mobile applications, crowdsourcing, open data, big data, real-time data collection and analysis, gamification, and social media. Research implications/limitations – The main implication of the research is the com- prehensive catalog of ICT tools that can be used to facilitate social service co-production. ICT tools also favor the emergence of new forms of co-production; there-fore, the acquaintance of these tools can accelerate this process. The study is constrained by sev- eral limitations. The study is constrained by several limitations. First, applied methodol- ogy, which is qualitative, analyzes secondary data. Second, the co-production in the social services area includes many and various services, and ICT application and impact can differ by specific type of service. Originality/value/contribution – This paper contributes to research on the co-production of social services, particularly in terms of the use of new technologies in this process, in two ways. First, the development of the catalog of ICT tools favoring social service co-production. Their application fosters the involvement of contextual actors, increasing the efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of social services. In this way, the social service co-production contributes to better addressing the citizens’ needs, increasing their quality of life and well-being, and unleashing their potential. Second, by taking the PSL perspective and situating factors favoring co-production within a service ecosystem framework, this paper draws attention to public value emerging from new relations, extensive dialogue, delibera- tion, common arrangements, and collaborative activity in virtual communities. Keywords: co-production, public services, social services, public management, ICT. JEL Classification: H41, H83, O33, O35, Z18.

University Participatory Budgets. From Municipalities to Higher Education?

The participatory budget is an important element of the catalogue of tools for involving residents in the local decision-making. The positive effects of involving many citizens in the decision-making process slowly bear fruit in attempts to transfer p.b. into other spheres. This article analyses how these well-known patterns are adapted to new conditions – at universities. Several of them decided to introduce their own participatory budget. A comparative analysis of the local government model and solutions adopted by three universities provides the answer to this question. The hypothesis assumes that the civic budget at universities and polytechnics is, for the most part, a modification of the model used in cities with district status. As shown, the municipal participatory budget is a proven basis for creating its own regulations. However, the available schemes should be modified.

Kontrola parlamentarna rządu w systemach ustrojowych II Rzeczypospolitej w dyskursie polskiej doktryny przedwojennej i współczesnej

The Second Republic of Poland implemented in the first years of independence a significant part of the achievements of Western European parliamentarism with regard to the control function of the executive (government). While in the West the parliament’s powers of scrutiny over the government were mostly subject to regulation by ordinary law, in Poland and other states revived or established in Europe after World War I, the bulk of them became the subject of legal regulation at the level of constitutions, ordinary laws and/or parliamentary rules of procedure. In Poland, law and customs shaped through parliamentary practice played a relatively large role in this regard. During the Second Republic, there were three consecutive constitutional systems in force – the so-called Little Constitution of 1919, the March Constitution of 1921. (since December 1922) and the April Constitution of 1935.The control of the government by parliament was developed to the fullest extent during the period of so-called parliamentary rule, i.e. in the years 1919–1926. After the May coup began, visible mainly in the area of political and parliamentary practice, the process of gradual reduction of the control function of parliament, which found its final legal definition in the provisions of the Basic Law of April 1935. The control function of parliament was exercised at first by the Legislative Sejm, and then, from the end of 1922, by the Sejm and the Senate (the latter to a relatively modest extent). With regard to the criterion of the timing of control activities, parliamentary control of the government was divided in pre-war doctrine into preliminary and subsequent (follow-up). The post-war doctrine, following the position formulated in German science in the second half of the 19th century, also distinguished current control. Implementation of the parliament’s control function in the Second Republic included a very rich catalog of tools (means) of influencing the government. The pre-war doctrine organized them according to the criterion of the timing of control measures or their expediency. After World War II, based on the systemic criterion, ordinary (plenary debate on government policy, parliamentary inquiries and interpellations) and extended (appointment of stand- ing and extraordinary parliamentary committees with, among other things, controlling or investigative powers) means of control were distinguished, as well as statutory preliminary control (passing the budget, giving consent to the ratification of international agreements and issuing certain administrative acts), which tools are characteristic of parliamentary systems assuming the supremacy of parliament over the government. In another view, the instruments of parliamentary control were divided (on the basis of the March Constitution) into traditional means of control (interpellations, committees of inquiry, discharge, control of state debts, approval of temporary restrictions on civil rights and freedoms) and those arising from the principles of the parliamentary-cabinet form of government (debate on the prime minister’s exposé, asking questions, hearing government representatives in plenary and in committees, passing resolutions), as well as sanctions applied as a result of control (such as holding the government and individual ministers politically and constitutionally accountable). In doctrine and parliamentary practice, the greatest differences of opinion with regard to the characterized issues arose and continue to this day, in addition to systematizing issues, such issues as the scope and tools of preliminary parliamentary control, the control of decree legislation, the scope and effects of parliamentary interpellations and questions, extraordinary committees of inquiry, political and parliamentary and constitutional responsibility of the executive branch.

Roadmap for action on Risk Assessment of Combined Exposure to Multiple Chemicals (RACEMiC)

EFSA's aim by 2030, is that the Agency and its partners will be equipped for the routine implementation of human health risk assessment to multiple chemicals, across EFSA's domains of activity. To facilitate this effort, a roadmap for action has been developed by mapping the methods, data and tools that are currently available for mixture risk assessment and identifying current scientific gaps including challenges and blockers. The results shows that extensive methods, data and tools are available for dietary mixture risk assessment for pesticides, but that several scientific gaps still exist for the non-dietary mixture exposure to pesticides. For food additives and for certain contaminants, the regulatory readiness for mixture risk assessment was also found to be fairly high compared to food contact materials and cross-silo mixture risk assessment. The scientific gaps identified were prioritised according to their impact on the implementation of mixture risk assessment and, as a result, ten multi-annual project proposals were defined to address these scientific gaps on the short-term, mid-term and long-term. The roadmap also proposes and prioritises a number of working areas in the regulatory domains of pesticides, food contact materials, contaminants, food additives, as well as in the overarching domain of chemicals. Besides the scientific proposals, recommendations to improve stakeholder engagement and communication on mixture risk assessment was investigated. These included, among others, creating an online catalogue of tools, methods and data for mixture risk assessment, as well as the organisation of regular webinars/workshop to promote exchange of information between stakeholders and making more efficient use of national communication hubs for food safety in communicating with the general public.

Abstract 1191: The Cancer Complexity Knowledge Portal: Enabling the exploration, discovery and reuse of resources for interdisciplinary cancer research

Abstract The National Cancer Institute Division of Cancer Biology supports multiple research programs composed of interdisciplinary scientific communities that integrate approaches, data, and tools to address fundamental challenges in basic and translational cancer research. As the coordinating center for the CSBC and PS-ON, Sage Bionetworks is dedicated to fostering an open and collaborative scientific culture in which researchers can rapidly collaborate across institutional boundaries. Towards this end, we developed the Cancer Complexity Knowledge Portal (cancercomplexity.synapse.org) as a community research resource that synthesizes and exposes the activities and outputs of the CSBC, PS-ON, and affiliated consortia. The portal links related resources (e.g., a grant to its publications) and provides search and faceting to accelerate discovery and collaboration in the cancer research community. We aim to provide rich context about along with access to the activities and contributors that have produced the resources hosted within this and other repositories. The portal currently hosts >75 grants, >2100 publications, >450 datasets, >150 tools, and ~250,000 files. These have been annotated to facilitate search and discoverability in collaboration with and through the generous efforts of the CSBC/PS-ON community and the NCI. The Cancer Complexity Knowledge Portal supports flexible, responsive exploration of and access to curated resources and distilled knowledge through modern web components. Those resources are hosted in community databases (e.g., GEO and SRA) or within the Synapse data-sharing platform (synapse.org/csbcpson). As a back end for the portal, Synapse continues to provide a community workspace to upload, update, manage, browse, and download data via a web UI and APIs. We are excited to provide this portal as a resource to drive additional insight, discovery, and collaboration in the field. In the coming year, we will continue to make updates to the portal, ensuring the latest publications, tools and data are available and identifying new features to add value to the portal for the community. We plan to provide a richer catalog of computational tools, leveraging in part the efforts, interests, and methodological output of CSBC/PS-ON working groups. We will continue to work with Division of Cancer Biology programs to ensure that the portal is enabling the broader community to integrate the approaches, data, and tools needed to address important questions in basic and translational cancer research. Citation Format: James Eddy, milen Nikolov, Brynn Zalmanek, Verena Chung, Julie Bletz. The Cancer Complexity Knowledge Portal: Enabling the exploration, discovery and reuse of resources for interdisciplinary cancer research [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 1191.

Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecules- (un)Attainable Targets for Nanomedicines

Endothelial cell adhesion molecules have long been proposed as promising targets in many pathologies. Despite promising preclinical data, several efforts to develop small molecule inhibitors or monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) ended in clinical-stage failure. In parallel, many well-validated approaches for targeting CAMs with nanomedicine (NM) were reported over the years. A wide range of potential applications has been demonstrated in various preclinical studies, from drug delivery to the tumor vasculature, imaging of the inflamed endothelium, or blocking immune cells infiltration. However, no NM drug candidate emerged further into clinical development. In this review, we will summarize the most advanced examples of CAM-targeted NMs and juxtapose them with known traditional drugs against CAMs, in an attempt to identify important translational hurdles. Most importantly, we will summarize the proposed strategies to enhance endothelial CAM targeting by NMs, in an attempt to offer a catalog of tools for further development.

NucPosDB: a database of nucleosome positioning in vivo and nucleosomics of cell-free DNA

Nucleosome positioning is involved in many gene regulatory processes happening in the cell, and it may change as cells differentiate or respond to the changing microenvironment in a healthy or diseased organism. One important implication of nucleosome positioning in clinical epigenetics is its use in the “nucleosomics” analysis of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) for the purpose of patient diagnostics in liquid biopsies. The rationale for this is that the apoptotic nucleases that digest chromatin of the dying cells mostly cut DNA between nucleosomes. Thus, the short pieces of DNA in body fluids reflect the positions of nucleosomes in the cells of origin. Here, we report a systematic nucleosomics database — NucPosDB — curating published nucleosome positioning datasets in vivo as well as datasets of sequenced cell-free DNA (cfDNA) that reflect nucleosome positioning in situ in the cells of origin. Users can select subsets of the database by a number of criteria and then obtain raw or processed data. NucPosDB also reports the originally determined regions with stable nucleosome occupancy across several individuals with a given condition. An additional section provides a catalogue of computational tools for the analysis of nucleosome positioning or cfDNA experiments and theoretical algorithms for the prediction of nucleosome positioning preferences from DNA sequence. We provide an overview of the field, describe the structure of the database in this context, and demonstrate data variability using examples of different medical conditions. NucPosDB is useful both for the analysis of fundamental gene regulation processes and the training of computational models for patient diagnostics based on cfDNA. The database currently curates ~ 400 publications on nucleosome positioning in cell lines and in situ as well as cfDNA from > 10,000 patients and healthy volunteers. For open-access cfDNA datasets as well as key MNase-seq datasets in human cells, NucPosDB allows downloading processed mapped data in addition to the regions with stable nucleosome occupancy. NucPosDB is available at https://generegulation.org/nucposdb/.

A catalogue of tools and variables from crisis and routine care to support decision-making about allocation of intensive care beds and ventilator treatment during pandemics: Scoping review

This scoping review sought to identify objective factors to assist clinicians and policy-makers in making consistent, objective and ethically sound decisions about resource allocation when healthcare rationing is inevitable. Review of guidelines and tools used in ICUs, hospital wards and emergency departments on how to best allocate intensive care beds and ventilators either during routine care or developed during previous epidemics, and association with patient outcomes during and after hospitalisation. Eighty publications from 20 countries reporting accuracy or validity of prognostic tools/algorithms, or significant correlation between prognostic variables and clinical outcomes met our eligibility criteria: twelve pandemic guidelines/triage protocols/consensus statements, twenty-two pandemic algorithms, and 46 prognostic tools/variables from non-crisis situations. Prognostic indicators presented here can be combined to create locally-relevant triage algorithms for clinicians and policy makers deciding about allocation of ICU beds and ventilators during a pandemic. No consensus was found on the ethical issues to incorporate in the decision to admit or triage out of intensive care. This review provides a unique reference intended as a discussion starter for clinicians and policy makers to consider formalising an objective a locally-relevant triage consensus document that enhances confidence in decision-making during healthcare rationing of critical care and ventilator resources.

A Provider-Facing eHealth Tool for Transitioning Youth With Special Health Care Needs From Pediatric to Adult Care: Mixed Methods, User-Engaged Usability Study.

BackgroundThere is a need for medical education on health care transitions for youth with special health care needs. The Texas Transition Toolkit (the tool) supports providers through a one-stop shop for researching literature on care transitions, a catalog of care transition tools, and guides for developing care transition programs.ObjectiveThis study aims to assess the functionality and usability of the tool with providers working with transition-aged children and youth with special health care needs (representative users).MethodsThe tool was evaluated using a triangulated mixed methods case study approach consisting of a concurrent think-aloud phase, a satisfaction survey, and a survey of problem relevance and task performance to operationalize and capture functionality and usability. Our mixed methods deep dive into the functionality and usability of the tool focused on 10 representative users from one medical home in Texas and 5 website design experts.ResultsRepresentative users found the tool to be highly relevant, as demonstrated by the satisfaction score for relevance (138/150, 92%). According to the users, the tool provided comprehensive information related to health care transitions for youth with special health care needs, with a satisfaction score of 87.3% (131/150) for comprehensive. Overall satisfaction with the tool was high at 81.92% (1065/1300) with a cutoff score of 73.33% (953.4/1300) indicating high satisfaction, but users reported relatively lower satisfaction with search (114/150, 76%) and navigation (ease of use: 114/150, 76%; hyperlinks: 163/200, 81.5%; structure: 159/200, 79.5%). They experienced search- and navigation-related problems (total problems detected: 21/31, 68%) and, based on quality checks, had a relatively low task completion rate for tasks involving finding information (60/80, 75%), which required searching and navigation. The problems identified around search and navigation functionality were relevant (relevance scores ranging from 14.5 to 22, with a cutoff score of 11.7 indicating relevance).ConclusionsThe tool may help bridge the gaps in training on health care transitions for youth with special health care needs in US medical education. The tool can be used to create structured protocols to help improve provider knowledge, collaboration across pediatric and adult care providers, and the continuity of care as youth with special health care needs transition from pediatric to adult care. The results provided a road map for optimizing the tool and highlighted the importance of evaluating eHealth technologies with representative users.

Catalogue of Communication Tools and Dissemination Guidelines: benchmarking current practice in EU and Member State bodies.

A comprehensive benchmarking exercise on current best practices on communication tools and dissemination processes of EU Member State organisations plus Iceland and Norway, selected ENVI EU agencies (EFSA, EMA, ECHA, ECDC), and EU bodies (DG SANTE, JRC, EU COUN) was carried out via an online survey, remote qualitative interviews, and a desk analysis of documents and web content.These current practices have been compiled into a catalogue of communication tools and a guide to their effective dissemination. Both elements are designed to help inform the EC General Plan for Risk Communication (GPRC)andfacilitate a coordinated communication framework at the EU and national level on matters relating to the food chain. The reportsets out a broad overview of the current tools that are commonly used, their intended communication purposes and target audiences. It also describes dissemination channels andmethods to optimise outreach. This work provides a solid platform for EU and Member State bodies to build on going forward. The report should be viewed as a living document that will evolve to meet fast-changing information needs and the requirements of the future GPRC.The catalogue highlights that multimedia tools show relatively high impact scores and high mention rates by the respondents participating in the online survey. Editorial tools are still very important, especially to reach the media. Both physical meetings and events and educational tools have very high impact scores but limited mention rates. All communication tools can be effective if properly designed (i.e. right content and tone of voice for the intended target audience(s) and disseminated through the right channels). Social media and the website are the most used dissemination channels. The reliance on campaigns is widespread as they help achieve a stronger impact on the target audience. Moreover, communication tools supported by best practices in dissemination perform much better and are used by a wider audience than tools that are merely published on an organisation's website. A systematic phased approach to dissemination (1. planning, 2. preparation, 3. publication and distribution, and 4. post-publication and distribution) is, therefore, crucial for a successful communication strategy. Effective leverage of amplifiers (planned and prepared in the first two phases) substantially increases communication tools' outreach in the publication and distribution phase. The usage of Key Performance Indicators, set during the planning phase, allows an organisation to improve both communication tools and their dissemination strategy. Post-publication and distribution is a strategic phase to learn from the outcomes and fine-tune subsequent communication practices.

Integrative bioinformatics analysis of KPNA2 in six major human cancers.

BackgroundMalignant tumors were considered as the leading causes of cancer-related mortality globally. More and more studies found that dysregulated genes played an important role in carcinogenesis. The aim of this study was to explore the significance of KPNA2 in human six major cancers including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, and bladder cancer based on bioinformatics analysis.MethodsThe data were collected and comprehensively analyzed based on multiple databases. KPNA2 mRNA expression in six major cancers was investigated in Oncomine, the human protein atlas, and GEPIA databases. The mutation status of KPNA2 in the six major cancers was evaluated by online data analysis tool Catalog of Somatic Mutations in Cancer (COSMIC) and cBioPortal. Co-expressed genes with KPNA2 were identified by using LinkedOmics and made pairwise correlation by Cancer Regulome tools. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network relevant to KPNA2 was constructed by STRING database and KEGG pathway of the included proteins of the PPI network was explored and demonstrated by circus plot. Survival analysis-relevant KPNA2 of the six cancers was performed by GEPIA online data analysis tool based on TCGA database.ResultsCompared with paired normal tissue, KPNA2 mRNA was upregulated in all of the six types of cancers. KPNA2 mutations, especially missense substitution, were widely identified in six cancers and interact with different genes in different cancer types. Genes involved in PPI network were mainly enriched in p53 signaling pathway, cell cycle, viral carcinogenesis, and Foxo signaling pathway. KPNA2 protein was mainly expressed in nucleoplasm and cytosol in cancer cells. Immunohistochemistry assay indicated that KPNA2 protein was also positively expressed in nucleoplasm with brownish yellow staining. Overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) were different between KPNA2 high and low expression groups.ConclusionsKPNA2 was widely dysregulated and mutated in carcinomas and correlated with the patients prognosis which may be potential target for cancer treatment and biomarker for prognosis.

APE in the Wild: Automated Exploration of Proteomics Workflows in the bio.tools Registry.

The bio.tools registry is a main catalogue of computational tools in the life sciences. More than 17 000 tools have been registered by the international bioinformatics community. The bio.tools metadata schema includes semantic annotations of tool functions, that is, formal descriptions of tools’ data types, formats, and operations with terms from the EDAM bioinformatics ontology. Such annotations enable the automated composition of tools into multistep pipelines or workflows. In this Technical Note, we revisit a previous case study on the automated composition of proteomics workflows. We use the same four workflow scenarios but instead of using a small set of tools with carefully handcrafted annotations, we explore workflows directly on bio.tools. We use the Automated Pipeline Explorer (APE), a reimplementation and extension of the workflow composition method previously used. Moving “into the wild” opens up an unprecedented wealth of tools and a huge number of alternative workflows. Automated composition tools can be used to explore this space of possibilities systematically. Inevitably, the mixed quality of semantic annotations in bio.tools leads to unintended or erroneous tool combinations. However, our results also show that additional control mechanisms (tool filters, configuration options, and workflow constraints) can effectively guide the exploration toward smaller sets of more meaningful workflows.