Use Of Reports Research Articles

The updated mouse universal genotyping array bioinformatic pipeline improves genetic QC in laboratory mice.

The MiniMUGA genotyping array is a popular tool for genetic quality control of laboratory mice and genotyping samples from most experimental crosses involving laboratory strains, particularly for reduced complexity crosses. The content of the production version of the MiniMUGA array is fixed; however, there is the opportunity to improve the array's performance and the associated report's usefulness by leveraging thousands of samples genotyped since the initial description of MiniMUGA. Here, we report our efforts to update and improve marker annotation, increase the number and the reliability of the consensus genotypes for classical inbred strains and substrains, and increase the number of constructs reliably detected with MiniMUGA. In addition, we have implemented key changes in the informatics pipeline to identify and quantify the contribution of specific genetic backgrounds to the makeup of a given sample, remove arbitrary thresholds, include the Y Chromosome and mitochondrial genome in the ideogram, and improve robust detection of the presence of commercially available substrains based on diagnostic alleles. Finally, we have updated the layout of the report to simplify the interpretation and completeness of the analysis and added a section summarizing the ideogram in table format. These changes will be of general interest to the mouse research community and will be instrumental in our goal of improving the rigor and reproducibility of mouse-based biomedical research.

Get your report a thumb-up: An empirical investigation on crowd testing

Crowd testing has been increasingly adopted as a marketing strategy for e-Retailers. However, scant academic research empirically addresses the performance of crowd testing from either the platform's or crowd testers' perspectives. This study aims to investigate the determinants of the usefulness of crowd testing reports in order to theoretically demonstrate the significance of crowd testing strategy, especially for new product promotion. We integrated text mining and regression to test the research model using the data extracted from a crowd testing website, Dealmoon.com. The analysis results show that the crowd testers' credibility and the testing report's information quality both play significant roles in the usefulness of crowd testing reports. Furthermore, the presence of peer testers' reports on the focal product moderates the effect of information quality on the report's usefulness. The research findings provide managerial implications for marketing practitioners to implement the crowd testing strategy effectively and for crowd testers to create useful testing reports.

Quantitative Evaluation of Ethnobotanicals from Dang District, South Gujarat

In the present communication we are trying to report the socio-cultural valuation of the available Phyto-resources from the Dang district, South Gujarat. Quantitative techniques have been used in ethnobotany to compare the uses and the cultural importance of different plant taxa. Researchers have developed several indices to estimate the significance of plant species for humans. We used interview and observational data concerning plants traditionally used by tribal people of south Gujarat. Individual data ‘event’ is collected and segregated in pre-defined use categories. It was then processed separately. Different indices such as User report (UR), Frequency of citation (FC), Number of uses (NU), Cultural importance index (CI), Relative frequency of citation (RFC), and Relative importance index (RI) were calculated. We found a low correlation between the practical and the cultural values of species: some species rarely used were frequently mentioned in interviews, whereas some species frequently used were rarely mentioned in interviews. Indices of cultural and practical value measure different dimensions of the importance of plant species to society. From the present study we found that Moringa oleifera is the most used plant species in the study area.

“Nudge” in Lucca’s Hospital: separate waste collection improvement and cigarettes dumping reduction

Abstract Background Positive behaviour and user's collaboration improved by using choices orientation techniques; in Lucca's Hospital (North-West Tuscany Sanitary Authority) this approach has improved separate waste collection execution and has decreased cigarettes dumping in commons areas. Objectives Phase 1 (May 2019): amendment of choices architecture recyclable waste bins in commons areas and into the wards were boosted, with “islands” clearly visible from any point of common paths; in the transit areas were installed exclusively multi-material and paper bins, equipped with signs that clearly indicate which products deliver; residual waste bins were allowed exclusively in certain points.ashtrays at the hospital entrances were eliminated and replaced with signage indicating smoking cessation benefits and the presence of areas “put your cigarette out” along the structure approach routes. Phase 2 (scheduled for May 2020): “nudge” action Spreading in community (using press and social-media) and locally (using poster) of the slogan “In San Luca we are taking a step forward: don't lag behind!”. This message stimulate the perception of an ongoing change to join. Results A decrease in residual waste collection and in instances of non-compliance in separate waste collection was detected. Decorum in the outdoor environments improved, with a reduction of user's reports and extra-cleaning interventions. Conclusions The described actions have improved user's collaboration, management efficiency of waste disposal and cleaning service, perceived quality and cost. Key messages Imitating a social model appears to be successful motivator of virtuous behaviours. Choices architecture and “nudge” techniques may improve citizens’ care pathways governance.

Faktor Yang Mempengaruhi Masyarakat Menggunakan Aplikasi Lapor Polisi Kita di Kabupaten Sleman

The Republic of Indonesia Special Region of Yogyakarta Police (Polda DIY) launched a Polisi Kita Application program as a means to provide services to the community based on real-time online. The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors that influence the application of e-government to the use of the Polisi Kita Application program in the Yogyakarta Regional Police in 2018. The theory used to analyze this phenomenon is the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) theory. This research uses quantitative research methods. The number of research respondents was 99 respondents who were taken using Accidental Sampling techniques and processed using SmartPLS 3.0 Software. The results of this study state that the discovery of factors that influence online-based public services using UTAUT theory is proven to have a significant influence on the use of public services. Based on the results of the analysis in finding the strength of the relationship between variables X and Y found the highest correlation coefficient results in the Behavioral Intention variable with the Ut variable. E-service (Our Police Report) is (0.920). The Police Application We get a good response from the public regarding the ease of using the Police Application. To be able to maintain and improve performance, the Yogyakarta Regional Police should add a feature to verify the user's cellphone number via SMS or email so that the level of security of the user's report is better.

Diagnosing psychogenic nonepileptic seizures: Video-EEG monitoring, suggestive seizure induction and diagnostic certainty.

Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) can remain undiagnosed for many years, leading to unnecessary medication and delayed treatment. A recent report by the International League Against Epilepsy Nonepileptic Seizures Task Force recommends a staged approach to the diagnosis of PNES (LaFrance, et al., 2013). We aimed to investigate its practical utility, and to apply the proposed classification to evaluate the role of long-term video-EEG monitoring (VEEG) and suggestive seizure induction (SSI) in PNES workup. Using electronic medical records, 122 inpatients (mean age 36.0±12.9years; 68% women) who received the diagnosis of PNES at our epilepsy center during a 4.3-year time period were included. There was an 82.8% agreement between diagnostic certainty documented at discharge and that assigned retroactively using the Task Force recommendations. In a minority of cases, having used the Task Force criteria could have encouraged the clinicians to give more certain diagnoses, exemplifying the Task Force report's utility. Both VEEG and SSI were effective at supporting high level diagnostic certainty. Interestingly, about one in four patients (26.2%) had a non-diagnostic ("negative") VEEG but a positive SSI. On average, this subgroup did not have significantly shorter mean VEEG recording times than VEEG-positive patients. However, VEEG-negative/SSI-positive patients had a significantly lower habitual seizure frequency than their counterparts. This finding emphasizes the utility of SSI in ascertaining the diagnosis of PNES in patients who do not have a spontaneous habitual event during VEEG due to, for example, low seizure frequency.

Motivation for voluntary disclosure of cash flow statements in non-listed medium-sized companies

In some EU member states, medium-sized companies are under the obligation to present a cash flow statement, but there are exemption rules similar to those for subgroups' exemption from presenting consolidated financial statements. In a sample consisting of 385 Danish companies, we found that 29 were actually exempted from presenting consolidated financial statements, but chose to voluntarily disclose the cash flow statement. In this study, we investigate the motivation that the companies had for voluntarily disclosing this information. Much to our surprise, for the majority tradition seemed to be the main motivating factor for presenting the cash flow statement, and not an intention of fulfilling the needs of the annual report's users. We also found that some of the companies that voluntarily disclosed information would like to discontinue doing so, but they did not dare to change the accounting practice because of a potential negative reaction.

The Varieties of Ecstasy Experience: A Phenomenological Ethnography

Ecstasy (MDMA) has attracted widespread attention with its association as a “recreational substance” that is concentrated in club and rave settings. This paper outlines a phenomenologically grounded ethnographic study of the experiences of ecstasy users in the Sydney, Australia, area. I espouse phenomenology as a framework for describing and understanding these experiences. A number of excerpts are presented from my primary corpus of ethnographic material. For the purposes of this paper I assemble user's reports into nine thematic areas: (1) initial reactions and peaking; (2) the rush; (3) plateau; (4) coming down/scattering; (5) love; (6) peace, love, understanding, and respect; (7) connections on ecstasy; (8) unificatory experiences; (9) returning to baseline. The typical experiences presented in these reports confirm and extend interdisciplinary approaches to understanding ecstasy. I suggest that a context-specific approach that is phenomenologically attuned to user's experiences with ecstasy can contribute to the growing body of literature undertaken in the Australian and international research community.

Internet-Based Tools to Assess Diet and Provide Feedback in Chronic Kidney Disease Stage IV: A Pilot Study

Successfully changing patients' dietary behavior is a challenging problem in the management of chronic kidney disease (CKD). We conducted a pilot study to test the feasibility and acceptability of an Internet-based, self-administered, dietary assessment tool equipped with instructional feedback, aimed at facilitating dietary adherence to disease-specific nutritional guidelines among CKD stage IV patients while reducing resource burdens on providers. Focus groups were used to develop a user-friendly dietary reporting format. The report was then calibrated to the dietary guidelines outlined by Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (K/DOQI) and incorporated into the assessment tool. Elements of the report were developed based on the "transtheoretical model of behavior change" theory, aimed at facilitating patients to enter the action stage of change. The tool was later deployed in a nephrology care site at an academic medical center, where 12 patients diagnosed with stage IV CKD (late-stage, predialysis) completed a dietary assessment before their provider encounter as well as questionnaires gauging their computer literacy, nutritional education history, nutritional knowledge and awareness, and acceptability of the tool. The report was made available to the provider during the clinical encounter, and both patient and physician perception of the report's utility was assessed after the encounter. Approximately 25% to 30% of the patients were severely noncompliant to the K/DOQI guidelines for each nutrient. Awareness about the role of diet in CKD management was widely variable, ranging from 0% to 58% of the patients over different nutrients. All of the patients successfully completed the Web-based dietary assessment. Eighty-four percent of the patients positively rated the tool on its ability to record the patients' dietary data, 58% noted the tool was always able to satisfactorily estimate portion sizes, and 50% thought the navigation was easy or very easy. Eleven of the 12 patients were satisfied with the time taken (range: 10 to 40 minutes, median time: 20 minutes) to complete the dietary assessment. Patients and physicians differed considerably in their perception of the use of the report during the clinical encounter. Dietary knowledge and adherence to K/DOQI guidelines among CKD patients is suboptimal. However, interest and motivation is high. Web-based tools are well accepted among CKD patients as an aid to assessing dietary adherence to K/DOQI guidelines and may pose a cost-effective approach to bridging the adherence gap.

Health in Afghanistan: hope and future

Health in Afghanistan: hope and future

Support Method of Model Description Error Detection on a Programming Environment for Multi Agent Simulation

Recently, there are various proposals on tool for multi-agent simulation. However, in such simulation tools, analysts who do not have programming skill spend a lot of time to develop programs because notation of simulation models is not defined sufficiently and programming language is varied on tools. To solve this problem, a programming environment that defines the notation of simulation model has poposed. In this environment, analysts can design simulation with a graph representation and get the program code without writing programs. However, it is difficult to find errors that cause unintended behavior in simulation. Therefore, we propose a support method as a model debugger which helps users to find errors. The debugger generates candidates of errors, using a user's report of unintended behavior based on “typical report patterns”. Candidates of errors are extracted from “tree structure of error-inducing factors” that consists of source patterns of errors. In this paper, we executed experiments that compare time needed for examinees to find errors. Experimental results show the time to find errors by utilizing our model debugger is shortened.

Improving Communication of Health Status Information

This research focused on developing a general health report that conveys an individual's health readings in a clear, concise and explanatory manner and demonstrating the report's usefulness. The research examined the need for such a report and focused the design on the determined need and communication through visual display. The designed “Individual Health Report (IHR)” was evaluated using data obtained from an online survey developed for this research. The analysis involved t-tests, McNemar's tests, linear regression and ANOVA. Results included the finding that the IHR significantly improved respondent's ability to correctly answer questions about their health status and preventive health in general (p < .0001, n = 61). The study also showed that introduction of the IHR by healthcare providers would significantly improve the respondents' view that they get the preventive healthcare information they need to make appropriate decisions (p = 0.0007, n = 61).

Workforce Study Falls Short

A recent report, Assuring the Sufficiency of a Frontline Workforce: A National Study of Licensed Social Workers (2006), a project of NASW's Center for Workforce Studies and the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the State University of New York, University at Albany, identifies three major challenges facing the profession to ensure the future adequacy of work personnel: (1) replacing the large number ready to retire; (2) recruiting workers, especially people of color and men; and (3) retaining the current workforce in an increasingly stressful environment. The report, based on a random sample of 10,000 licensed workers from every state except Delaware and Hawaii, concludes, Clearly, the work profession is at a crossroads. If there are to be adequate numbers of workers to respond to the needs of clients in this decade and beyond, the sufficiency of this frontline workforce must not only be ensured, it must be prioritized. (p. 35) Although the report makes several valuable suggestions to meet the demands of the workforce, most are neither nor particularly creative. This lack of vision diminishes the report's utility as a guide to strategic decision making. These problems stem from the design of the study itself and the authors' reluctance to challenge some of the profession's sacred cows and ask certain pointed, perhaps painful questions. Furthermore, the problems with the report are compounded by the failure to link the data to major policy decisions--inside and outside the profession--during the past several decades. The report asserts that social worker is defined so broadly that it is difficult to obtain reliable data on the current or future state of services workforce needs. It bases its sweeping conclusions, however, on a survey of licensed workers, who represent only 38 percent of the approximately 310,000 self-identified workers in the United States (Center for Workforce Studies, 2006, p. 9). The report acknowledges that dramatic changes have occurred in the services landscape, including demographic shifts, service models, increased emphasis on accountability, and greater reliance on evidence-based practice. These findings have significant implications for the educational preparation of personnel. Yet, although there is widespread agreement that new paradigms are necessary, [coupled with concern] that for-profit models could ultimately put profit ahead of serving the poor (Raising Money to Treat the World's Sickest People, 2006), the authors fail to recognize some of the implications of their data. As the report comments, there are clear divisions today in the distribution of primary responsibility for service functions in the United States. Child welfare, criminal justice, and education remain predominantly the responsibility of the public sector. Mental health, health care, and alcohol and substance abuse are increasingly the responsibility of private sector agencies, many of them for-profit organizations that use a managed care model. Although the authors identify many serious changes that have emerged in the organizational environment of workers, they do not link these problems to such major policy developments as budget cuts, devolution, privatization, managed care, economic globalization, and welfare reform. Social workers are experiencing greater work stress, less job security, declining levels of supervision and training, and decreases in compensation precisely because of these policy developments. The U.S. welfare system is significantly different from what it was in 1980. The report's recommendations offer few ideas about how to overcome these structural obstacles. Most of those surveyed provide direct services in health and mental health, child and family welfare, and aging. The preponderance of this work appears to be more oriented toward psychotherapy than casework and is increasingly likely to occur in private practice or behavioral health clinics. …

Improving Rates of Screening and Prevention by Leveraging Existing Information Systems

In 1997 Virginia Mason Health System (VMMC), a vertically integrated hospital and multispecialty group practice, had no process or system to deliver the right patient clinical data, in the right form, at the right place--when providers needed it for effective patient care. Without any new investment in technology, a work group of five individuals leveraged existing, primarily paper-based information systems to launch development and implementation of a provider prompting tool--a primary care and prevention (PCP) report--which prompted providers to complete screening, prevention, and disease management services at every patient appointment. The work group developed and pilot tested the report and created a mechanism by which the report could be delivered just in time before each patient's appointment. The report integrated information from independent appointment scheduling, laboratory results reporting, patient demographics, and billing data sources. MEASURING THE PCP REPORT'S IMPACT: The results of two separate analyses demonstrate improvement in rates of screening and prevention across VMMC soon after the PCP report became available. These results led senior leadership to make the PCP report's utilization a systemwide imperative. The PCP report is used by nearly all primary care providers as a prompt to complete screening, prevention, and disease management services at every patient appointment.

Uma ferramenta para treinamento na avaliação de imagens mamográficas via Internet

Este trabalho consiste na implementação de um esquema computacional instalado em um "site" associado à "homepage" do Laboratório de Análise e Digitalização de Imagens do Departamento de Engenharia Elétrica da Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos ¾ Universidade de São Paulo, São Carlos, SP, para proporcionar um procedimento de interatividade com o usuário remoto na elaboração de laudo a partir da análise de imagens mamográficas via rede, com avaliação automática do parecer emitido. Isto foi feito a partir da implantação de um banco de imagens mamográficas digitalizadas, adequadamente pré-selecionadas, associado a uma base de dados com os laudos fornecidos por radiologistas especialistas. Como o processo tem a finalidade de ser utilizado para treinamento na avaliação diagnóstica em mamografia, o laudo do especialista é disponibilizado para comparação após a finalização de cada avaliação, juntamente com o parecer fornecido pelo usuário e sua porcentagem de acerto. Esse esquema, denominado "Laudos Online", objetiva também permitir ao usuário aprimorar seus conhecimentos, funcionando como uma ferramenta de ensino a distância.

Utilidad del informe del usuario en la monitorización del uso racional de medicamentos

To determine the usefulness of patients' reports in constructing indicators of the rational use of medicines and to analyse these reports' benefits and limitations in comparison with the medical records. Cross-sectional multi-centred study. Eight primary care health centres. For each centre a randomised sample, stratified by medical list, was selected of 125 subjects over 18 who had attended on some occasion the medical clinic in the previous 12 months (1000 subjects in all). A <<report-type>> questionnaire was designed and distributed (with questions referring to objective concrete experiences), in which information was gathered on various aspects of the use of medicines. In addition, these data were checked against the medical records of the subjects who answered the questionnaire. The reply rate was 43.7% for the questionnaire as a whole. It fluctuated between 92.0% and 46.0% in different specific items. The age of the patient, the number of consultations and suffering a chronic illness all affected the level of response to the questionnaire. Nevertheless, the users provided between 2 and 5 times more information than the medical record, with moderate-to-high reliability. Concordance between what was reported and what was recorded varied between 72.0% and 82.0%. The user's report can be useful, as a substitute for and as a complement to other sources of information, to construct indicators of the rational use of medication from an integrated perspective.

International Commercial Arbitration in Japan: A User's Report

International Commercial Arbitration in Japan: A User's Report

The UPIC System: A User's Report

No doubt one of Europe's major events in contemporary music in 1985 was the seven-week gathering of composers, instrumentalists, and students from all over the world at the Centre Acanthes in honor of lannis Xenakis. The Paris-based Centre Acanthes, a nonprofit organization founded 10 years ago, moves to Aix-enProvence in South France once a year to host a summer session with composers of our time, which in former years have been Stockhausen, Berio, Ligeti, and Xenakis himself. Last year, the center was chosen by its sponsors (the European Parliament and the French Government, among others) to take part in the European Year of Music. During the months of July and August, it extended its usual session, traditionally based at the Milhaud Conservatory in Aix, by travelling to the New Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria (Fig. 1) (upon the invitation of Rolf Liebermann, whom some may also remember for his compositions for mechanical instruments during the 1950s), and finally to the European Center in Delphi, Greece. The three sessions, which could be visited individually or successively, averaged approximately 70 students. The sessions were dedicated wholly to the works, theories, and ideas of lannis Xenakis, therefore encompassing instrumental music as well as computer and electronic music. Topics were discussed in seminars held by a staff of approximately 15 (including Xenakis) of the foremost European musicians in contemporary music. On the instrumental side were Elizabeth Chojnacka (harpsichord), Sylvio Gualda (percussio), James Wood (choir), Claude Helffer (piano), and the Arditti String Quartett. On the electronic side, which focused on the UPIC sysThe UPIC System: A User's Report

The contribution of social science research to health policy: the Royal Commission on the National Health Service.

This article adopts a case study approach to examine the contribution of social science research to health policy. It concentrates exclusively on the recent Royal Commission on the National Health Service. After describing its background and modus operandi the paper goes on to assess the Report's utilization of social science research, both in its diagnosis and recommendations. This assessment suggests that while the Commissioners made relatively little use of research-based evidence in their diagnosis, their recommendations provide the basis for a substantial increase in the contribution of social scientists, particularly in the field of health services evaluation.

Computer Support for a Systems Approach to Instruction: Problem Statement, Data Entry, and Group Formation

The Jefferson County Public Schools is conducting a study which implements a digital time-shared computer as support for a systems approach to instruction. This study presently involves one elementary school but will support a total of thirteen schools in the future. The computer support includes computer generated criterion test forms. The items for the test forms are randomly selected from a test-item bank. Additional computer support includes the use of a remote document reader for test scoring and updating student academic records. The records are updated using test results and teacher certification of mastery. Data from academic records is being studied to determine its usefulness for formation of instructional groups in a multi-unit elementary school. The design of feedback reports to teachers is being studied in order to optimize the report's usefulness in instructional processes. The effects on teacher's roles caused by the computer support of an existing instructional system are being observed.