Finding What Works in Health Care

Finding What Works in Health Care

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2011-07-20

Total Pages: 267

ISBN-13: 0309164257

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Healthcare decision makers in search of reliable information that compares health interventions increasingly turn to systematic reviews for the best summary of the evidence. Systematic reviews identify, select, assess, and synthesize the findings of similar but separate studies, and can help clarify what is known and not known about the potential benefits and harms of drugs, devices, and other healthcare services. Systematic reviews can be helpful for clinicians who want to integrate research findings into their daily practices, for patients to make well-informed choices about their own care, for professional medical societies and other organizations that develop clinical practice guidelines. Too often systematic reviews are of uncertain or poor quality. There are no universally accepted standards for developing systematic reviews leading to variability in how conflicts of interest and biases are handled, how evidence is appraised, and the overall scientific rigor of the process. In Finding What Works in Health Care the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends 21 standards for developing high-quality systematic reviews of comparative effectiveness research. The standards address the entire systematic review process from the initial steps of formulating the topic and building the review team to producing a detailed final report that synthesizes what the evidence shows and where knowledge gaps remain. Finding What Works in Health Care also proposes a framework for improving the quality of the science underpinning systematic reviews. This book will serve as a vital resource for both sponsors and producers of systematic reviews of comparative effectiveness research.


Measuring the Science and Engineering Enterprise

Measuring the Science and Engineering Enterprise

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2000-03-14

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 0309068924

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The science and engineering enterprise has continued to evolve, responding over the last decade to increased economic globalization, a post-cold war military, federal budget fluctuations, and structural changes in the way science and engineering are conducted and innovations are adopted. This report suggests ways to revise the data collection activities of the Science Resources Studies Division (SRS) of the National Science Foundation to better capture the current realities of R&D funding and S&E human resources. The report's recommendations would improve the relevance of the data on graduate education, the labor market for scientists and engineers, and the funding and conduct of research and development, and thus better meet the data needs of policymakers, managers, and researchers.


The Enhanced Forest Inventory and Analysis Program--national Sampling Design and Estimation Procedures

The Enhanced Forest Inventory and Analysis Program--national Sampling Design and Estimation Procedures

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 96

ISBN-13:

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The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service is in the process of moving from a system of quasi-independent, regional, periodic inventories to an enhanced program featuring greater national consistency, a complete and annual sample of each State, new reporting requirements, and integration with the ground sampling component of the Forest Health Monitoring Program. This documentation presents an overview of the conceptual design, describes the sampling frame and plot configuration, presents the estimators that form the basis of FIA's National Information Management System (NIMS), and shows how annual data are combined for analysis. It also references a number of Web-based supplementary documents that provide greater detail about some of the more obscure aspects of the sampling and estimation system, as well as examples of calculations for most of the common estimators produced by FIA.


Stimulated Raman Scattering Microscopy

Stimulated Raman Scattering Microscopy

Author: Ji-Xin Cheng

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2021-12-04

Total Pages: 612

ISBN-13: 0323903371

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Stimulated Raman Scattering Microscopy: Techniques and Applications describes innovations in instrumentation, data science, chemical probe development, and various applications enabled by a state-of-the-art stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscope. Beginning by introducing the history of SRS, this book is composed of seven parts in depth including instrumentation strategies that have pushed the physical limits of SRS microscopy, vibrational probes (which increased the SRS imaging functionality), data science methods, and recent efforts in miniaturization. This rapidly growing field needs a comprehensive resource that brings together the current knowledge on the topic, and this book does just that. Researchers who need to know the requirements for all aspects of the instrumentation as well as the requirements of different imaging applications (such as different types of biological tissue) will benefit enormously from the examples of successful demonstrations of SRS imaging in the book. Led by Editor-in-Chief Ji-Xin Cheng, a pioneer in coherent Raman scattering microscopy, the editorial team has brought together various experts on each aspect of SRS imaging from around the world to provide an authoritative guide to this increasingly important imaging technique. This book is a comprehensive reference for researchers, faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and engineers. - Includes every aspect from theoretic reviews of SRS spectroscopy to innovations in instrumentation and current applications of SRS microscopy - Provides copious visual elements that illustrate key information, such as SRS images of various biological samples and instrument diagrams and schematics - Edited by leading experts of SRS microscopy, with each chapter written by experts in their given topics


The Information Revolution and Developing Countries

The Information Revolution and Developing Countries

Author: Ernest J. Wilson (III.)

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 462

ISBN-13: 9780262232302

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An analysis of the problems and possibilities of the information revolution in developing countries, taking into account political, institutional, and cultural dynamics and structures.


Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests

Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests

Author: James H. Miller

Publisher: DIANE Publishing

Published: 2011-08

Total Pages: 136

ISBN-13: 1437987451

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Invasions of non-native plants into forests of the Southern United States continue to go unchecked and only partially un-monitored. These infestations increasingly erode forest productivity, hindering forest use and management activities, and degrading diversity and wildlife habitat. Often called non-native, exotic, non-indigenous, alien, or noxious weeds, they occur as trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, ferns, and forbs. This guide provides information on accurate identification of the 56 non-native plants and groups that are currently invading the forests of the 13 Southern States. In additin, it lists other non-native plants of growing concern. Illustrations. This is a print on demand edition of an important, hard-to-find publication.


Crown-condition Classification

Crown-condition Classification

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 92

ISBN-13:

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The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program of the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, conducts a national inventory of forests across the United States. A systematic subset of permanent inventory plots in 38 States is currently sampled every year for numerous forest health indicators. One of these indicators, crown-condition classification, is designed to estimate tree crown dimensions and assess the impact of crown stressors. The indicator features eight tree-level field measurements in addition to variables traditionally measured in conjunction with FIA inventories: vigor class, uncompacted live crown ratio, crown light exposure, crown position, crown density, crown dieback, foliage transparency, and crown diameter. Indicators of crown health derived from the crown data are intended for analyses at the State, regional, and national levels, and contribute to the core tabular output in standard FIA reports. Crown-condition measurements were originally implemented as part of the Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Program in 1990. Except for crown diameter, these measurements were continued when the FIA Program assumed responsibility for FHM plot-based detection monitoring in 2000. This report describes in detail the data collection and analytical techniques recommended for crown-condition classification.


Halcion

Halcion

Author: Committee on Halcion: An Assessment of Data Adequacy and Confidence

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1997-12-15

Total Pages: 177

ISBN-13: 0309591457

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Regulatory agencies within the United States and the United Kingdom, among several other countries, have reviewed extensively the safety and efficacy of Halcion (triazolam)--a once commonly used hypnotic drug. Concerns began to emerge about the safety of Halcion when a Dutch physician reported a possible link between it and a syndrome that included such effects as depression, amnesia, hallucinations, and increased anxiety. In addition, in 1991 its manufacturer, Upjohn, noted that "errors had been identified in a report of one of the clinical studies included in the original" application for approval. Since then, the drug has been removed from the market in several countries, whereas in the United States and Canada, the drug's labeling has been modified to reduce the recommended dose and duration of treatment and to heighten awareness of possible side effects. Yet different data and analyses have resulted in conflicting messages that are difficult to reconcile and interpret. In response to a request from the Food and Drug Administration to resolve these controversial issues related to the safety and efficacy of Halcion, this IOM book assesses the adequacy of the drug's clinical trials; the quality and quantity of data on adverse reactions; overall confidence in the data on effectiveness, adverse events, and side effects at different doses; and whether additional studies are needed.


SAS® Software Companion for Sampling

SAS® Software Companion for Sampling

Author: Sharon L. Lohr

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2021-11-30

Total Pages: 247

ISBN-13: 1000479714

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The SAS® Software Companion for Sampling: Design and Analysis, designed to be read alongside Sampling: Design and Analysis, Third Edition by Sharon L. Lohr (SDA; 2022, CRC Press), shows how to use the survey selection and analysis procedures of SAS® software to perform calculations for the examples in SDA. No prior experience with SAS software is needed. Chapter 1 tells you how to access the software, introduces basic features, and helps you get started with analyzing data. Each subsequent chapter provides step-by-step guidance for working through the data examples in the corresponding chapter of SDA, with code, output, and interpretation. Tips and warnings help you develop good programming practices and avoid common survey data analysis errors. Features of the SAS software procedures are introduced as they are needed so you can see how each type of sample is selected and analyzed. Each chapter builds on the knowledge developed earlier for simpler designs; after finishing the book, you will know how to use SAS software to select and analyze almost any type of probability sample. All code is available on the book website and is easily adapted for your own survey data analyses. The website also contains all data sets from the examples and exercises in SDA to help you develop your skills through analyzing survey data from social and public opinion research, public health, crime, education, business, agriculture, and ecology