Common data model for neuroscience data and data model exchange

OBJECTIVE

Generalizing the data models underlying two prototype neurophysiology databases, the authors describe and propose the Common Data Model (CDM) as a framework for federating a broad spectrum of disparate neuroscience information resources.

DESIGN

Each component of the CDM derives from one of five superclasses-data, site, method, model, and reference-or from relations defined between them. A hierarchic attribute-value scheme for metadata enables interoperability with variable tree depth to serve specific intra- or broad inter-domain queries. To mediate data exchange between disparate systems, the authors propose a set of XML-derived schema for describing not only data sets but data models. These include biophysical description markup language (BDML), which mediates interoperability between data resources by providing a meta-description for the CDM.

RESULTS

The set of superclasses potentially spans data needs of contemporary neuroscience. Data elements abstracted from neurophysiology time series and histogram data represent data sets that differ in dimension and concordance. Site elements transcend neurons to describe subcellular compartments, circuits, regions, or slices; non-neuroanatomic sites include sequences to patients. Methods and models are highly domain-dependent.

CONCLUSIONS

True federation of data resources requires explicit public description, in a metalanguage, of the contents, query methods, data formats, and data models of each data resource. Any data model that can be derived from the defined superclasses is potentially conformant and interoperability can be enabled by recognition of BDML-described compatibilities. Such metadescriptions can buffer technologic changes.

Deliberate self-harm and antidepressant drugs. Investigation of a possible link

BACKGROUND

It is not clear if the frequency of deliberate self-harm (DSH) is the same in patients taking different pharmacological classes of antidepressant drugs.

AIMS

To compare the frequency of DSH in patients who had been prescribed a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) or a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) prior to the DSH event.

METHOD

This was a prospective study in 2776 consecutive DSH cases attending an accident and emergency department. The incidence of DSH in TCA-treated cases and SSRI-treated cases is expressed as number of DSH events per 10 000 prescriptions of each antidepressant.

RESULTS

Significantly more DSH events occurred following the prescription of an SSRI than that of a TCA (P<0.001). The occurrence of DSH was highest with fluoxetine and lowest with amitriptyline.

CONCLUSIONS

Merely prescribing safer-in-overdose antidepressants is unlikely to reduce the overall morbidity from DSH.

Manual handling injuries in health care workers

Nursing aides are particularly susceptible to manual handling injuries because they have the primary responsibility for heavy lifting. The aim of this study was to determine why a specific group of nursing aides have the highest manual handling injury rate in their hospital. The study investigated the adequacy of the manual handling training program, knowledge of manual handling, mechanical aid availability, and use of mechanical aids. Results indicated that the nursing aides' manual handling knowledge was adequate but that they rarely used mechanical aids. This lack of use of aids was in part due to an over-reliance on their own strength and abilities. This may have been due to a lack of suitable mechanical aids on the wards or a lack of familiarity with the available aids. This study suggests that neither training alone nor the purchase of equipment alone is likely to resolve manual handling problems.

General practitioner training in palliative care: an experiential approach

With the rising incidence of cancer and with more terminally ill patients wishing to be cared for at home, it is clear that there is a growing need for general practitioners (GPs) who are skilled in providing palliative care. In an attempt to improve the palliative care knowledge and skills of GPs in Western Australia and the quality of care they provide, a 14-week training program was developed by the Silver Chain Nursing Association and the Perth South Eastern Division of General Practice. The program used experiential learning techniques, such as a clinical attachment and mentoring. Research has shown that performance-based rather than cognitive education methods have a greater impact on practice outcomes. The program was evaluated by an external body and found to have achieved its objectives. The results of the evaluation are discussed, together with their implications for postgraduate education.

Mechanical equipment injuries in small manufacturing businesses. Knowledge, behavioural, and management issues

This paper presents findings from an extensive study into factors that impact upon the high rate of injuries due to mechanical equipment, especially in small manufacturing firms. Issues relating to knowledge of health and safety issues and to management practices have been shown to be extremely important with regards to safety in small businesses. Knowledge and awareness of hazards were found to be relatively low and few respondents, especially managers, had received adequate safety training. Managers did not regard the identification and control of risks as a priority. Workplaces generally lacked effective safety management procedures such as safety rules and regulations, procedures for recording and learning from accidents, and clearly defined responsibilities for safety. Some issues requiring further investigation, and some recommendations for improving safety in small businesses, are presented.

Infection of B cell-deficient mice with CDC 1551, a clinical isolate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: delay in dissemination and development of lung pathology

Long-term survival of mice infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis is dependent upon IFN-gamma and T cells, but events in early phases of the immune response are not well understood. In this study, we describe a role for B cells during early immune responses to infection with a clinical isolate of M. tuberculosis (CDC 1551). Following a low-dose infection with M. tuberculosis CDC 1551, similar numbers of bacteria were detected in the lungs of both B cell knockout (IgH 6-, BKO) and C57BL/6J (wild-type) mice. However, despite comparable bacterial loads in the lungs, less severe pulmonary granuloma formation and delayed dissemination of bacteria from lungs to peripheral organs were observed in BKO mice. BKO mice reconstituted with naive B cells, but not those given M. tuberculosis-specific Abs, before infection developed pulmonary granulomas and dissemination patterns similar to wild-type animals. Further analysis of lung cell populations revealed greater numbers of lymphocytes, especially CD8+ T cells, macrophages, and neutrophils in wild-type and reconstituted mice than in BKO mice. Thus, less severe lesion formation and delayed dissemination of bacteria found in BKO mice were dependent on B cells, not Abs, and were associated with altered cellular infiltrate to the lungs. These observations demonstrate an important, previously unappreciated, role for B cells during early immune responses to M. tuberculosis infections.

Aminoglycoside dosing in diabetes

Studies have evaluated the comparative efficacy, toxicity and costs associated with extended-interval vs. standard multiple daily dosing of aminoglycosides. In this case, an elderly man with diabetes and good renal function at baseline was switched from standard to extended-interval dosing. During the course of therapy there was evidence of decreased renal function. Pertinent literature was searched for, uncovered and critically evaluated to determine if and what evidence supports using extended dosing of aminoglycosides in this population. No data were found specifically evaluating the different dosing strategies in diabetic patients. However, there were many trials and several meta-analysis located that compared the two dosing strategies, most suggesting at least a cost advantage and possibly less toxicity with extended-interval dosing. Further information is needed to determine whether there is a differential risk for toxicity between these dosing regimens in patient with diabetes.

Barriers to the implementation of management systems: lessons from the past

There is a substantial body of evidence, both empirical and anecdotal, concerning factors associated with the success and failure of management systems. Given the increasing interest in management systems for occupational health and safety, quality, and the environment, it is worth looking at some of these factors in order to learn from them and plan for the future. One of the most comprehensive sources of information about factors that can make a management system succeed or fail lies in the material written about systems that improve the quality of products and services. Such systems were extremely widespread during the 1970s and 1980s but are now much less often cited or studied by Australian organisations. One of the reasons underlying the present relative lack of emphasis is that such programs, both here and overseas, experienced a failure rate of between 85% and 95%. While it may seem unlikely that occupational health and safety (OHS) and environmental management systems will experience similar failure rates, it is still worthwhile to look at what went wrong with other systems and to learn from these experiences.

Combinatorial Methods for the Synthesis of Aluminophosphate Molecular Sieves

Automatic dispensing of reagents into autoclave blocks followed by synthesis, isolation, and automated structure analysis with X-ray diffractometry represents an efficient methodology for the combinatorial synthesis of microporous materials. The figure shows a typical diffractogram of as-synthesized AFI-type molecular sieves taken with a CCD camera.

An outbreak of Salmonella typhimurium DT170 associated with kebab meat and yogurt relish

During July 1995, an outbreak of Salmonella typhimurium definitive type (DT) 170, an unusual strain, occurred in South Wales. A case-control study found that illness was associated with eating kebabs (odds ratio undefined, P = 0.002), doner kebabs (odds ratio 7.9, 95 % confidence interval 1.5-20.5, P = 0.02) and kebabs with yoghurt based relish (odds ratio undefined, P = 0.009) but not with eating kebabs with mayonnaise-based relish (odds ratio 2.4, 95 % confidence interval 0.4-13.9, P = 0.53). Environmental investigations discovered a complex web of producers and wholesale suppliers. Kebab meat and yoghurt had been supplied to the two main implicated outlets by a single wholesaler. Samples of raw minced lamb and several environmental swabs taken at the wholesaler were positive for S. typhimurium DT170. Blood-stained, unsealed yoghurt pots were observed to be stored under a rack of raw lamb. Investigators of food poisoning outbreaks linked to takeaway food should consider cross-contaminated relishes and dressings as well as undercooked meat as potential vehicles of infection.

The fetal cleft palate: I. Characterization of a congenital model

Any animal model of a human congenital anomaly established by iatrogenic methods involving intrauterine fetal manipulation has limited clinical applicability. A congenital model that more closely simulates the etiopathogenesis of a human anomaly may provide data that can more readily be extrapolated to that anomaly and, therefore, be used in diagnostic and management strategies. The present work provides a description and characterization of a congenital model of cleft palate in the goat. Palatal shelf closure normally occurs at approximately day 38 of gestation in the caprine species. Sixteen pregnant goats were gavaged twice daily during gestational days 32 through 41 [term, 145 days] with a plant slurry of Nicotiana glauca containing the piperidine alkaloid teratogen anabasine. Gross analysis and measurement of fetal clefts were performed at 60, 70, and 85 days gestation (four fetuses were studied at each time point). Seventeen clefted kids were sacrificed at specific intervals after birth (2 weeks, and 1, 3, and 6 months); after skull debridement and preparation, they were compared with 12 unclefted control kids. Complete clefting of the secondary palate occurred in 97 percent of the fetuses. In all cases, the cleft extended from the posterior aspect of the alveolar ridge to the uvula; the majority of these clefts were bilateral, with complete detachment of the vomer. Morphologically, these clefts were similar to human clefts. Eighteen percent of clefted newborn kids demonstrated gross maxillary hypoplasia and midfacial retrusion at birth with a relative Class III malocclusion. Direct measurement of the congenital caprine skulls confirmed these findings. The incidence of midfacial growth abnormalities in these clefted animals raises questions regarding the etiopathogenesis of facial dysmorphology that is unrelated to scarring of the maxilla. This congenital cleft palate model is currently being used to explore these questions and others related to craniofacial growth and palatal function after in utero repair.

A case of risperidone overdose in early schizophrenia: a review of potential complications

Deliberate drug overdose is a frequent occurrence in patients with schizophrenia. Typical antipsychotic medications can be lethal at doses 5 times the recommended therapeutic range. Clozapine, an atypical antipsychotic, can be toxic at doses 4 times a moderate dose. Little is known about the lethal effects of the novel antipsychotic risperidone, despite the fact that it is now one of the most widely prescribed antipsychotics in North America. To date, only 1 death attributable to risperidone overdose has been reported. The case presented here documents adverse cardiac effects in a 28-year-old man who intentionally ingested 24 mg of risperidone--4 times the recommended dose. A potential drug interaction with fluvoxamine and the role of active metabolites are discussed.

Using benchmarking to improve organizational communication

Best practice refers to those practices that lead to superior performance in a company or enterprise relative to industry or international leaders. Benchmarking of those activities that are critical to organizational performance is an important part of the identification and implementation of best-practice approaches. This article looks at communication as one aspect in the development of best practice in the management of safety, environment, and quality. A number of barriers to effective communication are identified, and benchmarks for the evaluation of organizational communication are suggested.

Integrating training systems for occupational health and safety, quality and environmental management

Quality, occupational health and safety, and environmental issues are three key areas that, along with productivity and service, must be managed effectively. Organizations face the need to develop integrated systems for the management of these areas. As organizations increasingly need to seek efficiencies, one field in which such integration can bring considerable gains is training. The present paper examines how the requirements for training in different areas overlap and how an integrated training program may be developed.

Best-link matching of Scottish health data sets

Methods are described used to link the Community Health Index and the National Health Service Central Register (NHSCR) in Scotland to provide a basis for a national patient index. The linkage used a combination of deterministic and probability matching techniques. A best-link principle was used by which each Community Health Index record was allowed to link only to the NHSCR record with which it achieved the highest match weight. This strategy, applied in the context of two files which each covered virtually the entire population of Scotland, increased the accuracy of linkage approximately a thousand-fold compared with the likely results of a less structured probability matching approach. By this means, 98.8% of linkable records were linked automatically with a sufficient degree of confidence for administrative purposes.

Postural dynamics and the preferred critical boundary for visually guided reaching

How do people choose an action to satisfy a goal from among the actions that are afforded by the environment? In 3 experiments the action modes used by actors to reach for a block placed at various distances from them were observed. In each experiment, when actors were not restricted in how they could reach for the object, the transition from their reaching using only arm extension to a mode of reaching in which they used the upper torso to lean forward occurred at closer distances than each actor's absolute critical boundary, beyond which the former action was no longer afforded. In Experiments 2 and 3 actors' seated posture was varied so that the effect of postural dynamics on the distance at which actors actually chose to make the transition between action modes, the preferred critical boundary, could be examined. The results are consistent with the proposal that the preferred critical boundary reflects the relative comfort of available modes of reaching.

TgPVR21 mice for testing type-3 oral poliovirus vaccines: role of clinical observation and histological examination

Transgenic mice susceptible to poliovirus (TgPVR mice) have been used to study poliovirus neurovirulence and attenuation. It was shown recently that mouse line TgPVR21 may be a suitable model to evaluate neurovirulence safety of oral poliovirus vaccine. It was important to determine whether TgPVR21 mice are sensitive enough to discriminate between type-3 reference and 'marginal' vaccines, i.e. those that failed the monkey test while containing only slightly increased amounts of neurovirulent revertants at position 472 of the viral genome as measured by a molecular assay MAPREC. Data presented here demonstrate that TgPVR21 mice are not less sensitive than monkeys in the detection of marginal vaccines. In contrast to the monkey neurovirulence test, which is based on histological examination of the CNS, the TgPVR21 mouse neurovirulence test revealed marginal vaccines by simple analysis of clinical signs without requiring a laborious histological examination.

Postural dynamics and the preferred critical boundary for visually guided reaching

How do people choose an action to satisfy a goal from among the actions that are afforded by the environment? In 3 experiments the action modes used by actors to reach for a block placed at various distances from them were observed. In each experiment, when actors were not restricted in how they could reach for the object, the transition from their reaching using only arm extension to a mode of reaching in which they used the upper torso to lean forward occurred at closer distances than each actor's absolute critical boundary, beyond which the former action was no longer afforded. In Experiments 2 and 3 actors' seated posture was varied so that the effect of postural dynamics on the distance at which actors actually chose to make the transition between action modes, the preferred critical boundary, could be examined. The results are consistent with the proposal that the preferred critical boundary reflects the relative comfort of available modes of reaching.

A high-resolution genetic map of the familial Mediterranean fever candidate region allows identification of haplotype-sharing among ethnic groups

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a recessive disorder of inflammation caused by mutations in a gene (designated MEFV) on chromosome 16p13.3. We have recently constructed a 1-Mb cosmid contig that includes the FMF critical region. Here we show genotype data for 12 markers from our physical map, including 5 newly identified microsatellites, in FMF families. Intrafamilial recombinations placed MEFV in the approximately 285 kb between D16S468/D16S3070 and D16S3376. We observed significant linkage disequilibrium in the North African Jewish population, and historical recombinants in the founder haplotype placed MEFV between D16S3082 and D16S3373 (approximately 200 kb). In smaller panels of Iraqi Jewish, Arab, and Armenian families, there were significant allelic associations only for D16S3370 and D16S2617 among the Armenians. A sizable minority of Iraqi Jewish and Armenian carrier chromosomes appeared to be derived from the North African Jewish ancestral haplotype. We observed a unique FMF haplotype common to Iraqi Jews, Arabs, and Armenians and two other haplotypes restricted to either the Iraqi Jewish or the Armenian population. These data support the view that a few major mutations account for a large percentage of the cases of FMF and suggest that some of these mutations arose before the affected Middle Eastern populations diverged from one another.

Occupational health and safety management systems

There is a need for OHS management systems that can be integrated with systems for the management of other organizational priorities including quality, environment, productivity, and the like. The present article presents an overview of the draft Australian/New Zealand Standard on Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems as a step toward the development of such integrated systems. This draft standard presents a five-stage process of OHS management. The five stages--commitment and policy, planning, implementation, measurement and evaluation, and management review and improvement--will create a cycle of activity that can lead to the continual improvement of processes and systems for OHS management in the workplace.

Construction of a 1-Mb restriction-mapped cosmid contig containing the candidate region for the familial Mediterranean fever locus (MEFV) on chromosome 16p 13.3

In this paper we describe the assembly and restriction map of a 1.05-Mb cosmid contig spanning the candidate region for familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), a recessively inherited disorder of inflammation localized to 16p13.3. Using a combination of cosmid walking and screening for P1, PAC, BAC, and YAC clones, we have generated a contig of genomic clones spanning approximately 1050 kb that contains the FMF critical region. The map consists of 179 cosmid, 15 P1, 10 PAC, 3 BAC, and 17 YAC clones, anchored by 27 STS markers. Eight additional STSs have been developed from the approximately 700 kb immediately centromeric to this genomic region. Five of the 35 STSs are microsatellites that have not been previously reported. NotI and EcoRI mapping of the overlapping cosmids, hybridization of restriction fragments from cosmids to one another, and STS analyses have been used to validate the assembly of the contig. Our contig totally subsumes the 250-kb interval recently reported, by founder haplotype analysis, to contain the FMF gene. Thus, our high-resolution clone map provides an ideal resource for transcriptional mapping toward the eventual identification of this disease gene.

A milk-borne campylobacter outbreak following an educational farm visit

After a nursery school trip to a dairy farm, 20 (53%) of 38 children and 3 (23%) of 13 adult helpers developed gastrointestinal infection. Campylobacter jejuni was isolated from 15 primary cases and from 3 of 9 secondary household cases. A cohort study of the school party found illness to be associated with drinking raw milk (relative risk 5.4, 95% confidence interval 1.4-20.4, P = 0.001). There was a significant dose response relationship between amount of raw milk consumed and risk of illness (chi 2-test for linear trend 12.1, P = 0.0005) but not with incubation period, severity of symptoms or duration of illness. All 18 human campylobacter isolates were C. jejuni resistotype 02 and either biotype I (number 16) or biotype II (number 2). Campylobacter was also isolated from samples of dairy cattle and bird faeces obtained at the farm but these were of different resisto/biotypes. Educational farm visits have become increasingly popular in recent years and this outbreak illustrates the hazard of exposure to raw milk in this setting.

Tyramine content of previously restricted foods in monoamine oxidase inhibitor diets

Traditional monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) remain an important class of drugs for a variety of psychiatric conditions, including depressive illnesses, anxiety, and eating disorders. It was the objective of this study to refine the MAOI diet by determining the tyramine content of a variety of untested and "controversial" foods that continue to appear on MAOI diet-restricted food lists. A secondary objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of freshness on the tyramine content of some foods. Fifty-one food samples were evaluated for tyramine content by liquid chromatography. Food samples included a selection of sausages, beverages, sliced meat products, including chicken liver, and some fruits, including raspberries, bananas, and banana peels. Foods that were found to have dangerously high concentrations of tyramine (> or = 6 mg/serving) included chicken liver aged 9 days (63.84 mg/30 g), air-dried sausage (7.56 g/30 g), soy sauce (0.941 mg/ml), and sauerkraut (7.75 mg/250 g). Of the foods analyzed in this study, only those with high tyramine content per serving should continue to be absolutely restricted. All other foods are either safe for consumption or safe in moderation. The data provided should be combined with the data from other similar analytical studies to develop a list of foods that should be absolutely restricted. A more accurate list of restricted foods may enhance patient dietary compliance.