Brief communication: The Mid-South Clinical Data Research Network

The Mid-South Clinical Data Research Network (CDRN) encompasses three large health systems: (1) Vanderbilt Health System (VU) with electronic medical records for over 2 million patients, (2) the Vanderbilt Healthcare Affiliated Network (VHAN) which currently includes over 40 hospitals, hundreds of ambulatory practices, and over 3 million patients in the Mid-South, and (3) Greenway Medical Technologies, with access to 24 million patients nationally. Initial goals of the Mid-South CDRN include: (1) expansion of our VU data network to include the VHAN and Greenway systems, (2) developing data integration/interoperability across the three systems, (3) improving our current tools for extracting clinical data, (4) optimization of tools for collection of patient-reported data, and (5) expansion of clinical decision support. By 18 months, we anticipate our CDRN will robustly support projects in comparative effectiveness research, pragmatic clinical trials, and other key research areas and have the capacity to share data and health information technology tools nationally.     

中药理论背后的隐性知识

历代本草著作均为博物之作，中药理论的形成与发展受多方面因素影响。传统文化中的鸟文化与禽类药物理论、饮食文化与滑类药物理论关系密切。药物在传统手工业、加工业及日常生活中的应用，同样影响到中药理论的形成与发展。文献学知识及实地采集辨识药物也是理解学习中药理论的基础。     

装配式医院建筑标准体系研究

介绍了装配式医院建筑发展背景,详细阐述了装配式医院建筑标准研编的四大原则和面临的主要问题,提出建设及完善装配式医院建筑建设标准,对一体化、高品质建造医院建筑的支撑作用。     

Research on the Release of Dangerous Compounds from the BTEX and PAHs Groups in Industrial Casting Conditions

The assessment of the harmfulness of moulding and core sands is mainly based on investigations of compositions of gases emitted by liquid casting alloys during the mould pouring. The results of investigations of moulding sands obtained under industrial conditions are presented in this paper. A unique research stand was designed and built for this aim. It allowed us to determine emissions of gases at individual stages of casting a mass up to 50 kg. This approach enables simulation of foundry conditions. Moulding sands bound by organic binders (phenol-formaldehyde; furan), inorganic binders and green sand, were subjected to investigations. The composition of gases that evolved during the individual stages, pouring, cooling and knocking out, was tested each time, and the contents of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BETX) were analysed. Investigations indicated that the emission of gases from sands with inorganic binders is negligible when compared with the emission of gases from sands with organic binders. The emission of gases from green sand is placed in the middle of the scale. As an example: the sand with furan resin emitted 84 mg of BTEX (in recalculation for 1 kg of sand) while from sands with inorganic binders there was a maximum of 2.2 mg (for 1 kg of sand). In the case of sands with inorganic binders, MI and MC sands indicated comparable and very low emissions of gases from the PAHs group, at the level of 0.018 mg and 0.019 mg for 1 kg of sand, respectively. The higher emission of PAHs from MG sand is the result of its different way of hardening (a binder was of an organic character) than of sands MI and MC.     

Applying Health Belief Model to Unveil Employees’ Workplace COVID-19 Protective Behaviors: Insights for the Hospitality Industry

The overwhelming majority of the countries around the globe have witnessed severe cases of the COVID-19 outbreak. Unfortunately, many countries are still beset with such an infectious disease. Despite the fact that there is currently no specific approved cure for this deadly infection, restrictions (e.g., lockdown and border closing) are gradually eased. Meanwhile, businesses are reopening and outdoor leisure activities are about to start again based on strict health, social distancing, and hygiene rules. However, as we still have a long way to reach an ultimate treatment for such deadly virus, changing human behavior sounds the best defense in tackling this challenge till a vaccine is developed for protection against COVID-19. With this realization, using Health Belief Model as the theoretical underpinning, our study endeavors to unveil employees’ adherence to protective health behaviors (PHBs) in the hospitality industry, which is known as a people-focused, labor-intensive, and service-oriented business. This is so crucial since there is a high degree of (frequent) interaction between employees and customers in hotels. Moreover, such establishments are known as areas where customers engage in a variety of activities that make health concerns even more crucial. To achieve the objectives of this research, we used secondary data obtained from one of the largest hotel-related online communities in the world: the ‘Tales from the front desk’. Using template analysis approach, 1680 employees’ comments were examined. The results revealed that hotel employees found themselves at high risk of being infected and several obstacles that impeded their PHBs in the workplace were identified. Our study will provide momentous implications about PHBs against COVID-19 for the hospitality industry.     

Reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Biological Rhythms Interview of assessment in neuropsychiatry-self report for delayed sleep-wake phase disorder

ObjectiveThe Biological Rhythms Interview of Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (BRIAN) might be applicable for assessing delayed sleep-wake phase disorder (DSWPD). We aimed to investigate the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the BRIAN self-report (J-BRIAN-SR) in DSWPD patients and determine a cutoff score to identify the presence of the disorder.MethodsWe enrolled 60 newly diagnosed DSWPD outpatients and 64 age-matched healthy controls. We used Cronbach's alpha for internal reliability to evaluate J-BRIAN-SR. We confirmed the reliability of the A test and re-test using Pearson's correlation coefficient in the controls. We used confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate the factor structure of J-BRIAN-SR and referenced the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) to check concurrent validity. We analyzed the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) to determine the J-BRIAN-SR cutoff point for the presence of DSWPD.ResultsThe 18-component scores of the J-BRIAN-SR had an overall reliability coefficient (Cronbach's alpha) of 0.82. We confirmed a high test-retest reliability using an intraclass correlation coefficient (r = 0.84). The correlation between J-BRIAN-SR and MEQ was 0.38 (p = 0.003). The J-BRIAN-SR that we extracted by exploratory factor analysis consisted of three factors. A score of 40 points provided a sensitivity of 80.0% and a specificity of 75.6% for the positivity of DSWPD.ConclusionsThe results of the present study revealed that J-BRIAN-SR is a valid and reliable instrument for screening and evaluating the severity of DSWPD. Our findings will be useful to physicians and patients in Japan and those in clinical settings.     

U.S. initiatives to strengthen forensic science & international standards in forensic DNA

A number of initiatives are underway in the United States in response to the 2009 critique of forensic science by a National Academy of Sciences committee. This article provides a broad review of activities including efforts of the White House National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Forensic Science and a partnership between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to create the National Commission on Forensic Science and the Organization of Scientific Area Committees. These initiatives are seeking to improve policies and practices of forensic science. Efforts to fund research activities and aid technology transition and training in forensic science are also covered.The second portion of the article reviews standards in place or in development around the world for forensic DNA. Documentary standards are used to help define written procedures to perform testing. Physical standards serve as reference materials for calibration and traceability purposes when testing is performed. Both documentary and physical standards enable reliable data comparison, and standard data formats and common markers or testing regions are crucial for effective data sharing. Core DNA markers provide a common framework and currency for constructing DNA databases with compatible data. Recent developments in expanding core DNA markers in Europe and the United States are discussed.