A standardized protocol for management of Category II tracings: provider perceptions of benefits and barriers

AbstractUsing brain atlases to localize regions of interest is a requirement for making neuroscientifically valid statistical inferences. These atlases, represented in volumetric or surface coordinate spaces, can describe brain topology from a variety of perspectives. Although many human brain atlases have circulated the field over the past fifty years, limited effort has been devoted to their standardization. Standardization can facilitate consistency and transparency with respect to orientation, resolution, labeling scheme, file storage format, and coordinate space designation. Our group has worked to consolidate an extensive selection of popular human brain atlases into a single, curated, open-source library, where they are stored following a standardized protocol with accompanying metadata, which can serve as the basis for future atlases. The repository containing the atlases, the specification, as well as relevant transformation functions is available in the neuroparc OSF registered repository or https://github.com/neurodata/neuroparc.

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A standardized protocol for the comprehensive assessment of dental hygiene work

Work ◽

10.3233/wor-213534 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

Shawn C. Roll ◽

Mark E. Hardison ◽

Jane L. Forrest ◽

Nikki L. Colclazier ◽

Joyce Y. Sumi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dental Hygiene ◽

Dental Hygienists ◽

Engineering Controls ◽

Work Related ◽

Coding Scheme ◽

Video Acquisition ◽

Standardized Protocol ◽

And Performance ◽

Observation Protocol

BACKGROUND: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are prevalent in dental hygienists. Although engineering controls and ergonomic training is available, it is unclear why this intransigent problem continues. One possible barrier is that a comprehensive, standardized protocol for evaluating dental hygiene work does not exist. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to generate a valid and reliable observational protocol for the assessment of dental hygiene work. METHODS: An iterative process was used to establish and refine an ecologically valid video acquisition and observation protocol to assess key activities, tasks, and performance components of dental hygiene work. RESULTS: Good inter-rater reliability was achieved across all variables when the final coding scheme was completed by three independent raters. CONCLUSIONS: This work provides an exemplar of the process required to generate a comprehensive protocol for evaluating the work components of a particular job, and provides standardized nomenclature for use by scientists and practitioners interested in understanding and addressing the pervasive issue of work-related disorders in dental hygienists.

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A simple standardized protocol to evaluate the reliability of seed rain estimates

Seed Science Research ◽

10.1017/s0960258520000392 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

André J. Arruda ◽

Fernando A.O. Silveira ◽

Elise Buisson

Keyword(s):

Restoration Ecology ◽

Community Dynamics ◽

Size Dependence ◽

Seed Rain ◽

Proof Of Concept ◽

Sticky Traps ◽

Standardized Protocol ◽

Funnel Trap ◽

Seed Trap ◽

Cross Site

Abstract Seed dispersal has key implications for community dynamics and restoration ecology. However, estimating seed rain (the number and diversity of seeds arriving in a given area) is challenging, and the lack of standardization in measurement prevents cross-site comparisons. Seed trap effectiveness and accuracy of seed sorting methods are key components of seed rain estimates in need of standardization. We propose and describe a standardized protocol for evaluating the effectiveness of two seed trap types (sticky and funnel traps) and the accuracy of a seed sorting method. We used widely available seeds (arugula, quinoa, sesame and sunflower) to produce a gradient of seed size, weight and colour. Proof-of-concept was tested in a tropical grassland, where traps were set for 30 days. Our results suggest that we underestimate dispersal of seeds with less than 2 mm width that can be easily mistaken for debris and soil particles or that fail to adhere to sticky traps. Seeds on sticky traps may be more vulnerable to removal by wind and rain, whereas seeds in funnel traps are more susceptible to decay. We found no evidence of observer bias on seed sorting for funnel trap samples. However, accuracy on seed sorting for funnel trap samples tended to decline for seeds with less than 2 mm width, suggesting a size-dependence in seed retrieval success. Our standardized protocol addressing trap effectiveness and seed sorting methods will increase the reliability of data obtained in seed rain studies and allow more reliable comparisons between datasets.

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How much leaf area do insects eat? A data set of insect herbivory sampled globally with a standardized protocol

Ecology ◽

10.1002/ecy.3301 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Gisele M. Mendes ◽

Fernando A.O. Silveira ◽

Carolina Oliveira ◽

Wesley Dáttilo ◽

Roger Guevara ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Leaf Area ◽

Insect Herbivory ◽

Data Set ◽

Standardized Protocol

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Post-trial perceptions of a symptom-based TB screening intervention in South Africa: implementation insights and future directions for TB preventive healthcare services

BMC Nursing ◽

10.1186/s12912-021-00544-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Nicole Salazar-Austin ◽

Minja Milovanovic ◽

Nora S. West ◽

Molefi Tladi ◽

Grace Link Barnes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Community Health ◽

Community Health Workers ◽

Health Workers ◽

Implementation Strategies ◽

Healthcare Services ◽

Preventive Therapy ◽

Provider Perceptions ◽

Symptom Screening ◽

Study Implementation

Abstract Background Tuberculosis is a top-10 cause of under-5 mortality, despite policies promoting tuberculosis preventive therapy (TPT). We previously conducted a cluster randomized trial to evaluate the effectiveness of symptom-based versus tuberculin skin-based screening on child TPT uptake. Symptom-based screening did not improve TPT uptake and nearly two-thirds of child contacts were not identified or not linked to care. Here we qualitatively explored healthcare provider perceptions of factors that impacted TPT uptake among child contacts. Methods Sixteen in-depth interviews were conducted with key informants including healthcare providers and administrators who participated in the trial in Matlosana, South Africa. The participants’ experience with symptom-based screening, study implementation strategies, and ongoing challenges with child contact identification and linkage to care were explored. Interviews were systematically coded and thematic content analysis was conducted. Results Participants’ had mixed opinions about symptom-based screening and high acceptability of the study implementation strategies. A key barrier to optimizing child contact screening and evaluation was the supervision and training of community health workers. Conclusions Symptom screening is a simple and effective strategy to evaluate child contacts, but additional pediatric training is needed to provide comfort with decision making. New clinic-based child contact files were highly valued by providers who continued to use them after trial completion. Future interventions to improve child contact management will need to address how to best utilize community health workers in identifying and linking child contacts to care. Trial registration The results presented here were from research related to NCT03074799, retrospectively registered on 9 March 2017.

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