Bibliographic database access using free-text and controlled vocabulary: an evaluation

2005 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 873-890 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacques Savoy
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 284-290
Author(s):  
Jocelyn Chan ◽  
Yue Wu ◽  
James Wood ◽  
Mohammad Muhit ◽  
Mohammed K. Mahmood ◽  
...  

Background and Objectives: Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) is the leading cause of vaccine-preventable congenital anomalies. Comprehensive country-level data on the burden of CRS in low and middle-income countries, such as Bangladesh, are scarce. This information is essential for assessing the impact of rubella vaccination programs. We aim to systematically review the literature on the epidemiology of CRS and estimate the burden of CRS in Bangladesh. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of existing literature and transmission modelling of seroprevalence studies to estimate the pre-vaccine period burden of CRS in Bangladesh. OVID Medline (1948 – 23 November 2016) and OVID EMBASE (1974 – 23 November 2016) were searched using a combination of the database-specific controlled vocabulary and free text terms. We used an age-stratified deterministic model to estimate the pre-vaccination burden of CRS in Bangladesh. Findings: Ten articles were identified, published between 2000 and 2014, including seven crosssectional studies, two case series and one analytical case-control study. Rubella seropositivity ranged from 47.0% to 86.0% among all age population. Rubella sero–positivity increased with age. Rubella seropositivity among women of childbearing age was 81.0% overall. The estimated incidence of CRS was 0·99 per 1,000 live births, which corresponds to approximately 3,292 CRS cases annually in Bangladesh. Conclusion: The estimated burden of CRS in Bangladesh during the pre-vaccination period was high. This will provide important baseline information to assess the impact and cost-effectiveness of routine rubella immunisation, introduced in 2012 in Bangladesh.


1984 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.P.R. Dubois

The controlled vocabulary versus the free text approach to information retrieval is reviewed from the mid 1960s to the early 1980s. The dominance of the free text approach following the Cranfield tests is increasingly coming into question as a result of tests on existing online data bases and case studies. This is supported by two case studies on the Coffeeline data base. The differences and values of the two approaches are explored considering thesauri as semantic maps. It is suggested that the most appropriate evaluatory technique for indexing languages is to study the actual use made of various techniques in a wide variety of search environments. Such research is becoming more urgent. Economic and other reasons for the scarcity of online thesauri are reviewed and suggestions are made for methods to secure revenue from thesaurus display facilities. Finally, the promising outlook for renewed develop ment of controlled vocabularies with more effective online display techniques is mentioned, although such development must be based on firm research of user behaviour and needs.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ishumeet Kaur Bajwa ◽  
Navneet Kaur ◽  
Joseph L. Mathew

BACKGROUND Microneedles are defined as micron-sized projections that create microscopic holes to the skin on application so that drug molecules can penetrate across the outer layers of the skin into the dermis or deeper. Skin is a natural barrier for defense against invading pathogens. Additionally, the dermis possesses dendritic cells that are efficient for antigen presentation and initiating the cascade of immunogenic responses leading to antibody production. Therefore, intradermal delivery of vaccine antigens could be a safe and less invasive alternative for vaccine delivery compared with conventional intramuscular injection. OBJECTIVE We intend to undertake a systematic review of the literature to evaluate the efficacy and safety of intradermal delivery of vaccines using microneedles in animal models. METHODS In this systematic review, we will consider all study designs evaluating the safety and/or efficacy of intradermal delivery of vaccines using microneedles in animal models. Our search strategy will include free text terms and controlled vocabulary for, “microneedle”, “vaccine”, and “intradermal”. We will search literature through PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and OpenGrey, and we will not have language or date limits. Two review authors will independently select eligible studies and assess the risk of bias using the SYRCLE’s tool particularly for controlled studies and OHAT Risk of Bias Rating Tool for case studies, case-control studies, non-randomized studies, and cohort studies, and CAMARADES checklist to appraise the quality of the included studies. We will report structured summaries of the included studies and, if possible, conduct meta-analyses. The primary outcome to be measured is the efficacy of vaccine delivered through an intradermal route using microneedle(s) such as parameters of immunogenicity (for example antibody levels), sero-efficacy (for example sero-conversion), protective efficacy, etc. Secondary outcomes would include the safety of vaccines delivered through the intradermal route. This could include parameters to identify and/or quantify the timing and nature of local reactions, bleeding, systemic reactions, and death. Pain response during vaccination delivered through the intradermal route will also be evaluated. RESULTS This is a protocol for a systematic review; therefore, results are not available. CONCLUSIONS This is the first systematic review protocol aiming to assess the evidence on the efficacy and safety of intradermal delivery of vaccines using microneedles in various animal models. The findings will inform the safety and efficacy of intradermal delivery of vaccines in animal models, with the overall goal of considering the method for human vaccination as well. The results of this study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. CLINICALTRIAL PROSPERO CRD42021236625


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-7
Author(s):  
Jane C. Duffy

ASTIS offers over 83,000 records that provide freely available access to publications, including research and research projects, about Canada's north. This database is a product of the Arctic Institute of North America at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada which also maintains subsidiary regional, subject, and initiative-based databases. The subsidiary databases are all housed within and accessible through the main ASTIS database. Examples of the smaller databases include: ArcticNet Publications Database, the Nunavik Bibliography, and the Northern Granular Resources Bibliographic Database. ASTIS offers the ability to browse through its access points, including its own thesauri, thus permitting users to select and use a variety of free-text and controlled search terms.


1989 ◽  
Vol 110 ◽  
pp. 72-76
Author(s):  
Robyn M. Shobbrook

Astronomers and librarians have been experiencing difficulties in keeping up with the amount of published literature. The astronomer tries to keep abreast in his particular field and the librarian in the management, control and retrieval of scientific information. The 1980’s have seen a revolution in the methods for information storage and retrieval and in particular the advent of the online database. The speed of processing information for storage has been embraced by all, however little thought has been given to how we shall achieve effective high precision recall of documents.Many librarians firmly believe the best road to success in information retrieval from automated systems is provided by vocabulary control. Contrary to belief, free text or natural language searching alone does not lead to high precision recall. Consistency and integrity of the online catalogue can only be achieved with the addition of a controlled vocabulary. With today’s technology it is possible to maintain the best of both worlds. The controlled vocabulary is used to index the major concepts of a given document over and above the natural language used within the document.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 7045-7045
Author(s):  
Jan Philipp Bewersdorf ◽  
Amar Sheth ◽  
Shaurey Vetsa ◽  
Alyssa Grimshaw ◽  
Smith Giri ◽  
...  

7045 Background: Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (allo-HCT) remains the only potentially curative therapeutic modality for patients with primary or secondary myelofibrosis (MF). However, many patients (pts) are ineligible for allo-HCT and transplant-related mortality can be substantial. Data on the efficacy and safety of allo-HCT are mixed and largely derived from retrospective studies. Methods: To synthesize the available evidence, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis searching Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, Ovid Medline, Ovid Embase, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science Core Collection from inception to October 11, 2020 for studies on allo-HCT in MF. Databases were searched using a combination of controlled vocabulary and free text terms for relevant studies on the efficacy and safety of allo-HCT in pts with primary and secondary MF. This study protocol has been registered on PROSPERO (CRD42020188706). Random-effects models were used to pool response rates for the co-primary outcomes of 1-year, 2-year and 5-year overall survival (OS). Results: We identified 4247 studies after duplicate removal. 393 studies were assessed as full-texts for eligibility and 43 studies (38 retrospective, 1 prospective study, 4 phase II clinical trials) with 8739 pts were included in this meta-analysis. Study quality was limited by the absence of randomized clinical trials and retrospective design of most studies. Rates of 1-year, 2-year, and 5-year OS were 66.7% (95% confidence interval: 63.5-69.8%), 64.4% (57.6-70.6%), and 55.0% (51.8-58.3%), respectively. Rates of 1-year, 2-year, and 5-year non-relapse mortality were 25.9% (23.3-28.7%), 29.7% (24.5-35.4%), and 30.5% (25.9-35.5%), respectively. Among evaluable studies, rates of 1-year, 2-year, and 5-year relapse-free survival were 65.3% (56.5-73.1%), 56.2% (41.6-69.8%), and 53.6% (39.9-66.9%), respectively. Adverse events related to all-HCT were manageable with rates of acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease in 44.0% (39.6-48.4%; grade III/IV: 15.2%) and 46.5% of patients (42.2-50.8%; extensive or moderate/severe: 26.1%), respectively. Subgroup analyses did not show any significant difference between conditioning regimen intensity (myeloablative vs reduced-intensity), median patient age, and proportion of DIPSS-intermediate-2/high pts. Conclusions: Given the poor prognosis of patients not receiving transplant and in the absence of curative non-transplant therapies, our results support consideration of allo-HCT for eligible pts with MF. However, additional studies in pre- and post-allo-HCT setting are necessary to enhance patient selection (e.g. by incorporation of molecular markers), to optimize transplant strategies (e.g. peri-transplant ruxolitinib, conditioning regimens, and donor selection), symptom management and decrease non-relapse mortality.


2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Veena Makhija ◽  
Swapnil Ahuja

<p>The emergent concept of ‘ Big Data’ has shifted the paradigm from information retrieval to information extraction techniques. The information extraction techniques enables corpus analysis to draw useful interpretations and its possible applications. Selection of appropriate information extraction technique depends upon the type of data being dealt with and its possible applications. In an R&amp;D environment, the published information is considered as an authenticated benchmark to study and analyse the growth pattern in that field of science, medicine, business. A rule based information extraction process, on the selected data extracted from a bibliographic database of published R&amp;D papers is proposed in this paper. Aim of the study is to build up a database on relevant concepts, cleaning of retrieved data and automate the process of information retrieval in the local database. For this purpose, a concept based ‘subject profiles’ in the area of advanced semiconductors as well as the rules for text extraction from metadata retrieved from the bibliographic database was developed. This subset was used as an input to the knowledge domain to support R&amp;D in the area of ‘advanced semiconductor materials and devices’ and provide information services on Intranet. Study found that concept based pattern matching on the datasets downloaded yielded better results as compared to the results by using the controlled vocabulary of the source database .</p>


Online Review ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Markey ◽  
Pauline Atherton ◽  
Claudia Newton

QJM ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 113 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
G Seifelnasr ◽  
H M Abdelhamid ◽  
A M H Abdou ◽  
M M Sobhy

Abstract Background DXM is an anxiety reducing, sedative, and pain medication. It has been used as adjunct to local anesthetics to improve the quality of perioperative analgesia and prolong its duration. Alpha2-adrenergic agonists have expanded the horizons of regional anesthesia. DXM is a highly selective α-2 agonist similar to clonidine but with a greater affinity for the α-2 receptor. It is the pharmacologically active d-isomer of medetomidine, a full agonist of α-2 adrenergic receptors. Objective The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of DXM as an adjuvant to local anesthetics for intrathecal and supraclavicular blocks compared to LA alone. Methods This is a meta-analysis study. Searches were conducted in PubMed, Ovid/MEDLINE and Embase using free text and controlled vocabulary terms relating to Dexmedetomidine (MeSH). Results will be combined using Boolean operator “AND” with search terms analgesia, anesthesia, adjuvant, local anesthetics, nerve block, perineural, and terms designating route of administration such as neuraxial, intrathecal, supraclavicular, arm, and brachial plexus. Additional non-indexed articles will be retrieved using Google Scholar; and reference sections of retrieved trials will be hand-searched for additional relevant studies. Search will be limited to randomized trials published in English language, conducted on humans over the last 15 years. All protocols were approved by the local ethics committee or institutional review board of their respective institution. Results Throughout the studies reviewed, the dose of DXM was either given through a lumbar puncture performed in lateral or sitting position (range 3ug – 10ug) or via the supraclavicular approach in supine position with arm adducted (range 30ug – 100ug). DXM has been shown to prolong sensory and motor block duration in spinal and supraclavicular blocks. However, sensory and motor block onset has varied greatly from one study to another. DXM has also proved to have no significant adverse effects in the short term. Conclusion The study results indicate that the use of dexmedetomidine as a local anesthetic adjuvant prolongs sensory and motor block duration when administered intrathecally as part of spinal anesthesia or peripherally as part of a supraclavicular block.


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