The moving-baseline localization (MBL) problem arises when a group of nodes moves through an environment in which no external coordinate reference is available. When group members cannot see or hear one another directly, each node must employ local sensing and inter-device communication to infer the spatial relationship and motion of all other nodes with respect to itself. We consider a setting...

PURPOSE Little is known about how patient education and emotional support is provided at abortion facilities. This pilot study documents 27 facilities' practices in this aspect of abortion care. METHODS We conducted confidential telephone interviews with staff from 27 abortion facilities about their practices. MAIN FINDINGS The majority of facilities reported they rely primarily on trained ...

During the last decade, genomic cohort study has been developed in many countries by linking health data and genetic data in stored samples. Genomic cohort study is expected to find key genetic components that contribute to common diseases, thereby promising great advance in genome medicine. While many countries endeavor to build biobank systems, biobank-based genome research has raised importa...

The informed consent of human subjects is a fundamental principle of research ethics. Informed consent is a core principle in international codes of research ethics, as well as in discipline-specific guides to the ethical conduct of research. Scholars developing case reports or case studies need to be aware of the considerations that are involved in assuring that the principle of informed conse...

CMAJ, November 22, 2011, 183(17) 2019 Why did this article include testimonials that had no credibility apart from being against ECT? Does CMAJ include the opinion of ideologues when discussing other medical devices or treatments? ECT is a life-saving and highly effective procedure for which there are clear guidelines. The Canadian Psychiatric Association stands by its stated position that “ECT...

In Vasterbotten County in northern Sweden a start-up biotech company has recently gained all commercial rights to one of the worlds largest population based research biobanks. The biobank and the company have publicly emphasized that all donors have given their informed consent to participate, but within the academy it has become debated whether people have been adequately informed. Based on an...

VARIATION IN HOW INFORMED CONSENT comprehension tests have been developed may be largely due to the absence of a standardized construct definition. Developing a construct definition would provide a standardized framework for determining how an instrument should be constructed, implemented, interpreted, and applied. Therefore, we utilized the Delphi consensus approach with an international exper...