One problem facing researchers trying to find technology solutions for eldercare is how to create a successful field study. Many interesting care solutions are being developed, but few have had successful field trials. In this paper, we describe some of the issues to consider when designing a field study so it will be relevant to the community and provide valid results. We discuss how to select...

Biological processes are full of variations and so are responses to therapy as measured in clinical research. Estimators of clinical efficacy are, therefore, usually reported with a measure of uncertainty, otherwise called dispersion. This study aimed to review both the flaws of data reports without measure of dispersion and those with over-dispersion.EXAMPLES OF ESTIMATORS COMMONLY REPORTED WI...

* Corresponding author: Arpad Tosaki, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Health and Science Center, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary, Tel/Fax: +36-52-255586, E-mail: [email protected] © 2012 School of Pharmacy, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences; Published by DocS. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons ...

Biobanks play a crucial role in "-Omics" research providing well-annotated samples to study major diseases, their pathways and mechanisms. Accordingly, there are major efforts worldwide to professionalize biobanks in order to provide high quality preservation and storage of biological samples with potentially greater scientific impact. Biobanks are an important resource to elucidate relevant di...

The opportunities in basic science for graduating PhD students and for aspiring physician-scientists have never been so extraordinary. The sequencing of the human genome and the development of the human haplotype map have enabled scientists to begin to unravel the basis of complex multigenic disorders. Rapid developments in stem cell biology are affecting many areas of cardiovascular biology an...

To best understand the field and goals of outcomes research, it is important to appreciate the challenges that confront our healthcare system. Although considerable advances in patient care have been made over the last several decades, patients, physicians, and payers continue to struggle with rising costs and inefficiencies, poor application of evidence to clinical care, fragmentation, misalig...

Twin studies have been largely responsible for showing the effects of genetic variance on a quantitative trait. The model is based on the fact that monozygotic twins share all genes in common, whereas dizygotic twins are related as siblings and share "on average" half their genes. Environmental confounders are minimized because twin children are usually exposed to similar environments. Blood pr...

Rev Bras Cir Cardiovasc | Braz J Cardiovasc Surg he invasion of the Royal Institute in São Roque, SP, on the 18th of October, in which tens of Beagle dogs were evacuated by activists, created a huge controversy, amplified by the wide dissemination in the media and on the internet. Moreover, the action of activists led to the closure of the lab. Not only that. Many institutions that use animals ...

Propensity scores have been used to reduce bias in observational studies in many fields and are becoming more widely used in cardiovascular research.1 The goal of this statistical primer is to present the definition of propensity scores and to illustrate their use by describing some recent examples found in the cardiovascular disease research literature. Large-scale epidemiological cohort studi...