Prediction models used in support of clinical and health policy decision making often need to consider the course of a disease over an extended period of time, and draw evidence from a broad knowledge base, including epidemiologic cohort and case control studies, randomized clinical trials, expert opinions, and more. This paper is a brief introduction to these complex decision models, their rel...

Knowledge bases (KB) provide support for real-world decision making by exposing data in a structured format. However, constructing knowledge bases requires gathering data from many heterogeneous sources. Manual efforts for this task are accurate, but lack scalability, and automated approaches provide good coverage, but are not reliable enough for realworld decision makers to trust. These two ap...

AIM This paper discusses a process for research utilization that overcomes well-known barriers in order to influence clinical decision-making and practice change. Read, Think, Do! is a problem-solving approach to research utilization and practice development which has the potential to overcome barriers to research utilization. BACKGROUND Any process for research utilization at the practice le...

Developing instruments to assess teacher competence requires a model of competent performance which can guide both the collection and appraisal of evidence in task situations. Following Kane (1992), the validation of statements about teachers’ competence is regarded as the evaluation of interpretive argumentation. Based on contemporary insights into teaching and learning, an interpretive model ...

background: the second processing cycle for adding the artificial teeth to heat-polymerized acrylic resin denture bases may result in dimensional changes of the denture bases. the aim of thisstudy was to evaluate the dimensional changes of the heat-polymerized acrylic resin denture bases with one and two-cycle processing methods. materials and methods: a metal edentulous maxillary arch was used...

An adverse outcome pathway (AOP) is a conceptual framework that organizes existing knowledge concerning biologically plausible, and empirically supported, links between molecular-level perturbation of a biological system and an adverse outcome at a level of biological organization of regulatory relevance. Systematic organization of information into AOP frameworks has potential to improve regula...

An overemphasis on clinical trials and behavior change models has narrowed the knowledge base that can be used to design interventions. The overarching point is that the process of overanalyzing variables is impeding the process of gaining insight into the everyday experiences that shape how people define health and seek treatment. This claim is especially important to health decision-making an...