Medical knowledge discovery systems: data abstraction and performance measurement

Knowledge discovery systems can be traced back to their origin, artificial intelligence and expert systems, but use the modern technique of data mining for the knowledge discovery process. To that end, the technical community views data mining as one step in the knowledge discovery process, while the non-technical community seems to view it as encompassing all of the steps to knowledge discovery. In this exploratory study, we look at medical knowledge discovery systems (MKDSs) by first looking at three examples of expert systems to generate medical knowledge. We then expand on the use of data abstraction as a pre-processing step in the comprehensive task of medical knowledge discovery. Next, we look at how performance of a medical knowledge discovery system is measured. Finally, the conclusions point to a bright future for MKDSs, but an area that needs extensive development to reach its full potential.     

Enhancement of Quality in Chemical Inquiry by Pre-University Students

Our pre-university chemistry students face problems achieving sufficient quality in chemical inquiry. To try to enhance the quality of student performance in chemical inquiry, Dutch pre-university chemistry students (age 17) carried out an authentic research project on Diffusion of ions in distilled water. The learning materials for this student inquiry project, the teaching scenario and the website were designed in cooperation with five chemistry teachers. Three teachers from this network and two other teachers also implemented the project with 80 students to find out whether the emphasis on relevant concepts of evidence (CoE) improves the quality of student inquiry outcomes. This part – with its emphasis on the CoE – in the student inquiry task is based on four key features: the students feel motivated to explore, focus their attention on, give meaning to and reflect upon CoE. In teams students conducted a guide experiment, analysed a scientific article, did an inquiry and wrote a report, discussed CoE with peers on the Internet and rewrote their reports. All lessons were observed, field notes were made and analysed on whether the intended student activities had been realised. The Internet discussion was recorded in a database and analysed. The first and final reports of all teams were coded and analysed. Also the students appreciation of the activities was assessed. The teaching and learning activities were realized to a very large extent as planned in the design. The emphasis on CoE resulted in 65% of the students achieving a sufficient level of quality in their final reports.     

Ordinary and extraordinary brain development: Anatomical variation in developmental dyslexia

Eight brains, six male and two female, of reliably diagnosed cases of developmental dyslexia have been analyzed in this laboratory thus far. Common to all the specimens is the absence of ordinary asymmetry in the planum temporale, a language relevant area of the temporal lobe. In addition, the male cases and one female case displayed multiple focal areas of malformation of the cerebral cortex, located variably in the language relevant perisylvian regions and to a greater or lesser extent bilaterally. Both female cases and, to a mild degree, one of the males display focal areas of cortical scarring dated to the end of pregnancy through to the end of the second year of life at the latest. The scarring tends to be located in the vascular watershed territories. Experimental animal research suggests that symmetry may represent absence of the necessary developmental pruning of neural networks required for specific functions such as language. This diminished pruning results in excessive neurons and (at least interhemispheric) connections. Additional modeling in experimental animals suggests that cortical malformations and scarring similar to those seen in the dyslexic brains may represent early focal injury that could be attributed to congenital disorders of the immune system. The work reported here has been supported, in part, by NIH grant NICHD 20806, The Orton Dyslexia Society, and the Carl J. Herzog Foundation.     

The testosterone hypothesis: Assessment since Geschwind and Behan, 1982

The Geschwind hypothesis proposes a causal interaction among non-right-handedness, immune disorders, and learning disabilities, including dyslexia, via the intrauterine action of the male hormone testosterone. Some epidemiologic studies have supported at least a statistical association among the three traits; others have not. The associations between learning disorders and immune disease and between learning disorders and non-righthandedness appear to be better supported than that between immune disorders and non-right-handedness. However, none of data thus far accumulated are conclusive because it is not clear that the samples studied have been truly representative. The neuropathologic evidence, both in autopsy studies in human dyslexics and in animal models of developmental cortical abnormalities, are consistent with but not diagnostic of immunological pathology. Mechanisms are discussed by which an abnormal immune system could thus injure the developing brain, with an emphasis placed on abnormal maternal-fetal interactions, including maternal autoimmune disease and maternal-fetal incompatibility. A genetic origin is also possible in which the maternal role is less significant. Some of the research reported here was supported by NIH grants HD 20806, HD 19819, by a grant from the Carl W. Herzog Foundation, and by a grant from The Orton Dyslexia Society. The Norman Geschwind Memorial Lecture, delivered at The 40th Annual Conference of The Orton Dyslexia Society, Dallas, Texas, December 2, 1989.     

The work of Ambroise Tardieu: the first definitive description of child abuse

The first important monograph describing the battered child syndrome was written in 1860 by Ambroise Tardieu, a French forensic physician. Here is a translation of his article, published in the Annales d'hygiene publique et de medecine legale, with the title "Etude medico-legale sur les sevices et mauvais traitements exerces sur des enfants." The first part of his article is entirely translated. A brief summary of the 32 cases report described by Tardieu in the second part of his article is presented.     

Opening the ivory tower's door: An analysis of the determinants of the formation of U.S. university spin-off companies

This paper presents findings from an analysis of the determinants of the formation of university spin-off companies within the university's research park. We find that university spin-off companies are a greater proportion of the companies in older parks and in parks that are associated with richer university research environments. We also find that university spin-off companies are a larger proportion of companies in parks that are geographically closer to their university and in parks that have a biotechnology focus.