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- Buytaert, Wouter, et al.
(författare)
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Citizen science in hydrology and water resources : opportunities for knowledge generation , ecosystem service management , and sustainable development
- 2014
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Earth Science. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-6463. ; 2:October, s. 1-21
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The participation of the general public in the research design, data collection and interpretation process together with scientists is often referred to as citizen science. While citizen science itself has existed since the start of scientific practice, developments in sensing technology, data processing and visualization, and communication of ideas and results, are creating a wide range of new opportunities for public participation in scientific research. This paper reviews the state of citizen science in a hydrological context and explores the potential of citizen science to complement more traditional ways of scientific data collection and knowledge generation for hydrological sciences and water resources management. Although hydrological data collection often involves advanced technology, the advent of robust, cheap, and low-maintenance sensing equipment provides unprecedented opportunities for data collection in a citizen science context. These data have a significant potential to create new hydrological knowledge, especially in relation to the characterization of process heterogeneity, remote regions, and human impacts on the water cycle. However, the nature and quality of data collected in citizen science experiments is potentially very different from those of traditional monitoring networks. This poses challenges in terms of their processing, interpretation, and use, especially with regard to assimilation of traditional knowledge, the quantification of uncertainties, and their role in decision support. It also requires care in designing citizen science projects such that the generated data complement optimally other available knowledge. Lastly, using 4 case studies from remote mountain regions we reflect on the challenges and opportunities in the integration of hydrologically-oriented citizen science in water resources management, the role of scientific knowledge in the decision-making process, and the potential contestation to established community institutions posed by co-generation of new knowledge.
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| 2. |
- Martin, Andrew, et al.
(författare)
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Measures to improve angiotensin receptor blocker prescribing efficiency in the UK : findings and implications
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research. - : Becaris Publishing Limited. - 2042-6305 .- 2042-6313. ; 3:1, s. 41-51
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Generic losartan provides an opportunity to enhance angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) prescribing efficiency, with all ARBs essentially being similar. Initially, there was limited activity in NHS Bury (UK). This changed in March 2011 with therapeutic switching and other measures encouraging the prescribing of losartan following generics to enhance its utilization versus patented ARBs. Aim: This study aims to assess the impact of multiple measures on losartan utilization, its price and total ARB expenditure. Methods: An interrupted time series analysis was performed. Utilization was measured as prescription items dispensed, typically 28 days. Results: No immediate change in losartan utilization was observed following generics. This changed after the multiple initiatives with losartan accounting for 65% of all single ARB items dispensed by the study end. ARB expenditure was 59% below prestudy levels by the study end, which was helped by a 92% reduction in expenditure per item for losartan. Annual net savings from the program were estimated at just under GB 290,000 pound, which is over eight-times the cost of implementation. Conclusion: Multiple measures can enhance prescribing efficiency. Health authorities cannot rely on a spillover' effect from other classes in order to affect changes in physician prescribing habits.
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| 3. |
- Rozen, Warren Matthew, et al.
(författare)
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Planning and optimising DIEP flaps with virtual surgery : the Navarra experience
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery. - : Elsevier BV. - 1748-6815. ; 63:2, s. 289-297
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Methods to improve operative outcomes in deep inferior epigastric artery perforator flap surgery have previously focussed on operative technique and postoperative-course modification. Recently, preoperative imaging has become capable of mapping the entire course of perforating vessels, including those vessels as small as 0.3 mm, enabling 'virtual surgery' to be performed preoperatively. This has been shown to facilitate faster and safer surgery. The recent 'Navarra' meeting classified current imaging modalities and discussed the current status of imaging modalities for this role. This article discusses the current expectations and optimal techniques for achieving these outcomes through the available imaging modalities: Doppler ultrasound, colour Doppler ( duplex) ultrasound, computed tomography angiography (CTA) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). Features of imaging that are of importance to the surgeon are explored, and a consensus statement has been developed that describes exactly what the current imaging modalities should aim to deliver to the surgeon prior to operating, as well as the benefits and pitfalls of each of these modalities. The techniques described herein permit the radiologist and the surgeon to perform virtual surgery together, preoperatively.
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