As of 4 July 2012, three cases of anthrax among injecting drug users (IDUs) have been reported from Germany; two from Regensburg, Bavaria and one from Berlin. All three cases had onset of symptoms in June 2012 and one case has died. The first two cases are likely linked through exposure to heroin contaminated by a most likely identical Bacillus anthracis strain (based on molecular typing result...

Today researchers need an efficient and valid approach to mine and analyze the large amount of textual information that is available. Automated coding approaches offer promise but a major concern is the accuracy of such codes in capturing the meaning and intent of the original texts. We compare the recall (number of codes identified) and precision (accuracy of the codes) that included bodies of...

James BEEBE presents a model for doing what he labels the Rapid Assessment Process (RAP). This review essay provides a critical review of and commentary on BEEBE's text for qualitative researchers to use for applied evaluation projects. The RAP model is a systematic approach based upon collaborative inclusion of insider and outsider perspectives in building a research team that collectively con...

One of the most time consuming activities in new product development is associated with reliability assessment and qualification. This is defined as a process to verify whether the anticipated reliability is indeed achieved under actual life cycle loads for some specified length of time. Reliability assessment and qualification is usually accomplished by testing under accelerated loads to achie...

This paper presents an approach for rapid assessment of sustainability for Mainland China based on a multilayer index system. Efficient assessment is conducted with the basic mapping units at county and city levels. After evaluating a comprehensive sustainable development index, SDI, for each unit, five rankings of sustainability are determined, and a zonation map produced. Regional characteris...

BACKGROUND Rapid assessment of avoidable blindness provides valid estimates in a short period of time to assess the magnitude and causes of avoidable blindness. The study determined magnitude and causes of avoidable blindness in India in 2007 among the 50+ population. METHODS AND FINDINGS Sixteen randomly selected districts where blindness surveys were undertaken 7 to 10 years earlier were id...

A central issue in the use of rapid evaluation and assessment methods (REAM) is achieving a balance between speed and trustworthiness. In this article, the authors review the key differences and common features of this family of methods and present a case example that illustrates how evaluators can use rapid evaluation techniques in their own work. In doing so, the authors hope to (a) introduce...

MOTIVATION Gene silencing, also called RNA interference, requires reliable assessment of silencer impacts. A critical task is to find matches between silencer oligomers and sites in the genome, in accordance with one-to-many matching rules (G-U matching, with provision for mismatches). Fast search algorithms are required to support silencer impact assessments in procedures for designing effecti...