Scoliosis Related Information on the Internet in China: Can Patients Benefit from This Information?

BackgroundThere has been an increasing popularity of searching health related information online in recent years. Despite that considerable amount of scoliosis patients have shown interest in obtaining scoliosis information through Internet, previous studies have demonstrated poor quality of online information. However, this conclusion may vary depending on region and culture. Since China has a restricted Internet access outside of its borders, the aim of this study is to evaluate the quality of scoliosis information available online using recognized scoring systems and to analyze the Internet as a source of health information in China.MethodsA survey-based questionnaire was distributed to 280 respondents at outpatient clinics. Information on demographics and Internet use was collected. Binary logistic analysis was performed to identify possible predictors for the use of Internet. In addition, the top 60 scoliosis related websites assessed through 4 search engines were reviewed by a surgeon and the quality of online information was evaluated using DISCERN score and JAMA benchmark.ResultsUse of the Internet as a source for scoliosis related information was confirmed in 87.8% of the respondents. College education, Internet access at home and urban residence were identified as potential predictors for Internet use. However, the quality of online scoliosis related information was poor with an average DISCERN score of 27.9±11.7 and may be misleading for scoliosis patients.ConclusionThe study outlines the profile of scoliosis patients who use the Internet as a source of health information. It was shown that 87.8% of the scoliosis patients in outpatient clinics have searched for scoliosis related information on Internet. Urban patients, higher education and Internet access at home were identified as potential predictors for Internet search. However, the overall quality of online scoliosis related information was poor and confusing. Physician based websites seemed to contain more reliable information.     

Protein kinase resource: an integrated environment for phosphorylation research

The protein kinase superfamily is an important group of enzymes controlling cellular signaling cascades. The increasing amount of available experimental data provides a foundation for deeper understanding of details of signaling systems and the underlying cellular processes. Here, we describe the Protein Kinase Resource, an integrated online service that provides access to information relevant to cell signaling and enables kinase researchers to visualize and analyze the data directly in an online environment. The data set is synchronized with Uniprot and Protein Data Bank (PDB) databases and is regularly updated and verified. Additional annotation includes interactive display of domain composition, cross-references between orthologs and functional mapping to OMIM records. The Protein Kinase Resource provides an integrated view of the protein kinase superfamily by linking data with their visual representation. Thus, human kinases can be mapped onto the human kinome tree via an interactive display. Sequence and structure data can be easily displayed using applications developed for the PKR and integrated with the website and the underlying database. Advanced search mechanisms, such as multiparameter lookup, sequence pattern, and blast search, enable fast access to the desired information, while statistics tools provide the ability to analyze the relationships among the kinases under study. The integration of data presentation and visualization implemented in the Protein Kinase Resource can be adapted by other online providers of scientific data and should become an effective way to access available experimental information.     

Nowcasting Unemployment Rates with Google Searches: Evidence from the Visegrad Group Countries

The online activity of Internet users has repeatedly been shown to provide a rich information set for various research fields. We focus on job-related searches on Google and their possible usefulness in the region of the Visegrad Group - the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Even for rather small economies, the online searches of inhabitants can be successfully utilized for macroeconomic predictions. Specifically, we study unemployment rates and their interconnection with job-related searches. We show that Google searches enhance nowcasting models of unemployment rates for the Czech Republic and Hungary whereas for Poland and Slovakia, the results are mixed.     

Does searching online for vaccination information affect vaccination coverage? Evidence from Sub-Saharan African countries

The Internet is reshaping the way people access health information. Over the past decades, an increasing number of people have been using the Internet to access vaccine-related information. Many studies suggest that the Internet can help improve people’s understanding of health issues but at the same time facilitate the rapid spread of misinformation. This study explores the impact that searching the Internet for immunization information has on vaccination coverage. Using Google trends data, we found that access to online vaccination information has impacted vaccine uptake from 2004 to 2017, in Sub-Saharan African countries. The results indicate an overall positive impact on vaccine uptake. We also found that the effects are heterogeneous among vaccines. The effect is statistically significant for the vaccine related to high-risk disease, but not significant for the controversial vaccine and the vaccine related to low-risk disease.     

Invertebrate resources on the internet

The use of invertebrates in research laboratories, classroom teaching, and public displays has greatly increased over the past 20 years, accompanied by a corresponding increase in the amount of online information and literature about invertebrates. This brief overview of Internet resources is intended to aid both novice and experienced individuals in the search for such information.     

Islamic Radicalism Online: The Moluccan Mission of the Laskar Jihad in Cyberspace

The Internet has become an important instrument for the information politics of radical Muslim groups. This paper focuses on one of the Islamist groups that have emerged in Indonesia recently—the Communication Forum of the Followers of the Sunnah and the Community of the Prophet (FKAWJ). The FKAWJ sent its fighters, the so‐called Laskar Jihad or Jihad troop/fighters, to Ambon in April 2000 to help their Muslim brothers against the ‘Christian attackers’ in the Moluccan conflict—a conflict that was also extended into cyberspace by several actors. Describing the Internet presence of the Laskar Jihad, I give an example of how Islamism is being transferred into cyberspace. The position of the FKAWJ concerning the situation in the Moluccas is outlined as well as other (online) strategies used. Through these strategies the cyber actors create an image and construct an identity that is congruent with their offline philosophy but extends its reach. It is evident that the online level is highly interconnected with the offline level. When analysing contemporary Islamism it is essential to take both levels into account.     

Consumers using the Internet for insomnia information: The who,what, and why

Information obtained from the Internet often influences the treatment choices of patients with insomnia. This study explored patterns of online information seeking and utilization among patients with insomnia. A total of 1013 participants took part in an online survey about sleep health information between July 2012 and March 2013. Participants also completed the Insomnia Severity Index and the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep Scale. The results showed that those seeking insomnia-related information resources frequently searched online, and the information found appeared to influence important health behaviors such as treatment decisions, taking medication and whether to seek professional care. Information of interest revolved around insomnia treatment options and symptomology. While no predictors for Internet use were identified, the Internet does represent an important health-care portal for insomnia patients and warrants further investigation as targeted e-health interventions become more prominent in the routine management of insomnia.

     

The “online brain”: how the Internet may be changing our cognition

The impact of the Internet across multiple aspects of modern society is clear. However, the influence that it may have on our brain structure and functioning remains a central topic of investigation. Here we draw on recent psychological, psychiatric and neuroimaging findings to examine several key hypotheses on how the Internet may be changing our cognition. Specifically, we explore how unique features of the online world may be influencing: a) attentional capacities, as the constantly evolving stream of online information encourages our divided attention across multiple media sources, at the expense of sustained concentration; b) memory processes, as this vast and ubiquitous source of online information begins to shift the way we retrieve, store, and even value knowledge; and c) social cognition, as the ability for online social settings to resemble and evoke real‐world social processes creates a new interplay between the Internet and our social lives, including our self‐concepts and self‐esteem. Overall, the available evidence indicates that the Internet can produce both acute and sustained alterations in each of these areas of cognition, which may be reflected in changes in the brain. However, an emerging priority for future research is to determine the effects of extensive online media usage on cognitive development in youth, and examine how this may differ from cognitive outcomes and brain impact of uses of Internet in the elderly. We conclude by proposing how Internet research could be integrated into broader research settings to study how this unprecedented new facet of society can affect our cognition and the brain across the life course.     

基于网络的杂草标本管理信息系统的设计与开发

杂草标本在一定程度上反映了杂草物种的区域多样性及其分布 ,对于农田杂草的生物生态学研究、杂草的综合治理以及杂草资源的保护和持续利用都具有重要意义 ,是进行杂草科学研究的宝贵资源。在对全国杂草区系进行全面深入的调查、标本采集和鉴定工作的基础上 ,南京农业大学建立了中国杂草标本室 ,收藏的杂草标本涵盖全国 30个省、市、自治区 ,共有标本 3万余份 ,是我国目前数量最多、覆盖最广、包罗最完备的专业杂草标本室[1] 。国内外许多生物标本馆利用计算机数据库技术开发了标本管理信息系统[2 7] 。这些系统的开发 ,极大地方便了标本信…     

Strategies for Protecting and Restoring Rhode Island's Watersheds on Multiple Scales

The Clean Water Act has traditionally preserved the quality and quantity of a region's water by focusing resources on areas with known or anticipated problems. USEPA Region 1 is taking the supplemental, longer-range approach of protecting areas of New England where natural resources are still healthy. As part of Region 1 's “New England Resource Protection” approach, stakeholders participate in an open process that identifies healthy ecosystems and characterizes how well they support aquatic life and human health. Since the concerns of stakeholders are usually local, the process also displays areas of nonattainment within individual watersheds and determines their likely causes. One of the most powerful ways to display these types of information on multiple scales is to use a geographic information system (GIS). The case of phosphorus in southern Rhode Island's Tucker Pond illustrates how a GIS can help integrate concerns from the public, data from Clean Water Act monitoring, and information from the New England Resource Protection Project to identify types of environmental assessment questions on scales ranging from states to subwatersheds. By involving the public at all stages of the process and better informing them about their watersheds, this new approach makes them better stewards of their environment.     

Photosynthesis Web resources

Online access to the Internet and the World Wide Web has become important for public awareness and for educating the world’s population, including its political leaders, students, researchers, teachers, and ordinary citizens seeking information. After a brief Introduction, relevant information found on photosynthesis-related Web sites and other online locations is presented under five categories: (a) group sites, (b) sites by subject, (c) individual researcher’s sites, (d) sites for educators and students, and (e) other useful sites.     

Portals, blogs and co.: the role of the Internet as a medium of science communication

While the use of the Internet for the exchange of scientific data was characterised by exclusivity during its pioneer era, the active employment of the medium today, by a broad social spectrum of users in the exchange of information, for dialogue and in the accumulation of knowledge, displays an almost unbounded inclusion. Blo and online encyclopaedias based on the 'Wikipedia' model have contributed to the formation of a marketplace in which the free expression of opinions and the relaying of information occur. Counted among the ideas which have been popularised in the wake of this phenomenon, "lay journalism" and the "wisdom of the masses" are seen to be integral to the new 'web 2.0'. Consequently, the ever-increasing information disseminated in the web has been diluted in quality and authenticity, resulting in the presentation of new challenges to online science journalism. In reference to the public debate surrounding green gene technology, the communications platform bioSicherheit.de, which receives more than one million visitors per year, will be examined as an example of an agent that retrieves and mobilises information on biological safety research and that successfully has established itself as an intermediary between the scientific community and the broader public.     

Quantifying and Mapping Global Data Poverty

Digital information technologies, such as the Internet, mobile phones and social media, provide vast amounts of data for decision-making and resource management. However, access to these technologies, as well as their associated software and training materials, is not evenly distributed: since the 1990s there has been concern about a "Digital Divide" between the data-rich and the data-poor. We present an innovative metric for evaluating international variations in access to digital data: the Data Poverty Index (DPI). The DPI is based on Internet speeds, numbers of computer owners and Internet users, mobile phone ownership and network coverage, as well as provision of higher education. The datasets used to produce the DPI are provided annually for almost all the countries of the world and can be freely downloaded. The index that we present in this ‘proof of concept’ study is the first to quantify and visualise the problem of global data poverty, using the most recent datasets, for 2013. The effects of severe data poverty, particularly limited access to geoinformatic data, free software and online training materials, are discussed in the context of sustainable development and disaster risk reduction. The DPI highlights countries where support is needed for improving access to the Internet and for the provision of training in geoinfomatics. We conclude that the DPI is of value as a potential metric for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.     

Pathological Buying Online as a Specific Form of Internet Addiction: A Model-Based Experimental Investigation

The study aimed to investigate different factors of vulnerability for pathological buying in the online context and to determine whether online pathological buying has parallels to a specific Internet addiction. According to a model of specific Internet addiction by Brand and colleagues, potential vulnerability factors may consist of a predisposing excitability from shopping and as mediating variable, specific Internet use expectancies. Additionally, in line with models on addiction behavior, cue-induced craving should also constitute an important factor for online pathological buying. The theoretical model was tested in this study by investigating 240 female participants with a cue-reactivity paradigm, which was composed of online shopping pictures, to assess excitability from shopping. Craving (before and after the cue-reactivity paradigm) and online shopping expectancies were measured. The tendency for pathological buying and online pathological buying were screened with the Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS) and the Short Internet Addiction Test modified for shopping (s-IATshopping). The results demonstrated that the relationship between individual’s excitability from shopping and online pathological buying tendency was partially mediated by specific Internet use expectancies for online shopping (model’s R² = .742, p < .001). Furthermore, craving and online pathological buying tendencies were correlated (r = .556, p < .001), and an increase in craving after the cue presentation was observed solely in individuals scoring high for online pathological buying (t(28) = 2.98, p < .01, d = 0.44). Both screening instruments were correlated (r = .517, p < .001), and diagnostic concordances as well as divergences were indicated by applying the proposed cut-off criteria. In line with the model for specific Internet addiction, the study identified potential vulnerability factors for online pathological buying and suggests potential parallels. The presence of craving in individuals with a propensity for online pathological buying emphasizes that this behavior merits potential consideration within the non-substance/behavioral addictions.     

iBiology: communicating the process of science

The Internet hosts an abundance of science video resources aimed at communicating scientific knowledge, including webinars, massive open online courses, and TED talks. Although these videos are efficient at disseminating information for diverse types of users, they often do not demonstrate the process of doing science, the excitement of scientific discovery, or how new scientific knowledge is developed. iBiology (www.ibiology.org), a project that creates open-access science videos about biology research and science-related topics, seeks to fill this need by producing videos by science leaders that make their ideas, stories, and experiences available to anyone with an Internet connection.     

Internet resources for the human geneticist

The Internet is a massive expanding body of information, which is likely to play a significant role for clinicians and researchers across the world. Since its inception in December 1969 the Internet has grown rapidly and is anticipated to expand 1,000% in the coming next few years. Various useful databases on human genetics are already in 'the Net' and many more are being added constantly. The future of human geneticist is in handling of information. In this review of Internet and compilation of important web site addresses we expect to stimulate and instruct human geneticists in navigating the Net. The list of web sites provided in this article is expected to facilitate their search.     

Online Islamophobia and the politics of fear: manufacturing the green scare

Negative attitudes and explicit racism against Muslims are increasingly visible in public discourse throughout Europe. Right-wing populist parties have strengthened their positions by focusing on the ‘Islamic threat’ to the West. Concurrently, the Internet has facilitated a space where racist attitudes towards Muslims are easily disseminated into the public debate, fuelling animosity against European Muslims. This paper explores part of the online Islamophobic network and scrutinizes the discursive strategies deployed by three ‘prominent’ online actors. By combining social network analysis and critical discourse analysis, the study shows that Islamophobic web pages constitute a dynamic network with ties to different political and geographical milieus. They create a seemingly mainstream political position by framing racist standpoints as a defence of Western values and freedom of speech. The study also shows that Islamophobic discourse is strengthened by xenophobic currents within mass media, and by the legitimization of intellectuals and political actors.     

Visual aspects of perception of multimedia messages on the web through the "eye tracker" method

Since the dawn of civilisation visual communication played a role in everyday life. In the early times there were simply shaped drawings of animals, pictograms explaining hunting tactics or strategies of attacking the enemies. Through evolution visual expression becomes an important component of communication process on several levels, from the existential and economic level to the artistic level. However, there was always a question of the level of user reception of such visual information in the medium transmitting the information. Does physical positioning of information in the medium contribute to the efficiency of the message? Do the same rules of content positioning apply for traditional (offline) and online media (Internet)? Rapid development of information technology and Internet in almost all segments of contemporary life calls for defining the rules of designing and positioning multimedia online contents on web sites. Recent research indicates beyond doubt that the physical positioning of an online content on a web site significantly determines the quality of user's perception of such content. By employing the "Eye tracking" method it is possible to objectively analyse the level of user perception of a multimedia content on a web site. What is the first thing observed by the user after opening the web site and how does he/she visually search the online content? By which methods can this be investigated subjectively and objectively? How can the survey results be used to improve the creation of web sites and to optimise the positioning of relevant contents on the site? The answers to these questions will significantly improve the presentation of multimedia interactive contents on the Web.     

As Facts and Chats Go Online,What Is Important for Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes?

Background

Continued refinement of resources for patient information, education and support is needed. Considering the rapid development of new communication practices, the perspectives of young people themselves warrant more attention using a wide research focus. The purpose of this study was to understand information-seeking behaviours, Internet use and social networking online in adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1DM). This applied to their everyday life, including the context of diabetes and their experiences and need of contact with T1DM peers.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Twenty-four adolescents aged 10–17 years with T1DM were recruited from a county hospital in the south-east of Sweden. Qualitative data were obtained using eight focus groups, wherein each participant engaged in a 60–90 minute video/audio-recorded session. The focus group data were transcribed and analysed using qualitative content analysis. Some demographic and medical information was also collected. The three main categories that were identified; Aspects of Security, Updating, and Plainness and their sub-categories gave significant information about how to enhance information retrieval and peer contacts related to T1DM. Regarding the persons'' information-seeking behaviour, Internet use, and use of social media some differences could be identified depending on gender and age.

Conclusions/Significance

Sensitivity and adaptation to users'' needs and expectations seem crucial in the development of future online resources for adolescents with T1DM. To start with, this could mean applying a wider range of already existing information and communication technologies. Health practitioners need to focus on the areas of security of information and communication, frequency of updating, and simplicity of design-less is more.