The interaction of persons or groups of persons representing various nations in the pursuit of a common goal or interest.

International organizations which provide health-related or other cooperative services.

The quality or state of relating to or affecting two or more nations. (After Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed)

System established by the World Health Organization and the International Committee on Thrombosis and Hemostasis for monitoring and reporting blood coagulation tests. Under this system, results are standardized using the International Sensitivity Index for the particular test reagent/instrument combination used.

A system of categories to which morbid entries are assigned according to established criteria. Included is the entire range of conditions in a manageable number of categories, grouped to facilitate mortality reporting. It is produced by the World Health Organization (From ICD-10, p1). The Clinical Modifications, produced by the UNITED STATES DEPT. OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, are larger extensions used for morbidity and general epidemiological purposes, primarily in the U.S.

The exchange of students or professional personnel between countries done under the auspices of an organization for the purpose of further education.

The concept pertaining to the health status of inhabitants of the world.

A specialized agency of the United Nations designed as a coordinating authority on international health work; its aim is to promote the attainment of the highest possible level of health by all peoples.

Conferences, conventions or formal meetings usually attended by delegates representing a special field of interest.

The terms, expressions, designations, or symbols used in a particular science, discipline, or specialized subject area.

Physicians who hold degrees from medical schools in countries other than the ones in which they practice.

Countries in the process of change with economic growth, that is, an increase in production, per capita consumption, and income. The process of economic growth involves better utilization of natural and human resources, which results in a change in the social, political, and economic structures.

Evaluation undertaken to assess the results or consequences of management and procedures used in combating disease in order to determine the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, and practicability of these interventions in individual cases or series.

The World Health Organization's classification categories of health and health-related domains. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) consists of two lists: a list of body functions and structure, and a list of domains of activity and participation. The ICF also includes a list of environmental factors.

A systematic statement of policy rules or principles. Guidelines may be developed by government agencies at any level, institutions, professional societies, governing boards, or by convening expert panels. The text may be cursive or in outline form but is generally a comprehensive guide to problems and approaches in any field of activity. For guidelines in the field of health care and clinical medicine, PRACTICE GUIDELINES AS TOPIC is available.

A basis of value established for the measure of quantity, weight, extent or quality, e.g. weight standards, standard solutions, methods, techniques, and procedures used in diagnosis and therapy.

The collective designation of three organizations with common membership: the European Economic Community (Common Market), the European Coal and Steel Community, and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). It was known as the European Community until 1994. It is primarily an economic union with the principal objectives of free movement of goods, capital, and labor. Professional services, social, medical and paramedical, are subsumed under labor. The constituent countries are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. (The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997, p842)

Countries that have reached a level of economic achievement through an increase of production, per capita income and consumption, and utilization of natural and human resources.

An international organization whose members include most of the sovereign nations of the world with headquarters in New York City. The primary objectives of the organization are to maintain peace and security and to achieve international cooperation in solving international economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian problems.

Aspects of health and disease related to travel.

The largest country in North America, comprising 10 provinces and three territories. Its capital is Ottawa.

General agreement or collective opinion; the judgment arrived at by most of those concerned.

The smallest continent and an independent country, comprising six states and two territories. Its capital is Canberra.

An aspect of personal behavior or lifestyle, environmental exposure, or inborn or inherited characteristic, which, on the basis of epidemiologic evidence, is known to be associated with a health-related condition considered important to prevent.

Societies whose membership is limited to physicians.

An anticoagulant that acts by inhibiting the synthesis of vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors. Warfarin is indicated for the prophylaxis and/or treatment of venous thrombosis and its extension, pulmonary embolism, and atrial fibrillation with embolization. It is also used as an adjunct in the prophylaxis of systemic embolism after myocardial infarction. Warfarin is also used as a rodenticide.

Predetermined sets of questions used to collect data - clinical data, social status, occupational group, etc. The term is often applied to a self-completed survey instrument.

Research that involves the application of the natural sciences, especially biology and physiology, to medicine.

Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.

Comparison of various psychological, sociological, or cultural factors in order to assess the similarities or diversities occurring in two or more different cultures or societies.

The statistical reproducibility of measurements (often in a clinical context), including the testing of instrumentation or techniques to obtain reproducible results. The concept includes reproducibility of physiological measurements, which may be used to develop rules to assess probability or prognosis, or response to a stimulus; reproducibility of occurrence of a condition; and reproducibility of experimental results.

The total number of cases of a given disease in a specified population at a designated time. It is differentiated from INCIDENCE, which refers to the number of new cases in the population at a given time.

Studies used to test etiologic hypotheses in which inferences about an exposure to putative causal factors are derived from data relating to characteristics of persons under study or to events or experiences in their past. The essential feature is that some of the persons under study have the disease or outcome of interest and their characteristics are compared with those of unaffected persons.

Societies whose membership is limited to scientists.

Clotting time of PLASMA recalcified in the presence of excess TISSUE THROMBOPLASTIN. Factors measured are FIBRINOGEN; PROTHROMBIN; FACTOR V; FACTOR VII; and FACTOR X. It is used for monitoring anticoagulant therapy with COUMARINS.

Agents that prevent clotting.

Extensive collections, reputedly complete, of facts and data garnered from material of a specialized subject area and made available for analysis and application. The collection can be automated by various contemporary methods for retrieval. The concept should be differentiated from DATABASES, BIBLIOGRAPHIC which is restricted to collections of bibliographic references.

The rights of the individual to cultural, social, economic, and educational opportunities as provided by society, e.g., right to work, right to education, and right to social security.

Directions or principles presenting current or future rules of policy for assisting health care practitioners in patient care decisions regarding diagnosis, therapy, or related clinical circumstances. The guidelines may be developed by government agencies at any level, institutions, professional societies, governing boards, or by the convening of expert panels. The guidelines form a basis for the evaluation of all aspects of health care and delivery.

A prediction of the probable outcome of a disease based on a individual's condition and the usual course of the disease as seen in similar situations.

Branch of medicine concerned with the prevention and control of disease and disability, and the promotion of physical and mental health of the population on the international, national, state, or municipal level.

The interchange of goods or commodities, especially on a large scale, between different countries or between populations within the same country. It includes trade (the buying, selling, or exchanging of commodities, whether wholesale or retail) and business (the purchase and sale of goods to make a profit). (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed, p411, p2005 & p283)

The systems and processes involved in the establishment, support, management, and operation of registers, e.g., disease registers.

Decisions, usually developed by government policymakers, for determining present and future objectives pertaining to the health care system.

Critical and exhaustive investigation or experimentation, having for its aim the discovery of new facts and their correct interpretation, the revision of accepted conclusions, theories, or laws in the light of newly discovered facts, or the practical application of such new or revised conclusions, theories, or laws. (Webster, 3d ed)

Time period from 2001 through 2100 of the common era.

A system for verifying and maintaining a desired level of quality in a product or process by careful planning, use of proper equipment, continued inspection, and corrective action as required. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

Observation of a population for a sufficient number of persons over a sufficient number of years to generate incidence or mortality rates subsequent to the selection of the study group.

Presentations of summary statements representing the majority agreement of physicians, scientists, and other professionals convening for the purpose of reaching a consensus--often with findings and recommendations--on a subject of interest. The Conference, consisting of participants representing the scientific and lay viewpoints, is a significant means of evaluating current medical thought and reflects the latest advances in research for the respective field being addressed.

Programs of surveillance designed to prevent the transmission of disease by any means from person to person or from animal to man.

The largest of the continents. It was known to the Romans more specifically as what we know today as Asia Minor. The name comes from at least two possible sources: from the Assyrian asu (to rise) or from the Sanskrit usa (dawn), both with reference to its being the land of the rising sun, i.e., eastern as opposed to Europe, to the west. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p82 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p34)

Elements of limited time intervals, contributing to particular results or situations.

The qualitative or quantitative estimation of the likelihood of adverse effects that may result from exposure to specified health hazards or from the absence of beneficial influences. (Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 1988)

A course or method of action selected, usually by a government, from among alternatives to guide and determine present and future decisions.

Studies in which subsets of a defined population are identified. These groups may or may not be exposed to factors hypothesized to influence the probability of the occurrence of a particular disease or other outcome. Cohorts are defined populations which, as a whole, are followed in an attempt to determine distinguishing subgroup characteristics.

Levels within a diagnostic group which are established by various measurement criteria applied to the seriousness of a patient's disorder.

Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time.

The number of new cases of a given disease during a given period in a specified population. It also is used for the rate at which new events occur in a defined population. It is differentiated from PREVALENCE, which refers to all cases, new or old, in the population at a given time.

Systematic gathering of data for a particular purpose from various sources, including questionnaires, interviews, observation, existing records, and electronic devices. The process is usually preliminary to statistical analysis of the data.

Age as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or the effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from AGING, a physiological process, and TIME FACTORS which refers only to the passage of time.

Studies in which individuals or populations are followed to assess the outcome of exposures, procedures, or effects of a characteristic, e.g., occurrence of disease.

A plan for collecting and utilizing data so that desired information can be obtained with sufficient precision or so that an hypothesis can be tested properly.

Organizations composed of members with common interests and whose professions may be similar.

Ongoing scrutiny of a population (general population, study population, target population, etc.), generally using methods distinguished by their practicability, uniformity, and frequently their rapidity, rather than by complete accuracy.

Persons who have acquired academic or specialized training in countries other than that in which they are working. The concept excludes physicians for which FOREIGN MEDICAL GRADUATES is the likely heading.

Facilities equipped to carry out investigative procedures.

An international professional organization composed of one association per country for the purpose of improving and developing nursing's contribution to the promotion of health and care of the sick.

Activities concerned with governmental policies, functions, etc.

Works about pre-planned studies of the safety, efficacy, or optimum dosage schedule (if appropriate) of one or more diagnostic, therapeutic, or prophylactic drugs, devices, or techniques selected according to predetermined criteria of eligibility and observed for predefined evidence of favorable and unfavorable effects. This concept includes clinical trials conducted both in the U.S. and in other countries.

"The business or profession of the commercial production and issuance of literature" (Webster's 3d). It includes the publisher, publication processes, editing and editors. Production may be by conventional printing methods or by electronic publishing.

Determination of the degree of a physical, mental, or emotional handicap. The diagnosis is applied to legal qualification for benefits and income under disability insurance and to eligibility for Social Security and workmen's compensation benefits.

An iterative questionnaire designed to measure consensus among individual responses. In the classic Delphi approach, there is no interaction between responder and interviewer.

A weight-carrying structure for navigation of the air that is supported either by its own buoyancy or by the dynamic action of the air against its surfaces. (Webster, 1973)

A class of statistical procedures for estimating the survival function (function of time, starting with a population 100% well at a given time and providing the percentage of the population still well at later times). The survival analysis is then used for making inferences about the effects of treatments, prognostic factors, exposures, and other covariates on the function.

Binary classification measures to assess test results. Sensitivity or recall rate is the proportion of true positives. Specificity is the probability of correctly determining the absence of a condition. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)

A group of islands in the southwest Pacific. Its capital is Wellington. It was discovered by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1642 and circumnavigated by Cook in 1769. Colonized in 1840 by the New Zealand Company, it became a British crown colony in 1840 until 1907 when colonial status was terminated. New Zealand is a partly anglicized form of the original Dutch name Nieuw Zeeland, new sea land, possibly with reference to the Dutch province of Zeeland. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p842 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p378)

Administration and functional structures for the purpose of collectively systematizing activities for a particular goal.

An infant during the first month after birth.

The inability in the male to have a PENILE ERECTION due to psychological or organ dysfunction.

A publication issued at stated, more or less regular, intervals.

An agency of the PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE concerned with the overall planning, promoting, and administering of programs pertaining to maintaining standards of quality of foods, drugs, therapeutic devices, etc.

The profession of writing. Also the identity of the writer as the creator of a literary production.

Process of substituting a symbol or code for a term such as a diagnosis or procedure. (from Slee's Health Care Terms, 3d ed.)

Terminal facilities used for aircraft takeoff and landing and including facilities for handling passengers. (from McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed.)

The geographic area of Latin America in general and when the specific country or countries are not indicated. It usually includes Central America, South America, Mexico, and the islands of the Caribbean.

The study of the structure, growth, function, genetics, and reproduction of bacteria, and BACTERIAL INFECTIONS.

The concept concerned with all aspects of providing and distributing health services to a patient population.

The intentional infliction of physical or mental suffering upon an individual or individuals, including the torture of animals.

The process of leaving one's country to establish residence in a foreign country.

Exercise of governmental authority to control conduct.

A loose confederation of computer communication networks around the world. The networks that make up the Internet are connected through several backbone networks. The Internet grew out of the US Government ARPAnet project and was designed to facilitate information exchange.

Travel beyond the earth's atmosphere.

The moral obligations governing the conduct of research. Used for discussions of research ethics as a general topic.

Authoritative treatises on drugs and preparations, their description, formulation, analytic composition, physical constants, main chemical properties used in identification, standards for strength, purity, and dosage, chemical tests for determining identity and purity, etc. They are usually published under governmental jurisdiction (e.g., USP, the United States Pharmacopoeia; BP, British Pharmacopoeia; P. Helv., the Swiss Pharmacopoeia). They differ from FORMULARIES in that they are far more complete: formularies tend to be mere listings of formulas and prescriptions.

Voluntary acceptance of a child of other parents to be as one's own child, usually with legal confirmation.

Process that is gone through in order for a drug to receive approval by a government regulatory agency. This includes any required pre-clinical or clinical testing, review, submission, and evaluation of the applications and test results, and post-marketing surveillance of the drug.

The proportion of survivors in a group, e.g., of patients, studied and followed over a period, or the proportion of persons in a specified group alive at the beginning of a time interval who survive to the end of the interval. It is often studied using life table methods.

Sudden increase in the incidence of a disease. The concept includes EPIDEMICS and PANDEMICS.

A systematic collection of factual data pertaining to health and disease in a human population within a given geographic area.

Travel to another country for the purpose of medical treatment.

Maleness or femaleness as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from SEX CHARACTERISTICS, anatomical or physiological manifestations of sex, and from SEX DISTRIBUTION, the number of males and females in given circumstances.

The decision process by which individuals, groups or institutions establish policies pertaining to plans, programs or procedures.

Research aimed at assessing the quality and effectiveness of health care as measured by the attainment of a specified end result or outcome. Measures include parameters such as improved health, lowered morbidity or mortality, and improvement of abnormal states (such as elevated blood pressure).

An approach of practicing medicine with the goal to improve and evaluate patient care. It requires the judicious integration of best research evidence with the patient's values to make decisions about medical care. This method is to help physicians make proper diagnosis, devise best testing plan, choose best treatment and methods of disease prevention, as well as develop guidelines for large groups of patients with the same disease. (from JAMA 296 (9), 2006)

In screening and diagnostic tests, the probability that a person with a positive test is a true positive (i.e., has the disease), is referred to as the predictive value of a positive test; whereas, the predictive value of a negative test is the probability that the person with a negative test does not have the disease. Predictive value is related to the sensitivity and specificity of the test.

A country spanning from central Asia to the Pacific Ocean.

An independent Federal agency established in 1961 as the focal point for economic matters affecting U.S. relations with developing countries.

Regulations to assure protection of property and equipment.

Australia, New Zealand and neighboring islands in the South Pacific Ocean. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed.)

Works about clinical trials that involve at least one test treatment and one control treatment, concurrent enrollment and follow-up of the test- and control-treated groups, and in which the treatments to be administered are selected by a random process, such as the use of a random-numbers table.

Control which is exerted by the more stable organizations of society, such as established institutions and the law. They are ordinarily embodied in definite codes, usually written.

Recommendations for directing health planning functions and policies. These may be mandated by PL93-641 and issued by the Department of Health and Human Services for use by state and local planning agencies.

The use of statistical methods in the analysis of a body of literature to reveal the historical development of subject fields and patterns of authorship, publication, and use. Formerly called statistical bibliography. (from The ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, 1983)

A method of measuring the effects of a biologically active substance using an intermediate in vivo or in vitro tissue or cell model under controlled conditions. It includes virulence studies in animal fetuses in utero, mouse convulsion bioassay of insulin, quantitation of tumor-initiator systems in mouse skin, calculation of potentiating effects of a hormonal factor in an isolated strip of contracting stomach muscle, etc.

Period after successful treatment in which there is no appearance of the symptoms or effects of the disease.

The field of nursing care concerned with the promotion, maintenance, and restoration of health.

A medical specialty concerned with the use of physical agents, mechanical apparatus, and manipulation in rehabilitating physically diseased or injured patients.

Works about controlled studies which are planned and carried out by several cooperating institutions to assess certain variables and outcomes in specific patient populations, for example, a multicenter study of congenital anomalies in children.

That segment of commercial enterprise devoted to the design, development, and manufacture of chemical products for use in the diagnosis and treatment of disease, disability, or other dysfunction, or to improve function.

Methods which attempt to express in replicable terms the extent of the neoplasm in the patient.

Assistance, such as money, food, or shelter, given to the needy, aged, or victims of disaster. It is usually granted on a temporary basis. (From The American Heritage Dictionary, 2d college ed)

Criminal acts committed during, or in connection with, war, e.g., maltreatment of prisoners, willful killing of civilians, etc.

Social and economic factors that characterize the individual or group within the social structure.

The frequency of different ages or age groups in a given population. The distribution may refer to either how many or what proportion of the group. The population is usually patients with a specific disease but the concept is not restricted to humans and is not restricted to medicine.

A generic concept reflecting concern with the modification and enhancement of life attributes, e.g., physical, political, moral and social environment; the overall condition of a human life.

A set of techniques used when variation in several variables has to be studied simultaneously. In statistics, multivariate analysis is interpreted as any analytic method that allows simultaneous study of two or more dependent variables.

Country located in EUROPE. It is bordered by the NORTH SEA, BELGIUM, and GERMANY. Constituent areas are Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten, formerly included in the NETHERLANDS ANTILLES.

The process of observing, recording, or detecting the effects of a chemical substance administered to an individual therapeutically or diagnostically.

Organizations representing specialized fields which are accepted as authoritative; may be non-governmental, university or an independent research organization, e.g., National Academy of Sciences, Brookings Institution, etc.

Malignant lymphoma composed of large B lymphoid cells whose nuclear size can exceed normal macrophage nuclei, or more than twice the size of a normal lymphocyte. The pattern is predominantly diffuse. Most of these lymphomas represent the malignant counterpart of B-lymphocytes at midstage in the process of differentiation.

Members of spacecraft crew including those who travel in space, and those in training for space flight. (From Webster, 10th ed; Jane's Aerospace Dictionary, 3d ed)

Persons with physical or mental disabilities that affect or limit their activities of daily living and that may require special accommodations.

Organizational development including enhancement of management structures, processes and procedures, within organizations and among different organizations and sectors to meet present and future needs.

Infectious diseases that are novel in their outbreak ranges (geographic and host) or transmission mode.

A course or method of action selected to guide and determine present and future decisions.

Determination, by measurement or comparison with a standard, of the correct value of each scale reading on a meter or other measuring instrument; or determination of the settings of a control device that correspond to particular values of voltage, current, frequency or other output.

All organized methods of funding.

The process of formulating, improving, and expanding educational, managerial, or service-oriented work plans (excluding computer program development).

Method of measuring performance against established standards of best practice.

The aggregate business enterprise of agriculture, manufacture, and distribution related to tobacco and tobacco-derived products.

Created as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes in 1918. Yugoslavia became the official name in 1929. BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA; CROATIA; and SLOVENIA formed independent countries 7 April 1992. Macedonia became independent 8 February 1994 as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MACEDONIA REPUBLIC).

Administrative units of government responsible for policy making and management of governmental activities.

An antitumor alkaloid isolated from VINCA ROSEA. (Merck, 11th ed.)

New abnormal growth of tissue. Malignant neoplasms show a greater degree of anaplasia and have the properties of invasion and metastasis, compared to benign neoplasms.

The interaction of two or more persons or organizations directed toward a common goal which is mutually beneficial. An act or instance of working or acting together for a common purpose or benefit, i.e., joint action. (From Random House Dictionary Unabridged, 2d ed)

Those individuals engaged in research.

Inhaling and exhaling the smoke of burning TOBACCO.

Organizations which are not operated for a profit and may be supported by endowments or private contributions.

The number of males and females in a given population. The distribution may refer to how many men or women or what proportion of either in the group. The population is usually patients with a specific disease but the concept is not restricted to humans and is not restricted to medicine.

A country in western Europe bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel, the Mediterranean Sea, and the countries of Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the principalities of Andorra and Monaco, and by the duchy of Luxembourg. Its capital is Paris.

A branch of applied ethics that studies the value implications of practices and developments in life sciences, medicine, and health care.

Bleeding or escape of blood from a vessel.

Parliamentary democracy located between France on the northeast and Portugual on the west and bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

Hostile conflict between organized groups of people.

The use of two or more chemicals simultaneously or sequentially in the drug therapy of neoplasms. The drugs need not be in the same dosage form.

Statistical models which describe the relationship between a qualitative dependent variable (that is, one which can take only certain discrete values, such as the presence or absence of a disease) and an independent variable. A common application is in epidemiology for estimating an individual's risk (probability of a disease) as a function of a given risk factor.

Use of written, printed, or graphic materials upon or accompanying a product or its container or wrapper. It includes purpose, effect, description, directions, hazards, warnings, and other relevant information.

The return of a sign, symptom, or disease after a remission.

An international agreement of the World Medical Association which offers guidelines for conducting experiments using human subjects. It was adopted in 1962 and revised by the 18th World Medical Assembly at Helsinki, Finland in 1964. Subsequent revisions were made in 1975, 1983, 1989, and 1996. (From Encyclopedia of Bioethics, rev ed, 1995)

Acquisition of knowledge as a result of instruction in a formal course of study.

The circulation or wide dispersal of information.

Time period from 1801 through 1900 of the common era.

Devices, manned and unmanned, which are designed to be placed into an orbit about the Earth or into a trajectory to another celestial body. (NASA Thesaurus, 1988)

A class of disabling primary headache disorders, characterized by recurrent unilateral pulsatile headaches. The two major subtypes are common migraine (without aura) and classic migraine (with aura or neurological symptoms). (International Classification of Headache Disorders, 2nd ed. Cephalalgia 2004: suppl 1)

Measuring and weighing systems and processes.

The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.

The genetic constitution of the individual, comprising the ALLELES present at each GENETIC LOCUS.

The protection, preservation, restoration, and rational use of all resources in the total environment.

Activities and programs intended to assure or improve the quality of care in either a defined medical setting or a program. The concept includes the assessment or evaluation of the quality of care; identification of problems or shortcomings in the delivery of care; designing activities to overcome these deficiencies; and follow-up monitoring to ensure effectiveness of corrective steps.

A group of pathological conditions characterized by sudden, non-convulsive loss of neurological function due to BRAIN ISCHEMIA or INTRACRANIAL HEMORRHAGES. Stroke is classified by the type of tissue NECROSIS, such as the anatomic location, vasculature involved, etiology, age of the affected individual, and hemorrhagic vs. non-hemorrhagic nature. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp777-810)

The presence of co-existing or additional diseases with reference to an initial diagnosis or with reference to the index condition that is the subject of study. Comorbidity may affect the ability of affected individuals to function and also their survival; it may be used as a prognostic indicator for length of hospital stay, cost factors, and outcome or survival.

A republic in southern Africa, the southernmost part of Africa. It has three capitals: Pretoria (administrative), Cape Town (legislative), and Bloemfontein (judicial). Officially the Republic of South Africa since 1960, it was called the Union of South Africa 1910-1960.

Procedures for finding the mathematical function which best describes the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. In linear regression (see LINEAR MODELS) the relationship is constrained to be a straight line and LEAST-SQUARES ANALYSIS is used to determine the best fit. In logistic regression (see LOGISTIC MODELS) the dependent variable is qualitative rather than continuously variable and LIKELIHOOD FUNCTIONS are used to find the best relationship. In multiple regression, the dependent variable is considered to depend on more than a single independent variable.

Design, development, manufacture, and operation of heavier-than-air AIRCRAFT.

Groups set up to advise governmental bodies, societies, or other institutions on policy. (Bioethics Thesaurus)

The guidelines and policy statements set forth by the editor(s) or editorial board of a publication.

Financial support of research activities.

The measurement of the health status for a given population using a variety of indices, including morbidity, mortality, and available health resources.

Includes the spectrum of human immunodeficiency virus infections that range from asymptomatic seropositivity, thru AIDS-related complex (ARC), to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Deliberate maltreatment of groups of humans beings including violations of generally-accepted fundamental rights as stated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted and proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948.

Clusters of topics that fall within the domain of BIOETHICS, the field of study concerned with value questions that arise in biomedicine and health care delivery.

The region of southwest Asia and northeastern Africa usually considered as extending from Libya on the west to Afghanistan on the east. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988)

Detailed account or statement or formal record of data resulting from empirical inquiry.

The performance of the basic activities of self care, such as dressing, ambulation, or eating.

Encouraging consumer behaviors most likely to optimize health potentials (physical and psychosocial) through health information, preventive programs, and access to medical care.

The ratio of two odds. The exposure-odds ratio for case control data is the ratio of the odds in favor of exposure among cases to the odds in favor of exposure among noncases. The disease-odds ratio for a cohort or cross section is the ratio of the odds in favor of disease among the exposed to the odds in favor of disease among the unexposed. The prevalence-odds ratio refers to an odds ratio derived cross-sectionally from studies of prevalent cases.

The exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents that occurs as a result of one's occupation.

An independent state consisting of three islands in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily. Its capital is Valetta. The major island is Malta, the two smaller islands are Comino and Gozo. It was a Phoenician and Carthaginian colony, captured by the Romans in 218 B.C. It was overrun by Saracens in 870, taken by the Normans in 1090, and subsequently held by the French and later the British who allotted them a dominion government in 1921. It became a crown colony in 1933, achieving independence in 1964. The name possibly comes from a pre-Indoeuropean root mel, high, referring to its rocks, but a more picturesque origin derives the name from the Greek melitta or melissa, honey, with reference to its early fame for its honey production. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p719 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p330)