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Big data analytics are gaining popularity in medical engineering and healthcare use cases. Stakeholders are finding big data analytics reduce medical costs and personalise medical services for each individual patient. Big data analytics can be used in large-scale genetics studies, public health, personalised and precision medicine, new drug development, etc. The introduction of the types, sources, and features of big data in healthcare as well as the applications and benefits of big data and big data analytics in healthcare is key to understanding healthcare big data and will be discussed in this article. Major methods, platforms and tools of big data analytics in medical engineering and healthcare are also presented. Advances and technology progress of big data analytics in healthcare are introduced, which includes artificial intelligence (AI) with big data, infrastructure and cloud computing, advanced computation and data processing, privacy and cybersecurity, health economic outcomes and technology management, and smart healthcare with sensing, wearable devices and Internet of things (IoT). Current challenges of dealing with big data and big data analytics in medical engineering and healthcare as well as future work are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To describe and understand variations in social influences on smoking behavior among African-American and white male and female adolescents in Baltimore City, USA . Design A qualitative study where adolescents, both smokers and non-smokers, were interviewed individually (n = 21) and participated in focus groups (n = 18 focus groups, 3-10 participants per group). Results Social contexts emerged as most relevant and salient themes related to smoking behavior. White females perceived the most permissive parental messages around smoking, while males, especially African-American males, reported receiving the strictest parental sanctions. Females' need to fit in with peers contrasted with males' being coerced to smoke. Possible reasons for African-Americans' non-use of cigarettes include a desire not to disrespect parents and being turned off by parental addiction to nicotine. All adolescents cited the school's lax anti-smoking policy as a reason teens smoke at school. Conclusion Interventions targeted at schools and families offer promise for reducing adolescent cigarette use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To study the social contexts and physiological consequences of an initial cigarette smoking experience among adolescents from four ethnic groups (African American, European American, Hispanic, Native American) who vary by gender and locale (e.g. urban vs rural). Method. A qualitative study using individual interviews and focus groups. Results. Results both amplify and reinforce conclusions about peer and family influences on adolescent smoking initiation reported in quantitative studies of teen smoking. Within the broader themes of peers and family, several important sub-themes emerged. The study findings suggest that peer influence can be characterized as social conformity or social acceptance. Males were more likely than females to describe experiences involving peers exerting strong messages to conform to smoking behaviors. Roles played by family members in the initiation process were complex and included those of initiator, prompter, accomplice, and inadvertent source of cigarettes. European American and Hispanic girls provided descriptions of parents/family members as instigators of their first smoking experience. Hispanic adolescents descripted instances in which family members prompted cigarette use at a young age by encouraging the young person to light the adult's cigarette. Finally, ethnic differences in the physiological responses to initial smoking suggest the need to further explore the role of brand preference and variations in inhaling among ethnically diverse adolescents. Conclusion. In order to design effective cigarette smoking prevention programs for adolescents, it is important to understand the meaning of smoking behaviors for adolescents from different ethnic and social backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, public interest and concern about the plight of the rape victim has increased. A recurrent theme in much of the popular literature about rape is that rape victims are blamed for their circumstances. The present study considers how judgments made by police (N = 368)and nurses (N = 312) regarding victim responsibility are influenced by the type of crime, the victim's marital status, her dress, her relationship with the assailant, evidence of her resistence, the extent of her injuries, and attitudinal and sociodemographic characteristics of the police and nurses. Evaluations of victim responsibility were elicited by vignettes. Findings suggest that, in general, victims are given very little responsibility for rape, and that police and nurses tend to make similar evaluations regarding the victim's participation in a crime. Two major occupa- tional differences are described. Non-white police officers tend t o blame victims of rape and beating somewhat more than white police officers. Nurses who see themselves as likely victims of a crime blame rape victims more than those who view their victimization as remote. Attitudinal and psychological characteristics of both nurses and police emerged as the strongest predictors of victim blaming. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]