Your    task    is    to    answer    a    set    of    research    questions    using    data    from    the    Framingham    Heart    Study    (sent    by    e-mail).    This    data    was    obtained    at    a    particular    point    in    time    (cross-sectional)    from    adult    volunteers    recruited    from    the    community    and    contains    a    variety    of    clinical    data.        Details    of    the    data    set    and    the    variables    are    provided    below.    Additional    information    about    the    Framingham    Heart    Study,    including    some    published    results,    can    be    found    in    Learning    Resources.

1.        Construct a standard curve (it will be a straight line) by taking the mean of the duplicates for each standard.
2.        Using this, determine the values of analyte for the patient sample and the quality control, again using the mean of the duplicate absorbances.  
3.        Compare the quality control to its expected value to ascertain whether the assay is valid.  It should be within 10%.
4.        If the assay is valid, compare the results for the patients to the reference range for that analyte.
5.        Decide whether the patients’ results are normal or abnormal.
6.    Using the notes on the Patient Request Form, also provided, consider the meaning of the data.
7.    Write up the experiments as detailed here as a full report including an abstract, introduction, methods, results and discussion.  The method section can refer to the protocols in the practical booklet.  The discussion should include reference to the quality of the data as well as what it might mean in the context of the bigger clinical picture

Read less