Validation of the Patient-Doctor-Relationship Questionnaire (PDRQ-9) in a representative cross-sectional German population survey

The patient-doctor relationship (PDR) as perceived by the patient is an important concept in primary care and psychotherapy. The PDR Questionnaire (PDRQ-9) provides a brief measure of the therapeutic aspects of the PDR in primary care. We assessed the internal and external validity of the German version of the PDRQ-9 in a representative cross-sectional German population survey that included 2,275 persons aged≥14 years who reported consulting with a primary care physician (PCP). The acceptance of the German version of this questionnaire was good. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the PRDQ-9 was unidimensional. The internal reliability (Cronbach's α) of the total score was .95. The corrected item-total correlations were≥.94. The mean satisfaction index of persons with a probable depressive disorder was lower than that of persons without a probable depressive disorder, indicating good discriminative concurrent criterion validity. The correlation coefficient between satisfaction with PDR and satisfaction with pain therapy was r = .51 in 489 persons who reported chronic pain, indicating good convergent validity. Despite the limitation of low variance in the PDRQ-9 total scores, the results indicate that the German version of the PDRQ-9 is a brief questionnaire with good psychometric properties to assess German patients' perceived therapeutic alliance with PCPs in public health research

Albumin enhanced morphometric image analysis in CLL.

BACKGROUND: The heterogeneity of lymphocytes from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and blood film artifacts make morphologic subclassification of this disease difficult. METHODS: We reviewed paired blood films prepared from ethylene-diamine-tetraacetic acid (ETDA) samples with and without bovine serum albumin (BSA) from 82 CLL patients. Group 1 adhered to NCCLS specifications for the preparations of EDTA blood films. Group 2 consisted of blood films containing EDTA and a 1:12 dilution of 22% BSA. Eight patients were selected for digital photomicroscopy and statistical analysis. Approximately 100 lymphocytes from each slide were digitally captured. RESULTS: The mean cell area +/- standard error was 127.8 microm(2) +/- 1.42 for (n = 793) for group 1 versus 100.7 microm(2) +/- 1.39 (n = 831) for group 2. The nuclear area was 88.9 microm(2) +/- 0.85 for group 1 versus 76.4 microm(2) +/- 0.83 for group 2. For the nuclear transmittance, the values were 97.6 +/- 0.85 for group 1 and 104.1 +/- 0.83 for group 2. The nuclear:cytoplasmic ratios were 0.71 +/- 0.003 for group 1 and 0.78 +/- 0.003 for group 2. All differences were statistically significant (P \u3c 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: BSA addition results in the reduction of atypical lymphocytes and a decrease in smudge cells. BSA also decreases the lymphocyte area and nuclear area, whereas nuclear transmittance and nuclear:cytoplasmic ratio are increased. A standardized method of slide preparation would allow accurate interlaboratory comparison. The use of BSA may permit better implementation of the blood film-based subclassification of CLL and lead to a better correlation of morphology with cytogenetics and immunophenotyping. Published 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc

A scientific method for startups: Comparing lean and the theory-based view

Recent scholarship has sought to develop a “scientific method” for startups. In this paper we contrast two approaches: lean startup and the theory-based view of startups. The lean startup movement has served an important function in calling for a normative and scientific approach to startups and venture creation. The theory-based view shares this agenda. But there are differences in the underlying theoretical mechanisms and practical prescriptions suggested by each approach. We highlight these differences and their implications for both research and practice. For example, we contrast lean startup’s emphasis on bounded rationality and entrepreneur–customer information asymmetry with the theory-based view’s emphasis on generative rationality and belief asymmetry. The theory-based view focuses on contrarian beliefs, associated problem formulation, and the development of a startup-specific causal logic for experimentation, resource acquisition, and problem solving. The right mix of entrepreneurial actions is contingent and startup-specific—guided by a startup’s unique theory. After pointing out differences between the lean and theory-based view of startups, we discuss opportunities for partial reconciliation, as well as opportunities for empirically comparing perspectives. Overall, we emphasize that a scientific method for startups needs to recognize the importance of contingent, discriminating alignment between entrepreneurial theories and the actions they prescribe (including different types of experimentation and validation, search, and forms of organization)

A first-generation integrated tammar wallaby map and its use in creating a tammar wallaby first-generation virtual genome map.

RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are.BACKGROUND: The limited (2X) coverage of the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) genome sequence dataset currently presents a challenge for assembly and anchoring onto chromosomes. To provide a framework for this assembly, it would be a great advantage to have a dense map of the tammar wallaby genome. However, only limited mapping data are available for this non-model species, comprising a physical map and a linkage map. RESULTS: We combined all available tammar wallaby mapping data to create a tammar wallaby integrated map, using the Location DataBase (LDB) strategy. This first-generation integrated map combines all available information from the second-generation tammar wallaby linkage map with 148 loci, and extensive FISH mapping data for 492 loci, especially for genes likely to be located at the ends of wallaby chromosomes or at evolutionary breakpoints inferred from comparative information. For loci whose positions are only approximately known, their location in the integrated map was refined on the basis of comparative information from opossum (Monodelphis domestica) and human. Interpolation of segments from the opossum and human assemblies into the integrated map enabled the subsequent construction of a tammar wallaby first-generation virtual genome map, which comprises 14336 markers, including 13783 genes recruited from opossum and human assemblies. Both maps are freely available at http://compldb.angis.org.au. CONCLUSIONS: The first-generation integrated map and the first-generation virtual genome map provide a backbone for the chromosome assembly of the tammar wallaby genome sequence. For example, 78% of the 10257 gene-scaffolds in the Ensembl annotation of the tammar wallaby genome sequence (including 10522 protein-coding genes) can now be given a chromosome location in the tammar wallaby virtual genome map.Peer Reviewe

Metallicity determination in gas-rich galaxies with semiempirical methods

A study of the precision of the semiempirical methods used in the determination of the chemical abundances in gas-rich galaxies is carried out. In order to do this the oxygen abundances of a total of 438 galaxies were determined using the electronic temperature, the $R_{23}$ and the P methods. The new calibration of the P method gives the smaller dispersion for the low and high metallicity regions, while the best numbers in the turnaround region are given by the $R_{23}$ method. We also found that the dispersion correlates with the metallicity. Finally, it can be said that all the semiempirical methods studied here are quite insensitive to metallicity with a value of $8.0\pm0.2$ dex for more than 50% of the total sample. \keywords{ISM: abundances; (ISM): H {\sc ii} regions}Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures and 2 tables. To appear at AJ, January 200

Feline immunodeficiency virus decreases cell-cell communication and mitochondrial membrane potential.

The in vitro effects of viral replication on mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) were evaluated as two parameters of potential cellular injury. Two distinct cell types were infected with the Petaluma strain of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). Primary astroglia supported acute FIV infection, resulting in syncytia within 3 days of infection, whereas immortalized Crandell feline kidney (CRFK) cells of epithelial origin supported persistent FIV infection in the absence of an obvious cytopathic effect. An examination of cells under conditions that included an infection rate of more than 90% for either population revealed that the astroglia produced about four times more virus than the CRFK cells. The mitochondrial uptake of the cationic fluorescent dye rhodamine 123 in infected astroglia was less than 45% of that of normal control cells, whereas the MMP of the CRFK cells, which produced about one-fourth as much virus, was 80.8% of that of the normal cells. Cell-cell communication between adjacent cells was determined by the recovery of fluorescence following photobleaching of a single cell. In spite of the lower level of innate cell-cell communication among cultured CRFK cells than among astroglia, viral replication resulted in a 30% decrease in the GJIC of both astroglia and CRFK cells. These studies indicate that cell injury, as defined by an inhibition of MMP and GJIC, can occur as a result of persistent and acute infection with the Petaluma strain of FIV

Nonmonotonic inelastic tunneling spectra due to surface spin excitations in ferromagnetic junctions

The paper addresses inelastic spin-flip tunneling accompanied by surface spin excitations (magnons) in ferromagnetic junctions. The inelastic tunneling current is proportional to the magnon density of states which is energy-independent for the surface waves and, for this reason, cannot account for the bias-voltage dependence of the observed inelastic tunneling spectra. This paper shows that the bias-voltage dependence of the tunneling spectra can arise from the tunneling matrix elements of the electron-magnon interaction. These matrix elements are derived from the Coulomb exchange interaction using the itinerant-electron model of magnon-assisted tunneling. The results for the inelastic tunneling spectra, based on the nonequilibrium Green's function calculations, are presented for both parallel and antiparallel magnetizations in the ferromagnetic leads.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, version as publishe

Identification of novel oyster allergens using a combined transcriptomic and proteomic approach for improved component resolved diagnosis

Background: Increasing production and consumption of mollusc is associated with the rise in prevalence of mollusc allergy worldwide, currently ranging from 0.15% to 1.3% of the general population. However, the elucidation of mollusc allergens for better diagnostics still lags behind other seafood groups such as fish and crustacean. Genomic data have been utilized previously for improved identification of non-food allergens by performing similarity searching using the BLAST program. Based on the published genome of the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) we aimed to identify the complete potential oyster allergen repertoire using ioinformatics analysis, and to investigate identified protein allergenicity using a combination of immuno-chemical methods and proteomic analysis. Results: Ninety-five potential allergenic proteins of the Pacific oyster were discovered using in silico analyses. These proteins were of same protein family and had more than 50% amino acid identity with their homologous allergens. The allergenicity of these proteins was characterized using a combination of immunoassay and transcriptome-derived proteomics analyses. However The 2D-immunoblotting results showed only twenty two IgE-reactive spots in the raw extract of the Pacific oyster, and six spots in the heated extract. The identity of these IgE-reactive proteins was investigated by mass spectrometry. Sixteen allergens were identified, some with two or more isoforms. Conclusions: The combination of genomics coupled to proteomics and IgE-reactivity profiling is a powerful method for the identification of novel allergens from food sources. Using this combination approach we were able to expand the current knowledge on IgE-reactivity to various proteins of the Pacific oyster. These newly identified allergens and knowledge of their gene sequences will facilitate the development of improved component resolved diagnosis and future immunotherapy approach for oyster allergy

Standing out from the crowd:Dedicated institutional investors and strategy uniqueness

This paper examines the effect of dedicated institutional investors on firms' strategy uniqueness. We build on the uniqueness paradox where unique strategies are important drivers of economic rent, yet create an information problem whereby CEOs face discounts from the capital market, thus discouraging them from selecting unique strategies. We propose dedicated institutional investors as a partial remedy to the uniqueness paradox. Dedicated institutional investors invest in gaining private information about their investments, devote effort to understanding firms' strategies, and reduce capital market pressure. Thus, dedicated institutional investors can encourage CEOs to pursue more unique strategies. Our empirical results show the positive influence of dedicated institutional investors on strategic uniqueness, which is even stronger when firms operate in industries that are hard to value