937 research outputs found
Quantification of Globotriaosylsphingosine in Plasma and Urine of Fabry Patients by Stable Isotope Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Bio-organic Synthesi
HypoAware-a brief and partly web-based psycho-educational group intervention for adults with type 1 and insulin-treated type 2 diabetes and problematic hypoglycaemia: design of a cost-effectiveness randomised controlled trial
Anatomical Versus Nonanatomical Resection of Colorectal Liver Metastases: Is There a Difference in Surgical and Oncological Outcome?
Background: The increased use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and minimally invasive therapies for recurrence in patients with colorectal liver metastases (CLM) makes a surgical strategy
Medical students’ preparedness for professional activities in early clerkships
Background Sufficient preparedness is important for transitions to workplace
participation and learning in clinical settings. This study aims to analyse
medical students’ preparedness for early clerkships using a three-dimensional,
socio-cognitive, theory-based model of preparedness anchored in specific
professional activities and their supervision level. Methods Medical students
from a competency-based undergraduate curriculum were surveyed about
preparedness for 21 professional activities and level of perceived supervision
during their early clerkships via an online questionnaire. Preparedness was
operationalized by the three dimensions of confidence to carry out clerkship
activities, being prepared through university teaching and coping with failure
by seeking support. Factors influencing preparedness and perceived stress as
outcomes were analysed through step-wise regression. Results Professional
activities carried out by the students (n = 147; 19.0%) and their supervision
levels varied. While most students reported high confidence to perform the
tasks, the activity-specific analysis revealed important gaps in preparation
through university teaching. Students regularly searched for support in case
of difficulty. One quarter of the variance of each preparedness dimension was
explained by self-efficacy, supervision quality, amount of prior clerkship
experience and nature of professional activities. Preparedness contributed to
predicting perceived stress. Conclusions The applied three-dimensional concept
of preparedness and the task-specific approach provided a detailed and
meaningful view on medical students’ workplace participation and experiences
in early clerkships
Bayesian Integration and Non-Linear Feedback Control in a Full-Body Motor Task
A large number of experiments have asked to what degree human reaching movements can be understood as being close to optimal in a statistical sense. However, little is known about whether these principles are relevant for other classes of movements. Here we analyzed movement in a task that is similar to surfing or snowboarding. Human subjects stand on a force plate that measures their center of pressure. This center of pressure affects the acceleration of a cursor that is displayed in a noisy fashion (as a cloud of dots) on a projection screen while the subject is incentivized to keep the cursor close to a fixed position. We find that salient aspects of observed behavior are well-described by optimal control models where a Bayesian estimation model (Kalman filter) is combined with an optimal controller (either a Linear-Quadratic-Regulator or Bang-bang controller). We find evidence that subjects integrate information over time taking into account uncertainty. However, behavior in this continuous steering task appears to be a highly non-linear function of the visual feedback. While the nervous system appears to implement Bayes-like mechanisms for a full-body, dynamic task, it may additionally take into account the specific costs and constraints of the task
Cost-Effectiveness of an Opportunistic Screening Programme and Brief Intervention for Excessive Alcohol Use in Primary Care
Effective prevention of excessive alcohol use has the potential to reduce the public burden of disease considerably. We investigated the cost-effectiveness of Screening and Brief Intervention (SBI) for excessive alcohol use in primary care in the Netherlands, which is targeted at early detection and treatment of ‘at-risk’ drinkers.We compared a SBI scenario (opportunistic screening and brief intervention for ‘at-risk’ drinkers) in general practices with the current practice scenario (no SBI) in the Netherlands. We used the RIVM Chronic Disease Model (CDM) to extrapolate from decreased alcohol consumption to effects on health care costs and Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) gained. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis was employed to study the effect of uncertainty in the model parameters. In total, 56,000 QALYs were gained at an additional cost of €298,000,000 due to providing alcohol SBI in the target population, resulting in a cost-effectiveness ratio of €5,400 per QALY gained.Prevention of excessive alcohol use by implementing SBI for excessive alcohol use in primary care settings appears to be cost-effective
Effects of dissipation on quantum phase transitions
We discuss the effect of dissipation on quantum phase transitions. In
particular we concentrate on the Superconductor to Insulator and Quantum-Hall
to Insulator transitions. By invoking a phenomenological parameter to
describe the coupling of the system to a continuum of degrees of freedom
representing the dissipative bath, we obtain new phase diagrams for the quantum
Hall and superconductor-insulator problems. Our main result is that, in
two-dimensions, the metallic phases observed in finite magnetic fields
(possibly also strictly zero field) are adiabatically deformable from one to
the other. This is plausible, as there is no broken symmetry which
differentiates them.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure
Costs and effectiveness of a brief MRI examination of patients with acute knee injury
The aim of this study was to assess the costs and effectiveness of selective short magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with acute knee injury. A model was developed to evaluate the selective use of MRI in patients with acute knee injury and no fracture on radiography based on the results of a trial in which 208 patients were randomized between radiography only and radiography plus MRI. We analyzed medical (diagnostic and therapeutic) costs, quality of life, duration of diagnostic workup, number of additional diagnostic examinations, time absent from work, and time to convalescence during a 6-month follow-up period. Quality of life was lowest (EuroQol at 6 weeks 0.61 (95% CI 0.54–0.67)); duration of diagnostic workup, absence from work, and time to convalescence were longest; and the number of diagnostic examinations was largest with radiography only. These outcomes were more favorable for both MRI strategies (EuroQol at 6 weeks 0.72 (95% CI 0.67–0.77) for both). Mean total costs were 2,593 euros (95% CI 1,815–3,372) with radiography only, 2,116 euros (95% CI 1,488–2,743) with radiography plus MRI, and 1,973 euros (95% CI 1,401–2,543) with selective MRI. The results suggest that selective use of a short MRI examination saves costs and potentially increases effectiveness in patients with acute knee injury without a fracture on radiography
Search for Narrow Diphoton Resonances and for gamma-gamma+W/Z Signatures in p\bar p Collisions at sqrt(s)=1.8 TeV
We present results of searches for diphoton resonances produced both
inclusively and also in association with a vector boson (W or Z) using 100
pb^{-1} of p\bar p collisions using the CDF detector. We set upper limits on
the product of cross section times branching ratio for both p\bar
p\to\gamma\gamma + X and p\bar p\to\gamma\gamma + W/Z. Comparing the inclusive
production to the expectations from heavy sgoldstinos we derive limits on the
supersymmetry-breaking scale sqrt{F} in the TeV range, depending on the
sgoldstino mass and the choice of other parameters. Also, using a NLO
prediction for the associated production of a Higgs boson with a W or Z boson,
we set an upper limit on the branching ratio for H\to\gamma\gamma. Finally, we
set a lower limit on the mass of a `bosophilic' Higgs boson (e.g. one which
couples only to \gamma, W, and Z$ bosons with standard model couplings) of 82
GeV/c^2 at 95% confidence level.Comment: 30 pages, 11 figure
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