Accuracy and Completeness of Drug Information in Wikipedia: A Comparison with Standard Textbooks of Pharmacology

The online resource Wikipedia is increasingly used by students for knowledge acquisition and learning. However, the lack of a formal editorial review and the heterogeneous expertise of contributors often results in skepticism by educators whether Wikipedia should be recommended to students as an information source. In this study we systematically analyzed the accuracy and completeness of drug information in the German and English language versions of Wikipedia in comparison to standard textbooks of pharmacology. In addition, references, revision history and readability were evaluated. Analysis of readability was performed using the Amstad readability index and the Erste Wiener Sachtextformel. The data on indication, mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, adverse effects and contraindications for 100 curricular drugs were retrieved from standard German textbooks of general pharmacology and compared with the corresponding articles in the German language version of Wikipedia. Quantitative analysis revealed that accuracy of drug information in Wikipedia was 99.7%+/- 0.2% when compared to the textbook data. The overall completeness of drug information in Wikipedia was 83.8 +/- 1.5% (p<0.001). Completeness varied in-between categories, and was lowest in the category "pharmacokinetics'' (68.0% +/- 4.2%;p<0.001) and highest in the category "indication'' (91.3%+/- 2.0%) when compared to the textbook data overlap. Similar results were obtained for the English language version of Wikipedia. Of the drug information missing in Wikipedia, 62.5% was rated as didactically non-relevant in a qualitative re-evaluation study. Drug articles in Wikipedia had an average of 14.6 +/- 1.6 references and 262.8 +/- 37.4 edits performed by 142.7 +/- 17.6 editors. Both Wikipedia and textbooks samples had comparable, low readability. Our study suggests that Wikipedia is an accurate and comprehensive source of drug-related information for undergraduate medical education

Understandings of quality in the in-company training of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the painting and decorating trade in Hamburg – initial results from the pilot project ML-QuES

Mit dem Förderschwerpunkt „Qualitätsentwicklung und -sicherung in der betrieblichen Berufsausbildung“ des Bundesinstituts für Berufsbildung (BIBB) soll die Qualität betrieblicher Ausbildung insbesondere in kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen unterstützt werden. Seit Mitte November 2010 werden zehn Modellversuche gefördert, die den Schwerpunkten Entwicklung und Erprobung geeigneter und praktikabler Instrumente zur Qualitätsentwicklung und -sicherung, Entwicklung von Kommunikations- und Kooperationsstrukturen sowie von Qualifizierungskonzepten für das Ausbildungspersonal zugeordnet sind. Im folgenden Beitrag werden als eine Art Bestandsaufnahme erste empirische Ergebnisse des Modellversuchs „Qualitätsentwicklung und -sicherung im Ausbildungsprozess bei kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen (KMU) des Maler- und Lackiererhandwerks in Hamburg“ (ML-QuES) präsentiert. Zunächst wird anhand von aktuellen Statistiken und Datenmaterial auf die Ausbildungssituation im Maler- und Lackiererhandwerk eingegangen. Im Anschluss daran wird der Modellversuch MLQuES, seine Aufgaben, sein berufspädagogisches Leitbild, sein zu Grunde liegendes Qualitätsverständnis sowie das empirische Vorgehen vorgestellt. Im Mittelpunkt stehen die empirischen Befunde, die exemplarisch präsentiert werden und anhand derer die Diskrepanz zwischen Anspruch und Realität betrieblicher Ausbildungsqualität verdeutlich wird. Der Artikel endet im mit einem Ausblick auf das weitere Vorgehen im Modellversuch. (DIPF/Orig.)The aim of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education’s funding programme “Quality development and quality assurance in in-company vocational education” is to support the quality of in-company training, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises. Ten pilot projects have been supported since mid-November 2010, which are allocated to the focus areas of: development and testing of suitable and workable instruments for quality development and quality assurance; the development of communications and co-operation structures, as well as qualification concepts for the training staff. In this paper initial empirical results of the pilot project “Quality development and quality assurance in the training process at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the painting and decorating trade in Hamburg” (ML-QuES) are presented as a kind of taking stock. Firstly, using current statistics and available data, the training situation in the painting and decorating trade is addressed. Following this, the pilot project ML-QuES, its tasks, its professional and pedagogical vision, and the understanding of quality upon which it is based, as well as the empirical process, are presented. The focus is on the empirical findings, which are presented as examples, and through which the discrepancy between aims and reality of in-company training quality is illustrated. The article ends with an outlook regarding the future procedures of the pilot project. (DIPF/Orig.

Enhancement of CO2RR product formation on Cu-ZnO-based electrodes by varying ink formulation and post-treatment methods

Numerous catalysts have been reported with enhanced performance, e.g. longer lifetime and improved selectivity, for the electrochemical CO _2 reduction reaction (CO _2 RR). Respectively little is, however, known about the influence of the electrode structuring and pre-treatment on this reaction for catalytic layers. Thus, we herein report on the modification of the catalyst environment of a Cu-ZnO-carbon black catalyst by variation of the ink composition and subsequent electrode treatment before performing CO _2 RR. We furthermore provide insight into the impact of different solvents, ionomer, and additives like pore forming agents used for the ink preparation as well as post-treatment steps in terms of pressing and sintering of the generated electrodes on the CO _2 RR performance. Although using the same catalyst for all electrodes, remarkable differences in hydrophobicity, surface morphology, and electrochemical performance with respect to stability and product distribution were observed. Our study reveals the critical role of the catalytic layer assembly aside from using proper catalysts. We furthermore show that the parasitic hydrogen formation and flooding behavior can be lowered and C _2+ product formation can be enhanced when operating in optimized gas diffusion electrodes

Network-specific resting-state connectivity changes in the premotor-parietal axis in writer's cramp

Background: Writer's cramp is a task-specific dystonia impairing writing and sometimes other fine motor tasks. Neuroimaging studies using manifold designs have shown varying results regarding the nature of changes in the disease. Objective: To clarify and extend the knowledge of underlying changes by investigating functional connectivity (FC) in intrinsic connectivity networks with putative sensorimotor function at rest in an increased number of study subjects. Methods: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging with independent component analysis was performed in 26/27 writer's cramp patients/healthy controls, and FC within and between resting state networks with putative sensorimotor function was compared. Additionally, voxel-based morphometry was carried out on the subjects' structural images. Results: Patients displayed increased left- and reduced right-hemispheric primary sensorimotor FC in the premotor-parietal network. Mostly bilaterally altered dorsal/ventral premotor FC, as well as altered parietal FC were observed within multiple sensorimotor networks and showed differing network-dependent directionality. Beyond within-network FC changes and reduced right cerebellar grey matter volume in the structural analysis, the positive between-network FC of the cerebellar network and the basal ganglia network was reduced. Conclusions: Abnormal resting-state FC in multiple networks with putative sensorimotor function may act as basis of preexisting observations made during task-related neuroimaging. Further, altered connectivity between the cerebellar and basal ganglia network underlines the important role of these structures in the disease. Keywords: Resting state, Functional connectivity, Dystonia, Premotor cortex, Cerebellu

Introduction to the special issue on search as learning

ISSN:1573-7659ISSN:1386-456

Accuracy and completeness of drug information in Wikipedia.

<p>Analysis of (A) accuracy and (B) completeness of the German (left panel) and English (right panel) language Wikipedia in comparison to textbooks. Accuracy was defined as the degree of closeness to the pharmacological information of the textbooks overlap. Completeness was defined as percentage of pharmacological statements of the textbook overlap present in the respective Wikipedia articles. Box plots showing median, first and third quartile with whiskers depicting the 5% and 95% percentile. In (A), statistical outliers are shown as black dots. Note that some box plots appear as vertical lines due to high accuracy scores and low variability of data. IND, indication; MA, mechanism of action; AE, adverse effects; PK, pharmacokinetics; CI, contraindications.</p

Study design.

<p>Pharmacological information of randomly selected curricular drugs was retrieved form two standard textbooks of general pharmacology for five different categories (indication, mechanism of action, adverse effects, pharmacokinetics and contraindications). The textbook data overlap served as point of reference for the corresponding drug articles in Wikipedia. The analysis was performed separately for the German and English language version of Wikipedia and textbooks.</p

Synthesis of novel LaCoO3/graphene catalysts as highly efficient peroxymonosulfate activator for the degradation of organic pollutants

Metal leaching in perovskite-based catalysts during peroxymonosulfate activation processes can severely restrict their application in wastewater treatment. Therefore, enhancing the stability of perovskite nanostructures is crucial to improve catalytic performance and broaden applications but has been rarely achieved so far. We developed a scalable method to synthesize novel stable and environmentally-friendly nanocomposites of LaCoO3 and few-layer graphene (consisting of roughly-nine layers) for the removal of organic pollutants from wastewater. With abundant oxygen vacancies and synergistic effects between LaCoO3 and few-layer graphene, the novel LaCoO3/graphene catalyst exhibits outstanding catalytic degradation (>99 %) of diclofenac, metoprolol, carbamazepine, and bisphenol A at a high concentration (40 mg/l) in less than 10 min in the peroxymonosulfate activation system, with mineralization of 57, 55, 61, and 62 %, respectively. The LaCoO3/graphene catalyst exhibited excellent reusability and high catalytic performance within a wide pH range (3–11). The formation of LaCoO3/graphene composites prevents cobalt leaching (0.004 mg/l), stabilizes sub-stoichiometric LaCoO3 and thus increases the content of Co2+ in the structure, leading to much higher catalytic activity than that of pure LaCoO3. Electron paramagnetic resonance and radical quenching experiments revealed that both radical pathways (SO4[rad]−, [rad]OH, and O2[rad]−) and non-radical pathways (1O2) contribute to bisphenol A degradation and the relative contributions of [rad]OH, SO4[rad]−, and 1O2/O2[rad]− were determined to 13.4, 32.6, and 54 % for bisphenol A removal, respectively. Overall, our results indicate that LaCoO3/graphene is a promising material towards peroxymonosulfate activation for environmental remediation