A survey of clinical research education and perceptions among research staff within an urban hospital setting

Health centers are uniquely positioned to address the growing need for uniform clinical research training, which leads to scientific advances in improving overall population health outcomes. This study surveyed 44 clinical research professionals for their current baseline of research competency and perceptions, within a single medical campus in Michigan, to obtain the current baseline of education research competency for the suggested development and implementation of a future clinical research training curriculum. Clinical study coordinators and senior staff physicians accounted for 50% (22) of the survey respondents. Most of the participants 93% (41) reported that the primary source of their research education was from on-the-job training. A significant correlation was found between the self-reported level of understanding good clinical practice (GCP) and the number of clinical trials supported. A larger sample size is warranted to evaluate the impact of a formal research training program for clinical research professionals

Validity of Deed Given under Compulsion of Foreign Court

Validity of Deed Given under Compulsion of Foreign Cour

Adhérer ou adhérer : essai sur la notion de contrat (par adhésion)

The subject of this thesis is related to the contract of adhesion.Le présent mémoire a trait à la notion de contrat par adhésion. L’auteur propose une construction théorique de cette notion en remettant en cause le caractère contractuel de cet acte juridique. Loin de l’exclure du droit privé, il nous invite à en faire un acte hybride, c’est-à-dire une première partie contractuelle et une seconde qu’il qualifie de clauses à contenu imposé. Ce changement de paradigme a pour objet de favoriser un meilleur contrôle public des clauses à contenu imposé. Il s’agit, plus globalement, d’un essai sur la définition du contrat et d’une réflexion sur la façon dont on qualifie les concepts en droit privé

Contrasting drought tolerance strategies in two desert annuals of hybrid origin

Woody plants native to mesic habitats tend to be more vulnerable to drought-induced cavitation than those in xeric habitats. Cavitation resistance in herbaceous plants, however, is rarely studied and whether or not annual plants in arid habitats conform to the trends observed in woody plants is unknown. This question is addressed by comparing the hydraulic properties of annual plants endemic to relatively mesic and seasonally xeric habitats in the Great Basin Desert, in both native and experimental settings. Vulnerability to cavitation between species differed as predicted when vulnerability curves of similar-sized native individuals were compared. Contrary to expectations, Helianthus anomalus from the relatively mesic dune sites, on average, exhibited higher native embolism, lower soil-to-leaf hydraulic conductance (kL) and lower transpiration rates, than its xeric analogue, H. deserticola. In transplant gardens, H. anomalus’ vulnerability to cavitation was unaffected by transplant location or watering treatment. In H. deserticola, however, vulnerability to cavitation varied significantly in response to watering in transplant gardens and varied as a function of stem water potential (Ψstem). H. deserticola largely avoided cavitation through its higher water status and generally more resistant xylem, traits consistent with a short life cycle and typical drought-escape strategy. By contrast, H. anomalus’ higher native embolism is likely to be adaptive by lowering plant conductance and transpiration rate, thus preventing the loss of root-to-soil hydraulic contact in the coarse sand dune soils. For H. anomalus this dehydration avoidance strategy is consistent with its relatively long 3–4 month life cycle and low-competition habitat. We conclude that variance of hydraulic parameters in herbaceous plants is a function of soil moisture heterogeneity and is consistent with the notion that trait plasticity to fine-grained environmental variation can be adaptive

Maternal bonding styles in smokers and non-smokers: a comparative study

BACKGROUND: Parental bonding has been implicated in smoking behavior, and the quality of maternal bonding (MB) has been associated with poor mental health and substance use. However, little is known about the association of MB and the smoking of the offspring. METHODS: In our study, 129 smokers and 610 non-smoker medical students completed the parental bonding instrument, which measures MB along two dimensions: care and overprotection. Four categories can be created by high and low scores on care and overprotection: optimal parenting (OP; high care/low overprotection); affectionless control (ALC; low care/high overprotection); affectionate constraint (AC; high care/high overprotection), and neglectful parenting (NP; low care/low overprotection). Nicotine dependence was assessed by the Fagerstrom Nicotine Dependence Test, exhaled CO level, and daily cigarette consumption (CPD). RESULTS: Higher CPD was significantly associated with lower overprotection (p = 0.016) and higher care (p = 0.023) scores. The odds for being a smoker were significantly higher in the neglectful maternal bonding style compared to the other rearing styles (p = 0.022). Besides, smokers showed significantly higher care and lower overprotection scores with the Mann-Whitney U-test than non-smokers, although these associations did not remain significant in multiple regression models. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that focusing on early life relationship between patient and mother can be important in psychotherapeutic interventions for smoking. Registration trials retrospectively registered

Gains and losses for the U.S., The PRC, and the USSR resulting from the Sino-Soviet split.

http://archive.org/details/gainslossesforus00pic

Adhérer ou adhérer : proposition sur la notion de contrat (par adhésion)

Le présent article a trait à la notion de contrat par adhésion. L’auteur propose une construction théorique de cette notion en remettant en question le caractère contractuel de cet acte juridique. Loin de l’exclure du droit privé, il invite à en faire un acte hybride, c’est-à-dire une première partie contractuelle et une seconde qu’il qualifie de clauses à contenu imposé. Ce changement de paradigme a pour objet de favoriser un meilleur contrôle public des clauses à contenu imposé. Il s’agit, plus globalement, d’un texte sur la définition du contrat, et d’une réflexion sur la façon dont on qualifie les concepts en droit privé.The subject of this paper is related to the contract of adhesion. The author questions the contractual aspect of this type of “contract,” and proposes a theoretical construct in line with private civil law. According to this proposition, the contract of adhesion would be a hybrid legal act which would include a contractual part and an imposed terms and conditions part (clause à contenu imposé). This paradigm shift aims to facilitate better public protection with regards to the imposed terms and conditions. More broadly, this paper looks into the contemporary definition of “contract” and the way we define our private civil law concepts

TELEQ : création et pré-validation d'un test de compréhension de lecture pour les enfants québécois de niveau scolaire primaire

Essai doctoral présenté en vue de l’obtention du grade de Doctorat en psychologie clinique, option neuropsychologie clinique (D.Psy)Contexte. Afin d’évaluer la compréhension de lecture, les cliniciens n’ont d’autres choix que de se rabattre sur un nombre limité de tests dont la plupart ne sont pas adaptés à la réalité québécoise, étant d’origine européenne, sans compter que la majorité de ceux-ci ne répondent pas aux standards psychométriques, n’évaluent pas la compréhension de texte et ne se fondent pas sur un modèle théorique. Objectifs. Les objectifs de la présente étude consistent donc à développer et à pré-valider un test permettant de pallier à ces lacunes. Le test Une bouteille à la mer a été crée (épreuves de lecture, de rappel et de questions) et ses propriétés psychométriques ont été mesurées (fidélité test-retest, inter-juges, cohérence interne ; degré de difficulté des items ; validité concordante et critériée (niveau scolaire et rendement en français)). Méthodologie. Le test a été administré à deux reprises afin d’évaluer la fidélité test-retest. Deux correcteurs ont procédé à la correction du test afin de mesurer la fidélité inter-juges. Le degré de difficultés des items a été étudié. Un autre test de compréhension de lecture a été administré afin de mesurer la validité concordante et les performances des enfants ont été analysées en fonction de leur niveau scolaire et de leur note en français, mesurant ainsi la validité critériée. Résultats. Au total, 58 enfants franco-québécois de la 4e à la 6e année ont pris part à l’étude. En ce qui a trait aux propriétés psychométriques les coefficients de corrélation varient entre ,74 et ,86 pour la fidélité test-retest et entre ,96 et ,98 pour la fidélité inter-juges, ce qui s’avère être des coefficients acceptables, voir excellents. La cohérence interne surpasse quelque peu le seuil minimal escompté de ,70 et les questions varient quant à leur degré de difficulté, et ce, peu importe le niveau scolaire considéré. Le test Une bouteille à la mer et le test évaluant la compréhension de lecture corrèlent entre eux modérément et les performances des enfants tendent à augmenter en fonction du niveau scolaire et de leur rendement scolaire en français, ce qui dénote de bons indices de validité concordante et critériée. Conclusion. En somme, le test Une bouteille à la mer est prometteur étant donné qu’il possède des qualités psychométriques globalement satisfaisantes.Context. In order to assess reading comprehension, clinicians have to rely on a limited number of tests, most of which are not adapted to the reality of Quebec, because most of them have been developped in Europe. Also, the majority of these tests only assess sentence comprehension and not text comprehension, not to mention that most of them do not meet psychometric standards and are not based on a theoretical model. Objectives. The aims of the present study were to develop and pre-validate a test that would address these shortcomings. The test Une bouteille à la mer was created (reading, recall, and question items) and its psychometric properties were measured (test-retest reliability, inter-rater reliability, internal consistency; degree of item difficulty; concurrent and criterion-related validity (grade level and performance in French)). Methodology. The test was administered twice to assess test-retest reliability. Two judges corrected the test to measure inter-rater reliability. The level of difficulty of each item was studied. Another reading comprehension test was administered to measure concurrent validity, and children's performance was analyzed according to their grade level and French score, thus measuring criterion-related validity. Results. A total of 58 Franco-Quebec children in grades 4 to 6 participated in the study. Regarding psychometric properties, correlation coefficients ranged from .74 to .86 for test-retest reliability and from .96 to .98 for inter-rater reliability, which are acceptable even excellent. Internal consistency was slightly above the expected threshold of .70. The questions varied in difficulty levels in all grade levels. The test Une bouteille à la mer and the other test assessing reading comprehension correlate with each other at a moderate degree. Children's performance tended to increase following their grade level and academic achievement in French, indicating good concurrent and criterion-related validity. Conclusion. In sum, Une bouteille à la mer test is promising given that it has globally satisfactory psychometric qualities