A NOVEL APPROACH TO MONITOR THE GROUND REACTION FORCE

Custom developed spikes have been used to monitor the vertical GRF temporally resolved for body weight, walking, and jumping on a synthetic surface. All the data is derived from the time dependent voltage variations of piezo spikes, which are observed with the aid of a computer controlled transient recorder. The detection is obtained on two piezoelectric spikes of identical size and shape placed under heel and forefoot. Monitoring is performed on ten healthy athletes with age 19 ± 4 years, mass of (57 ± 6) kg, and a BMI of 21 ± 3. The force resolution is ± 0.25 N and the temporal resolution is 0.01 ms. The contact time, take off time, impact force, active force phases of heel and forefoot have been quantified. The system is of compact size and battery driven, and allows for monitoring of on-field GRF sporting activities

Voluntary peer-led exam preparation course for international first year students: Tutees’ perceptions

Background: While the number of international students has increased over the last decade, such students face diverse challenges due to language and cultural barriers. International medical students suffer from personal distress and a lack of support. Their performance is significantly lower than non-international peers in clinical examinations. We investigated whether international students benefit from a peer-led exam preparation course. Methods: An exam preparation course was designed, and relevant learning objectives were defined. Two evaluations were undertaken: Using a qualitative approach, tutees (N = 10) were asked for their thoughts and comments in a semi-structured interview at the end of the semester. From a quantitative perspective, all participants (N = 22) were asked to complete questionnaires at the end of each course session. Results: International students reported a range of significant benefits from the course as they prepared for upcoming exams. They benefited from technical and didactic, as well as social learning experiences. They also considered aspects of the tutorial’s framework helpful. Conclusion: Social and cognitive congruence seem to be the key factors to success within international medical students’ education. If tutors have a migration background, they can operate as authentic role models. Furthermore, because they are still students themselves, they can offer support using relevant and understandable language

International medical students’ expectations and worries at the beginning of their medical education: a qualitative focus group study

Background: The number of international students has increased substantially within the last decade. Due to cultural barriers, this specific group faces diverse challenges. In comparison to German colleagues, international medical students perform significantly lower in clinical examinations and exceed the average duration of study; they suffer from personal distress as well as insufficient support. Within the present study, their individual perspectives, expectations, hopes and fears were examined. Methods: Four focus groups with first-year international medical students (N = 16) were conducted in October 2013. Each 60- to 90-min discussion was audiotaped, transcribed and analysed using qualitative methods. Results: International medical students go abroad in search of good study-conditions. For the choice of place of study, affordability, social ties as well as an educational system following the achievement principle are decisive factors. While contact with German-students and other international students is seen as beneficial, international medical students are most concerned to encounter problems and social exclusion due to language deficits and intercultural differences. Conclusions: Facilitating the access to university places, the provision of financial aid and, moreover, social support, nurturing cultural integration, would greatly benefit international medical students. Hereby, the establishment of specific medical language courses as well as programs fostering intercultural-relations could prove to be valuable

Validity and responsiveness of the EQ-5D in assessing and valuing health status in patients with somatoform disorders

Background: The EQ-5D is a generic questionnaire providing a preference-based index score applicable to cost-utility analysis. This is the first study to validate the EQ-5D in patients with somatoform disorders. Methods: Data of the EQ-5D descriptive system, the British and the German EQ-5D index and the EQ Visual Analogue Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire 15, the Patient Health Questionnaire 9, the Whiteley Index 7 and the Short Form 36 were collected from 294 patients at baseline, 244 at 6 months and 256 at 12 months after baseline. The discriminative ability of the EQ-5D was evaluated by comparison with a general population sample and by the ability to distinguish between different symptom severities. Convergent validity was analysed by assessing associations between the EQ-5D and the other instruments. Responsiveness was evaluated by analysing the effects on scores between two measurements in groups of patients reporting worse, same or better health. The Bonferroni correction was employed. Results: For all items of the EQ-5D except ‘self-care’, patients with somatoform disorders reported more problems than the general population. The EQ-5D showed discriminative ability in patients with different symptom severities. For nearly all reference instruments there were significant differences in mean scores between respondents with and without problems in the various EQ-5D items and strong correlations with the EQ Visual Analogue Scale and the EQ-5D index scores. Evidence for the responsiveness of the EQ-5D could only be found for patients with better health; effects were medium at the utmost. Conclusions: The EQ-5D showed a considerable validity and a limited responsiveness in patients with somatoform disorders. Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN5528079

Economics of medically unexplained symptoms: a systematic review of the literature

Objective: To review cost-of-illness studies (COI) and economic evaluations (EE) conducted for medically unexplained symptoms and to analyze their methods and results. Methods: We searched the databases PubMed, PsycINFO and National Health Service Economic Evaluations Database of the University of York. Cost data were inflated to 2006 using country-specific gross domestic product inflators and converted to 2006 USD purchasing power parities. Results: We identified 5 COI and 8 EE, of which 6 were cost-minimization analyses and 2 were cost-effectiveness analyses. All studies used patient level data collected between 1980 and 2004 and were predominantly conducted in the USA (n = 10). COI found annual excess health care costs of somatizing patients between 432 and 5,353 USD in 2006 values. Indirect costs were estimated by only one EE and added up to about 18,000 USD per year. In EE, educational interventions for physicians as well as cognitive-behavioral therapy approaches for patients were evaluated. For both types of interventions, effectiveness was either shown within EE or by previous studies

Novel Mixed Reality Use Cases for Pilot Training

This study explored novel mixed reality (MR) use cases for pilot training using a mix of methods rooted in the general innovation theory of dynamic capabilities. The aim was to identify areas of improvement for various aspects of the flight training based on MR, in a socially and economically sustainable manner. Multiple surveys and workshops have been conducted with flight instructors, administrative staff, pilots and student pilots. The main result of this study is a systematic identification of the three most promising MR use cases: interactive theory training, cockpit procedure, and outside check training. These results are important because they inform the development of technical didactic tools for pilot training. The applicability of MR technologies to accommodate diverse user needs and preferences is addressed, while also considering aspects of economical sustainability

Voluntary undergraduate technical skills training course to prepare students for clerkship assignment: tutees’ and tutors’ perspectives

BACKGROUND: Skills lab training has become a widespread tool in medical education, and nowadays, skills labs are ubiquitous among medical faculties across the world. An increasingly prevalent didactic approach in skills lab teaching is peer-assisted learning (PAL), which has been shown to be not only effective, but can be considered to be on a par with faculty staff-led training. The aim of the study is to determine whether voluntary preclinical skills teaching by peer tutors is a feasible method for preparing medical students for effective workplace learning in clerkships and to investigate both tutees’ and tutors’ attitudes towards such an intervention. METHODS: A voluntary clerkship preparation skills course was designed and delivered. N = 135 pre-clinical medical students visited the training sessions. N = 10 tutors were trained as skills-lab peer tutors. Voluntary clerkship preparation skills courses as well as tutor training were evaluated by acceptance ratings and pre-post self-assessment ratings. Furthermore, qualitative analyses of skills lab tutors’ attitudes towards the course were conducted following principles of grounded theory. RESULTS: Results show that a voluntary clerkship preparation skills course is in high demand, is highly accepted and leads to significant changes in self-assessment ratings. Regarding qualitative analysis of tutor statements, clerkship preparation skills courses were considered to be a helpful and necessary asset to preclinical medical education, which benefits from the tutors’ own clerkship experiences and a high standardization of training. Tutor training is also highly accepted and regarded as an indispensable tool for peer tutors. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that the demand for voluntary competence-oriented clerkship preparation is high, and a peer tutor-led skills course as well as tutor training is well accepted. The focused didactic approach for tutor training is perceived to be effective in preparing tutors for their teaching activity in this context. A prospective study design would be needed to substantiate the results objectively and confirm the effectiveness

Проект реконструкции системы электроснабжения промплощадки «Карьерная»

Выпускная квалификационная работа 96 с.,9 рис., 40 таблиц, 27 источников, 3 прил. Объектом исследование является ВЛ 110 кВ и ПС 110 кВ. Цель работы- произвести реконструкцию.В процессе работы проводились расчёты соответствующие проекту реконструкции. В результате выполнения проекта были выбраны: провод, опоры, габаритный пролёт, изоляторы и сцепная арматура, а так же произведена замена трансформаторов,выключателей и разъединителей.Abschlusstraining Arbeit 96 p., 9 Abb., 40 Tabellen, 27 Quellen, 3 adj. Das Ziel der Studie ist die VL 110 kV und 110 kV Substation. Der Zweck Vertragswerk produzieren rekonstruktsiyu.In Betrieb durchgeführt Berechnungen Rekonstruktion Projekt. Als ein Ergebnis des Projekts ausgewählt wurden: ein Drahtträger , Gesamtspanne, Isolatoren und die Kupplungseinrichtungen sowie den Austausch von Transformatoren, Leistungsschalter und Trenner