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Information flyer about the eSciDoc solution PubMan

Colorectal carcinoma-a New threat to black patients? A retrospective analysis of colorectal carcinoma received by the Institute for Pathology,University of Pretoria

Objective. To compare black and white patients with colorectal carcinoma treated at Pretoria Academic and Kalafong hospitals, and to compare pathological trends of our study population with others reported in the literature.Design. A retrospective study of all cases of resected colorectal carcinomas received by our department during the periods 1986 - 1987 (82 cases) and 1996- 1997 (91 cases). To investigate variables of age, race and gender distribution in the two study populations.Methods. Routinely stained histological sections of all relevant cases were examined. Findings regarding age, gender, population group, anatomical location of the tumour and presence of other pathological lesion were recorded. Changes in the referral population and number of surgical specimens received were also considered during statistical analysis of the study finding .Results. There has been a significant increase in the number of black patients with colorectal carcinoma at our Institute. In addition, adenomatous polyps were found in 9 of our black patients (1996/97). This is significantly higher than expected from reports in the literature. This could be predictive of an increase in incidence of colorectal carcinomas in our black population. Black patients were also found to be considerably younger at age of presentation than their white counterparts . A further" significant finding was a considerable increase in the number of black female under the age of 40 years from 1986/ 87 to 1996/ 97. On the other hand, the number of white females above 40 years of age decreased considerably over this time. The reason for this finding is uncertain and warrants further study

eSciDoc – a Scholarly Information and Communication Platform for the Max Planck Society

eSciDoc is as a joint project of the Max Planck Society and FIZ Karlsruhe, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), with the aim to realize a next-generation platform for com-munication and publication in research organizations. The result of the entire eSciDoc project is intended to ensure open and persistent access to the research results and materials of the Max Planck Society and to integrate these materials in an emerging e-Science network, to increase the accountability of research and to improve the visibility of the Max Planck Society. At the same time, the project aims to provide effective and comprehensive access to information for Max Planck re-searchers and their work groups. Additionally, eSciDoc will support scientific collaboration and interdisciplinary research in future e-Science scenarios and optimize the exploitation of information avail-able through an interconnected global scientific knowledge space

eSciDoc – a Scholarly Information and Communication Platform for the Max Planck Society

eSciDoc is as a joint project of the Max Planck Society and FIZ Karlsruhe, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), with the aim to realize a next-generation platform for com-munication and publication in research organizations. The result of the entire eSciDoc project is intended to ensure open and persistent access to the research results and materials of the Max Planck Society and to integrate these materials in an emerging e-Science network, to increase the accountability of research and to improve the visibility of the Max Planck Society. At the same time, the project aims to provide effective and comprehensive access to information for Max Planck re-searchers and their work groups. Additionally, eSciDoc will support scientific collaboration and interdisciplinary research in future e-Science scenarios and optimize the exploitation of information avail-able through an interconnected global scientific knowledge space

Draft tube discharge fluctuation during self-sustained pressure surge: fluorescent particle image velocimetry in two-phase flow

Hydraulic machines play an increasingly important role in providing a secondary energy reserve for the integration of renewable energy sources in the existing power grid. This requires a significant extension of their usual operating range, involving the presence of cavitating flow regimes in the draft tube. At overload conditions, the self-sustained oscillation of a large cavity at the runner outlet, called vortex rope, generates violent periodic pressure pulsations. In an effort to better understand the nature of this unstable behavior and its interaction with the surrounding hydraulic and mechanical system, the flow leaving the runner is investigated by means of particle image velocimetry. The measurements are performed in the draft tube cone of a reduced scale model of a Francis turbine. A cost-effective method for the in-house production of fluorescent seeding material is developed and described, based on off-the-shelf polyamide particles and Rhodamine B dye. Velocity profiles are obtained at three streamwise positions in the draft tube cone, and the corresponding discharge variation in presence of the vortex rope is calculated. The results suggest that 5-10% of the discharge in the draft tube cone is passing inside the vortex rop

Improving coding and primary care management for people with Chronic Kidney Disease: an observational controlled study in east London

Background: The UK national chronic kidney disease (CKD) audit in primary care shows diagnostic coding in the electronic health record for CKD averages 70%, with wide practice variation. Coding is associated with improvements to risk factor management; CKD cases coded in primary care have lower rates of unplanned hospital admission. Aim: To increase diagnostic coding of CKD (stages 3–5) and primary care management, including blood pressure to target and prescription of statins to reduce cardiovascular disease risk. Design and setting: Controlled, cross-sectional study in four East London clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). Method: Interventions to improve coding formed part of a larger system change to the delivery of renal services in both primary and secondary care in East London. Quarterly anonymised data on CKD coding, blood pressure values, and statin prescriptions were extracted from practice computer systems for 1-year pre- and post-initiation of the intervention. Results: Three intervention CCGs showed significant coding improvement over a 1 year period following the intervention (regression for post-intervention trend P<0.001). The CCG with highest coding rates increased from 76–90% of CKD cases coded; the lowest coding CCG increased from 52–81%. The comparison CCG showed no change in coding rates. Combined data from all practices in the intervention CCGs showed a significant increase in the proportion of cases with blood pressure achieving target levels (difference in proportion P<0.001) over the 2-year study period. Differences in statin prescribing were not significant. Conclusion: Clinically important improvements to coding and management of CKD in primary care can be achieved by quality improvement interventions that use shared data to track and monitor change supported by practice-based facilitation. Alignment of clinical and CCG priorities and the provision of clinical targets, financial incentives, and educational resource were additional important elements of the intervention

Medical students using the technique of 55-word stories to reflect on a 6-week rotation during the integrated primary care block

Background. Reflection and reflective practice are identified as a core competency for graduates in health professions education. Students are expected to be in a position to process experiences in a variety of ways through reflective learning. In doing so, they can explore the understanding of their actions and experiences, and the impact of these on themselves and others. Objectives. To draw on 5-weekly reflections by final-year medical students during the integrated primary care block placement. These reflections explore the learning that occurred during the rotation and the change in experiences during this period, and illustrate the use of reflection as a tool to support the development of professional practice. Methods. This descriptive qualitative study analysed students’ 55-word reflective stories during a 6-week preceptorship in either a rural or urban primary healthcare centre. The writing technique of short 55-word reflective stories was used to record student experiences. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted using MAXQDA software. This involved identifying the most commonly used words for each week through a word cloud, highlighting each week’s most notable focus for learning to generate themes and sub-themes. Results. Analysis of 127 logbook entries generated 464 stories on a range of experiences that had a significant impact on learning. Students’ reflections in the first 2 weeks were linked to personal experiences and views about the block. In subsequent weeks, reflections focused on the individual responses of students to the learning experiences regarding the curriculum, patient care, ethics, professionalism and the health system. Conclusions. The reflections highlighted the key learning experiences of the medical students and illustrated how meaning is constructed from these experiences. The 55-word stories as a reflection tool have potential to support reflection for students, and provide valuable insight into medical students’ learning journey during their clinical training

Quasinormal Modes, the Area Spectrum, and Black Hole Entropy

The results of canonical quantum gravity concerning geometric operators and black hole entropy are beset by an ambiguity labelled by the Immirzi parameter. We use a result from classical gravity concerning the quasinormal mode spectrum of a black hole to fix this parameter in a new way. As a result we arrive at the Bekenstein - Hawking expression of $A/4 l_P^2$ for the entropy of a black hole and in addition see an indication that the appropriate gauge group of quantum gravity is SO(3) and not its covering group SU(2).Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure