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Final Year (final + year)
Terms modified by Final Year Selected AbstractsDoes the UKCAT predict Year 1 performance in medical school?MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 12 2009Bonnie Lynch Context, The need to identify the best applicants for medicine and to ensure that selection is fair and ethical has led to the development of alternative, or additional, selection tools. One such tool is the United Kingdom Clinical Aptitude Test, or UKCAT. To date there have been no studies of the predictive validity of the UKCAT. Objectives, This study set out to identify whether UKCAT total score and subtest scores predict Year 1 outcomes in medical school. Methods, Year 1 students starting in 2007 at the University of Aberdeen or University of Dundee medical schools were included. Data collected were: UKCAT scores; Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) form scores; admission interview scores; final Year 1 degree examination scores, and records of re-sitting examinations and of withdrawing from a course. Correlations were used to select variables for multiple regression analysis to predict examination scores. Results, Data were available for 341 students. Examination scores did not correlate with UKCAT total or subtest scores. Neither UCAS form score nor admission interview score predicted outcomes. None of the UKCAT scores were reliably associated with withdrawals (P -values for all comparisons > 0.05). Only the decision analysis subtest was associated with re-sits of examinations, but the difference in means was contrary to the direction anticipated (P = 0.025, 95% confidence interval = 6.1,89.7). Discussion, UKCAT scores did not predict Year 1 performance at the two medical schools. Although early prediction is arguably not the primary aim of the UKCAT, there is some cause for concern that the test failed to show even the small-to-moderate predictive power demonstrated by similar admissions tools. [source] Examination stress in Singapore primary schoolchildren: how compliance by subjects can impact on study resultsACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 3 2003G. Parker Objective: Examinations are anecdotally viewed as extremely stressful to Singapore schoolchildren. We test this postulate by obtaining parental ratings of children's emotional stress levels longitudinally in a large representative sample of sixth (P6) and fifth (P5) class primary schoolchildren, respectively, exposed and unexposed to a streaming examination. Method: Children's stress levels were rated monthly by a parent for 10 months. Results: Analyses failed to find evidence of any differential stress impact across P6 and P5 comparison groups, apart from a subset of P6 children whose parents complied with every monthly survey. Conclusion: The streaming examination in the final year of primary school did not emerge as a general stressor to children, but achieved salience within a defined subset of children whose parents were highly study compliant. Study compliance may be a proxy variable of some import, and have wider relevance to other cohort studies and to intervention trials. [source] A longitudinal evaluation of medical student knowledge, skills and attitudes to alcohol and drugsADDICTION, Issue 6 2006Gavin Cape ABSTRACT Aim To examine the knowledge, skills and attitudes of medical students to alcohol and drugs as training progresses. Design A longitudinal, prospective, cohort-based design. Setting The four schools of medicine in New Zealand. Participants All second-year medical students (first year of pre-clinical medical health sciences) in New Zealand were administered a questionnaire which was repeated in the fourth (first year of significant clinical exposure) and then sixth years (final year). A response rate of 98% in the second year, 75% in the fourth year and 34% in the sixth year, with a total of 637 respondents (47.8% male) and an overall response rate of 68%. Questionnaire The questionnaire consisted of 43 questions assessing knowledge and skills,a mixture of true/false and scenario stem-based multiple-choice questions and 25 attitudinal questions scored on a Likert scale. Demographic questions included first language, ethnicity and personal consumption of alcohol and tobacco. Findings The competence (knowledge plus skills) correct scores increased from 23.4% at the second year to 53.6% at the fourth year to 71.8% at the sixth year, being better in those students who drank alcohol and whose first language was English (P < 0.002). As training progressed the student's perceptions of their role adequacy regarding the effectiveness of the management of illicit drug users diminished. For example, at second year 21% and at sixth year 51% of students felt least effective in helping patients to reduce illicit drug use. At the sixth year, 15% of sixthyear students regarded the self-prescription of psychoactive drugs as responsible practice. Conclusion Education on alcohol and drugs for students remains a crucial but underprovided part of the undergraduate medical curriculum. This research demonstrated that while positive teaching outcomes were apparent, further changes to medical student curricula need to be considered to address specific knowledge deficits and to increase the therapeutic commitment and professional safety of medical students to alcohol and drugs. [source] Prediction of alcohol-related harm from controlled drinking strategies and alcohol consumption trajectoriesADDICTION, Issue 4 2004J. W. Toumbourou ABSTRACT Aims To establish predictors of age 21 alcohol-related harm from prior drinking patterns, current levels of alcohol consumption and use of controlled drinking strategies. Participants One thousand, five hundred and ninety-six students recruited from an initial sample of 3300 during their final year of high school in 1993. Design Longitudinal follow-up across five waves of data collection. Setting Post high school in Victoria, Australia. Measurements Self-administered surveys examining a range of health behaviours, including alcohol consumption patterns and related behaviour. Findings Drinking behaviours at age 21 were found to be strongly predicted by drinking trajectories established through the transition from high school. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that alcohol-related harms at age 21 were reduced where current levels of alcohol use fell within limits recommended in Australian national guidelines. After controlling for this effect it was found that the range of strategies employed by participants to control alcohol use maintained a small protective influence. Post-high-school drinking trajectories continued to demonstrate a significant effect after controlling for current behaviours. Findings revealed that over one quarter of males and females drank alcohol, but on a less-than-weekly basis. This pattern of alcohol use demonstrated considerable stability through the post-school transition and was associated with a low level of subsequent harm at age 21. Conclusions Future research should investigate whether encouraging more Australian adolescents to drink alcohol on a less-than-weekly basis may be a practical intervention target for reducing alcohol-related harms. [source] Student perspectives and opinions on their experience at an undergraduate outreach dental teaching centre at Cardiff: a 5-year studyEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DENTAL EDUCATION, Issue 1 2010C. D. Lynch Abstract Aim:, Outreach teaching is now regarded as a desirable component of undergraduate dental teaching programmes in the UK. A purpose-built undergraduate dental outreach-training centre was opened in Cardiff in 2002. The aim of this paper is to report student perspectives and opinions on their experience at this unit over a 5-year period. Methods:, Final year dental students at Cardiff University were invited to report their comments on the St David's Primary Care Unit at various times during their placement there. Information was recorded for undergraduate students who commenced final year in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 (n = 257). Results:, After 1 year, the most common favourable aspects reported by students included the availability of a suitably trained nurse for all procedures (n = 191), ready access to helpful/approachable teaching staff (n = 145), and closeness of learning experience to subsequent practice (n = 122). Many students commented on their growing confidence in their own abilities whilst in the unit. Conclusion:, Overwhelmingly, students reported their enthusiasm for training in an outreach teaching unit, preferring it to traditional dental school environments. Inherent in the comments recorded for each student was a sense of growing confidence in their abilities and development of reflective practice. Further work is needed to identify the impact of this form of dental student training on subsequent practices in Vocational Training and independent clinical careers. [source] Occupational exposures occurring in students in a UK dental school,EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DENTAL EDUCATION, Issue 3 2002D. A. Stewardson Background:, Students whilst training may encounter a number of incidents where infection from patient body fluids may occur, especially as their manual skills are underdeveloped and their clinical experience is limited. Purpose of study:, (a) To assess the nature of the occupational exposures occurring to students in a UK dental school, (b) to assess the rate of reporting of incidents, and (c) to evaluate the association of various factors with these exposures. Students in the third, fourth and final years of the 5-year undergraduate dental course at the University of Birmingham were asked to complete a questionnaire that enquired into personal details, number and nature of incidents, their reporting and follow-up. A 100% response rate was achieved. Results:, Across the years, there was no significant correlation (p > 0.01) between sex, dominant hand, use of protective glasses or time of day. Slightly more exposures occurred in males, right-handed students, and in the afternoon. A significant decrease in exposures (p < 0.01) occurred within final year, and when an assistant was employed. Significantly more incidents occurred while a patient was being treated than during operational clean-up procedures. A substantial number of dental students had experienced one or more occupational exposures during training. Of these, percutaneous injuries predominated. Junior students appear to be more likely to experience exposures, and in these students, needlestick injuries are the most common source. Conclusions:, To reduce the incidence of these exposures, more instruction and training may be required in the earlier clinical years and more chairside assistance. Improvements are required in the monitoring of post-screening for seroconversion after HBV immunization, and in the reporting of test results in the event of an exposure incident. Under-reporting of incidents is common and ways to encourage and facilitate reporting should be sought. [source] Student satisfaction with curriculum modifications in a French dental schoolEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DENTAL EDUCATION, Issue 3 2000P. Farge Since 1994, important modifications have been implemented in the dental curriculum in France, and an additional year has been included in the dental curriculum. The 1st year has remained unchanged; it is common to both medical and dental schools and leads to a selection procedure of 1 in 10 dental students. In the new curriculum, the dental student is engaged in a 5-year programme in dental school (years 2 to 6), as opposed to 4 years in the former programme (years 2 to 5). Basically, this new curriculum emphasises research initiation, links with medical training and offers broader clinical experience. During the academic year 1998,1999, dental schools had 2 different types of students: the 4th year students belonging to the new programme along with the 5th year students in their final year of the old curriculum. Using a specially devised questionnaire, we investigated the students' perception of their respective training, their motivation and professional plans. At the Faculty of Odontology in Lyon, the new curriculum is perceived as an increased strain by the dental students. [source] Shrub expansion stimulates soil C and N storage along a coastal soil chronosequenceGLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, Issue 7 2010STEVEN T. BRANTLEY Abstract Expansion of woody vegetation in grasslands is a worldwide phenomenon with implications for C and N cycling at local, regional and global scales. Although woody encroachment is often accompanied by increased annual net primary production (ANPP) and increased inputs of litter, mesic ecosystems may become sources for C after woody encroachment because stimulation of soil CO2 efflux releases stored soil carbon. Our objective was to determine if young, sandy soils on a barrier island became a sink for C after encroachment of the nitrogen-fixing shrub Morella cerifera, or if associated stimulation of soil CO2 efflux mitigated increased litterfall. We monitored variations in litterfall in shrub thickets across a chronosequence of shrub expansion and compared those data to previous measurements of ANPP in adjacent grasslands. In the final year, we quantified standing litter C and N pools in shrub thickets and soil organic matter (SOM), soil organic carbon (SOC), soil total nitrogen (TN) and soil CO2 efflux in shrub thickets and adjacent grasslands. Heavy litterfall resulted in a dense litter layer storing an average of 809 g C m,2 and 36 g N m,2. Although soil CO2 efflux was stimulated by shrub encroachment in younger soils, soil CO2 efflux did not vary between shrub thickets and grasslands in the oldest soils and increases in CO2 efflux in shrub thickets did not offset contributions of increased litterfall to SOC. SOC was 3.6,9.8 times higher beneath shrub thickets than in grassland soils and soil TN was 2.5,7.7 times higher under shrub thickets. Accumulation rates of soil and litter C were highest in the youngest thicket at 101 g m,2 yr,1 and declined with increasing thicket age. Expansion of shrubs on barrier islands, which have low levels of soil carbon and high potential for ANPP, has the potential to significantly increase ecosystem C sequestration. [source] A comparative study of oral health knowledge, attitude and behaviour of first and final year dental students of Udaipur city, Rajasthan, IndiaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DENTAL HYGIENE, Issue 4 2008AJ Sharda Abstract:, Objective:, To assess and compare differences in oral health knowledge, attitudes and behaviour among first and final year dental students in Udaipur city, Rajasthan, India. Materials and methods:, In a cross-sectional study, 182 first year students (59 males and 123 females) and 157 final year students (75 males and 82 females) of the two dental colleges in Udaipur city; Rajasthan, were surveyed using a self-administered structured questionnaire including 37 multiple choice questions pretested through a pilot survey. The data was analysed using the spss version 10.0. The mean percentage scores, standard deviation and frequency distribution were calculated. The Student's t -test and anova test were used as test of significance. The linear regression analysis were used to assess the relation of knowledge, attitude and behaviour. Results:, The mean % score for oral health knowledge, attitude and behaviour were significantly higher in final year students compared to first year students (P < 0.001). The linear regression analysis showed a statistically significant linear relationship of attitude with the knowledge (P < 0.001) and behaviour with the attitude (P < 0.001) of the students. Conclusion:, Besides the positive changes revealed in the oral health knowledge, attitude and behaviour, among the students from first to final year of dental studies, preventive behaviour among the students could still be improved. [source] The relationship between personal breastfeeding experience and the breastfeeding attitudes, knowledge, confidence and effectiveness of Australian GP registrarsMATERNAL & CHILD NUTRITION, Issue 4 2008Wendy Brodribb Abstract In conjunction with other health professionals, doctors believe they play an important role in promoting breastfeeding to women. Although many have positive breastfeeding attitudes, significant knowledge deficits often limit their capacity to effectively encourage, support and assist breastfeeding women and their infants. Personal breastfeeding experience (of self or partner) may be the main source of breastfeeding knowledge and skill development and is related to improved knowledge, more positive attitudes and greater confidence. This paper describes the relationship between the cumulative length of personal breastfeeding experience and the breastfeeding knowledge and attitudes of a cohort of Australian general practice (GP) registrars, as well as their confidence and perceived effectiveness assisting breastfeeding women. The Australian Breastfeeding Knowledge and Attitude Questionnaire containing demographic items, a 20-item attitude scale and a 40-item knowledge scale was distributed between February and May 2007 to Australian GP registrars in their final year of training. Participants with more than 52-week cumulative personal (self or partner) breastfeeding experience had the highest mean knowledge score, had more positive attitudes, and were more confident and effective than all other participants. Parents with limited personal experience (,26 weeks) had the poorest breastfeeding attitudes and their knowledge base was similar to participants with no personal experience. Confidence and perceived effectiveness when assisting breastfeeding women rose with increasing cumulative breastfeeding experience. Personal breastfeeding experience per se does not guarantee better breastfeeding knowledge or attitudes although increasing length of experience is related to higher knowledge, attitude, confidence and perceived effectiveness scores. [source] Competence in the musculoskeletal system: assessing the progression of knowledge through an undergraduate medical courseMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 12 2004Subhashis Basu Background, Professional bodies have expressed concerns that medical students lack appropriate knowledge in musculoskeletal medicine despite its high prevalence of use within the community. Changes in curriculum and teaching strategies may be contributing factors to this. There is little evidence to evaluate the degree to which these concerns are justified. Objectives, To design and evaluate an assessment procedure that tests the progress of medical students in achieving a core level of knowledge in musculoskeletal medicine during the course. Participants and Setting, A stratified sample of 136 volunteer students from all 5 years of the medical course at Sheffield University. Methods, The progress test concept was adapted to provide a cross-sectional view of student knowledge gain during each year of the course. A test was devised which aimed to provide an assessment of competence set at the standard required of the newly qualified doctor in understanding basic and clinical sciences relevant to musculoskeletal medicine. The test was blueprinted against internal and external guidelines. It comprised 40 multiple-choice and extended matching questions administered by computer. Six musculoskeletal practitioners set the standard using a modified Angoff procedure. Results, Test reliability was 0.6 (Cronbach's ,). Mean scores of students increased from 41% in Year 1 to 84% by the final year. Data suggest that, from a baseline score in Year 1, there is a disparate experience of learning in Year 2 that evens out in Year 3, with knowledge progression becoming more consistent thereafter. All final year participants scored above the standard predicted by the Angoff procedure. Conclusions, This short computer-based test was a feasible method of estimating student knowledge acquisition in musculoskeletal medicine across the undergraduate curriculum. Tested students appear to have acquired a satisfactory knowledge base by the end of the course. Knowledge gain seemed relatively independent of specialty-specific clinical training. Proposals from specialty bodies to include long periods of disciplinary teaching may be unnecessary. [source] Does a rural educational experience influence students' likelihood of rural practice?MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 3 2002Impact of student background, gender Context The family medicine clerkship at the University of Calgary is a 4-week mandatory rotation in the final year of a 3-year programme. Students are given the opportunity to experience rural practice by training at 1 of several rural practices. Objective To determine whether exposure to a rural educational experience changes students' likelihood of doing a rural locum or rural practice and whether student background and gender are related to these practice plans. Method Clinical clerks from the Classes of 1996,2000, who trained at rural sites, responded to questionnaire items both before and after the rural educational experience. Responses to the questionnaire items and discipline of postgraduate training served as dependent variables. Student background and gender were independent variables. Results As a result of the rural educational experience all students were more likely to do a rural locum. Compared to their urban-raised peers, students from rural backgrounds reported a significantly greater likelihood of doing a rural locum and practising in a rural community, irrespective of gender or participating in a rural educational experience. There was no relationship between background and career choice. Conclusion A rural educational experience at the undergraduate level increases the stated likelihood of students participating in rural locums and helps to solidify existing rural affiliations. Students with rural backgrounds have a more favourable attitude toward rural practice. This pre-post study provides further support for the preferential admission to medical school of students with rural backgrounds to help alleviate the rural physician shortage. [source] The attitudes of ,tomorrow's doctors' towards mental illness and psychiatry: changes during the final undergraduate yearMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 4 2001H. Baxter Aims To compare the efficacy of two teaching styles, didactic teaching and problem based learning, in producing enduring change in final-year medical students' attitudes towards psychiatry and mental illness. Method A 1-year follow-up questionnaire survey of two groups of medical students taught psychiatry in their fourth-year training by two different methods. One-year follow-up scores were compared with pre-attachment and post-attachment scores in the fourth year. Results 70 (68%) students completed both questionnaires at follow-up. The follow-up scores were significantly lower compared with both the fourth-year pre-attachment and post-attachment scores, suggesting that the positive change in attitudes following psychiatric training in the fourth year significantly decayed during the final year. The two teaching methods did not differ in the magnitude of this reduction. Conclusions The positive change that occurs in medical students' attitude towards psychiatry, psychiatrists and mental illness after their fourth-year psychiatric training is transient and decays over the final year. [source] Applicant Considerations Associated with Selection of an Emergency Medicine Residency ProgramACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 4 2009Sara Laskey MD Abstract Objectives:, The primary objective of this study was to assess variables that residency applicants ranked as influential in making residency choices. The secondary objective was to determine if residents were satisfied with their residency choices. Methods:, A secondary analysis was performed on a cohort database from a stratified, random sampling of 322 emergency medicine (EM) residents collected in 1996,1998 and 2001,2004 from the American Board of Emergency Medicine Longitudinal Study on Emergency Medicine Residents (ABEM LSEMR). Residents rated the importance of 18 items in response to the question, "How much did each of the following factors influence your choice of residency program location?" The degree to which residents' programs met prior expectations and the levels of satisfaction with residency programs were also assessed. All analyses were conducted using descriptive statistics. Results:, Three-hundred twenty-two residents participated in the survey. Residents considered the following to be the most important variables: institutional reputation, hospital facilities, program director reputation, and spousal influence. Several geographic and gender differences were noted. Ninety percent (95% confidence interval [CI] = 86% to 93%) of residents surveyed in their final year answered that the residency program met or exceeded expectations. Seventy-nine percent (95% CI = 76% to 82%) of residents identified themselves as "highly satisfied" with their residency choice. Conclusions:, The most influential factors in residency choice are institutional and residency director reputation and hospital facilities. Personal issues, such as recreational opportunities and spousal opinion, are also important, but are less influential. Significant geographic differences affecting residency choices exist, as do minor gender differences. A majority of residents were highly satisfied overall with their residency choices. [source] Impact of feral water buffalo and fire on growth and survival of mature savanna trees: An experimental field study in Kakadu National Park, northern AustraliaAUSTRAL ECOLOGY, Issue 6 2005PATRICIA A. WERNER Abstract The impact of feral Asian water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) and season of fire on growth and survival of mature trees was monitored over 8 years in the eucalypt savannas of Kakadu National Park. Permanently marked plots were paired on either side of a 25-km-long buffalo-proof fence at three locations on an elevational gradient, from ridge-top to the edge of a floodplain; buffalo were removed from one side of the fence. All 750 trees ,,1.4 m height were permanently marked; survival and diameter of each tree was measured annually; 26 species were grouped into four eco-taxonomic groups. The buffalo experiment was maintained for 7 years; trees were monitored an additional year. Fires were excluded from all sites the first 3 years, allowed to occur opportunistically for 4 years and excluded for the final year. Fires were of two main types: low-intensity early dry season and high-intensity late dry season. Growth rates of trees were size-specific and positively related to diameters as exponential functions; trees grew slowest on the two ends of the gradient. Eucalypt mortality rates were 1.5 and 3 times lower than those of pantropics and of arborescent monocots, respectively, but the relative advantage was lost with fires or buffalo grazing. Without buffalo grazing, ground level biomass was 5,8 t ha,1 compared with 2,3 t ha,1, within 3 years. In buffalo-absent plots, trees grew significantly slower on the dry ridge and slope, and had higher mortality across the entire gradient, compared with trees in buffalo-present plots. At the floodplain margin, mortality of small palms was higher in buffalo-present sites, most likely due to associated heavy infestations of weeds. Low-intensity fires produced tree growth and mortality values similar to no-fire, in general, but, like buffalo, provided a ,fertilization' effect for Eucalyptus miniata and Eucalyptus tetrodonta, increasing growth in all size classes. High-intensity fires reduced growth and increased mortality of all functional groups, especially the smallest and largest (>35 cm d.b.h.) trees. When buffalo and fires were excluded in the final year, there were no differences in growth or mortality between paired sites across the environmental gradient. After 8 years, the total numbers of trees in buffalo-absent plots were only 80% of the number in buffalo-present plots, due to relatively greater recruitment of new trees in buffalo-present plots; fire-sensitive pantropics were particularly disadvantaged. Since the removal of buffalo is disadvantageous, at least over the first years, to savanna tree growth and survival due to a rebound effect of the ground-level vegetation and subsequent changes in fire-vegetation interactions, process-orientated management aimed at reducing fuel loads and competitive pressure may be required in order to return the system to a previous state. The ,footprint' of 30 years of heavy grazing by buffalo has implications for the interpretation of previous studies on fire-vegetation dynamics and for current research on vegetation change in these savannas. [source] John Howard's "Nation": Multiculturalism, Citizenship, and IdentityAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF POLITICS AND HISTORY, Issue 1 2009John William Tate This article identifies the specific concept of "nation" that informed John Howard's politics from his time as Liberal Party leader in the second half of the 1980s to the final years of his 1996,2007 prime ministership. It compares and contrasts the constitutive, procedural and multicultural models of nation to show Howard's continuing commitment to a constitutive understanding of the Australian nation. He endeavoured to give this understanding expression at the policy level by explicitly moving against the multicultural concept of nation that had informed Australian policy from the late 1970s. The Citizenship Test, introduced in his final year of office, is presented as the final move in this departure from multiculturalism. [source] Transferring friendship: girls' and boys' friendships in the transition from primary to secondary schoolCHILDREN & SOCIETY, Issue 1 2005Simon Pratt This paper seeks to explore the issues and concerns that impact upon girls' and boys' friendship groups as they transfer from primary to secondary school. Using the girls' and boys' own voices, we document the extent to which their existing social relationships are disrupted as they adapt to and engage with a new school setting. Through semi-structured interviews and questionnaires conducted in the final year of primary school and the first year of secondary school, we identify students' concerns regarding their attitudes to friendship. We consider the extent to which account is taken of this aspect of children's friendships and explore and analyse commonalities and differences in their responses. We argue that the priorities of our student groups are different to those advocated by the school. We further attempt to examine how the girls and boys in our sample negotiate their new environment. [source] The DPT-1 trial: a negative result with lessons for future type 1 diabetes preventionDIABETES/METABOLISM: RESEARCH AND REVIEWS, Issue 4 2002Professor Paolo Pozzilli Abstract The author comments on the DPT-1 Trial and why the observed negative outcome in preventing diabetes in first-degree relatives of type 1 diabetic patients by parenteral insulin administration may have occurred and what can be gathered from this large study. There were three main lessons to be learned from the DPT-1 Trial as follows. (1) Large preventive trials of type 1 diabetes are feasible in first-degree relatives of type 1 diabetic patients and other preventive approaches may be now envisaged. (2) The natural history of type 1 diabetes, at least in its final years before clinical onset, has been elucidated and reiterates the relevance of our present predictive tools (autoantibodies) for identifying individuals at risk for the disease. (3) Strict follow-up of enrolled subjects in trials permits an earlier diagnosis of the disease with less frequency of ketoacidosis and implementation of insulin therapy when higher C-peptide levels are present. DPT-1 has paved the way on how to proceed and new trials will be planned benefiting from such experience. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Occupational exposures occurring in students in a UK dental school,EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DENTAL EDUCATION, Issue 3 2002D. A. Stewardson Background:, Students whilst training may encounter a number of incidents where infection from patient body fluids may occur, especially as their manual skills are underdeveloped and their clinical experience is limited. Purpose of study:, (a) To assess the nature of the occupational exposures occurring to students in a UK dental school, (b) to assess the rate of reporting of incidents, and (c) to evaluate the association of various factors with these exposures. Students in the third, fourth and final years of the 5-year undergraduate dental course at the University of Birmingham were asked to complete a questionnaire that enquired into personal details, number and nature of incidents, their reporting and follow-up. A 100% response rate was achieved. Results:, Across the years, there was no significant correlation (p > 0.01) between sex, dominant hand, use of protective glasses or time of day. Slightly more exposures occurred in males, right-handed students, and in the afternoon. A significant decrease in exposures (p < 0.01) occurred within final year, and when an assistant was employed. Significantly more incidents occurred while a patient was being treated than during operational clean-up procedures. A substantial number of dental students had experienced one or more occupational exposures during training. Of these, percutaneous injuries predominated. Junior students appear to be more likely to experience exposures, and in these students, needlestick injuries are the most common source. Conclusions:, To reduce the incidence of these exposures, more instruction and training may be required in the earlier clinical years and more chairside assistance. Improvements are required in the monitoring of post-screening for seroconversion after HBV immunization, and in the reporting of test results in the event of an exposure incident. Under-reporting of incidents is common and ways to encourage and facilitate reporting should be sought. [source] Detection, survival rates and dynamics of a cryptic plant, Asclepias meadii: applications of mark-recapture models to long-term monitoring studiesJOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2009Helen M. Alexander Summary 1Analysis of population trajectories is central to assessing risk in populations of conservation concern. In animal studies, researchers realize that probabilities of detection of individuals are often less than one. Plants can also escape detection due to dormancy, herbivory, or observer error, but such information is rarely incorporated into population studies. 2We monitored a population of Asclepias meadii, a rare long-lived prairie perennial. Despite standardized methods, numbers of observed plants fluctuated greatly from 1992 to 2006. Individual plants often had periods of 1,5 years between initial and final sighting when no stems were found. To determine the actual population trajectories, we estimated rates of survival and population growth using mark-recapture models. We also estimated initial and resighting probabilities of detection. In 2007, we repeated surveys to identify reasons for low detection probabilities. 3We estimated 95% annual survival and a population growth rate of 1.023. Probabilities of initial detection were low (typically from 0.120 to 0.311 depending on prairie burn treatment), whereas average probability of detection for marked plants was 0.728. 4Comparisons of survival estimates from 15- and 8-year data sets revealed that survival estimates decline in the final years of a multi-year period, probably due to heterogeneity in encounter histories. 5By conducting three different surveys in 2007, we found that both herbivory over a multiple-week period and observer error contributed substantially to gaps in detection. 6Synthesis. Probabilities of detection that are less than one complicate interpretation of population dynamics, whether of mobile animals or inconspicuous plants. Our work illustrates three general points that could apply to many plant population studies: (i) mark-recapture models may provide insights on vital rates and population trajectories despite the extreme variability in count data that can arise because of low detectability, (ii) probabilities of initial detection can be quantified and can be considerably less than probabilities of resighting, and (iii) repeated surveys can help researchers determine the degree to which dormancy, herbivory, or observer error contribute to low probabilities of detection. Consideration of these points can improve the design and analysis of monitoring programs. [source] Cardiopulmonary resuscitation training for undergraduate medical students: a five-year studyMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 3 2002Colin A Graham Background Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training for undergraduate medical students and junior doctors has been noted to be poor in the past. Attempts have been made over the last decade to improve CPR training for all health professionals. Aim This study aimed to determine if CPR training for undergraduate medical students in a single institution improved after initial concerns in 1992, and to observe trends in CPR training over five years. Methods Prospective single centre observational cohort survey by means of a 2-page self completed questionnaire to final year undergraduate medical students at the University of Glasgow (1993,97 inclusive). Results Mean annual response rate 58% (range 48% , 67%). 99% of responders had been trained in basic life support during undergraduate training. The use of simulated arrests for training increased significantly. CPR training was concentrated in the first and final years. Training in all aspects of advanced life support increased, as did the students' confidence in these techniques. Student satisfaction with the amount of basic life support training increased very significantly and there was a small, but significant increase in student satisfaction with advanced life support training. Overall confidence at the prospect of being a member of the resuscitation team on qualification did not increase. Conclusions There has been a sustained improvement in CPR training at this institution since 1993. Improvements in the training of specific advanced life support techniques does not lead to improved overall confidence in using these skills on qualification. Advanced life support training requires further expansion. [source] The origins of Turkish Republican citizenship: the birth of race,NATIONS AND NATIONALISM, Issue 3 2005Bora Isyar This article explores the emergence of the dominance of racialised Turkish citizenship. Contrary to the conventional methods that investigate the early republican era, this paper starts by examining the final years of the Ottoman Empire with a special emphasis on the Balkan Wars as the birth of racialised technologies of citizenship. Then, I analyse the encounters between racialised thought in the Ottoman Empire in the twentieth century and its recurring counterpart in these encounters: ,European modernity'. Next, I dwell on an illustration of a materialisation of racialised citizenship in the Ottoman Empire: the displacement and elimination of Armenian citizens. Finally, by probing the dominant strand of modern citizenship and nationhood in Europe, I articulate the commonalities of racialised citizenship in Europe and the Ottoman Empire in the early twentieth century. I conclude by arguing that race as a particular identity should not be seen as an institutionalised aspect of citizenship only in ostensibly ,Oriental and absolutist regimes'. Instead, the focus should be on moments at which ,European modernity' and various nationalisms (racial, ethnic, cultural) mutually constitute each other. [source] Brian Scarlett , Myth, Motivator, Mentor, and ManPARTICLE & PARTICLE SYSTEMS CHARACTERIZATION, Issue 1 2007Reg Davies Few think of Particle Science and Engineering without thinking of Brian Scarlett. His career spanned over 40 years. From his early days in Nottingham to his final days in Florida, Particle Science and Engineering were not only his passion but his life. He was a complex man. Not all found him easy. However, he left an abiding legacy in the many students that he loved and mentored. He believed in providing opportunity for his students in travel, and sometimes accomplished this while stretching budgets. He motivated many into new arenas of technology, and had just begun to fulfil his technical dreams when cancer claimed him. His final years exposed the man; one who was single-minded, driven, and very brave. He did not complete the work he wanted to finish, but still left an indelible mark on the field of Particle Science and Technology for generations to come. In this paper, the life and accomplishments of this complex man are put into perspective; and, in so doing, we honor him in this special edition of the journal. [source] A comparison of physical activity levels in two contrasting elderly populations in ThailandAMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2001C.J.K. Henry There is little information available on physical activity patterns in the elderly in developing countries. This is particularly important at a time when developing countries are in transition and show signs of moving toward Western style patterns of physical activity and social structure. This study is unique in that it compares the physical activity levels in two contrasting communities: a residential home and a rural community of elderly subjects in Thailand. Ninety elderly people living in a residential home and 78 elderly people living with their families in a rural community were recruited. The men in the rural community were slightly lighter and leaner than the men in the residential community, but the differences were not significant. However, the women were significantly (P < 0.001) heavier and fatter in the residential home than in the rural community. This is consistent with the higher levels of physical activity in the rural community. There was considerable variation in physical activity in this population. The physical activity level (PAL) values ranged from 1.21 to 1.73 in the residential home and from 1.21 to 3.08 in the rural community. This is apparently the first study of physical activity patterns in elderly subjects in a developing country. It highlights the variation in activity within the rural community and between both communities. The opportunities for the elderly living in the residential home to have active lifestyles are limited. It is likely that this will result in increased morbidity in the final years of life. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 13:310,315, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Melanie Klein's letters addressed to Marcelle Spira (1955,1960),THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOANALYSIS, Issue 6 2009Jean-Michel Quinodoz Between 1955 and 1960, Melanie Klein wrote some 45 hitherto unpublished letters to Marcelle Spira, the Swiss psychoanalyst living at that time in Geneva. In 2006, after Spira's death, these letters were deposited with the Raymond de Saussure Psychoanalysis Centre in Geneva. They are the only known letters that Klein addressed to her psychoanalyst colleagues. Several topics are mentioned in them: (1) the meetings between the two women in Geneva and London; (2) Spira's contribution to Boulanger's translation into French of The Psychoanalysis of Children, which Klein herself carefully revised; (3) the papers that Klein was at that time working on, including Envy and Gratitude; (4) Spira's own work; (5) the difficulties that Spira, a Kleinian psychoanalyst who trained in Buenos Aires, was encountering in her attempt to be admitted to the Swiss Psychoanalytical Society; and (6) a few items of personal and family news. In addition to the invaluable historical information that these letters provide, they offer us a very moving epistolary self-portrait of Melanie Klein, enabling us to discover her personality in the final years of her life , she died in September 1960, just two months after writing her last letter to Spira. [source] Max Dvo,ák: art history and the crisis of modernityART HISTORY, Issue 2 2003Matthew Rampley The work of Max Dvo,ák has seldom enjoyed the acclaim accorded to that of his Viennese colleague Alois Riegl, or contemporaries such as Aby Warburg and Heinrich Wölfflin. This paper argues for a reconsideration of his work, in which his ,art history as the history of ideas' is seen both as a lens through which Dvo,ák conducted a sustained commentary on the present, and also as a critique of modernity comparable to the social and economic theories of Ernst Troeltsch, Ferdinand Tönnies, Georg Simmel or Ernst Mach. The article argues that Dvo,ák's work offers an important example of the numerous intellectual and political tensions at work in the final years of the Habsburg monarchy. As such, the article aims to question the institutional frame within which much art-historical writing is often analysed. [source] John Howard's "Nation": Multiculturalism, Citizenship, and IdentityAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF POLITICS AND HISTORY, Issue 1 2009John William Tate This article identifies the specific concept of "nation" that informed John Howard's politics from his time as Liberal Party leader in the second half of the 1980s to the final years of his 1996,2007 prime ministership. It compares and contrasts the constitutive, procedural and multicultural models of nation to show Howard's continuing commitment to a constitutive understanding of the Australian nation. He endeavoured to give this understanding expression at the policy level by explicitly moving against the multicultural concept of nation that had informed Australian policy from the late 1970s. The Citizenship Test, introduced in his final year of office, is presented as the final move in this departure from multiculturalism. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||