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Practice Conditions (practice + condition)
Selected AbstractsExplicitly Teaching for Transfer: Effects on the Mathematical Problem-Solving Performance of Students with Mathematics DisabilitiesLEARNING DISABILITIES RESEARCH & PRACTICE, Issue 2 2002Lynn S. Fuchs The purpose of this study was to explore methods to enhance mathematical problem solving for students with mathematics disabilities (MD). A small-group problem-solving tutoring treatment incorporated explicit instruction on problem-solution rules and on transfer. The transfer component was designed to increase awareness of the connections between novel and familiar problems by broadening the categories by which students group problems requiring the same solution methods and by prompting students to search novel problems for these broad categories. To create a stringent test of efficacy, we incorporated a computer-assisted practice condition, which provided students with direct practice on real-world problem-solving tasks. We randomly assigned 40 students to problem-solving tutoring, computer-assisted practice, problem-solving tutoring plus computer-assisted practice, or control, and pre- and posttested students on three problem-solving tasks. On story problems and transfer story problems, tutoring (with or without computer-assisted practice) effected reliably stronger growth compared to control; effects on real-world problem solving, although moderate to large, were not statistically significant. Computer-assisted practice added little value beyond tutoring but, alone, yielded moderate effects on two measures. [source] Using disease risk estimates to guide risk factor interventions: field test of a patient workbook for self-assessing coronary riskHEALTH EXPECTATIONS, Issue 1 2002J. Michael Paterson MSc Objective,To assess the feasibility and acceptability of a patient workbook for self-assessing coronary risk. Design,Pilot study, with post-study physician and patient interviews. Setting and subjects,Twenty southern Ontario family doctors and 40 patients for whom they would have used the workbook under normal practice conditions. Interventions,The study involved convening two sequential groups of family physicians: the first (n=10) attended focus group meetings to help develop the workbook (using algorithms from the Framingham Heart Study); the second (n=20) used the workbook in practice with 40 patients. Follow-up interviews were by interviewer-administered questionnaire. Main outcome measures,Physicians' and patients' opinions of the workbook's format, content, helpfulness, feasibility, and potential for broad application, as well as patients' perceived 10-year risk of a coronary event measured before and after using the workbook. Results,It took an average of 18 minutes of physician time to use the workbook: roughly 7 minutes to introduce it to patients, and about 11 minutes to discuss the results. Assessments of the workbook were generally favourable. Most patients were able to complete it on their own (78%), felt they had learned something (80%) and were willing to recommend it to someone else (98%). Similarly, 19 of 20 physicians found it helpful and would use it in practice with an average of 18% of their patients (range: 1,80%). The workbook helped to correct misperceptions patients had about their personal risk of a coronary event over the next 10 years (pre-workbook (mean (SD) %): 35.2 (16.9) vs. post-workbook: 17.3 (13.5), P < 0.0001; estimate according to algorithm: 10.6 (7.6)). Conclusions,Given a simple tool, patients can and will assess their own risk of CHD. Such tools could help inform otherwise healthy individuals that their risk is increased, allowing them to make more informed decisions about their behaviours and treatment. [source] The Nursing Worklife Model: Extending and Refining a New TheoryJOURNAL OF NURSING MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2007CCRN, MILISA MANOJLOVICH PhD Aims, We tested a modification of Leiter and Laschinger's Nursing Worklife Model by examining the impact of structural empowerment on professional work environment factors that lead to nursing job satisfaction. Background, The original model explains how five magnet hospital practice domains described by Lake (2002) interact to influence nurses' work lives by either contributing to or mitigating burnout. Methods, A non-experimental design was used. Five hundred randomly selected nurses in Michigan were surveyed (response rate 66%, n = 332). Instruments included the Conditions for Work Effectiveness Questionnaire-II, the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index, and the Index of Work Satisfaction. Path analysis was used to test the model. Results, The final model fit the data well (,2 = 96.4, d.f. = 10, NFI: 0.90, CFI: 0.43, RMSEA: 0.18), supporting both hypotheses. Conclusions, The expanded Nursing Worklife Model demonstrates the role of empowerment in creating positive practice conditions that contribute to job satisfaction. [source] Soy extract phytoestrogens with high dose of isoflavones for menopausal symptomsJOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY RESEARCH (ELECTRONIC), Issue 6 2009Augusto Ferrari Abstract Aim:, The aim of the present study was to assess the efficacy and safety of a standardized compound based on an extract of soy phytoestrogens, with high doses of isoflavones in the management of menopausal hot flushes. Methods:, A total of 180 women aged 40,65 years with a minimum of five moderate-to-severe hot flushes in the last 7 days at baseline and absence of menstruation for at least 6 months participated in a 12-week prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter trial. After a 2-week run-in period, women received one tablet a day of 80 mg isoflavones (corresponding to 60 mg of genistein) or a matching placebo. Results:, The mean daily number of moderate-to-severe hot flushes decreased in both study groups, but the reduction was greater in the isoflavones arm at 6 (36.2%) and 12 weeks (41.2%) than in the placebo arm (24.0% at 6 weeks, 29.3% at 12 weeks), with a difference of 1.1 (95% CI [,2.0 to ,0.06]) (P = 0.038) at 6 weeks and 1.1 (95% CI [,2.05 to ,0.15]) (P = 0.023) at 12 weeks. Similar findings were obtained for hot flushes of any intensity. The Kupperman index decreased in both study groups. Relief of hot flushes was greater when time to menopause was ,12 months and in cases of BMI ,27 kg/m2. Conclusion:, In daily practice conditions, high doses of isoflavones, particularly genistein, can be used for the management of hot flushes in postmenopausal women not treated with hormone replacement therapy due to their superior efficacy to placebo and very good safety profile. [source] Generation of functionally mature dendritic cells from elutriated monocytes using polyinosinic : polycytidylic acid and soluble CD40 ligand for clinical applicationCLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 3 2008S. Kim Summary Despite the increasing use of dendritic cell (DC) vaccination in clinical trials, optimal conditions for the generation of functionally mature DCs remain to be established. The current standard DC maturation protocol for clinical trials has been used as an inflammatory cytokine cocktail [tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-,, interleukin (IL)-1,, IL-6 and prostaglandin E2], but this cocktail induced insufficient maturation of DCs derived from elutriated monocytes when cultured in X-VIVO 15. The aim of this study was to define effective combinations of stimulators for generating functionally mature DCs from elutriated monocytes under current good manufacturing practice conditions. We compared the functional capacity of DCs in response to all possible pairwise combinations of four different classes of stimuli: TNF-,, peptidoglycan, polyinosinic : polycytidylic acid [poly(I:C)] and soluble CD40 ligand (CD40L). Maturation status of DCs stimulated with combination of four stimuli was similar to that of the cytokine cocktail as assessed by the cell surface phenotype. However, only the combination of poly(I:C) + CD40L induced complete functional activation of the whole DC population, assessing IL-12p70 production, allostimulatory activity, migratory response to CCL19 and T helper 1-polarizing capacity. Thus, the protocol based on the combination of poly(I:C) and CD40L is more effective for the induction of clinical-grade DCs from elutriated monocytes than the standard cytokine cocktail. [source] | ||||||||||