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Study Questions (study + question)
Selected AbstractsPCR as a specific, sensitive and simple method suitable for diagnosticsBIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EDUCATION, Issue 4 2000M. Gonzalo Claros PCR technology is a widespread method that has not reached students laboratory in anything else than a typical amplification reaction. We describe a simple application of PCR in pathogen diagnostics that enables students to identify which ampicillin-resistant organism is present in a cell culture. This experiment has been performed for one year in two "Experimental Biochemistry and Molecular Biology" courses with Biological and Chemical undergraduates. Using specific primers from the Escherichia coli ,-lactamase gene, they have been able to selectively amplify a ,-lactamase DNA fragment in E. coli but not in Staphylococcus aureus and, using different annealing temperatures, test the reaction specificity. By solving the "Study Questions", students understood the specificity and sensitivity of the method, as well as the rationale that should be applied when a molecular weight pattern is used for calculating unknown DNA sizes. © 2000 IUBMB. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. [source] Study Questions Need for Yearly Mammograms in Women Over 50CA: A CANCER JOURNAL FOR CLINICIANS, Issue 3 2005Article first published online: 31 DEC 200 No abstract is available for this article. [source] The Majority of Men with Lifelong Premature Ejaculation Prefer Daily Drug Treatment: An Observation Study in a Consecutive Group of Dutch MenTHE JOURNAL OF SEXUAL MEDICINE, Issue 4i 2007Marcel D. Waldinger MD ABSTRACT Introduction., Whether men with lifelong premature ejaculation (PE) prefer on-demand drug treatment to delay ejaculation time to daily drug treatment, has never been studied as a separate study question. Aim., To study how men with lifelong PE feel about the use of serotonergic antidepressants, and which option they would prefer for themselves: either a daily drug, a drug to be used on demand, or a topical anesthetic cream to be applied on demand. Main Outcome Measures., Treatment preference was determined by questionnaire. Methods., An observational questionnaire survey in a clinical sample. Preferences of different treatment strategies were queried before and after standard efficacy and safety information. Results., A consecutive group of 88 men with lifelong PE who decided for themselves to be seen for rapid ejaculation was studied. The age was 37 ± 11 years (mean ± SD), range 18,64 years. None of these men was ever treated for PE and 21% used medication that did not affect sexual performance. Of them, 71 (81%) preferred a drug for daily use, 14 (16%) a drug on demand, while three men preferred topical anesthetic cream. Those men who initially preferred daily treatment did not change their view after standard information about efficacy and side effects, while 9 of 17 men who initially preferred on-demand drug treatment had switched their preferences to daily oral drug usage. Around 60% of men did not care about the nature of the drug, i.e., an antidepressant. The most frequently reported argument to prefer daily drug treatment was that this strategy would have the least effects toward the spontaneity of having sex. Conclusion., As opposed to agents that must be taken 4,6 hours prior to coitus and with the methods used here, this group of Dutch men with lifelong PE favor uninterrupted daily drug treatment to delay ejaculation mainly because daily treatment guarantees no interference with the spontaneity of having sex. Waldinger MD, Zwinderman AH, Olivier B, and Schweitzer DH. The majority of men with lifelong premature ejaculation prefer daily drug treatment: An observation study in a consecutive group of Dutch men. J Sex Med 2007;4:1028,1037. [source] Failure of Intimate Partner Violence Screening Among Patients With Substance Use DisordersACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 8 2010Esther K. Choo MD ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2010; 17:886,889 © 2010 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Abstract Objectives:, This study examined the relationship between substance use disorder (SUD) and intimate partner violence (IPV) screening and management practices in the emergency department (ED). Methods:, This was a retrospective cohort study of adult ED patients presenting to an urban, tertiary care teaching hospital over a 4-month period. An automated electronic data abstraction process identified consecutive patients and retrieved visit characteristics, including results of three violence screening questions, demographic data, triage acuity, time of visit, and International Classifications of Disease, 9th revision (ICD-9), diagnosis codes. Data on management were collected using a standardized abstraction tool by two reviewers masked to the study question. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine predictors of screening and management. Results:, In 10,071 visits, 6,563 violence screens were completed. IPV screening was documented in 33.5% of patients with alcohol-related diagnoses (95% confidence interval [CI] = 27.7% to 39.3%, ,2 = 116.78, p < 0.001) and 53.3% of patients with drug-related diagnoses (95% CI = 44.3% to 62.3%, ,2 = 7.69, p = 0.006), compared to 66.1% of patients without these diagnoses (95% CI = 65.2% to 67.1%). In the multivariate analysis, alcohol (odds ratio [OR] = 0.30, 95% CI = 0.22 to 0.40) and drug use (OR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.38 to 0.83) were associated with decreased odds of screening. Of completed screens, 429 (6.5%) were positive, but violence was addressed further in only 55.7% of patients. Substance abuse did not appear to affect the odds of having positive screens addressed further by providers (OR = 1.96, 95% CI = 0.39 to 10.14). Conclusions:, This study found an association between SUD and decreased odds of IPV screening. Failure to screen for IPV in the setting of substance use may represent a missed opportunity to address a critical health issue and be a barrier to successful intervention. [source] Levels of evidence ratings in the urological literature: an assessment of interobserver agreementBJU INTERNATIONAL, Issue 5 2010Ryan M. Turpen OBJECTIVE To determine to what extent urologists with no specific training agree upon level of evidence (LoE) ratings of studies published in the urological literature, as LoE are commonly referenced as a measure of evidence quality. MATERIALS AND METHODS In all, 86 clinical research studies published in four major urology journals were reviewed. Each article was independently reviewed by eight reviewers using a standardized data abstraction form. Articles were assessed for type of study (therapy, prognosis, diagnosis or economic) and LoE (I, II, III or IV). Reviewers received only written instructions and no formal training in the application of this classification system. RESULTS Of the 86 articles, 69% related to therapy, 16% to prognosis, and 15% to diagnosis. Eight studies (9%) provided Level I evidence, 18 studies (21%) Level II, 14 studies (16%) Level III and 46 studies (54%) Level IV evidence. The intraclass correlation coefficient (95% confidence interval) based on all reviewers (eight reviewers) was 0.67 (0.59,0.74; P= 0.001) for the type of study and 0.55 (0.48,0.64; P= 0.001) for the LoE. In an analysis limited to a subset of studies in which all reviewers agreed upon the type of study question (n= 40) the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.79 (0.70,0.86; P= 0.001). CONCLUSION In the present study there was a low interobserver agreement for LoE ratings by urologists with no specific training. These findings suggest caution in the interpretation of LoE ratings and emphasize the importance of specific training for individuals that are charged with quality of evidence determinations. [source] Investigating Academic Success Factors for Undergraduate Business StudentsDECISION SCIENCES JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE EDUCATION, Issue 2 2008Mehdi Kaighobadi ABSTRACT Student academic performance is of major interest to all stakeholders of higher education institutions. This study questions whether or not statistical analysis of information that is readily available in most universities' official records system can be used to predict overall academic success. In particular, this study is an attempt to understand factors that affect academic success for business students by examining gender, age, ethnicity, and performance in two required core knowledge courses as predictors of academic success for a large sample of undergraduate students at a Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business,accredited business school. The results suggest that student performance is significantly related to some basic demographic variables, but the strongest predictors of overall academic success are the grades the students receive in core knowledge courses that are typically taken in the earlier semesters of business students' plans of study. [source] Anonymous non-response analysis in the ABCD cohort study enabled by probabilistic record linkagePAEDIATRIC & PERINATAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, Issue 3 2009M. Tromp Summary Selective non-response is an important threat to study validity as it can lead to selection bias. The Amsterdam Born Children and their Development study (ABCD-study) is a large cohort study addressing the relationship between life style, psychological conditions, nutrition and sociodemographic background of pregnant women and their children's health. Possible selective non-response and selection bias in the ABCD-study were analysed using national perinatal registry data. ABCD-study data were linked with national perinatal registry data by probabilistic medical record linkage techniques. Differences in the prevalence of relevant risk factors (sociodemographic and care-related factors) and birth outcomes between respondents and non-respondents were tested using Pearson chi-squared tests. Selection bias (i.e. bias in the association between risk factors and specific outcomes) was analysed by regression analysis with and without adjustment for participation status. The ABCD non-respondents were significantly younger, more often non-western, and more often multiparae. Non-respondents entered antenatal care later, were more often under supervision of an obstetrician and had a spontaneous delivery more often. Non-response however, was not significantly associated with preterm birth (odds ratio 1.10; 95% CI 0.93, 1.29) or low birthweight (odds ratio 1.16; 95% CI 0.98, 1.37) after adjustment for sociodemographic risk factors. The associations found between risk factors and adverse pregnancy outcomes were similar for respondents and non-respondents. Anonymised record linkage of cohort study data with national registry data indicated that selective non-response was present in the ABCD-study, but selection bias was acceptably low and did not influence the main study questions. [source] Parent responses to participation in genetic screening for diabetes riskPEDIATRIC DIABETES, Issue 4 2004Barbro Lernmark Abstract:, Screening for type 1 diabetes (T1DM) risk in newborns has little negative emotional impact on mothers. In this study, the impact on the mother and the father was evaluated both in the general population and in families with diabetes. All parents with a newborn in Skåne, Sweden, were invited to a screening for T1DM risk in their children (the Diabetes Prediction in Skåne (DiPiS)). Blood was obtained at delivery from the mother and the child. When the child was 2 months old, parents gave written consent and filled out questionnaires, but were not informed about the genetic risk. Of the 10 538 invited families, 6831 (64.8%) consented and 806 (7.7%) declined participation. Five questions addressing both parents were filled out by 6676 (63.4%) mothers and 6099 (57.8%) fathers. In 146/6676 (2.2%) families, one family member had diabetes (D-families). Participation in DiPiS did not affect most parents and the majority was satisfied with the information. The majority of parents (28.9%) were reassured and only 1.1% (140/12 670) reported increased worries because of participation, compared to 2.8% of the mothers in D-families. Parents in D-families more often ascribed diabetes risk to their child as well as the risk being higher. Mothers and fathers differed in their answers on four of the five study questions, with mothers being more satisfied with the information, reporting more knowledge of diabetes, estimating lower risk of their child to get diabetes, but reporting more worries of possible future chronic disease in the child. Parents with lower education, being born abroad, or being younger who reported worries of chronic disease in the child were also reassured by participation in the study. These results confirm that screening for T1DM risk in newborns does not create worries in most parents, but stress that fathers differ from mothers in opinions and reactions, that parents' reactions are affected by diabetes in the family, and that demographic factors might be important for the parents' reports. [source] Prevalence of low serum cobalamin in infertile couplesANDROLOGIA, Issue 1 2009R. Pront Summary A high prevalence of low levels of cobalamin had been found in a survey of multi-ethnic normal individuals in Israel. The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence of cobalamin deficiency among Israeli couples suffering from infertility. All couples seen at the in vitro fertilization clinic at an urban hospital (Shaare Zedek Medical Center) in Jerusalem for a 6-month period were invited. Mean cobalamin levels were 259.2 pg ml,1 in males and 275.1 pg ml,1 in females (normal >200 pg ml,1), 35.5% of 172 men and 23.3% of 223 females had cobalamin deficiency (P = 0.01). There were 171 couples with complete demographic questionnaires and cobalamin values for each partner. In 74 couples (43.3%), one partner was cobalamin deficient, with no significant difference between those with unexplained infertility versus those with explained infertility; and in 13 couples, both partners were cobalamin deficient. Thirty-nine per cent of all men with an abnormal semen analysis had cobalamin deficiency, a finding that requires further investigation. This study questions whether higher rates of male infertility in Israel are partially ascribable to cobalamin deficiency. Recommendation for supplementation in both males and females to achieve high-normal levels of cobalamin would be prudent. [source] Dopamine D2 receptor knockout mice develop features of Parkinson disease,ANNALS OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 4 2009Rogan B. Tinsley PhD Objective This study questions whether increased dopamine (DA) turnover in nigral neurons leads to formation of Lewy bodies (LBs), the characteristic ,-synuclein,containing cytoplasmic inclusion of Parkinson disease (PD). Methods Mice with targeted deletion of the dopamine D2 receptor gene (D2R[,/,]) have higher striatal and nigral dopamine turnover and elevated oxidative stress. These mice were examined for evidence of histological, biochemical, and gene expression changes consistent with a synucleinopathy. Results LB-like cytoplasmic inclusions containing ,-synuclein and ubiquitin were present in substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) neurons of older D2R(,/,) mice, and were also occasionally seen in aged wild-type mice. These inclusions displaced the nucleus of affected cells and were eosinophilic. Diffuse cytosolic ,-synuclein immunoreactivity in SNpc neurons increased with age in both wild-type and D2R(,/,) mice, most likely because of redistribution of ,-synuclein from striatal terminals to SNpc cell bodies. Gene and protein expression studies indicated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and changes in trafficking and autophagic pathways in D2R(,/,) SNpc. These changes were accompanied by a loss of DA terminals in the dorsal striatum, although there was no evidence of progressive cell death in the SNpc. Interpretation Increased sprouting and DA turnover, as observed in PD and D2R(,/,) mice, augments LB-like inclusions and axonal degeneration of dopaminergic neurons. These changes are associated with ER stress and autophagy. Ann Neurol 2009;66:472,484 [source] | ||||||||||