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Selected AbstractsWhat do medical students read and why?MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 8 2000A survey of medical students in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England Objectives There is increasing interest in the role of medical humanities within the undergraduate curriculum, but we know little about medical students' views on this or about their reading habits. Our study explored the reading habits of medical students, and their attitudes towards literature and the introduction of humanities into the curriculum. Design Self-completion questionnaire survey. Setting Newcastle University and Medical School. Subjects All first-, second- and third-year undergraduate medical students (384), biology students (151) and a random sample of law students (137) were sent a self-completion questionnaire to assess reading levels, attitudes towards literature and the medical humanities (medical students) and the perceived benefits of reading. Results Medical students read widely beyond their course and articulate a range of benefits from this, including: increasing awareness of life outside their experience; introspection or inspiration; emotional responses; and stimulation of an interest in reading or literature. Of the medical students, 40% (103/258) read one or more fiction books per month, but 75% (193) read fewer non-curricular books since starting university, largely because of time pressures, work, study or academic pressures and restricted access to books. A total of 77% (194) thought that medical humanities should definitely or possibly be offered in the curriculum, but of these 73% (141) thought it should be optional and 89% (172) that it should not be examined. Conclusions Medical students read literature for a variety of very positive and valued reasons, but have found leisure reading harder to maintain since starting university. They support inclusion of the humanities in medical education, but have mixed views on how this should be done. [source] Prevalence and risk factors of undetected proteinuria in an elderly South-East Asian populationNEPHROLOGY, Issue 4 2006VEENA D JOSHI SUMMARY: Background: Urinalysis is not a standard component of health screening in the elderly population. Objective: We investigated the prevalence and risk factors of undetected renal disease as defined by proteinuria (PR) in an elderly South-East Asian population. Method: There were 19 848 participants of age ,65 years in National Kidney Foundation's Nationwide Screening programme at Singapore. Mean age was 70.6 ± 5.3 years. After excluding the 1.1% who had pre-existing renal disease, 8.5% were identified to have previously undetected PR defined as ,1+ protein on urine dipstick analysis. Multivariate regression revealed that male gender (OR = 1.2, reference category (Ref): female), known diabetes (odds ratio (OR) = 2.28; P < 0.0001), hypertension (OR = 1.62; P = 0.0001), presence of elevated blood pressure (BP) (,120/90 mmHg) on screening (OR = 1.38, 1.89, 3.45 for mild, moderate and severe BP, respectively, all P < 0.0001), elevated body mass index (BMI) (OR = 1.3 for BMI ,23 vs BMI < 23 kg/m2), and smoking (OR = 1.2, ref: non-smokers) were significantly associated with PR. Finally, a progressive increase in OR for PR was observed with stepwise increase in age (years) (OR for 67,68.9: 1.2, P = 0.025; 69,72.9, 1.49, P = 0.49; ,73: 1.56, P < 0.0001, Ref: 65,66.9 years). Conclusion: We conclude that there is high prevalence of previously undetected proteinuria in elderly South-East Asians. Because proteinuria is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, our findings support inclusion of urinalysis in routine health screening for this population. [source] Silicified Upper Ordovician trilobites from Pai-Khoi, Arctic RussiaPALAEONTOLOGY, Issue 6 2009ROBERT M. OWENS Abstract:, A collection of silicified trilobites extracted from samples obtained by F. Nansen from the Upper Ordovician of Khabarovo, Pai Khoi, Russian Arctic is dominated by two new species of the proetide Lasarchopyge, a genus known hitherto only from the Argentine Precordillera. Comparison of Lasarchopyge with Scharyia reveals a range of common characters that support inclusion of both genera in the same family. The rest of the fauna comprises a metagnostid (Trinodus elspethi), an asaphid (Isotelus sp.), two remopleuridids (Remopleurides cf. caelatus and R. sp. nov. A), an aulacopleurid (Harpidella triloba), a lichid and an odontopleurid (Apianurus cf. barbatus), the last two being represented by very fragmentary material. T. elspethi, H. triloba, R. cf. caelatus and A. cf. barbatus are common to or closely resemble taxa from the Edinburg Formation, Virginia. Closely related taxa are present also in the Esbataottine Formation, NW Territories, Canada, and in the Albany Group, Girvan district, Scotland. All of these occurrences are of early Caradoc (Sandbian) age, and most lay at palaeolatitudes of 20°,30° south; all are interpreted as having been deposited on the outer shelf, which is consistent with their distribution. [source] Communication and decision-making about seeking inherited cancer risk information: findings from female survivor-relative focus groupsPSYCHO-ONCOLOGY, Issue 3 2006Suzanne Mellon Abstract Dramatic advances in cancer genetics and identification of germline mutations in cancer genes such as BRCA1 and BRCA2 have led to new options in genetic risk assessment for families with histories of breast and ovarian cancer. However, little research has been carried out with individuals and their families regarding how cancer risk information is communicated within families and factors that may affect individuals and family members making informed decisions about their health. This study explored participants' knowledge of cancer risk, their perceptions and concerns regarding inherited cancer risk information, family communication patterns, and factors that may affect their decision to learn about inherited cancer risk in their families. Nine focus groups of family dyads were conducted (N=39) consisting of breast or ovarian cancer patients and close female relatives. All transcribed interviews were analyzed using qualitative software. Key findings showed diversity in how families communicated and made decisions about their health, persistent worry for their families, lack of knowledge about inherited cancer, vigilance in watching their health, and barriers present in communicating about genetic risk. Results from this study support inclusion of family members in addressing inherited cancer risk information and contextual family factors critical to consider in potentially high risk families. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Mothers' evaluation of their caregiving for premature and full-term infants through the first year: Contributing factorsRESEARCH IN NURSING & HEALTH, Issue 3 2001Karen Pridham Abstract We explored change in mothers' evaluations of their caregiving through the first postterm year for full-term infants and for prematurely born, very low birth-weight infants with a history of lung disease, and we examined the contribution to this evaluation of infant, family, and mother conditions. Fifty-four mothers of premature infants and 49 mothers of full-term infants evaluated their caregiving relationship, performance, and satisfaction at 1, 4, 8, and 12 months infant postterm age. In addition, at the same intervals,1, 4, 8, and 12 months,mothers rated their symptoms of depression, infant responsiveness, and satisfaction with help from husband or partner. Positive and negative feeding behaviors of mother and of infant were rated from videotapes. Regression analysis, which included all rated variables, infant birth maturity/lung health status, and number of children in the mother's care, showed that the 1-month assessment differed significantly from the assessments at 4, 8, and 12 months. All conditions, except for infant birth maturity/lung health status and mother's positive feeding behavior, were significantly associated with caregiving evaluation. Findings support inclusion of infant, family, and mother conditions in a caregiving evaluation model. Infant responsiveness may be particularly salient to a mother's caregiving evaluation. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Res Nurs Health 24: 157,169, 2001 [source] |