Conditions for the career entry of Swiss sports science graduates.

The differentiation and commercialisation of the sports domain means that graduates with sports science degrees have more and more occupational fields to choose from. On the other hand, formal admissions criteria are becoming less important in sports-related occupations. This means that graduates need to pursue specific strategies to successfully embark on a ca-reer. This article examines which factors determine the career entry of sports science graduates in Switzerland. Aside from the starting salary, non-monetary aspects such as appropriateness of the job for the level of education and job stability were also considered. The empirical study draws on data from a sample of n = 1,054 graduates from all Swiss universities, analys-ing the career entry of sports science graduates. The results show that education-related as-pects (e.g., university degree) lead to higher incomes and jobs that are appropriate to one’s academic education; however, differences exist between the diverse occupational domains of sport. Furthermore, additional qualifications obtained by sports science graduates and volun-tary activities in the field of sport are both associated with higher incomes, particularly in oc-cupations outside sport. However, other factors (e.g., social networks, internships) produce no relevant effects.

Combinations of dexmedetomidine and alfaxalone with butorphanol in cats: application of an innovative stepwise optimisation method to identify optimal clinical doses for intramuscular anaesthesia

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to optimise dexmedetomidine and alfaxalone dosing, for intramuscular administration with butorphanol, to perform minor surgeries in cats. METHODS Initially, cats were assigned to one of five groups, each composed of six animals and receiving, in addition to 0.3 mg/kg butorphanol intramuscularly, one of the following: (A) 0.005 mg/kg dexmedetomidine, 2 mg/kg alfaxalone; (B) 0.008 mg/kg dexmedetomidine, 1.5 mg/kg alfaxalone; (C) 0.012 mg/kg dexmedetomidine, 1 mg/kg alfaxalone; (D) 0.005 mg/kg dexmedetomidine, 1 mg/kg alfaxalone; and (E) 0.012 mg/kg dexmedetomidine, 2 mg/kg alfaxalone. Thereafter, a modified 'direct search' method, conducted in a stepwise manner, was used to optimise drug dosing. The quality of anaesthesia was evaluated on the basis of composite scores (one for anaesthesia and one for recovery), visual analogue scales and the propofol requirement to suppress spontaneous movements. The medians or means of these variables were used to rank the treatments; 'unsatisfactory' and 'promising' combinations were identified to calculate, through the equation first described by Berenbaum in 1990, new dexmedetomidine and alfaxalone doses to be tested in the next step. At each step, five combinations (one new plus the best previous four) were tested. RESULTS None of the tested combinations resulted in adverse effects. Four steps and 120 animals were necessary to identify the optimal drug combination (0.014 mg/kg dexmedetomidine, 2.5 mg/kg alfaxalone and 0.3 mg/kg butorphanol). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The investigated drug mixture, at the doses found with the optimisation method, is suitable for cats undergoing minor clinical procedures.

Planning and reporting of quality-of-life outcomes in cancer trials.

BACKGROUND Information about the impact of cancer treatments on patients' quality of life (QoL) is of paramount importance to patients and treating oncologists. Cancer trials that do not specify QoL as an outcome or fail to report collected QoL data, omit crucial information for decision making. To estimate the magnitude of these problems, we investigated how frequently QoL outcomes were specified in protocols of cancer trials and subsequently reported. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study of RCT protocols approved by six research ethics committees in Switzerland, Germany, and Canada between 2000 and 2003. We compared protocols to corresponding publications, which were identified through literature searches and investigator surveys. RESULTS Of the 173 cancer trials, 90 (52%) specified QoL outcomes in their protocol, 2 (1%) as primary and 88 (51%) as secondary outcome. Of the 173 trials, 35 (20%) reported QoL outcomes in a corresponding publication (4 modified from the protocol), 18 (10%) were published but failed to report QoL outcomes in the primary or a secondary publication, and 37 (21%) were not published at all. Of the 83 (48%) trials that did not specify QoL outcomes in their protocol, none subsequently reported QoL outcomes. Failure to report pre-specified QoL outcomes was not associated with industry sponsorship (versus non-industry), sample size, and multicentre (versus single centre) status but possibly with trial discontinuation. CONCLUSIONS About half of cancer trials specified QoL outcomes in their protocols. However, only 20% reported any QoL data in associated publications. Highly relevant information for decision making is often unavailable to patients, oncologists, and health policymakers.