Symptomatic management of fever by Swiss board-certified pediatricians: results from a cross-sectional, Web-based survey

Symptomatic management is often all that is recommended in children with fever. To date, only 2 nationwide surveys of pediatricians regarding their attitudes toward fever have been published.

Human urine certified reference material CZ 6010: creatinine and toluene metabolites (hippuric acid and o-cresol) and a benzene metabolite (phenol)

A reference material for the biological monitoring of occupational exposure to toluene, benzene and phenol was prepared. O-cresol and hippuric acid (metabolites of toluene) are used for the biological monitoring of occupational exposure to toluene. Phenol, a metabolite of benzene, is used for the biological monitoring of exposure to benzene, but phenol can of course also be used as an indicator of exposure to phenol as well. The reference material (RM) used for the determination of these metabolites was prepared by freeze-drying pooled urine samples obtained from healthy persons occupationally exposed to toluene and those taking part in an inhalation experiment. Tests for homogeneity and stability were performed by determining urine concentrations of o-cresol, hippuric acid, creatinine and phenol. To investigate the stability of the RM, the urinary concentrations of o-cresol and phenol were monitored for eighteen months using GC and HPLC, while those of hippuric acid and creatinine were followed for five and six years, respectively, using HPLC. Analysis of variance showed that the concentrations did not change. The certified concentration values (and their uncertainties) of the substances in this reference material (phenol concentration c=6.46+/-0.58 mg l(-1); o-cresol concentration c=1.17+/-0.15 mg l(-1); hippuric acid concentration c=1328+/-30 mg l(-1); creatinine concentration c=0.82+/-0.10 g l(-1)) were evaluated via the interactive statistical programme IPECA.

The impact of the achievement motive on athletic performance in adolescent football players

Researchers largely agree that there is a positive relationship between achievement motivation and athletic performance, which is why the achievement motive is viewed as a potential criterion for talent. However, the underlying mechanism behind this relationship remains unclear. In talent and performance models, main effect, mediator and moderator models have been suggested. A longitudinal study was carried out among 140 13-year-old football talents, using structural equation modelling to determine which model best explains how hope for success (HS) and fear of failure (FF), which are the aspects of the achievement motive, motor skills and abilities that affect performance. Over a period of half a year, HS can to some extent explain athletic performance, but this relationship is not mediated by the volume of training, sport-specific skills or abilities, nor is the achievement motive a moderating variable. Contrary to expectations, FF does not explain any part of performance. Aside from HS, however, motor abilities and in particular skills also predict a significant part of performance. The study confirms the widespread assumption that the development of athletic performance in football depends on multiple factors, and in particular that HS is worth watching in the medium term as a predictor of talent.

Book Review: M. Holoubek, D. Damjanovic, M. Trainer: Regulating Content. The European Regulatory Framework for the Media and Related Creative Sectors

Review of 'Regulating Content - The European Regulatory Framework for the Media and Related Creative Sectors', by M. Holoubek, D. Damjanovic, M. Trainer (Alphen aan den Rijn: Kluwer Law International, 2007), including some thoughts on contemporary media regulation.

Experience with the delegation of anaesthesia for disbudding and castration to trained and certified livestock owners

BACKGROUND: Anaesthesia is mandatory for disbudding and castrating calves and lambs of any age, in Switzerland. According to the "anaesthesia delegation model" (ADM), anaesthesia for disbudding calves <3 weeks of age and castrating calves and lambs <2 weeks of age may be administered by certified farmers. Experience with this unique model is not available. The aim was to evaluate the experience of the veterinary practitioners with the ADM. The response rate was 42%. The survey consisted of one questionnaire for each procedure. Procedure I was the delegation of anaesthesia for disbudding calves and procedures II and III were anaesthesia for castrating calves and lambs. RESULTS: Procedure I was performed with local anaesthesia in all farms of 51.8% of the veterinary practices, while this was only 39.3% and 7.6% for procedures II and III (p < 0.001). Anaesthesia for procedure I was administered technically correctly by farmers in at least 66% of the farms of 58.3% of the practitioners, while this was 45.4% and only 23.6% for procedures II and III (p < 0.001). The ADM was assessed as a moderate to very good model to reinforce the legal obligations for procedures I, II, or III by 74.8%, 76.5% and 62.0% of the veterinary practitioners (p < 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: The delegation of anaesthesia to certified farmers may be a promising model to reinforce the obligation to provide local anaesthesia for disbudding and castrating calves, but to a lesser extent for castrating lambs.

Sports after Busy Work: Work-Related Cognitive Failure Corresponds to Risk Bearing Behaviors and Athletic Injury

Although employees are encouraged to take exercise after work to keep physically fit, they should not suffer injury. Some sports injuries that occur after work appear to be work-related and preventable. This study investigated whether cognitive failure mediates the influence of mental work demands and conscientiousness on risk-taking and risky and unaware behaviour during after-work sports activities. Participants were 129 employees (36% female) who regularly took part in team sports after work. A structural equation model showed that work-related cognitive failure significantly mediated the influence of mental work demands on risky behaviour during sports (p < .05) and also mediated the directional link between conscientiousness and risky behaviour during sports (p < .05). A path from risky behaviour during sports to sports injuries in the last four weeks was also significant (p < .05). Performance constraints, time pressure, and task uncertainty are likely to increase cognitive load and thereby boost cognitive failures both during work and sports activities after work. Some sports injuries after work could be prevented by addressing the issue of work redesign.

A certified plasmid reference material for the standardisation of BCR-ABL1 mRNA quantification by real-time quantitative PCR.

Serial quantification of BCR-ABL1 mRNA is an important therapeutic indicator in chronic myeloid leukaemia, but there is a substantial variation in results reported by different laboratories. To improve comparability, an internationally accepted plasmid certified reference material (CRM) was developed according to ISO Guide 34:2009. Fragments of BCR-ABL1 (e14a2 mRNA fusion), BCR and GUSB transcripts were amplified and cloned into pUC18 to yield plasmid pIRMM0099. Six different linearised plasmid solutions were produced with the following copy number concentrations, assigned by digital PCR, and expanded uncertainties: 1.08±0.13 × 10(6), 1.08±0.11 × 10(5), 1.03±0.10 × 10(4), 1.02±0.09 × 10(3), 1.04±0.10 × 10(2) and 10.0±1.5 copies/μl. The certification of the material for the number of specific DNA fragments per plasmid, copy number concentration of the plasmid solutions and the assessment of inter-unit heterogeneity and stability were performed according to ISO Guide 35:2006. Two suitability studies performed by 63 BCR-ABL1 testing laboratories demonstrated that this set of 6 plasmid CRMs can help to standardise a number of measured transcripts of e14a2 BCR-ABL1 and three control genes (ABL1, BCR and GUSB). The set of six plasmid CRMs is distributed worldwide by the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (Belgium) and its authorised distributors (https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/reference-materials/catalogue/; CRM code ERM-AD623a-f).

Post-H1N1 Flu Vaccination Narcolepsy in Switzerland: A Retrospective Survey in the 30 Sleep-Certified Swiss Centers

Narcolepsy-cataplexy is a sleep-wake disorder and suggested to be immune-mediated, involving genetic and environmental factors. The autoimmune process eventually leads to a loss of hypocretin neurons in the lateral hypothalamus. Epidemiological studies in several countries proved an increased incidence of narcolepsy after H1N1 flu vaccination and infection. This survey in 30 sleep centers in Switzerland led to the identification of 9 H1N1-vaccinated children and adults as newly diagnosed narcolepsy. Clinical features included the abrupt and severe onset of sleepiness, cataplexy and sleep fragmentation.