Benefits of communication skills training after real patient exposure

The established communication skills training (CST) curriculum consists of continuous education, frequent practice with real patients, supervision and feedback from medical teachers. The limitation of this curriculum is that students have to directly apply the theoretical basis they are provided with to real patients. To improve the existing CST curriculum a CST module involving simulated patients was introduced in order to develop more complex communication skills.

Miotic action of tramadol is determined by CYP2D6 genotype

Polymorphic CYP2D6 is the enzyme that activates the opioid analgesic tramadol by O-demethylation to M1. Our objective was to determine the opioid effects measured by pupillary response to tramadol of CYP2D6 genotyped volunteers in relation to the disposition of tramadol and M1 in plasma. Tramadol displayed phenotypic pharmacokinetics and it was possible to identify PM subjects with >99% confidence from the metabolic ratio (MR) in a single blood sample taken between 2.5 and 24 h post-dose. Homozygous extensive metabolizers (EM) differed from poor metabolizers (PM), with an almost three-fold greater (P=0.0014) mean maximal pupillary constriction (Emax). Significant correlations between the AUC and Cmax values of M1 versus pupillary constriction were found. The corresponding correlations of pharmacokinetic parameters for tramadol itself were weaker and negative. The strongest correlations were for the single-point metabolic ratios at all sampling intervals versus the effects, with rs ranging from 0.85 to 0.89 (p0.01). It is concluded that the concept of dual opioid/non-opioid action of the drug, though considerably stronger in EMs, is valid for both EM and PM subjects. This is the theoretical basis for the frequent use and satisfactory efficacy of tramadol in clinical practice when given to genetically non-selected population.

Factors influencing the quality of the consultation process

Sport psychology services have become to be an important brick stone when building athletic success. The strive for better performance is not only a characteristic of athletes, but of the whole support system in top level sport including sport psychology. Sport psychology consultants are permanently challenged to deliver highest quality services to their clients if they do not want to lose their contracts. Sport psychologists are continuously improving their consulting skills, learn new intervention techniques, read scientific papers and, last but not least, gain experience by accumulating hours of deliberate practice (Ericsson) in sport psychology. Even with increasing experience, the consultant has a certain number of degrees of freedom and has to make a series of decisions about how he or she wants to work. Quality, however, depends on a number of issues, and not all of them are under direct control of the consultant. It is argued that, in order for these choices being good, the following factors - among others - must be considered: Who is seeking assistance? What are the "issues and problems" (Gardner & Moore, 2006) the athlete is confronted with? What kind of approaches do fit with the client's need? Who is the 'client' the sport psychologist is supposed to work with? If it is a team, is the sport psychologist supposed to work with a number of individuals, with the coach, or with the whole system? Where are the boundaries of the system? What is the role of the sport psychologist in the sport system? All these issues directly affect the process and outcome quality of the sport psychology consultant. A sound theoretical basis, in connection with a distinct philosophy of the intervention, is an important cornerstone for the quality of sport psychology consultation.

A g-factor metric for k-t-GRAPPA- and PEAK-GRAPPA-based parallel imaging.

PURPOSE The aim of this work is to derive a theoretical framework for quantitative noise and temporal fidelity analysis of time-resolved k-space-based parallel imaging methods. THEORY An analytical formalism of noise distribution is derived extending the existing g-factor formulation for nontime-resolved generalized autocalibrating partially parallel acquisition (GRAPPA) to time-resolved k-space-based methods. The noise analysis considers temporal noise correlations and is further accompanied by a temporal filtering analysis. METHODS All methods are derived and presented for k-t-GRAPPA and PEAK-GRAPPA. A sliding window reconstruction and nontime-resolved GRAPPA are taken as a reference. Statistical validation is based on series of pseudoreplica images. The analysis is demonstrated on a short-axis cardiac CINE dataset. RESULTS The superior signal-to-noise performance of time-resolved over nontime-resolved parallel imaging methods at the expense of temporal frequency filtering is analytically confirmed. Further, different temporal frequency filter characteristics of k-t-GRAPPA, PEAK-GRAPPA, and sliding window are revealed. CONCLUSION The proposed analysis of noise behavior and temporal fidelity establishes a theoretical basis for a quantitative evaluation of time-resolved reconstruction methods. Therefore, the presented theory allows for comparison between time-resolved parallel imaging methods and also nontime-resolved methods. Magn Reson Med, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Comparative Study of Digital Rights Management Systems for Music and Text Files

Digital Rights Management Systems (DRMS) are seen by content providers as the appropriate tool to, on the one hand, fight piracy and, on the other hand, monetize their assets. Although these systems claim to be very powerful and include multiple protection technologies, there is a lack of understanding about how such systems are currently being implemented and used by content providers. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, it provides a theoretical basis through which we present shortly the seven core protection technologies of a DRMS. Second, this paper provides empirical evidence that the seven protection technologies outlined in the first section of this paper are the most commonly used technologies. It further evaluates to what extent these technologies are being used within the music and print industry. It concludes that the three main Technologies are encryption, password, and payment systems. However, there are some industry differences: the number of protection technologies used, the requirements for a DRMS, the required investment, or the perceived success of DRMS in fighting piracy.

Theoretical framework for the assessment of vulnerability to natural hazards and climate change [in Europe]

Reducing risk that emerges from hazards of natural origin and societal vulnerability is a key challenge for the development of more resilient communities and the overall goal of sustainable development. The following chapter outlines a framework for multidimensional, holistic vulnerability assessment that is understood as part of risk evaluation and risk management in the context of Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA). As a heuristic, the framework is a thinking tool to guide systematic assessments of vulnerability and to provide a basis for comparative indicators and criteria development to assess key factors and various dimensions of vulnerability, particularly in regions in Europe, however, it can also be applied in other world regions. The framework has been developed within the context of the research project MOVE (Methods for the Improvement of Vulnerability Assessment in Europe; ) sponsored by the European Commission within the framework of the FP 7 program.

The importance of socio-cultural factors on sports behaviour of adolescents and young adults in Switzerland – a conceptualisation on the basis of the habitus-approach

Sport participation has often been the topic in sports science and it could be shown that in Europe the population of northern and western countries are more often physically active than southern and eastern countries (European Commission, 2014). In Switzerland the physical activity of the Swiss population also differs between the linguistic regions. The German speaking population is more often physically active than the French or Italian speaking part (Stamm & Lamprecht, 2008). To explain the differences in sport participation structural and cultural factors have been discussed. Because within a country homogenous structural conditions can be assumed, the aim of this study is to analyse how socio-cultural factors correlate with sport participation of adolescents and young adults. In order to analyse this research question, Bourdieu’s concept of habitus (1984) has been used as theoretical background. This sport-related concept of habitus considers cultural determined values, the attribution of meaning and patterns of action which is socially determined and have an influence on individual actions and therefore also on the sport practise. On this basis, a qualitative study including guideline-based interviews with German (n=5) and French (n=3) speaking adolescents and young adults at the age of 16 to 24 (M=21.4) were held in two different linguistic regions of Switzerland. To analyse the interviews the documentary method was applied (Bohnsack, 2010). Initial findings reveal that there are different sport related values, attributions of meanings and patterns of action also called framework of orientations concerning topics like body, health and leisure which correlate with the habitual sports practise in the two different linguistic regions. This study illustrates that the habitus is culturally shaped and that it could help to understand the meaning of socio-cultural factors for sport participation.

Dispersion relation for hadronic light-by-light scattering: theoretical foundations

In this paper we make a further step towards a dispersive description of the hadronic light-by-light (HLbL) tensor, which should ultimately lead to a data-driven evaluation of its contribution to (g − 2) μ . We first provide a Lorentz decomposition of the HLbL tensor performed according to the general recipe by Bardeen, Tung, and Tarrach, generalizing and extending our previous approach, which was constructed in terms of a basis of helicity amplitudes. Such a tensor decomposition has several advantages: the role of gauge invariance and crossing symmetry becomes fully transparent; the scalar coefficient functions are free of kinematic singularities and zeros, and thus fulfill a Mandelstam double-dispersive representation; and the explicit relation for the HLbL contribution to (g − 2) μ in terms of the coefficient functions simplifies substantially. We demonstrate explicitly that the dispersive approach defines both the pion-pole and the pion-loop contribution unambiguously and in a model-independent way. The pion loop, dispersively defined as pion-box topology, is proven to coincide exactly with the one-loop scalar QED amplitude, multiplied by the appropriate pion vector form factors.

Granular computing as a basis of human–data interaction: a cognitive cities use case

The article proposes granular computing as a theoretical, formal and methodological basis for the newly emerging research field of human–data interaction (HDI). We argue that the ability to represent and reason with information granules is a prerequisite for data legibility. As such, it allows for extending the research agenda of HDI to encompass the topic of collective intelligence amplification, which is seen as an opportunity of today’s increasingly pervasive computing environments. As an example of collective intelligence amplification in HDI, we introduce a collaborative urban planning use case in a cognitive city environment and show how an iterative process of user input and human-oriented automated data processing can support collective decision making. As a basis for automated human-oriented data processing, we use the spatial granular calculus of granular geometry.