A pilot survey of junior doctors' confidence in tasks related to broad aspects of competence.

Medical authorities and society are recommending that postgraduate medical education prepare physicians for broad aspects of competence. The most effective ways to prepare physicians for these are not known. The aim of this pilot study was to survey junior doctors' growth in confidence in different physician roles.

Structure-based design of isoquinoline-5-sulfonamide inhibitors of protein kinase B.

Structure-based drug design of novel isoquinoline-5-sulfonamide inhibitors of PKB as potential antitumour agents was investigated. Constrained pyrrolidine analogues that mimicked the bound conformation of linear prototypes were identified and investigated by co-crystal structure determinations with the related protein PKA. Detailed variation in the binding modes between inhibitors with similar overall conformations was observed.

Glial-specific ablation of angiotensinogen lowers arterial pressure in renin and angiotensinogen transgenic mice.

Angiotensinogen (AGT) is mainly expressed in glial cells in close proximity to renin-expressing neurons in the brain. We previously reported that glial-specific overexpression of ANG II results in mild hypertension. Here, we tested the hypothesis that glial-derived AGT plays an important role in blood pressure regulation in hypertensive mice carrying human renin (hREN) and human AGT transgenes under the control of their own endogenous promoters.

Data collection and study implementation.

Every step of the research process involves decisions that must be made. In almost all cases, there are many possible choices, and none of them is wrong. However, it is up to the researcher to consider all of the options and systematically eliminate possibilities based on a theoretical framework, previous findings and methods described in the literature, or circumstances specific to each research question.

Measurement of serum IgG in foals by radial immunodiffusion and automated turbidimetric immunoassay.

Hypogammaglobulinemia as a result of failure of transfer of passive immunity (FTPI) is an important risk factor for infectious disease in neonatal foals. The current gold standard for determining serum immunoglobulin concentrations is radial immunodiffusion (RID). The purpose of this study was to compare immunoglobulin concentrations measured by RID with those determined by an automated turbidimetric immunoassay (TIA), which has a much shorter turnaround time.

Using gloves coated with a dermal therapy formula to improve skin condition.

Thirty-one health care workers, of whom 24 (77%) were perioperative nurses, evaluated a new nonlatex surgical glove with a coating consisting of ingredients clinically proven to have beneficial effects on skin health. In this one-day, clinical self-assessment study, nurses and other health care workers compared the condition of the skin on their hands before and after wearing these surgical gloves. Eighty-one percent of the perioperative nurses and health care workers rated the skin on the hand that had worn the glove as less dry than it had been at baseline.

Lead exposure and attention regulation in children living in poverty.

This study examined the relationship between lead exposure and attention regulation in children from low-income families. Children with lead exposure were expected to have lower attention regulation abilities than children who were not exposed. The 57 participants (39% male, 61% female) were children aged 4 and 5 years (mean age 4y 7mo [SD 5mo]); 24 children were lead-exposed (10-29microg/dl) and 33 were non-exposed comparisons (1-6microg/dl).

Parent-child interaction and attention regulation in children born prematurely.

Issues And Purpose: The goal of this pilot study was to understand attention behaviors in extremely low-birth-weight (ELBW) children within the context of parent-child interactions and their relation to the child's independent performance.

Design And Methods: Parent-child and child-alone puzzle matching tasks, demographics, and IQ were measured in a sample of 15 4-year-olds who weighed <1000 g at birth and were free from major disability.

Results: A self-regulated and efficient strategy during the parent-child puzzle was related to using an efficient strategy when working alone.

Selecting and using research instruments.

Many factors must be considered in planning and implementing research. Scientific reasons for decisions are important, but so are practical considerations. The suggestions made throughout this column are based on experience and may seem to some to be simply "common sense.

Attachment style and subjective motivations for sex.

The relation of attachment style to subjective motivations for sex was investigated in an Internet survey of 1999 respondents. The relations of attachment anxiety and avoidance to overall sexual motivation and to the specific motives for emotional closeness, reassurance, self-esteem enhancement, stress reduction, partner manipulation, protection from partner's negative affect and behavior, power exertion, physical pleasure, nurturing one's partner, and procreation were explored. As predicted, attachment anxiety was positively related to overall sexual motivation and to all specific motives for sex, with the exception of physical pleasure.

Paraprofessional support for pregnant & parenting women.

Purpose: To review evidence regarding the role of paraprofessional support in improving maternal and infant outcomes in pregnant and parenting women. Although support provided by significant others (social support), by professionals, and by paraprofessionals are frequently considered together in literature reviews, this is inappropriate because the components of the support in each case differ.

Data Sources: Data were limited to published studies.

Physical, emotional, and behavioral reactions to breaking up: the roles of gender, age, emotional involvement, and attachment style.

Associations between gender, age, emotional involvement, and attachment style and reactions to romantic relationship dissolution were studied in a survey of more than 5,000 Internet respondents. It was hypothesized that individual reactions to breakups would be congruent with characteristic attachment behaviors and affect-regulation strategies generally associated with attachment style. Attachment-related anxiety was associated with greater preoccupation with the lost partner, greater perseveration over the loss, more extreme physical and emotional distress, exaggerated attempts to reestablish the relationship, partner-related sexual motivation, angry and vengeful behavior, interference with exploratory activities, dysfunctional coping strategies, and disordered resolution.

Validity and reliability: part I.

Internal and external validity of a study determine the generalizability of its findings. Measurement reliability and validity, which also have an impact on the overall validity of the study, will be discussed in the next column. Although the concepts have been pulled apart for this discussion, all of these factors influence the overall confidence with which researchers can say that they have measured what was intended and that the findings can be applied to a larger population of individuals.

Toward an empirical approach to evidentiary ruling.

This paper responds to criticisms/misconstruals of our measure of the maximum probative value of evidence (D. Davis & W. C.

Types of research designs.

An experimental design is necessary for making cause-and-effect judgments about study variables. Although most researchers would agree that the experimental design is desirable, such a design is not possible or appropriate for every study--and even without an experimental design for support of the hypothesis, enough evidence might exist for a researcher to feel somewhat comfortable that variable X causes Y. At the very least, it can be demonstrated that X is always related to Y in some number of settings, with multiple samples of subjects and with controls for as many variables as possible.

Social and professional support for pregnant and parenting women.

Purpose: A literature review to contrast the role of social and professional support in improving maternal and infant outcomes in pregnant and parenting women. In addition, recommendations are made for future research and policy and program development concerning support needed by pregnant and parenting women.

Data Sources: Data were limited to published studies.

Cognitive outcomes in school-age children born prematurely.

The purpose of this article is to discuss findings in the literature regarding long-term developmental outcomes of infants born prematurely, to examine potential causes of individual differences in these outcomes, and to explore directions for future research. An extensive table summarizes recent (1996-2002) international studies of developmental outcomes among children of school age and older who were born with low birth weight, especially as the studies relate to cognitive development and academic performance. The discussion then examines how characteristics of the child and the environment may interact to produce individual differences in outcomes.

Physiological significance of two common haplotypes of human angiotensinogen using gene targeting in the mouse.

Angiotensinogen (AGT) was the first gene to be genetically linked to hypertension in humans. Analysis of the gene sequence identified a number of polymorphisms, several of which were reported associated with increased blood pressure (BP) or other cardiovascular diseases. One haplotype of the human AGT (hAGT) gene consisting of an allele at the -6 (A vs.

Rethinking the probative value of evidence: base rates, intuitive profiling, and the "postdiction" of behavior.

It is argued that American courts may be routinely admitting evidence with little to no probative value and great potential for prejudicial impact. This may be particularly likely with regard to what is essentially "intuitive profiling" or "stereotype" related evidence, defined herein as evidence suggesting that the defendant (or other party), or his (her) behavior, fits intuitive "profiles" (or stereotypes) of the type of person likely to commit the crime or behavior in question. In other words, "intuitive profiling" evidence is admitted to "postdict" behavior Formal empirically based "profiling" evidence (testimony regarding the fit of a defendants characteristics or behaviors to formal or scientific profiles of the typical perpetrator of the crime in question) for use to prove guilt is inadmissible in American courts.