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The appropriateness of attending a patient's funeral is a medical dilemma. This article focuses on 437 doctors who participated in an online survey. Seventy-one percent of general practitioners, 67% of oncologists, 67% of psychiatrists, 63% of palliative medicine specialists, 52% of surgeons, and 22% of intensive care specialists had attended patient funerals. Significant differences in demographics and between specialties were identified in terms of barriers and benefits associated with attendance. Although attendance is a personal decision, there is a need for open discussions in medical education and professional development concerning death and the role of doctors after a patient dies.

Does a fictional cyborg have ancestors? I think the answer must be yes, but as Adelheid Voskuhl has informed us, that ancestry might be a good deal more complicated than we realize. Consider the ca...

Background: Current models of care for people with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have been demonstrated to be inadequate, particularly in areas such as advance care planning, symptom control and psychosocial and spiritual care. Aim: This paper aims to explore how a model of patient-centred care can incorporate a palliative approach to form a practical and useful framework for care that meets the needs of people with advanced COPD. Discussion: There is increasing recognition of the need to provide active disease management at the same time as supportive care for people with chronic disease. A palliative approach can incorporate these two care imperatives but a number of barriers often make implementation problematic. A patient-centred care approach can help to address these barriers and is increasingly being seen as an appropriate framework for all healthcare service provision. Significant changes are required to health systems and service provision for this model of care to be implemented; specialist palliative care services can take a leading role in change management. Conclusion: Patient-centred care provides an appropriate framework for the development of a model of care for advanced COPD. It allows for a need-based approach to service provision, rather than the current prognosis-based system and brings patient and carer needs and concerns to the forefront of care. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

This study evaluated a calorie labeling intervention in Kaiser Permanente Hospital cafeterias. Three cafeteria conditions were no labeling; calorie and nutrient labeling on posters only; posters plus point-of-purchase menu board calorie labeling. More respondents noticed calorie information at poster plus menu board sites than at poster-only sites (P < 0.05). Over 80% of patrons supported provision of calorie information. There was a significant increase in purchases of lower calorie side dishes (P < 0.0001) and snacks (P = 0.006) at the menu board site, compared with the no-labeling site. These findings support the premise that menu labeling can be useful in worksite wellness initiatives.

This study examined food and beverage preferences of emergency food program (EFP) clients of the Food Bank of Central New York (Food Bank). Findings suggest that food pantry clients prefer to receive meat/poultry/fish, vegetables, and fruit over soda, candy, and snack foods. This new information supports the effort being made by the Food Bank to limit foods of minimal nutritional value while focusing on increasing distribution of donated and purchased fruits and vegetables. Limitations on the distribution of fresh fruits and vegetables in the emergency food program should be made on the basis of cost, availability, and infrastructure, rather than on the basis of perceived client or staff preferences to the contrary.

Obesity rates are rising in the United States; less obvious, but equally alarming, are the increased disparities in the rates. Rates of change for racial/ethnic minorities are significantly greater than those of whites, making it critical for those in the obesity field to better understand the differentially changing food and physical environments that are at the root of these recent trends. The solution to stemming the rising obesity epidemic must be a coordinated multi-level environmental approach, involving multiple solutions from various government, local community, school, health care, and other groups. Only then can disparities in obesity be reduced.

Detailed acoustic surveys of benthic sediments were conducted in July 1995 and September 1998 in the vicinity of Humboldt Bay, California. During these surveys, a band of enhanced acoustic backscatter was observed offshore from the bay entrance, approximately parallel to the isobaths, in water depths ranging from 16–24 m. In order to assess the cause of the increase in backscatter levels, a more comprehensive study was conducted in August and September 1999 using 100 kHz side-scan sonar, bottom grab sampling and underwater video recording. New observations indicated that a dense population of sand dollars (Dendraster excentricus) coincided with the enhanced backscatter band. Compared to the two previous acoustic studies, the central section of the band expanded westward by 180 m and the southern section of the band shifted eastward by 160 m, possibly resulting from a change in the biological or physical factors which influence the location and breadth of sand dollars. The relationship between hig...

In the last 20 years, single-subject research designs have become important forms of aphasia-treatment research for assessing the effectiveness of treatment on a subject-by-subject (or patient-by-patient) basis. In that time, several important developments in the statistical literature centring on the reliability and validity of single-subject research have occurred. This work assesses the state of aphasia-treatment single-subject research in the context of that scholarship and proposes recommendations for future applications through a tutorial-like presentation. This paper details the analysis of published single subject results and proposes recommendations concerning future applications of single-subject designs. The work focuses on four domains: designs, data, effect sizes, and analyses. The findings indicate that aphasia-treatment singlesubject studies, which are well designed for the most part, yield a short series of autocorrelated data manifesting generally large treatment effects. However, only on...

The depletion of aqueous nitrous acid was studied at 298 K and at slightly greater than atmospheric, pressure. Solutions containing nitrous and nitric acids were contacted with nitrogen in towers packed with 6- and 13-mm Intalox saddles. The results indicate the existence of two depletion mechanisms for the conditions studied—liquid-phase decomposition and direct desorption of nitrous acid. Models based on mass-transfer and chemical-kinetic information are presented to explain the experimental results.

The process of mouth and coelom formation in exogastrulae of the starfish, Pisaster ochraceus, induced by LiCl, has been studied with the light microscope, scanning and transmission electron microscopes. Bending and segmentation of the exogastrulated archenteron with the formation of either single or double coelomic pouches follows the same schedule as the control. In addition, a region of the exogastrular ectoderm, which corresponds to the area of the mouth in controls, undergoes invagination. Early morphogenesis of the archenteron and invagination of the ectoderm during mouth formation appear to be intrinsic properties of these structures. At the time of mouth formation in the controls, a discrete region adjacent to the distal end of the exogastrulated archenteron becomes sticky. Examination of this region shows that the surfaces of the archenteron cells are relatively smooth and that processes of the mesenchyme cells extend between them. The evidence suggests that the mesenchyme cells are responsible f...

Although urea formaldehyde foam insulation (UFFI) is not a particularly good insulating material, because of its high initial water content and therefore its high volumetric shrinkage and known deterioration with age, it was installed in more than 80 000 Canadian homes before December, 1980, when its use was banned under the Hazardous Products Act. Subsequent studies in the laboratory and in the field have indicated that gases and/or particulales given off by UFFI cause illness in some people. This article discusses the nature of the problem and some of the studies carried out in Canada to improve understanding and develop methods of reducing exposure to the substances given off by the material.

The sera of horses with persistent infection by equine infectious anemia virus were examined for the presence of infectious virus-antibody complexes, Virus-containing sera were treated with rabbit anti-equine gamma globulin, rabbit anti-equine albumin, and normal rabbit serum. Infectivity remaining in the supernates was titrated in primary equine leukocyte cultures. In 2 of 3 sera anti-gamma globulin precipitated at least 2 log10 of viral infectivity using the anti-albumin and normal rabbit serum treatments as controls. This demonstrates that in some sera EIA virus circulates as an immune complex with antibody, possibly enhancing its ability to persist in the host by providing a continued source of virus for reinfection.

(1951). Training the National Service Army Officer at Eaton Hall. Royal United Services Institution. Journal: Vol. 96, No. 581, pp. 134-138.

(1936). Student Personnel Activites: The Evaluation of Higher Institutions, Number V: Student Personnel Service. The Journal of Higher Education: Vol. 7, No. 7, pp. 398-400.