Development of a Simulation-Based Mastery Learning Curriculum for Breaking Bad News

Introduction

Physician communication impacts patient outcomes. However, communication skills, especially around difficult conversations, remain suboptimal, and there is no clear way to determine the validity of entrustment decisions. The aims of this study were to 1) describe the development of a simulation-based mastery learning (SBML) curriculum for breaking bad news (BBN) conversation skills and 2) set a defensible minimum passing standard (MPS) to ensure uniform skill acquisition among learners.

Motivation for participating in phase 1 vaccine trials: Comparison of an influenza and an Ebola randomized controlled trial

Introduction/Hypothesis

Recruitment of participants into phase 1 vaccine clinical trials can be challenging since these vaccines have not been used in humans and there is no perceived benefit to the participant. Occasionally, as was the case with a phase 1 clinical trial of an Ebola vaccine in Halifax, Canada, during the 2014–2016 West African Ebola virus outbreak, recruitment is less difficult. In this study, we explored the motivations of participants in two phase 1 vaccine trials that were concurrently enrolling at the same centre and compared the motivations of participants in a high-profile phase 1 Ebola vaccine trial to those in a less high-profile phase 1 adjuvanted seasonal influenza vaccine study.

Calculation of the Biological Efficiency of the Proton Component from 14.8 MeV Neutron Irradiation in Computational Biology with Help of Video Cards

Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine - Fast neutron therapy, which previously has demonstrated effective results, but along with a large number of complications, can again be considered a...     

Health-Related Quality of Life in KEYNOTE-010: a Phase II/III Study of Pembrolizumab Versus Docetaxel in Patients With Previously Treated Advanced,Programmed Death Ligand 1–Expressing NSCLC

Introduction

In the phase II/III KEYNOTE-010 study (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01905657), pembrolizumab significantly prolonged overall survival over docetaxel in patients with previously treated, programmed death ligand 1–expressing (tumor proportion score ≥ 1%), advanced NSCLC. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) results are reported here.

Predicting the initial spread of novel Asian origin influenza A viruses in the continental USA by wild waterfowl

Using data on waterfowl band recoveries, we identified spatially explicit hotspots of concentrated waterfowl movement to predict occurrence and spatial spread of a novel influenza A virus (clade 2.3.4.4) introduced from Asia by waterfowl from an initial outbreak in North America in November 2014. In response to the outbreak, the hotspots of waterfowl movement were used to help guide sampling for clade 2.3.4.4 viruses in waterfowl as an early warning for the US poultry industry during the outbreak . After surveillance sampling of waterfowl, we tested whether there was greater detection of clade 2.3.4.4 viruses inside hotspots. We found that hotspots defined using kernel density estimates of waterfowl band recoveries worked well in predicting areas with higher prevalence of the viruses in waterfowl. This approach exemplifies the value of ecological knowledge in predicting risk to agricultural security.