Mohamed Moody (lizardglue8)

Most tools (93%) assessed communication skills using in-person role play exercises with standardized (61%) or real (32%) patients, but only 54% described the expertise of the raters who performed the evaluations. Overall, reporting of the psychometric properties of the assessment tools was poor -moderate (4.5 ± 1.3 out of 9). CONCLUSION Despite identifying several existing physician communication assessment tools, a high degree of heterogeneity between these tools, in terms of skills assessed and study quality, was observed and most have been poorly validated. Research is needed to rigorously develop and validate accessible, convenient, "user-friendly" easy to administer and score communication assessment tools.OBJECTIVE Becoming widowed is associated with an increased risk of early mortality. Drawing on theoretical literature related to social support and health, the present study evaluated whether the quantity of close relationships might differentially moderate the relationship between marital status (widowed vs. married) and mortality risk 10 years later. METHOD Data were obtained from the National Social Life Health and Aging Project (NSHAP). A diverse group of older adults (N= 2,347) were interviewed three times over 10 years. Information about close friends/family, marital status, and mortality were gathered. Logistic regression and moderation analyses were used to test whether the quantity of close relationships conditioned the risk of death for married and widowed adults 10 years later. RESULTS The quantity of close relationships moderated the association between marital status and mortality risk (B = -0.35, SE = .11, p = 0.002). Compared to their married counterparts, widowed older adults who had fewer than 4-6 close relationships had an increased risk of death 10 years later (B = -0.35, SE = .09, p less then .001); similarly, among people who reported few close relationships, widowed adults had an increased risk of death compared to their married counterparts (B = 0.54, SE = .15, p less then .001). These findings remained significant after accounting for demographics, health behaviors/chronic health conditions, and psychological distress. This effect is comparable to the increased mortality risk associated with smoking cigarettes. CONCLUSIONS Having fewer than 4-6 close relationships is associated with an increased mortality risk for widowed older adults.PURPOSE To determine whether the pattern of carbohydrate sports drink ingestion during prolonged sub-maximal running affects exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rates and gastrointestinal (GI) comfort. METHODS Twelve well-trained male runners (27 ± 7 y, 67.9 ± 6.7 kg, V[Combining Dot Above]O2peak 68 ± 7 mL·kg·min) completed two exercise trials of 100 min steady state running at 70% V[Combining Dot Above]O2peak. In each of the trials, 1 L of a 10% dextrose solution, enriched with [U-C] glucose, was consumed as either 200 mL every 20 min (CHO-20) or 50 mL every 5 min (CHO-5). Expired breath and venous blood samples were collected at rest and every 20 min during exercise. Subjective scales of GI comfort were recorded at regular intervals. RESULTS Average exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rates were 23% higher during exercise in CHO-20 (0.38 ± 0.11 vs. 0.31 ± 0.11 g·min; P=0.017). Peak exogenous carbohydrate oxidation was also higher in CHO-20 (0.68 ± 0.14 g·min vs. 0.61 ± 0.14 g·min; P=0.004). During exercise, total carbohydrate oxidation (CHO-20 2.15 ± 0.47; CHO-5 2.23 ± 0.45 g·min, P=0.412) and endogenous carbohydrate oxidation (CHO-20 1.78 ± 0.45; CHO-5 1.92 ± 0.40 g·min; P=0.148) were not different between trials. Average serum glucose (P=0.952) and insulin (P=0.373) concentrations were not different between trials. Selleckchem ARRY-575 There were no differences in reported symptoms of GI comfort and stomach bloatedness (P>0.05), with only 3% of reported scores classed as severe (>5 out of 10). CONCLUSION Ingestion of a larger volume of carbohydrate solution