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As demand for Anatomy and Physiology education increases faster than construction projects and budgets, instructors are finding themselves in front of ever-growing classroom sizes. Teaching large classes presents a number of challenges, including planning the courses, navigating technical equipment, handling exams and student accommodations, or simply, managing the 'foot traffic' of our students. Minor issues in small classrooms can quickly become big problems in large classes. Instructors of large Anatomy and Physiology classes will want to consider these potential issues and craft plans to circumvent big problems before they occur. In this article, several experienced instructors with large semester enrollments (300 to 800 students) discuss strategies and practices for navigating large Anatomy and Physiology classes so that teaching these large sections might be enjoyable instead of burdensome.

The contribution introduces the present situation and the basic challenges of school social work in Austria. Starting with the perception of a developing "knowledge society" (Höhne, 2004), school is seen as a life place at which social subjects and problems occur and are made manifest. The analyses are based in particular on empirical studies by the University of Klagenfurt (Sting & Leitner, 2011) and the University of Graz (Gspurning, Heimgartner, Pieber, & Sing, 2011), which were carried out in school social work facilities of Carinthia and Styria, but they also include Austrian-wide research projects. A methodical view is presented along the main target groups "pupils," "teachers" and "parents," and the basic orientations are discussed. The thematic analysis characterises school social work as a multi-thematic service (e.g., conflicts, love, problems at school, problems of the family) that needs to oppose the reduction to single problem areas such as drug abuse or violence. The structural analyses render visible the meaning of spatial conditions, personnel competence and the social-spatial network. Finally, the possibilities of a lasting implementation of empirical research in school social work are discussed.

The ROTEM platelet device, a point-of-care whole blood platelet impedance aggregometer, is an add-on to the rotational thromboelastometry ROTEM delta device. The latter has been validated in dogs. We examined whether canine whole blood is suited for analysis with the ROTEM platelet device using adenosine-5′-diphosphate (ADP) and arachidonic acid (ARA) as agonists for platelet activation, and if there are significant differences between sample storage times and anticoagulants used. Subsequently, we determined canine reference intervals (RIs) for the ROTEM platelet device for ADP and ARA. In a pilot study, we examined whole blood from 7 dogs after 15-min and 60-min storage of lithium-heparinized samples and 40-min and 80-min storage of hirudinized samples. Statistical analysis showed no significant differences between ROTEM platelet device results for both ADP and ARA in lithium-heparin and hirudin anticoagulated canine whole blood. Lithium-heparinized blood samples analyzed after 15-min storage had the lowest coefficient of variation. RIs were determined for heparinized whole blood samples from 49 dogs after 15 min of storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey of teachers in five northwestern states revealed that respondents in all states rated the units of arc welding and oxyacetylene welding as the most important units to be included in secondary vocational agriculture programs. (LRA)

Background Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is common in patients with obesity. Diagnosing GERD is important as bariatric operations have different influence on GERD. We assessed reflux symptoms and objective findings prior to surgery. Methods Work-up included esophageal symptoms quantification by VAS-scores, esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and 24-h impedance-pH (imp-pH) monitoring off PPI therapy. Imp-pH was classified as abnormal if either %time pH < 4 was abnormal, total number of reflux episodes was elevated or symptom index (SI) was positive. Results Among 100 consecutive patients (68F, age 40 ± 11 years, BMI 44.9 ± 6.9 kg/m 2 ) 54% reported heartburn and/or regurgitation, 71% had objective evidence of GERD (38% endoscopic lesions and 33% only abnormal imp-pH results). Imp-pH was superior to EGD in identifying GERD (sensitivity 85% vs. 54%, p < 0.01). Symptomatic and asymptomatic patients had similar prevalence of esophageal lesions (37% vs. 39%) and abnormal imp-pH findings (68% vs. 50%). Sixty nine percent of patients with abnormal %time pH < 4 had a normal number of reflux episodes. Conclusion Half of patients with obesity reported typical GERD symptoms and >70% had evidence of GERD. Poor acid clearance was the main mechanisms. Since typical reflux symptoms don’t predict objective findings, endoscopy and reflux monitoring should be part of the surgery work-up especially before restrictive procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment of lumbar movement dysfunction commonly comprises trunk range of motion (ROM), movement or control impairment (MCI), and reposition error (RE). Those assessments are typically based on visual observation. Consequently it is not possible to reliably quantify back movements for intersubject comparisons, or for monitoring changes before and after an intervention. Inertial measurement unit (IMU)-systems could be used to quantify these movement dysfunctions in clinical settings. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability of movement dysfunction tests when measured with a novel IMU-system. The reliability of eleven movement dysfunction tests (four ROM, six MCI and one RE tests) were analysed using generalizability-theory and minimal detectable change, measuring 21 chronic low back pain patients in seven trials on two days. Reliability varied across tests and variables. Four ROM and selected MCI tests and variables were identified as reliable. On average, ROM test were more reliable, compared to MCI and RE tests. An attempt should be made to improve the reliability of MCI and RE measures, for example through better standardizations. Subsequently these measures should be studied further for intersubject comparisons and monitoring changes after an intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective In patients with cerebral palsy (CP), psychological problems influence their participation in society. Little is known about the persistence of behavioral and social problems into adulthood. Materials and methods In a two-center cross-sectional study, caregivers of 121 adults and 88 children were ask to assess behavior of the patients through the parent/caregiver forms of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale II (VABS). Questionnaires were returned from 43 adults and 39 children. Results In both groups we found the same frequency of abnormalities in attention problems (32.4 vs. 36.1%, p = 0.826) and social interaction problems (32.3 vs. 33.3%; p = 0.926) in the CBCL, and peer problems (38.9 vs. 75.7%; p = 0.115) in the SDQ. Children show a lower percentage of abnormal prosocial behavior (41.7 vs. 16.2%, p = 0.016) and lower abnormal rates of communication (88.2 vs. 61.5; p = 0.01) and daily living skills (90.0 vs. 71.8; p = 0.041), whereas the level of abnormalities in both groups in these dimensions of VABS notably high. Conclusion The persistence of psychological and social problems from childhood into adulthood underlines the importance of focusing on early intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]