Consensus Statement for the Management and Communication of High Risk Laboratory Results

Ineffective test follow-up is a major source of harm for patients around the world. Unreliable communication from medical laboratories (henceforth termed ‘laboratories’) to clinicians of results that represent critical or significant risk to patients (collectively termed ‘high risk results’) is a contributing factor to this problem. Throughout Australasia, management practices for such results vary considerably. The recommendations presented in this document are based on best practice derived from the published literature and follow consultation with a wide range of stakeholders. These recommendations were created to harmonise Australasian practices by guiding laboratories in the design and implementation of safe and effective communication procedures for managing high risk results which require timely notification.     

Communication of Pulmonary Function Test Results: A Survey of Patient’s Preferences

IntroductionPhysician-patient communication in patients suffering from common chronic respiratory disease should encompass discussion about pulmonary function test (PFT) results, diagnosis, disease education, smoking cessation and optimising inhaler technique. Previous studies have identified that patients with chronic respiratory disease/s often express dissatisfaction about physician communication. Currently there is a paucity of data regarding patient awareness of their PFT results (among those who have undergone PFTs previously) or patient preferences about PFT result communication.MethodsWe undertook a three-month prospective study on outpatients referred to two Pulmonary Function Laboratories. If subjects had undergone PFTs previously, the awareness of their previous test results was evaluated. All subjects were asked about their preferences for PFT result communication. Subjects were determined to have chronic respiratory disease based on their past medical history.Results300 subjects (50% male) with a median age (±SD) of 65 (±14) years participated in the study. 99% of the study participants stated that they were at least moderately interested in knowing their PFT results. 72% (217/300) of the subjects had undergone at least one PFT in the past, 48% of whom stated they had not been made aware of their results. Fewer subjects with chronic respiratory disease preferred that only a doctor discuss their PFT results with them (28% vs. 41%, p = 0.021).ConclusionOur study demonstrates that while almost all subjects want to be informed of their PFT results, this does not occur in a large number of patients. Many subjects are agreeable for their PFT results to be communicated to them by clinicians other than doctors. Further research is required to develop an efficient method of conveying PFT results that will improve patient satisfaction and health outcomes.     

蛙类声音通讯研究进展

声音通讯包含鸣声的产生、传播及对鸣声的感知与行为响应。对大多数无尾两栖类而言,雄性个体间的竞争(即雄雄竞争)、雌性配偶识别与选择几乎完全依赖声音通讯,因此准确及时的声音信息传递与接收对蛙类的生存和繁殖起着决定性作用。本文总结了蛙类鸣叫特征及其产生机制,归纳了声音通讯在蛙类性选择中的功能及协同进化,探讨了鸣声感知的神经机制及声音通讯的内分泌机制。最后对蛙类声音通讯研究方向进行了展望,并提出了可能的解决方案。     

Psychophysiological indicators for children using mobile phones. Communication 2. Results of four-year monitoring

This study submits the results of a four-year monitoring of a complex diagnostics of the psychophysiological indicators for 196 children aged 7 to 12 years old: 147 of them are child users of mobile communication (test group) and 49 are in the control group. We have identified the following major trends of the psychophysiological indicators for child users of mobile communication: an increased number of phonemic perception disorders, abatement of efficiency, reduced indicators for the arbitrary and semantic memory, an increased fatigue. A steady decline of the parameters from high values to bottom standards has been found.     

啮齿动物的嗅觉通讯研究进展

通过对近40 年来啮齿动物嗅觉通讯的研究综述, 主要介绍嗅觉信号的来源、组成及其对啮齿动物行为生理所产生的作用。啮齿动物嗅觉通讯的信号来源主要是粪便、尿液和特化皮肤腺等, 对这些化学信号的成分分析主要集中在各种信息素(Pheromone) 的结构、来源及其引起的行为反应。目前, 在对啮齿动物嗅觉通讯神经通路的研究中, 对主嗅觉系统和犁鼻器系统在动物嗅觉通讯中的作用仍将是人们研究的重点; 而通过信息素作用所产生的各种行为反应的神经内分泌机制也是动物嗅觉通讯领域研究的热点之一。研究气味信号对动物行为和生理等方面所产生的作用, 将有助于揭示啮齿动物嗅觉通讯在其社会行为中的重要作用。     

引起重组白蛋白电泳检测假性结果的研究

目的:建立SDS-PAGE结合pH值变化对重组人血白蛋白电泳检测假性结果的分析方法。方法:采用还原SDS-PAGE(12.5%)和Native-PAGE(8%～25%),将包含重组人血白蛋白的发酵上清液的pH值分别调为4.0、5.0、6.0、6.5、7.5、8.0、9.0和10.0进行电泳分析。结果:在不同的pH值条件下,重组人血白蛋白会出现不同程度的降解。结论:包含重组人血白蛋白的发酵液中存在不同种类的蛋白酶,导致重组人血白蛋白的假性降解。     

围医患沟通理论的研究现状与进展

近些年来,医患关系呈日趋紧张之势,医疗纠纷数目不断攀升,各大医院纷纷强调医患沟通的重要性,各大医学院校也反复重申医患沟通的必要性,但往往注重沟通过程本身,忽视沟通前的准备以及沟通效果的评价。文章通过分析国内外医患沟通研究的趋势和现状,提出“围医患沟通”的理论实施与评价,进一步保障医疗安全,构建和谐医患关系。     

儿科医师医患沟通能力培养的实践探讨

无锡市人民医院儿童医院不断挖掘潜力,多角度、全方位拓展儿科医师医患沟通能力的培养途径,从培养沟通先进理念,提升沟通专业技能,完善沟通管理机制,营造沟通良好氛围四个方面入手,增强儿科医师的医患沟通能力,构建和谐的医患关系,营造良好的就医氛围。

     

Tropical monsoon forests of Vietnam (Results of 20 Years of Phytoecological Research)

This study was carried out during the period 1989–2011. The following areas were included: Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Primary tropical forest and anthropogenically transformed ecosystems, including those damaged by the chemical warfare program of the United States in Vietnam, were investigated. Some regularities in the structure dynamics and functioning of forests ecosystems under a tropical monsoon climate have been revealed. The principles of classification of tropical forests have been elaborated. The major results of investigation of the tropical monsoon forests in Vietnam are given.     

Contention-Aware Communication Schedule for High-Speed Communication

A lot of efforts have been devoted to address the software overhead problem in the past decade, which is known as the major hindrance on high-speed communication. However, this paper shows that having a low-latency communication system does not guarantee to achieve high performance, as there are other communication issues that have not been fully addressed by the use of low-latency communication, such as contention and scheduling of communication events. In this paper, we use the complete exchange operation as a case study to show that with careful design of communication schedules, we can achieve efficient communication as well as prevent congestion. We have developed a complete exchange algorithm, the Synchronous Shuffle Exchange, which is an optimal algorithm on the non-blocking network. To avoid congestion loss caused by the non-deterministic delays in communication events, a global congestion control scheme is introduced. This scheme coordinates all participating nodes to monitor and regulate the traffic load, which effectively avoids congestion loss and maintains sufficient throughput to maximize the performance. To improve the effectiveness of the congestion control scheme when working on the hierarchical network, we incorporate information on the network topology to devise a contention-aware permutation. This permutation scheme generates a communication schedule, which is both node and switch contention-free as well as distributing the network loads more evenly across the hierarchy. This relieves the congestion build-up at the uplink ports and improves the synchronism of the traffic information exchange between cluster nodes. Performance results of our implementation on a 32-node cluster with various network configurations are examined and reported in this paper.     

Talking Frogs: The Role of Communication in Ecological Research on Private Land

This paper argues that improving the communication between landholders and ecologists will result in better conservation outcomes for ecosystem management on private land. It examines a case study of ecological research on frogs undertaken on private, agricultural land in south-eastern Australia. The paper questions the traditional separation of ecological science from landholders specifically and the public in general. In addressing this issue the authors wish to improve the relevance of ecology for landholders, raise the profile of social science for ecologists working on private land and examine the implications of improving ecologist – landholder relationships. For landholders, an improved understanding of the ecological context of their agricultural activities may lead to sustainability gains. For ecologists, a deeper appreciation for the social context of their ecological research provides an opportunity to see how their work is perceived and/or acted upon in practice. For both parties, a communicative relationship may minimise future need for ecosystem repair. Such an approach (for both landholders and ecologists) can lead to the break down of stereotypes and/or a greater appreciation of the others’ perspectives, constraints and values with respect to conservation on private land. In the productive discussions arising from conversations between landholders and ecologists, new approaches to sustainable land management and nature conservation may emerge.