Wednesday 18 March 2015

Oncotalk

How to Teach Doctors Empathy

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AtlanticFood/~3/Y_irwMDqMY0/story01.htm

Video production and student engagement

Shorter videos <6 mins, invest in lesson planning.
Interspersed talking heads and slides, invest in post-production.
Informal trumps high-fidelity
Digital tablets better than slides. Introduce motion!

Some more points and a nice summary of findings from EdX on student use of video. (via Michael O'Connor)

https://www.edx.org/blog/how-mooc-video-production-affects




Not many surprises from an educational perspective but nice to have a little more evidence.

CABG vs. PCI with Second-Generation Stents

CABG vs. PCI for Multivessel CAD: Do Second-Generation drug-eluting Stents Make a Difference?

http://www.jwatch.org//fw109991/2015/03/17/cabg-vs-pci-multivessel-cad-do-second-generation-stents

The two studies reported were an observational study and an under-powered randomized-controlled trial. An accompanying editorial bemoans the lack of evidence in this important clinical area and looks at tools like the Swedish registry-based randomization system for future innovation.

Wednesday 4 March 2015

Emergency medicine innovations being ignored

Hospital Doctor publishes "key findings of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s latest report - called Ignoring the Prescription - into tackling growing patient demand:"

http://www.hospitaldr.co.uk/blogs/dr-blogs/emergency-medicine-recommendations-being-ignored

Goodbye SEO hello FEO as Google plans to fact-check websites

Great commentary as always on the Slashdot report of Google's intention to rank websites on trustworthiness of a page.

http://science.slashdot.org/story/15/03/01/213245/google-wants-to-rank-websites-based-on-facts-not-links

"expect Fact Engine Optimization to become a new industry, and do exactly what SEO did to the reliability and utility of search engines [wreck them]"

Fascinating collection of 'facts' gleaned by Google from all over the internet and how those can be applied to a scoring mechanism for improving searches. Somewhat creepy that Google are the self-appointed guardians of truth but creepy is good only if it delivers good results.


Now@NEJM on diabetic ketoacidosis

Nice overview of Diabetic Ketoacidosis by the NEJM blog.

"The latest review in the Fluids and Electrolytes series focuses on the safe removal of excess hydrogen ions, the administration of sodium bicarbonate, and the possible contribution of intracellular acidosis to the development of cerebral edema in patients with diabetic ketoacidosis. Several of the issues facing clinicians who care for patients with diabetic ketoacidosis are related to acid-base disorders."

http://blogs.nejm.org/now/index.php/diabetic-ketoacidosis/2015/02/06/

The full article is here ... http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1207788


Computer simulation of the outer shell of the influenza A virion

Oxford Scientists Simulate Influenza Virus on a Computer

"The team brought together data gathered using X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, cryoelectron microscopy, and lipidomics into what’s called a “coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation.” This technique allows the model virus to be put through different virtual environments, each having varying temperatures and lipid compositions. The current simulations are still quite limited, but the technique should lead to more complicated tests involving potential therapies and different chemical agents"

http://www.medgadget.com/2015/02/oxford-scientists-simulate-influenza-virus-on-a-computer.html