Protocol for an interview-based method for mapping mental models using causal-loop diagramming and realist interviewing.

Causal-loop diagramming, a method from system dynamics, is increasingly used in evaluation to describe individuals' understanding of how policies or programs do or could work ("mental models"). The use of qualitative interviews to inform model development is common, but guidance for how to design and conduct these interviews to elicit causal information in participant mental models is scant. A key strength of semi-structured qualitative interviews is that they let participants speak freely; they are not, however, designed to elicit causal information.

Developing a Model for Quantifying QTc-Prolongation Risk to Enhance Medication Safety Assessment: A Retrospective Analysis.

There are currently no established methods to predict quantitatively whether the start of a drug with the potential to prolong the QTc interval poses patients at risk for relevant QTc prolongation. Therefore, this retrospective study aimed to pave the way for the development of models for estimating QTc prolongation in patients newly exposed to medications with QTc-prolonging potential. Data of patients with a documented QTc prolongation after initiation of a QTc-prolonging drug were extracted from hospital charts.

Interference of Herbal Medicine with Axitinib in Metastatic Renal Cell Cancer Treatment: A Case Study.

Introduction: The awareness and the clinical relevance of the potential interactions between standard and complementary medicine are increasing in medical oncology. Nonetheless, the research and experience of the efficacy, safety, and toxicity of herbal substances are poorly documented.

Case Presentation: Here, we report the case of a 68-year-old female patient who had been diagnosed with advanced renal cell cancer with metastasis in the liver and pancreas and had undergone surgical resection with hemi-hepatectomy and resection of metastasis in the pancreas in November 2021.

Acetylcholine and noradrenaline enhance foraging optimality in humans.

Foraging theory prescribes when optimal foragers should leave the current option for more rewarding alternatives. Actual foragers often exploit options longer than prescribed by the theory, but it is unclear how this foraging suboptimality arises. We investigated whether the upregulation of cholinergic, noradrenergic, and dopaminergic systems increases foraging optimality.