Assessing the quality of feedback to general internal medicine residents in a competency-based environment.

Construct: Competency Based Medical Education (CBME) is designed to use workplace-based assessment (WBA) tools to provide observed assessment and feedback on resident competence. Moreover, WBAs are expected to provide evidence beyond that of more traditional mid- or end-of-rotation assessments [e.g.

The use of alum to decrease phosphorus losses in runoff from grassland soils.

Phosphorus (P) loss from land can impair surface water quality. Aluminum sulfate (alum)-treated, compared with untreated, manure or slurry decreases P loss when applied to land; our hypothesis was that alum may also decrease P loss when directly applied to grassland grazed by dairy cows. A rainfall simulation showed that alum decreased mean concentrations of filterable reactive P (FRP) by 25 to 70% and total P (TP) by 20 to 40%, depending on soil P, Al, and Fe concentration and alum application rate.

The Use of Continuous Intrathecal Infusion of Octreotide in Patients with Chronic Pain of Noncancer Origin: An Evaluation of Side-effects and Toxicity in a Prospective Double-blind Fashion.

Introduction.  Intrathecal octreotide has been considered an alternative to opioids in chronic infusion for pain. Octreotide is an analog of the growth hormone sandostatin.