Initial Validity Analysis of the American Board of Emergency Medicine Enhanced Oral Examination.

OBJECTIVES: The American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) has introduced a new testing format for the oral certification examination (OCE): the enhanced oral or "eOral" format. The purpose of this study was to perform initial validity analyses of the eOral format. The two hypotheses were: 1) the case content in the eOral format was sufficiently similar to clinical practice and 2) the eOral case materials were sufficiently similar to clinical practice. The eOral and traditional formats were compared for these characteristics. METHODS: This was a prospective survey study. The survey was administered as a voluntary postexamination activity at the end of the 2015 spring (April 25-27) and fall (October 10-13) ABEM OCEs. The survey is a routine part of the ABEM oral examination experience. For 2015, two additional questions were added to gauge the similarity of the eOral format to clinical practice. Validity was defined by content and substantive elements within Messick's model of construct validity as well as portions of Kane's validity model. RESULTS: Of the 1,746 physicians who took the oral examination, 1,380 physicians (79.0%) completed all or part of the study survey questions. The majority of respondents agreed the patient presentations in the cases were similar (strongly agreed or agreed) to cases seen in clinical practice, in both the traditional cases (95.1%) and the eOral cases (90.1%). Likewise, the majority of respondents answered that the case materials (e.g., laboratory, radiographs) were similar (strongly agreed or agreed) to what they encounter in clinical practice, both in the traditional format (85.8%) and in the eOral cases (93.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Most emergency physicians reported that the types of cases tested in the traditional and eOral formats were similar to cases encountered in clinical practice. In addition, most physicians found the case materials to be similar to what is seen in clinical practice. This study provides early validity evidence for the eOral format.

The American Board of Emergency Medicine ConCert Examination: Emergency Physicians' Perceptions of Learning and Career Benefits.

OBJECTIVE: As part of the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program, ABEM-certified physicians are required to pass the Continuous Certification (ConCert) examination at least every 10 years. With the 2015 ConCert examination, ABEM sought to better understand emergency physicians' perceptions of the benefits of preparing for and taking the examination and the career benefits of staying ABEM-certified. METHODS: This was a prospective survey study. A voluntary postexamination survey was administered at the end of the 2015 ABEM ConCert examination (September 21-26, 2015). Physicians were asked about the benefits of preparing for the examination and maintaining ABEM certification. Examination performance was compared to perceptions of learning and career benefits. RESULTS: Of the 2,601 on-time test takers, 2,511 respondents participated (96.5% participation rate). The majority of participants (92.0%) identified a benefit to preparing for the ConCert examination, which included reinforced medical knowledge (73.9%), increased knowledge (66.8%), and making them a better clinician (39.4%). The majority of respondents (90.8%) identified a career benefit of maintaining ABEM certification, which included more employment options (73.8%), more positively viewed by other physicians (56.8%), and better financial outcomes (29.8%). There was a statistically significant association between the perception of knowledge reinforcement and examination performance (p < 0.001). There was also a statistically significant association between the perception that staying certified created more career opportunities and examination performance (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Most emergency physicians identified benefits of preparing for and taking the ABEM ConCert examination, which included reinforcing or adding medical knowledge and making them better clinicians. Most physicians also found career benefits to remaining ABEM-certified, which included greater employment choices, higher financial compensation, and higher esteem from other physicians. The belief that preparing for and taking the examination reinforced medical knowledge was associated with better examination performance.

Aggregation pheromone of Metamasius spinolae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae): chemical analysis and field test.

Male Metamasius spinolae (Gylh.) produce several volatile compounds that are likely constituents of its aggregation pheromone. These compounds were identified by volatile collections and gas chromatography (GC), followed by coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), as 2-methyl-4-heptanone [1], 6-methyl-2hepten-4-one [2], and 2-hydroxy-2-methyl-4-heptanone [3]. Preliminary field experiments using synthetic racemates of these compounds showed that significantly more adult cactus weevils were caught in traps baited with the major single compound three or the 2 + 3 binary combination than in unbaited control traps. However, highest trap efficacy occurred with the 1 + 2 binary combination and a blend of all three synthetic compounds plus prickly pear. Potential uses for the cactus weevil pheromone and possible ways to increase trap captures are discussed.

Use of residue profile analysis to identify modes of insecticide activity contributing to control of plum curculio in apples.

Residue profile analysis techniques were developed, along with laboratory and field-based bioassays to describe the modes of insecticidal activity responsible for the control of the plum curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar (Herbst), in apples (Malus spp.). Adult plum curculios were treated in laboratory topical bioassays to determine acute contact activity and lethal time for five insecticides. Azinphosmethyl had the highest levels of toxicity and shortest lethal time values, followed by the neonicotinoids thiacloprid, thiamethoxam, and imidacloprid, whereas indoxacarb had the highest LD50 and LT50 values for topical exposure. Field-based residual activity bioassays assessed adult mortality, and fruit and leaf injury from plum curculio exposed to 4 h, 7 d, and 14 d field-aged residues. All compounds caused significant levels of mortality to plum curculio when adults were exposed to fruit clusters 4 h post-application. Thiacloprid, thiamethoxam, and imidacloprid showed oviposition deterrence, antifeedant, and repellency effects in the 7- and/or 14 d residual bioassays and protected fruit in the absence of significant lethal activity. Indoxacarb maintained lethal activity throughout the study intervals, with the incidence of plum curculio feeding, suggesting that ingestion is an important mode of entry. For the neonicotinoids thiacloprid, thiamethoxam and imidacloprid plum curculio mortality was highly correlated with fruit and leaf surface residues. As surface residues declined, sublethal effects such as oviposition deterrence and antifeedant effect remained. The value of the plant-insect-chemistry triad model for describing the temporal dimensions of insecticidal modes of activity and understanding a compound's critical performance characteristics is discussed.

Reproductive development of northern and southern strains of plum curculio (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

Laboratory-reared southern and field-collected northern strains of plum curculio, Conotrachelles nenuphar (Herbst), were sampled to examine the relationship between degree-day (DD) accumulation and female reproductive development, as measured by mating status, oocyte size, and number of oocytes. The overall goal was to generate an objective degree-day model for predicting damage potential that could be applied to various host commodities rather than relying on separate biofix models for each crop. Adult beetles were dissected to measure mating status, maximum oocyte size, and number of oocytes. Southern strain beetles reared at 25 degrees C initiated mating 9 d after eclosion and did not require mating to induce oocyte development. By 20 d posteclosion, unmated females had significantly higher egg loads compared with mated females of the same age. Logistic regression analysis suggests that southern and northern strain beetles had a stable maximum oocyte length of 62 and 72 microm, respectively. Northern strain females mated after overwintering; with approximately 95% of the female population mated after 134 DD (base 10 degrees C), which is before fruit set in many host crops. Oocyte size was the only measured parameter of field reproductive progress that could be linked with confidence to degree-day accumulation. The other two parameters do not share an exclusive relationship with degree-days. Rapid assessment of field-caught female reproductive status could assist in determining the potential for plum curculio damage in high-value commodities and allow for more informed control decisions.