Jean Turgeon

Appraising qualitative research articles in medicine and medical education

Although qualitative research is gaining recognition in medicine and in medical education, most clinical teachers do not know how to perform a critical appraisal of articles in these fields. This article describes a grid for the critical appraisal of qualitative research articles so that clinical teachers are in a better position to evaluate this type of research and to teach the critical appraisal of it. The grid is comprised of 12 items with an explanation and suggestions for additional reading for each item.

CALLING BEHAVIOUR OF THE ARMYWORM, PSEUDALETIA UNIPUNCTA

The calling behaviour of virgin female armyworms, Pseudaletia unipuncta (Haw.), was studied at 25° ± 0.5° and 65 ± 5% RH under a 16L: 8D photoperiod. The age at which females started calling following emergence varied from 2 to 10 days, with a mean of 3.9 days. Due to these differences comparisons of calling behaviour on successive days were made using the “calling” age rather than age from emergence. The calling pattern of individual females, observed every 10 min, changed on successive days of calling. Over 7 days, the mean onset calling time advanced from 396 to 301 min after the onset of the scotophase, the total time spent calling per day increased from 62 to 182 min. the number of calling bouts decreased from 1.8 to 1.4 while the duration of a calling bout increased from 34 to 125 min. Entrained females held under 56 hr of darkness exhibited an endogenous circadian rhythm of calling. Observations taken every 10 min significantly underestimated the number of calling bouts per day (1.8 instead of 16 on the first day of calling) and overestimated the duration of each bout (34 min instead of 2 min on the first day of calling) when compared with the data collected from continuous observations. Values for the mean onset calling time and the time spent calling each day did not differ significantly using the two observation schedules.

Responsiveness of Pseudaletia unipuncta males to the female sex pheromone

ABSTRACT. In wind tunnel experiments male response to different concentrations of synthetic pheromone varied with age. At 25°C responsiveness increased up to day 5 and then declined slightly on day 7. For any given age the level of response generally increased with an increase in pheromone concentration. Males held at 15°C (since emergence) showed a continual increase in responsiveness with age; however, overall response levels were less than at 25°C. At 25°C male response to low concentrations of pheromone (10 and 30 μg) varied markedly over a 24 h period but no differences were observed at higher concentrations (100 and 300 μg).

Temperature-dependent development of Zeiraphera canadensis and simulation of its phenology

Diapause requirements of eggs of Zeiraphera canadensis Mutuura and Freeman (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) are satisfied by 15 weeks of storage at 0.5°C. Temperatures above 30°C are lethal for this life stage. Temperature‐dependent development of larvae fed on white spruce, Picea glauca (Moench) Voss, and of pupae was observed under laboratory conditions. The shortest development times were observed at 28°C. Larvae are tolerant to heat, and developed at 32°C, a lethal temperature for pupae. There was little variation of development rates in all stages of the life cycle, explaining the high degree of phenological synchrony reported in populations of this species. A phenological model was developed and calibrated to simulate the relative abundance of the various immature stages under field conditions. The calibration process suggested that temperature in the microhabitat of eggs may be very close to air temperature, but that temperatures under bud caps where larvae are feeding may rise several degrees above air temperature. For the purposes of planning the timing of survey and control practices, degree‐day requirements for 10% egg hatch and 75% adult emergence were estimated based on a 4.4°C threshold temperature.