bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Introducing Mr Dibdin
Authors: Newman Ian , Jensen Oskar Cox , Kennerley David
Published: February 2018

The introduction provides an overview of Charles Dibdin’s life and work through a reading of his memoir, The Professional Life. This is a particularly problematic text, directed towards an early-nineteenth-century audience for whom Dibdin was best known as a writer of sentimental songs about heroic sailors. It consequently obscures the more diverse, miscellaneous aspects of his career, which can provide an index for the wide-ranging but overlapping cultural productions of the period. The introduction makes a case for the importance of resisting the narrative of specialization in order to appreciate both the range of Dibdin’s achievements, and the breadth of possibilities available in late Georgian culture. The introduction confronts a series of methodological problems which Dibdin’s self-fashioning raises, and gives an account of how each of the subsequent chapters helps us to reconceive of Dibdin’s importance by focusing on the interrelated networks in which he operated.
Dibdin at the Royal Circus
Authors: Burden Michael
Published: February 2018

In 1782, Dibdin entered into a partnership with Charles Hughes to set up a new entertainment venue, the Royal Circus. Its unique feature was the combination of an equestrian ring with allegorical and musical entertainments on a proscenium-arch stage, an innovative hybrid that drew upon the respective talents of Hughes and Dibdin. This chapter analyses how the Circus sought to compete with its rivals through its architecture and location, spectacle, music, novelties (including performances by children), and the mixing of genres and forms. Ultimately, however, Dibdin’s time at the Circus ended in ignominious disputes, a product of licensing problems, but also a failure to collaborate successfully in the manner demanded by this form of entertainment. Dibdin’s spell as a theatre-manager at the Circus thus reveals the wider driving forces—competition, innovation, miscellany, and collaboration—that lay behind the flourishing of London’s minor theatres in the late eighteenth century.
Introduction
Authors: Nowakowska Natalia
Published: February 2018

The Introduction first sketches the troubled historiography of the early Reformation in Poland, explaining why this kingdom is little visible in international scholarship on the Reformation. The book’s central research question is introduced: why did King Sigismund I (1506–48) and his ruling elites not persecute the many Lutherans active in the Polish monarchy in his reign? The Introduction offers a critique of current scholarship on early modern religious toleration, an account of the book’s argument, and finally (building on John Bossy and borrowing from J. G. A. Pocock) a broader hypothesis about (and broader evidence for) the Reformation as a profound conceptual-linguistic shift—from a late medieval concept of orthodoxy as consensus and unity, to an early modern concept of orthodoxy as correct doctrine.
High-Skilled Migration and the Limits of Migration Policies
Authors: Skeldon Ronald
Published: February 2018

After a consideration of who the skilled are, this chapter pursues four main themes. First, direct policies to attract skilled migrants are secondary to indirect policies designed to establish the industries and services that will lead to the employment of the skilled. Second, direct policies to attract the skilled need to be integrated into wider policies that see the immigration of the less skilled also to be important. Third, attempts to retain the skilled need to be framed in the context of a high turnover of the skilled, a turnover facilitated by the nature of the channels through which they move. Fourth, a consideration of the global production of the skilled through education and training and how that impacts on the flows. These four themes are closely interrelated and provide a basis for a broader interpretation of skilled migration policy.
Attracting and Retaining International Students as Skilled Migrants
Authors: Hawthorne Lesleyanne
Published: February 2018

OECD countries compete to attract and retain international students as skilled migrants. By definition former international students are of prime workforce age, face no regulatory barriers, and have self-funded to meet domestic employer demand. Within the global ‘race for talent’ they have emerged as a priority human capital resource. This chapter examines the study-migration pathways that have evolved in the past decade within skilled migration policy frameworks. Three case studies are provided, assessing select challenges in the context of national debate. The first examines the UK’s attempt to reduce net migration flows and the impact of this on student migration. The second explores the retention of international doctoral students in the US amid concerns for labour market substitution rather than complementarity. The third defines the extent to which Australian employers value former international students compared to domestic graduates, including the impact of demand and demographic variables on early employment outcomes.
What Fundamentals Drive the Immigration of Medical Doctors?
Authors: Moullan Yasser
Published: February 2018

In a globalized world, the competition to attract high-skilled people from all over the world has become intense. In this context, medical doctors are one of the most targeted occupations because the need for healthcare is continuously growing. This chapter assesses the determinants of international immigration of medical doctors by focusing on the major OECD receiving countries yearly from 1991 to 2004. We use a traditional push–pull model to analyse the attractiveness of the healthcare market of receiving countries by disentangling the demand and the supply side. Our results conclude that the inflows of foreign-trained doctors is higher in OECD countries with low density of doctors (supply) and with high social expenditures in health (demand). These results suggest that the mobility of medical doctors responds to the strategy of OECD countries to fill the gap between their supply of health services and their population’s healthcare needs.
Recruitment Policies of Non-EU/EEA Nurses and Ethical Issues
Authors: Mendy Angèle Flora
Published: February 2018

By examining policies of recruiting non-EU/EEA health workers and how ethical considerations are taken into account when employing non-EU/EEA nurses in the United Kingdom, France, and Switzerland, this chapter intends to show that the use of the so-called ‘ethical’ argument to convince national public opinion of the relevance of restrictive recruitment policies is recent (since the 1990s). The analysis highlights the fact that in addition to the institutional legacies, qualification and skills—through the process of their recognition—play an important role in the opening or restriction of the labour market to health professionals from the Global South. The legacy of the past also largely determines the place offered to non-EU/EEA health professionals in the different health systems of host countries.
Thomas Paine
Authors: Clark J. C. D.
Published: February 2018

Thomas Paine (1737–1809) was England’s greatest revolutionary: no other reformer was as actively involved in events of the scale of the American and French Revolutions, and none wrote such best-selling texts with the impact of Common Sense and Rights of Man. None combined his roles as activist and theorist, or did so in the ‘age of revolutions’, fundamental as it was to the emergence of the ‘modern world’. But his fame meant that he was taken up and reinterpreted for current use by successive later commentators and politicians, so that the ‘historic Paine’ was too often obscured by the ‘usable Paine’. This book attempts to explain Paine against a revised background of early and mid-eighteenth-century England. It argues that he knew and learned less about events in America and France than was once thought. It de-attributes a number of publications, and passages, hitherto assumed to have been his own, and detaches him from a number of causes (including anti-slavery, women’s emancipation, and class action) with which he was once associated. And it argues that his formerly obvious association with the early origin and long-term triumph of natural rights, republicanism, and democracy needs to be rethought. As a result, it offers a picture of radical and reforming movements as more indebted to the initiatives of large numbers of men and women in fast-evolving situations than to the writings of a few individuals who framed lasting, and eventually triumphant, political discourses. Delivering ideological change was much harder than used to be supposed.
The Christology of Chalcedon
Authors: Daley, SJ Brian E.
Published: February 2018

Most modern narratives of the development of early Christian understandings of the person of Christ suggest that the full, classical understanding of who and what he is was finally reached in the definition of the Council of Chalcedon (451). In fact, this definition—pieced together from the works of a number of earlier voices—left unanswered many central questions about Christ’s identity and meaning. So the unity of doctrine apparently achieved at Chalcedon was short-lived, and political and religious divisions began shortly after the council, which threatened the unity of the Roman Empire, some of which still remain. This chapter asks: what was the real significance of Chalcedon, as a way station in the development of the classical Christian understanding of Christ? What did Chalcedon achieve? What other considerations and voices needed to be added, to provide a full account of the early Church’s faith?
Apollinarius, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa
Authors: Daley, SJ Brian E.
Published: February 2018

Apollinarius of Laodicea argued that the divine wisdom, in Christ, took the place of a human reason, and so that the human Christ has existed eternally, as part of the Logos’s person. So even the humanity of Christ is in some sense divine, for the Apollinarians, and we are transformed by imitating him or being sacramentally united with him. Against this view, Gregory of Nazianzus came to insist that Christ must have a complete and authentic humanity if he is our savior; his must be a “double” reality, in which creator and creature are mingled” in the actions and consciousness of a single agent. Gregory of Nyssa also emphasized the need for Christ to be fully human if he is to save us. He suggested that human nature is gradually being transformed by the divine qualities Jesus brings into the world. Human changeability is the condition of salvation.
Antioch and Alexandria
Authors: Daley, SJ Brian E.
Published: February 2018

The opposition between theologians centered in Antioch and those centered in Alexandria, both in their ways of interpreting Scripture and in their understandings of Christ’s person, is well known, if often somewhat exaggerated by modern scholars. Antiochene exegetes tended to insist more than their Alexandrian counterparts on the importance of seeing each biblical passage in its context within the longer narrative of Israel’s history, and to search for practical, moral applications, while Alexandrian interpreters tended to be more interested in the theological and spiritual meaning. More importantly, Antiochene theologians tended to see the fullness of salvation as eschatological, Alexandrians as present and accessible in the Church; as a result, Antiochenes tended to emphasize more the boundaries between God’s life and creation. The chapter looks at works of Diodore of Tarsus, his pupil Theodore of Mopsuestia, Nestorius of Constantinople, Theodoret of Cyrus, Didymus the Blind, and Cyril of Alexandria.
Seeming to Seem
Authors: Rosenthal David
Published: February 2018

Dennett’s account of consciousness starts from third-person considerations. I argue this is wise, since beginning with first-person access precludes accommodating the third-person access we have to others’ mental states. But Dennett’s first-person operationalism, which seeks to save the first person in third-person, operationalist terms, denies the occurrence of folk-psychological states that one doesn’t believe oneself to be in, and so the occurrence of folk-psychological states that aren’t conscious. This conflicts with Dennett’s intentional-stance approach to the mental, on which we discern others’ mental states independently of those states’ being conscious. We can avoid this conflict with a higher-order theory of consciousness, which saves the spirit of Dennett’s approach, but enables us to distinguish conscious folk-psychological states from nonconscious ones. The intentional stance by itself can’t do this, since it can’t discern a higher-order awareness of a psychological state. But we can supplement the intentional stance with the higher-order theoretical apparatus.
Strange Inversions
Authors: Clark Andy
Published: February 2018

Strange inversions occur when things work in ways that turn received wisdom upside down. Hume offered a strangely inverted story about causation, and Darwin, about apparent design. Dennett suggests that a strange inversion also occurs when we project our own reactive complexes outward, painting our world with elusive properties like cuteness, sweetness, blueness, sexiness, funniness, and more. Such properties strike us as experiential causes, but they are (Dennett argues) really effects—a kind of shorthand for whole sets of reactive dispositions rooted in the nuts and bolts of human information processing. Understanding the nature and origins of that strange inversion, Dennett believes, is thus key to understanding the nature and origins of human experience itself. This paper examines this claim, paying special attention to recent formulations that link that strange inversion to the emerging vision of the brain as a Bayesian estimator, constantly seeking to predict the unfolding sensory barrage.
Reading the Records
Authors: Siddiqi Asiya
Published: February 2018

The marks and signatures of the insolvents recorded in the documents yield a variety of information about modes of self-identification, kinds and degrees of literacy, and income levels. Taking signatures on documents as indexes of literacy—those who were not literate signed with marks of various kinds—we found that a surprisingly large number of petitioners were literate. We also found that the proportion of literate petitioners seemed to go up, indicating a trend towards increasing literacy. This trend may be explained in part by the efforts of official, private, and missionary organizations in Bombay to spread literacy, which was traditionally the preserve of the upper classes and the upper castes. Literacy in English was valued especially highly and corresponds in our study to higher income levels.
Growing Up in Dera Ismail Khan
Authors: Sahni Ruchi Ram
Published: February 2018

Ruchi Ram Sahni describes his early life growing up in an affluent business family in Dera Ismail Khan. While his early years were spent in comfortable luxury, his father’s business crashed suddenly when a number of boats loaded with goods drowned in the River Indus, and several of his creditors in the military were transferred out at short notice without repaying their dues. The family fortunes never recovered, and the rest of his growing years were spent in comparative penury. The chapter includes an affectionate portrait of his parents and their attempts to cope with the changed family circumstances. It also provides a vivid account of life as a young boy in the 1860s and 1870s, relations between Hindus and Muslims, local events such as races and wrestling matches, the annual visits of nomads from Waziristan, and observations on caste, religion, and education.
The Question of Sylhet and the Assamese–Bengali Divide
Authors: Misra Udayon
Published: February 2018

The Assamese–Bengali animosity in post-Partition Assam was considerably aggravated owing to the Referendum in the Bengali-speaking district of Sylhet. The question of status of the Assamese language was closely linked with the question of Sylhet, which tilted the scales against an Assamese linguistic majority in the province. The chapter traces the history of Sylhet’s incorporation into Assam and how this had all along been resisted by the Assamese, who wished to see a homogenous Assamese homeland. Though the Assamese did want Sylhet to be separated and they had strong reasons for it, yet the Assamese middle-class leadership represented by the Assam Congress was neither in a position to influence nor did it have any direct hand in influencing the outcome of the Referendum in favour of Pakistan. The chapter also takes up for discussion the language issue and concludes by referring to the dissipation of Assamese–Bengali rivalry.
Science-Policy Interfaces in an Era of Global Commodification
Authors: Harriss-White Barbara
Published: February 2018

This chapter explores the conceptual and practical paving of knowledge and policy over the epistemological chasm and its effects on both littorals. In a method that is drawn from political economy and is historical and comparative, the author uses British evidence and debates to generate questions which may already have been widely rehearsed in India but which may still pose challenges that the Indian intelligentsia can negotiate more effectively than the intelligentsia of the former Imperial power.
Multiple particle tracking
Authors: Furst Eric M. , Squires Todd M.
Published: February 2018

The fundamentals and best practices of multiple particle tracking microrheology are discussed, including methods for producing video microscopy data, analyzing data to obtain mean-squared displacements and displacement correlations, and, critically, the accuracy and errors (static and dynamic) associated with particle tracking. Applications presented include two-point microrheology, methods for characterizing heterogeneous material rheology, and shell models of local (non-continuum) heterogeneity. Particle tracking has a long history. The earliest descriptions of Brownian motion relied on precise observations, and later quantitative measurements, using light microscopy.
Magnetic bead microrheology
Authors: Furst Eric M. , Squires Todd M.
Published: February 2018

Magnetism is a convenient force for actively pulling colloidal particles in a material. Many materials of interest in a microrheology experiment have a negligible magnetic susceptibility, and so embedded magnetic particles can be subject to relatively strong forces by fields imposed from outside of the sample. These are usually generated by electromagnets, but can also include the use of permanent magnets, or a combination of both. Such “magnetic tweezers” are used as sensitive force probes, capable of generating forces ranging from femtonewtons to nanonewtons. Magnetic forces and magnetic materials are reviewed and magnetic tweezer designs discussed. Linear and non-linear measurements using magnetic tweezers are presented, including studies yield stress and shear thinning. The operating regime of magnetic tweezer microrheology is presented, which enables microrheology experiments to access stiffer materials.
Microrheology applications
Authors: Furst Eric M. , Squires Todd M.
Published: February 2018

The wide number of microrheology methods and techniques serve as new tools for measuring the rheology of soft materials. Several emerging applications of microrheology are presented, including the rheology of hydrogelators, gelation kinetics, and degradation (gel breaking). Viscosity measurements, in particular of protein solutions, is also discussed. These problems generally take advantage of the small volume requirements of microrheology as well as its sensitivity. The chapter begins with a discussion of mechanical and microrheology operating regimes to aid the reader in planning experiments. It concludes with a discussion of emerging trends and future areas of microrheology, including interfacial rheology.
Assessment of Erysiphe necator Ascospore Release Models for Use in the Mediterranean Climate of Western Oregon
Authors: Thiessen L. D. , Neill T. M. , Mahaffee W. F.
Published: February 2018

Predictive models have been developed in several major grape-growing regions to correlate environmental conditions to Erysiphe necator ascospore release; however, these models may not be broadly applicable in regions with different climatic conditions. To assess ascospore release in near-coastal regions of western Oregon, chasmothecia (syn. cleistothecia) were collected prior to leaf drop and placed onto natural and artificial grape trunk segments and overwintered outside. Ascospore release was monitored for three overwintering seasons using custom impaction spore traps from leaf drop (Biologische Bundesanstalt, Bundessortenamt und Chemische Industrie [BBCH] 97) until the onset of the disease epidemic in the following growing season. Airborne inoculum was concurrently monitored in a naturally infested research vineyard. Weather and ascospore release data were used to assess previously developed models and correlate environmental conditions to ascospore release. Ascospore release was predicted by all models prior to bud break (BBCH 08), and was observed from the first rain event following the start of inoculum monitoring until monitoring ceased. Previously developed models overpredicted ascospore release in the Willamette Valley and predicted exhaustion of inoculum prior to bud break. The magnitude of ascospore release could not be correlated to environmental conditions; thus, a binary ascospore release model was developed where release is a function of the collective occurrence of the following factors within a 24-h period: >6 h of cumulative leaf wetness during temperatures >4°C, precipitation >2.5 mm, and relative humidity >80%. The Oregon model was validated using field-collected ascospore datasets, and predicted ascospore release with 66% accuracy (P = 0.02). Extant methods for estimating ascospore release may not be sufficiently accurate to use as predictive models in wet, temperate climatic regions.
Risk of Epidural Hematoma After Neuraxial Techniques in Thrombocytopenic Parturients: A Report From the Multicenter Perioperative Outcomes Group
Authors: Lee L.O. , Bateman B.T. , Kheterpal S. , Klumpner T.T. , Housey M. , Aziz M.F. , Hand K.W. , MacEachern M. , Goodier C.G. , Bernstein J. , Bauer M.E.
Published: February 2018

(Anesthesiology. 2017;126(6):1053–1063)

Thrombocytopenia is a relative or even absolute contraindication to neuraxial techniques for labor analgesia and cesarean delivery due to a potential increased risk of epidural hematoma, which can cause permanent neurological injury. Consensus on an acceptable platelet count needed for safe execution of neuraxial techniques and risk stratification of this complication by platelet count are unclear. This retrospective cohort study aimed at using the Multicenter Perioperative Outcomes Group (MPOG) database to define the risk of epidural hematoma requiring surgical decompression stratified by platelet count after neuraxial techniques in thrombocytopenic parturients. A systematic review was also done to combine the resulting data with existing literature reporting neuraxial techniques in thrombocytopenic pregnant women.
Internal Validation of the Sepsis in Obstetrics Score to Identify Risk of Morbidity From Sepsis in Pregnancy
Authors: Albright C.M. , Has P. , Rouse D.J. , Hughes B.L.
Published: February 2018

(Obstet Gynecol. 2017;130(4):747–755)

Three scoring systems exist to help identify patients at risk for clinical deterioration following a diagnosis of sepsis. However, these scoring systems exclude pregnant women in their study populations. Therefore, the authors of this study developed a pregnancy-specific sepsis scoring system (Sepsis in Obstetrics Score), which accounts for the physiological changes of pregnancy.
Teamwork Assessment Tools in Obstetric Emergencies: A Systematic Review
Authors: Onwochei D.N. , Halpern S. , Balki M.
Published: February 2018

(Simul Healthc. 2017;12(3):165–176)

Interdisciplinary collaboration is essential in cases of obstetric emergencies, but breakdowns in team communication can have adverse effects on maternal and fetal outcomes. Although many teamwork assessment tools exist, it remains unclear whether a specific tool is better adapted for assessment in obstetric emergency scenarios than another. In this qualitative systematic review, the authors searched the medical literature for prospective studies in order to find and evaluate the tools available for obstetric emergency team assessment.
Is the First Urinary Albumin Creatinine Ratio (ACR) in Women With Suspected Preeclampsia a Prognostic Factor for Maternal and Neonatal Adverse Outcome? A Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Elia E.G. , Robb A.O. , Hemming K. , Price M.J. , Riley R.D. , French-Constant A. , Denison F.C. , Kilby M.D. , Morris R.K. , Stock S.J.
Published: February 2018

(Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2017;96(5):580–588)

Preeclampsia can result in severe maternal complications and perinatal mortality. The albumin to creatinine ratio (ACR) is an independent prognostic factor for maternal and neonatal adverse outcomes in suspected preeclampsia. This retrospective cohort study aimed at determining the prognostic value of baseline first ACR in predicting maternal and neonatal adverse outcomes in women with suspected preeclampsia.
Use of Antenatal Corticosteroids in Special Circumstances: A Comprehensive Review
Authors: Magann E.F. , Haram K. , Ounpraseuth S. , Mortensen J.H. , Spencer H.J. , Morrison J.C.
Published: February 2018

(Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2017;96(4):395–409)

A literature review was undertaken to formulate recommendations on the usage of antenatal corticosteroids for pregnancies with specific complications—preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM), the severe form of preeclampsia known as HELLP (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets) syndrome, very early deliveries (23 to 26 wk), near term deliveries (34 to 38 wk), intrauterine growth restriction, and cases of multiple births. PubMed, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (1990 to 2015), Clinicaltrials.gov, and Web of Science were searched and 49 studies were found acceptable to be used as the basis of this review.
Emergency Department Care in the Postpartum Period: California Births, 2009 to 2011
Authors: Batra P. , Fridman M. , Leng M. , Gregory K.D.
Published: February 2018

(Obstet Gynecol. 2017;130(5):1073–1081)

Studies have estimated that up to 25% of women visit the emergency department (ED) during the postpartum period. However, despite this high volume, postpartum ED utilization data are omitted from national reports. As there has been a shift toward early postpartum discharge from the hospital, the present study described postpartum ED use in a population-based sample from California as well as associated factors for ED use. The primary outcome was odds of an ED visit within 90 days of discharge. Secondary outcomes included high utilization (≥3 visits within 90 d) and inpatient admission from the ED.
Factors Associated With Maternal Mortality at Advanced Maternal Age: A Population-based Case-control Study
Authors: McCall S.J. , Nair M. , Knight M.
Published: February 2018

(BJOG. 2017;124:1225–1233)

The maternal mortality ratio has been shown in previous studies to increase nonlinearly with increasing age, especially after age 30. Older women have a higher rate of preexisting medical comorbidities, and hence also have an increased risk of experiencing adverse maternal outcomes during pregnancy. In developed countries, the proportion of pregnancies occurring in women over age 30 has been increasing. In some countries, including the United States and the Netherlands, the increase in the number of deliveries in older women has correlated temporally with increases in maternal deaths. This population-based case-control study from the United Kingdom aimed to determine the risk factors associated with maternal mortality in women of advanced maternal age (35 y or older).
Economic Evaluation of Adjunctive Azithromycin Prophylaxis for Cesarean Delivery
Authors: Harper L.M. , Kilgore M. , Szychowski J.M. , Andrews W.W. , Tita A.T.N.
Published: February 2018

(Obstet Gynecol. 2017;130(2):328–334)

Up to 12% of cesarean deliveries are complicated by surgical site infection. In a recent study of unscheduled cesarean deliveries, the administration of a single dose of perioperative azithromycin and a first-generation cephalosporin demonstrated a significant reduction in the risk of infectious morbidities by 50%. It is uncertain whether the use of extended-spectrum prophylaxis is cost-effective. The authors of the present study used decision analytic methods to estimate the effects on costs for perioperative adjunctive azithromycin in addition to standard prophylactic antibodies compared to standard cefazolin alone in preventing surgical site infection. Analysis was performed separately for both scheduled and unscheduled cesarean deliveries.
What’s Trending Now? An Analysis of Trends in Internet Searches for Labor Epidurals
Authors: Sutton C.D. , Carvalho B.
Published: February 2018

(IJOA. 2017;30:52–57)

People now turn to the internet frequently to obtain information about everything. In one survey of parturients, it was found that in 2011 to 2012, 97% of surveyed women used the internet to find information about childbirth. In an effort to see what pregnant women might be concerned about regarding the topic of labor pain management, the current study was undertaken to see how often the term [epidural] showed up in internet searches as well as other terms relating to pain management and birth. In addition, the study analyzed increases in the number of searches over time. The investigators felt the information obtained from the study could help doctors in their communication with patients.
Differential Roles of the Right and Left Toe Perfusion Index in Predicting the Incidence of Postspinal Hypotension During Cesarean Delivery
Authors: Xu Z. , Xu T. , Zhao P. , Ma R. , Zhang M. , Zheng J.
Published: February 2018

(Anesth Analg. 2017;125(5):1560–1566)

Severe postspinal hypotension, which occurs in 70% of parturients, increases the risk of maternal and fetal complications. However, noninvasive methods used to predict spinal hypotension currently do not reflect aortocaval compression by the gravid uterus. One predictive method is the measurement of perfusion index (PI) parameters, usually measured via the finger. However, the authors of the present study speculated that measurement of toe PI may have greater predictive accuracy than finger PI, and may be associated with the rate of postspinal hypotension in parturients. This is due to the fact that an underlying difference between finger and toe PI in supine parturients is the effect of direct aortocaval compression on the iliac vessels by the gravid uterus.
Clinical Factors Associated With Presentation Change of the Second Twin After Vaginal Delivery of the First Twin
Authors: Panelli D.M. , Easter S.R. , Bibbo C. , Robinson J.N. , Carusi D.A.
Published: February 2018

(Obstet Gynecol. 2017;130(5):1104–1111)

Although national guidelines recommend that women with vertex-presenting twins without contraindications attempt a vaginal delivery, clinical concerns regarding the unpredictability of the second twin’s presentation (11% of women may experience malpresentation) often lead women to elect for cesarean delivery. To promote evidence-based care decisions, the authors of the present study identified factors associated with intrapartum presentation change of the second twin after vaginal delivery of the first in a cohort of laboring women with vertex-vertex twins.
Labour Induction Near Term for Women Aged 35 or Over: An Economic Evaluation
Authors: Walker K.F. , Dritsaki M. , Bugg G. , Macpherson M. , McCormick C. , Grace N. , Wildsmith C. , Bradshaw L. , Smith G.C.S. , Thornton J.G.
Published: February 2018

(BJOG. 2017;124:929–934)

In the United Kingdom, all women are offered labor induction between 40 and 41 weeks gestation with goal of decreasing the risk of stillbirth. However, this risk may occur earlier in women 35 years and older so it may be beneficial to offer labor induction sooner. However, induction at an earlier gestational age might increase the risk of cesarean delivery. Therefore, a multicenter, randomized trial was performed comparing labor induction and expectant management at 39 weeks gestation in women 35 years and older. This current article reports on a cost-utility analysis that was conducted in conjunction with the clinical trial.
A Randomized Double-blind Trial of Phenylephrine and Metaraminol Infusions for Prevention of Hypotension During Spinal and Combined Spinal-Epidural Anesthesia for Elective Cesarean Section
Authors: McDonnell N.J. , Paech M.J. , Muchatuta N.A. , Hillyard S. , Nathan E.A.
Published: February 2018

(Anaesthesia. 2017;72(5):609–617)

Currently phenylephrine, preferably as an infusion, is the drug of choice for the prevention and management of spinal anesthesia-induced hypotension during elective cesarean delivery. However, high doses of phenylephrine may result in maternal bradycardia, which can lead to decreased cardiac output and uteroplacental perfusion. While metaraminol is a vasopressor that has been used widely to maintain blood pressure and heart rate in nonobstetric patients, investigations in obstetrics, especially in comparison to phenylephrine have been limited. The current investigators decided to investigate metaraminol as an alternative to phenylephrine for the prevention of maternal hypotension during the administration of spinal or combined spinal-epidural anesthesia for elective cesarean sections (CS). They hypothesized that metaraminol would be at least noninferior to phenylephrine in terms of neonatal acid-base status.
Paraplegia After Accidental Continuous Subdural Analgesia
Authors: Chen J. , Hu Y. , Lv L.
Published: February 2018

(Int J Obstet Anesth. 2017;30:61–66)

In this case report a healthy 34 year-old woman undergoing her second cesarean section received combined spinal epidural anesthesia for surgery using an 18-G Tuohy epidural needle and a 25-G spinal needle. The spinal injection consisted of 0.75% ropivacaine 1.8 mL. Upon removal of the spinal needle, the epidural needle was rotated 90 degrees cephalad and an epidural catheter was inserted 3 cm into the epidural space. A T6 bilateral sensory level was achieved. The surgery was uneventful; the mother was stable throughout and a healthy was child delivered.
Number concentrations of ultrafine particles and the incidence of postmenopausal breast cancer
Authors: Goldberg Mark S. , Labrèche France , Weichenthal Scott , Lavigne Eric , Valois Marie-France , Hatzopoulou Marianne , Shekarrizfard Maryam
Published: February 2018

Background:

There have been a number of reports regarding possible associations between the incidence of female breast cancer and ambient air pollution. Only one study has been published about possible association with ultrafine particles (UFPs; <0.1 μm).

Methods:

We conducted a case–control study of incident postmenopausal breast cancer in Montreal, Canada. Cases were identified between 1996 and 1997 from all hospitals that treated breast cancer. Controls were women diagnosed with other sites of cancer and frequency-matched to cases by hospital and 5-year age groups. Concentrations of UFPs were estimated using a land-use regression model developed in 2011–2012 and assigned to women’s residential addresses at time of diagnosis. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated using logistic regression models adjusting for individual-level and ecological covariates.

Results:

We found that the response functions between UFPs and incident, postmenopausal breast cancer were consistent with linearity. Adjusted ORs of 1.08 (95% CI = 0.96, 1.21) were found for an increase in UFPs equal to the interquartile range (IQR). We found higher ORs among cases with positive estrogen (ER+) and negative progesterone receptor (PR−) (OR = 1.23; 95% CI = 1.04–1.45) and for women with ER−/PR− status (OR = 1.23; 95% CI = 0.99–1.54). We also found stronger associations when analyses were restricted to those women who had not lived at their current address for 10 years or more (OR = 1.27; 95% CI = 0.94–1.71).

Conclusions:

Our findings suggest that exposure to ambient UFPs may increase the risk of incident postmenopausal breast cancer, especially among cases with ER+/PR− and ER−/PR− receptor status.
Gauging the Effects of Self-efficacy, Social Support, and Coping Style on Self-management Behaviors in Chinese Cancer Survivors
Authors: Geng Zhaohui , Ogbolu Yolanda , Wang Jichuan , Hinds Pamela S. , Qian Huijuan , Yuan Changrong
Published: February 2018

Background

Better self-management control in cancer survivors would benefit their functional status, quality of life, and health service utilization. Factors such as self-efficacy, social support, and coping style are important predictors of self-management behaviors of cancer survivors; however, the impact of these factors on self-management behaviors has not yet been empirically tested in Chinese cancer survivors.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to examine how self-efficacy, social support, and coping style affect specific self-management behaviors.

Methods

A secondary data analysis was completed from a cross-sectional study. A total of 764 cancer survivors were recruited in the study. Validated instruments were used to assess patients' self-efficacy, social support, and coping style. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesis.

Results

The SEM model fits the data very well, with root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) of 0.034; close-fit test cannot reject the hypothesis of root mean square error of approximation of 0.05 or less, comparative fit index of 0.91, Tucker-Lewis index of 0.90, and weighted root mean square residual of 0.82. For the measurement models in the SEM, all items loaded highly on their underlying first-order factors, and the first-order factors loaded highly on their underlying second-order factors (self-efficacy and social support, respectively). The model demonstrated that self-efficacy and social support directly and indirectly, via coping style, affect 3 self-management behaviors (ie, communication, exercise, and information seeking).

Conclusion

Our results provide evidence that self-efficacy and social support impose significant direct effects, as well as indirect effects via copying style, on the self-management of cancer survivors.

Implications for Practice

Our findings may help nurses to further improve their care of cancer survivors in terms of their self-management behaviors, specifically communication, exercise, and information seeking.
Psychometric Performance of the Arabic Versions of the Cancer Behavior Inventory-Brief and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast
Authors: Algamdi Maaidah M. , Hanneman Sandra K.
Published: February 2018

Background

Valid and reliable instruments in Arabic are needed to measure self-efficacy and quality of life for Arabic patients with cancer.

Objective

The aim of this study was to test the psychometric performance of the Cancer Behavior Inventory-Brief Arabic (CBI-BA), including participant understanding of items, and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast Arabic (FACT-BA).

Methods

Using a cross-sectional design, 438 cancer patients completed the CBI-BA, 30 of whom completed cognitive interviews. A subsample 167 women with breast cancer also completed the FACT-BA. Internal consistency evidence was assessed with Cronbach’s α and construct validity with principal axis factoring.

Results

Internal consistency estimates were acceptable for the total CBI-BA (α = .81) and FACT-BA (α = .88) scales. Exploratory factor analyses showed evidence of construct validity for the CBI-BA; 1 factor was derived, compared with four in the original English version. Cognitive interviews indicated satisfactory patient understanding of CBI-BA items. The Arabic version of the general FACT-General scale had 4 factors according to expectation.

Conclusion

The CBI-BA has adequate psychometric performance for the measurement of self-efficacy for coping with cancer in Arabic patients. The FACT-General Arabic has adequate evidence of reliability and validity for the measurement of quality of life in Arabic women with breast cancer.

Implications for Practice

The availability of culturally sensitive and psychometrically sound instruments for Arabic patients diagnosed with cancer should be valuable for healthcare clinicians and researchers to assess self-efficacy for coping with cancer and quality of life.
Medical Cannabis for the Treatment of Fibromyalgia
Authors: Habib George , Artul Suheil
Published: February 2018

Background

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain syndrome, characterized by chronic musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and mood disturbances. There are nearly no data on the effect of medical cannabis (MC) treatment on patients with fibromyalgia.

Methods

Data were obtained from the registries of 2 hospitals in Israel (Laniado Hospital and Nazareth Hospital) on patients with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia who were treated with MC. After obtaining patient consent, demographic, clinical, and laboratory parameters were documented. All the patients also completed the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire regarding the period before and after MC treatment.

Results

Thirty patients were identified, and 26 patients were included in the study. There were 19 female patients (73%), and the mean age of the study group was 37.8 ± 7.6 years. The mean dosage of MC was 26 ± 8.3 g per month, and the mean duration of MC use was 10.4 ± 11.3 months. After commencing MC treatment, all the patients reported a significant improvement in every parameter on the questionnaire, and 13 patients (50%) stopped taking any other medications for fibromyalgia. Eight patients (30%) experienced very mild adverse effects.

Conclusions

Medical cannabis treatment had a significant favorable effect on patients with fibromyalgia, with few adverse effects.
The Effect of Unfocused Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy on Bone Defect Healing in Diabetics
Authors: Özkan Enes , Bereket Mehmet Cihan , Önger Mehmet Emin , Polat Ahmet Veysel
Published: February 2018

Aim:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the unfocused extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) on healing of mandible ramus defects in diabetic rats.

Material and method:

Forty male Wistar albino rats were used in the experiment. All animals were randomly divided into 2 main groups, nondiabetic and diabetic. Critical-sized defects were created on ramus in all rats. ESWT was performed to half of rats in each group at 3 sessions after surgery. Animals were euthanized at either fourth or eighth week. Stereological and radiologic examination was performed. Data were statistically analyzed by one-way variance analysis and Tukey post-hoc test.

Results:

Hounsfield Unit values were higher in D−E+ group than D−E− group in both 8-week and 4-week groups (P > 0.05). In both 4-week and 8-week diabetic groups, higher value was observed when compared with nondiabetic groups (P > 0.05). According to stereological results, in 4-week groups, there was a higher new bone, connective tissue, and neovascularization volume in D−E− group than D−E+ group and in D+E− group than D+E+ group. These results are similar for the 8-week groups except NV volume.

Conclusion:

It was found that ESWT application has no positive effect on the healing of critical-sized bone defects in nondiabetics whereas promising effects in diabetics were observed.
Improvements in Health-Related Quality of Life With Electroconvulsive Therapy
Authors: Giacobbe Peter , Rakita Uros , Penner-Goeke Kirsten , Feffer Kfir , Flint Alastair J. , Kennedy Sidney H. , Downar Jonathan
Published: February 2018

Introduction

Although the antidepressant efficacy of ECT is well documented, patient-reported outcomes after this treatment are less well characterized. The aims of the current meta-analysis are to quantify the impact of an acute course of ECT on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and to identify related moderators, specifically post-ECT depressive symptom remission and patient age.

Methods

We searched PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science databases for randomized and nonrandomized studies that report on changes in HRQoL measures after an acute course of ECT. Only studies that used the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 (SF-36) instrument were included. A random effects model using the Hedges' g effect size was used in calculating the pre-post ECT outcomes on all 8 SF-36 subscales and the SF-36 total scores including the physical and mental composite scores. Subgroup analyses were conducted using remission status and age as moderators.

Results

Four studies contributed to this analysis. Significant improvements across all subscales of the SF-36 were observed. Large and very large effect sizes were present for both the SF-36 physical component score (PCS) and mental health component score (MCS), with the change in MCS being statistically superior to the PCS (MCS, Hedges' g = 1.28; 95% confidence interval, 1.15–1.42; PCS, Hedges' g = 0.97; 95% confidence interval, 0.86–1.07). Medium, large, and very large effect sizes were observed for SF-36 subscales scores. Post-ECT depression remission status was related to HRQoL improvement, with statistically significant differences present between remitters and nonremitters for PCS, MCS, and most SF-36 subscale scores. No significant differences were observed in improvement in HRQoL with ECT based on patient age.

Conclusions

An acute course of ECT for depressive symptoms produces medium to very large effect size improvements in HRQoL across multiple components and subscales measured by the SF-36. The magnitude of the effects reported by ECT patients is greater than those that have been reported in other open-label studies of brain stimulation techniques. This study confirms that ECT plays a vital role in the treatment of the most severely ill patients with depressive disorders.
Strong and specific associations between cardiovascular risk factors and brain white matter micro- and macro-structure in health ageing
Authors: Fuhrmann Delia , Nesbitt David , Shafto Meredith , Rowe James B. , Price Darren , Gadie Andrew , Cam-CAN  , Kievit Rogier A.
Published: February 2018

Cardiovascular health declines with age, increasing the risk of hypertension and elevated heart rate in middle- and old age. Here, we used multivariate techniques to investigate the associations between cardiovascular health (diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure and heart rate) and white matter macrostructure (lesion volume and number), and microstructure (as measured by Diffusion Weighted Imaging) in the cross-sectional, population-based Cam-CAN cohort (N = 667, aged 18 to 88). We found that cardiovascular health and age made approximately similar contributions to white matter health and explained up to 56% of variance. Lower diastolic blood pressure, higher systolic blood pressure and higher heart rate were each strongly, and independently, associated with white matter abnormalities on all indices. Body mass and exercise were associated with white matter health, both directly and indirectly via cardiovascular health. These results highlight the importance of cardiovascular risk factors for white matter health across the adult lifespan and suggest that systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate affect white matter via separate mechanisms.