bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Big data in evaluation: Experiences from using Twitter analysis to evaluate Norway’s contribution to the peace process in Colombia
Authors: Fabra-Mata Javier , Mygind Jesper
Published: November 2018

Social research has benefitted from big data and the evaluation community is embracing thinking and approaches that extract value from big data. This article describes how Twitter data was used in a recent evaluation of Norway’s contribution to the Colombian peace process brokered between the Government of Colombia and the FARC guerrilla group in 2012–2016. Sentiment analysis, key phrase extraction and social network analysis of tweets were helpful in evaluating this complex peace process. In this article, the authors present the purpose of the Twitter analysis and discuss the evaluation process. The article shares some lessons on how to conduct this type of analysis and reflects on its usefulness for evaluative purposes.
Hookup initiation and emotional outcomes differ across LGB young men and women
Authors: Watson Ryan J , Shahin Yousef M , Arbeit Miriam R
Published: November 2018

Research on hookups has grown to keep pace with new opportunities for initiations to engage in casual sex. However, most of the scholarship has been heteronormative, which is problematic because sexual minority (e.g., gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer) individuals report unique experiences in relation to their sexual experiences and health. Through minority stress, positive youth development, and grounded theory of resiliency frameworks, we studied the initiation patterns and outcomes related to hooking up among sexual minorities. Interviews were conducted with 17 participants aged 18 to 25 ( Mage = 22) in British Columbia, Canada. We found that gay males most often used social media applications to initiate hookups; bisexual young women and lesbians were most likely to use social gatherings. Despite most scholarship focusing on risks associated with hooking up, we found that outcomes of LGB young adults were more positive than negative. By way of the minority stress and resiliency frameworks, we position hookups as potential coping mechanisms in response to sexual minority stress experiences. Stakeholders should be aware of the challenges associated with hooking up for sexual minorities.
Early life adversity, use of specialist care and unmet specialist care need among children
Authors: Bloom Brittnie E , Alcalá Héctor E , Delva Jorge
Published: November 2018

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are linked to increased utilization of health care among adults; however, the impact of ACEs on nonmental health specialist care has been largely overlooked. To address this, data from the 2011–2012 National Survey of Children’s Health ( n = 89,357) were used to assess the health of children aged 0–17 living with a parent or guardian. Use of specialist care among children in the past 12 months was the outcome of interest and experiencing any one of nine ACEs was the independent variable of interest. After adjusting for confounders in logistic regression modeling, children who experience specific ACEs had higher odds of receiving specialist care. All ACEs were associated with higher unmet need of specialist care, and each additional ACE was independently associated with higher odds of needing specialist care among those who had not received it. This study provides evidence of that experiencing specific ACEs lead to increased demand of nonmental health specialist services among children and adds to the growing body of research indicating that individual ACE items may be differentially associated with health-care utilization or not associated with health-care utilization at all
Lateral load behaviour of a rectangular precast shear wall involving vertical bolted connections
Authors: Sun Jian , Qiu Hongxing , Jiang Hongbo
Published: November 2018

This article is concerned about precast reinforced concrete shear walls and the methods of assembling shear wall panels to form a reliable load transfer system. An assembling method is proposed using dry connection through an H-shaped steel connector (H-connector) and high-strength bolts. A preliminary design, including the H-connector design and bolt design, has been carried out based on the force analysis on the vertical connection in the wall assembly. On the basis of the finite element analysis verified by an experimental study, the preliminary design has been confirmed and a monolithic coefficient ( ζ) has been used to evaluate the cooperative working performance of the two parallel shear walls. Then this article continues to carry out a finite element parametric study on the mechanical behaviour of the precast reinforced concrete shear walls with varying parameters, which includes the bolt specification, the frictional coefficient on the contact surface within the bolted connection and the thickness of the H-connector flange. The lateral load bearing capacity, lateral stiffness and cooperative working performance of the wall assemblies involving these varying parameters have been broadly analysed.
Salt and cardiovascular disease in PURE: A large sample size cannot make up for erroneous estimations
Authors: Tan Monique , He Feng J , MacGregor Graham A
Published: November 2018

The latest Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study claims that salt reduction should be confined to settings where its intake exceeds 12.7 g/day and that eating less than 11.1 g/day of salt could increase cardiovascular risk. More specifically, Mente et al. suggested that (a) salt intake was positively associated with stroke only when it exceeded 12.7 g/day, (b) salt intake was inversely associated with myocardial infarction and total mortality, and (c) these associations were largely independent of blood pressure.

These provocative findings challenge the robust evidence on the role of salt reduction in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and call into question the World Health Organization’s global recommendation to reduce salt intake to less than 5 g/day.

However, Mente et al.’s re-analysis of the PURE data has several severe methodological problems, including erroneous estimations of salt intake from a single spot urine using the problematic Kawasaki formula. As such, these implausible results cannot be used to refute the strong evidence supporting the benefits of salt reduction for the general population worldwide.
The relationship between plasma renin activity and serum lipid profiles in patients with primary arterial hypertension
Authors: Pizoń Tomasz , Rajzer Marek , Wojciechowska Wiktoria , Wach-Pizoń Małgorzata , Drożdż Tomasz , Wróbel Katarzyna , Gruszka Krystian , Rojek Marta , Kameczura Tomasz , Jurczyszyn Artur , Kąkol Janusz , Czarnecka Danuta
Published: November 2018

Introduction:

The aim of the study was to evaluate clinical and biochemical differences between patients with low-renin and high-renin primary arterial hypertension (AH), mainly in reference to serum lipids, and to identify factors determining lipid concentrations.

Materials and methods:

In untreated patients with AH stage 1 we measured plasma renin activity (PRA) and subdivided the group into low-renin (PRA < 0.65 ng/mL/h) and high-renin (PRA ⩾ 0.65 ng/mL/h) AH. We compared office and 24-h ambulatory blood pressure, serum aldosterone, lipids and selected biochemical parameters between subgroups. Factors determining lipid concentration in both subgroups were assessed in regression analysis.

Results:

Patients with high-renin hypertension ( N = 58) were characterized by higher heart rate ( p = 0.04), lower serum sodium ( p < 0.01) and aldosterone-to-renin ratio ( p < 0.01), and significantly higher serum aldosterone ( p = 0.03), albumin ( p < 0.01), total protein ( p < 0.01), total cholesterol ( p = 0.01) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) ( p = 0.04) than low-renin subjects ( N = 39). In univariate linear regression, only PRA in the low-renin group was in a positive relationship with LDL-C ( R2 = 0.15, β = 1.53 and p = 0.013); this association remained significant after adjustment for age, sex, and serum albumin and aldosterone concentrations.

Conclusions:

Higher serum levels of total and LDL-C characterized high-renin subjects, but the association between LDL-C level and PRA existed only in low-renin primary AH.
Perpetrator Risk Markers for Intimate Terrorism and Situational Couple Violence: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Love Heather A. , Spencer Chelsea M. , May Scott A. , Mendez Marcos , Stith Sandra M.
Published: November 2018

Johnson developed a typology of intimate partner violence (IPV) which includes two different categories of violence: situational couple violence (SCV) and intimate terrorism (IT). Johnson proposed that IT is more likely to be found in clinical samples (e.g., batterer intervention programs or domestic violence shelters) compared to nonclinical (general population) samples. This meta-analysis ( n = 149 studies; k = 216 effect sizes) examines differences in the strengths of IPV risk markers in clinical and nonclinical samples of male perpetrators and female victims. All variables (communication and conflict resolution, demand–withdraw patterns, relationship dissatisfaction, controlling behaviors, jealousy, patriarchal beliefs, power in the relationship, and stalking) were expected to be significantly related to IPV for both clinical and nonclinical populations. However, specific variables indicative of IT (control, jealousy, patriarchal beliefs, power, and stalking) were expected to be more strongly associated with clinical samples compared to nonclinical samples. As expected, most variables were significant for clinical and nonclinical populations, and IT risk markers (control, power, jealousy, and patriarchal beliefs) were significantly stronger risk markers for IPV in clinical samples. These results indicate that Johnson’s typology may be conceptualized as representing a continuum of violence, with IT being more severe due to the controlling nature of the violence. Sample type needs to be considered when research about IPV is disseminated, as different degrees of IPV (IT vs. SCV) may be present depending on sample type. Implications from this study include the need to differentiate the level of violence and to tailor intervention for IPV appropriately.
Clinicopathologic Analysis of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma After 125I Interstitial Brachytherapy
Authors: Jie Wei-ping , Bai Jia-ying , Li Bin-bin
Published: November 2018

Oral squamous cell carcinoma is a common malignancy in the head and neck region. Brachytherapy after radical surgery has achieved much progress as a cancer adjuvant treatment. This study focused on the pathologic characteristics of the patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma who underwent seed implantation after radical surgery, and the relationship of these characteristics with prognosis. Thus, 76 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma, who were treated with surgery and subsequently with iodine 125 (125I) radioactive seed implantation, were recruited in this study. We summarized the demographic information, tumor size, location, clinical stage, prognosis, and pathologic characteristics, and discussed the correlations between prognosis and histologic features of oral squamous cell carcinoma after seed implantation. The data showed that the median age was 64 years old, the male/female ratio was 47/29, and the frequent location of the carcinoma was the tongue (35.5%). The median follow-up time was 126 months, and of the patients, 52 (68.4%) exhibited recurrent tumors. The 5-year survival rate was 81.5%, and the local control rate in 6 months was 95.3%. Microscopically, 25 cases demonstrated lymph node metastasis, there was obvious necrosis in 13 cases, and 55 cases exhibited confirmed adjacent tissue invasion including muscle, gland, vessel, nerve, and bone infiltration. Among those, vascular infiltration (13 cases) was significantly correlated with tumor recurrence ( P < .05). This study suggests that detailed pathologic diagnosis and microscopic description, especially of vascular infiltration, was valuable in the prognosis prediction of brachytherapy.
Real-Time Tumor-Tracking Radiotherapy and General Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Adrenal Metastasis in Patients With Oligometastasis
Authors: Katoh Norio , Onishi Hiroshi , Uchinami Yusuke , Inoue Tetsuya , Kuriyama Kengo , Nishioka Kentaro , Shimizu Shinichi , Komiyama Takafumi , Miyamoto Naoki , Shirato Hiroki
Published: November 2018

Background:

Precise local radiotherapy for adrenal metastasis can prolong the useful life of patients with oligometastasis. The aim of this retrospective, 2-center study was to establish the safety and effectiveness of real-time tumor-tracking radiotherapy and general stereotactic body radiotherapy in treating patients with adrenal metastatic tumors.

Materials and Methods:

Thirteen lesions in 12 patients were treated with real-time tumor-tracking radiotherapy (48 Gy in 8 fractions over 2 weeks) and 8 lesions in 8 patients were treated with general stereotactic body radiotherapy (40-50 Gy in 5-8 fractions over 2 weeks or 60-70 Gy in 10 fractions over 2 weeks). Overall survival rates, local control rates, and adverse effects were analyzed.

Results:

The actuarial overall survival rates for all patients at 1 and 2 years were 78.5% and 45.8%, respectively, with a median follow-up of 17.5 months, and the actuarial local control rates for all tumors at 1 and 2 years were 91.7% and 53.0%, respectively, with a median follow-up of 9 months. A complete local tumor response was obtained in 3 tumors treated by real-time tumor-tracking radiotherapy (lung adenocarcinomas with diameters of 35, 40, and 60 mm). There was a statistically significant difference in the local control between the groups treated by real-time tumor-tracking radiotherapy (100% at 1 year) and general stereotactic body radiotherapy (50% at 1 year; P < .001). No late adverse reactions at Grade 2 or higher were reported for either treatment group.

Conclusions:

This study showed that although both treatments are safe and effective, the real-time tumor-tracking radiotherapy is more effective than general stereotactic body radiotherapy in local control for adrenal metastasis.
Transformative Teaching and Learning Through Engaged Practice: Lecturers’ and Students’ Experiences in a University and Underserved Community Partnership in Ireland
Authors: Quillinan Bernie , MacPhail Ann , Dempsey Ciara , McEvoy Eileen
Published: November 2018

The Community Wellness, Empowerment, Leadership and Lifeskills (CWell) program is a 2-year community-driven program developed in partnership between an underserved community in Limerick City and staff at the University of Limerick, Ireland. This article explores the transformative teaching and learning experiences that arose throughout the duration of the program for the lecturers and students. Data were collected through interviews and focus groups with lecturers and students involved in the program. Students supported the notion of “learning differently” and focused around prior learning and attitude to learning, learning about learning, and impact of learning. Lecturers supported the notion of “teaching differently,” focusing on how they had revised their usual teaching practices to more overtly emphasize the importance of culturally responsive pedagogy and student-centered learning (as opposed to content-centered) and the situated learning perspective. There is a necessity for research on diverse and innovative programs to inform culturally responsive pedagogies and transformation for learning.
The Psychological Risk of Minimal Risk Activities: A Pre- and Posttest Study Using the Self-Assessment Manikin
Authors: Murdoch Maureen , Partin Melissa Ruth , Vang Derek , Kehle-Forbes Shannon Marie
Published: November 2018

It is difficult to apply U.S. Federal Code of Regulation’s criterion for “minimal risk,” because benchmarks of minimal risk have not been quantified. Our goal was to examine the psychological risks of several day-to-day activities. Using the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM), we assessed the state valence and arousal of 432 patients and employees at a large Midwestern Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility before and after they had their blood drawn, saw their primary care physician or mental health provider, or took part in an exercise class. Exercise was associated with near-large to large salutary effects (Cohen’s d = 0.76-1.17); other effects were small or moderate in positive directions (Cohen’s d = 0.02-0.51). Our findings are a promising start toward establishing benchmarks and quantifying the psychological harms of minimal risk activities. Estimates such as these may help researchers determine whether their own research exceeds minimal risk.
Control algorithms for the emergence of self-organized behaviours in swarms of differential-traction wheeled mobile robots
Authors: Martínez-Clark R , Cruz-Hernández C , Pliego-Jimenez J , Arellano-Delgado A
Published: November 2018

This article proposes three control algorithms for the emergence of self-organized behaviours, including aggregation, flocking and rendezvous, in swarm robotics systems. The proposed control algorithms are based on a local polar coordinates’ control law available in the literature for posture regulation; this law is adapted to work in a self-organized robotic swarm using distance and bearing as coupling information. Therefore, the robots only need to know the radial distance and orientation to the goal; additionally, the three algorithms are based on self-organization, eliminating the need for a preset coupling topology among the robots. In particular, the flocking algorithm has a first stage for topology creation, while the rendezvous and aggregation algorithms change the topology on every iteration depending on the local interactions of the robots. The effectiveness of the algorithms was evaluated through numerical simulations of swarms of up to 100 differential traction wheeled mobile robots.
To assess the stethoscope cleaning practices, microbial load and efficacy of cleaning stethoscopes with alcohol-based disinfectant in a tertiary care hospital
Authors: Bansal Agam , R S Sarath , Bhan Bhavna Dhingra , Gupta Kajal , Purwar Shashank
Published: November 2018

Background:

The objectives of our study were to study the stethoscope cleaning practices of medical personnel and to assess the microbial load on stethoscopes and efficacy of cleaning stethoscopes with alcohol-based disinfectant.

Methodology:

A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted among medical personnel at a tertiary care hospital in India to assess their knowledge and cleaning practices regarding stethoscope disinfection. Samples from the stethoscopes were collected before and after cleaning with alcohol-based disinfectant.

Results:

Out of 62 participants, 53.22% individuals had never cleaned their stethoscope. All the initial swab samples showed bacterial growth. There was mixed growth in the samples taken from 35 stethoscope bells and 31 diaphragms. Bacteria included coagulase negative staphylococci, bacillus species, diptheroids, S. aureus, Acinetobacter and Klebsiella pneumoniae. After cleaning with an alcohol-based disinfectant, there was a significant decrease in the average number of bacterial colony-forming units.

Conclusions:

Regular cleaning practices should be followed to prevent growth and transmission of potentially pathogenic organisms.
Teens in Rice County Are More Interdependent and Think More Holistically Than Nearby Wheat County
Authors: Dong Xiawei , Talhelm Thomas , Ren Xiaopeng
Published: November 2018

China’s smallest province Ningxia sits in North Central China. Surrounded by herding cultures to the north and wheat farmers to the south, Qingtongxia is a small outpost of rice farming fed by the Yellow River. We test the hypothesis that rice-farming cultures are more interdependent by comparing high school students from Qingtongxia ( N = 190) to students in a nearby wheat district, Yuanzhou ( N = 223). Comparing two nearby counties provides a natural test case that controls for third variables. Students in the rice county thought more holistically, treated a close friend better than a stranger, and showed lower implicit individualism. Students in the rice area showed more relative perception than students from the wheat areas on the practice trials of the framed line task, but differences were nonsignificant on the main trials. Differences between teenagers—born after the year 2000—suggest that rice–wheat differences continue among China’s next generation.
China’s integration into the global financial system
Authors: Töpfer Laura-Marie
Published: November 2018

This article critically reviews theories of global economic networks and refines their application to China’s state-controlled financial sector. Current approaches view global production networks and global financial networks (GFNs) through an agency focus on inter-firm relations and a structural emphasis on neoliberal forces. This market-driven perspective exposes several shortcomings when it comes to understanding the governance of GFNs in China. In the Chinese context, these networks are characterized by complex bargaining that bridges different levels of the Chinese party-state and corporate interests. This article exploits the theoretical synergies between economic geography and theories of Chinese elite politics and institutional change to develop a politically sensitive reading of GFNs. It identifies channels through which multilevel bargaining in the Chinese party-state shapes the competitive positions of firms. By integrating recent findings on Chinese cross-border finance, the article develops an empirically grounded theoretical approach of GFNs ‘with Chinese characteristics’. This opens up a promising research agenda in the GFN literature on the role of the state as an architect and entrepreneur behind GFNs and the outcomes they produce.
Agency, power, and state–firm relations in global financial networks
Authors: Lai Karen PY
Published: November 2018

In response to Töpfer’s incisive critique of how current work on global production networks and global financial networks (GFNs) have been too firm-centric and reliant on neoliberal market framings, this commentary highlights three key points for developing a deeper conceptualization of the state in financial processes and networks. The first addresses the role of the state and inter-firm relations, the second deals with conceptualizations of power and agency, and the third is a call to go boldly beyond authoritarian capitalist regimes in moving toward a state-led conceptualization of GFNs.
Rethinking global financial networks
Authors: Wójcik Dariusz
Published: November 2018

As argued insightfully by Töpfer, the global financial networks (GFNs) concept needs to be more politically sensitive, particularly if it is to capture the dynamics of Chinese capitalism and its role in the world at large. However, in doing so, we should not lose sight of the role of financial and business services, financial centers, and offshore finance at the heart of the GFN framework. With the map of the financial world in a state of turmoil, the future of GFN research looks exciting.
Alibaba and the unpredictability of China’s state-led global financial networks
Authors: Zhao Simon XB
Published: November 2018

The state plays an important role in the development of financial networks at home and abroad, and the Chinese state is no exception. However, the influence of the state in global financial networks (GFNs) is anything but clear. This commentary offers a response to Töpfer’s theorization of China’s role in state-led GFNs by considering the case of Alibaba in order to address a highly abstract theory. In doing so, I question whether any theory of GFNs that places the state at its center represents a useful, if preliminary, guide to international financial networks, especially when dealing with China.
Placing the state within geofinance
Authors: Hall Sarah
Published: November 2018

In this commentary, I examine how research into global financial networks can be used to develop understandings of how place and space shape global finance. Drawing on the growing regulatory interest in geofinance, I argue that such a task presents considerable opportunities for financial geography in two main areas: first, in terms of diversifying our sources of empirics and theory to include those beyond the Global North; and second, in developing flatter ontologies of global finance that document how practices at the scale of financial centers and offshore jurisdictions shape relations of power and authority within global finance.
A comradely politics of gestational work
Authors: Lewis Sophie A
Published: November 2018

In response to the four commentaries on ‘Cyborg uterine geography’, in which I argued normatively for reorganizing gestation on the basis of comradeliness, I grapple with three overlapping conceptual areas highlighted: the ethical and political affordances of the term ‘generosity’ in relation to care and pregnancy; the methodological question of bringing insights from the uterine field of ‘sympoeisis’ (‘making-with’, Haraway (2016) Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene. Durham: Duke University Press.) into the practice of scholarship; and the desire for more place-based specificity in the mapping of uterine geographies (plural, rather than singular; ‘normal’, as well as ‘queer’). Throughout this reply, I tie my remarks back to the core framework I advance in my piece, of gestation being work which, as such, has no predetermined gender, is subject to transformation through struggle, should not be romanticized (for instance, by identifying it with ‘the biological maternal’). Firstly, I rethink what it means to valorize gestational relationality in terms of generousness, from an antiwork perspective. Secondly, I engage the question, ‘can uterine geographies also create a methodology of engagement’? while seeking to qualify the proposed embrace of ‘indeterminacy’. Thirdly, I respond to concerns about the ‘universality’ in my piece by considering some contemporary examples of uterine politicization, specifically around abortion, that suggest to me that specificity has served as the matrix through which a ‘militant particularism’ (Harvey and Williams (1995) Militant particularism and global ambition. Social Text 42(Spring): 69–98.) can emerge in the form of geographically far-flung Reproductive Justice solidarities.
Thinking geographically with wombs
Authors: Longhurst Robyn
Published: November 2018

How can we think geographically with wombs, especially in relation to labour? This is my reading of the question posed by Sophie Lewis in this article ‘Cyborg uterine geography’. The article is challenging not just because the author sets an ambitious task but also because it addresses ‘messy’ bodies long associated with femininity and because it contains terms, phrases and theories that will likely be unfamiliar to some readers. Woven into these theoretical ideas are some helpful examples of how geographers might use the uterus to deromanticize care and social production and instead proliferate that which is often considered to be queer and counter-intuitive. These examples could be developed in future work. So too could how space and place matter to the uterus, and how discourses of the ‘bad’ mother might add weight to arguments about deromanticizing care and social reproduction.
Cyborg uterine geography
Authors: Lewis Sophie
Published: November 2018

Most geographers have sided with ‘cyborgs’ (technonatural subjects) against ‘goddesses’ (e.g. Mother Earth) on questions of embodiment. In itself this provides no justification for the relative dearth (in geography) of theorizing ‘with’ the uterus as a site of doing and undoing; what I propose to call uterine geography. ‘Uterine’ relations are fundamentally cyborg, animatedly labouring and not only spatial but spatializing: they make and unmake places, borders, kin. This includes not only abortion, miscarriage, menstruation and pregnancy (whose transcorporeal and chimeric character is well documented in medical anthropology) but also other life-enabling forms of holding and letting go that do not involve anatomical uteri (such as trans-mothering and other alter-familial practices). Despite our discipline’s ostensible interest in co-production, hybridity and the more-than-human, the ‘doing’ aspects of intra and interuterine processes have tended to be black-boxed in accounts of care economies and social reproduction. The proposed remedy is deromanticization: an approach that critically politicizes uterine relations as historically contingent and subject to amelioration through struggle. Potential aides include Maggie Nelson’s idea that ‘labor does you’, Suzanne Sadedin’s account of gestation’s mutual hostility and the concepts of ‘sym-poiesis’ and ‘metramorphosis’. One notable consequence of this expanded concept of the uterine is that ‘assisted reproduction’, as it is characterized today, ceases to be categorically separate from other kinds of reproduction.
Survival after refractory cardiogenic shock is comparable in patients with Impella and veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation when adjusted for SAVE score
Authors: Schiller Petter , Hellgren Laila , Vikholm Per
Published: November 2018

Objectives:

Survival after different short-term mechanical circulatory support is difficult to compare because various systems are used and patient disease severity is most often not adjusted for. This study compares the outcome after the use of Impella and veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) in refractory cardiogenic shock, adjusted for disease severity through the survival after the VA-ECMO (SAVE) score.

Methods:

Patients with refractory shock treated with either VA-ECMO or Impella between January 2003 and August 2015 were included. Data were analysed to assess short and long-term survival and complications. The SAVE score was calculated for the two groups and outcome was compared adjusted for the SAVE score.

Results:

There was no difference between VA-ECMO patients ( n=46) and Impella patients ( n=48) in mean age or renal failure. ECMO patients were more often intubated and had lower diastolic blood pressure at device implantation. ECMO patients had a lower SAVE score (–0.4 (6.5)) compared to Impella patients (4.1 (5.4)). There was no difference in intensive care unit survival between ECMO patients 65% (52–80) or Impella patients 63% (55–79), or long-term survival between groups. When stratified into worse (III–IV) or better SAVE class (I–II) there was no difference in survival between the groups.

Conclusions:

Short and long-term survival is not measurably different among patients treated with Impella or VA-ECMO due to refractory cardiogenic shock, after adjustment for disease severity through the SAVE score.
Gender differences in patient and system delay for primary percutaneous coronary intervention: current trends in a Swiss ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction population
Authors: Meyer Matthias R , Bernheim Alain M , Kurz David J , O’Sullivan Crochan J , Tüller David , Zbinden Rainer , Rosemann Thomas , Eberli Franz R
Published: November 2018

Background:

Women with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) experience greater delays for percutaneous coronary intervention-facilitated reperfusion than men. Whether women and men benefit equally from current strategies to reduce ischaemic time and whether there are gender differences in factors determining delays is unclear.

Methods:

Patient delay (symptom onset to first medical contact) and system delay (first medical contact to percutaneous coronary intervention-facilitated reperfusion) were compared between women ( n=967) and men ( n=3393) in a Swiss STEMI treatment network. Trends from 2000 to 2016 were analysed, with additional comparisons between three time periods (2000–2005, 2006–2011 and 2012–2016). Factors predicting delays and hospital mortality were determined by multivariate regression modelling.

Results:

Female gender was independently associated with greater patient delay ( P=0.02 vs. men), accounting for a 12% greater total ischaemic time among women in 2012–2016 (median 215 vs. 192 minutes, P<0.001 vs. men). From 2000–2005 to 2012–2016, median system delay was reduced by 18 and 25 minutes in women and men, respectively ( P<0.0001 for trend, P=n.s. for gender difference). Total occlusion of the culprit artery, stent thrombosis, a Killip class of 3 or greater, and presentation during off-hours predicted delays in men, but not in women. A Killip class of 3 or greater and age, but not gender or delays, were independently associated with hospital mortality.

Conclusions:

STEMI-related ischaemic time in women remains greater than in men due to persistently greater patient delays. In contrast to men, clinical signs of ongoing chest discomfort do not predict delays in women, suggesting that female STEMI patients are less likely to attribute symptoms to a condition requiring urgent treatment.
Mental Illness as a Stigmatized Identity
Authors: Marcussen Kristen , Gallagher Mary , Ritter Christian
Published: November 2018

In this study, we examine the relationships among reflected appraisals, self-views, and well-being for individuals diagnosed with severe and persistent mental illness. We also test a perceptual control model of identity to determine whether discrepancies between stigmatized reflected appraisals and stigmatized self-views are associated with self-evaluation (self-esteem and self-efficacy) and psychological distress (depressive symptoms). We find that stigmatized self-views are significantly associated with lower self-esteem and self-efficacy and higher levels of depressive symptoms. Stigmatized reflected appraisals are also associated with lower self-efficacy and higher depressive symptoms but are not associated with self-esteem. As predicted, discrepancies between reflected appraisals and self-views are associated with lower levels of self-efficacy and higher levels of depressive symptoms; however, we do not find a relationship between identity discrepancy and self-esteem. We discuss the implications of our findings for identity and stigma research.
Double-Sided Occluded Chinese Character Recognition Accuracy and Response Time for Design and Nondesign Educational Background
Authors: Liao Ching-Chih
Published: November 2018

This article investigates the influence of the position of occlusion, structural composition, and design educational status on Chinese character recognition accuracy and response time. Tsao and Liao conducted an experiment using 18 of the 4,000 most commonly used Chinese characters and suggested that the primary and secondary recognition features of a “single-sided” occluded Chinese character are the key radical (or initial strokes) and the key component (i.e., combination of strokes), respectively. The study concluded that right-side occluded characters require a shorter response time and yield more accurate recognition and that educational background does not significantly affect recognition accuracy and response time. The present study considered the same 18 Chinese characters and extended the work of Tsao and Liao by exploring accuracy rate and response time in design and nondesign educational groups for the recognition of “double-sided” occluded Chinese characters. The experimental results indicated that right-side occlusion (including both bottom-right and top-right occlusion) requires a shorter response time and yields more accurate recognition than left-side occlusion. These results agree with those of Tsao and Liao, who found that the key radical of a Chinese character is its key visual recognition feature. Even double-sided occlusion of Chinese characters does not affect the recognition outcome if the position of occlusion does not blur the key radical. Moreover, the participants majoring in design recognized the occluded Chinese characters more slowly than those with no educational background in design.
Incidence, Presentation, and Treatment of Pediatric and Adolescent Meniscal Root Injuries
Authors: Wilson Philip L. , Wyatt Charles W. , Romero Jose , Sabatino Meagan J. , Ellis Henry B.
Published: November 2018

Background:

Despite the increasing incidence of sports-related knee injuries in youth athletes, few studies have reported on the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric and adolescent meniscal root injuries.

Purpose:

To describe traumatic posterior meniscal root injuries in a pediatric and adolescent population and compare the presentation of meniscal root injuries versus that of nonroot injuries.

Study Design:

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods:

A study was conducted of all knee arthroscopies performed on consecutive patients treated in a pediatric sports practice from March 2012 through February 2015. All patients who were younger than 20 years at the time of their injury and who underwent an arthroscopy with meniscal injury were included. Patients with discoid lateral meniscus, atraumatic meniscal cysts, partial-thickness meniscal root injuries (LaPrade type 1), and recurrent root tears were excluded. A comparative analysis of root and nonroot injuries was performed.

Results:

A total of 314 patients had surgery for meniscal injury (mean patient age, 16.0 years; range, 10.5-19.6 years). Of these patients, 58 (18.5%) posterior meniscal root injuries were identified. The root injuries were more likely to have joint line tenderness on preliminary physical examination compared with nonroot injuries (96.5% vs 58.6%, respectively; P < .001). Root injuries rarely occurred in isolation compared with nonroot meniscal tears (6.9% vs 17.6%; P = .021) and were frequently treated in combination with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries (86.2%). Lateral root injuries occurred more often in conjunction with ACL injuries compared with medial root injuries (84.8% vs 22.2%; P < .001). On review of preoperative imaging, meniscal extrusion occurred more often in root injuries than in nonroot injuries (32.8% vs 3.5%; P < .0001) and was uncommonly seen in the skeletally immature patient. Extrusion was seen more often in medial than lateral root tears (66.7% vs 21.7%; P = .008). A majority of patients (57/58) underwent transosseous suture repair of the meniscal root.

Conclusion:

When treating a pediatric or adolescent patient for a traumatic meniscal tear, a surgeon may expect to see a posterior meniscal root injury in as many as 1 in 6 patients. When treated for an ACL, contact, or multiligament injury or meniscal extrusion, a pediatric or adolescent patient may demonstrate a meniscal root avulsion or complex meniscal tear. These data provide practitioners with an improved ability to identify and treat meniscal root injuries that otherwise lead to rapid cartilage degeneration.
Broadening Participation in STEM College Majors: Effects of Attending a STEM-Focused High School
Authors: Means Barbara , Wang Haiwen , Wei Xin , Iwatani Emi , Peters Vanessa
Published: November 2018

To increase participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) studies and careers, some states have promoted inclusive STEM high schools. This study addressed the question of whether these high schools improve the odds that their graduates will pursue a STEM major in college. State higher education records were obtained for students surveyed as seniors in 23 inclusive STEM high schools and 19 comparison schools without a STEM focus. Propensity score weighting was used to ensure that students in the comparison school sample were very similar to those in the inclusive STEM school sample in terms of demographic characteristics and Grade 8 achievement. Students overall and from under-represented groups who had attended inclusive STEM high schools were significantly more likely to be in a STEM bachelor’s degree program two years after high school graduation. For students who entered two-year colleges, on the other hand, attending an inclusive STEM high school was not associated with entry into STEM majors.
Teacher Implementation of College- and Career-Readiness Standards: Links Among Policy, Instruction, Challenges, and Resources
Authors: Edgerton Adam K. , Desimone Laura M.
Published: November 2018

Using state-representative teacher surveys in three states—Texas, Ohio, and Kentucky—we examine teachers’ implementation of college- and career-readiness (CCR) standards. What do teachers report about the specificity, authority, consistency, power, and stability of their standards environment? How does their policy environment predict standards-emphasized instruction? Do these relationships differ for those who teach different subjects (math and English Language Arts [ELA]), different grades (elementary or high school), different populations (English Language Learners [ELLs], students with disabilities [SWDs]), and in different areas (rural, urban, or suburban)? We found elementary math teachers taught significantly more standards-emphasized content than elementary ELA teachers, whereas secondary ELA teachers taught significantly more standards-emphasized content than secondary math teachers. Teachers of SWDs and rural teachers taught significantly less of the emphasized content. In all three states, we found greater buy-in (authority) predicted increased emphasized content coverage among ELA teachers but not among math teachers.
What Do Schools of Public Health Have to Say About Diversity and Inclusion?
Authors: Merino Yesenia
Published: November 2018

Objective. The purpose of this study was to understand how schools of public health (SPHs) define and operationalize diversity and inclusion. Methods. Data were collected in February 2017 from publicly available websites for each of the 59 Council on Education in Public Health–accredited SPHs, including mission/vision, goals/strategic plans, and diversity statements. Mentions of diversity were quantified to generate the proportion of SPHs that explicitly address diversity or inclusion. As a related secondary point, mentions of equity were also considered. Results. One third of SPHs do not mention diversity, inclusion, or equity as central tenets of the school. Twenty percent do not mention strategic plans or goals related to diversity, inclusion, or equity. Only 12 of the 59 schools define what they mean by diversity. Conclusions. Recently released Council on Education in Public Health accreditation competencies point to a need for increased attention by SPHs to inclusion and equity. Currently, however, most SPHs do not have a clear definition of how they define diversity. Implications. Additional research is needed into how SPHs will evolve their conceptualizations of diversity, inclusion, and equity to meet the training needs of the next generation of public health professionals.
Social Change Model of Leadership Development: A 4-Year Program
Authors: Dixon Deirdre P. , Wales Ana Maia , Pennington Julia R. , Calega Shannon
Published: November 2018

The social change model (SCM) of leadership development defines all students as potential leaders. Service acts as a powerful means for developing leadership skills within our students. After the 20th anniversary celebration by the International Leadership Association of the SCM, the authors wanted to illustrate how practice can inform research as they applied the model to a 4-year leadership program. The President’s Leadership Fellows is a 4-year program where all students have an opportunity to develop into leaders through classroom and cocurricular leadership experiences. Students actively participate in individual and group activities designed to experience social change and leadership theory on a practical, personal level. The students can then identify with the key elements of the SCM framework. This article outlines this leadership program and how it can help inform further research from practice.
StudySwap: A Platform for Interlab Replication, Collaboration, and Resource Exchange
Authors: Chartier Christopher R. , Riegelman Amy , McCarthy Randy J.
Published: November 2018

The resources needed to conduct psychological research (i.e., time, access to participants, equipment, expertise, etc.) are sometimes distributed inefficiently: Resources going unused at one lab may be needed to complete projects at another lab. This inefficient distribution of resources can be an impediment to scientific progress and to individuals’ careers. StudySwap ( https://osf.io/view/StudySwap ) is an online platform where researchers can post brief de-scriptions of research resources that are available for use ( haves) or that they need and another researcher may have ( needs). This Tutorial provides instructions for posting haves and needs on StudySwap, responding to the posts of other researchers, and creating exchange agreements that define expectations of all collaborative parties prior to data collection or other resource exchanges. Ultimately, we hope that StudySwap can be used to increase the efficiency with which psychology’s collective research resources are being used.
HTA and MCDA solely or combined? The case of priority-setting in Colombia
Authors: Castro Héctor E. , Moreno-Mattar Ornella , Rivillas Juan C.
Published: November 2018

Background

All healthcare systems face problems of justice and efficiency related to setting priorities for allocating limited financial resources. Therefore, explicit decision-making in healthcare depicted as a continuum from evidence generation to deliberation and communication of the decision made, needs to be transparent and fair. Nevertheless, priority-setting in many parts of the world remains being implicit and ad-hoc process. Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) have emerged as policy tools to assist informed decision-making. Both, MCDA and HTA have pros and cons.

Main body

Colombia experienced an important institutional transformation after the establishment of the Health Technology Assessment Institute in 2012. This paper briefly presents the current challenges of the Colombian health system, the general features of the new health sector reform, the main characteristics of HTA in Colombia and the potential benefits and caveats of incorporating MCDA approaches into the decision-making process.

Conclusion

Structured and objective consideration of the factors that are both measurable and value-based in an open and transparent manner may be feasible through combining HTA and MCDA in contexts like Colombia. Further testing and validation of HTA and MCDA solely or combined in LMICs are needed to advance these approaches into healthcare decision-making worldwide.
Should antibiotic prophylaxis before orthopedic implant surgery depend on the duration of pre-surgical hospital stay?
Authors: Davat Marie , Wuarin Lydia , Stafylakis Dimitrios , Abbas Mohamed , Harbarth Stephan , Hannouche Didier , Uçkay Ilker
Published: November 2018

Background

Prolonged hospital stay before surgery is a risk for colonization with antibiotic-resistant microorganisms and possible antibiotic-resistant surgical site infections (SSI), which lacks acknowledgement in international guidelines for perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis.

Method

Retrospective cohort study focusing on prophylaxis-resistant SSI in adult orthopedic implant patients; with emphasis on length of hospital stay prior to the index surgery.

Results

We enrolled 611 cases of SSI (median age, 65 years; 241 females and 161 immune-suppressed) in four large implant groups: arthroplasties (n = 309), plates (n = 127), spondylodeses (n = 31), and nails (n = 46). The causative pathogen was resistant to the perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis regimen in 307 cases (307/611; 50%), but the length of pre-surgical hospitalization did not influence the incidences of prophylaxis-resistant SSIs. These incidences were (107/211;51%) for the admission day, (170/345;49%) within 10 days of delay, (19/35;54%) between 10 and 20 days, and (11/20; 55%) beyond 20 days of hospital stay before surgery. The corresponding incidences of methicillin-resistant staphylococci were 13%, 14%, 17%, and 5%, respectively. In adjusted group comparisons, the length of prior hospital stay was equally unrelated to future prophylaxis-resistant SSI (odds ratio 1.0, 95% confidence interval 0.99–1.01).

Conclusions

In our retrospective cohort of orthopedic implant SSI, the length of pre-surgical hospital stay was unrelated to the incidence of prophylaxis-resistant pathogens.