bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparative Study of the Initial Experience in Performing Robotic and Laparoscopic Right Hepatectomy with Technical Description of the Robotic Technique
Authors: Marino Marco Vito , Shabat Galyna , Guarrasi Domenico , Gulotta Gaspare , Komorowski Andrzej Lech
Published: March 2018

Background: Despite potential benefits of robotic liver surgery, it is still considered a “development in progress” technique. Methods: The outcomes of 14 patients undergoing robotic right hepatectomy were analyzed and compared with the results of 20 laparoscopic right hepatectomies consecutively performed by the same young surgeon. Results: The overall mean operative time was less in robotic arm (425 ± 139 vs. 565.18 ± 183.73, p = 0.022) and the estimated blood loss was similar (335.15 ± 139.8 vs. 423.95 ± 205.15, p = 0.17); no blood transfusion was required. Two patients in robotic group and 5 in laparoscopic group (p = 0.454) underwent conversion to open surgery; the overall morbidity was 21.4 and 15% in studied arms, respectively (p = 0.634). Pathology reports showed a mean surgical margin of 26.02 ± 3.9 in robotic arm, 28.76 ± 4.6 for laparoscopic, (p = 0.079) and we achieved a R0 resection rate of 91.66 and 85%, respectively. Reoperation and 90-days mortality rate were both null in robotic arm. One patient in laparoscopic group was reoperated due to postoperative hemorrhage. One-year overall and disease free-survival rate were 92.3 and 84.6%, respectively in robotic arm and 90 and 85% in laparoscopic arm. Conclusions: Robotic right hepatectomy is a safe and feasible technique providing promising short-term outcomes and oncological results also in the initial phase of learning curve.
Mortality and Stroke Recurrence in a Rehabilitation Cohort of Patients with Cerebral Infarcts and Chagas Disease
Authors: Montanaro Vinícius Viana Abreu , Hora Thiago Falcão , da Silva Creuza Maria , Santos Carla Verônica de Viana , Lima Maria Inacia Ruas , Negrão Edson Marcio , Ribeiro Daniele Sebestyan Martins , Oliveira Eleonora Maria de Jesus , de Freitas Gabriel R.
Published: March 2018

Background: Chagas disease is related to ischemic stroke (IS), although few epidemiological studies have evaluated the associated mortality and recurrence. Our objective is to determine factors associated with mortality and recurrence of IS in patients with IS and Chagas disease. Methods: We retrospectively studied data obtained from electronic medical records of patients admitted at SARAH Hospitals across Brazil between 2009 and 2013. Using Cox regression analysis for mortality and logistic regression for recurrence, we assessed primary population characteristics and statistical associations between risk factors and outcomes. Results: We analyzed 279 patients who were followed up until 2016. The mean age at stroke onset was 61 with a 10% frequency of death. Multivariate analysis assessing mortality demonstrated that the associated factors were age at stroke (hazard ratio [HR] 1.04), initial modified Rankin Scale (mRS; HR 20.91), bladder dysfunction (HR 2.51), diabetes mellitus (DM; HR 3.64), and alcoholism (HR 3.37). Multivariate analysis assessing recurrence demonstrated that the associated factors were age at ictus (OR 0.96), cognitive deficit (OR 0.44), initial mRS (OR 1.84), cardioembolic etiology (OR 2.47), and female sex (OR 2.73). Conclusions: Cardiac conditions did not correlate with mortality or recurrence. Age was a protective factor against recurrence, probably due to cumulative risk of IS over time, while initial mRS was associated with both outcomes. Treating diseases such as DM and bladder dysfunction, and early treatment to reduce the initial mRS could potentially prevent both outcomes; also, establishing a correct etiological diagnosis is important.
Left Septal Slow Pathway Ablation for Atrioventricular Nodal Reentrant Tachycardia
Authors: Katritsis Demosthenes G. , John Roy M. , Latchamsetty Rakesh , Muthalaly Rahul G. , Zografos Theodoros , Katritsis George D. , Stevenson William G. , Efimov Igor R. , Morady Fred
Published: March 2018

Background:

Immunohistochemistry studies suggest that the anatomic substrate of the slow pathway in atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) is the left inferior nodal extension. We hypothesized that slow pathway ablation from the left septum is an effective alternative to right-sided ablation.

Methods and Results:

We analyzed our databases of AVNRT in search of cases that had used slow pathway ablation from the left septum because of failure of right septal ablation, and then prospectively subjected consenting patients to a left septal–only procedure. Of 1342 patients subjected to right septal slow pathway ablation for AVNRT, 15 patients, 11 with typical and 4 with atypical AVNRT, had a left septal approach after unsuccessful right-sided ablation (R+L group). Eleven patients were subjected to a left septal–only approach for slow pathway ablation without a previous right septal attempt (L group). Fluoroscopy times in the R+L and L groups were 30.5 (21.0–44.0) and 20.0 (17.0–25.0) minutes, respectively (
P
=0.061), and radiofrequency current delivery times were 11.3 (5.0–19.1) and 10.0 (7.0–12.0) minutes, respectively (
P
=0.897). There was no need for additional ablation lesions at other anatomic sites in either group, and no cases of atrioventricular block were encountered. Recurrence rates of the arrhythmia for the R+L and L groups were 6.7% and 0%, respectively, in the 3 months after ablation (
P
=1.000).

Conclusions:

Left septal ablation at the anatomic site of the left inferior nodal extension is an alternative for ablation of both typical and atypical AVNRT when ablation at the right posterior septum is ineffective.
Spirit-Empowered ‘Walking Alongside’
Authors: Cartledge Mark J.
Published: March 2018

The gift of the Holy Spirit to the disciples in John’s Gospel, expressed in the so-called Paraclete sayings (John 14–16), indicates that certain capacities will be given to the disciples of Jesus Christ for the benefit of their witness to the world. This article reflects on these pneumatological texts, brings them into conversation with the discourse of public theology, that is, theology that seeks to address issues in the public domain of wider civil society, outside the sphere of the church. In particular, by taking the metaphor of ‘walking alongside’, this study explores the ways these texts inform the manner in which Renewal (Pentecostal and Charismatic) Christians, believing in the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for service to the world, may frame their pneumatology of engagement for the sake of others.
Arthur Danto, the End of Art, and the Philosophical View of History
Authors: van den Akker Chiel
Published: March 2018

This essay takes Arthur Danto’s end-of-art thesis as a case in point of a substantive philosophy of history. Such philosophy explains the direction that art has taken and why that direction could not have been different. Danto never scrutinized the philosophy of history that his end-of-art thesis presumes. I aim to do that by drawing a distinction between what I refer to as the common view of history and the philosophical view of history, and by arguing that we need the latter if we want to properly assess the plausibility of the end-of-art thesis.
Learning from History
Authors: Bouton Christophe
Published: March 2018

In this paper, I would like to show that Koselleck’s thesis on the dissolution of the topos historia magistra vitae in modernity is open to certain objections, to the extent that one finds in modernity a number of practical conceptions of history which are “useful for life”. My own thesis is that the topos of history as the “Guide to Life” is not so much dissolved as rather transformed with modernity, and in a sense which has to be specified. This point of view will be defended with reference to European authors of the nineteenth century (I focus on the examples of Droysen and Nietzsche), though I will add some observations on the twentieth century in the last part of the paper.
Looking in Stereo: School Photography, Interracial Intimacy, and the Pulse of the Archive
Authors: Attewell Nadine
Published: March 2018

This article examines the visual genre of the school photograph in order to reflect on the promise of transcolonial methodologies for thinking about the history of race and belonging in Canada. It focuses on four photographs of schoolchildren taken at around the same time in a range of locations across the British Empire. All feature Chinese children in close proximity to black, South Asian, or white peers. Seeking to understand how the photographs resonate with one another as representations of encounters between Asian and other racialized child subjects—divisions of class, location, and migration history notwithstanding—I develop a transcolonial methodology that is attentive to the (counter)institutional workings of rhythm and repetition as engines of community formation. Such a practice, I suggest, allows for rhythms to emerge that resist alignment with the pedagogical dictates of national time, as exemplified by national celebrations of Canada 150.
Asianfail in the City: Michael Cho’s Shoplifter
Authors: Ty Eleanor
Published: March 2018

Michael Cho’s graphic novel Shoplifter is a fine example of “Asianfail,” where the heroine fails to excel as Asian North Americans are “supposed to.” Narratives of failure are either rare or untold in Asian North American literature because Asians are often stereotyped as the successful model minority. Yet Shoplifter is more than simply a story about a twenty-something woman’s search for identity. With its rich details and striking colours, Cho’s visual language suggests that the graphic novel is also about contemporary urban life: its strange beauty and darkness, its complexities and hollowness. Shoplifter is a narrative about the development of a young Asian North American woman as well as a tribute to—and critique of—big city life.
Palaearctic species of Thaumastoptera (s. str.) Mik (Diptera: Limoniidae)
Authors: STARÝ JAROSLAV , OBOŇA JOZEF
Published: March 2018

Redescriptions are provided of the Palaearctic species of Thaumastoptera (s. str.) Mik, viz. T. (T.) calceata Mik, 1866 (Europe; Saudi Arabia), T. (T.) intermixta Savchenko, 1974 (Russia: North Caucasus; Georgia), and T. (T.) insignis Lackschewitz, 1940 (Portugal, Spain), and a new species, T. (T.) spathifera sp. n. (Italy: Sicily), is described. All important characters of the wing and the male terminalia are illustrated. A key to the Palaearctic Thaumastoptera (s. str.) is appended.
Discovery of the first species of Dryinus Latreille (Hymenoptera: Dryinidae) from Burmese amber
Authors: GUGLIELMINO ADALGISA , OLMI MASSIMO , MARLETTA ALESSANDRO , SPERANZA STEFANO
Published: March 2018

Dryinus maderai sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Dryinidae) is described from Upper Cretaceous Lower Cenomanian, Burmese amber (Myanmar). It is the first species of Dryinus Latreille found in this amber.
Lost species in Cameroon: rediscovery of the endangered freshwater crab,
Louisea balssi (Bott, 1959) (Brachyura: Potamonautidae), with notes on its ecology and conservation
Authors: NDONGO PIERRE A. MVOGO , RINTELEN THOMAS VON , ALBRECHT CHRISTIAN , TAMESSE JOSEPH L. , CUMBERLIDGE NEIL
Published: March 2018

The rare and endangered Cameroonian potamonautid freshwater crab, Louisea balssi (Bott, 1959), was recently rediscovered after not having been seen for the last 109 years and presumed extinct. The new specimens of L. balssi were collected from the Southwest Region of Cameroon, about 80 km from the type locality, and include the first adult male to be recorded for this species. A redescription of L. balssi, which includes for the first time the adult characters of the male gonopods and chelipeds, is provided. New data on the habitat, population structure, and distribution of this species are also provided. Threats to the species and the implications to its conservation are discussed.
Predicting Near-Term Changes in the Earth System: A Large Ensemble of Initialized Decadal Prediction Simulations Using the Community Earth System Model
Authors: Yeager S. G. , Danabasoglu G. , Rosenbloom N. A. , Strand W. , Bates S. C. , Meehl G. A. , Karspeck A. R. , Lindsay K. , Long M. C. , Teng H. , Lovenduski N. S.
Published: March 2018

The objective of near-term climate prediction is to improve our fore-knowledge, from years to a decade or more in advance, of impactful climate changes that can in general be attributed to a combination of internal and externally forced variability. Predictions initialized using observations of past climate states are tested by comparing their ability to reproduce past climate evolution with that of uninitialized simulations in which the same radiative forcings are applied. A new set of decadal prediction (DP) simulations has recently been completed using the Community Earth System Model (CESM) and is now available to the community. This new large-ensemble (LE) set (CESM-DPLE) is composed of historical simulations that are integrated forward for 10 years following initialization on 1 November of each year between 1954 and 2015. CESM-DPLE represents the “initialized” counterpart to the widely studied CESM Large Ensemble (CESM-LE); both simulation sets have 40-member ensembles, and they use identical model code and radiative forcings. Comparing CESM-DPLE to CESM-LE highlights the impacts of initialization on prediction skill and indicates that robust assessment and interpretation of DP skill may require much larger ensembles than current protocols recommend. CESM-DPLE exhibits significant and potentially useful prediction skill for a wide range of fields, regions, and time scales, and it shows widespread improvement over simpler benchmark forecasts as well as over a previous initialized system that was submitted to phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). The new DP system offers new capabilities that will be of interest to a broad community pursuing Earth system prediction research.
Effects of a Video-Based Teacher Observation Program on the De-Privatization of Instruction: Evidence From a Randomized Experiment
Authors: Quinn David M. , Kane Thomas J. , Greenberg Miriam , Thal Daniel
Published: March 2018

Purpose: U.S. schools have traditionally been characterized by teacher privacy and independence, yet theory and empirical work suggest that peer observation and support—or “de-privatized instruction”—can help improve pedagogical practice. In this study, we investigate whether the introduction of video technology into a school—through a video-based teacher evaluation system called Best Foot Forward (BFF)—led to instructional de-privatization, even in the absence of program components designed to encourage de-privatization. Research Method: Eighty-five schools were randomly assigned to BFF or a control condition. After one school year, teachers and administrators completed Web-based surveys about their experiences. Findings: We find that BFF caused administrators to facilitate more peer support among teachers, made teachers more likely to share lesson videos with colleagues, led teachers to have more of their lessons seen by other teachers, and redistributed which teachers were providing instructional support to colleagues (with relatively newer teachers taking on a larger role in providing peer support). Implications: Results suggest that video technology may be an effective tool for efforts to improve instruction by increasing peer observation and support.
Impact response of a low-cost randomly oriented fiber foam core sandwich panel
Authors: Buenrostro Ezequiel , Whisler Daniel
Published: March 2018

Three-dimensional fiber-reinforced foam cores may have improved mechanical properties under specific strain rates and fiber volumes. But its performance as a core in a composite sandwich structure has not been fully investigated. This study explored different manufacturing techniques for the three-dimensional fiber-reinforced foam core using existing literature as a guideline to provide a proof of concept for a low-cost and easily repeatable method comprised of readily available materials. The mechanical properties of the fiber-reinforced foam were determined using a three-point bend test and compared to unreinforced polyurethane foam. The foam was then used in a sandwich panel and subjected to dynamic loading by means of a gas gun (103 s−1). High-strain impact tests validated previously published studies by showing, qualitatively and quantitatively, an 18–20% reduction in the maximum force experienced by the fiber-reinforced core and its ability to dissipate the impact force in the foam core sandwich panel. The results show potential for this cost-effective manufacturing method to produce an improved composite foam core sandwich panel for applications where high-velocity impacts are probable. This has the potential to reduce manufacturing and operating costs while improving performance.
The manufacture and characterization of composite three-dimensional re-entrant auxetic cellular structures made from carbon fiber reinforced polymer
Authors: Wang Xin-Tao , Chen Yun-Long , Ma Li
Published: March 2018

In recent years, three-dimensional auxetic structures have attracted great interest. Generally, three-dimensional auxetic structures are of complicate geometries which make them difficult to fabricate, benefiting from the development of additive manufacturing technologies, many three-dimensional auxetic structures can be made from metals or polymers. However, to the authors' knowledge, the additive manufacturing technology of fiber reinforced polymer is not fully developed, and none three-dimensional auxetic structure made from fiber reinforced polymer has been reported before. To integrate the high specific stiffness, high specific strength, and light weight merits of high-performance fiber reinforced polymer composites into three-dimensional auxetic structures with unique properties, research on composite three-dimensional auxetic structures made from fiber reinforced polymer should be conducted. This paper presents the composite three-dimensional re-entrant auxetic structures made from carbon fiber reinforced polymer laminates using an interlocking assembly method. The auxetic nature of the composite structure has been verified by experimental testing and finite element simulations. Based on the finite element models, the dependences of the Poisson's ratio and effective compression modulus of the composite auxetic three-dimensional re-entrant structure on the re-entrant angle have been studied and compared to metal three-dimensional re-entrant structure. A comparative study of the Poisson's ratio and specific stiffness of carbon fiber reinforced polymer composite auxetic structure with the three-dimensional printed polymer and metal auxetic structures in literature has also been conducted.
Is Collaborative, Community-Engaged Scholarship More Rigorous Than Traditional Scholarship? On Advocacy, Bias, and Social Science Research
Authors: Warren Mark R. , Calderón José , Kupscznk Luke Aubry , Squires Gregory , Su Celina
Published: March 2018

Contrary to the charge that advocacy-oriented research cannot meet social science research standards because it is inherently biased, the authors of this article argue that collaborative, community-engaged scholarship (CCES) must meet high standards of rigor if it is to be useful to support equity-oriented, social justice agendas. In fact, they argue that CCES is often more rigorous than traditional scholarship. The authors draw from cases of CCES that they conducted to provide evidence and examples. They discuss the importance of relationship building and trust in addressing the tensions that can arise between the demands of knowledge production and action-oriented social change.
Controlled environments: An urban research agenda on microclimatic enclosure
Authors: Marvin Simon , Rutherford Jonathan
Published: March 2018

Controlled environments create specialist forms of microclimatic enclosure that are explicitly designed to transcend the emerging limitations and increasing turbulence in existing modes of urban climatic conditions. Across different urban contexts, anthropogenic change is creating urban conditions that are too hot, cold, humid, wet, windy, etc. to support the continued and reliable environments that are suitable for the reproduction of food, ecologies and human life. In response, there are emerging forms of experimentation with new logics of microclimatic governance that seek to enclose environments within membranes and develop artificially created internal ecologies that are precisely customised to meet the needs of the plant, animal or human occupants of these new forms of enclosure. While recognising that enclosure has a long history in urbanism, design and architecture, we ask if a new logic of microclimatic governance is emerging in specific response to the ecological changes of the Anthropocene. The paper sets out a research agenda to investigate whether the ability of cities, states and corporates to design and construct internalised environments is now a strategic capacity that is critical to developing the knowledge, practices and technologies to reconfigure new forms of urban climatic governance that address the problems of climate change and ensure urban reproduction under conditions of turbulence.
Modeling and Forecasting Regional Tourism Demand Using the Bayesian Global Vector Autoregressive (BGVAR) Model
Authors: Assaf A. George , Li Gang , Song Haiyan , Tsionas Mike G.
Published: March 2018

Increasing levels of global and regional integration have led to tourist flows between countries becoming closely linked. These links should be considered when modeling and forecasting international tourism demand within a region. This study introduces a comprehensive and accurate systematic approach to tourism demand analysis, based on a Bayesian global vector autoregressive (BGVAR) model. An empirical study of international tourist flows in nine countries in Southeast Asia demonstrates the ability of the BGVAR model to capture the spillover effects of international tourism demand in this region. The study provides clear evidence that the BGVAR model consistently outperforms three other alternative VAR model versions throughout one- to four-quarters-ahead forecasting horizons. The potential of the BGVAR model in future applications is demonstrated by its superiority in both modeling and forecasting tourism demand.
Heroes, Martyrs, and Villains in 1930s Shaanbei: Liu Zhidan and His “Bandit Policy”
Authors: Youwei Xu , Billingsley Philip
Published: March 2018

Although the name of Liu Zhidan is a celebrated one in the history of Chinese Communist organizing, Liu provided little hard information about his strategy for creating a revolutionary base in his native “Shaanbei.” Lacking trained recruits for his movement, he sought to win over as many as possible of the bandits created by the area’s widespread political and environmental disruption that had been ongoing since the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. However, the opprobrium in which bandits were generally held by Chinese people led most of his fellow revolutionaries to reject this approach, with the result that it has been ignored until now. To better understand Liu’s principles for popular mobilization, and also to show the options available to men of violence in the insurrectionary environment of Shaanbei, this article examines his relationship with three local bandit chiefs. Using hitherto overlooked sources together with personal interviews, it concludes that Liu’s success in winning over men like these owed more to his charisma than to their conversion to abstract revolutionary ideals, but that, for him, it was enough if this brought them around to an overall appreciation of the movement’s aims.
Implicit and Explicit Racial Attitudes Changed During Black Lives Matter
Authors: Sawyer Jeremy , Gampa Anup
Published: March 2018

Lab-based interventions have been ineffective in changing individuals’ implicit racial attitudes for more than brief durations, and exposure to high-status Black exemplars like Obama has proven ineffective in shifting societal-level racial attitudes. Antiracist social movements, however, offer a potential societal-level alternative for reducing racial bias. Racial attitudes were examined before and during Black Lives Matter (BLM) and its high points of struggle with 1,369,204 participants from 2009 to 2016. After controlling for changes in participant demographics, overall implicit attitudes were less pro-White during BLM than pre-BLM, became increasingly less pro-White across BLM, and were less pro-White during most periods of high BLM struggle. Considering changes in implicit attitudes by participant race, Whites became less implicitly pro-White during BLM, whereas Blacks showed little change. Regarding explicit attitudes, Whites became less pro-White and Blacks became less pro-Black during BLM, each moving toward an egalitarian “no preference” position.
Procurement Practices and the Municipality Auditing Market
Authors: Marques Ana , Pinto Ana
Published: March 2018

In this study, we perform a comprehensive analysis of municipal auditing, exploring its several steps: procurement, decision on selection criteria, selection, render and payment of services, and opinion provided. Our setting is Portugal, where external auditing of municipalities’ accounts has recently been introduced. Our dataset is unique, resulting from merging new survey data with data that are not publicly available. We find that the majority of municipalities acquire auditing services through direct selection and choose their auditors based upon the lowest price selection criterion. However, municipalities which employ a more sophisticated procurement process, where political competition is lower and where citizens’ interest is higher, employ the lowest price selection criterion less frequently. The auditor selected is usually a firm (instead of an individual Certified Public Accounting [CPA]) but never one of the Big 4 companies. The audit fee paid for the auditing services is higher when the level of citizens’ interest increases, and lower when the municipality has an internal auditing office. Finally, when the auditor issues a qualified opinion, the auditor fee is also higher.
Presentation of CEOs in the media: A framing analysis
Authors: Denner Nora , Heitzler Nicola , Koch Thomas
Published: March 2018

Chief executive officers as representatives of their companies are increasingly the focus of attention from both the public and the media. The head manager represents the company and in some cases even personifies it. The growing exposure of chief executive officers has turned some of these individuals into celebrities and media stars. Some studies have shown that the image of the chief executive officer is closely linked to that of the company. However, the presentation of chief executive officers in media coverage has received little research interest. The present study aims to fill this research gap by conducting a content analysis of two German newspapers and one magazine published from July 2013 to June 2015 to assess chief executive officer press coverage. We focus on the personalization of chief executive officers in corporate coverage by deriving six frames which show that chief executive officers are presented very differently in the media, for example, as an individual or a representative of the company.
Fundamentalist web journalism: Walking a fine line between religious ultra-Orthodoxy and the new media ethos
Authors: Golan Oren , Mishol-Shauli Nakhi
Published: March 2018

New media journalism has perturbed traditional reporting not only in mainstream-modern societies but also within religious-cum-insular communities. Focusing on the Jewish ultra-Orthodox community in Israel and in light of web journalists’ continuous struggle with leading clergy and an apprehensive public, this study grapples with the question, ‘How do ultra-Orthodox web journalists view their work mission as information brokers for an enclave culture?’ The study gleaned from 40 in-depth interviews with web journalists and discussions with community web activists. Results uncovered three major schemata that drive their praxis: (1) Communal-Haredi, (2) Western-Democratic and (3) Journalist Ecosystem. Findings suggest a rising archetype of fundamentalist web journalism that rests its professional ethos on writers’ practice, rather than on formalized training or communal dictums. Web journalists were found to strongly identify with their community, yet, often unintentionally, also act as a secondary form of authority and harbingers of change.
Occupational performance coaching for stroke survivors (OPC-Stroke): Understanding of mechanisms of actions
Authors: Kessler Dorothy , Egan Mary Y , Dubouloz Claire-Jehanne , McEwen Sara , Graham Fiona P
Published: March 2018

Introduction

Occupational performance coaching modified for stroke survivors is a promising new intervention to improve occupational performance post stroke. In the intervention, following client-centred occupational goal-setting, clients are led through strengths-based problem-solving and experimentation. Emotional support, individualized education and goal-focused problem-solving are hypothesized as key elements. Examination of clients’ experiences is necessary to better understand how occupational performance coaching modified for stroke survivors works, and improve its potential effectiveness.

Method

A descriptive qualitative study was embedded in a pilot randomized controlled trial. Semi-structured interviews were completed with seven participants in the treatment arm who received occupational performance coaching modified for stroke survivors. Qualitative content analysis was used for analysis.

Findings

Three categories were identified related to participants’ experiences of occupational performance coaching modified for stroke survivors: (a) the coaching was helpful; (b) the coaching provided opportunity for insightful reflection and (c) a different approach was preferred. Findings also lend support to the critical role of hypothesized key components and theorized mechanisms of action, and demonstrate the overarching role of the therapeutic relationship and the contribution of personal characteristics.

Conclusion

The revised theoretical understanding of occupational performance coaching modified for stroke survivors provides a valuable framework for communicating the actions that occupational therapists take in enabling occupation and emphasizes the role of the therapeutic relationship in client-centred approaches to improving occupational performance post stroke.
Computer Versus Paper-Based Testing: Are They Equivalent When it Comes to Working Memory?
Authors: Carpenter Rachel , Alloway Tracy
Published: March 2018

School systems across the country are transitioning from paper-based testing (PBT) to computer-based testing (CBT). As this technological shift occurs, more research is necessary to understand the practical and performance implications of administering CBTs. Currently, there is a paucity of research using CBTs to examine working memory (WM) performance, even though CBTs may negatively influence performance. The present study compared a WM CBT and PBT and found enhanced WM performance on the PBT across several verbal and visuospatial WM tests. This pattern was evident even after age was controlled, indicating that test mode effects were persistent across ages (4-11 years). CBTs on WM performance may yield lower scores due to developmental WM differences, increased cognitive workload, test mode effects stemming from individual access to technology, and participant characteristics, such as developmental, biological, or gender differences. The presence of divergent WM in CBT and PBT indicates the need for additional options for children at risk of academic failure because of testing modality.
A Review and Critical Examination of the System of Least Prompts
Authors: Shepley Collin , Lane Justin D. , Ault Melinda Jones
Published: March 2018

We systematically reviewed more than 25 years of applied research examining the system of least prompts response prompting procedure with individuals with disabilities. We identified 123 peer-reviewed studies including 413 participants receiving instruction with the system of least prompts. A total of 252 experimental designs were evaluated, with 51 designs indicating a functional relation and the presence of 154 demonstrations of effect across 91 individuals. Our data indicate that the system of least prompts is an evidenced-based practice for teaching chained responses related to community, self-care, and vocational skills to individuals with moderate intellectual disability who are 13 years of age or older. In addition, we present and discuss a method for analyzing and aggregating data from single-case studies to account for noneffects and publication bias when identifying if an intervention meets standards as an evidence-based practice.
Antibiotic Use in the Intensive Care Unit: Optimization and De-Escalation
Authors: Campion Maureen , Scully Gail
Published: March 2018

Appropriate antimicrobial therapy is essential to ensuring positive patient outcomes. Inappropriate or suboptimal utilization of antibiotics can lead to increased length of stay, multidrug-resistant infections, and mortality. Critically ill intensive care patients, particularly those with severe sepsis and septic shock, are at risk of antibiotic failure and secondary infections associated with incorrect antibiotic use. Through the initiation of active empiric antibiotic therapy based upon local susceptibilities, daily evaluation of signs and symptoms of infection and narrowing of antibiotic therapy when feasible, providers can streamline the treatment of common intensive care unit (ICU) infections. Optimizing antibiotic dosing through prolonged infusions can be beneficial in intensive care populations with altered pharmacokinetics. Antimicrobial stewardship teams can assist ICU providers in managing and implementing these tactics. This review will discuss the current literature on antibiotic use in the ICU applying antimicrobial stewardship strategies. Based upon the most recent evidence, ICUs would benefit from employing empiric guidelines for antibiotic use, collecting appropriate specimens and implementing molecular diagnostics, optimizing the dosing of antibiotics, and reducing the duration of total therapy. These strategies for antibiotic use have the potential to enhance patient care while preventing adverse outcomes.
Nietzsche and Emancipatory Politics: Queer Theory as Anti-Morality
Authors: Schotten C. Heike
Published: March 2018

This article offers an emancipatory appropriation of Nietzsche’s work, making the case that the founding of the field of queer theory exemplifies and proffers a liberatory Nietzschean praxis of anti-morality. This argument requires reading Nietzsche’s work from the perspective of the oppressed and (re-)reading queer theory as part of the project of critical theory.
Use of an Anti-Infective Medication Review Process at Hospital Discharge to Identify Medication Errors and Optimize Therapy
Authors: Su Christy P. , Hidayat Levita , Rahman Shafiqur , Venugopalan Veena
Published: March 2018

Background:

Medication reconciliation is a major patient safety concern, and the impact of a structured process to evaluate anti-infective agents at hospital discharge warrants further review.

Objective:

The aim of this study was to (1) describe a structured, multidisciplinary approach to review anti-infectives at discharge and (2) measure the impact of a stewardship-initiated antimicrobial review process in identifying and preventing anti-infective-related medication errors (MEs) at discharge.

Methods:

A prospective study to evaluate adult patients discharged on anti-infectives was conducted from October 2013 to May 2014. The antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) classified interventions on anti-infective regimens into predefined ME categories.

Results:

Forty-five patients who were discharged on 59 anti-infective prescriptions were included in the study. The most common indications for anti-infective regimens at discharge were pneumonia (22%, n = 10), bacteremia (18%, n = 8), and skin and soft tissue infections (16%, n = 7). An ME was identified in 42% (n = 19/45) of anti-infective regimens. Seventy percentage of ASP team recommendations were accepted which resulted in an avoidance of MEs in 68% (n = 13/19) of patients with an ME prior to discharge.

Conclusion:

This study describes the outcomes of a stewardship-initiated review process in preventing MEs at discharge. Developing a systematic process for a multidisciplinary ASP team to review all anti-infectives can be a valuable tool in preventing MEs at hospital discharge.
Visuospatial Reasoning Trajectories and Death in a Study of the Oldest Old: A Formal Evaluation of Their Association
Authors: Muniz-Terrera Graciela , Massa Fernando , Benaglia Tatiana , Johansson Boo , Piccinin Andrea , Robitaille Annie
Published: March 2018

Objectives: To model trajectories of visuospatial reasoning measured using Kohs Block Design test under realistic missing data assumptions and evaluate their association with hazard of death. Methods: A joint longitudinal-survival model was used to estimate trajectories of visuospatial reasoning under a missing not at random assumption of participants from the Origins of Variance in the Old–Old: Octogenarian Twins study. Sensitivity analyses to missing data assumptions were conducted. Results: Visuospatial reasoning declined at constant rate. Baseline age, dementia status, education, and history of stroke were associated with visuospatial reasoning performance, but only dementia was associated with its rate of decline. Importantly, our results demonstrated an association between poorer visuospatial reasoning and increased hazard of death. Baseline age and sex were associated with risk of death. Discussion: We confirmed an association between visuospatial reasoning and death under plausible missing data assumptions.
9/11 and International Student Visa Issuance
Authors: Johnson Karin A. C.
Published: March 2018

International student migration to the United States markedly dropped after the September 11, 2001, attacks. Considering the interaction of immigration policy and student agency, this study examines how student visa issuances changed after 9/11 to determine whether there were significant changes to international student flows to the United States. Nonimmigrant visa data from the U.S. Department of State annual Report of the Visa Office from 1997 to 2006 were analyzed. Results show that while there was no initial significant difference between the pre- and post-9/11 periods, when broken down by visa classification and by region, there were pronounced decreases in visa issuance. Findings suggest that negative effects by student visa type in all regions may have shifted worldwide student mobility trends in the post-9/11 era.
The Renal Elimination Pathways of the Dabigatran Reversal Agent Idarucizumab and its Impact on Dabigatran Elimination
Authors: Glund Stephan , Gan Guanfa , Moschetti Viktoria , Reilly Paul , Honickel Markus , Grottke Oliver , Van Ryn Joanne
Published: March 2018

Idarucizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody fragment (Fab), provides rapid and sustained reversal of dabigatran-mediated anticoagulation. Idarucizumab and dabigatran are mainly eliminated via the kidneys. This analysis aimed to characterize the renal elimination of idarucizumab and investigate the influence of idarucizumab on the pharmacokinetics (PK) of dabigatran and vice versa. Studies were conducted in 5/6 nephrectomized rats, in human volunteers with and without renal impairment, and in a porcine liver trauma model. In both rats and humans, renal impairment increased idarucizumab exposure and initial half-life but did not affect its terminal half-life. Urinary excretion of unchanged idarucizumab increased with increasing idarucizumab dose, suggesting saturation of renal tubular reuptake processes at higher doses. The PK of idarucizumab was unaffected by dabigatran. In contrast, idarucizumab administration resulted in redistribution of dabigatran to the plasma, where it was bound and inactivated by idarucizumab. Urinary excretion of dabigatran after administration of idarucizumab was delayed, but total dabigatran excreted in urine was unaffected. Idarucizumab and dabigatran were eliminated together via renal pathways.
Boredom-Induced Switching Behavior in the Restaurant Industry: The Mediating Role of Attachment
Authors: Line Nathaniel D. , Hanks Lydia
Published: March 2018

While it is well documented that boredom with a particular product or service can result in switching behavior, the extent to which emotional attachment can affect this relationship is not well understood. The purpose of this research is to address this gap in the literature by exploring the role of place attachment in the relationships among boredom, satisfaction, and switching behavior in the domain of full-service restaurant patronage. The results indicate that while boredom can, in fact, result in switching intentions (particularly to unfamiliar alternatives), the reduction/elimination of boredom can actually lead to feelings of attachment that subsequently translate into lower levels of switching intention. The findings enhance the theoretical understanding of both restaurant switching behavior and hedonic adaptation in several important ways as well as provide meaningful implications for restaurant marketers interested in minimizing switching behavior attributable to repeat visitation and boredom.
Team Teaching of Creative Advertising and Public Relations Courses
Authors: Morris Pamela K.
Published: March 2018

Advertising and public relations are complex practices, and it is challenging for educators to find instructors who can fulfill expertise across disciplines, particularly in creative applications involving technology. Team teaching is one approach to provide multiple proficiencies. This paper describes how two co-taught courses, Design for Advertising and Public Relations and Commercial Production for Advertising and Public Relations, were developed, delivered and assessed. A literature review of team teaching and creative instruction provides a framework for course designs and student surveys. Course evaluations and instructor reflections are the evidence used for evaluation. The study is important, as specialties from multiple practices, including those that require technology, are increasingly necessary for preparing students for these industries. The study adds to the literature about team teaching and provides a foundation for effectively collaborating on creative courses.
Severe Myopericarditis in Diabetic Ketoacidosis—All Troponin are Not Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Odubanjo Anthony A , Kalisetti Rohini , Adrah Robert , Ajenifuja Adeniyi , Joseph Blessey , Zaman Mohammed
Published: March 2018

Uncontrolled diabetes and acute coronary syndrome share a complex dynamic that results in significant ambiguity when interpreting biomarker elevations in this setting. This is concerning because myocardial infarction has been shown to be the most common cause of death in the first 24 hours of admission for uncontrolled diabetes. Literature shows that elevation in cardiac biomarkers in patients with uncontrolled diabetes could be from viral myopericarditis, although a clear clinical significance is still lacking.1 It is, however, clear that elevation in cardiac biomarkers portends a poor long-term prognosis in patients with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus. We present a rare case of myopericarditis in a middle-aged patient with uncontrolled diabetes. The patient had elevated troponin I level reaching a peak of 7.3 ng/mL with associated ST elevations on electrocardiography. Coronary angiogram was subsequently done revealing clean coronaries. To our knowledge, this is the first description of myopericarditis in uncontrolled diabetes without a known cause.
Who/What is Marshall McLuhan?
Authors: Theall Donald F.
Published: March 2018

McLuhan's work intervenes in the critical area where new problems of embodiment are related to modernist and avant-garde interest in the harmonisation of the senses and the role of the artist as an engineer. McLuhan uses Joyce, the English-speaking modernists and the symbolists to intuit and explore this orientation in which electric technologies modify communication — production, reproduction and dissemination. McLuhan's ‘the medium is the message’ anticipates the present convergence of medium and message in the microcomputer. McLuhan placed on the agenda a whole new vocabulary, and consequently a new conceptual structure for the investigation of art, literature, culture and communication. His agenda penetrated academic, artistic, popular and official culture while currently a McLuhanesque vocabulary has permeated not only culture and communication studies but also media and bureaucracy. McLuhan was not a theorist, but interested in probes, percepts and affects grounded in a commitment to the traditions of classical learning adapting ancient modes of exegesis to the newly emerging world of post-electric technologies.
Discussion: Marshalling McLuhan
Authors: Heyer Paul , Berlin Isaiah
Published: March 2018

This paper provides a summary of and conclusion to the papers in this special theme section of Media International Australia incorporating Culture and Policy.
It's Later Than You Think: The Productivity Commission's Broadcasting Inquiry and beyond
Authors: Thomas Julian
Published: March 2018

The central argument of the Productivity Commission's final report on broadcasting is that Australian media policy requires substantial renovation if it is to deal effectively with new communications technologies. This article discusses the application of this argument to several important aspects of the inquiry: spectrum allocation and pricing, digital television policy, ownership and control, and local content regulation. Finally, it provides a brief comment on media coverage of the inquiry and notes factors which may work in favour of policy reform.
Silent Talking: Indigenous Media Policy and the Productivity Commission
Authors: Meadows Michael
Published: March 2018

The recent Productivity Commission inquiry into Broadcasting in Australia has acknowledged the important place of Indigenous production in the national mediascape. The inquiry's draft report recommended changes to the Broadcasting Services Act which take into account some aspects of the kind of cultural production going on now in the Indigenous media sector across Australia. However, while there have been some significant changes suggested, acknowledgment of the broader cultural importance of the sector and its potential remain unaddressed. Acknowledgment of the special place of Indigenous languages and cultures in the Broadcasting Services Act, for example, remains elusive to national policy-makers.
Media Ownership in the Digital Age: An Economic Perspective
Authors: Brown Allan
Published: March 2018

The restrictions on ownership in the Australian broadcasting legislation reflect the recognition that the media industries are more than mere producers of consumer goods and services; instead, the nature of their output gives them a more fundamental influence on society. It is claimed by some that the arrival of the new media technologies, especially digitalisation and the Internet, has undermined the rationale for the current restrictions on media ownership. This claim is based on the assumption that the new technologies will bring about a significant increase in the number of media outlets, and that the restrictions established for the ‘old’ media will become unnecessary, ineffective and/or irrelevant. This paper points out, however, that there are divergent views concerning the implications of the new technologies for the structure and ownership of the media, and that it would be premature to remove restrictions on media ownership. In the short term at least, any liberalisation of the concentration or cross-media restrictions is more likely to bring about greater ownership consolidation with adverse consequences for media diversity and the health of democracy in Australia.