bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Surgical Revision of the Failed Obliterated Frontal Sinus
Authors: Hwang Peter H. , Han Joseph K. , Bilstrom Evan J. , Kingdom Todd T. , Fong Karen J.
Published: August 2018

Background

Surgical revision of failed frontal sinus obliteration, traditionally, has been limited to repeat obliteration. However, endoscopic techniques may be successful in selected cases. We review our experience in surgical revision of failed frontal obliteration and propose a management algorithm.

Methods

Retrospective chart review was performed over a 5-year period for patients who presented for surgical revision of a previously obliterated frontal sinus. Indications for surgery, radiological findings, and surgical approach were reviewed.

Results

Nineteen patients were identified, presenting an average of 9.7 years from the initial obliteration. Eighty-four percent (n = 16) were approached endoscopically and 16% (n = 3) were approached by revision obliteration. The mean follow-up was 25 months. In the endoscopic group, patients had either mucoceles in the inferomedial aspect of the frontal sinus or incomplete obliteration with persistent disease in the pneumatized frontal remnant. Eighty-one percent (13/16) were managed successfully with a single endoscopic procedure. Nineteen percent (3/16) had persistent disease requiring either a subsequent obliteration or Riedel ablation because of infected fat graft or frontal osteomyelitis. All patients who were managed successfully endoscopically remained free of disease with patent frontal sinusotomies throughout the follow-up period. The endoscopic failures required one to two additional external procedures to achieve disease resolution. In the revision obliteration group, all patients had mucoceles in either the lateral or the superior frontal sinus. All three patients had resolution of disease after a single procedure and remained free of disease throughout the follow-up period.

Conclusion

Selected patients undergoing revision of frontal obliteration may benefit from endoscopic approaches. If disease is localized in the frontal recess or inferomedial frontal sinus, endoscopic management may be successful in the majority of patients. Superior or lateral frontal disease appears to be best approached externally. Patients undergoing endoscopic salvage should be counseled about the possible need for revision obliteration if disease persists.
Evaluation of Postoperative Pain after Sinonasal Surgery
Authors: Wise Sarah K. , Wise Justin C. , DelGaudio John M.
Published: August 2018

Background

Pain after sinonasal surgery concerns both patients and surgeons. Factors affecting sinonasal postoperative pain have not been examined extensively.

Methods

Using a prospective survey design, sinonasal surgery patients evaluated postoperative pain (on a scale of 0–10), pain location, and medication use.

Results

One hundred twenty-seven patients consented to participate. One hundred fifteen patients returned surveys, with 100 patients appropriate for analysis over the 6-day postoperative period. Pain score and medication use were evaluated with respect to sex, primary/revision case, nasal packing, and other factors. Repeated measures analysis of variance and chi-square analysis were conducted (p < 0.05). Pain ratings and analgesic use declined significantly over the postoperative period (p < 0.05). Mean pain score on postoperative day (POD) 1 was 3.61 and on POD 6 was 1.72. Mean medication use was 1.37 tablets on POD 1 and 0.55 tablets on POD 6. Additionally, a significant interaction existed, such that narcotic medication use declined from 1.91 tablets on POD 1 to 0.52 tablets on POD 6, whereas nonnarcotic medication use remained steady (p < 0.05). Periorbital pain was most frequent (46.3%), with unilateral facial pain reported least (4.1%). A significant difference existed for distribution of pain location (p < 0.05). Finally, the difference in pain rating between primary and revision procedure for women (0.65) was less than for men (1.12); this interaction was significant (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

Multiple patient and operative factors affect pain rating and medication use after sinonasal surgery. Generally, pain level should be low with little analgesic use postoperatively.
Does Nitrogen Dioxide Affect Inflammatory Markers after Nasal Allergen Challenge?
Authors: Barck Charlotte , Lundahl Joachim , Holmström Mats , Bylin Gunnar
Published: August 2018

Background

Exposure to high ambient levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) enhances the bronchial inflammatory reaction to allergen in humans. We tested whether this NO2 effect occurs also in the upper airways.

Methods

Sixteen allergic subjects with rhinitis and mild asthma were exposed at rest to either purified air or 500 μg/m3 NO2 for 30 minutes, followed 4 hours later by a nasal allergen challenge. Nasal lavage was performed before air/NO2 exposure, before allergen challenge, and 1, 4 and 18 hours after allergen challenge. Symptoms were recorded.

Results

The percentage of eosinophils and neutrophils, eosinophil cationic protein, and myeloperoxidase were similar after exposure to air + allergen and to NO2 + allergen. We noticed a tendency to increased sneezing the day after exposure to NO2 + allergen.

Conclusion

The priming effect of an ambient brief NO2 exposure on subsequent allergic response was not noticeable in activation of inflammatory cells and mediators in the upper airways.
The Effect of a Hyaluronic Acid–Based Nasal Pack on Mucosal Healing in a Sheep Model of Sinusitis
Authors: Rajapaksa Suresh P. , Cowin Allison , Adams Damian , Wormald Peter-John
Published: August 2018

Background

A hyaluronic acid–based nasal pack has been shown previously to have a beneficial effect on mucosal healing in a healthy sheep model. However, endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) usually is performed in the presence of infection and inflammation. The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of hyaluronic acid–based nasal packing on mucosal healing in a sheep model of chronic sinusitis.

Methods

A standardized sheep model of chronic sinusitis was used. Full-thickness mucosal injuries were performed under endoscopic guidance with a microdebrider. Adjacent wounds were created between the lateral nasal wall and the ethmoid turbinate. Then, the injuries were either packed with a dissolvable hyaluronic acid–based pack or left unpacked to serve as a control. Serial biopsies of the healing mucosa were performed at days 28, 56, 84, and 112 postsurgery, and the presence or absence of adhesions between the ethmoid turbinate and lateral nasal wall was noted. The biopsy specimens were assessed for reepithelialization and epithelial height using light microscopy, and for reciliation using scanning electron microscopy.

Results

There was no significant difference in reepithelialization or relative epithelial height between the packed sides and the control sides at any time point. There was a statistically significant difference in reciliation between the two groups at day 112 but this was not deemed clinically significant. The packing had no significant effect on adhesion formation.

Conclusion

In the sheep model of chronic sinusitis, a dissolvable hyaluronic acid–based pack did not have any significant effect on mucosal healing or adhesions formation after ESS, as assessed by examining reepithelialization, epithelial height, reciliation, and the presence of adhesions.
The Effect of an Expandable Polyvinyl Acetate (Merocel) Pack on the Healing of the Nasal Mucosa of Sheep
Authors: McIntosh David , Cowin Allison , Adams Damian , Wormald Peter-John
Published: August 2018

Background

There is a lack of knowledge about the healing of the nasal respiratory mucosa after endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). Nasal packs often are placed after ESS in an attempt to improve hemostasis and reduce adhesion formation. Most nasal packs need to be removed in the postoperative period. This is uncomfortable for the patient and the affect of these packs on the healing process is unknown.

Methods

We have standardized the sheep as a suitable animal model to examine the healing of the nasal epithelium after ESS. The nasal mucosa of sheep was wounded under endoscopic guidance and either packed with expandable polyvinyl acetate–based pack (Merocel), which was removed at the 5th postoperative day, or left unpacked to serve as control. Serial biopsies of the wounded area were taken every 28 days, up to 112 days postwounding, for examination using light and scanning electron microscopy.

Results

There was no significant difference in the rate of reepithelialization between the packed and control sides of the sheep (p > 0.05). There was no significant difference in the total amount of surface cilia coverage between the packed and control sides at any time points (p > 0.05). There was no significant difference in the maturity of the cilia between the packed and control sides at any time points (p > 0.05).

Conclusion

The use of Merocel packing postoperatively neither impairs nor promotes wound healing in the postoperative period.
A Prospective Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Study of use of Hyaluronic Acid Nasal Packs in Patients after Endoscopic Sinus Surgery
Authors: Wormald Peter John , Boustred R. Niell , Le Tong , Hawke Lianne , Sacks Raymond
Published: August 2018

Background

The aim of this study was to determine whether there was any benefit or detrimental consequences of placing a hyaluronic acid pack (Merogel) into the middle meatus after endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS).

Methods

A randomized controlled blinded study was performed in 42 patients with chronic sinusitis undergoing ESS. The patients were randomized to receive Merogel on one side and no packing on the other side. Patients were assessed at 2, 4, and 6–8 weeks after surgery and the presence of synechia, edema, and infection was noted with the observer blinded to the side that had received the Merogel.

Results

At 2 weeks the side packed with Merogel had 35% synechiae, 83% edema, and 30% mucopurulent discharge and on the control side the figures were similar with 22.5% synechiae, 83% edema, and 28% mucopurulent discharge. In both groups these figures improved over the observation period but percentages in the groups remained similar. At no time point was the difference between the packed and unpacked sides statistically significant for any of the measures when assessed with Fisher's exact test.

Conclusion

Merogel nasal packing has no significant beneficial or detrimental effect in terms of synechia, edema, or infection when placed in the middle meatus after ESS.
Clinical Evaluation and Symptoms of Chemosensory Impairment: One Thousand Consecutive Cases from the Nasal Dysfunction Clinic in San Diego
Authors: Harris Rebecca , Davidson Terence M. , Murphy Claire , Gilbert Paul E. , Chen Margaret
Published: August 2018

Background

The aim of this study was to measure olfactory impairment in patients with various etiologies using symptom ratings and psychophysical measures of olfactory function.

Methods

We performed a cross-sectional, population-based study at the Nasal Dysfunction Clinic of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Medical Center. One thousand consecutive patients presented to the UCSD Nasal Dysfunction Clinic for evaluation of chemosensory dysfunction. Olfactory impairment was assessed by odor threshold and odor identification and symptom scores were assessed by self-report.

Results

The degree of olfactory impairment was driven by diagnostic category, age, and gender. Postviral disturbance was more prevalent in women and among elderly people. Elderly people and patients under 20 years of age showed the highest incidence of head trauma. Overall, older patients had poorer thresholds. Men showed higher prevalence of olfactory loss secondary to inflammation and toxin exposure. Patients with inflammation scored better than patients with other diagnoses (i.e., congenital, head trauma, postviral, toxin exposure, and miscellaneous causes). Patients with congenital etiologies and head trauma had the poorest scores. Symptom ratings were significantly different depending on diagnostic category, age, and gender. Patients with inflammation rated the majority of symptoms as most bothersome. Patients with postviral diagnoses were most likely to report parosmias. Patients with head trauma rated taste and smell loss as significantly more severe than other patients.

Conclusion

Evaluation of 1000 patients at the UCSD Nasal Dysfunction Clinic in San Diego revealed differential olfactory impairment and differential symptom complaints based on diagnostic category, age, and gender.
A new Procedure for the Short Screening of Olfactory Function Using Five Items from the “Sniffin’ Sticks” Identification Test Kit
Authors: Mueller Christian , Renner Bertold
Published: August 2018

Background

The aim of this study was to create a new protocol based on the “Sniffin’ Sticks” test kit, which would be suitable for short screening of olfactory function.

Methods

One hundred forty-one subjects were included in the investigation. In a first session, 106 subjects were presented five odorants together with a list of 20 descriptors. Additional choices were “no odor” and “undefinable.” The established 16-item identification test was then performed to assess olfactory function. In another session, the new procedure was repeated on 21 subjects to check the test-retest reliability. The Brief Smell Identification Test was used together with the five-item test in an additional 35 subjects for additional validation.

Results

The correlation coefficients between the results of the new test and the established procedures were r106 = 0.61 and r35 = 0.77 (p < 0.01). The new test procedure revealed two groups of subjects (score of 0 and scores 4 or 5). These groups had no overlapping results in the established odor identification tests. Repeated measurements of the short test showed a correlation coefficient of r21 = 0.77 (p < 0.01).

Conclusion

The present data indicate the usefulness of the short screening test. Given a maximum of one error, the test is able to confirm the presence of normosmia or mild hyposmia. The kit can be carried in a pocket and the test takes only 3 minutes to perform.
Medical Management and Diagnosis of Chronic Rhinosinusitis: A Survey of Treatment Patterns by United States Otolaryngologists
Authors: Kaszuba Scott M. , Stewart Michael G.
Published: August 2018

Background

This study was performed to identify current patterns of diagnostic criteria and medical treatment for chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) by otolaryngologists in the United States.

Methods

A 15-item survey was mailed to a random sample of 200 members of the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery; statistical analysis was performed.

Results

The overall response rate was 40.0%. Of respondents, 73% defined CRS as lasting >12 weeks. Seventy-three percent also believed radiological imaging was necessary for definitive diagnosis, but only 30% believed nasal endoscopy was necessary. Regarding treatment, respondents reported use of oral antibiotics (94%) and nasal corticosteroids (94%) as part of maximum medical management; oral decongestants, oral mucoevacuants, and allergy testing were used only by about one-half of the respondents, and less frequently topical decongestants (38%), oral corticosteroids (36%), and oral antihistamines (27%) were used. Oral corticosteroids were more likely to be used by specialists that self-classified as rhinologists than by other otolaryngologists (p = 0.005), but rhinologists were less likely to use radiological imaging (p = 0.04) as a diagnostic criterion. Pediatric otolaryngologists used allergy testing in medical management more frequently than other otolaryngologists (p < 0.001). Overall, the basis for choice of maximal medical management was personal clinical experience (74%), rather than clinical research results or expert recommendations.

Conclusion

We had a fairly small sample of returned surveys; therefore, our findings may not be generalizable to the entire population of U.S. otolaryngologists. Nevertheless, in our survey, U.S. otolaryngologists agree on the use of oral antibiotics and nasal corticosteroids as part of maximal medical management for CRS but do not agree on other adjuvant therapies or on the use of endoscopy as a diagnostic criterion.
Nasal Air Temperature and Airflow during Respiration in Numerical Simulation Based on Multislice Computed Tomography Scan
Authors: Lindemann Joerg , Keck Tilman , Wiesmiller Kerstin , Sander Bjoern , Brambs Hans-Juergen , Rettinger Gerhard , Pless Daniela
Published: August 2018

Background

Adequate nasal air-conditioning is of greatest importance. Because detailed processes of nasal air-conditioning still are not completely understood, numerical simulations of intranasal temperature distribution and airflow patterns during inspiration and expiration were performed.

Methods

A three-dimensional model of the human nose based on computed tomography scans was reconstructed. A computational fluid dynamics application was used displaying temperature and airflow during respiration based on time-dependent boundary conditions.

Results

Absolute air temperature and velocity values vary depending on detection site and time of detection. Areas of low velocities and turbulence show distinct changes in air temperature. The turbinate areas prove to be the main regions for heat exchange. The numerical results showed excellent comparability to our in vivo measurements.

Conclusion

Numerical simulation of temperature and airflow based on computational fluid dynamics is feasible providing entirely novel information and an insight into air-conditioning of the human nose.
Use of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Sinus and Nasal Symptoms: Results of a Practitioner Survey
Authors: Pletcher Steven D. , Goldberg Andrew N. , Lee Jenny , Acquah Joseph
Published: August 2018

Background

The use of complementary medicine is increasingly popular in the United States. The use of acupuncture and its efficacy in treating chronic sinus and nasal symptoms is not well studied.

Methods

Regional licensed acupuncturists (1516) were mailed our acupuncture and chronic sinus and nasal symptoms survey.

Results

Three hundred thirty-one surveys (22%) were returned. Ninety-nine percent of those who returned surveys reported treating patients with chronic sinus and nasal symptoms. On a five-point scale the mean perceived efficacy for the overall treatment of chronic sinus and nasal symptoms was 4.2. The mean cost of an acupuncture treatment course for chronic sinus and nasal symptoms was calculated to be $730.00.

Conclusion

Complementary medicine practitioners frequently use acupuncture in the treatment of patients with chronic sinus and nasal symptoms. Although practitioners report good efficacy using acupuncture to treat such patients, quantitative data are certainly needed to substantiate these self-reports.
Ultrasound‐assisted catheter‐directed thrombolysis compared with anticoagulation alone for treatment of intermediate‐risk pulmonary embolism
Authors: Schissler Andrew J. , Gylnn Robert J. , Sobieszczyk Piotr S. , Waxman Aaron B.
Published: August 2018

It is unclear if ultrasound‐assisted catheter‐directed thrombolysis (UACDT) confers benefit over anticoagulation (AC) alone in the management of intermediate‐risk (“submassive”) pulmonary embolism (PE), defined by evidence of right ventricular (RV) dysfunction in hemodynamically stable patients. This study sought to evaluate any lasting advantage of UACDT on mortality and resolution of RV dysfunction in intermediate‐risk PE at a large academic medical center. Adults aged ≤ 86 years admitted with intermediate‐risk PE from 2011 to 2016 were retrospectively identified. Patients were excluded if there was a history of cancer, pre‐existing pulmonary hypertension, pregnancy or postpartum status, contraindication to AC, or treatment with systemic thrombolysis. Baseline Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (PESI) scores were computed. Outcomes including length of stay (LOS), bleeding complications, resolution of RV dysfunction, and mortality were compared between patients who received UACDT and those managed with AC alone. A total of 104 patients met inclusion criteria, 65 of whom underwent UACDT. The cohorts had similar PESI scores (P = 0.45) and no clearly imbalanced confounding variables. There was no significant difference in LOS (P = 0.11). UACDT was associated with more bleeding complications (exact P = 0.04). Follow‐up transthoracic echocardiograms performed in 54 UACDT and 24 AC patients demonstrated similar rates of resolution of RV dysfunction (61% in UACDT patients versus 75% in AC patients, P = 0.25). Overall one‐year mortality was approximately 5% in both groups (exact P > 0.99). In this limited retrospective analysis of intermediate‐risk PE patients, UACDT treatment was not associated with mortality benefit or increased resolution of RV dysfunction.
Rebuilding the Trust: Maggi Way
Authors: Jayakrishnan S
Published: August 2018

Nestle faced one of its worst public relations crisis in India when its premium brand of noodles was found with traces of banned substances like monosodium glutamate and heavy metal like lead. The case primarily focuses on how crisis started, the steps taken by the company to address the crisis and the approach adopted by the company to rebuild trust for Maggi again in Indian markets. The case also provides insights about how the company devised an integrated media strategy to address the crisis and regain consumer trust by effectively utilizing digital and traditional media.
Interaction with an endothelial lumen increases neutrophil lifetime and motility in response to P aeruginosa
Authors: Hind Laurel E. , Ingram Patrick N. , Beebe David J. , Huttenlocher Anna
Published: August 2018

Neutrophil infiltration into tissues is essential for host defense and pathogen clearance. Although many of the signaling pathways involved in the transendothelial migration of neutrophils are known, the role of the endothelium in regulating neutrophil behavior in response to infection within interstitial tissues remains unclear. Here we developed a microscale 3-dimensional (3D) model that incorporates an endothelial lumen, a 3D extracellular matrix, and an intact bacterial source to model the host microenvironment. Using this system, we show that an endothelial lumen significantly increased neutrophil migration toward a source of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Surprisingly, we found neutrophils, which were thought to be short-lived cells in vitro, migrate for up to 24 hours in 3D in the presence of an endothelial lumen and bacteria. In addition, we found that endothelial cells secrete inflammatory mediators induced by the presence of P aeruginosa, including granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), a known promoter of neutrophil survival, and interleukin (IL)-6, a proinflammatory cytokine. We found that pretreatment of neutrophils with a blocking antibody against the IL-6 receptor significantly reduced neutrophil migration to P aeruginosa but did not alter neutrophil lifetime, indicating that secreted IL-6 is an important signal between endothelial cells and neutrophils that mediates migration. Taken together, these findings demonstrate an important role for endothelial paracrine signaling in neutrophil migration and survival.
Conditioning intensity in secondary AML with prior myelodysplastic syndrome/myeloproliferative disorders: an EBMT ALWP study
Authors: Sengsayadeth Salyka , Gatwood Katie S. , Boumendil Ariane , Labopin Myriam , Finke Jürgen , Ganser Arnold , Stelljes Matthias , Ehninger Gerhard , Beelen Dietrich , Niederwieser Dietger , Blaise Didier , Dreger Peter , Mufti Ghulam , Chevallier Patrice , Mailhol Audrey , Gilleece Maria H. , Gorin Norbert , Esteve Jordi , Ciceri Fabio , Baron Frederic , Schmid Christoph , Giebel Sebastian , Mohty Mohamad , Savani Bipin N. , Nagler Arnon
Published: August 2018

Key Points

Allogeneic HCT can result in long-term survival for patients with sAML and prior MDS/MPN. Myeloablative conditioning regimens should be selected for sAML and patients with prior MDS/MPN whenever possible.
The frequency of joint hemorrhages and procedures in nonsevere hemophilia A vs B
Authors: Soucie J. Michael , Monahan Paul E. , Kulkarni Roshni , Konkle Barbara A. , Mazepa Marshall A.
Published: August 2018

Key Points

Joint hemorrhages and orthopedic procedures are more frequent in patients with hemophilia A than in those with hemophilia B. FA levels of 20% may be required to prevent all joint hemorrhages.
Sub-Ångstrom electric field measurements on a universal detector in a scanning transmission electron microscope
Authors: Hachtel Jordan A. , Idrobo Juan Carlos , Chi Miaofang
Published: August 2018

Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) excels in accessing atomic-scale structure and chemistry. Enhancing our ability to directly image the functionalities of local features in materials has become one of the most important topics in the future development of STEM. Recently, differential phase contrast (DPC) imaging has been utilized to map the internal electric and magnetic fields in materials from nanoscale features such as p–n junctions, skyrmions, and even from individual atoms. Here, we use an ultra-low noise SCMOS detector in as the diffraction plane camera to collect four-dimensional (4D) datasets. The high angular resolution, efficient high-SNR acquisition, and modifiability of the camera allow it to function as a universal detector, where STEM imaging configurations, such as DPC, bright field, annular bright field, and annular dark field can all be reconstructed from a single 4D dataset. By examining a distorted perovskite, DyScO3, which possesses projected lattice spacings as small as 0.83 Å, we demonstrate DPC spatial resolution almost reaching the information limit of a 100 keV electron beam. In addition, the perovskite has ordered O-coordinations with alternating octahedral tilts, which can be quantitatively measured with single degree accuracy by taking advantage of DPC’s sensitivity to light atoms. The results, acquired on a standard Ronchigram camera as opposed to a specialized DPC detector, open up new opportunities to understand and design functional materials and devices that involve lattice and charge coupling at nano- and atomic-scales.
Students Are Rarely Independent: When, Why, and How to Use Random Effects in Discipline-Based Education Research
Authors: Theobald Elli
Published: August 2018

Discipline-based education researchers have a natural laboratory—classrooms, programs, colleges, and universities. Studies that administer treatments to multiple sections, in multiple years, or at multiple institutions are particularly compelling for two reasons: first, the sample sizes increase, and second, the implementation of the treatments can be intentionally designed and carefully monitored, potentially negating the need for additional control variables. However, when studies are implemented in this way, the observations on students are not completely independent; rather, students are clustered in sections, terms, years, or other factors. Here, I demonstrate why this clustering can be problematic in regression analysis. Fortunately, nonindependence of sampling can often be accounted for with random effects in multilevel regression models. Using several examples, including an extended example with R code, this paper illustrates why and how to implement random effects in multilevel modeling. It also provides resources to promote implementation of analyses that control for the nonindependence inherent in many quasi-random sampling designs.
Catching the Wave: Are Biology Graduate Students on Board with Evidence-Based Teaching?
Authors: Goodwin Emma C. , Cao Jane N. , Fletcher Miles , Flaiban Justin L. , Shortlidge Erin E.
Published: August 2018

Graduate students hold a critical role in responding to national calls for increased adoption of evidence-based teaching (EBT) in undergraduate classrooms, as they not only serve as teaching assistants, but also represent the pool from which future faculty will emerge. Through interviews with 32 biology graduate students from 25 institutions nationwide, we sought to understand the progress these graduate students are making in adopting EBT through qualitative exploration of their perceptions of and experiences with both EBT and instructional professional development. Initial inductive content analysis of interview transcripts guided the holistic placement of participants within stages of Rogers’s diffusions of innovations model, which we use as a theoretical framework to describe the progress of EBT adoption. We found that most graduate students in our sample are aware of and value EBT, but only 37.5% have implemented EBT. Many who were progressing toward EBT adoption had sought out supplementary instructional experiences beyond the requirements of their programs, and 72% perceived an institutional lack of support for teaching-related professional development opportunities. These data indicate that, while many graduate students are already engaged with the movement to adopt EBT, graduate training programs should emphasize increasing access to quality training in EBT strategies.
Peer vs. Self-Grading of Practice Exams: Which Is Better?
Authors: Jackson Mallory A. , Tran Alina , Wenderoth Mary Pat , Doherty Jennifer H.
Published: August 2018

Practice exams are a type of deliberate practice that have been shown to improve student course performance. Deliberate practice differs from other types of practice, because it is targeted, mentally challenging, can be repeated, and requires feedback. Providing frequent instructor feedback to students, particularly in large classes, can be prohibitive. A possible solution is to have students grade practice exams using an instructor-generated rubric, receiving points only for completion. Students can either grade their own or a peer’s work. We investigated whether peer or self-grading had a differential impact on completion of practice exam assignments, performance on practice exams or course exams, or student grading accuracy. We also investigated whether student characteristics mattered. We found that 90% of students took all practice exams or only missed one and that there was no difference on practice or course exam performance between the peer and self-graders. However, in the peer-grading treatment, students with lower incoming grade point averages and students identified as economically or educationally disadvantaged were less accurate and more lenient graders than other students. As there is no clear benefit of peer grading over self-grading, we suggest that either format can solve the challenge instructors face in giving frequent personalized feedback to many students.
My Life as a Spy
Authors: Verdery Katherine
Published: August 2018

As Katherine Verdery observes, "There's nothing like reading your secret police file to make you wonder who you really are." In 1973 Verdery began her doctoral fieldwork in the Transylvanian region of Romania, ruled at the time by communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. She returned several times over the next twenty-five years, during which time the secret police—the Securitate—compiled a massive surveillance file on her. Reading through its 2,781 pages, she learned that she was "actually" a spy, a CIA agent, a Hungarian agitator, and a friend of dissidents: in short, an enemy of Romania. In My Life as a Spy she analyzes her file alongside her original field notes and conversations with Securitate officers. Verdery also talks with some of the informers who were close friends, learning the complex circumstances that led them to report on her, and considers how fieldwork and spying can be easily confused. Part memoir, part detective story, part anthropological analysis, My Life as a Spy offers a personal account of how government surveillance worked during the Cold War and how Verdery experienced living under it.
Using Lamin B1 mRNA for the early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma: a cross-sectional diagnostic accuracy study
Authors: Abdelghany Amani M. , Rezk Nasser Sadek , Osman Mona Mostafa , Hamid Amira I. , Al-Breedy Ashraf Mohammad , Abdelsattar Hoda A.
Published: August 2018

Background:  Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is vital medical issue in Egypt. It accounts for 70.48% of all liver tumors among Egyptians. The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic role of plasma levels of mRNA of lamin B1 by RT-qPCR as an early marker of HCC.

Methods: This study was conducted at the Clinical Pathology Department in collaboration with the Department of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Ain Shams University Hospitals. It included 30 patients with primary HCC and viral cirrhosis (all were hepatitis C virus-positive) (Group I), in addition to 10 patients with chronic liver diseases (Group II) and 10 healthy age- and sex-matched subjects (Group III). Group I was further classified according to the Barcelona-Clinic Liver Cancer Staging System. Serum α-fetoprotein (AFP) chemiluminescent-immunoassays and RT-qPCR analysis of plasma lamin B1 mRNA levels were performed for all participants.

Results: AFP and lamin B1 significantly elevated in patients with HCC compared to those in the other studied groups. AFP and lamin B1 status could discriminate group I from group II and III. A significant increase was found among the three Barcelona stages with regards to AFP and lamin B1 levels. A significant decrease was found between group II and stage 0, A and B with regards to AFP and lamin B1. Lamin B1 and AFP could both differentiate HCC patients with one tumor nodule (T1) from those with two or more tumor nodules (T2&Tm), as well as between those with tumor sizes >3 cm and ≤3 cm.

Conclusion: Measurement of lamin B1 mRNA is recommended in patients with chronic liver disease with normal serum AFP, especially in known cirrhotic patients that deteriorate rapidly without any apparent etiology.
Fair Tula province in the XIX - early XX century
Authors: Бочарова Светлана , Bocharova Svetlana
Published: August 2018

The work is devoted to a comprehensive study of fair trade of Tula province in the XIX-early XX century., which showed that a steady increase in the number of fair trades and their turnover in the late XIX – early XX centuries.indicates the viability of this type of trade and its important role in the development of the domestic market of Tula province in the period. The history of the development and functioning of Russian fairs in the XIX – early XX centuries, which were an integral part of the domestic market, is of particular interest. The study of fair trade of Central Russia in General and, in particular, the fairs of the Tula region operating in the conditions of developing capitalism, gives extensive material in this field of knowledge and allows to answer the main question of the historiographical discussion developed in domestic science – whether fair trade continued to play a leading role in the domestic market in Russia in the XIX – early XX centuries.
Connexive Extensions of Regular Conditional Logic
Authors: Weiss Yale
Published: August 2018

The object of this paper is to examine half and full connexive extensions of the basic regular conditional logic CR. Extensions of this system are of interest because it is among the strongest well-known systems of conditional logic that can be augmented with connexive theses without inconsistency resulting. These connexive extensions are characterized axiomatically and their relations to one another are examined proof-theoretically. Subsequently, algebraic semantics are given and soundness, completeness, and decidability are proved for each system. The semantics is also used to establish independence results. Finally, a deontic interpretation of one of the systems is examined and defended.
Generating Random Networks Without Short Cycles
Authors: Bayati Mohsen , Montanari Andrea , Saberi Amin
Published: August 2018

Random graph generation is an important tool for studying large complex networks. Despite abundance of random graph models, constructing models with application-driven constraints is poorly understood. To advance state-of-the-art in this area, we focus on random graphs without short cycles as a stylized family of graphs, and we propose the RandGraph algorithm for randomly generating them. For any constant k, when m = O(n1+1/[2k(k+3)]), RandGraph generates an asymptotically uniform random graph with n vertices, m edges, and no cycle of length at most k using O(n2m) operations. We also characterize the approximation error for finite values of n. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first polynomial-time algorithm for the problem. RandGraph works by sequentially adding m edges to an empty graph with n vertices. Recently, such sequential algorithms have been successful for random sampling problems. Our main contributions to this line of research include introducing a new approach for sequentially approximating edge-specific probabilities at each step of the algorithm and providing a new method for analyzing such algorithms.
Prepared for end-of-life care: a concept analysis
Authors: Griffith Sue
Published: August 2018

Background:

Recent international documents have highlighted the importance of preparing the nursing workforce for end of life care. However, these documents do not make clear what prepared in the context of end-of-life care actually means. Searching the literature failed to retrieve any papers defining prepared in this context.

Aim:

A concept analysis, using Walker and Avant's model, was conducted to help address this gap in the knowledge base.

Results:

From this analysis many attributes and antecedents were synthesised. These include that a prepared nurse would be confident to: assess the dying patient, communicate with empathy, identify and manage symptoms, recognise and deal with death and dying, understand the holistic elements of dying, be comfortable with the effects of loss and bereavement on patients and self, and be self-competent.

Conclusions:

From this analysis, a clearer idea of what is needed to prepare nurses for end-of-life care is offered and suggestions for future research are made.
Video-Based Instruction to Promote Employment-Related Social Behaviors for High School Students With Intellectual Disability
Authors: Gilson Carly B. , Carter Erik W.
Published: August 2018

The disappointing employment outcomes of students with intellectual disability (ID) can often be exacerbated by the social-related challenges they experience. Within high school transition programs, interventions targeting employment-related social behaviors and inclusive practices should emphasize individualization, self-regulation, and generalization. We used a multiple-probe-across-participants, single-case experimental design to examine the effects of video-based instruction on the individualized employment-related social behaviors (ERSB) of 5 high school students with ID with severe levels of impairment. For all participants, the intervention increased ERSB, sustained task engagement in the school setting, and maintained over time. Students and educators considered the intervention beneficial and enjoyable. We offer implications for supporting social skills development within secondary schools to prepare students for future inclusive employment opportunities.
Talking to tremors: Somatics in dance, dialogics and silence
Authors: Fraleigh Sondra
Published: August 2018

Talking to tremors is a brief phenomenology – or study of experience. As an author in the field of phenomenology, I have wondered how its insights might be applied to individualized hands-on somatics practices. The following is the result. It draws upon work I did a few years ago with Alice in which she learns to talk to her tremors, making friends with them and moving past fears. She gave me permission to write about this, and is identified anonymously. I explain our work together through notes I took at the time, which I also discussed with Alice. In application of phenomenology, I contextualize our somatic process using Mikhail Bakhtin’s dialogics as a recurring conceptual ground bass. In light of Bakhtin’s work, the present article explores dialogic, extralinguistic states of silence and utterance as stepping-stones towards healing – also employing the neuroscience of Antonio Damasio and Eugene Gendlin’s somatic focusing process – further delineating changes towards feeling better and becoming well. My background as a Feldenkrais and Shin Somatics practitioner aid this study, as also my studies and teaching of dance.
From expressions to ecstasy: Understanding the phenomenon of experiential interaction between the performer and audience in dance
Authors: Reddy J. Shashi Kiran , Pereira Contzen
Published: August 2018

The act of dance appears as a pattern of conscious movements in space and time, but a dancer who has the ability to go beyond the limits of space and time (experientially) can bring about a non-local experience of oneself and the audience making it an ecstatic communion. In this paper, we are interested in examining the extent of subjective experience of a dancer and his audience; hence, we take up a case study in first-person to understand the performer-audience interaction. For this purpose, we chose Indian contemporary dancer Astad Deboo, an artist who is known to create such a magical two-way interaction consigning his audience as well as himself to a state of being mesmerized. The art of creating a non-local experience seems to be his forte, where the audience can feel him within, while he feels his audience within. To explain this phenomenon, we propose the resonance of inner experiential states of the performer and audience as the underlying mechanism that creates a non-local interaction between them. To validate the present hypothesis, one must subject both the performer and observer to experimental studies, which involve simultaneous tracking and monitoring of the active zones in the brain associated with performing and performance viewing. In the above context, it would also be interesting to see if there exists a point of time during the performance event, where both these subjects report similar active zones in the brain.
Introduction: Autobiography 2.0 and quick media life writing
Authors: Friedman May , Schultermandl Silvia
Published: August 2018

This special issue brings together research on the self-in-relation from both a narratological angle and from the perspective of gender studies, queer theory, postcolonial and transnational studies. The articles featured here discuss new and shifting understandings of how we define life writing practices differently in an age of online expressions in various verbal and visual forms, and through the lens of family, broadly defined. In this introduction, we establish the concept of ‘autobiography 2.0’ as a particular practice of life writing that modulates identity and kinship through the use of digital media. This introduction addresses key questions we were asking ourselves and the individual contributors as we set out to theorize the impact of social media and the mediation of family and kinship ties on life writing genres: How is relationality mediated differently in an online context and how does this impact our ideas about family and kinship? What issues of privacy and property are connected to the online presence of digital memoirs? Which different reading practices do we need to bring to the multi-layered online text of autobiographies 2.0? How does reading online autobiographies create kinship ties among readers? How are traditional modalities of identity (race, gender, ability, class, etc.) destabilized by online life writing?
Insta-judgement: Irony, authenticity and life writing in mothers’ use of Instagram
Authors: Friedman May
Published: August 2018

This article aims to explore the ways that photos and written texts using the hashtag #assholeparents extend understandings of both life writing theories and the field of motherhood studies. At first glance, this hashtag seems to stray from picture-perfect Pinterest parenting. A closer analysis, however, reveals that despite the seeming rejection of model parenting, the pictures and texts grouped by #assholeparents nonetheless affirm deeply normative views of parenting in general and of motherhood in particular. As such, while largely featuring children, these photographs can arguably stand as maternal self-portraits. This examination aims to explore a collection of images as examples of a composite form of life writing. The use of life writing as a critical practice allows for an analysis of the images and accompanying text that aims to pull the camera back and view the context and motivations outside the frame. The particular use of Instagram further complicates the notion of life writing by presenting each image as an independent text but also as part of an emergent composite memoir that borrows from and contributes to idealized notions of family.
Digital life writing: The failure of a diasporic, queer, blue Tinker Bell
Authors: Atay Ahmet
Published: August 2018

In this article, I sketch various interrelated stories about the ways in which I have been using social network sites to reflect my life events, share my thoughts and experiences and also story my everyday life to my friends and family members who only experience me, my life and my realities through mediated and visual narrations. This article will theorize life writing in mediated platforms and reflect on different aspects of digitalized life writing by using my own stories.
Writing new branches into being: Connecting donor-linked families via Web 2.0
Authors: Bailey Elizabeth
Published: August 2018

Families that are linked by having chosen the same sperm donor are increasingly locating and connecting with each other online. Focusing primarily on queer-parented, donor-linked families, this article examines the ways in which parents are simultaneously adhering to and rebelling against heavy cultural emphasis on genealogical roots as a source of self-knowledge and identification. Emerging now via online media is a live chronicling of the shifting nature of family and kinship which pushes against borders that are commonly believed to be static in nature. Quick media allows not only for the volume of personal narrative to be increased but the coming together of these voices begins to disrupt the hegemony and reshape the narrative itself. This interactive shift also impacts the way in which parents develop a parental and family identity as online engagement shapes the reader and in turn shapes what is written. Within this article, donor-linked families are referred to as ‘dibling families’. The colloquial term ‘dibling’ refers to a donor sibling, creating a distinction between siblings within an individual family unit, while acknowledging a shared genetic connection between the children. In choosing to be connected (to varying degrees), dibling families are exemplifying hybridized family forms that reimagine, rather than completely reify or reject, traditional notions of kinship.
The political leader as online brother
Authors: Keren Michael
Published: August 2018

‘Lacking for most of Jewish history a national homeland’, wrote Rabbi Jill Jacobs, ‘Jews have instead focused on creating holy space within their own personal dwellings’. Indeed, the home is the place where much of Jewish life takes place, which explains the electoral success in recent years of Israel’s ‘Jewish Home’ party, presenting itself as guardian of the home and the homeland, both of which are endowed with holiness. In this article, I follow the process in which the party leader, media-savvy Naftali Bennett, has used his Facebook posts to turn his followers into a brotherhood and himself into the beloved brother. I argue that the transformation of the leader into an online brother, made possible by new digital media, poses a danger to Israeli politics. The deliberative democratic process in which people are related but also separated enough to maintain their individual persona turns into an illusionary brotherly bond that may lead to tyranny of the kind associated by Hannah Arendt with the pre-political household.