bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reduction of Consecutive Esotropia Using Modified Contralateral Recession and Resection for Recurrent Intermittent Exotropia
Authors: Cho Soon Young , Lee Se Youp
Published: October 2017

Purpose:

To report consecutive esotropia in contralateral lateral rectus recession and medial rectus resection for recurrent intermittent exotropia after unilateral lateral rectus recession and medial rectus resection and to evaluate the surgical outcome of modified contralateral lateral rectus recession and medial rectus resection for exotropia after unilateral lateral rectus recession and medial rectus resection.

Methods:

A total of 36 patients were included in this retrospective study. As a primary surgery for exotropia, all patients underwent unilateral lateral rectus recession and medial rectus resection on the non-dominant eye. Patients were subsequently assigned to either conventional contralateral lateral rectus recession and medial rectus resection (surgical dosages based on Wright's surgical table) (n = 19; conventional group) or modified contralateral lateral rectus recession and medial rectus resection (surgical dosages reduced by 5 prism diopters on Wright's surgical table) (n = 17; modified group) for recurrent exotropia. Surgical success rates were evaluated. Reoperation or prism glasses prescription rates due to consecutive esotropia were evaluated.

Results:

The mean follow-up durations after reoperation were 25.8 and 24.0 months in the conventional and modified groups, respectively. The surgical success rates were 73.7% and 82.4% (P= .538, Fisher's exact test) and the recurrence rates were 0% and 17.6% (P= .059, Fisher's exact test), respectively. The reoperation or prism glasses prescription rates due to consecutive esotropia were 26.3% and 0%, respectively (P= .025, Fisher's exact test).

Conclusions:

Final outcomes were better in the modified group compared to the conventional group. Consecutive esotropia was significantly more frequent in the conventional group than in the modified group. In surgery for recurrent exotropia, a reduction of the surgical dosage will reduce the incidence of consecutive esotropia.

[J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 2018;55(1):53–58.]
Combined Oral and Topical Beta Blockers for the Treatment of Early Proliferative Superficial Periocular Infantile Capillary Hemangioma
Authors: Marey Hatem M. , Elmazar Hesham F. , Mandour Sameh S. , Khairy Hany A.
Published: October 2017

Purpose:

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of combined oral and topical beta blockers for the treatment of superficial periocular infantile hemangioma at the early proliferative stage.

Methods:

This was a randomized, controlled comparison trial involving 25 patients. Patients were randomly enrolled into two groups: the topical and systemic treatment and systemic treatment only groups. The topical and systemic treatment group was treated with oral propranolol (1 mg/kg per day initially, increased to 2 mg/kg per day gradually in 2 weeks) and timolol maleate 0.5% gel. The systemic treatment only group received oral propranolol (1 mg/kg per day initially, increased to 2 mg/kg per day gradually in 2 weeks) and simple eye ointment to be applied to the lesion. The Hemangioma Activity Score was used to record the proliferative activity of the hemangioma. The main outcomes of the study were the change in the hemangioma size, the proliferative activity, and the treatment side effects.

Results:

At the end of the treatment period, the Hemangioma Activity Score was significantly improved in both groups from their values before treatment. However, the score obtained after treatment was significantly better in the topical and systemic treatment group (
P
< .05). Regarding the response to treatment, 10 and 3 cases in the topical and systemic treatment and systemic treatment only groups, respectively, showed a good response, with a significant difference between the two groups (
P
< .50). There were no recorded serious local or systemic complications during treatment in either group.

Conclusions:

The results from combining topical with oral beta blockers showed that topical beta blockers are of additive value in treating superficial periocular infantile hemangioma in the early proliferative stage.

[
J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus
. 2018;55(1):37–42.]
Neuroanatomical Structures in Human Extraocular Muscles and Their Potential Implication in the Development of Oculomotor Disorders
Authors: Paduca Ala , Bruenech Jan Richard
Published: October 2017

The potential role of sensory feedback from human extraocular muscles has been subjected to considerable speculation in the ophthalmic literature. Extraocular muscles pull against a fairly even load and do not initiate a stretch reflex, even when the eyes are directed toward the boundaries of their respective field of action. These unique working conditions and physiological properties have led to the notion that the sensory signal arising from receptors in extraocular muscles differs from the conventional proprioceptive signal arising from their somatic counterparts. The interest in the receptors at the myotendinous junction of human extraocular muscles has been renewed due to their alleged role in the development of binocular vision and their potential implication in the etiology of binocular vision anomalies. The idea that extraocular muscles provide knowledge of eye position and whether this function can be affected by surgical intervention has initiated several clinical and neuroanatomical studies. Many of these studies support this concept and suggest that surgical procedures that impose only minimal interference with the proprioceptive signal will give a better postoperative result. However, other studies contradict this view because the afferent capacity of the receptors can be questioned and some uncertainties remain. The purpose of this study was to review the related literature and discuss the possible role of ocular proprioceptors in relation to binocular vision and the development of eye motility disorders.

[
J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus
. 2018;55(1):14–22.]
Medial Rectus Bridge Faden Operations in Accommodative and Partially Accommodative Esotropia With Convergence Excess
Authors: Inal Asli , Ocak Osman Bulut , Aygit Ebru Demet , Celik Selcen , Ozturk Karabulut Gamze , Inal Berkay , Taskapili Muhittin , Gokyigit Birsen
Published: October 2017

Purpose:

To evaluate the results of the bilateral bridge Faden operation on the medial rectus muscles with and without recession in the treatment of accommodative and partially accommodative esotropia with convergence excess.

Methods:

A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical records of 103 patients who underwent the bridge Faden operation on both medial rectus muscles, with or without recession, for the treatment of accommodative and partially accommodative esotropia with convergence excess. Preoperative and postoperative near and distance deviations and near–distance disparities were evaluated.

Results:

The study population consisted of 38 (37%) girls and 65 (63%) boys. The mean age was 9.32 ± 5.83 years (range: 1 to 18 years) and the mean follow-up period was 14.49 ± 2.78 months. Fifty-one patients underwent the bridge Faden operation on both medial rectus muscles with recession (recession group) and 52 patients underwent the bridge Faden operation on both medial rectus muscles without recession (no recession group). The mean preoperative amount of esotropia at near was 43.51 ± 7.00 and 24.24 ± 3.56 prism diopters (PD) for the recession and no recession groups, respectively. The mean preoperative amount of esotropia at distance was 26.63 ± 6.86 and 9.22 ± 2.09 PD for both groups, respectively. The mean preoperative near–distance disparity was 17.14 ± 3.00 and 14.05 ± 4.14 PD for both groups, respectively. In both groups, there was a statistically significant difference in the near and distance deviations and the near–distance disparity between preoperative and postoperative values (
P
< .05). Postoperatively, there was no significant difference between 1 month, 6 months, and 1 year and between 6 months and 1 year (
P
> .05).

Conclusions:

The bridge Faden operation on both medial rectus muscles either with or without recession was a successful surgical procedure in patients with accommodative and partially accommodative esotropia. During the follow-up period, the success rates did not decrease.

[
J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus
. 2017;54(6):369–374.]
A Case of Orbital Lipoblastoma: Temporal Evolution of Imaging Findings
Authors: Hwang Sungsoon , Kim Jee Wook , Shin Seon Ae , Siapno Debrelle Lou , Suh Yeon Lim , Woo Kyung In , Kim Yoon-Duck
Published: October 2017

Lipoblastoma is a rare tumor that is not commonly seen in the orbit. The authors present clinical features, histopathologic findings, changes in the radiologic findings over time, and the radiological–pathological correlation of orbital lipoblastoma in an infant. A 3-month-old male infant presented with a palpable mass on the left upper eyelid. The patient was observed for 1 year with magnetic resonance imaging. At the age of 15 months, the patient underwent excisional biopsy. Histopathologic examination showed features of hypocellular lobules with a mixture of adipocytes of various stages of maturity and myxoid stroma separated by prominent fibrous septa, confirming a diagnosis of orbital lipoblastoma.

[
J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus
. 2017;54:e67–e70.]
Pharmacogenomics and Psychiatric Clinical Care
Authors: Amato Russell J. , Boland Joseph , Myer Nicole , Few Lauren , Dowd Daniel
Published: October 2017

Approximately one in five individuals in the United States experiences mental health issues in any given year, and these disorders are consistently among the leading causes of years lived with disability. Unfortunately, many mental illnesses are lifelong conditions that require medication and therapy to improve quality of life, yet clinical trial data show that many patients fail to achieve remission or require several pharmacological interventions prior to remission. These results indicate a need to address the variability among patients in their response to medication, in addition to developing treatment plans tailored to the individual. One approach that may help explain patient variability in response to medication is pharmacogenetic testing. The current review shows the clinical use of pharmacogenetic testing in a small subset of gene variants and how they pertain to psychiatric illness and treatment. Recent evidence suggests that genetic testing for psychiatric illness can improve patient outcomes in addition to decreasing health care costs. [
Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 56
(1), 22–31.]
Emotional and Psychosocial Problems Encountered by Children Who Have Been Sexually Abused
Authors: Güven Şerife Tutar , Dalgiç Ayşegül İşler , Erkol Zerrin
Published: October 2017

The current descriptive analysis sought to identify the emotional and psychosocial problems experienced by children who have been sexually abused. Of 518 children with a history of sexual abuse who applied to the Child Protection Center, 443 were included in the study. Approximately 71.6% of children were subject to sexual abuse entailing penetration, whereas 69% were subject to sexual abuse not entailing penetration. After-effects reported included despair (46.5%), fear of reoccurrence of the incident (52.8%), distrust of others (36.8%), difficulty sleeping (32.7%), negative expectations about the future (32.1%), and self-blame (31.1%). Nurses have crucial roles and functions in the protection, improvement, treatment, and rehabilitation of the health of children who have been sexually abused. [
Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 56
(2), 37–43.]
Clinical Evaluation of an Extended Depth of Focus Intraocular Lens With the Salzburg Reading Desk
Authors: Attia Mary S. A. , Auffarth Gerd U. , Kretz Florian T. A. , Tandogan Tamer , Rabsilber Tanja M. , Holzer Mike P. , Khoramnia Ramin
Published: October 2017

BACKGROUND:

Clinical evaluation of an extended depth of focus (EDOF) intraocular lens (IOL) regarding visual performance at various distances, reading performance on an electronic reading desk, and depth of focus on the defocus curve.

METHODS:

In this prospective study, 30 eyes of 15 patients who received the Tecnis Symfony IOL (Abbott Medical Optics, Inc., Santa Ana, CA) were examined 3.60 ± 1.54 months postoperatively. Uncorrected and corrected distance (UDVA and CDVA), uncorrected and distance-corrected intermediate (UIVA and DCIVA), and uncorrected and distance-corrected near (UNVA and DCNVA) visual acuity were determined. The defocus curve was performed with distance correction. Furthermore, the reading acuity at the preferred near and intermediate distances was measured with consideration of the reading distance, speed, and print size. A subjective questionnaire was also administered.

RESULTS:

Results showed a median UDVA of 0.03 logMAR or 20/21.43 Snellen (range: 0.44 to −0.18 logMAR or 20/55.08 to 20/13.21 Snellen), UNVA of 0.20 logMAR or 20/31.70 Snellen (range: 0.46 to 0.00 logMAR or 20/57.68 to 20/20 Snellen), and UIVA of −0.03 logMAR or 20/18.67 Snellen (range: 0.14 to −0.18 logMAR or 20/27.61 to 20/13.21 Snellen). The improved performance at intermediate distance was confirmed by an uncorrected reading acuity of 0.09 logMAR or 20/24.61 Snellen (range: 0.36 to 0.00 logMAR or 20/45.82 to 20/20.00 Snellen) at a preferred intermediate distance of 64.10 cm (range: 52.0 to 75.0 cm). The defocus curve showed an extended range of visual acuity of 0.10 logMAR or better between 1.00 and −1.50 diopters.

CONCLUSIONS:

The EDOF IOL design provided a wide range of improved visual and reading function between far and intermediate distances and also improved near visual acuity. Patients reported a high rate of satisfaction and spectacle independence at the various distances.

[
J Refract Surg.
2017;33(10):664–669.]
Repair of Irregularly Irregular Astigmatism by Transepithelial Phototherapeutic Keratectomy
Authors: Guglielmetti Stefano , Kirton Amy , Reinstein Dan Z. , Carp Glenn I. , Archer Timothy J.
Published: October 2017

PURPOSE:

To evaluate the outcome of transepithelial phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK) in the management of irregularly irregular astigmatism.

METHODS:

This was a case series of two patients who underwent transepithelial PTK for irregularly irregular astigmatism. In the first case, the patient complained of diplopia due to corneal scarring caused by a metallic foreign body injury. The topography demonstrated irregularly irregular astigmatism with significant asymmetry in the inferotemporal to superonasal axis. In the second case, the patient complained of blurred vision and ghosting caused by significant central epithelial ingrowth through a buttonhole LASIK flap, which was causing a localized irregularity on topography. Due to the localized nature of the irregularities, a transepithelial PTK treatment was preferred to custom ablation given the degree of epithelial masking present.

RESULTS:

Transepithelial PTK was performed in both cases using the Schwind Amaris 500E excimer laser (Schwind eye-tech-solutions, Kleinostheim, Germany) and an 8-mm optical zone. The ablation depth was planned to reach the depth of the epithelium using a stepwise protocol, reviewing the pattern of the remaining epithelium and regularity of the stromal surface between each ablation. A marked improvement in the regularity of the topography was achieved in both cases, with only regular astigmatism remaining. Both patients reported a subjective improvement in quality of vision and the corrected distance visual acuity improved by one and two lines, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS:

Transepithelial PTK was effective in treating these cases of localized irregularly irregular astigmatism, achieving both objective and subjective improvement in vision. Compensatory epithelial remodeling over the irregularities enabled the transepithelial PTK approach to target the stromal surface irregularities.

[
J Refract Surg.
2017;33(10):714–719.]
Experiences of Teach-Back in a Telephone Health Service
Authors: Morony Suzanne , Weir Kristie , Duncan Gregory , Biggs Janice , Nutbeam Don , McCaffery Kirsten
Published: October 2017

Background:

Asking patients to “Teach-Back” information during a health care consultation is widely recommended, yet little is known about patient and provider experiences using this method. Teach-Back has not previously been evaluated in a consumer telephone health service, a situation in which low health literacy can be especially difficult to identify.

Objective:

This study sought to explore telenurse experiences using Teach-Back at a maternal and child health helpline, supplemented with caller experiences.

Method:

After training maternal and child health nurses to use Teach-Back (
n
= 15), we interviewed nurses and callers to the helpline service. We used semi-structured guides to conduct focus groups and telephone interviews and analyzed transcripts of nurse and caller data using the Framework method. This qualitative study forms part of a randomized controlled trial of Teach-Back involving 637 callers.

Key Results:

Nurses (
n
= 13) reported Teach-Back was helpful to invite questions from callers, summarize information, review action plans, and close calls. Some found it helpful to empower and calm (anxious) callers. Nurses reported they did not always use Teach-Back, either because it was not appropriate or they felt uncomfortable with phrasing. Comfort with using Teach-Back tended to improve with practice. Perceived effect on call duration was mixed. We report sample Teach-Back strategies used by nurses, including the lead-in phrase “just before you go…,” which was considered helpful for initiating Teach-Back at close of a call. Caller reports of Teach-Back were limited (
n
= 8) but mostly positive.

Conclusions:

Teach-Back is a simple communication technique that can be used in a consumer telehealth service to confirm caller understanding and actions to take, and in some cases it may also reduce caller anxiety. Further research on caller experiences and objective impact on call duration is needed.

[
Health Literacy Research and Practice
. 2017;1(4):e173–e181.]

Plain Language Summary:

Low health literacy can be difficult to identify, especially over the telephone. Asking callers to summarize important information and agreed actions (known as Teach-Back) could help telehealth providers confirm understanding. We interviewed nurses operating a maternal and child health helpline and callers about their experiences with Teach-Back. Findings support Teach-Back for telehealth and suggest Teach-Back can also reduce caller anxiety.
Current Drivers of Interdisciplinarity
Authors: Klein Julie Thompson
Published: October 2017

Calls for interdisciplinarity abound across science and technology, social sciences, humanities, and arts. They also populate reports from professional societies, educational organizations, and funding agencies. Definitions of “what” interdisciplinarity is are entangled with justifications of “why” particular practices are important in a semantic web of purposes, contexts, organizational structures, and theoretical constructs. Citations to earlier literature appear throughout the chapter, but it is the first publication to present insights from the latest authoritative accounts in the 2017 edition of The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity. The chapter begins by describing four major drivers identified in a 2005 report on Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research and the current ascendancy of transdisciplinarity. It then examines controversies and problematics in three major faultlines of debate: the relationship of disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity, the status of interdisciplinary fields, and tensions between instrumentality and critique. The conclusion reflects on future directions and recommendations, noting patterns of increase alongside continuing challenges.
The Role of Translation in Forming Interdisciplinarity in Arab Medieval Times
Authors: Al-Ma'ani Musallam
Published: October 2017

Medieval Arabic translation (MedAT) played a crucial role in the formulation of the Islamic and Arab civilization. For the first time in the history of medieval Arabs, materials related to an array of multidisciplinary fields were translated, allowing the Arabs to import and master disciplines they did not have or never bothered about, and to subsequently become exporters of knowledge and their language, Arabic, the global donor of such knowledge for centuries. The glorious history of Arabic translation at medieval times put translation at the heart of society, but there is little written about the role translation in forming an interdisciplinary unique Arab culture, bringing various disciplines together. This chapter investigates the role of translation in the formation of the interdisciplinary role of translation in the Arab culture during its medieval times, particularly the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties. It examines the position medieval Arabic translation had in transferring and diffusing new disciplines and in creating an interdisciplinary environment which nurtured the production of native knowledge.
Interdisciplinary Solutions for Tertiary Education Institutions and a Stagnating Labor Market in Jordan
Authors: Shunnaq Mohammed S. , Shunnaq Susanne Ramadan
Published: October 2017

In the late 1980s, the Jordanian economy suffered a depression; consequently, public higher education institutions started receiving less government funding. To contain the economic crisis, Jordan underwent an economic reform which changed labor market needs. In response to these developments, Yarmouk University (YU) established global partnerships in an attempt to face the new challenges. An exceptionally successful example was the first joint program between the University of Arkansas (UA) and YU which was initiated in 1996-1999. The cooperation resulted in the establishment of the Department of Conservation and the Management of Cultural Resources which was an interdisciplinary program, faculty exchange, training programs, and collaboration on interdisciplinary research and grant proposals. This innovative endeavor helped Yarmouk University keep abreast of global changes while providing a demanding and continually changing marketplace with the best possibly trained specialists and professionals. The study explores how such a model can solve problems with stagnant specialties.
Benefits of Interdisciplinary Teaching at an Omani Public University
Authors: Shunnaq Susanne Ramadan
Published: October 2017

During the last two decades, the pros and cons of applying interdisciplinary approaches in teaching have been debated endlessly. Many scholars have pointed to the favorable impact of interdisciplinary teaching on the quality of education; others have expressed reservations. In the context of an undergraduate Western literature classroom in Oman, teachers are challenged to make literary texts comprehensible and appealing to Omani English majors who have no familiarity with the Western literary tradition when they enroll in literature courses. This chapter explores the possibility of applying interdisciplinary teaching approaches in the undergraduate American literature classroom at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU). It discusses some innovative teaching methods which help create an effective teaching and learning environment. The study found, among other things, that the application of interdisciplinary methods can contribute to the development of higher order cognitive skills, broaden students' knowledge base, and heighten their sensitivity to global problems.
Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)
Authors: Zahra Iman Mohamed
Published: October 2017

Since introducing the concept integrated marketing communications (IMC) in the communication field, researchers and practitioners admitted to the interdisciplinary nature of the nascent concept. The current chapter tries to further explore the interdisciplinary concept of IMC, through subjecting IMC into in-depth analysis of its origin disciplines (Communication, Marketing and Branding). Furthermore, the paper resides to synthesize IMC empirical research in a meta-analytic framework to assert on the interdisciplinary field research trends emerging from utilizing the concept as a dependent or independent variable in different research disciplines. Finally, a case study tackling the status of Egyptian tourism after the recent political turmoil post the uprisings was assessed had the designated authorities turned to executing Integrated Marketing Communications instead of relying on temporary unfeasible solutions. A conceptual framework was proposed as a permanent solution of this matter. Employing a theoretical method and a Meta analytical method of 135 research papers, findings proved IMC to be an interdisciplinary concept. IMC research trends could be traced to three development phases with the third phase being crucially related to interdisciplinary frameworks. Thus, IMC is proved to be a viable framework to study topics related to branding, education, services and tourism.
Cultural and Communication Barriers to Interdisciplinary Research
Authors: Musa Abdullahi I.
Published: October 2017

This chapter examines the cultural and communicative challenges of interdisciplinary research. The author argues that to understand the nature and scope of cultural and communicative barriers to interdisciplinary research, we must focus on the link between the philosophy of science and research philosophy which shape how scholars frame empirical inquiries, determine interesting research questions, and define the choice of research methodologies and methods. The chapter examined the cultural and communicative challenges of interdisciplinary research through the philosophical perspectives of philosophy of science and research philosophy. It distinguished between main research choices: deductive and inductive and their relevance to the cultural and communicative challenges of interdisciplinary research. It also explains the epistemological, ontological and axiological positions of research and its role in understanding the cultural and communicative challenges of interdisciplinary research. It discusses how scholars are socialized into a scholarly tradition, and how scholarly tradition is perpetuated. It outlined the assumptions of contending scientific methods and how they hinder interdisciplinary research with implications for global health information and communication programs. The chapter demonstrates why it is important for global health information and communication scholars to examine and contrast the opposing scientific research paradigms with associated competing knowledge claims since each offered a different way of understanding how research should be done.
Issues and Challenges in Interdisciplinary
Authors: Siraj K. K.  , Al-Maskari Azzah
Published: October 2017

The need for interdisciplinary studies to address the complex issues, too broad to deal adequately by a single discipline, is widely acknowledged in literature. Many issues in modern days such as climate change, food security and energy crisis, are interdisciplinary in nature. The success of interdisciplinary studies depends on ‘collaboration' and ‘synthesizing mind' among researchers in different disciplines. Research studies have identified disciplinary focus, assumptions, theories and practices, research design, and methodological pluralism as the major sources of conflict in an interdisciplinary context. In particular, the chapter discusses the various methodological barriers such as differing methodological approach, conflicting research findings, methodological pluralism, terminological problems, time barriers, and diverse motivations in interdisciplinary studies. Based on analysis, the chapter provides few recommendations to address methodological barriers and to promote collaboration and integration among members from various disciplines involved in interdisciplinary studies.
Utilizing the Dimensions of Religion to Analyze Social Media Campaigns
Authors: Zahra Iman Mohamed
Published: October 2017

The objective of the current chapter is to analyze one of the most recent and successful social media campaigns namely #NotInMyName from the viewpoint of the seven dimensions of religion utilized by Van Esch and others as the main pillar of social marketing and media campaigns. Further #NotInMyName Public Relations (PR) campaign is scrutinized for PR strategies and message strategies utilized in formulating the campaign messages. To achieve that end, a qualitative analysis was implemented on three levels relating to each video and vine of the study sample: first locating the Dimensions of Religion (DOR taxonomy(ies) used in this video or vine, then emanating on the PR campaign strategies implemented in the video or vine and finally searching for the message strategies utilized in the video or vine. The major conclusion of this study was that although campaigns launched via social media lack the scientific known steps utilized to plan and launch media campaigns traditionally, those campaigns derive from the social media platform exacerbating an unprecedented power to stir political and social movements especially, regarding controversial and stagnant matters. Posts, comments and shares on different social media platforms go viral, stir discussions, and trigger public opinion both virtually and in reality. Dimensions of Religion taxonomies proved reliability as a viable platform stemming from another discipline to plan messages and to analyze campaigns based on the different aspects the model would provide. Ranging from simple aspects to more complicated aspects, Dimensions of Religion model must be subjected to further research to determine its feasibility to be applied to different campaigning structures and objectives.
Effect of Accreditation on Quality of Teaching and Learning and Multi-Disciplinary Collaboration
Authors: Hosseinzadeh Nasser , Al-Badi Abdullah
Published: October 2017

Usually, so far, formal education mostly focuses on treating only strictly separated and specialized topic areas, called disciplines. However, as the need for cooperation between professionals oriented from different disciplines grows, the need for a multidisciplinary educational approach becomes more and more important. For a technical education to be completed, it is no longer enough to train scientists and engineers solely in technical areas. In development and implementation of technology-driven applications, multidisciplinary issues should be properly addressed in the academic sense. The College of Engineering at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) has addressed this issue of multidisciplinary education by developing and offering interdisciplinary programs such as Mechatronics program, which is jointly offered by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (MIE), and also transdisciplinary programs such as a specialization in biomedical signals and medical devices (approved, but not yet offered at the time of writing this book chapter, 2016) and a program in agricultural engineering. Also, to make engineering graduates capable of working effectively in multidisciplinary teams, final-year projects (FYP) of multidisciplinary nature has been defined and implemented by the students under the supervision of faculty members.
Economic Journalists' Qualifications in the Arab World
Authors: Al-Kindi Abdullah K.
Published: October 2017

As regards the issue of journalists' qualifications and media professionals in general in the field of media work, evidently including economics, the countries of the world are divided into two main directions: the direction of general scholastic qualification, and the trend of specialized qualitative qualification that separates work fields and distinguishes between the skills and conditions to be provided by journalists working in a specialized field. In fact, working in the field of economic journalism requires a qualitative qualification that responds to the nature and special work conditions in this area. Furthermore, when some international universities offer quality qualification programs in the field of economic journalism, the majority of Arab world media qualification institutions continue to adopt the classical approach in qualifying economic journalists. Actually, academic institutions give professional institutions, where journalists are supposed to work after graduation, the task of compensating for their lack of information and skills in deferent areas of specialization. Hence, this study presents a proposal for the establishment of an academic program between the media and economics, called “Economic Journalism”, throughout which journalists specialized in economics, are trained through a university qualification program that combines journalism knowledge and its arts with the fundamentals and principles of economics. This program is suggested to be offered by Sultan Qaboos University, in the Sultanate of Oman and could be adopted by other Arab universities and could well benefit from international experiences in qualifying economic journalists so as to build an academic program model that would reflect the importance of an overlap across science disciplines. This will help in having qualified human cadres in the economic journalism. Eventually, the study is based on an analysis of the current global economic journalists' qualification trends through a close reading of the available university programs worldwide.
Investigating the Effect of Sensitivity and Severity Analysis on Fault Proneness in Open Source Software
Authors: Mala D. Jeya
Published: October 2017

Fault prone components in open source software leads to huge loss and inadvertent effects if not properly identified and rigorously tested. Most of the reported studies in the literature have applied design metrics alone, to identify such critical components. But in reality, some of the components' criticality level can be identified only by means of dynamic code analysis; as some of the components seem to be normal but still have higher level of impact on the other components. This leads to an insight on the need of a rigorous analysis based on how sensitive a component is and how severe will be the impact of it on other components in the system. To achieve this, an efficient mechanism of evaluating the criticality index of each component by means of sensitivity and severity analysis using the static design metrics and dynamic source code metrics has been proposed. Then, testing is conducted rigorously on these components using both unit testing and pair-wise integration testing.
Systematic Review of Risks in Domestic and Global IT Projects
Authors: Silveira Franciane Freitas , Russo Rosária de F. S. Macri , Júnior Irapuan Glória , Sbragia Roberto
Published: October 2017

The development of information technology projects is no longer limited to the domestic sphere. This study identifies the differentiation of risk categories between global and domestic projects through an exploratory research carried out by means of a systematic literature review. 1367 risks were identified in 37 articles and classified within 22 categories. The major concern regarded in domestic project management was the client (external risk) and scope (internal risk) and, in global project management, the psychic distance (external) and coordination and control (internal). The main difference between the risk categories for each project type refers to the psychic distance category, which was identified almost exclusively in global projects, thus making the external risks more relevant than those in domestic projects. On the other hand, it makes risks such as client, supplier and stakeholders be underestimated. The results indicate that project managers should focus on different risks depending on the type of IT project: global or domestic.
The Role of the Internet as a Tool to Search for Tourist Information
Authors: Dominguez Vila Trinidad , Vila Noelia Araújo , Alén González Elisa , Brea Jose Antonio Fraiz
Published: October 2017

The internet has become the main tool to search for information. This is particularly the case for the tourism industry, where online searches are becoming increasingly popular. The ongoing growth of e-commerce has ruptured the existing relationship with the old management information systems and products. Given the vast range of available information, search and meta-search engines have become key elements in gaining a competitive advantage and establishing differentiation strategies within the sector. This paper aims to compare tourism e-commerce search engines and meta-search engines based on website structure and content. It analyses the main attributes and categories found to create clusters and a ranking from which to compare the position of search and meta-search engines from the perspective of the supplier, as opposed to that of the traditional consumer market preference. This paper will contribute to the industry by providing valuable information for best management practices about the tourism website's structure and offering, and determining factor in implementing successful strategies.
The Evaluation of Total Mercury and Arsenic in Skin Bleaching Creams Commonly used in Trinidad and Tobago and their Potential Risk to the People of the Caribbean
Authors: Mohammed Terry , Mohammed Elisabeth , Bascombe Shermel
Published: October 2017

Background

Skin lightening is very popular among women and some men of the Caribbean, and its popularity appears to be growing. The lightening of skin colour is done to produce a lighter complexion which is believed to increase attractiveness, social standing and improves one's potential of being successful.

Design and Methods

Fifteen (15) common skin lightening creams found in pharmacies and cosmetic retailers throughout Trinidad and Tobago were evaluated for Mercury by Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (CVAAS) and Arsenic by Hydride Generation Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (HGAAS). The results obtained were compared to global standards and previous research.

Results

Fourteen (14) of the fifteen samples analysed contained Mercury in the range of 0.473 μg/g to 0.766 μg/g. One sample had a Mercury content of 14,507.74±490.75 μg/g which was over 14,000 times higher than the USFDA limit for mercury in cosmetics of 1 μg/g. All samples contained Arsenic in the range 1.016 μg/g to 6.612 μg/g, which exceeds the EU limit for cosmetics of 0 μg/g.

Conclusions

All the samples analysed contained significant amounts of Mercury and Arsenic and none of them can be considered safe for prolonged human use. The samples that contained Mercury levels which were lower than the USFDA limit contained Arsenic levels which exceeded the EU standard of 0 μg/g in cosmetics. The popularity of these skin lightening creams in the Caribbean region places the population at elevated risk of chronic Mercury and Arsenic poisoning and possibly acute Mercury Poisoning.
Brothers and sisters, can you hear us? Remarks on facilitating a productive dialogue between the Western and African notions of practical theology in light of the decolonisation discourse
Authors: Brunsdon Alfred R.
Published: October 2017

This article is conducted within the framework of the inter-contextual dialogue between the Western and African notions of practical theology. It sets out to probe the usefulness of the notion of decolonisation in the design of practical theology. The application of this notion in Emmanuel Lartey’s Postcolonializing God – An African practical theology (2013) is investigated. An overview of Lartey’s work is provided with the following question as subtext: Does the resultant African practical theology remain within ‘hearing distance’ from Western notions of practical theology that is traditionally reliant on a Christian epistemology? The finding is that decolonisation is of restricted use in the design of such a practical theology. While it provides insight into an authentic African practical theology, a critical discussion raises concerns regarding inclusivity, the perceived African context, the interrelatedness between culture and faith as well as the theological nature of the proposed African practical theology. The concluding section of the article suggests that inter-contextual dialogue can move forward on the basis of seeking the theological middle ground. In this regard the notion of Esther Acolatse’s pastoral hermeneutic of primal speech is introduced that provides valuable parameters for inter-contextual dialogue. In creating room for intercultural dialogue, it operates from the stance of a perichoretic relationship between theology and culture. The resulting theologies thus retain their trinitarian character. Such an approach promises to keep dialogue partners from different contexts within hearing distance from one another, opening the possibility for symbiotic co-existence.
Proteomic Analysis in Diabetic Cardiomyopathy using Bioinformatics Approach
Authors: Rao Allam Appa , Thota Hanuman , Adapala Ramamurthy , Changalasetty Suresh Babu , Gumpeny Ramachandra Sridhar , Akula Annapurna , Thota Lalitha Saroja , Challa Siva Reddy , Rao M.R. Narasinga , Das Undurti N.
Published: October 2017

Diabetic cardiomyopathy is a distinct clinical entity that produces asymptomatic heart failure in diabetic patients without evidence of coronary artery disease and hypertension. Abnormalities in diabetic cardiomyopathy include: myocardial hypertrophy, impairment of contractile proteins, accumulation of extracellular matrix proteins, formation of advanced glycation end products, and decreased left ventricular compliance. These abnormalities lead to the most common clinical presentation of diabetic cardiomyopathy in the form of diastolic dysfunction.

We evaluated the role of various proteins that are likely to be involved in diabetic cardiomyopathy by employing multiple sequence alignment using ClustalW tool and constructed a Phylogenetic tree using functional protein sequences extracted from NCBI. Phylogenetic tree was constructed using Neighbour—Joining Algorithm in bioinformatics approach. These results suggest a causal relationship between altered calcium homeostasis and diabetic cardiomyopathy that implies that efforts directed to normalize calcium homeostasis could form a novel therapeutic approach.
Evaluation of Combining Several Statistical Methods with a Flexible Cutoff for Identifying Differentially Expressed Genes in Pairwise Comparison of EST Sets
Authors: Lindlöf Angelica , Bräutigam Marcus , Chawade Aakash , Olsson Olof , Olsson Björn
Published: October 2017

The detection of differentially expressed genes from EST data is of importance for the discovery of potential biological or pharmaceutical targets, especially when studying biological processes in less characterized organisms and where large-scale microarrays are not an option. We present a comparison of five different statistical methods for identifying up-regulated genes through pairwise comparison of EST sets, where one of the sets is generated from a treatment and the other one serves as a control. In addition, we specifically address situations where the sets are relatively small (~2,000– 10,000 ESTs) and may differ in size. The methods were tested on both simulated and experimentally derived data, and compared to a collection of cold stress induced genes identified by microarrays. We found that combining the method proposed by Audic and Claverie with Fisher's exact test and a method based on calculating the difference in relative frequency was the best combination for maximizing the detection of up-regulated genes. We also introduced the use of a flexible cutoff, which takes the size of the EST sets into consideration. This could be considered as an alternative to a static cutoff. Finally, the detected genes showed a low overlap with those identified by microarrays, which indicates, as in previous studies, low overall concordance between the two platforms.
Structural Re-Alignment in an Immunogenic Surface Region of Ricin a Chain
Authors: Zemla Adam T. , Zhou Carol L. Ecale
Published: October 2017

We compared structure alignments generated by several protein structure comparison programs to determine whether existing methods would satisfactorily align residues at a highly conserved position within an immunogenic loop in ribosome inactivating proteins (RIPs). Using default settings, structure alignments generated by several programs (CE, DaliLite, FATCAT, LGA, MAMMOTH, MATRAS, SHEBA, SSM) failed to align the respective conserved residues, although LGA reported correct residue-residue (R-R) correspondences when the beta-carbon (Cb) position was used as the point of reference in the alignment calculations. Further tests using variable points of reference indicated that points distal from the beta carbon along a vector connecting the alpha and beta carbons yielded rigid structural alignments in which residues known to be highly conserved in RIPs were reported as corresponding residues in structural comparisons between ricin A chain, abrin-A, and other RIPs. Results suggest that approaches to structure alignment employing alternate point representations corresponding to side chain position may yield structure alignments that are more consistent with observed conservation of functional surface residues than do standard alignment programs, which apply uniform criteria for alignment (i.e. alpha carbon (Ca) as point of reference) along the entirety of the peptide chain. We present the results of tests that suggest the utility of allowing user-specified points of reference in generating alternate structural alignments, and we present a web server for automatically generating such alignments: http://as2ts.llnl.gov/AS2TS/LGA/lga_pdblist_plots.html .
Normalization and Gene p-Value Estimation: Issues in Microarray Data Processing
Authors: Fundel Katrin , Küffner Robert , Aigner Thomas , Zimmer Ralf
Published: October 2017

Introduction

Numerous methods exist for basic processing, e.g. normalization, of microarray gene expression data. These methods have an important effect on the final analysis outcome. Therefore, it is crucial to select methods appropriate for a given dataset in order to assure the validity and reliability of expression data analysis. Furthermore, biological interpretation requires expression values for genes, which are often represented by several spots or probe sets on a microarray. How to best integrate spot/probe set values into gene values has so far been a somewhat neglected problem.

Results

We present a case study comparing different between-array normalization methods with respect to the identification of differentially expressed genes. Our results show that it is feasible and necessary to use prior knowledge on gene expression measurements to select an adequate normalization method for the given data. Furthermore, we provide evidence that combining spot/probe set p-values into gene p-values for detecting differentially expressed genes has advantages compared to combining expression values for spots/probe sets into gene expression values. The comparison of different methods suggests to use Stouffer's method for this purpose. The study has been conducted on gene expression experiments investigating human joint cartilage samples of Osteoarthritis related groups: a cDNA microarray (83 samples, four groups) and an Affymetrix (26 samples, two groups) data set.

Conclusion

The apparently straight forward steps of gene expression data analysis, e.g. between-array normalization and detection of differentially regulated genes, can be accomplished by numerous different methods. We analyzed multiple methods and the possible effects and thereby demonstrate the importance of the single decisions taken during data processing. We give guidelines for evaluating normalization outcomes. An overview of these effects via appropriate measures and plots compared to prior knowledge is essential for the biological interpretation of gene expression measurements.