bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Role of Preoperative Cervical Spine X-rays in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Authors: Kwek T. K. , Lew T. W. K. , Thoo F. L. 
Published: January 2019

The cervical spine is frequently involved in rheumatoid arthritis and yet there exists no consensus on the need to screen for cervical spine subluxations preoperatively. We reviewed retrospectively 77 patients who underwent 132 operations under general or regional anaesthesia over a 44-month period. We found that while the majority of patients had received preoperative X-ray screening for cervical spine instability, a third of the X-ray examinations done had been inadequate. Many anaesthetists did not repeat cervical spine X-rays if there were previously performed views available. We showed that a complete X-ray examination of the cervical spine should include flexion and extension stress views in addition to frontal views of the odontoid and entire cervical spine. Anterior atlantoaxial subluxation was the most common subluxation encountered in our study population. The detection of cervical spine instability was found to significantly affect anaesthetic management, favouring techniques that avoided unprotected manipulations of the neck under anaesthesia.
The Need for Undergraduate Education in Critical Care. (Results of a Questionnaire to Year 6 Medical Undergraduates, University of New South Wales and Recommendations on a Curriculum in Critical Care)
Authors: Harrison G. A. , Hillman K. M. , Fulde G. W. O. , Jacques T. C. 
Published: January 2019

One hundred and fifteen final year medical students of the University of New South Wales (UNSW) who were gathered together for mid-year lectures were asked to respond to a questionnaire which sought their perceptions of their knowledge of and competence in those skills required to prevent loss of life of patients with acute reversible life-threatening illnesses. There were 101 responders (88% response rate). A high proportion of students lacked practical experience of many of the skills or had not witnessed some procedures. They lacked confidence in their ability to manage acute emergencies. The results were similar to those in a separate study of the perceptions of New South Wales interns and resident medical officers of their competencies at the beginning of their intern year. The authors concluded that undergraduate education in critical care had not kept pace with the rapid evolution of critical care practice and describe the development and implementation of an explicit vertical and horizontal curriculum of critical care in the undergraduate curriculum of the UNSW.
Simvastatin With PRP Promotes Chondrogenesis of Bone Marrow Stem Cells In Vitro and Wounded Rat Achilles Tendon–Bone Interface Healing In Vivo
Authors: Zhang Ying , Yu Jing , Zhang Jiefeng , Hua Yongxin 
Published: January 2019

Background: Tendons and ligaments are joined to bone in a specialized interface that transmits force from muscle to bone and permits body movement. Tendon/ligament injuries always occur in the interface areas, and injured tendons/ligaments have a limited healing response because the insertion site is composed of a fibrocartilaginous zone. Purpose: To study the effect of simvastatin with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on chondrogenesis of rat bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) in vitro and wounded rat Achilles tendon–bone interface healing in vivo. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: The in vitro model was performed by the culture of rat BMSCs with various concentrations of simvastatin (0, 10, 50, 100 nM) for 2 weeks. The effect of simvastatin on the chondrogenic differentiation of the BMSCs was examined by histochemical analysis and real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The in vivo model was carried out by testing the healing effect of simvastatin with PRP on 12 wounded rat Achilles tendon–bone interfaces. Results: Simvastatin induced chondrogenic differentiation of rat BMSCs in a concentration-dependent manner as evidenced by histological staining and real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The wounds treated with simvastatin alone or with simvastatin-containing PRP gel healed much faster than the wounds treated with saline alone or PRP alone. Histological analysis showed that higher percentages of healed tissues were positively stained with safranin O and fast green in wounds treated with simvastatin-containing PRP gel than in the other 3 groups. Immunohistochemical analysis further demonstrated these findings, as evidenced by more positively stained healed tissues with collagen I and II antibodies in the wound areas treated with simvastatin-containing PRP gel than the other 3 groups. Conclusion: The combination of simvastatin with PRP induced chondrogenesis of BMSCs in vitro and enhanced fibrocartilage formation in vivo. The simvastatin–PRP gel treatment promotes wounded tendon-bone interface healing in clinical treatment. Clinical Relevance: The combination of simvastatin with PRP may be a good clinical treatment for wounded tendon/ligament junction healing, especially for acute sports-related tendon/ligament injuries.
Feasibility, Reliability, Responsiveness, and Validity of the Patient-Reported Functional Scale for the Intensive Care Unit: A Pilot Study
Authors: Reid Julie C. , Clarke France , Cook Deborah J. , Molloy Alexander , Rudkowski Jill C. , Stratford Paul , Kho Michelle E. 
Published: January 2019

Background: Although many performance-based measures assess patients’ physical function in intensive care unit (ICU) survivors, to our knowledge, there are no patient-reported ICU rehabilitation-specific measures assessing function. We developed the Patient-Reported Functional Scale-ICU (PRFS-ICU), which measures patients’ perceptions of their ability to perform 6 activities (rolling, sitting edge of bed, sit-to-stand and bed-to-chair transfers, ambulation, and stair climbing). Each item is scored from 0 (unable) to 10 (able to perform at pre-ICU level) to a maximum of 60. Objectives: Estimate the feasibility, reliability, responsiveness, and validity of the PRFS-ICU. Methods: This was a substudy of TryCYCLE, a single-center, prospective cohort examining the safety and feasibility of early in-bed cycling with mechanically ventilated patients (NCT01885442). To determine feasibility, we calculated the number of patients with at least 1 PRFS-ICU assessment during their hospital stay. To assess reliability, 2 raters blinded to each other’s assessments administered the PRFS-ICU within 24-hours of each other. We calculated the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC; 95% confidence interval [CI]), standard error of measurement (SEM, 95% CI), and minimal detectable change (MDC90). To assess validity, we estimated convergent validity of the PRFS-ICU with the Functional Status Score for ICU (FSS-ICU), Medical Research Council Sum Score (MRC-SS), Physical Function Test for ICU (PFIT-s), Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living (Katz ADLs), and a pooled index using Pearson's correlation coefficient ( r, 95% CI). Results: Feasibility: 20 patients completed a PRFS-ICU assessment. Reliability and responsiveness: 16 patients contributed data. The ICC, SEM, and MDC90 were 0.91 (0.76, 0.97), 4.75 (3.51, 7.35), and 11.04 points, respectively. Validity: 19 patients contributed data and correlations were ( r [95% CI]): FSS-ICU (0.40 [−0.14, 0.76]), MRC-SS (0.51 [0.02, 0.80]), PFIT-s (0.43 [−0.13, 0.78]), Katz ADLs (0.53 [0.10, 0.79]), and pooled index (0.48 [−0.14, 0.82]). Conclusions: Our pilot work suggests the PRFS-ICU may be a useful tool to assess and monitor patients’ perceptions of function over time.
Are Blacks at Higher Risk for Vancomycin-Related Acute Kidney Injury?
Authors: Sharma Mamta , Braekevelt Kaylin , Kale-Pradhan Pramodini , Szpunar Susan , Khatib Riad 
Published: January 2019

Background: Black individuals have a higher lifetime risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease than whites. Vancomycin has a potential for nephrotoxicity. The objective of this study was to determine whether the incidence of AKI among patients being treated with vancomycin differs by race. Methods: Retrospective study of adult (3 ≥18 years) inpatients who were on vancomycin for 348 hours between January 2012 and December 2014. Data on demographics, comorbid conditions, clinical characteristics, vancomycin dose, duration, and nephrotoxic drugs were collected. Patients with a creatinine clearance <30 mL/min or undergoing dialysis were excluded. Results: We identified 1130 patients during the study period; 48.1% (544) were black. The overall incidence of AKI was 8.2% (10.1% blacks, 6.5% whites; P = .03). Independent predictors of AKI included black race ( P = .011); higher Charlson score ( P = .006); higher body mass index (BMI; P = .002); higher vancomycin trough level ( P < .0001); and sepsis/systemic inflammatory response syndrome (<.0001), pneumonia ( P = .001) or gastrointestinal/genitourinary ( P = .025) as the source of infection. Conclusion: The incidence of vancomycin-related AKI was higher in blacks, independent of other risk factors. Based on our study, vancomycin trough levels and renal function need to be closely monitored in blacks.
School Leadership Preparation in Mexico: Metacultural Considerations
Authors: Slater Charles L. , Boone Mike , Muñoz Linda , Base Melinda , Grimaldo Leticia Romero , Korth Lisa , Andrews James , Bustamante Anna , García Isaías álvarez , Topete Carlos , Iturbe Elizabeth 
Published: January 2019

Levels of cultural understanding can be applied to leadership and research. Intracultural understanding is self-contained within one culture. Cross-cultural understanding extends from one culture to another. Intercultural understanding recognizes implications for one's own culture. Metacultural understanding extends beyond one's own and others’ culture to create entirely new meanings. This study examines an educational administration program in Mexico using researchers from a multicultural team. School directors and those in higher education participated in focus groups to examine the preparation Mexican leaders receive, the challenges they face, and the implications for preparation programs. These issues are significant in Mexico, and have implications for the United States and other countries.
The Legal Aspects of Bullying and Harassment of Students with Disabilities: School Leaders’ Legal Obligations
Authors: Eckes Suzanne , Gibbs Jesulon 
Published: January 2019

Research demonstrates that students with disabilities are harassed more than their nondisabled peers. Students with disabilities who have been severely harassed have argued that they are not receiving a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) as required by Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). A school district's failure to respond to known acts of harassment could result in district liability. In addition to IDEA, Title II of the American's with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) also prohibit school districts from discriminating against students with disabilities. Employing traditional legal research methods, this paper examines the legal issues surrounding the bullying and harassment of students with disabilities. Legal cases involving disability-based harassment under the IDEA, the ADA, and Section 504 will be coded to determine implications for schools leaders. It is hoped that school leaders will gain a better perspective on disability law and their school's antibullying/harassment policy in order to minimize litigation and more importantly to provide a socially just public schooling environment for all students.
Principals Going above and Beyond: Understanding Organizational Citizenship Behavior among School Principals
Authors: Nutov Liora , Somech Anit 
Published: January 2019

Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) refers to all behaviors outside the formal role definition but which contribute to organizational functioning and performance. To date research has focused on teachers’ OCB in an attempt to identify the causes and consequences of such behavior for the individual and the organization. Questions that have yet to be addressed in the literature are: Do principals also engage in OCB? And if so, how do they interpret OCB, and what are its characteristics? Since this is the first study to inquire into the phenomenon of OCB in the context of principalship, the qualitative method was chosen for the investigation. Fifteen post-elementary school principals were interviewed. Our findings identified four categories of principals’ OCB: effort invested in the school community; initiatives; supporting the local community; and other exceptional behaviors. We conclude by delineating the findings’ theoretical and practical implications and by introducing a proposed platform for new directions in OCB research.
Attitude Tpward Visionary Leadership
Authors: Lesourd Sandra J. , Tracz Susan , Grady Marilyn L. 
Published: January 2019

Typologies of leadership style are emerging from naturalistic studies conducted by researchers at school sites. Through extensive observation and interviews with members of schools, researchers have accomplished a specific description of the values and behavioral attributes of leaders. For example, Bennis and Nanus (1985), Blumberg and Greenfield (1980), Deal and Kennedy (1982), Lightfoot (1983), and Wolcott (1973) have presented informative studies of schools and organizations. These analyses of leadership in context have contributed to the identification of notable, effective leadership qualities. In addition, the genre of effective school research clarified the existence of variation in the principals’ influence upon school quality (Leithwood and Montgomery, 1982; Purkey and Smith, 1982). Investigation of school effectiveness confirmed that some principals are more influential than others in making improvements. Some develop reputations as dynamic leaders who foster institutional change, while others are primarily concerned with routine maintenance functions. While documentation of the distinctive propensities of notable principals is available, specific techniques for assessing these propensities are lacking. There is a need to integrate research findings into preparation and professional development programs for school leaders. Information gained from studies of outstanding leaders should be converted into techniques and strategies applicable to the preparation of candidates for leadership roles and continued professional development of individuals who have assumed leadership roles. The following reports an attempt to formulate descriptive research findings into a utilitarian tool for leadership development programs. An instrument to measure attitude toward a leadership ideal was developed, administered, and analyzed for construct validity. Findings from the previously cited studies of leaders, who had reputations for implementing outstanding leadership, were summarized to establish the leadership ideal. It was postulated that the instrument would address a need to assess individual acceptance of the qualities identified in outstanding leaders.
A Meta-Analytic Model of Principal Assessment
Authors: Williams John , Pantili Linda 
Published: January 2019

The selection of a school principal is a very important personnel function in a school system. Considerable effort has been expended by school systems to improve the selection process. In an endeavor to establish objectivity in an apparently subjective procedure for principal selection, the National Association for Secondary School Principals (NASSP) developed an assessment process to enhance the identification and selection of potential school principals. Research studies to date have been individually inconclusive in identifying the best criteria for assessment and selection of school administrators. The primary questions of this study centered on concerns about the criteria used for evaluating leadership potential. First, are NASSP-style assessment centers effective in evaluating desirable criteria for the principalship? Which criteria used in assessment are the most and least correlated with job performance criteria? If the criterion validity of current dimension estimators is relatively low, which alternate criteria might augment the current assessment process? This study used a series of meta-analyses to integrate the factors identified within and outside of the NASSP assessment center process into a consistent theoretical framework for the improvement of principal preparation, assessment, selection and performance. A model for future assessment center programs is then proposed on the basis of this analysis.
Who is Teaching California School Administrators? A Profile of California Professors of Educational Administration
Authors: Townley Arthur J. , Sweeney Dwight P. 
Published: January 2019

This study reports findings of a survey of California Professors of Educational Administration. Surveys were mailed to 160 California Professors of Educational Administration. The survey was intended to establish a profile of current Professors of Educational Administration to assist in determining the number of new faculty positions needed over the next five years. The survey sought information concerning age, gender, ethnicity, education, employment status, rank, amount and type of prior public school administrative experience, number of new faculty positions anticipated over the next five years, and the need for a differential pay scale to attract new Educational Administration faculty.
Next Steps: Adaptation and Use of an Established Organizational Model in Training Principals
Authors: Burnett Emett 
Published: January 2019

Today's school principals are confronted with increasing and often conflicting demands for effective and accountable performance. Many of those demands center on essentially impersonal managerial tasks such as strategic planning, documentation and evaluation, while others focus on the humanistic imperatives of showing concern for others, nurturing staff talents and empowering faculty. The author has found the Getzels-Guba model of organizational social system functioning (Getzels and Guba, 1957; Getzels, 1958) to be a practical conceptual base for adaptation as a teaching tool to be used with principalship trainees in addressing such conflicting demands. The Getzels-Guba model as adapted by this writer has proven effective as an analytical aid used by graduate students in understanding the practical dynamics of the school leadership functions of the principal. The school is viewed as a social system, the functioning of which results in observable organizational behavior. The model is divided into an impersonal nomothetic dimension comprising the institution, role and expectation, and a highly personal idiographic dimension consisting of the parallel elements of the individual, his/her personality and his/her operative need-disposition. Simultaneous activity along both dimensions results in observable behavior with which the principal must deal. Although Getzels focused on the idio-graphic/nomothetic dynamics involved as existing within the individual, the author of this article has expanded the basic concept to include such interaction both within the individual and between individuals. Three types of possible conflict arising from the internal dynamics of the model were identified by Getzels: role conflict, personality conflict, and role-personality conflict. Each, as expanded and adapted by the present writer, is discussed in reference to its applicability to principalship training. The point is emphasized to students that by facilitating effective interface of the nomothetic and idiographic dimensions of the school social system, the principal can minimize the negative effects of conflict and help release the creative energy needed to attain organizational effectiveness. Emphasis is placed on experiences in using this adapted model with principalship trainees, their reactions to its applicability, and practical suggestions to facilitate its use as an aid in teaching. The author concludes by advising professors of educational administration to consider rational expansion and adaptation of existing models, theories and paradigms essential to their task of linking theory with practice.
Developing an Industry-Education Community: The United Auto Workers/General Motors Quality Educator Program
Authors: Jacobson Stephen L. , Walline James 
Published: January 2019

In this paper we review the evolution of the Quality Educator Program (QEP), a program sponsored by the United Auto Workers (UAW)/General Motors (GM) that employs school teachers, administrators, and college and university faculty each summer in GM assembly plants. The QEP provides educators and those in industry the unique opportunity to interact and observe one another in a common workplace for a 4–6 week time period. Participation in the QEP allows educators the chance to observe first-hand the UAW/GM's use of “quality networks.” We argue that quality networks hold promise for improving the day-to-day operation of public schools by allowing new and better relationships to develop among educational professionals, and between educators and the communities they serve. Implicit in this work is the fact that a larger community is being developed, a community of labor and management from industry working closely with educators to improve the quality of public education for their mutual benefit. To better understand the implications of this emerging community, a brief review of conceptual differences in the dominant social relationships characteristic of communities as compared to organizations is developed from Tonnies’ (1887) distinction between Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft societal types, Sergiovanni's (1993) distinction between organization and community as dominant school metaphors, and Maxwell's (1994) and distinction between similarity and contiguity as modes of relationship central to community solidarity.
Effect of the Visual Presentation of a Craniofacial Syndrome on Speech Intelligibility in Noise
Authors: Bressmann Tim , Eick Tamara , Pardo Jennifer 
Published: January 2019

Objective: Research has argued that a speaker’s facial appearance can result in an “intelligibility cost” for the listener. The study investigated whether such an intelligibility cost exists for a visible repaired cleft lip and nasal asymmetry. Setting: University department. Participants: Eight typical speakers provided speech samples. Twenty-eight naive listeners participated in a speech in noise experiment. Interventions: Listeners transcribed sentences in noise that were paired with faces of individuals with repaired cleft lip and nasal asymmetry or typical faces. They also rated speaker intelligibility and answered a questionnaire about their previous knowledge about cleft lip and palate. Main Outcome Measures: Percentage of words transcribed correctly and intelligibility ratings, compared by experimental condition (photo of typical face or face with repaired cleft lip and nasal asymmetry) and speaker gender. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between speech stimuli that were presented with faces with repaired cleft lip and nasal asymmetry or typical faces. The percentage of words transcribed correctly by the listeners was lower for female speakers ( F = 12.7, df = 1; P < .01). Speech intelligibility of female speakers was rated more poorly ( F = 10.5, df = 1; P < .01). Conclusions: Presence of a repaired cleft lip and nasal asymmetry did not result in an intelligibility cost for naive listeners. Future research should investigate possible effects of facial motion or previous knowledge.