bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of Feeding Regulation Measures for Establishing Esophageal Channel Function in Neoesophagus Created with a Nitinol Artificial Esophagus
Authors: Liang Jian-hui , Cai Pin , Luo Zhon-ran , Liang Xian-liang , Zhou Xing 
Published: January 2018

Purpose This study attempted to observe the effect of feeding regulation measures (FRM) for the construction of an esophageal channel function in a neoesophagus using an artificial nitinol esophagus. Methods Experiments were divided among groups: group 1, receiving FRM; and group 2, the non-feeding regulation measures (NFRM) group. Results Ten pigs survived for 6 months without any complications such as anastomotic leakage. The shedding time of the artificial esophagus in group 1 was significantly delayed in comparison with group 2 (>180 ± 0.0 days vs. 75.6 ± 27.1 days, respectively, p<0.05). In group 1, the weight changes at 3 and 6 months postoperation were significantly different in comparison with preoperative values (t = 14.86, 9.17 > 2.78, respectively; p<0.05). In group 2, the weight changes at 3 and 6 months postoperation were significantly different in comparison with preoperative values (t = 7.95, 11.37 > 2.78, respectively; p<0.05). Conclusions FRM not only effectively delayed the shedding time of the artificial esophagus but also played a role in protecting the neoesophagus from stenosis, by functioned as a bougienage after artificial esophagus sloughing. Therefore, FRM is an effective way for establishing a stable eating channel in the neoesophagus when using a nitinol composite artificial esophagus to replace the resected segment of an intrathoracic esophagus.
Leukocyte Filtration Improves Pulmonary Function and Reduces the Need for Postoperative Non-Invasive Ventilation
Authors: Rubino Antonino S. , Serraino Giuseppe F. , Marsico Roberto , Ventura Valeria , Foti Daniela , Gulletta Elio , Renzulli Attilio 
Published: January 2018

Objectives Leukocyte depletion (LD) has been reported to reduce inflammatory damage during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). We evaluated the role of LD in pulmonary function and inflammatory response. Methods Seventy consecutive CABG patients were randomized (1:1) to receive LD on both arterial and cardioplegia lines (Filters) or standard arterial filters (Controls) during CPB. Estimates of pulmonary function, inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines were collected pre-, intra- and postoperatively. Results Hospital mortality, intensive care and in-hospital lengths of stay were similar. Although duration of ventilation and incidence of pneumonia were comparable, leukodepleted patients showed higher PaO 2/FiO2 (p-between groups = 0.005; ICU arrival p = 0.023; 24 hours p = 0.039; 48 hours p<0.001) and lower need for postoperative non-invasive ventilation (NIV), (p = 0.029). Moreover, Filters showed lower inflammatory burst at 24 hours (IL-6 p<0.001; IL-8 p = 0.002) and 48 hours (IL-6 p = 0.015). This was associated with a lower release of the anti-inflammatory IL-10 (p-between groups = 0.030; ICU admission p = 0.002; 24 hours p = 0.003). Furthermore, IL-2 concentration proved higher in Filters (p-between groups = 0.013; ICU arrival p = 0.029; 24 hours p = 0.040; 48 hours p = 0.021) in association with lower leukocyte and platelet counts at ICU admission. Conclusions LD resulted in lower inflammatory burst and less need for release of anti-inflammatory cytokines. Although hospital outcomes were similar in terms of mortality and length of stay, improvements in pulmonary function and reduced need for postoperative NIV support the use of LD.
Crosstalk between Immune Cells and Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in a 3D Bioreactor System
Authors: Seifert Martina , Lubitz Annika , Trommer Jeanne , Könnig Darja , Korus Gabriela , Marx Uwe , Volk Hans-Dieter , Duda Georg , Kasper Grit , Lehmann Kerstin , Stolk Meaghan , Giese Christoph 
Published: January 2018

Introduction Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC), known for their high immune modulatory capacity are promising tools for several cell-based therapies. To better mimic the in vivo situation of MSC interactions with immune cells, we applied an artificial lymph node (ALN)-bioreactor culture system combining a miniaturized perfusion bioreactor with a 3D matrix-based cell culture of immune competent cells forming micro-organoids. Methods Rat lymph node cells and allogeneic bone marrow-derived MSCs were seeded in a 20:1 ratio within the agarose matrix of the ALN-reactor. Lymphocytes were pre-incubated with Concanavalin A (ConA) and then co-cultured with MSC in the matrix with additional ConA in the perfusing medium. Live/dead staining showed survival of the co-cultures during the 8-day ALN-reactor run. Paraffin sections of bioreactor matrices were analyzed by proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)-specific staining to determine MSC proliferation. Immune modulatory capacity was defined by daily analysis of cytokine secretion profiles (TNFα, IFNγ, IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12p40/p70, GM-CSF). Results Cytokine peak secretion at day 2 was significantly inhibited by MSCs for TNFα (96.8 ± 4.8%) and IFNγ (88.7 ± 12.0%) in 3D co-cultures. In contrast, other cytokines (IL-1, IL-6, IL-12) were induced. Furthermore, we detected a significantly higher (58.8%) fraction of proliferating MSCs in the presence of immune cells compared to control bioreactors loaded with MSCs only. Conclusions In the future, this system might be an excellent tool to investigate the mechanisms of MSC-mediated immune modulation during simulated in vivo conditions.
Tenogenic Differentiation of Equine Mesenchymal Progenitor Cells under Indirect Co-Culture
Authors: Lovati Arianna B. , Corradetti Bruna , Cremonesi Fausto , Bizzaro Davide , Consiglio Anna Lange 
Published: January 2018

Purpose Adult bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) are a potential cell source for tendon repair in direct cell therapy and tissue engineering investigations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the tenogenic induction of undifferentiated BM-MSCs under indirect co-culture technique with trimmed native tendon tissue. Since the horse represents a preferred species to study tendon regenerative strategies, this work was conducted on equine BM-MSCs. Methods Equine BM-MSCs were co-cultured in a transwell system with tendon tissue fragments. The BM-MSC tenogenic differentiation was evaluated by cytochemical staining and real time PCR for gene expression. Cell viability in tendon fragments and cultured cells was analyzed. Results Our results indicate that under indirect co-culture with native and healthy tendon tissue the BM-MSCs expressed tendon-specific markers such as decorin, tenomodulin, tenascin-C, and collagen type I. They also retained a tenocyte-like phenotype during monolayer culture. Conclusions Data are very encouraging for future in vitro investigations into committing cells to the tenogenic lineage without adding growth factors or serum to the culture medium for both cell therapy and tissue engineering.
Acute Care Use for Ambulatory Care–Sensitive Conditions in High-Cost Users of Medical Care with Mental Illness and Addictions
Authors: Hensel Jennifer M. , Taylor Valerie H. , Fung Kinwah , Yang Rebecca , Vigod Simone N. 
Published: January 2018

Objective: The role of mental illness and addiction in acute care use for chronic medical conditions that are sensitive to ambulatory care management requires focussed attention. This study examines how mental illness or addiction affects risk for repeat hospitalization and/or emergency department use for ambulatory care–sensitive conditions (ACSCs) among high-cost users of medical care. Method: A retrospective, population-based cohort study using data from Ontario, Canada. Among the top 10% of medical care users ranked by cost, we determined rates of any and repeat care use (hospitalizations and emergency department [ED] visits) between April 1, 2011, and March 31, 2012, for 14 consensus established ACSCs and compared them between those with and without diagnosed mental illness or addiction during the 2 years prior. Risk ratios were adjusted (aRR) for age, sex, residence, and income quintile. Results: Among 314,936 high-cost users, 35.9% had a mental illness or addiction. Compared to those without, individuals with mental illness or addiction were more likely to have an ED visit or hospitalization for any ACSC (22.8% vs. 19.6%; aRR, 1.21; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20-1.23). They were also more likely to have repeat ED visits or hospitalizations for the same ACSC (6.2% vs. 4.4% of those without; aRR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.44-1.53). These associations were stronger in stratifications by mental illness diagnostic subgroup, particularly for those with a major mental illness. Conclusions: The presence of mental illness and addiction among high-cost users of medical services may represent an unmet need for quality ambulatory and primary care.
PEW: ‘Dances with Budgies’: The Development of the Planning and Evaluation Wizard—a Cautionary Tale
Authors: Aylward Paul , Murray Charlie , Cooke Richard , Martin Maryanne 
Published: January 2018

The following account is based on the reflections of the authors1 of the Planning and Evaluation Wizard (PEW), a software tool produced by the South Australian Community Health Research Unit (SACHRU), which aims to assist project officers working in primary health care. Accessible from the SACHRU website2 or on CD-ROM, PEW takes the user through the steps of developing grant applications, project and evaluation plans, (including budgets) and project reports. PEW provides practical suggestions as users progress through the stages, based on the experience of project officers, SACHRU staff, and drawing on relevant literature. This paper is a cautionary tale of hope, struggle, compromise and endurance, a tale where the PEW protagonists were drawn into a series of prolonged and contorted ‘dances’ in the honourable pursuit of developing a software tool to enhance evaluation in primary health care3.
Evaluation: A Booming Business but is it Adding Value?1
Authors: Leeuw Frans L 
Published: January 2018

Evaluation, monitoring, inspection and performance auditing have become a booming business. The numbers of professional societies have strongly increased and there are so many studies that authors recently referred to them as ‘streams’ and ‘fleets’. Evaluation has also been called a ‘positive social epidemic’. This article reveals that the booming business not only has positive consequences and ‘added value’, but also unwanted downsides. ‘Evaluation machines’, ‘death by evaluation’, ‘evaluitis’ and the ‘performance paradox’ are examples. This article presents three possible explanations for the situation in which a booming business goes hand in hand with the beginnings of diminishing returns of evaluation for society. The first explanation is that evaluations are becoming part of management support systems that produce information that often only reinforces management decisions. The second looks into the unintended and negative consequences of ‘paradigm wars’. And the third suggestion deals with the limited explanatory power of evaluations.
Evaluating a print-based ‘sustainability by stealth’ guide in the project home industry
Authors: Kuiper Gabrielle , Collier Grahame 
Published: January 2018

How can we encourage people to make more sustainable choices? And how do we evaluate the effectiveness of material designed to encourage them to do so? These are vital questions in a world where addressing issues of environmental sustainability and climate change is becoming increasingly urgent. In 2008, Clarendon Residential Group and its then parent company Investa1 responded to the need to encourage project homebuyers to be more sustainable by producing Your Home Buyer's Guide. This publication was designed to inform potential customers about the sustainable range of options that might be considered in the building of their home. A key task was then to evaluate the extent to which the publication was used and had made an impact. This article describes the evaluation of the Guide and how the evaluation was able to come to conclusions about: the process of preparing the document; the response of customers to the Guide; and the ongoing challenges for educating project homebuyers about sustainability. The evaluation concluded that the Your Home Buyer's Guide project illustrates how print material can educate and encourage people to make different choices with regard to sustainability without the motivational material being outwardly ‘green’ in its focus. It was also established that even for print projects such as this, it is possible (indeed desirable) to conduct a multi-level evaluation—and that such an evaluation is able to provide evidence for the effectiveness of the product and efficiency for the process.
Executive Officer for the AES
Authors: Woodward Alan 
Published: January 2018

The AES is pleased to announce the appointment of its inaugural Executive Officer, Maria Eliadis (pictured), who commenced in this role with the AES on 4 July 2011. She has a fractional 0.6 appointment and will be assisted by the newly appointed Administration and Membership Manager, Anita Newbery. Maria presents us with a wonderful blend of competencies having been a member of the AES, an evaluation consultant and a senior manager for professional membership and not-for-profit organisations. Maria is based in Melbourne and will be establishing a Melbourne-based office for the AES. The AES is very pleased to have engaged Maria and looks forward to working with her to achieve the objectives outlined in the AES Strategic Plan (2010-2020).
Modelling the Influences of Evaluation on School Principals: Towards Evaluation Capacity Building
Authors: Ikin Kerrie , McClenaghan Peter 
Published: January 2018

School reviews form part of many school systems’ evaluation frameworks, most often with the dual purpose of accountability and improvement. With some modifications, such reviews also have potential as evaluation-capacity-building activities. This article demonstrates how to create evaluation capacity building by combining formative and summative evaluation in school reviews that can deliver both accountability and school improvement. Using a traditional school-review structure as a starting-point, a new school-review strategy was developed that engaged school principals as evaluators in ways that boosted evaluation capacity in their institutions. Two groups of principals were studied. From the case study that ensued it was found that principals who advised only as team members in other principals’ schools primarily engaged in single-loop learning. On the other hand, principals in the second group had to understand and apply criteria in the evaluation of their own schools, design evaluation strategies and techniques, and later reflect critically on the quality of evaluation practices and capacities in order to improve the values and assumptions influencing their own practices. This group demonstrated engagement in an integrated and experiential learning cycle of experiencing, reflecting, thinking and acting, and hence double-loop learning. In other words, the enhanced capacity of this latter group of principals included new skills, knowledge and understandings that became embedded in the culture and practices of their schools. This article breaks new ground by establishing the limitations of a composite model of evaluation influence derived from current literature. Further, it uses empirical data from field trials to propose a new model that emphasises the role of catalytic values and double-loop learning in situations where leaders become transformational and formative evaluators in empowered communities of practice.
A Three-Way Approach to Evaluating Partnerships: Partnership Survey, Integration Measure and Social Network Analysis
Authors: Gomez-Bonnet Florent , Thomas Margaret 
Published: January 2018

An increasing number of initiatives are delivered through cross-sectoral or cross-jurisdictional partnerships. Methods to evaluate partnerships have also proliferated, but tend to focus only on particular aspects of partnerships. None alone provide a comprehensive picture of how a partnership is working. Working on commissioned evaluations of partnership initiatives, we have faced the challenge of selecting appropriate methods to gather information on partnership processes—from program or community-level partnerships to partnerships across the highest levels of government. While many partnership evaluations rely on analysis of participants’ views on how effectively the partnership works, more powerful evaluation demands methods to collect systematic quantifiable data on the actual behaviour of the partnership and how it changes over time. We reviewed a number of quantitative methods for assessing partnership processes and outcomes. As a result, we have been adapting and trialling three data collection tools to assess different aspects of partnerships: 1 A partnership survey (adapted from the Nuffield Partnership Assessment Tool): to collect systematic feedback from participating stakeholders on key partnership dimensions. 2 An integration measure (based on the Human Services Integration Measure developed by Browne and colleagues in Canada): to assess the level of cooperation between participating partners. 3 Social network analysis (employing a sociocentric approach and analysing data using UCINET1): to collect information on interactions between individuals in the partnership. We have found that the complementarity of these methods provides a robust and more complete picture of the processes and outcomes of partnership initiatives and can be used in combination with qualitative methods to enhance the robustness of partnership assessments.
Evaluation as an integrated management tool: Embedding an evaluator into a program
Authors: Downing Liam , Rogan Sue 
Published: January 2018

In 2013, Charles Sturt University submitted a successful proposal for a $4.4 million, two-year program called Future Moves. The program aimed to raise aspirations for university study among primary and secondary school students. The Manager of Pre-Entry Programs and the Director of Academic Success at Charles Sturt University made the decision to create a dedicated evaluation position within the program—a first for the university. The ‘embedded evaluator’ position differs from an external evaluator (as an independent, external observer) and an internal evaluator (who is typically also responsible for aspects of program management). The article demonstrates that this role has the ability to contribute greatly to knowledge of programs and the ability of program managers to make informed, evidence-based decisions in close to real time. While it could be argued that embedded evaluators are biased, the article outlines ways in which this has been addressed. The experience of the Future Moves evaluation and management team (referred to throughout the article) serves as a compelling case study of the advantages and the potential pitfalls of embedded evaluation, whilst providing program managers, funders and evaluators with valuable insight into how similar programs could be evaluated.
Gearing up for Trade—Evaluating Australia's Contribution to Trade Facilitation in South East Asia and the Pacific
Authors: Goodwins David , Negi Kanupriya , Van Diermen Peter 
Published: January 2018

Trade facilitation refers to the simplification and harmonisation of international trade procedures to assist the movement of goods. It is a key factor for international trade efficiency and the economic development of countries. It has gained world prominence and recognition under the World Trade Organization's (2015) Trade facilitation agreement. Trade facilitation obstacles are now considered bigger barriers to trade than tariffs and quotas. Developing countries are increasingly looking at trade facilitation measures to enhance administrative efficiency and effectiveness, reduce costs and time to markets, and increase predictability in global trade. But how is Australia positioned to assist countries with this transition? The Gearing up for trade evaluation assessed the effectiveness of Australia's support for trade facilitation in Asia and the Pacific, and examined whether the investments have assisted partner countries to better integrate with regional and global economies. The evaluation focussed on four major Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) trade facilitation investments and found that they have been effective in addressing capacity issues, encouraging pro-poor outcomes, and exemplify good global practice. To assist with future programming, the evaluation recommended some practical improvements to the DFAT program and investment managers in the use of integrated approaches, private sector engagement, gender equality and women's economic empowerment, and monitoring and evaluation.
Young Adults’ Experience of Appearance-Altering Orthognathic Surgery
Authors: Liddle Morna J. , Baker Sarah R. , Smith Keith G. , Thompson Andrew R. 
Published: January 2018

Objective: To gain an experiential account of the processes of change associated specifically with orthognathic surgery. Design: A qualitative design was used. Semistructured interviews were carried out with 7 participants approximately 1 week before and 6-8 weeks after surgery. The data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenologic analysis (IPA). Setting: Participants were recruited from a NHS Dental Hospital. Participants: Patients aged 16 to 25 years scheduled to undergo orthognathic surgery on both the upper and lower jaws were purposively sought to participate. Seven participants aged between 18 and 25 years and who had undergone a bimaxillary osteotomy completed interviews (5 females and 2 males). Results: Themes were identified in connection with the overall journey of treatment being a rite of passage; the treatment’s role in raising awareness about the anomalies in appearance; the initial shock at the changes that followed surgery; the uncertainty about treatment; the impact of actual negative reactions of others; and the role of significant others in the decision-making process. Conclusions: Participants described undergoing a much more complex process of adjustment to change in appearance than has been identified elsewhere within the literature, and the study highlights the nuanced fashion in which both medical and parental communication influence patient expectation and experience of surgery. There is a need to improve communication between clinicians, families, and young adults seeking orthognathic surgery. Further studies are needed to investigate the processes associated with seeking to change facial appearance resulting from other forms of dentofacial condition.