Early results with hypofractionated gamma knife radiotherapy for treatment of vestibular schwannoma

OBJECTIVE: Vestibular schwannoma (VS) management with stereotactic radiation previously only included stereotactic radiosurgery with Gamma Knife (GKRS) or LINAC-based radiotherapy (LBR). Hypofractionated Gamma Knife radiotherapy (hfGKRS) is a novel protocol potentially producing less toxicity than the alternatives. This study examines early results in tumor control, complications and hearing preservation outcomes in a consecutive series of VS patients treated with hfGKRS. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective review was conducted for all patients with unilateral VS treated with primary hfGKRS at an academic center between 2017 and 2023. SETTING: Tertiary referral center. INTERVENTIONS: Therapeutic. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pre- and post-treatment imaging, notes and audiograms were analyzed. Tumor volumes were tabulated. Audiometric data recorded were pure-tone average (PTA), word recognition score (WRS), and speech reception threshold (SRT). Collected data included tinnitus, imbalance, House-Brackmann score, and facial spasms. Outcomes obtained were compared to literature controls of GKRS and LBR. RESULTS: Twenty-five hfGKRS cases were identified. Mean tumor volume was 1.79 cm (range 0.14-9.29cm). Mean patient follow-up was 28 months (range 6-86 months). Pre-treatment versus post-treatment hearing results were: PTA 62.9 dB versus 68.6 dB, WRS 40 % versus 30.8 % and SRT 33.1 dB versus 34.1 dB. The tumor control was 96 % and hearing was preserved in 80 % of patients with pre-treatment serviceable hearing. hfGKRS complications included tinnitus (12.5 %), dizziness (12.5 %), facial pain (8 %), and facial spasms (4 %). CONCLUSION: Short term results for VS treated with hfGKRS had high rates of tumor control, favorable hearing results and comparable complication rates to literature reports for GKRS and LBR. Further follow-up is needed to adequately evaluate long-term outcomes of hfGKRS in tumor control, toxicity and hearing results in order to compare this technique with GKRS and LBR. However, these results support further evaluation of hfGKRS as a potential technique to improve outcomes in stereotactic radiation treatment of VS

South Korea's automotive labour regime, Hyundai Motors’ global production network and trade‐based integration with the European Union

This article explores the interrelationship between global production networks(GPNs) and free trade agreements (FTAs) in the South Korean auto industry and its employment relations. It focuses on the production network of the Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) — the third biggest automobile manufacturer in the world — and the FTA between the EU and South Korea. This was the first of the EU’s ‘new generation’ FTAs, which among other things contained provisions designed to protect and promote labour standards. The article’s argument is twofold. First, that HMG’s production network and Korea’s political economy (of which HMG is a crucial part) limited the possibilities for the FTA’s labour provisions to take effect. Second, that the commercial provisions in this same FTA simultaneously eroded HMG’s domestic market and corporate profitability, leading to adverse consequences for auto workers in the more insecure and low-paid jobs. In making this argument, the article advances a multiscalar conceptualization of the labour regime as an analytical intermediary between GPNs and FTAs. It also provides one of the first empirical studies of the EU–South Korea FTA in terms of employment relations, drawing on 105 interviews with trade unions, employer associations, automobile companies and state officials across both parties

What lies between market and hierarchy? Insights from internalization theory and global value chain theory

In this paper, we suggest that internalization theory might be extended by incorporating complementary insights from GVC theory. More specifically, we argue that internalization theory can explain why lead firms might wish to externalize selected activities, but that it is largely silent on the mechanisms by which those lead firms might exercise control over the resultant externalized relationships with their GVC partners. We advance an explanation linking the choice of control mechanism to two factors: power asymmetries between the lead firms and their GVC partners, and the degree of codifiability of the information to be exchanged in the relationship

An analysis of material consumption culture in the Muslim world

In this paper, we examine the notion of material consumption culture in Islamic societies. We differentiate between institutionalised religion and religion as culture. We contest the Orientalist portrayal of Islam as a fanatic ideology opposed to Western Modernity’s features of secularism, individualism, and pluralism. With reference to the Qur’anic text, we discuss that such qualities are embedded with Islam. We do not interpret the Qur’an from a theological perspective; rather, we seek to demonstrate the possibilities of its multiple interpretations. We argue that, in their everyday life consumption practices, Muslims (re)interpret religious guidelines in different ways and refer to Islam, as a transcendental set of guidelines, to make better sense of their cultural practices in different ways. We summarise our discussion by highlighting the importance of analysing the culture of consumption from the lens of insiders and offer directions for future research

Consumer acculturation theory: (crossing) conceptual boundaries

Consumer acculturation theorists have developed an insightful body of literature about the ways in which migrants adapt to foreign cultures via consumption. The present paper revisits 14 key studies from this field to highlight its most important contributions, critique its conceptual boundaries, and present cases of conceptual border crossings that indicate an emerging need for a broader conceptualization of the phenomenon. The paper closes by introducing a model that frames consumer acculturation as a complex system of recursive socio-cultural adaptation, and discusses its implications for future research

Sharīʻa, Islamism and Arab support for democracy

The Arab Spring and its aftermath reignited the debate over the relationship between Islamism and democracy. This analysis improves upon previous research by demonstrating the crucial contribution which a more precise understanding of the multiple meanings of the concept of Sharīʻa can have on our assessment of the future of democracy in the Arab world. While support for the Sharīʻa-conformity of laws has a positive impact on the preference for democracy, the insistence that Sharīʻa represents the word of God as opposed to the human attempt to interpret it reduces support for democracy. These findings are of considerable significance for academics and policy-makers interested in the future of democracy in the Arab world as it suggests that generic expressions of support for Sharīʻa are less relevant in explaining support for democracy than what Arab women and men consider to be its essence

Comparison of physical fitness between healthy and mild‐to‐moderate asthmatic children with exercise symptoms: A cross‐sectional study

.Objective Asthma is a chronic disease that may affect physical fitness, although its primary effects on exercise capacity, muscle strength, functionality and lifestyle, in children and adolescents, are still poorly understood. This study aimed to evaluate the differences in cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength, lifestyle, lung function, and functionality between asthmatics with exercise symptoms and healthy children. In addition, we have analyzed the association between clinical history and the presence of asthma. Study Design Cross-sectional study including 71 patients with a diagnosis of asthma and 71 healthy children and adolescents (7–17 years of age). Anthropometric data, clinical history, disease control, lifestyle (KIDMED and physical activity questionnaires), lung function (spirometry), exercise-induced bronchoconstriction test, aerobic fitness (cardiopulmonary exercise test), muscle strength and functionality (timed up and go; timed up and down stairs) were evaluated. Results Seventy-one patients with asthma (mean age 11.5 ± 2.7) and 71 healthy subjects (mean age 10.7 ± 2.5) were included. All asthmatic children had mild to moderate and stable asthma. EIB occurred in 56.3% of asthmatic children. Lung function was significantly (p < .05) lower in the asthmatic group when compared to healthy peers, as well as the cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength, lifestyle and functionality. Moreover, asthmatic children were more likely to have atopic dermatitis, allergic reactions, food allergies, and a family history of asthma when compared to healthy children. Conclusions Children with mild-to-moderate asthma presenting exercise symptoms show a reduction in cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength, lung function, functionality, and lifestyle when compared to healthy peers. The study provides data for pediatricians to support exercise practice aiming to improve prognosis and quality of life in asthmatic children.S

Against the epistemicide. : Itinerant curriculum theory and the reiteration of an epistemology of liberation

Echoing Ettore Scola metaphor “Bruti, Sporchi & Cativi”, this chapter challenges how hegemonic and specific (or so called) counter hegemonic curriculum platforms – so connected with Western Eurocentric Modernity – have been able to colonize the field without any prudency to “fabricate” and impose a classed, raced and gendered philosophy of praxis, as unique, that drives the field to an ideological surrealism and collective suicide. Such collective suicide framed by a theoretical timesharing unleashed by both dominant and specific counter dominant platforms that tenaciously controlled the circuits of cultural production grooms the field as a ghetto, flooded with rudeness, and miserable ambitions, a theoretical caliphate that wipes out any episteme beyond the Western Eurocentric Modern terrain, insolently droving to sewage of society the needs and desires of students, teachers and the community. Drawing from key decolonial thinkers, this chapter examines the way Western eugenic curriculum of modernity created an abyssal thinking in which ‘this side’ of the line is legitimate and ‘the other side’ has been produced as ‘non-existent’ (Sousa Santos B, Another knowledge is possible. Verso, London, 2007). The paper suggests the need to move a post-abyssal curriculum that challenges dominant and counter dominant traditions within ‘this side’ of the line, and respects ‘the other’ side of the line. The paper challenges curriculum studies to assume a non-abyssal position one that respects epistemological diversity. This requires an Itinerant Curriculum Theory (Paraskeva JM, Conflicts in curriculum theory: Challenging hegemonic epistemologies. Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2011), which is a commitment and a ruthless epistemological critique of every existing epistemology