An Index of Nayrūz Occurrences in Abbasid Literary Sources.

This volume is the result of a two-years research project, focusing on an exhaustive indexing of all edited Arabic sources mentioning the Iranian festival of Nayrūz (Nawrūz) in the Abbasid age (750-1258 CE). The Index is meant as a first step towards filling a void in the study of the Abbasid age, providing a ground-breaking instrument for scholars interested in the study of chronology and socio-economical history of the classical Islamicate world. Further studies on this subjects are sorely needed, in light of the literary presence of this festival and its connection to fiscal matters, as a quick look to the present volume will make clear to the reader. Moreover, this is in agreement with all contemporary studies on the history of Iranian strands in Islamic pre-modern societies, which seldom fails to mention the need for a systematic study of literary evidence

The pituri story: a review of the historical literature surrounding traditional Australian Aboriginal use of nicotine in Central Australia

The harmful outcomes of nicotine self administration have been the focus of sustained global health education campaigns that have targeted tobacco smoking and to a lesser extent, smokeless tobacco use. 'Smokeless tobacco' infers that the nicotine is not burnt, and administration can be through a range of methods including chewing. The chewing of wild tobacco plants (Nicotiana spp.) is practiced across a broad inland area of Central Australia by traditional Aboriginal groups. Collectively these plants are known by a variety of names - one common name being 'pituri'. This is the first paper to examine the historical literature and consider the linkage between pituri use and health outcomes. Using a narrative approach, this paper reviews the literature generated since 1770 surrounding the term pituri and the behaviours associated with its use. The review examines the scientific literature, as well as the diaries and journals of nineteenth century explorers, expedition notes, and early Australian novels to expound the scientific evidence and broaden the sense of understanding related to pituri, particularly the behavioural elements. The evaluation considers the complexities of ethnobotany pertaining to language and distance and the ethnopharmacology of indigenous plant usage. The review compares the use of burnt and smokeless tobacco to pituri and establishes the foundation for research into the clinical significance and health outcomes of pituri use. Additionally, this review provides contemporary information for clinicians providing care for patients who chew pituri

Paediatric lung recruitment: a review of the clinical evidence

Lung recruitment is used as an adjunct to lung protective ventilation strategies. Lung recruitment is a brief, deliberate elevation of transpulmonary pressures beyond what is achieved during tidal ventilation levels. The aim of lung recruitment is to maximise the number of alveoli participating in gas exchange particularly in distal and dependant regions of the lung. This may improve oxygenation and end expiratory levels. Restoration of end expiratory levels and stabilisation of the alveoli may reduce the incidence of ventilator induced lung injury (VILI). Various methods of lung recruitment have been studied in adult and experimental populations. This review aims to establish the evidence for lung recruitment in the pediatric population. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Barriers and enablers to learning during team-based clinical simulations: reflective interviews with final year undergraduate nursing students

Background: Contemporary approaches to clinical simulation can enhance educational outcomes. However, simulation approaches do have limitations with possible compromises for learning and teaching. This paper aims to identify barriersand enablers to learning in simulated clinical settings.Methods: A generic qualitative design was applied. Semi-structured group video debriefing interviews were held with Australian final-year nursing students who completed three patient deterioration scenarios with a standardized patient.Audio-recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed to identify emergent themes.Results: Interviews with 15 teams of three students (n = 45) from three universities were analysed. Learning enablers were ‘Realism of the simulated environment’; ‘Practicing: we should do this at uni’; ‘Learning from reflection and expert feedback’, and ‘How to become competent: know the gaps’. Barriers to learning included ‘Increased stress from inexperience; ‘Expectations when pretending’ and ‘Lack of assistance’. Skills practice in team-based settings with applicable reflection and debriefing was regarded as beneficial. Simulated patients enhanced fidelity but were unable to replicate actual clinical signs. High stress levels were perceived as a barrier to learning.Conclusions: Applicably designed high fidelity simulations with video-based reflective review offer repeated rehearsal of clinical situations to enable learning. This educational strategy may reduce the time it takes undergraduate students toreach competency

COVID-19 Pandemic is a renewed call for 'Speaking Up for Hand Hygiene'

As of the 31st July 2020, more than 17 million confirmed COVID-19 cases with over 668k deaths have been reported worldwide (World Health Organisation (WHO), 2020). The COVID-19 virus is genetically similar to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) (Schmidt, Davids, & Malinga., 2020; Zhao et al., 2020). However, initial investigations of the basic reproduction number (Ro) of COVID-19 shows higher transmissibility than SARS and MERS (Zhao et al.,2020). The mode of transmission of COVID-19 is mainly through close contacts via droplets from human to human (World Health Organisation (WHO), 2020). Whilst researchers around the world are focused on developing a vaccine for COVID-19, transmission preventative measures become the most effective means of response