Developing A Sustainable Model for Impactful Academic Advising

The primary focus of this research is advising delivery models for community colleges. This capstone focused on the Virginia Community College System (VCCS), namely John Tyler Community College (JTCC). The research focused on delivering the most consistently supportive advising framework for faculty, staff, and students. A mixed-methods study was used by way of an online survey and in-person focus groups. Secondary data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) was used to compare JTCC to other colleges in the VCCS. This study also focused on best practices regarding academic advising and advisor development, evaluated the needs of current advising personnel, and provided academic advising strategies specifically for the JTCC student population. Using that information, this paper offers strategies for the successful implementation of new advising processes for institutions experiencing structural change

Professionalism, Golf Coaching and a Master of Science Degree: A commentary

As a point of reference I congratulate Simon Jenkins on tackling the issue of professionalism in coaching. As he points out coaching is not a profession, but this does not mean that coaching would not benefit from going through a professionalization process. As things stand I find that the stimulus article unpacks some critically important issues of professionalism, broadly within the context of golf coaching. However, I am not sure enough is made of understanding what professional (golf) coaching actually is nor how the development of a professional golf coach can be facilitated by a Master of Science Degree (M.Sc.). I will focus my commentary on these two issues

Evaluation of appendicitis risk prediction models in adults with suspected appendicitis

Background Appendicitis is the most common general surgical emergency worldwide, but its diagnosis remains challenging. The aim of this study was to determine whether existing risk prediction models can reliably identify patients presenting to hospital in the UK with acute right iliac fossa (RIF) pain who are at low risk of appendicitis. Methods A systematic search was completed to identify all existing appendicitis risk prediction models. Models were validated using UK data from an international prospective cohort study that captured consecutive patients aged 16–45 years presenting to hospital with acute RIF in March to June 2017. The main outcome was best achievable model specificity (proportion of patients who did not have appendicitis correctly classified as low risk) whilst maintaining a failure rate below 5 per cent (proportion of patients identified as low risk who actually had appendicitis). Results Some 5345 patients across 154 UK hospitals were identified, of which two‐thirds (3613 of 5345, 67·6 per cent) were women. Women were more than twice as likely to undergo surgery with removal of a histologically normal appendix (272 of 964, 28·2 per cent) than men (120 of 993, 12·1 per cent) (relative risk 2·33, 95 per cent c.i. 1·92 to 2·84; P < 0·001). Of 15 validated risk prediction models, the Adult Appendicitis Score performed best (cut‐off score 8 or less, specificity 63·1 per cent, failure rate 3·7 per cent). The Appendicitis Inflammatory Response Score performed best for men (cut‐off score 2 or less, specificity 24·7 per cent, failure rate 2·4 per cent). Conclusion Women in the UK had a disproportionate risk of admission without surgical intervention and had high rates of normal appendicectomy. Risk prediction models to support shared decision‐making by identifying adults in the UK at low risk of appendicitis were identified

Application of xylitol in food formulations and benefits for health

Sugar substitution by any sweetener in the food industry is usually made taking into account the calories of the sweetener, the possibility of using it in diets for weight reduction or control, and the degree of similarity between its flavor and the traditional sugar. Among the existent alternative sweeteners, xylitol has attracted the attention of food manufacturers since it has sweetening power similar to sucrose but with lower caloric value, and can be consumed by diabetics. Nowadays, a variety of products containing xylitol in the formulation can be found in the market. Most of them are especially formulated for people with insulin-deficiency. Another important advantage of xylitol ingestion when compared to the traditional sugar is that it promotes several benefits for human health, acting both on the prevention and/or treatment of diseases. Due to these important properties, the use of xylitol in food products is a market in great expansion. The current applications of xylitol in food formulations are summarized in this chapter. The benefits to health promoted by its ingestion are also presented and discussed.(undefined