Archival Film: New Opportunities for Case Study Development and Presentation?

The potential opportunities and limitations of utilising archival film as a primary data source have received very little attention from business historians. Archival film can be a rich source of oral and visual material for the development and presentation of historical case study material, but it can also be utilised as a powerful research tool. The paper draws on the experiences of the author, who produced two films during a study of the history of the South Coast Labour Council (SCLC). The SCLC is the peak union body for the Illawarra region of NSW. During the study access to one of the region’s local television newsreel archives provided a rare opportunity to work with primary data that significantly extended the range of possibilities for rich case study development and presentation. The resulting artefacts included 1) a 15 minutes documentary on the 75 year history of the SCLC and; 2) a two hour set of selected historical excerpts. The presentation explores first, a range of essential processes that require consideration when working with this form of data. Issues explored include: 1) access, 2) equipment and 3) production processes. Second, the paper explores a range of research methods that allowed a deeper exploration of the history of the organisation post production. This section includes methods for eliciting memories in focus groups and small groups.The symposium is organised on behalf of AAHANZBS by the Business and Labour History Group, The University of Sydney, with the financial support of the University’s Faculty of Economics and Business

Prognostic impact of pre-transplantation transfusion history and secondary iron overload in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation : A GITMO study

Background: Transfusion-dependency affects the natural history of myelodysplastic syndromes. Secondary iron overload may concur to this effect. The relative impact of these factors on the outcome of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome receiving allogeneic stem-cell transplantation remains to be clarified. Design and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the prognostic effect of transfusion history and iron overload on the post-transplantation outcome of 357 patients with myelodysplastic syndrome reported to the Gruppo Italiano Trapianto di Midollo Osseo (GITMO) registry between 1997 and 2007. Results: Transfusion-dependency was independently associated with reduced overall survival (hazard ratio=1.48, P=0.017) and increased non-relapse mortality (hazard ratio=1.68, P=0.024). The impact of transfusion-dependency was noted only in patients receiving myeloablative conditioning (overall survival: hazard ratio=1.76, P=0.003; non-relapse mortality: hazard ratio=1.70, P=0.02). There was an inverse relationship between transfusion burden and overall survival after transplantation (P=0.022); the outcome was significantly worse in subjects receiving more than 20 red cell units. In multivariate analysis, transfusion-dependency was found to be a risk factor for acute graft-versus-host disease (P=0.04). Among transfusion-dependent patients undergoing myeloablative allogeneic stem cell transplantation, pre-transplantation serum ferritin level had a significant effect on overall survival (P=0.01) and non-relapse mortality (P=0.03). This effect was maintained after adjusting for transfusion burden and duration, suggesting that the negative effect of transfusion history on outcome might be determined at least in part by iron overload. Conclusions: Pre-transplantation transfusion history and serum ferritin have significant prognostic value in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome undergoing myeloablative allogeneic stem cell transplantation, inducing a significant increase of non-relapse mortality. These results indicate that transfusion history should be considered in transplantation decision-making in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome

Joint effusion of the knee: potentialities and limitations of ultrasonography.

PURPOSE: This study aimed at comparing the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the detection of joint effusion of the knee. METHODS: For this retrospective study, approbation by the institutional review board was not required, and written informed consent from the patients was waived. One hundred and fifty-eight patients (83 men and 75 women; median age 41.2 years; age range 13-81 years) who underwent US and MRI of the knee were included in the study. The sensitivity and specificity of US with respect to MRI in the evaluation of the effusion of the knee and in each recess were compared. RESULTS: In evaluating joint effusion of the knee, compared with MRI, US correctly identified 78 of 96 patients with joint effusion, showing a sensitivity of 81.3 % and a specificity of 100 %, with a positive predictive value (PPV) of 100 % and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 77.5 % (p value = 0.001). Various results were obtained comparing ultrasound with MRI, regarding the various recesses. CONCLUSION: US showed high specificity and sensitivity in diagnosing knee joint effusion and could be used in patients who cannot undergo MRI

The Large Uterus Classification System: a prospective observational study

Objective To investigate the Large Uterus Classification System (LUCS) ability to predict surgical outcomes and complications in total laparoscopic hysterectomies (TLHs) for large uteri.Design Prospective observational study.Setting Two referral centres.Population or sample Three hundred and ninety-two women who underwent TLH for a large uterus (uterine fundus at or over the transverse umbilical line).Methods Between 2004 and 2019, the intraoperative LUCS was estimated in all patients. The LUCS considers the uterine and adnexal vascular pedicles displacement. Type 1 is without vascular pedicles displacement. Type 2 has the cephalad displacement of adnexal vascular pedicles. The uterine vessels displacement regardless of adnexal pedicles defines Type 3.Main outcome measures Patients' characteristics with perioperative outcomes were prospectively collected and compared between the three types of large uteri.Results Two hundred and fifty-one (64%), 82 (20.9%) and 59 (15.1%) women had Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3 uteri, respectively. Women with Type 1 uteri had a lower uterine weight, shorter operative time, less blood loss and lower complication rates than women with Types 2 and 3. The conversion rate to laparotomy in Type 1 was similar to that in Type 2 (odds ratio [OR] 0.98; 95% CI 0.32-3.56) but lower than Type 3 (OR 0.35; 95% CI 0.14-0.97); in Type 2 it was lower than Type 3, although without the conventional statistical significance (OR 0.36; 95% CI 0.13-1.13; P = 0.07). Multivariable analysis showed that the uterine Type (1 versus 2-3) was independently associated with the total complications rate (OR 2.00; 95% CI 1.09-3.68; P = 0.02).Conclusions The LUCS appears associated with surgical outcomes and complications, potentially stratifying the surgical risk and guiding the surgical technique in TLHs for large uteri.Tweetable abstract The Large Uterus Classification System may predict outcomes in total laparoscopic hysterectomy of large uteri

Isomorphic cutaneous graft-versus-host disease reaction after ultraviolet exposure: clinical, histological and direct immunofluorescence studies of four allo-transplanted patients.

Acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) continues to be a major limitation to successful haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. If experimental studies and clinical observations could partially elucidate the pathophysiology of acute GVHD, the biology of chronic GVHD is still much less well understood. The aim of this study is to describe a peculiar photoinduced rash which triggered acute and then chronic lesions of GVHD in four allogenic haematopoietic-transplated patients and discuss the possible aetiology and treatment. Four patients, two children and two adults affected by either mild or severe chronic GVHD, developed an erythematous rash on sun- or narrow-band ultraviolet B-exposed area, which triggered the onset of acute lesions of GVHD. Any of the patients presented neither a history of photosensitivity nor circulating autoantibodies nor urinary/fecal porphyrine. The histopathologic findings were characterized by an interface dermatitis with sparse perivascular infiltrate of lymphocytes and scattered necrotic keratinocytes, especially in the upper part of epidermis. Direct immunofluorescence studies excluded lupus-like pattern, revealing nests of fluorescent bodies at the dermal–epidermal junction and in papillary dermis. This peculiar isomorphic reaction of cutaneous GVHD after sun or narrow-band ultraviolet B exposures is described, and the possible mechanism involved is discussed. It may represent an interesting model of progression of chronic GVHD, starting with an acute stage and ending up with chronic clinical and histological findings, especially considering that there is no animal model that fully replicates all of the features of chronic GVHD in humans