Global Stategies for National Culture: Korean Media Policy in International Perspective

Globalization has become a buzz word describing the trend in many, if not most industries. Some authors have viewed this trend as a constraint on national policy and it has been especially viewed as a problem for those dirigiste governments which seek to protect their national cultures from American dominance. This article examines the globalization of the media industry and analyzes Korean policy toward this industry. The Korean case is compared to the policies of other countries, particularly that of France which exhibits many similarities. The argument here is that the theory on "cultural imperialism" as well as the critiques of globalization theory as it applies to mass media are inappropriate. Private sector strategies which seek transnational alliances with American firms are best suited to produce competitive products which, in turn, are likely to best presenre national culture

Incremental Prognostic Value of Echocardiographic Strain and Its Association with Mortality in Cancer Patients

Background Left ventricular global longitudinal systolic strain (GLS) has been shown to be superior to ejection fraction in detecting subclinical dysfunction in patients with cancer and predicting mortality in patients with cardiovascular disease. Cancer-related fatigue is common in the later stages of neoplastic malignancies and may be indicative of nonovert heart failure. The aim of this study was to determine whether reduced strain by echocardiography was associated with all-cause mortality in a cancer cohort. Methods In this retrospective study, 120 patients with cancer undergoing or scheduled to undergo chemotherapy and with normal ejection fractions (>50%) underwent assessments of GLS. GLS was derived by averaging all speckle-tracking strain segments of the left ventricle. Results Over an average follow-up period of 21.6 ± 13.9 months, 57 of 120 patients died. Univariate predictors of all-cause mortality (P < .10) were Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, male sex, hematologic malignancy, β-blocker use, and GLS. Multivariate analysis of all significant univariate variables showed that Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (hazard ratio, 2.12; 95% confidence interval, 1.54–2.92; P < .001), male sex (hazard ratio, 1.93; 95% confidence interval, 1.14–3.27; P = .014), and GLS (hazard ratio, 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.81–0.97; P = .012) were significantly and independently associated with mortality. Stepwise analysis of the multivariate associations showed an increase in the global χ2 value after adding GLS (P = .011) to significant clinical variables. Conclusions Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, male sex, and GLS were significantly associated with all-cause mortality in patients with cancer with normal ejection fractions receiving chemotherapy. Adding GLS to significant clinical variables provided incremental prognostic information

Reverse doming of the anterior mitral leaflet with severe aortic regurgitation

The normal anatomic relation of the anterior mitral leaflet to the left ventricular outflow tract suggests that significant aortic regurgitation should have a predictable hemodynamic effect on the motion and configuration of the leaflet, an effect that should be seen by two-dimensional echocardiography. Previous reports have identified an abnormality of mitral opening in the short-axis view that was quite specific but not sensitive. This study was undertaken to evaluate mitral valve motion and configuration in aortic insufficiency using two-dimensional echocardiography. A characteristic pattern of anterior leaflet motion was found in patients with moderately severe and severe aortic regurgitation. This pattern, termed “reverse doming,” was seen in the apical and long-axis views in 19 of 22 such patients. The previously described “diastolic indentation” in the short-axis view was found in 16 of these 22 patients. Only 2 of 16 patients with lesser degrees of insufficiency had reverse doming. The sign was not seen in normal subjects nor in 16 patients with cardiomyopathy. For each of the few false positive and false negative findings, there is a seemingly logical hemodynamic explanation.It is concluded that reverse doming of the anterior mitral leaflet appears to be a sensitive and specific sign for moderately severe and severe aortic regurgitation

Prognostic utility of blood pressure-adjusted global and basal systolic longitudinal strain

Assessment of global longitudinal systolic strain (GLS) and longitudinal systolic strain of the basal segments (BLS) has shown prognostic value in cardiac disorders. However, strain is reduced with increased afterload. We assessed the prognostic value of GLS and BLS adjusted for afterload. GLS and BLS were determined in 272 subjects with normal ejection fraction and no known coronary disease, or significant valve disease. Systolic blood pressure (SP) and diastolic blood pressure (DP) obtained at the time of echocardiography were used to adjust GLS and BLS as follows: strain×SP (mmHg)/120 mmHg and strain×DP (mmHg)/80 mmHg. Patients were followed for cardiac events and mortality. The mean age was 53±15 years and 53% had hypertension. There were 19 cardiac events and 70 deaths over a mean follow-up of 26±14 months. Cox analysis showed that left ventricular mass index (P=0.001), BLS (P<0.001), and DP-adjusted BLS (P<0.001) were independent predictors of cardiac events. DP-adjusted BLS added incremental value (P<0.001) to the other two predictors and had an area under the curve of 0.838 for events. DP (P=0.001), age (P=0.001), ACE inhibitor use (P=0.017), and SP-adjusted BLS (P=0.012) were independent predictors of mortality. SP-adjusted BLS added incremental value (P=0.014) to the other independent predictors. In conclusion, DP-adjusted BLS and SP-adjusted BLS were independent predictors of cardiac events and mortality, respectively. Blood pressure-adjusted strain added incremental prognostic value to other predictors of outcome

Evaluation of the anti-ischemic effects of D-ribose during dobutamine stress echocardiography: a pilot study

D-Ribose, a pentose sugar, has shown to improve myocardial high-energy phosphate stores depleted by ischemia. This study investigated the ability of D-Ribose with low dose dobutamine to improve the contractile response of viable myocardium to dobutamine and to assess the efficacy of D-ribose in reducing stress-induced ischemia. Twenty-six patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy completed a two-day, randomized, double blind crossover trial comparing the effects of D-Ribose and placebo on regional wall motion. On the first study day, either D-Ribose or placebo was infused for 4.5 hours. Low (5 and 10 μ/kg/min) and subsequently, high (up to 50 μ/kg/min) dose dobutamine echocardiography was then performed. On the second study day, patients crossed over to the alternative article for a similar 4.5 hours infusion time period and underwent a similar evaluation. The wall motion response during low dose dobutamine was the same with D-Ribose and placebo in 77% of segments (203/263, Kappa = 0.37). In segments with discordant responses, more segments improved with D-Ribose than with placebo (41 vs. 19 segments, p = 0.006). With high dose dobutamine infusion, the wall motion response (ischemia vs. no ischemia) was the same with D-Ribose and placebo in 83% of interpretable segments (301/363, kappa = 0.244). In segments with discordant responses, there were more ischemic segments with placebo compared to D-Ribose (36 vs. 26, p = 0.253). Nineteen patients developed ischemia during the dobutamine and placebo infusion and 13 patients had ischemia during dobutamine and D-ribose infusion (p = 0.109). D-Ribose improved contractile responses to dobutamine in viable myocardium with resting dysfunction but had no significant effect in reducing the frequency of stress-induced wall motion abnormalities

Vulnerable warriors: the atmospheric marketing of military and policing equipment before and after 9/11

In this article, we analyse changes in the circulation of advertisements of policing products at security expos between 1995 and 2013. While the initial aim of the research was to evidence shifts in terrorist frames in the marketing of policing equipment before and after 9/11, our findings instead suggested that what we are seeing is the rise of marketing to police as “vulnerable warriors”, law enforcement officers in need of military weapons both for their offensive capabilities and for the protection they can offer to a police force that is always under threat

Safety and feasibility of dopamine-atropine stress echocardiography

Background Dobutamine-atropine stress echocardiography (DSE) has lower sensitivity in patients with advanced liver disease (ALD) due to vasodilation. Hypothesis Dopamine-atropine stress echocardiography (DopSE) may be an alternative to DSE in ALD patients by improving the blood pressure response to stress. Methods The safety and tolerability of DSE and DopSE were compared in 10 volunteers. The safety, adverse effects, and efficacy of DopSE were then assessed in 105 patients, 98 of whom had ALD. Dopamine was infused in stepwise fashion from 5 µg/kg/min to a peak dose of 40 µg/kg/min. Atropine was given before and in early stages of dopamine infusion up to cumulative dose of 1.5 mg. The hemodynamic responses of 98 ALD patients were compared with 102 patients with ALD who underwent standard DSE. Results In normal volunteers, systolic BP increased more with DopSE compared to DSE (61 ± 19 mm Hg vs 39 ± 15 mm Hg, P = .008). In 105 patients who underwent DopSE, none had adverse effects that required early stress termination. In the groups with ALD, the systolic BP increase (38 ± 28 mm Hg vs 12 ± 27 mm Hg, P < .001) and peak rate pressure product (RPP) (22 861 ± 5289 vs 17 211 ± 3848, P = <.001) were both higher in those undergoing DopSE versus DSE. The sensitivity and specificity of DopSE were 45% and 88%, respectively for coronary disease (≥70% stenosis) in 37 patients who had angiography. Conclusions Dopamine-atropine stress echocardiography appears to be a safe stress modality and provides greater increases in RPP in patients with ALD compared to DSE

Adoption of total quality management in the educational sector: case study of Engineering Institutions

Abstract : Due to the aspirations of various institutional stakeholders clamoring for improvement in the quality of education in their various institutions, the concept of total quality management has gained so much attention to this regard. In the recent time, several emphases have been made on the need for quality improvement and efforts are been put in place on the possible ways of increasing the standard of education globally. The productivity of any tertiary institution, especially the Engineering colleges is centered on the quality culture of such institutions, also, the customer’s satisfaction is another thing to put into consideration, to achieve the desired productivity. Generally, there are some constructs which are the major critical success factors that enhances quality improvement in any organization, customer satisfaction has been identified as another important factor to put into consideration to achieve optimum quality of products as well as services. This paper gives an insight on how the implementation of Total Quality Management in an Engineering educational system can aid the Quality of Engineering Education

The autonomous city: towards a critical geography of occupation

This paper explores the recent resurgence of occupation-based practices across the globe, from the seizure of public space to the assembling of improvised protest camps. It re-examines the relationship between the figure of occupation and the affirmation of an alternative ‘right to the city’. The paper develops a critical understanding of occupation as a political process that prefigures and materializes the social order which it seeks to enact. The paper highlights the constituent role of occupation as an autonomous form of urban dwelling, as a radical politics of infrastructure and as a set of relations that produce common spaces for political action