Интраоперационная оценка восстановления проведения импульса по спинному мозгу у пациентов с шейной спондилогенной миелопатией

The previous studies have data concerning surgery and diagnostic methods of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). The aim of this case was to study the on‑line assessment of the functions of corticospinal and somatosensory pathways changed due to surgical decompression of cervical spinal cord. Our study included 11 patients (6 men and 5 women, mean age 59,3 ± 9,2 years old) with MRI‑confirmed cervical spine stenosis (CSS). All of them had intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring standing for transcranial electric stimulation (TES) and recording of the median nerve somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP). Investigations were performed before and 10–15 minutes after surgical spinal cord decompression. The obtained data provides additional information about the spinal cord pathways functional status and it is a reliable predictor of neurological outcome.В литературе крайне мало встречается информации относительно восстановления проведения импульса по спинному мозгу в афферентном и эфферентном направлениях в ответ на декомпрессию в режиме реального времени, что и послужило основанием для проведения данной работы. Интраоперационному нейрофизиологическому мониторингу подверглось 11 пациентов (6 мужчин и 5 женщин, средний возраст 59,3 ± 9,2 года) с подтвержденным стенозом позвоночного канала по данным магнитно-резонансной томографии. Степень восстановления проведения по кортикоспинальному тракту и проводникам соматической афферентации оценивали с помощью регистрации вызванных моторных ответов (ВМО) при транскраниальной электростимуляции и записи соматосенсорных вызванных потенциалов (ССВП) при билатеральной стимуляции срединного нерва. Регистрацию ВМО и ССВП проводили до декомпрессии и через 10−15 мин после нее. Полученные данные отражают незамедлительное изменение проведения импульса в афферентном и/или эфферентном направлениях и коррелируют с неврологическим статусом в послеоперационном периоде

National Language Technology Platform (NLTP) : The Final Stage

The final stage and the demo of the National Language Technology Platform (NLTP) developed within the CEF action of the same name is present- ed in this paper. The action aims at combining the most advanced language technology tools and solutions in a new state-of-the-art, artificial-intelligence- driven, web-based national platform for language technology oriented primarily towards users from public administrations of partner states. The Platform com- bines into a single framework the CAT tools, the TMs usage and management, the terminology management, several different MT engines and other language technology modules.peer-reviewe

The persistence of cliques in the post-communist state. The case of deniability in drug reimbursement policy in Poland

This article explores a key question in political sociology: Can post-communist policy-making be described with classical theories of the Western state or do we need a theory of the specificity of the post-communist state? In so doing, we consider Janine Wedel's clique theory, concerned with informal social actors and processes in post-communist transition. We conducted a case study of drug reimbursement policy in Poland, using 109 stakeholder interviews, official documents and media coverage. Drawing on 'sensitizing concepts' from Wedel's theory, especially the notion of 'deniability', we developed an explanation of why Poland's reimbursement policy combined suboptimal outcomes, procedural irregularities with limited accountability of key stakeholders. We argue that deniability was created through four main mechanisms: (1) blurred boundaries between different types of state authority allowing for the dispersion of blame for controversial policy decisions; (2) bridging different sectors by 'institutional nomads', who often escaped existing conflicts of interest regulations; (3) institutional nomads' 'flexible' methods of influence premised on managing roles and representations; and (4) coordination of resources and influence by elite cliques monopolizing exclusive policy expertise. Overall, the greatest power over drug reimbursement was often associated with lowest accountability. We suggest, therefore, that the clique theory can be generalized from its home domain of explanation in foreign aid and privatizations to more technologically advanced policies in Poland and other post-communist countries. This conclusion is not identical, however, with arguing the uniqueness of the post-communist state. Rather, we show potential for using Wedel's account to analyse policy-making in Western democracies and indicate scope for its possible integration with the classical theories of the state.</p

Cross-national mixed methods comparative case study of recovery-focused mental health care planning and coordination in acute inpatient mental health settings (COCAPP-A)

Background: Serious concerns have been identified in relation to care planning, patient involvement and consent to treatment in mental health wards, including for those patients detained under the Mental Health Act. Further evidence is needed to develop care planning interventions that embed dignity, recovery and participation for all people using inpatient mental health care. Design: We propose to undertake a cross-national comparative study of recovery-focused mental health care planning in inpatient settings. This two-phase exploratory mixed methods study will produce theory and empirical evidence to complement that developed in our current study of community mental health services to inform a future whole systems intervention study. The study is guided by a theoretical framework emphasising the connections between different 'levels' of organisation (macro/meso/micro). In phase 1 we study the macro-level through the comparative analysis of English and Welsh policy contexts. In phase 2 concurrent quantitative and qualitative data will be collected at 6 NHS Trust/Health Board case study sites (meso-level) and within each site, a single micro-level mental health ward will be selected to provide in-depth qualitative data related to care planning processes. Phase 1: We will extend our current meta-narrative mapping review (Wong et al 2013) of English and Welsh policies and the international literature on personalised recovery-oriented care planning and coordination in community settings to include inpatient settings. We will provide a review of evidence that is useful, rigorous and relevant for service providers and decision-makers and to inform Phase 2. Phase 2: We are employing a concurrent transformative mixed methods approach with embedded case studies (Creswell 2009: 215). We will conduct six in-depth meso-level case study investigations across contrasting NHS Trusts in England (n=4) and Local Health Boards in Wales (n=2), selected to reflect variety in geography and population and include a mix of rural, urban and inner city settings providing routine inpatient care. A large sample of service users (total n=300), inpatient staff (n=300) and informal carers (n=150) will be surveyed about perceptions of acute mental health care and care planning, recovery oriented practices, therapeutic relationships and empowerment using validated questionnaires. Documents and interviews with managers, consultant psychiatrists, ward staff and informal carers (n=60) will also be generated relating to local contexts, policies and practices. In each site we will also select a single inpatient ward and conduct a series of case studies embedded within each organisational case study, to explore care planning in detail. We will invite a sample of service users (total n=36) to participate in in-depth interviews about care planning and structured narrative reviews of their care plans; undertake a structured review of anonymised care plans for a further sample (n=60) of consecutively discharged patients; and conduct observation of care planning processes (n= 18). Framework method will be employed to integrate and compare textual and statistical summaries of qualitative and quantitative analyses within each case study site, informed by the theoretical framework focused on recovery and personalisation. Armed with our set of six within-case analyses we will then conduct a cross-case analysis to draw out key findings from across all sites

Governing drug reimbursement policy in Poland: The role of the state, civil society, and the private sector

This article investigates the distribution of power in Poland’s drug reimbursement policy in the early 2000s. We examine competing theoretical expectations suggested by neopluralism, historical institutionalism, corporate domination, and clique theory of the post-communist state, using data from a purposive sample of 109 semi-structured interviews and documentary sources. We have four concrete findings. First, we uncovered rapid growth in budgetary spending on expensive drugs for narrow groups of patients. Second, to achieve these favorable policy outcomes drug companies employed two prevalent methods of lobbying: informal persuasion of key members of local cliques and endorsements expressed by patient organizations acting as seemingly independent “third parties.” Third, medical experts were co-opted by multinational drug companies because they relied on these firms for scientific and financial resources that were crucial for their professional success. Finally, there was one-way social mobility from the state to the pharmaceutical sector, not the “revolving door” pattern familiar from advanced capitalist countries, with deleterious consequences for state capacity. Overall, the data best supported a combination of corporate domination and clique theory: drug reimbursement in Poland was dominated by Western multinationals in collaboration with domestically based cliques.Piotr Ozieranski is indebted to the Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge and St Edmund’s College for research grants