Spectres of the shore : the memory of Africa in contemporary African-American and Black British fiction

This study considers the approach in recent African-American and Black British fiction toward the cultural memory of Africa. Following a brief consideration of the relationship between contemporary conceptions of African-American and Black British cultural identities, I examine the ways in which the imaginative journeys and geographies, evoked by the ideals of Africa and 'Africanness', are employed in the negotiation of historical memory, and in the endeavour to situate black identity in the context of contemporary American and British society. My discussion addresses these questions, initially, in four novels by African-American writers: Ishmael Reed's Mumbo Jumbo (1972), Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon (1977), Alice Walker's The Color Purple (1983), and John Edgar Wideman's Philadelphia Fire (1990). I argue that African-American writers situate a memory of an African past within an African-American present, through a form of historical memory which is sensitive not only to tradition, but also to the practice of 'possession'. This fluid form of memory, characteristic of a voodoo tradition, and also, these writers suggest, of a diversity of African-American artforms, allows knowledge of African tradition to be situated within the American present, but is broadly denied by an American trend of forgetfulness toward the past, and devalued by institutionalised racism. African-American texts present uses of language in which the linguistic and the pre-linguistic realms are felt to be continuous with one another, in response to an American language which is centrally occupied by the fraught relationship between black and white Americans. The second half of this study examines the memory of Africa in three Black British works, including Caryl Phillips's Crossing the River (1991), S.1. Martin's Incomparable World (1996), and Bernardine Evaristo's Lara (1997). I suggest here that Black British authors employ the cultural memory of Africa not as an inheritance which is connected to a known 'tradition', but as one of a diverse number of inheritances which are negotiated as part of the process of situating identity as flexible, individual, and unfinished. The memory of Africa is figured as frozen in the past, along with a range of other cultural inheritances, which are taken up and redramatised in the present as part of an attempt to recover the inherent diversity at the heart of an oppressive British fiction of linearity, and of uniform 'whiteness'. Where Britain, historically, has been silent on Britain's black presence, Black British writers simply speak into that silence. Emerging from this fruitful comparison between the two literatures is a sense of the contrasting approaches which are made by black writers toward notions of tradition and the performance of identity, in the context of two very different national histories, and as part of fundamental strategies of survival employed in contemporary social settings. These dramatisations are interrogated against continuous issues of race and racism, but also as diverse solutions for identity where national contexts bear a contrasting significance in an age which is increasingly globalised, and in which imperial power has shifted, and continues to shift, between Britain and America

Acute and subchronic toxicological evaluation of Echinophora platyloba DC (Apiaceae) total extract in Wistar rats

OBJECTIVE: Echinophora platyloba DC is a widely used herbal medicine and food seasoning in Iran. It is claimed to exert antimicrobial, antifungal, and antispasmodic effects. Despite the prevalent use of this plant as a food and medicine, there are no reports on its possible toxic effects. To evaluate the safety of E. platyloba, we tested its acute and sub-chronic toxicity in male and female Wistar rats. METHODS: Rats were orally treated with four different single doses of E. platyloba total extract and screened for signs of toxicity two weeks after administration. In the sub-chronic toxicity study, E. platyloba was administered for 45 days. Mortality, clinical signs, body weight changes, hematological and biochemical parameters, gross findings, organ weights, and histological markers were monitored during the study. RESULTS: We found no mortality and no abnormality in clinical signs, body weight, or necropsy findings in any of the animals in the acute study. The results of the subchronic study showed no significant difference in hematological parameters in either sex. There was a significant increase in lactate dehydrogenase in the female groups. A significant increase in the relative lung weight of female rats was noted at 500 mg/kg. Histopathological examinations revealed intra-alveolar hemorrhage in the male rats (500 mg/kg). In the females, congestion of the alveolar capillaries (at 500 mg/kg) and liver bridging necrosis (at 200 mg/kg) were significantly increased. CONCLUSION: The no observed adverse effect level of E. platyloba was determined to be 200 and 50 mg/kg for male and female rats, respectively

Development and Psychometric Evaluation of Speech and Language Pathology Evidence-Based Practice Questionnaire (SLP-EBPQ)

Background: To date, there is no specific instrument to measure evidence-based practice (EBP) in Speech and Language Pathology (SLP). Therefore, it is essential to design a valid and reliable instrument in the EBP field for SLP. Aim: To develop a speech and language pathology evidence-based practice questionnaire (SLP-EBPQ) for the Iranian context and evaluate its psychometric properties. Method: This study was performed in two stages, first development of the instrument based on the literature review and semi-structured interviews with 14 speech and language pathologists and second the evaluation of the psychometric properties. Content validity of the instrument was assessed by SLP experts who were experienced in the field of EBP. Furthermore, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and comparison of the recognized groups were conducted to determine the initial construct validity of the SLP-EBPQ. The reliability of the questionnaire was determined using internal consistency and test-retest reliability. A total of 280 speech and language pathologists completed SLP-EBPQ to evaluate construct validity and internal consistency. Furthermore, 30 speech and language pathologists completed the SLP-EBPQ after 2 weeks for test-retest reliability. Results: The developed instrument was a questionnaire with 77 items. The results of EFA demonstrated that the SLP-EBPQ contained nine factors with appropriate internal consistency (α=0.635-0.885). Moreover, the Intra-class Correlation coefficient of the factors was (r=0.814-0.966) in the test-retest reliability. Implications for Practice: The SLP-EBPQ is a valid and reliable instrument and can be applied to evaluate EBP among speech and language pathologists for educational, clinical, or research purposes

Comparison of medical records and health information technology students’ satisfaction from their educational field at Kerman University of Medical Sciences

Aims: Satisfaction of educational field is one of the important factors in the education and students success. One of the influencing factors in students satisfaction, is educational curriculumn. Medical records and health information technology fields have similarities with each other in terms of educational curriculum. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare medical records and health information technology students’ satisfaction from their educational field. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the study population included all students of medical records and health information technology at Kerman University of Medical Sciences in 2013. Data collection tool was a questionnaire with 20 questions that its validity confirmed by expert consensus and its reliability confirmed by test-retest (α=95.7% ,P-value= 0.01) . The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics in SPSS 20 software. Results: The mean of satisfaction score to educational field among students of medical records was 4.23 and among health information technology students was 4.08 which was less than acceptable level. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between sex and working status, and knowledge about the field. Conclusion: The majority of students in two fields had not acceptable attitude and satisfaction regarding their educational field. Medical records and Health Information Technology students had not high knowledge about the content of curriculum, when choosing their educational field and majority of them had chosen their educational field without cognition

Success rate evaluation of clinical governance implementation in teaching hospitals in Kerman (Iran) based on nine steps of Karsh’s model

Background: One of the ways to improve the quality of services in the health system is through clinical governance. This method aims to create a framework for clinical services providers to be accountable in return for continuing improvement of quality and maintaining standards of services. Objective: To evaluate the success rate of clinical governance implementation in Kerman teaching hospitals based on 9 steps of Karsh’s Model. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015 on 94 people including chief executive officers (CEOs), nursing managers, clinical governance managers and experts, head nurses and nurses. The required data were collected through a researcher-made questionnaire containing 38 questions with three-point Likert Scale (good, moderate, and weak). The Karsh’s Model consists of nine steps including top management commitment to change, accountability for change, creating a structured approach for change, training, pilot implementation, communication, feedback, simulation, and end-user participation. Data analysis using descriptive statistics and Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test was done by SPSS software version 16. Results: About 81.9 % of respondents were female and 74.5 have a Bachelor of Nursing (BN) degree. In general, the status of clinical governance implementation in studied hospitals based on 9 steps of the model was 44 % (moderate). A significant relationship was observed among accountability and organizational position (p=0.0012) and field of study (p=0.000). Also, there were significant relationships between structure-based approach and organizational position (p=0.007), communication and demographic characteristics (p=0.000), and end-user participation with organizational position (p=0.03). Conclusion: Clinical governance should be implemented by correct needs assessment and participation of all stakeholders, to ensure its enforcement in practice, and to enhance the quality of services

Lipid Profile in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Objective: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a disorder of hyperandrogenemia and chronic anovulation, which affects 5-10% of all women. It has been reported that women with PCOS often have serum lipid level elevation. This study compares serum lipid levels in women with and without PCOS. Materials and Methods: Lipid profile [total cholesterol (TC), apolipoprotein A-I, apolipoprotein B, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), triglyceride (TG), and lipoprotein a] in this comparative cross-sectional study were compared between 33 women with and 44 women without PCOS. All biochemical tests were done using fasting blood samples which were frozen in −80 °C since the previous study. Other data were collected from Iranian twin bank. Data were analyzed with SPSS. P < 0.05 considered as significant level. Results: There was no significant difference between two groups in terms of age, age of menarche and body mass index (BMI). Serum levels of TC, apolipoprotein B, apolipoprotein A-1, HDL, LDL, TG, and lipoprotein did not show any difference between two groups. TG in PCOS women with BMI >25 was significantly higher in comparison with non-PCOS. Conclusion: The present study does not support the notion that PCOS affects serum lipid levels except in the term of TG in PCOS women with BMI > 25. It is suggested to repeat this study within PCOS patients who are insulin resistance

Evaluation of Contamination of the Theatre Shoes in the Alborz University of Medical Sciences Hospitals in 2014-2015

Background & Objective: Factors such as high work load, high number of staff, high traffic, and patients&rsquo; critical condition make this unit one of the regions with very high risk of infection. In order to prevent infection in the operating room, several actions are taken including washing and disinfection of floor, wearing the cleaned and disinfected shoes or cover of shoes. This study aimed to investigate the contamination of shoes in the operating rooms of the Alborz University of Medical Sciences hospitals. Methods: The present cross sectional study was done on 150 shoes of personal in the operating room of the Alborz University of Medical Sciences hospitals. Samples were prepared and cultured. Then result of cultures was interpreted by expert laboratory staff. Data were analyzed by Fisher's exact test, &chi;2 using SPSS19 software.&nbsp; Results: As of 150 samples, 11% were non-contaminated and 89% were contaminated. Before washing, 96.5% of the shoes were contaminated. After washing, however, the percent of the contaminated samples decreased to 61.7%. Conclusion: Due to the high contamination of the shoes, it seems that the type of washing or type of detergent used without disinfecting ability is significant and should be reconsidered and corrected