Panel: Going Virtual: Are there Real Opportunities for Business in Virtual Worlds?

Summary of Panel Topic (related to ICIS track theme on Social Networking

Phenytoin versus Leviteracetam for seizure prophylaxis after brain injury - A meta analysis

Background: Current standard therapy for seizure prophylaxis in Neuro-surgical patients involves the use of Phenytoin (PHY). However, a new drug Levetiracetam (LEV) is emerging as an alternate treatment choice. We aimed to conduct a meta-analysis to compare these two drugs in patients with brain injury.Methods: An electronic search was performed in using Pubmed, Embase, and CENTRAL. We included studies that compared the use of LEV vs. PHY for seizure prophylaxis for brain injured patients (Traumatic brain injury, intracranial hemorrhage, intracranial neoplasms, and craniotomy). Data of all eligible studies was extracted on to a standardized abstraction sheet. Data about baseline population characteristics, type of intervention, study design and outcome was extracted. Our primary outcome was seizures.Results: The literature search identified 2489 unduplicated papers. Of these 2456 papers were excluded by reading the abstracts and titles. Another 25 papers were excluded after reading their complete text. We selected 8 papers which comprised of 2 RCTs and 6 observational studies. The pooled estimate\u27s Odds Ratio 1.12 (95% CI = 0.34, 3.64) demonstrated no superiority of either drug at preventing the occurrence of early seizures. In a subset analysis of studies in which follow up for seizures lasted either 3 or 7 days, the effect estimate remained insignificant with an odds ratio of 0.96 (95% CI = 0.34, 2.76). Similarly, 2 trials reporting seizure incidence at 6 months also had insignificant pooled results while comparing drug efficacy. The pooled odds ratio was 0.96 (95% CI = 0.24, 3.79).Conclusions: Levetiracetam and Phenytoin demonstrate equal efficacy in seizure prevention after brain injury. However, very few randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the subject were found. Further evidence through a high quality RCT is highly recommended

Pretargeted adjuvant radioimmunotherapy with Yttrium-90-biotin in malignant glioma patients: A pilot study

In a previous study we applied a three-step avidin–biotin pretargeting approach to target 90Y-biotin to the tumour in patients with recurrent high grade glioma. The encouraging results obtained in this phase I–II study prompted us to apply the same approach in an adjuvant setting, to evaluate (i) time to relapse and (ii) overall survival. We enrolled 37 high grade glioma patients, 17 with grade III glioma and 20 with glioblastoma, in a controlled open non-randomized study. All patients received surgery and radiotherapy and were disease-free by neuroradiological examinations. Nineteen patients (treated) received adjuvant treatment with radioimmunotherapy. In the treated glioblastoma patients, median disease-free interval was 28 months (range=9–59); median survival was 33.5 months and one patient is still without evidence of disease. All 12 control glioblastoma patients died after a median survival from diagnosis of 8 months. In the treated grade III glioma patients median disease-free interval was 56 months (range=15–60) and survival cannot be calculated as only two, within this group, died. Three-step radioimmunotherapy promises to have an important role as adjuvant treatment in high grade gliomas, particularly in glioblastoma where it impedes progression, prolonging time to relapse and overall survival. A further randomized trial is justified

Changing the Conversation on Pro-Recycling Advocacy: An Activist Advocacy Portfolio

The scope of my project is to change the conversation on pro-recycling advocacy. What this means is that I want to change the approaches that are currently being used to promote recycling. The current approaches are good, however, I feel that there is a misconception on the importance of recycling. There is a disconnect with society and recycling because once individuals get rid of their waste they never have to see it again, but is not the case for the environment. My hopes for this portfolio are to give an advocates approach that could hopefully implement new recycling trends in the future. (Project in Progress Spring 2018

The Discourse of Women's Experiences Under Communism

The relationship between time passing and the admission of guilt is a complicated one. For how long it took Germany to acknowledge and discuss the atrocities of the Nazi regime, people immediately wondered in 1989 when and how they would approach the discussion of communism and East Germany. The East German example is unique in that there were discernible benefits and successes for its people, and for the most part, it fostered solidarity, camaraderie, and apparent equality. Women were granted unprecedented benefits such as yearlong paid maternity leave and state-funded childcare facilities and were said to have had equal opportunity and equal paid as men. These principles were the base line for all communist regimes in Eastern Europe, and during communist rule, the state allowed literature and propaganda that focused only on these positive principles