Islam and Nationalism in the Formerly Soviet Central Asian Republics

When the Soviet Union collapsed, the Central Asian republics, which had not really sought independence, found themselves independent. Unlike what happened in some other parts of the former Soviet Union, the regimes in power under the Soviet Union remained in power, and endeavored through authoritarian means and trying to identify themselves with nascent nationalisms to suppress opposition and seek an aura of legitimacy. These regimes sought to suppress expressions of Islam and Islamic revivalism outside of state-sponsored Islam. Particularly in the aftermath of 11 September, it has been expedient for these regimes to label non-state-sponsored Islam as Wahhabi, even though most of this Islam has been of the more moderate indigenous Hanafi school. Progress in democratization has varied among the republics but has been slow in all of them. Until the overthrow of Askar Akayev in Kyrgyzstan in March 2005, only Tajikistan, which had experienced a civil war, had changed leaders since independence. This article expresses concern that a focus on fighting terrorism may lead to a tendency to overlook issues of human rights and democratization in these states

What About Cheating at Iowa State?

IT IS IN THE NATURE of some men to try to get something for nothing. When these people operate in a system of formal education, the practice is called cheating. We here in America are products of the same basic culture, and as a result, have much the same idea of what is right or what is wrong..

The clinical outcomes of cementless unicompartmental knee replacement in patients with reduced bone mineral density

Background: Osteoporosis and osteopenia are conditions characterised by reduced bone mineral density (BMD). There is concern that bone with reduced BMD may not provide sufficient fixation for cementless components which primarily rely on the quality of surrounding bone. The aim of our study was to report the midterm clinical outcomes of patients with reduced BMD undergoing cementless unicompartmental knee replacements (UKR). Our hypothesis was that there would be no difference in outcome between patients with normal bone and those with reduced BMD. Methods: From a prospective cohort of 70 patients undergoing cementless UKR surgery, patients were categorised into normal (n&thinsp;=&thinsp;20), osteopenic (n&thinsp;=&thinsp;38) and osteoporotic groups (n&thinsp;=&thinsp;12) based on their central dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scans according to the World Health Organization criteria. Patients were followed up by independent research physiotherapists and outcome scores; Oxford Knee Score (OKS), Tegner score, American Knee Society Score Functional (AKSS-F) and Objective (AKSS-O) were recorded preoperatively and at a mean of 4&thinsp;years postoperatively. The prevalence of reoperations, revisions and mortality was also recorded at a mean of 5&thinsp;years postoperatively. Results: There were no significant differences in the midterm postoperative OKS (P&thinsp;=&thinsp;0.83), Tegner score (P&thinsp;=&thinsp;0.17) and AKSS-O (P&thinsp;=&thinsp;0.67). However, the AKSS-F was significantly higher (P&thinsp;=&thinsp;0.04) in normal (90, IQR 37.5) compared to osteoporotic (65, IQR 35) groups. There were no significant differences (P&thinsp;=&thinsp;0.82) between normal and osteopenic bone (80, IQR 35). The revision prevalence was 5%, 2.6% and 0% in the normal, osteopenic and osteoporotic groups respectively. The reoperation prevalence was 5%, 7.9% and 0% respectively. There were no deaths in any group related to the implant. Conclusions: We found that patients with reduced BMD could safely undergo cementless UKR surgery and have similar clinical outcomes to those with normal BMD. However, larger studies with longer follow-up are needed to confirm our findings and ensure that cementless fixation is safe in patients with reduced BMD.</p

Cementless unicompartmental knee replacement achieves better ten year clinical outcomes than Cemented:A systematic review

Purpose The aim of this study was to report and compare the long-term revision rate, revision indications and patient reported outcome measures of cemented and cementless unicompartmental knee replacements (UKR). Methods Databases Medline, Embase and Cochrane Central of Controlled Trials were searched to identify all UKR studies reporting the ≥ 10 year clinical outcomes. Revision rates per 100 component years [% per annum (% pa)] were calculated by fixation type and then, subgroup analyses for fixed and mobile bearing UKRs were performed. Mechanisms of failure and patient reported outcome measures are reported. Results 25 studies were eligible for inclusion with a total of 10,736 UKRs, in which there were 8790 cemented and 1946 cementless knee replacements. The revision rate was 0.73% pa (CI 0.66–0.80) and 0.45% pa (CI 0.34–0.58) per 100 component years, respectively, with the cementless having a significantly (p  Conclusions Cementless fixation had reduced long-term revision rates compared to cemented for the Oxford UKR. For the non-Oxford UKRs, the revision rates of cementless and cemented fixation types were equivalent. Therefore, cementless UKRs offer at least equivalent if not lower revision rates compared to cemented UKRs. Level of evidence III.</p

Predictors of Enucleation and Morcellation Time During Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate.

Objective To examine predictors of enucleation and morcellation times within a large cohort of men undergoing holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) for benign prostatic hypertrophy. Materials and Methods Preoperative, perioperative, and postoperative clinical characteristics were available from men treated with HoLEP between 1998 and 2013 at Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital. Stepwise linear regression was performed to determine clinical variables which are associated with enucleation and morcellation times. Results We identified 960 patients who underwent HoLEP. Average (range) enucleation time was 65.7 (11-245) minutes and morcellation time was 19.7 (3-260) minutes. History of anticoagulation was associated with a small decrease in enucleation time (P = .013) whereas increasing HoLEP specimen weight was associated with increasing enucleation time (P <.001). History of intermittent catheterization, urinary tract infections (UTI), presence of dense prostatic tissue (colloquially referred to as “beach balls”), and increasing specimen weight were associated with increasing morcellation time (P <.05 each). Having HoLEP performed by a less experienced urologist was associated with longer enucleation and morcellation times. Conclusion Prostate volume is significantly associated with increased enucleation and morcellation times during HoLEP. Additionally, history of UTI and clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) is associated with modest increases in enucleation and morcellation times. Dense enucleated prostate tissue significantly impacts the ability to morcellate effectively. Increasing surgeon experience can significantly improve both enucleation and morcellation efficiency

The Effect of P2P File Sharing on Music Markets: A SurvivalAnalysisofAlbums on Ranking Charts

Recent technological and market forces have profoundly impacted the music industry. Emphasizing threats from peer-to-peer (P2P) technologies, the industry continues to seek sanctions against individuals who offer significant number of songs for others to copy. Yet there is little rigorous empirical analysis of the impacts of online sharing on the success of music products. Combining data on the performance of music albums on the Billboard charts with file sharing data from a popular network, we: 1) assess the impact of recent developments related to the music industry on survival of music albums on the charts, and 2) evaluate the specific impact of P2P sharing on an album's survival on the charts. In the post P2P era, we find significantly reduced chart survival. The second phase of our study isolates the impact of file sharing on album survival. We find that sharing does not seem to hurt the survival of albums

Long term in vivo wear of different bearing types used for the Oxford Unicompartmental Knee Replacement

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the polyethylene wear rate of Phase 3 Oxford Unicompartmental Knee Replacement bearings and to investigate the effects of resin type and manufacturing process.Methods: A total of 63 patients with at least ten years’ follow-up with three bearing types (1900 resin machined, 1050 resin machined, and 1050 resin moulded) were recruited. Patients underwent full weight-bearing model-based radiostereometric analysis to determine the bearing thickness. The linear wear rate was estimated from the change in thickness divided by the duration of implantation.Results: The wear rate for 1900 resin machined (n = 19), 1050 machined (n = 21), and 1050 moulded bearings (n = 23) were 60 µm/year (sd 42), 76 µm/year (sd 32), and 57 µm/year (sd 30), respectively. There was no significant difference between 1900 machined and 1050 machined (p = 0.20), but 1050 moulded had significantly less wear than the 1050 machined (p = 0.05). Increasing femoral (p &lt; 0.001) and tibial (p &lt; 0.001) component size were associated with increasing wear.Conclusion: Wear rate is similar with 1050 and 1900 resin, but lower with moulded bearings than machined bearings. The currently used Phase 3 bearings wear rate is low (1050 moulded, 57 µm/year), but higher than the previously reported Phase 2 bearings (1900 moulded, 20 µm/year). This is unlikely to be due to the change in polyethylene but may relate to the minimally invasive approach used with the Phase 3. This approach, as well as improving function and thus increasing activity levels, may increase the risk of surgical errors, such as impingement or bearing overhang, which can increase wear. Surgeons should aim to use 4 mm thick bearings rather than 3 mm thick bearings in young patients, unless they are small and need conservative bone resections