Percutaneous Coronary Interventions in Stable and Acute Coronary Syndromes: Stent technology, lesion complexity and clinical outcome

__Abstract__ Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has brought a major revolution in the way we manage coronary artery disease. Since the first intervention by Andreas Grüntzig in 1977, development of the technology has been relentless and today PCI has been established as one of the major pillars of treatment of coronary heart disease alongside its medical and surgical solutions. Stent implantation during PCI has given the needed edge to PCI, not only in restoring coronary flow but moreover in maintaining it. The aim of this thesis were to : 1. Determine the long term outcome of drug eluting stent implantation compared to bare metal stents in the general PCI population and explore clinical benefits of newer generation drug eluting stents. 2. Examine the clinical outcome of drug eluting stents in patient populations prone to aggressive coronary artery disease. 3. Analyse determinants and prognostic value of myocardial no reflow after stenting in acute myocardial infarction. 4. Utilize OCT to gain further insights into intra coronary thrombus and the effects for stenting and thrombectomy in patients with STEMI. 5. Establish the usefulness of the Syntax score in risk stratification of patients presenting with ST elevation myocardial infarction. 6. Assess the outcome of drug-eluting stent implantation in bypass grafts and evaluate a dedicated stent developed for bifurcation stenting including that of the left main stem

Facebook’s Use in Higher Education

Social networking sites have experienced explosive growth and they have been integrated into the daily lives of many people. While the majority of college-aged students interact on Facebook every day, both research and implementation of Facebook as a pedagogical tool in the higher education classroom is lacking. This research-in-progress study investigates the question, “How can Facebook can be used to enhance educational experiences beyond that of the traditional classroom?” To do so, students from a southwestern university will participate in a multi-round Delphi study. By generating and ranking ideas directly from students, the results will have content validity and may uncover interesting and state-of-the-art ideas. The results will be available for presentation at the conference

Why Do People Stick with a Specific Social Networking Site? An Integrated Relationship and Uses Gratification Perspective

Since their inception, social networking sites (SNSs) have experienced exponential growth. While substantial research has been dedicated to users’ initial adoption of SNSs, the fall of MySpace reminds us that the long-term success of SNSs depends on users’ post adoption staying power. Inspired by this, this work-in-progress investigates users’ “stickiness” with a specific SNS. Based on Li et al. (2006)’s Commitment-Trust Model of Website Stickiness (CTM), this paper focuses on the relationships between SNSs and users. To refine CTM in the new context, we further borrow the Uses and Gratifications Theory from the Communication field to propose an integrated model

Using Social Networking for Educational and Cultural Adaptation: An Exploratory Study

This study investigates how an innovative technology, social networking, can be used in the process of building and maintaining social capital and exchanging knowledge in an educational setting. We employ a qualitative methodology, autoethnography, to examine how social networking can help students learn from other classmates and professors, exchange knowledge, and adjust both to a new program of study and to living in the United States. Using the theoretical foundation of social capital (Jacobs, 1960) and a social support framework created by Drentea and Moren-Cross (2005), autobiographical narratives are classified as instrumental support, emotional support, and community building. Our findings provide evidence that social networking sites can enhance social capital through these mechanisms in a doctoral education context, and our research serves as an important first step in addressing a gap in educational and cultural adaptation studies using social networking tools