God is the Best Guardian: Islamic Talismanic Shirts from the Gunpowder Empires

Islamic talismanic shirts are fragile and highly ornamented textiles that feature Qur\u27anic text, magic squares, and other complex design elements common to talismanic objects of smaller, more portable form. The way in which these garments invoke the human body and thus differ from other talismans is of primary importance in understanding their creation and potential use. This study is based on data from over 80 Islamic talismanic shirts that is used to support a fuller articulation of the sartorial systems of robing common to the Ottoman and South Asian worlds within which they circulated. Two of these systems, the khila\u27 (robe of honor) and the khirqa (the Sufi cloak) provide important insights into how garments become the physical markers of bodily interactions. By reinforcing the relationship between textiles and the human body within these systems, it becomes clear that Islamic talismanic shirts amplify the protective function of Qur\u27anic text through preserving the fleeting traces of human contact

Perioperative anesthetic documentation: Adherence to current Australian guidelines

Purpose: The lack of adequate perioperative documentation has legal implications and can potentially affect the quality and safety of patient care. Despite the presence of guidelines, the adequacy of perioperative documentation in Australasia has not been adequately assessed. The aim of this study is to assess the adequacy of anesthetic documentation on the pre and intraoperative encounters and to test the hypotheses that documentation is incomplete in the settings of emergency vs. elective procedures, regional vs. general anesthesia, and manual vs. electronic documentation. Materials and Methods: The study was an observational retrospective study in the setting of a 250-bed teaching hospital in metropolitan Adelaide, Australia. The perioperative records of 850 patients were analyzed. A scoring system was designed, based on a policy statement from the Australian and New Zealand College of Anesthetists and a survey of the hospital anesthetists. Scored and categorical data was analyzed using Chi-square test. Numerical data was analyzed using student t-test. The null hypothesis was accepted or rejected at 0.05 significance. Results: There were significant deficiencies in the adequacy of preanesthetic and intraoperative records. This has been shown to be true in all cases. Documentation was found to be poorer in the emergency setting when compared to elective cases (median scores 15 vs. 21 P = 0.03) as well as documentation of airway assessment for cases done solely under regional anesthesia (42 vs. 85%, P = 0.05). There were no significant differences in the adequacy of electronic vs. manual records ( P = 0.92). Conclusion: There are significant deficiencies in the adequacy of perioperative records. This has been shown to be true in all cases, but is especially so in emergency cases and for patients having only regional anesthesia.Islam Elhalawani, Simon Jenkins, Nicole Newma