Can Arthroplasty Stem INfluence Outcome? (CASINO): a randomized controlled equivalence trial of 125 mm versus 150 mm Exeter V40 stems in total hip arthroplasty

BackgroundThe use of shorter length femoral stems during total hip arthroplasty has been suggested to accommodate wider patient femoral geometry and offer maximal bone preservation. However, cemented short-stem designs may increase the risk of varus stem malalignment and influence patient outcomes.Methods/DesignCASINO is a multi-centre randomised equivalence trial that will recruit 220 patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty for osteoarthritis at two NHS hospitals in Scotland. Patients will be aged 45–80, undergoing unilateral primary hip arthroplasty, with no plan for contralateral procedure within the study timeframe, and able to comply with the protocol. Participants will be randomised to receive either a short (125 mm) or a standard (150 mm) Exeter V40 stem. The Contemporary acetabular component will be used in all cases. All implants will be cemented.Patient pain, function and satisfaction will be assessed using change from baseline measurement in Oxford Hip Score, Forgotten Joint Score, EQ-5D, pain numerical rating scores, and patient satisfaction questionnaire at baseline and at 1 and 2 years following surgery. Radiographic assessment will evaluate stem position and will be appraised by independent reviewers. Patients will be blind to implant allocation.DiscussionStem length may be associated with outcome; however, we can find no randomised trial in which researchers investigated the effect of stem length on patient outcome following cemented total hip arthroplasty. The aim of this trial is to determine if the use of short cemented stems offers equivalent patient outcomes to those achieved following surgery with standard length stems.Trial registrationInternational Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number, ISRCTN13154542, Registered on 30 June 2017

Making things happen : a model of proactive motivation

Being proactive is about making things happen, anticipating and preventing problems, and seizing opportunities. It involves self-initiated efforts to bring about change in the work environment and/or oneself to achieve a different future. The authors develop existing perspectives on this topic by identifying proactivity as a goal-driven process involving both the setting of a proactive goal (proactive goal generation) and striving to achieve that proactive goal (proactive goal striving). The authors identify a range of proactive goals that individuals can pursue in organizations. These vary on two dimensions: the future they aim to bring about (achieving a better personal fit within one’s work environment, improving the organization’s internal functioning, or enhancing the organization’s strategic fit with its environment) and whether the self or situation is being changed. The authors then identify “can do,” “reason to,” and “energized to” motivational states that prompt proactive goal generation and sustain goal striving. Can do motivation arises from perceptions of self-efficacy, control, and (low) cost. Reason to motivation relates to why someone is proactive, including reasons flowing from intrinsic, integrated, and identified motivation. Energized to motivation refers to activated positive affective states that prompt proactive goal processes. The authors suggest more distal antecedents, including individual differences (e.g., personality, values, knowledge and ability) as well as contextual variations in leadership, work design, and interpersonal climate, that influence the proactive motivational states and thereby boost or inhibit proactive goal processes. Finally, the authors summarize priorities for future researc

A Review of Metallothionein Isoforms and their Role in Pathophysiology

The Metallothionein (MT) is a protein which has several interesting biological effects and has been demonstrated increase focus on the role of MT in various biological systems in the past three decades. The studies on the role of MT were limited with few areas like apoptosis and antioxidants in selected organs even fifty years after its discovery. Now acknowledge the exploration of various isoforms of MT such as MT-I, MT-II, MT-III and MT-IV and other isoforms in various biological systems

Measuring affective well-being at work using short-form scales : implications for affective structures and participant instructions

Measuring affective well-being in organizational studies has become increasingly widespread, given its association with key work-performance and other markers of organizational functioning. As such, researchers and policy-makers need to be confident that well-being measures are valid, reliable and robust. To reduce the burden on participants in applied settings, short-form measures of affective well-being are proving popular. However, these scales are seldom validated as standalone, comprehensive measures in their own right. In this article, we used a short-form measure of affective well-being with 10 items: the Daniels five-factor measure of affective well-being (D-FAW). In Study 1, across six applied sample groups (N = 2624), we found that the factor structure of the short-form D-FAW is robust when issued as a standalone measure, and that it should be scored differently depending on the participant instruction used. When participant instructions focus on now or today, then affect is best represented by five discrete emotion factors. When participant instructions focus on the past week, then affect is best represented by two or three mood-based factors. In Study 2 (N = 39), we found good construct convergent validity of short-form D-FAW with another widely used scale (PANAS). Implications for the measurement and structure of affect are discussed

Bringing the heart and soul back in: collaborative inquiry and the DBA

Waddock and Lozano (2013) propose that there is an urgent need to bring the 'heart and soul' back into management education. Indeed, its absence has also been implicated in the plethora of recent scandals and the global financial crisis. We suggest that, in part, such issues are attributable to a continued over reliance on a scientific and detached form of knowing which displaces particular 'human characteristics' and in so doing, downplays our inherent connections to others. In contrast, we identify the importance of embracing a supplementary form of knowing- collaborative inquiry which potentially restores our connections to others in ways which provide opportunities for a more heartfelt and soulful management practice. Specifically, we extend Van de Ven and Johnson’s (2006) notion of collaborative inquiry to consider how it is mobilized in the context of a UK DBA program and in turn examine the impact this move accomplishes. Drawing upon a detailed analysis of twenty students’ reflective journals, we illustrate the ways in which they develop a form of empathy. Crucially, we found that this was one important means for (re)-connecting to others and in ways which begin to bring in a sense of heart and soul back into management education

Enhancement of p-type conductivity in nanocrystalline BaTiO3 Ceramics

Undoped BaTiO3 ceramic samples with an average grain size of similar to 35 nm were prepared and the electrical properties investigated. The defect structure is dominated by acceptor impurities; therefore, the conductivity of nanocrystalline BaTiO3 is of p-type. Comparing with microcrystalline BaTiO3, the conductivity of nanocrystalline BaTiO3 is about 1 to 2 orders of magnitude higher and the activation energy remarkably lower, which is ascribed to a greatly reduced oxidation enthalpy in nanocrystalline BaTiO3 (similar to 0.3 versus similar to 0.92 eV for microcrystalline BaTiO3). (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics